Chapter Text
It takes a few days to get back to normal. Even if she was a polite host to the home invaders, it still bothered her that they broke in.
Even if they were human, they invaded her territory.
It made her skin crawl, especially with the beacon they set off, inviting any and all creatures who could sense it to her door.
She stayed home, waiting for days, ready to defend her home.
Nothing came, no one fought, she was safe.
Well! Time to visit her umma then.
Rumi made the quick trip down the mountain, well, quick to her since she could teleport short distances and had some increased speed due to her demon half.
Once she hit the outskirts, she slowed down, choosing to walk the rest of the way.
It's mid-morning, and most of the youth have traveled to the nearest school in the next town over. The only folks milling about are the vendors setting up for the lunch rush and some older ladies making their rounds for the day.
Rumi thinks about what Zoey said, about how some humans stood out, were freaks as well. The older folk, who have seen so much in their life, barely gave a second glance at her some days. They have since adjusted to her occasional presence around the town, know that she meant no harm.
The youth, though, looked at her like it was a disease to be different, that because she didn't even try to conform to the trending styles that something was wrong with her.
She was different, though, and she loved it.
When she reached Celine's house, her umma was already tending to her garden outside, her usual sickle in hand and a new sunhat on her head.
Celine turns as Rumi approaches; she always knows when Rumi is near somehow. Celine says it's because she knows when something precious is present.
"Rumi! I don't usually see you this early. How are you doing? Are you eating enough?" Celine asks. She brushes the dirt off her pants as she stands.
Rumi passes through the gateway, a smile on her face as she enters the garden.
"I've had an… interesting few days, and I missed you." Rumi states, a little hesitant to discuss the women who broke into her home.
"Well, we'll discuss it over some tea." Celine guides her daughter into the house, leaving the sickle hidden among the vegetable plants.
Rumi sits down at the kitchen table after grabbing the tea from a high shelf. Celine sets a kettle on the stove to boil before sitting across from her daughter, reaching out to lace her fingers with Rumi's. It was a physical reminder that Celine was there for her, always.
"So, why were the last few days interesting? Find anything interesting while exploring?" Celine asks, thumb rubbing over Rumi's knuckles.
Celine hadn't been a tactile person when they first met, but she quickly adapted to the needs of her adopted child. It was rough for Rumi, being so young, to have her mother just not come home one day when she was the only constant in Rumi's life. It wasn't surprising she would become clingy to the woman who stayed to raise her.
Rumi smiles, remembering how far they had come, despite their shared grief. Then she smiles for a completely different reason, "Two women broke into the house the other day and set off a supernatural beacon. I have been fixing up the house and patrolling the area just in case anything dared to enter my territory."
Celine's smile fell fast, anger evident in the war her mouth curled into a snarl. For a human, she never had an issue in channeling the monstrous. Sometimes Rumi wonders if Celine had learned as much from Rumi as she did from the older woman.
"I'm sorry, what?" Celine hisses from gritted teeth.
"Ok, I know it sounds crazy, but they were genuinely sorry and tried to help me fix my door. They didn't know how, but it was still nice. I think they just… don't have a sense of danger…" Rumi rambles, nervously shaking her hands like she was trying to shake something off of them.
"Oh, I bet it was those two women I warned to stay away from the house. I'm sorry it didn't work, gongjinum." Celine looked… mournful, genuinely sorry she didn't disuade the paranormal investigators from invading her home.
"Umma, it's okay. It was refreshing. They weren't afraid of me. They knew exactly what I was, and yeah, they were cautious, but they still treated me like… a person. Well, kinda. The beacon was meant to be a binding circle." Rumi gives one of her patent-pending lopsided smiles while Celine looks at her in horror.
"They tried to bind you to them?!" Celine's voice was hardly loud, but the raised volume was still out of character for the former idol. The kettle whistles behind her, and she wordlessly gets up to prepare their tea.
"I mean, yeah, but it didn't work," Rumi tries to placate, "and one of them didn't know the potential binding was part of it. Again, I don't think they have a sense of danger. The shorter one, Zoey, also made a good point. I don't have to hide if I don't want to."
Celine is silent for a moment, setting down two cups of tea on the table. Rui watches the steam rise and appreciates the heat of the cup underneath her fingers.
"When your mother passed, I had found a letter she had wrote. I think she always knew I would find my way into your life." Celine took a steadying breath, fingers tapping the side of her cup. "She was afraid for you, that you would be taken away. I think I still share that fear, even as you have grown into the capable woman before me. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you needed to hide. I only ever wanted you to be safe."
Rumi rises from her seat and moves around the table to stand behind Celine. Gently she lowered her head onto Celine's shoulder, letting her arms drape around her umma.
"I know, I know that you never once hid me from the world because of what I am. I understood that you hid me from a world that could cause me harm if I wasn't careful. I think it's time for me to step into the world now, as long as you will still be here when I come home?" Rumi speaks, love in her heart for the woman who had been in her life longer than the woman they both grieved.
She feels hot drops of liquid fall onto her hands, and for a brief moment, she wonders how the tea had spilled upward, until she hears Celine sniffle.
"Always, I'll always be here. You are the most precious thing in my life, and I cherish every moment you choose to spend with me. Thank you for making an old woman happy, being the family I never thought I'd have." Celine sobs, hot tears spilling down her face.
Rumi kisses the side of her umma's head, a comforting gesture she had learned from the woman herself.
It was time to venture farther from home and see the world for what it was.