Lyraen strode into the tea room, the scent of expensive perfume and floral tea thick in the air. The room was a scene of chaos: overturned teacups lay shattered on the floor, and a marble bust of his great-grandfather was missing an ear. A striking woman with fiery red hair and eyes the color of a winter sky stood in the center of the destruction, her lips curled in a petulant pout.
"Ahh, my prince, here you are finally!" Luna greeted him, her voice filled with a saccharine sweetness that grated on his nerves. She moved to embrace him, but Lyraen sidestepped her, his expression a mask of cold professionalism. "I apologize for the mess," she said, though her tone held no real remorse. "My journey was exhausting, and the servants here are... dreadfully slow."
Meanwhile, in the royal chambers, Usagi paced back and forth, her small ears twitching with agitation. Lyraen's command to stay put was a heavy weight on her shoulders, but her curious, stubborn nature was even heavier. The silence of the room was stifling. She walked to the door, pressing her ear to the wood. "…No one outside…" she murmured to herself. "Alright."
With a sudden burst of resolve, she slipped out into the long, winding hallway, her soft slippers making no sound on the polished stone floor. She intended to simply find the garden, a place where she could breathe and feel the sun on her skin.
She turned a corner and, without warning, bumped directly into someone. A sharp gasp escaped her lips as she stumbled back.
"Hey, you there! What are you doing in my prince's castle?" Luna snarled, her eyes narrowing as she took in Usagi's disheveled state and slightly-too-long ears.
"Uhm… I'm looking for the way to the garden, if you can help me," Usagi said politely, trying to keep her voice calm.
Luna burst into a harsh, mocking laugh that echoed through the hall. "Me, help you? A rabbit of all people! You and your tribe aren't on my list of life-saving!" she declared more fiercely, her wolf's superiority glinting in her eyes.
Usagi's politeness dissolved into anger. Her ears, which had been drooping, now perked up in defiance. "If you don't want to help me, just say so. There's no need to insult me and my tribe." She took a step forward, her voice rising with every word. "In fact, if I can say it, you're the monster here because you eat us herbivores without concern!"
Luna's face went from contempt to pure, unadulterated rage. "Shut up! How dare you talk to me that way!"
"You think you can scare me like the others?" Usagi retorted, her chin held high, all fear forgotten in the face of such raw prejudice.
Enraged, Luna raised her hand, her sharpened nails aimed to strike Usagi's face. But just as her hand descended, it was stopped immediately. A hand, strong and unyielding, gripped Luna's wrist in a vice-like hold. The force was so powerful, Luna gasped in pain and looked up to see a pair of blazing, golden eyes. Lyraen stood between the two of them, his presence an unmoving wall of silent fury.