Purple Moon (HM14)

Purple Moon

Half Moon 14

    Kat sits in the study with Michael and two of his friends. She sips tea as they work on various papers.

    "You have a lot of book miss," One of the boys says.

    "Yes, Jacob, most of them belonged to my mother."

    Michael looks up, "My mom said that your mom was a hunter."

    The other boys look at her, curious.
    "Yes," Kat replies, "She never told me much about her work, but she gave my brother and me basic training so we could defend ourselves."

    "That's so cool. I wish I could be a hunter," Jacob musses.

    Kat laughs, "Well if you do your homework, I'm sure you can."

    A ringing comes from the hallway. Kat stands up and answers the phone, "Hello?"

    "Hay Kat it's me," Adalia's voice says.

    Kat turns away from the study and whispers, "I have guests can you call later?"

    "No, Silias said to contact you immediately."

    Kat sighs, "What is so important?"

    "Silias has been checking the data. Apparently, there is a rise in Alteration activity in your area."

    "No one's been attacked here yet."

    "The tech people thought it was weird too. They said that the Alteration should still be making sure you're not a threat, not gathering forces."

    "That doesn't help much, no one's talking to us. So it may take us a few more days before we learn something."

    "Why don't you use some feminine charm."

    "Adalia...this isn't about finding me a date."

    "Oh, Kat, you're all business, you can still have fun on an assignment."

    Kat sighs, "what else did Silias want to tell me."

    "He said to be extra careful and to keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

    "Thanks for calling Adalia, bye."

    "Wait--"

    Kat hangs up and rubs her temples. She looks into the parlor and sees the boys laughing. She heads upstairs and finds Cade in the sitting room, "Adalia called."

    He looks up from the newspaper, "And?"

    Kat explains the news, "and I want to throw a party."

    "You're a slave driver."

    "The sooner we kill this Alteration, the sooner we can go home."

    He thinks about it, "Alright, I'll tell Patty that the doctor says your health is improving, and I want to throw a surprise party."

    Kat nods and the doorbell rings, "That will be the mothers. You should answer it, that way you will have a chance to talk to them."

    Cade stands and leaves. Kat looks out the window at the warm sun, hoping nothing goes wrong.

 

 

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Purple Moon (HM13)

Purple Moon

Half Moon 13

    Kat wakes up with a headache. She stumbles into the bathroom and eats several pills. When she makes it downstairs, she sees Cade making breakfast.

    "Good morning," He says.

    Kat growls at him before sitting down with her head in hands. "It feels like my head is going to split in two, for once can you not irritate me."

    Cade looks at her, concerned, "Are you going to be able to tutor?"

    "I have to. I'm the only one who's made any progress."

    He sighs before setting a plate in front of her. They sit in silence until the bell rings. Kat tries to put on a happy face and goes to open the door, and there stands Annice and a little boy.

    "Hello, Annice," Kat says, "Is this your son?"

    "Yes, say hello Michael."

    The boy grunts, and Kat laughs. Startled Michael looks at Kat for the first time. "I will take good care of him, don't worry."

    Annice looks at the boy obviously worried, "Are you sure you'll be okay, Katrina."

    Kat nods, "Cade is here to make sure I won't overexert myself."

    Annice leaves after hugging her son, and once the door is closed, Kat leads the boy to the study, "I'm assuming that you don't want to be here, Mr. Michael."

    The boy refuses to look at her while saying, "I would rather be with my friends then some old hag of a tutor."

    Kat laughs as Cade walks into the room, "Careful boy, my sister isn't a hag." The boy jumps and looks at him apologetically, but before he can say anything, Cade continues, "She's a witch."

    The boy looks at him confused, "You aren't mad."

    Cade winks, "No, as much as she pretends to be nice, my sister is really a fiendish woman."

    "Now brother, be nice we wouldn't want anything to happen in your sleep," Kat says with a smile.

    Cade laughs and leaves the room. The boy watches him leave with some despair.

    "Your mother says your not doing well in history."

    "Ya, it's so boring, and I don't understand why I have to know it," Michael grumbles.

    Kat smiles, "Well, how about I tell you a story of how the alterations came to be."

    He sighs, "I heard that a million times."

    "Not the way I tell it: Long ago two counties were at war. It lasted so long that people forgot what it was originally about, but they continued to fight anyway."

    "Why?" He asks pretending to not be interested.

