Chapter 203 An Ordinary Moon

"Oh? That’s exciting. I’ll have to tell the others. Planning to unwind by just burning off calories and working up a sweat? You do feel unusually stressed," Nia pressed, not letting her off the hook. The bun was probably a bit annoyed Rachel was wasting her precious, limited time as an adult; the woman still wanted a quality shopping trip with her.

Rachel put her phone in the case with a long sigh. She’d never had to share her time like this with so many people, since she’d been such a loner for much of her teenage years. Now, everyone wanted a piece of her.

She took a long, calming breath so as not to snap back at her outfit’s agitation. Nia was totally within her rights to push it, considering the woman’s unique circumstances, but Rachel needed to find some alone time to recharge, as well. She had to work through this sporadic pressure.

That being said, she understood it was challenging for Nia since the bun was the exact opposite of her: she recharged in group activities, which was limited to the older bunny since she could only be active for six hours a day in her adult, unrestricted mental state. In the last two weeks, it had just been so hard for Rachel to find alone time for herself.

Yeah, I’ll run that way. Don’t worry, we’ll be able to spend at least forty minutes shopping for outfits. I’m sure you have a few besides that one you told me about earlier to show me. Let Fi, Maria, Jeanne, and Scarlet know I’ll join in the next thirty or forty minutes. We can talk about what happened with Anthony’s upgrade. Wait, you heard...

Nia’s tone became notably less frustrated as Rachel jogged downstairs, wanting to get out of this cramped hallway compressing in on her.

"Sorry to be so pushy, Major. And yes, I heard he is joining Omen, which is wonderful. It’s just... today has been... Mmmmm. Today has been a bit of a letdown, I suppose. Nothing really sparked my interest with the whole dinner thing or other random stuff since I’ve mainly been a third wheel. I could have disappeared, and what would have changed?"

A small smile lifted Rachel’s mouth as she entered the chilly DC night and broke into a casual pace that would have been a full sprint to her as a human. It felt so good to be outside and not in the cramped building, which wasn’t even that cramped, yet she needed more space to move.

Not much for dinner, sure, besides some comedic relief moments, Rachel laughed over their link, but huge changes for Scarlet. You helped me a ton by being with her. I know she feels kind of shoved off to the side as I work things out with Tom and the President, despite the time we’ve spent together over the last two weeks; there’s always someone who wants me for something. I need some time to unwind, too. Cool?

"Haaa. Of course. Again, sorry if I’m coming off as unreasonable," Nia grumbled, probably scratching her ears and making the other women question what was aggravating the bun. "I know I shouldn’t complain since I have the most time with you..."

Nonsense, she laughed, feeling the frigid wind press against her sports bra and shorts on her run through the sparsely populated streets, not that the cold bothered her as much as it would have before. Comparatively, you actually spend the least amount of time with me as an adult. I know it’s not the same feeling when you’re a kid, which I absolutely understand can be frustrating. We do what we can.

"...Yeah. See you soon, Major Hops. Don’t break a leg."

Haha! It’s ’break a leg,’ and I don’t think that fits in this context.

"Damn. Ugh. I’m learning."

You’re awesome. Catch you shortly, Captain Big Bun.

Hanging up to let her ears and mind wander, Rachel didn’t focus on anything in particular, allowing herself the time to decompress and find her center. Her idea of unwinding came in the form of turning off her brain and just going hard physically, which she could now do.

Slowly picking up speed, she felt the falling moon fill her with power again, becoming a blur as she took a sweeping route to meet up with Scarlet and the girls. She easily overtook the cars on the freeway, keeping a pace that she could maintain without burning out; the sprint would be for the end.

Her balance and reaction time were on a whole different level compared to her baseline a month ago. Yet, her new, breakneck pace felt insufficient, and she knew why: after channeling the Blood, Black, Hell, and Greater Harvest Moons, the bland lunar sphere overhead didn’t give her anywhere near the spike she’d come to desire.

"Dammit," she snarled, jumping from roof to roof now as she tested her acrobatics, lunar platforms easily providing her reach she couldn’t dream of when under the Azure Moon. "I’m so slow and limited..."

Flipping around to land on the sidewalk, she fed power to her thighs and broke into a sprint that brought on a stitch, making her slow to a stop. Huffing and puffing, she leaned against a wall, glaring at the paved street.

I can’t live with the expectation of performing the same way I did during the Event or Unique Moons. Yes, I can access incredible powers through them, but clearly, I’m nowhere near strong enough to sustain them on my own... or even with Nike’s blood in me, which will gradually lessen as she recovers.

It was a sobering thought that made her scratch her arm as she pushed away from the wall to walk the last few streets to her destination. The uncomfortable truth found its way into her tempered brain as she went: why was she jealous of Amelia?

Dismissing it, she let that knot of unresolved anger drown in her subconscious, returning to something she could tackle. The damage she’d sustained from the Legend Quest had put her on the back foot for two weeks, and next time, she might not be so lucky. She couldn’t rely on the Unique Moons without risk to her health, but the Greater Harvest Moon could be an asset if used sparingly.

After her thirty-minute run, the band compressing her chest had lightened, yet new thoughts were now creeping in. There was still a lot she had to confirm with Maria and Fiona. The Scarlet Hand’s potential appearance also put a nervous spike in her side, but that also came with the anticipation of a challenge and fight.

What chaos awaits us in Miami?

Soon, her thoughts gave way to other topics—thoughts not connected to Anthony—as her mind began to tick again. A few intriguing discussions pricked her raised ears as she settled down. For one, some chatter in the Pentagon revealed a rather shocking development that brought Mei’s warning back to mind.

Interesting... The Seattle Vampire has been killed by a teenage girl wearing a red cloak. I guess that strikes him off the potential danger list. Hmm... You never know these days, though. Is it a rival vampire group? There have to be multiple factions due to their popularity in pop culture and history. It also can’t be a coincidence that Scarlet’s powers deal in the realm of vampirism, as Alexa likes to say...