GUILTY FEET HAVE GOT NO RHYTHM

Luck would not overpower reason - there was no easy solution to the lack of a cast iron pot. The ideas posed flitted through Luna's mind, discarded soon after. Nothing they improvised would be fit for boiling water safely.

But it wasn't a disappointment. It never had to be a stew.

They gathered the driftwood in their arms, as much as they could carry, the frozen surface biting through the fur. Luna piled them on the beach, setting them aside for a moment. Their limbs ached, but they pushed forward to the second step.

They dug into the gravel, leaving a small depression in the sand - now they could stack the driftwood, making something akin to the hearths they'd seen in Scorpio.

The most difficult part would be finding a way to light the darn thing, and making sure the weather didn't kill the fire, which... Another gale ripped past, threatening to scatter the wood across the beach. Luna darted to her little campfire to hold the wood in place, something she wouldn't be able to do when it was lit.

Satisfied that her work wouldn't be so swiftly undone, she moved to find kindling (difficult), before her beloved worm drifted gracefully back to her like her very own guardian angel. "Oh my goodness!" She rushed to examine the fish, pulling at its fins, prodding carefully at its teeth, staring deeply into its one, dead eye. "Incredible!"

"Now we just need a fire to cook it over." She turned and grimaced at the pile of wood she'd scrounged together. "Easier said than done."

Luna hoped to get this part over with as quickly as possible. However, there was no way to do this quickly. It'd be a long while of rubbing wood together, hoping that something catches fire in the process. but she would not give in.

In the mean time, maybe... They could get to know each other....

Just like Luna poked and prodded at the fish Rena had caught (although Rena wasn't sure why the silkwyrm was so interested in it—it seemed like just a regular fish, if a little different from the usual fare in the other water bodies around—she did preen a little at the attention. Yes, she'd caught this fascinating [?] and edible creature; see? She could be useful, a good partner), Rena circled the pile of driftwood that Luna had built, eyeing it with all four eyes on both ends and clacking pincers thoughtfully. She could see the vision. Kind of. Well, she trusted in Luna's abilities, as they were the one who'd seen cooking in action before.

As Luna busied themselves with the fire, Rena thought perhaps she could take some initiative here. What had Luna said, that they'd cook it over the fire? Well then, they'd need something to hold it in place, because Rena would burn herself if she tried to do it with her own claws. She glanced about and saw the perfect stick for the job: long, sturdy, sharp enough at the end, she supposed, though she'd have to put some effort into skewering the fish with it. Like a good partner who was really good at tacit understanding and cooperation, Rena grabbed the stick and tried to shove the fish onto the end.

She put maybe a bit too much effort into it. So much, in fact, that the stick went right through the entire fish and flew out the other end. Directly at Luna. Rena watched in slow motion, her clicks of deep alarm and belated limbs reaching out too late to stop the trajectory of the stick as it arced through the air and threatened to leave a smear of fish blood and guts directly on the silkwyrm's beautiful, pristine, soft, gorgeous brown-furred flank.

Ananke's attention snapped to whatever... this was. Usually she tuned out the rest of the Hive, particularly if it were personal. But... wow.

She was no expert on friendships, let alone romance or dates. If that's what this was. But... the sight of the guts on the soft, brown fur... ouch.

The tiny priestess, safe in her warm little cave in far-off Ursa, sent a gentle message of wisdom to her ally and Hive-mate.

May I suggest... not doing that? she offered.

She was very helpful.

Luna continued to work diligently, even though with every slip of their paws they felt the sudden urge to gnaw the sticks into shards and eat them. They refused to let it get to them. They would push through. For their relationship.

Finally, a small twist of smoke began to dance lazily from the wood. They nurtured it the way they would a newborn, with gentle hands and soft, encouraging coos.

A stick was hurtling towards Luna.

They bounced from the fire, the bloodied stick clattering past, leaving dark stains and scattered viscera with every impact. Whuh?? They peered in Rena's direction, puzzling together what had just happened. It was fine, probably. They could cut the fish up small, or find another one. Plenty of fish.

"Careful, darling! Could've skewered me too." But lord knows they'd be twice as delicious. Amen.

Rena could only watch in horrified fascination as the stick travelled through the air, bits of fish blood sloughing off it as the winds buffeted it. Ananke's advice came rather too late, and Rena just responded with a small I didn't mean to..., wrapped in stunned confusion. Thankfully Luna twisted perfectly out of the way, leaving their soft fur unmarred.

Luna wasn't mad at her, though. Were they? Rena didn't think so; they'd called her darling. Mother wouldn't do that if she were mad at Rena. She thought. She had never made Mother angry before. "I'm sorry," she said out loud. "I didn't mean to..." It felt like she was repeating herself, which was kind of odd, but it was really only the first time she'd said so to Luna.