    "Because both sides wanted to win, I suppose. But whatever the reason was, they continued to fight. Eventually once side created a bioweapon and launched it at the opposing side. They were in such a rush to defeat the other side that they didn't test it to see what kinds of effects it would have. When the bomb hit it killed all plants in its blast radius and any humans or animals that survived mutated and became creatures that hunted other humans. The two counties stopped fighting and agreed to help each other destroy the things they had caused. They named these beasts Alterations, and they created the hunters to stop them."

    The boy looked at her, awed, "Seriously?"

    Kat nods, "See if you tell it right history can sound pretty interesting."

    He nods vigorously, and Cade appears in the door, "His mom is here."

    Annice walks into the room, and Michael runs to his mom, "Can I come again, mom, please?"

    Annice looks at Kat shocked but says, "of course."

    Michael turns to Kat, "I'll bring my homework next time and some friends."

    Annice starts to protest but Kat waves away her comments, "I don't mind."

    They leave, and Cade turns to Kat, "And the seed has been planted."

 

 

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Purple Moon (HM12)

Just a short one today. Hope you don't mind

-Rose B.

Purple Moon

Half Moon 12

    Kat's smile falters when she sees Heath but puts it back in place before the boys could notice. "What a surprise. If you're here for Patty, I'm sorry to say, but she's already left."

    "I'm not here for Patty," Heath responds.

    She looks at Cade, "I didn't know Claudius was planning on bringing a guest."

    "He just sprung up on me in town," Cade explains, "How were the ladies?"

    "Nice, I told them about mom," She says, choosing her words carefully.

    Cade got the hint, "That's nice."

    "There is still food leftover if you want some," Kat changes the subject.

    "Yes please," Heath replies.

    Kat leads Heath to the parlor while Cade excuses himself to change his clothes. For a moment they sit in awkward silence, and when Kat can't stand it anymore, she speaks.
    "So why did you want to visit Cade?"
    "It wasn't Cade I wanted to see."
    That caught her attention, "Oh?"
    But instead of saying anything more, he stands, "I should be going."
    Cade walks into the room, "But you just got here."
    "I shouldn't keep the misses waiting."
    "I understand," Kat says, "You can find your own way to the door."
    He nods and leaves. Cade and Kat stare at the empty doorway until they hear a door close. "He's up to something," Cade comments.
    Kat nods, "But there's nothing we can do about it at the moment. The Alteration is our top priority at the moment."
    "Did you learn anything?"
    "They wouldn't speak while I was in the room, but I hid around the corner, and they said we should be safe because we're new but that it should attack soon. What about you?"
    "Nothing, but the people are nervous. Should we set a trap?"
    "No, we know nothing about this Alteration. It would be nice if we could watch its attack but its too cautious."
    "I'll figure something out."
    "Fine and I am going to tutor some kids just so you are aware."
    He nods before leaving.

 

 

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Purple Moon (HM11)

Purple Moon

Half Moon 11

    Kat notices she struck a nerve, "Is something wrong?"

    No one would look her in the eye, and for a moment, all is silent. Finally, Patty says with a nervous giggle, "Oh my, we seem to be out of treats."

    The plate was still half full, but Kat plays along, "Oh dear, I will get some more."

    "You don't have to," Aadi mildly objects.

    "Of course I do, I am the host," Kat says sweetly and takes the plate out of the room. But she didn't take it to the kitchen where the extra food was. Instead, she leans against the wall just outside the doorway and listens.

    "We should tell her," Annice starts sounding worried.

    "We can't," Patty responds.

    "But she needs to know. Or would you rather her learn the hard way," Aadi adds.

    "But she's weak she can't help us," Patty counters.

    Behitha says, "We should not underestimate a woman's strength. It hasn't attacked in several weeks so another strike should happen soon.  It doesn't normally go after newcomers so she should be safe for the moment, but we won't be able to hide it from her after."

    There were mutters of objections, but no one outright disagrees. Kat waits a few more seconds before entering the room again. "I brought more," She smiles and sets the plate down on the table.

    "Thanks," Patty says.

    "We should be going, but I hope you will be willing to help my son with history. It's his worst subject," Annice says.

    "Of course, I would be happy to help any of your kids that need it. Just send them over when you can."

    The ladies nod, and Kat takes them to the door. Once the door closes behind her guests, she can't help but smile and waits for Cade to come home.

    But when Cade comes back, he has someone with him...

    Heath.

 

 

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