With a flick and twirl of her wrist, The Goddess managed to make a pretty impressive spread of fluffy pastel-colored pastries with more than a dozen ornate pots of tea. Each pot with a delicious aroma whiffing from its spout. All of this was placed beautifully on the most delicately painted china, arranged in the most appealing manner on a lovely satin picnic blanket.
"Have a seat, Tuzi," she said, satisfied with the spread she created.
Tuzi's hazel eyes were as wide as she could stretch them, as she gazed longingly at the snacks with her mouth lightly salivating. "My Goddess! You've outdone yourself."
"But of course," she stated as-a-matter-of-factly. "We can't have a proper conversation without a good pot of tea and snacks, can we?"
The two ladies each took their seat on the blanket and proceeded to indulge themselves, while The Goddess relayed the current happenings to her best friend.
The former rabbit did not hesitate to stuff herself with sweets. Just because she doesn't get hungry, doesn't mean she could not crave her favorite foods. All of these are definitely her favorites. Her Ladyship knew her best, afterall.
Given the dynamics between these two, the Moon Goddess did not hold back and retold her current findings to Tuzi in the most dramatic tone possible. She did not hesitate to embellish the details to make the story more interesting.
Tuzi was now completely engrossed in this story, especially since she knew all the characters. She looked quite scandalized.
"So Atlas is no longer Atlas…?!" She was shocked, as her mouth hung wide open. The strawberry shortcake that was halfway to her mouth, forgotten in her hands.
"Nope," the Goddess said, emphasizing the 'p'. "His name is now Feng. He gave up his immortality and flipped off all the alpha gods, then jumped into the River Lethe."
Moon conveniently left out the part that the gods were not present at the scene, when Atlas flipped them the bird. It made Tuzi's man look much more impressive that way.
"Ahhhhhhhhh, Atlas!!! Nooooooooo. I mean– FENG!!!!" Tuzi was clutching her cake so hard, it became sloppy crumbs in her hands. "But WHY?!! Why would Atlas– I mean Feng, why would Feng do that?!!"
The light aqua-haired goddess drew her lips into a line. It really wasn't her place to tell Tuzi about Atlas's feelings for her. She felt that was a subject that was too private, and should be relayed to her by the man himself.
"But that's the unsolved mystery!" the Goddess embellished, making claw-shaped hands. "Did Atlas lose his mind…?!!"
Tuzi gasped, letting out a small squeal. "No! Atlas– I mean Feng wouldn't!! He's my friend. I heard him on the shell. He's still the kind Atla– Feng that we know." The dark-haired lady looked practically heartbroken.
The Goddess decided that now was a good time to tone it down a bit. "Well, he is your friend. You would definitely know if he went bonkers."
The rabbit-shifter shook her head in denial. "Atlas wouldn't. He's the kindest person in the whole entire Realm! He must have a good reason why he would give up his immortality to become a human. He worked so hard for that promotion to be Lord Sky's Captain."
A grin was fighting to make itself apparent on Moon's face, who was fighting so hard to suppress it. Instead, she nodded sympathetically, looking concerned and consoled Tuzi who was so worried for the former soldier.
Oh Atlas, Moon thought fondly. You really are a lucky son-of-a-bitch to have such a wonderful lady vouching for you.
The Goddess wanted to tell her friend that she was the reason why the former soldier, with such a promising career, gave it all up for her. That Tuzi was the most precious being in the whole Realm. It warmed her heart really, and Moon was sincerely happy for her.
"What do we do now?" Tuzi asked, her voice filled with worry. Her forehead frowning ever so sadly. "If Atlas–Feng is in some sort of trouble, we need to rescue him!"
Moon patted Tuzi's hands softly. The Goddess smiled to herself, thinking that Atlas must've felt the same way about her friend.
"Well now, it is up to you to decide, my love. Do you want to wake up from your coma and help him?" Moon said this softly, as she knew the conversation had taken a turn for something far more serious.
The rabbit-shifter sat back on her heel, taken off guard. Tuzi knew the reason why she was in this unending dream-scape. The Goddess had mentioned that something traumatic had happened to her in the Mortal Realm. That she was taken from the Realm of Gods and somehow transported to Earth against her will. Even as an alpha god, the Moon Goddess is having a difficult time figuring out how to retrieve her from the Mortal Realm.
But try as she may, Tuzi could not remember what happened during that period. What was done to her. Why it happened and for how long. Most importantly, she had no memories of who had been so bold and terrible to have taken her. Because she couldn't remember, the Goddess couldn't even read her memories to solve the mystery.
