"Are you sure the baby is not an illusionist?" Luca asked. He knew that the children of the moon are great illusionists that they can make you believe of the non-existent by just playing with your eyes. But who amongst them is the child of the moon? That's what they come here for.
"No, while illusionists can make something out of nothing and make one believe it is true, they are not capable of controlling that huge number of people without the other moon and the second moon appears only once a year so the child must be existing." Lisa deduced.
"Then why hasn't it transformed yet? It has already reached the age of metamorphosis." Bataris are a group of beings that are capable of transforming into an animal. They were born like normal humans but once they reach the age of metamorphosis, their bodies start to undergo changes and they transform into their second form, their animal bodies.
As children, their control of transformation is very weak that a simple fluctuation in their emotions can cause them to involuntarily transform and so they are mostly sent to academies especially built for their kind and trained their not only to control their transformation but to hone their innate skills. Luca wondered why the youngest child did not transform. Is she a different being?
"I am not too sure," Lisa answered. "Maybe the conditions to transform are not enough or she's just entirely from a different race. We'll know more since we're able to get in here. Anyway, that's the least of our priority. We will start looking for the gateway to Toradashi once their family leaves the house. It must be somewhere here."
Lisa's eyes scanned the family's little backyard and Luca looked on with sadness in his eyes. If only it had been born earlier. He blinked and the sadness in his eyes disappeared then he followed Lisa by scanning the family's house as well.
'The gateway to Toradashi must be somewhere here.' He thought. The view remained the same and there were just the rustling leaves in this silent night but they continued to keep watch. When a howl is heard somewhere, they both looked at each others eyes and as they see the moon fully disappear from the sky, understanding dawned to them.
"The youngest child must be transforming!" Luca exclaimed but Lisa kept her eyes locked on the house. The windows were closed so they are unable to see anything except for some whimpering that they hear and occasional howls that filled the silent atmosphere.
"They should be on guard right now. I heard when a Batari transforms, their vitality weakens and they needed to be supplied with enough energy to endure the whole transformation process." Luca said. Lisa just glanced at him and stared at the house again. They stayed on alert for a couple of minutes which felt like it lasted a lifetime until the howls have stopped and a faint light from the new moon is seen.
They heard a door opening and slamming close before the house went quiet again. There were no movements after that. The woman and the cat understood, that this is not a safe time to venture out and check the area. While the family may be exhausted due to the transformation, they were not sure if everyone has exhausted their energy inside. Infact, they may be more alert now than any other day.
"Let's just observe for now." Lisa decided as last and Luca nodded his head in agreement.
The week passed without any other movements insides the house. Tala woke up to prepare breakfast and little Sasha joins her to eat. Her parents receive food in their room as their mother cares for their sick father. Well, that's as far as little Sasha knows. And while she understood that her Baba needs some rest, she's definitely getting bored.
Grabbing her little bag, she closed their gate and walked towards town. She misses her friends. Little Sasha walked for about half an hour before she felt her legs gave out. Exhausted, she sat on a protruding rock by the road. She wiped her sweat with her tiny handkerchief and drank some water. As she rested, she looked around. All she could see is a vast greenery of rice fields and some trees to take shade from. Suddenly feeling sleepy she yawned and blinked.
When she opened her eyes, something glinted on the rice field. She thought a river appeared in the middle of the rice field but when she scratched her eyes to get a better view, she realized it was just a blanket of rice fields. She yawned again walked to a nearby tree then closed her eyes as she nodded off to sleep.
When her faint snores were heard, a hawk flew and hovered next to her. The hawk circled her for awhile then flew up and gave out a screech then a few minutes after, a black wolf came running towards the sleeping little girl. The hawk hovered around little Sasha again and, making sure she's still asleep, it flapped its wings.
The wolf dove next to the tree and the handsome face of Zari is seen straightening his body as he walked towards his sleeping sister. His upper body is fitted with some kind of a loose cloth that covers a small part of his arms and hangs just below his chest. He wore a piece of black harem pants that hugged his pair of strong legs. A dull well-fitted footwear protected his feet.
The hawk gave him a once-over and, satisfied, he flew away. Zari squatted next to little Sasha and poked her cheeks. Sasha stirred and opened her eyes. Drowsy, she saw a dark shadow looming over her. As she focused her gaze, the form of a big black dog appeared, jolting her awake and she sat up straight.
"Sasha!" She heard a familiar voice call her name and she turned towards the voice. Her eldest brother's handsome face greeted her. Feeling safe, she smiled and muttered.
"I saw a black dog, Ino! It's huge!" She spread her arms to further explain and did not notice the look of shock that Zari gave her. He looked around and from a far distance, only saw the green rice fields. The faint silhouette of a flying hawk can be seen. Making sure, there's nobody around, he cleared his throat and spoke.
"You saw a dog?"
"Yeah. It's so big, it's looking after me, such adorable dog. I wanted a pet like that." Sasha grinned adorably.
"Why are you here?" He asked, changing the subject. He'll ask their Baba about this later. Maybe Sasha's form is waking up and anytime she'll transform.