The fish had a really big hole in it, but it was fine. It was FINE. Rena could fix this because she was resourceful and resilient and... yeah. The viscera on the snow stuck out like a sore thumb and she instinctively skittered toward each red patch, brushing snow over them like she was covering up a crime. Which she kind of was. Then, determined to rectify her mistake, she tried to skewer the fish again. Carefully, this time. From a different angle. It was a little wobbly, and there was still a big hole in their dinner that she couldn't do anything about, but... it would look all the same in their stomachs, right?

Rena offered the skewer to Luna hopefully.

"Oh, it's fine. Little accident. They happen." Luna turned again to where the stick lay, the blood soaking into the frozen ground. "You must be very strong." She observed, the admiration almost... Sinister?

It hadn't crashed into the fire, thank the Masters. The little flame began to lap cautiously at the wood around it, unsure if it was truly safe to do so. The weather was playing nice, for a moment. Perhaps it would hold for long enough for a well-cooked meal.

Luna took the skewer from Rena's claws daintily. "Thank you, dear." They considered how the tavern in Scorpio cooked their meat, and they briefly mourned their lack of resources for the umpteenth time. Without a scaffold, they would have to hold the fish over the fire until their arms gave out.

"So... How do you feel? About... Our partnership?" Good? Delighted? Ecstatic?

Rena had no experience with sinister-seeming compliments before, and thus, this aspect flew completely over her head. Won't some savvy Hive member* come warn our poor Host off from this... whatever this is?

"Thank you," she said, going a little starry eyed. "I try to be." Strong and useful. If she can skewer a fish today, surely she can skewer a Valkhound tomorrow? Rena had not tried her hand at skewering Valkhounds in a long time. It might be a good way to express love. Mother would like it a lot if she managed it. She remembered seeing Juggernaut skewer a Valkhound through its and Vindicator's eyes and felt a sense of aspiring admiration.

She stood beside Luna as the silkwyrm held the fish over the fire. Feel free to hand it off to your knight in shining armor whenever you want. Then came the question. Oh. What was this, a job interview? It's okay, Rena would ace it. Or try.

"It's... good." Try harder. "I feel... fulfilled. I'm glad we did this together." All true. But somehow Rena felt like it was missing a little something in terms of emotional expression. Surely it would work out better if Luna could see exactly how she felt? Through a nice little... link that would bond them as a family? Several pincers moved anxiously, sunken out of sight in the snow.

Okay. This was fine. She could take risks. For Mother. Also for Luna. Find some way to subtly break the question without setting off suspicion like she had the last time. "Have you ever wished you could—connect more deeply with someone? What if... you could communicate through feelings, instead of just words?"

*A/N: I do not think we have one of those. But feel free to prove me wrong.

Good. Glad. Your response is a little underwhelming, Rena.

This was soooo hard. This was so especially hard for such small, sexually-undeveloped little bug. Personally, it was better with business relations with a weird amount of tension. Business was all about pushing boundaries, finding your place in an unstable middle ground. Romance felt like a tiny, decorated box. Or a gilded cage.

(Beautiful metaphor. Well done Luna.)

(I know! You're always so kind to me. Thank you Luna.)

Luna had forgotten their suspicion for a moment, fortunately for the drone beside them. They still struggled to parse the oddly specific question, though - "... I can't say I have? Sounds... Efficient."

Ah! Efficient. While true, Rena supposed, that had not been the word she had been... going for. Her previous determination to somehow find a way to bring up the question evaporated. "Hm. Yes. Uh- I think this side of the fish is done?"

Don't worry, Luna. You're not the only one having trouble. What did one do once the fish was caught and there were no enemies to try to skewer? Tending fungus was not an option in this case. Hmm. Rena wondered if Luna liked flowers. It seemed kind of affected to outright ask, though. Also there were likely no flowers in Centaurus at this moment.

Okay. Okay. That's okay. Just- just let the person with more experience with romance (Rena assumed) (that's why you should never assume, kids) steer the conversation. Then it would be fine, right?

Luna was socially adept enough to sense a misstep somewhere in the conversation, an unwelcome well of guilt beginning to open. Had they offended her? Had they said something... Wrong? Bad?

The feelings of inadequacy sank teeth inside, pulling down at the corner of their mouth. They should say something. "Oh! Yes it is."

Not quite what we had in mind. They flipped over the fish, switching hands to give the other arm a break.

"Words are tricky. I adore them, but they betray me often. I... Would never want to be without them, but I wish I could be better at them. At communicating the mind, intent. Ideas, big, glorious ideas."

"...If you had all the power in the Caves... How would you change them?" Luna had an answer, they thought so at least. Did Rena?