The Goddess questioned her extensively at the start of her stay in the dream-scape. At first, Tuzi was scared that she couldn't remember anything at all. But her master had calmed her down each time, explaining that people who experience extreme trauma, find a way to deal with it. In her case, she wondered if Tuzi chose to forget these memories as a means to protect herself.
"Tuzi," the Goddess started uneasily. "When I brought you to this dream-scape, it was to give your body an opportunity to heal itself; Both physically and mentally. But a number of years came and went…"
She understood what her master was saying to her. The choice to wake up was entirely her's to make.
Tuzi shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Has a lot of time passed in the Mortal Realm?"
"At least 18 mortal years," the Goddess said, lightly squeezing her hand, hoping it would encourage her to stay strong.
Moon knew that the decision to wake up was a big one for her friend to make. Waking up in a strange land, not knowing the elements or what could happen to her there, was a lot to take in. The dream-scape safeguarded her from having to experience immediate fear and prevented her trauma from further impounding itself. But if she wakes up in the Mortal Realm, it is hard to predict if her memories will return. And with the memories, the psychological effects stemming from the trauma are also unknown.
Tuzi, as an immortal, would also be subjected to the pull of time in the Mortal Realm. Time operated differently in the Realm of Gods. Because immortals lived forever with everything at their fingertips, time had no physical bearing on them at all. But in the Mortal Realm, that would change. Tuzi may not age but she will start feeling the heavy pull of time, its stresses, and the heavy burden on her soul that will begin to weigh her down.
She did not blame her friend at all, for not wanting to wake up.
Tuzi folded her hands neatly in her lap, to prevent them from shaking. The fear of not only the unknown, but being without her Goddess was a terrifying situation to be in.
Her hazel eyes casted downwards, trying not to show her master the apprehension running loose through her mind. "But… What if something tried to eat me…" she asked softly.
The Goddess took both of Tuzi's hands and placed them in her's, holding onto them reassuringly. "I would never let that happen to you, my love. I promise you that."
Moon leaned over and hugged her friend tightly. "And Tuzi, it's perfectly fine if you do not want to wake up. You take as much time as you need. Maybe by then, we would find a way to bring you home."
The rabbit-shifter, whose eyes had begun to glaze over a bit, nodded her head slowly. She mustered a half-hearted smile, hoping that it would help her master to not worry about her. But actually inside, Tuzi was terrified to her core.
She had no idea who had done this to her. Who had taken her from her home and threw her life into a heap of turmoil. Whoever it was, that person had to be sinister. What if that person came back for her…?
Tuzi sniffled, shaking slightly in her master's arms.
"Oh, my sweet heart…" the Moon Goddess murmured, petting her head. "If you choose to stay asleep, I will be here with you…"
Tuzi nodded her head slowly, agreeing with her master.
"And if you choose to wake up, Atlas will be with you…" the Goddess said softly.
At that, the rabbit-shifter sat up straight, looking into the blue eyes of her master. Hearing Atlas's name caused her heart to flutter. She didn't know why, but even when she was back in the Realm of Gods, seeing Atlas made her insides have this weird aching feeling. Her heart would beat fast and feel like it was jumping hoops everytime he was near her.
Could she really be with him? She hadn't considered that piece of information before. Atlas was now in the Mortal Realm with her and that she was no longer alone.
Moon looked steadily into her friend's face, touching her cheek slightly. If she could, she would keep Tuzi forever in this dream-scape protecting her. But at the same time, she knew sadly that her friend was incredibly bored, scared, and was not living. This was not living.
"Can… Can I really be with Atlas?" Tuzi asked, though she really didn't know what she was asking.
Her master gave her a small tender smile. "My love, there are no wrong choices in front of you."
The rabbit-shifter was deep in thought, considering the advice that the Goddess had just given her.
"You obviously don't have to make a decision right now," Moon said to her. "But if you were to wake up, we'd have to train you on some different skill sets."
Tuzi looked startled. "What type of skill sets?"
The Moon Goddess's face suddenly turned dark. Her eyes shifted here and there, not quite able to meet Tuzi's eyes. In fact, she looked outright grumpy.
Tuzi was feeling increasingly worried from the Goddess's reaction. Her heart was pounding as she repeated the question in a scared voice, "What type of training, my Goddess…?"
Feeling like she had no choice but to answer her friend honestly, Moon let out a long exasperated sigh and grumbled dejectedly, "Wife training…"