The sky above us was beginning to shift. Black clouds peeling back to reveal a pale, haunted moon. Luna and I were following Orion. My clothes were torn, my body sore, and the burning mark on my shoulder pulsed like a second heartbeat. I hadn't told Luna yet. Not fully. She knew I had the mark and what it does, but she had no idea how much pain I was truly in.
I could feel it crawling under my skin like a parasite.
The sigil wasn't just a brand, it was alive, I could feel it already trying to put thoughts into my head that weren't mine, trying to implant memories and twist them. I swore I remembered leaving the orphanage with Orion and had gotten into a fight. I could tell that this memory was false, for now. Mimic's mark had already started to take effect and I had no idea how long I'd be able to decipher fiction from reality.
I looked over at Luna who looked worried for me. "L-" I stopped to take a deep breath. "Luna, you don't have to be afraid."
She looked over at me and smiled but then, her smile turned into a frown. "Leo, you're shaking." she said softly, looking at me. "You don't have to pretend you're okay."
I looked at her and realized she was right.. I was shaking. The worry behind her eyes was deeper than anything I could put into words. I smiled, "I'm fine." I lied to her. She looked at me shaking her head. I could tell she knew I was lying but I didn't say anything because I wanted her to stop worrying. I was hoping she didn't try to use her powers to feel my emotions because I didn't want her to know how much pain I was in. I knew she probably wouldn't since it took most of her strength not to accidentally feel everyone's emotions at once. As we were walking, Orion noticed something was off with me as well so he turned and asked. "Leo how are you holding up?" I was about to answer when I felt another memory flashing into my head: it was of Luna and Orion laughing at him. In this memory, Luna says "I can't believe he actually thinks he has what it takes to be a moonlight, what an idiot!" And Orion agrees and they both laugh.
I hung onto my head. Every memory Mimic implanted into my head felt more and more painful. "Leo? Leo, are you ok?" Orion asked, concerned which made Luna glance. "Stop acting like you care. I heard you and Luna laughing at me." I said without thinking. They looked at each other, confused. "What are you talking about? We never laughed at you?" Luna said. When the memory was done I looked up, realizing it was a fake memory. "Sorry," I said, looking down. "Let's just keep going," I said, embarrassed but also annoyed at myself that they probably now knew the memory implanting had started. I started walking then Orion and Luna started to follow. The entire rest of the walk I could feel the mark and it was getting worse and worse by the minute.
When we were almost there, I felt another memory come in. This time, I couldn't tell if it was real or fake. I felt like I was physically in the memory at that moment. I watched Luna and Orion tell me that I was unstable, out of control, and they needed me out of their lives. Luna and Orion started to walk out the door when I raised my arm toward Luna and fell on the floor right behind her. "Luna, wait! What about our promise? To always be there for each other." Luna turned around and smirked. She leaned down and looked at me with such an evil face. "That was before I knew what a pathetic loser my twin brother was." She said as she got up and walked away. "Luna! No come back." I said as a tear started to fall down my face. As the false memory faded, something inside of me snapped. My breath hitched, ragged and shallow, as if the air itself had betrayed me. My chest tightened, crushed under the weight of Luna's voice echoing in my mind—"pathetic loser." My vision blurred. I could hardly hear or see Luna and Orion asking me if I was ok. The forest around me bled into smears of light and color, disorienting and dizzying. A low growl built in my throat, primal and involuntary. Pain, sharp and electric, shot through my spine, like lunar lightning fracturing every nerve. I was shape-shifting uncontrollably.
My knees buckled, hands clawing at the dirt as heat surged through my veins, bubbling like magma. His fingers warped first, stretching, twisting, bones snapping and reforming. Fur burst from my skin in erratic patches, his breath coming in ragged pants as the pain blurred into rage. I wasn't in control anymore. I tried to hold on, trying to remember it wasn't real, it was most likely a fake memory, the real Orion and Luna loved me, they would never abandon me, but I couldn't hold on. The sound of my roar was the last thing I heard before I blacked out with rage.
When I came back to myself, I was nervous. I didn't remember anything that had happened. I looked down at myself. I was on my knees in the middle of nowhere. I then looked down at my clothes, my shirt was torn to shreds, and my pants were torn too. This is how I knew I had shifted, but I didn't know what I did while I shifted. I looked down at my mark, and it was glowing intensely; it must've caused me to lose control. I looked around me. I was sitting in the grass. Then I looked ahead of me and I saw Luna lying on the floor, bleeding, with Orion over her. "No," I said quietly. I ran over to Luna and sat beside her. Orion looked at me, but he said nothing. "What happened?" I asked him, looking at Luna. Orion raised an eyebrow. "Leo, you attacked her. She's dead." I stood up wide-eyed. "No, no, she's not dead, she can't be, I couldn't have killed her." Orion stood up too. "Look at her, Leo, SHE'S DEAD! It's all your fault." I backed up, panting, then fell onto the floor. I rocked myself back and forth. "She can't be dead," I repeated to myself over and over, when I eventually started hearing two faint voices.