The Moon Goddess and Her Mate

Somewhere on Earth,

“Hatchu!”

A burly man accidentally dropped a bundle of firewood tied with coir rope. That mortal male also spontaneously retreated before one of his legs hit the object he had been carrying. There was a loud thud on the ground, which made the male mortal startle. He rubbed his nose with his left hand, then shook his head once.

“Damn! What was happening to me?” he muttered, confused.

A strong guy sneezed again, even though this incident happened three times, so a clear liquid came out of the right nostril. He also rubbed his nose with his right hand so that the skin color in the area turned red. After a while, that man stopped doing this.

“Why do I have a cold now, anyway? There is no way I got the flu because I am still fine since last night and this morning.”

The sun was shining so brightly that it made a young man sweat profusely. However, that situation was ignored by the brown-haired man. He walked over to the bundle of firewood that had been thrown, even though it had happened by accident.

“Could it be that I am getting a cold because before that I had the chance to eat some mulberry that grows in the forest? But it was impossible because usually, nothing happened. I am confused.” The green-eyed man monologue to himself while thinking about several possibilities, which resulted in him becoming who he was today.

When he took the object, after less than a minute, he actually heard something strange; it was like the footstep of someone approaching, so the thirty-five-year-old man turned to the source of the sound right behind his back. When he looked there, he saw that…

“Bibro,” [1] someone said.

The man who was called by that title smiled broadly. He felt relieved, as if he did not expect the person to follow him. “Ah, Agtheo. I am glad you are here. I think you have arrived home,” said Armen.

Thank goodness Agtheo finally came here, so I did not have to worry about anything. It is time for us to go home so Mom and Dad do not have to wait any longer, thought the eldest of the two siblings.

The thirty-year-old man could only shake his head in disapproval. He had noticed something strange, so he could not wait to ask the man he had known since childhood as soon as possible. “No. Earlier I was still tying some of these pieces of firewood with coir rope. By the way, are you okay?”

“What do you mean?” asked the man with thick eyebrows, confused.

“Your nose looks red, Bibro,” replied the interlocutor without further ado.

Agtheo pointed his chin towards his brother’s nose, so Armen spontaneously looked at that part. Out of the corner of his eye, the man who was liked by the Moon Goddess, but did not realize it, could see his nose, which was still red.

“Oh. I had a sneeze earlier, so I rubbed my nose too hard, so it could end up like this.”

The man, who was just five years younger than his elder brother, said nothing else to Armen. He just nodded. A few moments later, the two guys walked side by side in silence because the conversation that had been created between them had stopped. A light breeze began to be felt, thus making the hot weather shady.

***

Forty-five minutes later

Not far from where the two young men were standing, about fifty meters away, there was a house made of wood. There was a faint smell of food, so they started to get hungry. The brothers immediately quickened their pace, although the fatigue mixed with thirst was getting stronger.

“Mom must have cooked something good,” Armen muttered quietly.

The hazel-eyed man heard what Armen had said. However, he chose to act like he did not know and kept going. Not long after, the same two men, who were the sons of a tribal chief named Lebrazht Lugthna, had arrived at their destination.

“We are home,” said Armen as he entered the house.

A middle-aged man sitting on a chair in the living room reflexively turned his head towards the door. He saw two adult men had entered the residence, carrying a bundle of firewood tied with coir rope. Tired looks appeared on the faces of each of his sons, but they did not say so openly.

“Yes. Welcome,” he said to them.

“Dad,” they both said at the same time.

The crooked-nosed man nodded as he watched the two young men. Not long after, they were further away until their father could only see the back. Apparently, the brothers headed to the kitchen. After arriving there, Armen and Agtheo found a thin woman cooking.

“Mom.” This time, the youngest son greeted first, so the woman looked towards the source of the voice. The blonde-haired woman smiled, knowing that her two children were already there.

“My boys, I am glad to see both of you here,” said Norah, smiling sweetly. She looked at the two men’s belongings.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“What about when you were in the forest? Were there any difficulties, especially when cutting the firewood, Son?”

“No, Mom. Everything went smoothly, and the weather was boiling.” The man, who had a height of one hundred and ninety centimeters, walked towards the firewood storage area, which was not far away from there. The eldest son also followed his little brother, and he looked uninspired.

“Armen, are you okay?”

The owner of the name was silent, then looked away so that now the brown-skinned man, because of his many activities outside the room, looked at a woman who had brought him into the world. “I am okay, Mom.”

“Are you sure, Son?” asked Norah, curious.

Her face showed the opposite, as if she did not believe her son’s words. Agtheo, who heard the conversation, did not dare to interrupt; he just snorted quietly, a sign of disgust with their mother’s attention to the eldest son.

“Yes, Mom,” said Armen curtly.

The brave man seemed not to want to elaborate further, so as soon as possible, he turned around, then started walking toward the place where his brother was there. When he arrived at the desired location, Armen put a bundle of firewood on top of Agtheo’s pile of wood, which was already there.

When the two young men were about to leave, their mother, who had finished cooking, said to them, “Wait a minute!”

The two handsome young men simultaneously stopped walking, then turned their attention to a woman who was still beautiful, even though in the golden age, the wife of Lebrazht Lugthna had reached the age of fifty-two. The atmosphere became quiet because there was no reaction from the caller. Agtheo thought of opening a chat first.

“Yes, Mom?” asked the youngest.

The quiet man thought his mother would order him something, as she usually did. Meanwhile, a man standing next to Agtheo chose to remain silent. From his face, it seemed like he could not wait to leave the kitchen area, so he could quickly return to his own room.

“I want to talk with you, Armen,” Norah answered honestly.

“Ah, okay,” Agtheo said, frowning.

A man who had a tattoo on his left hand came out of the kitchen, leaving his big brother there. That first son looked at his mother’s face with a confused expression as if asking for further explanation. However, the hazel-eyed woman still had said nothing at this moment, as if she was waiting for something.

When Agtheo’s footsteps could no longer be heard, Norah said to his elder son, “Armen, you have to get out of from this home. You can ask to go anywhere, because Atlanta would like to come just to see you. The chances are, that girl will bring something which you can fall in love easily with her.”

“What? No way, Mom!” Armen argued in disbelief.

“It is true, Son. I heard that-”

***

[1] Bibro = Big brother