Eclipsed Moon

Zera watched her carefully, her arms coming around her knees that pressed against her chest, placing her chin inbetween them as she then stared at the other chain.

" Everything has at least two strings, it cannot operate with just one. The problem is if you can locate the strings and find out their purposes. "

Zera then closed her eyes once more, shrouding her vision with darkness.

"Everything.." The girl repeated in a quiet voice that could have been an echo had it not come from her lips.

"Some strings are sharp and harsh... They will cut you as you seek them out...
Some strings need to be found... it is flattery to be seen."

" ..And what exactly does mine string say, if you were looking for it. Because it seemed you were looking for someone who matched mine. "

Zera turned her head, staring straight at the girl, not intimidated by her glare, not that her own could tell whether she was scared or not. Zera still clinged to that single name that was called out to her before and then the girl knowing her name aswell, she had never interacted with anyone but Sindel so far and it seemed odd that Sindel would talk about her name to anyone.

It didn't seem like the girl was trying to intimidate Zera, in fact even the spookiness about her seemed to simply be her nature...

"Remains to be seen, what that string speaks of..." She said and then blinked so slowly that it seemed for a moment like she was just closing her eyes for some reason.

"The one you speak of... You share similar strings, but there is something else as well... Something silently loud..."

Zera watched her silently, crossing her arms against her chest while she shuffled her body back forward to sit properly on the swing, staring at the girl.

" Yet, you do not know what my string is in the first place. "

The girl stood there for a long moment looking back over her shoulder at Zera, then finally turned to face her, speaking quite directly and deliberately in her voice of a quiet wraith.

"Perhaps.. I see your strings... Perhaps I saw the strings of another like an echo.
I know what the strings means, I have touched them as they touched me...
But what the puppet can do... What the puppet will do...
Will the puppet walk the same path as another with the same strings to guide it?"

Zera paid no mind at the stare, though for some reason she couldn't help but keep staring into her eyes, almost in a sort of trance. Her hand lifted up to stroke the bangs of hair away from her own eye, replying back to her.

" My strings are not connected to that same path, not every flower shares the same petals.. Which reminds me. Are you here to warn me.. Or her? "

"We shall see.." She said in a tone of voice that did not suggest that she believed or disbelieved what Zera said.

"I am here..." She said in response to Zera's question "I am here for the moonlight... It shines... It allows lost souls to cast their shadow." She looked to the moon with them dreamy red eyes.

"Playtime is over... more palaver will be had on another night here after..." She turned to face away from Zera, looking towards the exit of the playground and starting to move in that direction...

" Hmmm.. "

Zera watched the girl turn to walk off, not saying anything to her though she looked down at her hands and gripped them lightly against her legs, muttering out to herself.

" Birds do not need feathers to fly.. I don't want to fly.. But I will reach my own destination in my own way. "

The girl didn't leave quite yet, she stopped by the gate with a hand gently touching the top of it.

"Fly or not... You still have a feather.. It is ebony with a gray shimmer, like that of a crow or devil bird..." She repeated firmly despite all of Zera's resistance to accept it...

"Be the lonely puppet with the lonely strings... You need not me to tell you to do so... It is just what you do." The light flickered off and Zera heard the gate door creek open... Then just a moment later the light flickered back on, but the girl was no where to be seen...