26 Moon rose

After spending the night rampaging again, Leo returned to his designated mountain to find Iris waiting for him. Due to what happened after his first transformation, he wasn't as shy with Iris seeing him nude, though it did make things a little awkward before he put on his leathers.

"Did you see enough?" He lightly teased her with a smirk. Unlike when the villagers teased her,she didn't mind Leo teasing her and had a smirk of her own,

"Don't blame me, you were the one 'showing off'. I only came here to walk you back." After he was dressed, Leo couldn't help feeling regretful. Though he did want to try and make a move on Iris, and she seemed to feel the same way; it didn't seem like it would be appropriate when he had just been covered in gore and had just regurgitated raw entrails. He noticed she seemed to appreciate his lack of actions as well. She had simply come to escort him back. They lightly chatted along the way, mostly about the upcoming feast. Leo was excited since he had only been to the two other gatherings before. One was to celebrate him waking up, the other he nearly attacked the people around him. Leo was very eager to overwrite the experience. As they walked into the village however, Austin called out to him.

"Leo, come over here for a second I need to talk to you." Curious what Austin wanted, leo said he'd meet up with Iris later and ran over. After entering the house, Leo looked at Austin,

"What's up? Do you need help with something?" Austin shook his head and pointed to a chair and said to take a seat. When Leo sat Austin said,

"I'll be blunt, the fall feast is tomorrow and there is an issue that needs to be addressed." Leo was thinking it was about his first transformation and paled almost instantly. When Austin noticed his look he soon understood and quickly shook his head.

"It's not that! I only wanted to talk about Iris neglecting her duties involving the feast to help you." When Leo heard his words he wanted to say something to deny them, but especially when he thought back to how Iris was waiting for him earlier, he couldn't. Seeing his acknowledgment, Austin nodded and added,

"Due to how busy we all are I'll wait until after the feast to talk to her about it, but since you're the main reason she's slacking I hope you don't mind me asking you to fill in." Leo shook his head and replied,

"It's the least I could do when I'm the one who's been causing her trouble lately." Leo knew it could be a serious matter if certain jobs aren't done. Austin looked satisfied with his answer and told him what he wanted help with.

"During the feast we prepare items in relation to the gods to earn favor before going into the winter months, such as some of the harvest for Demeter for example. Iris was supposed to get an item for Artemis today, but from what I could tell she went to see you earlier instead. Especially with your senses you should be able to find it relatively easily though." Leo wasn't too thrilled when it was another matter involving the gods, but he figured he owed Iris so he simply asked what he needed to get.

"As you know, Artemis is the goddess of the moon as well as the hunt. There's a rose that grows in moonlight, and so due to its relation with her we use it during the feast instead of simply parts of kills like normal. It's called the moon rose, it grows during the full moon but will last for several more days. As long as you move fast you should be able to find one in time. It's pale in color, and gives off a light glow in the dark." After hearing the details of what he was getting Leo nodded and prepared to head out, but before he did,

" oh, and please don't tell Iris about this. I don't want her to be upset about you filling in for her duties after the full moon." Leo stated that he agreed and left to search for the moon rose. Not long after though Lucy came out of their bedroom.

"A moon rose huh?" Austin flinched at his wife's words and said,

"You heard?" She nodded before replying,

"I heard everything, which confuses me because we never offered a moon rose before now. What I didn't hear though was an explanation about how giving a moon rose away is a means to propose to a loved one. Or has that changed since you gave one to me?" Austin could only make a guilty smile at his wife's words. A minute later he said,

"And who do you think are the ones who've been teasing them a little too much lately?" Lucy just pretended to look away at her husbands words. She knew the other gardeners were the main ones teasing Iris and Leo. But she hadn't made an attempt to make them stop, so she couldn't say anything.

Leo meanwhile was preparing for the search. While he was Iris came up to him and asked what he was doing. Leo came up with an excuse beforehand and said,

"Austin said that he wanted me to see if there was any silverherbs growing nearby, he wanted a larger stock before he snow gets too deep to find any." Iris knew Austin kept a few plants of silverherb for cultivation, but she also knew that they would occasionally look for wild plants to bulk up his stock in case of emergencies. Therefore she didn't doubt Leo's words.

"Alright, but be careful. The full moon just passed so I know you're usually tired before resting afterwards, so don't be too hard on yourself." Leo said his thanks for her concerns while also silently apologizing for lying to her. He set out intending to find the rose, then he'd give it to Iris so no one else thought she was slacking in her duties. And he had no idea of the trap he just walked into.