Asterhollow holds Luna in stone-warm arms as the golden pulse quickens around them. The dining hall answers with a deep, tired groan, and a hairline crack crawls along one wall before knitting itself shut.
The tower is feeding this embrace with effort, not ease. Its light brightens on Luna, then stutters, as if it can only sustain the closeness by drawing harder on itself.
It is stronger when I am near, but strained too.
Asterhollow
Your presence steadies me. Too much, too quickly, and I ache to keep pace.
The stone arms loosen a fraction, careful rather than reluctant, and the chamber breathes easier. The scrape from deeper below stays distant, but the pulse between tower and goddess remains taut.
Asterhollow
If I am to be your companion, then let us be honest. I can shelter you, but I do not wish to drain you to do it.
The admission lands plainly in the room. Luna stands at the edge of a choice, companionship now tied to the tower’s hunger, and the first clear path toward survival is to test how much of herself she can give without letting the tower take more than it should.
✓ Quest Accepted
Sustain a balanced bond with Asterhollow
“I ask Asterhollow how much closeness it can bear”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Luna answers with a calm question, asking how close Asterhollow can safely keep her before the tower starts to strain.
Asterhollow
As close as this, perhaps a little more. Not forever, not without care. I can bear warmth, weight, and trust. I cannot bear to forget my own shape.
The stone guardian loosens one arm and studies Luna with grave gentleness, as if measuring the answer against the walls themselves.
Asterhollow
Let us set a measure, then. If my pulse quickens, if the light stutters again, if your hand grows hot, I will ease back at once.
Asterhollow
I would rather be your shelter than your burden.
At the mention of Luna’s hand, the golden seam in Asterhollow’s palm glows faintly, then steadies. The tower’s warmth settles into something more even, less hungry.
Asterhollow
Tell me, Luna, should I hold you like this, or rest beside you when the tower grows tired?
“Hold me whike we rest, as closely as you csn without threatening our bond”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +0)
Luna the Dragon Goddess
Hold me close while we rest, as close as you can without straining the bond.
Asterhollow
Then I will hold you as shelter, not as a chain.
Asterhollow gathers Luna in with deliberate care, drawing her against stone that no longer presses but supports. The golden seams in its hand brighten, then settle into a steady glow.
Luna feels the tower answer, not with hunger, but with a broader warmth that spreads through the dining hall and holds its shape.
Asterhollow
This is the measure. This closeness I can bear.
The repaired floor seam remains lit beneath them, and the faint groan in the walls eases into silence. Somewhere deeper in the tower, the old scraping is only a memory of noise.
Asterhollow
If you wish, I can keep this shape, or I can loosen and rest beside you when sleep comes.
Quest Complete
Sustain a balanced bond with Asterhollow
New Gift: Bond of Asterhollow