Sunday had been a bust, if finding her girlfriend was Luna’s main goal, which the blonde thought it was. She also thought she could call the Tigress her girlfriend. They had made love and gone on a date. Those were the two big parts as far as Luna could tell.

Still, girlfriend or something different, every time she had tried to look for the dark haired witch on the day after the crazy battle she had gotten distracted. Some of them were good distractions, like hanging out with Sky or bumping into Harry in between what seemed to be a wild run of errands. Some of them had been less welcome, like the mean boy who stole her ear rings and attempted to stick them to the top of a tree down by the lake.

It all came down to the same thing though. She had spent Sunday running around without managing to congratulate the dark one on her successful mission at all. She was determined not to repeat that failure on Monday. She went down to breakfast earlier than she ever remembered doing so, even though she couldn’t actually think of a time she had seen the Tigress take a meal there. She stayed so long, mostly staring at the green table, that she was late for her first class, then spent morning break searching the common areas of the castle so that she was late for her second class as well. Now she had 15 points lost from Ravenclaw, two detentions this week, and nothing to show for it, all by lunchtime.

Well, if the Tigress could skip all of her meals and be fine somehow, Luna could certainly skip one lunch. It was just a shame that she didn’t have time to change into her lucky hunting gear to track her down again. This became especially true when she tracked her down in almost exactly the same place as before. Admittedly the Tigress didn’t seem to be arguing with paintings this time. The blonde wasn’t actually sure what the Russian was doing.

She tapped her on the back again and thought of surprising her with a kiss again, but some unknown instinct held her back at the last moment. Instead she bounced nervously from foot to foot as she waited for her Tigress to turn, suddenly feeling very conscious of wearing blue in territory that didn’t always tolerate colors besides their own.

“Um…congratulations on the Headmaster and stuff,” the blonde said, avoiding the other girl’s eyes. She wasn’t sure why she felt so weird, just that something was off, and she didn’t think it was the killing, because Harry had informed her that he made the actual killing blow, and while he had certainly felt even more powerful than before, he hadn’t made her want to avoid him like this. She both really wanted to know what was going on here and really didn’t want to know at the same time. Since the Tigress’s instincts seemed to be even better than her own, the young blonde was sure she was about to find out, for better or for worse.

Patience was most certainly not one of Sibes's strong suits, especially when it involved waiting for her Adonis to show up for a private lunch in the kitchens where he'd first managed to make a real impression on her. She'd grown bored waiting on him in the dungeons and started walking up toward the basement, only to stop and stare at her own reflection in the entrance to the dungeons, admiring the way his collar sat on her neck as if it had always belonged there.

She'd been looking from the pretty piece of ownership up to her crimson lips and pale face, along her emerald eyes lined with khol that made the vivid hue stand out all the more. Her hair was loose and straight, a velvet sheet of blackest night, and it led her eyes to her figure. Adonis liked her in more clothes. He enjoyed when she had a little bit still hidden from him, and from the other prying eyes of the castle. Knowing that, she'd worn a translucent grey sweater with a black tank underneath. It showed just enough of her cleavage to tease him, while keeping her obscured by the overall presence of so much fabric. She smiled sexily at herself, pulling the long sleeves over her clawed hands.

Of course, her dark denim jeans hugged her hips and fell low on her stomach. She knew for a fact that her ass was very alluring, and she secretly hoped her Adonis would sneak up behind her and grab it in greeting. A shiver ran through her body at the thought, but the voice that broke her musing was a surprising one and had her turning around quickly, all flirtatious fantasies forgotten in an instant as she noted an awkward sort of sadness in those downcast blue eyes.

"Ah, yes, Moonbeam. It is an accomplishment for all of us to be rid of a man so evil as he." Her words and voice were stiff as Sibes took the compliment from the young blonde. This was a strange situation to be in, and her fingers absently made their way up to the collar that she had yet to take off since Adonis had given it to her. She was pretty sure the Moonchild had thought it was a piece of her costume on the night of the ball, but now... Now it would be clear that it was nothing of the sort.

Sibes sighed, fingering the letters of her lover's name while trying to tell the girl she'd treated as such that she wasn't a lover at all. "Listen, Moonbeam, there is something I should have told you before now. There is... well, I don't know how to phrase this in a way that will make you understand, truly, what you mean to me." Sibes looked at the younger girl and felt her heart clench at the thought of hurting her in any way.

"You've grown so strong. You're so much more than that hurt little girl you were when I met you. My little Moon, you don't need me anymore. I've never been the one for you. We both knew that deep down. I... Moonbeam, I have a master now. Adonis is everything I've ever wanted, everything I need. He's my master and he's perfection embodied, and he's the only person who has ever been able to tame the tiger within me." Even as she described him, Sibes felt so turned on for Adonis. He was her world now, and there was simply no room for her to give the little Moonbeam what she deserved.

She reached out and cupped the blonde's cheek, regret and hope both shining in her green orbs. "I never meant to hurt you. You are a strong, beautiful woman. There are so many people in this world just waiting for a goddess like you. Don't ever settle for less than you deserve. Remember, you need someone who will fight for you and protect you from everything, even yourself. That's the most important thing."

The Tigress seemed at first to be just as off as Luna felt. The blonde never remembered the Russian girl being anything other than fluid and graceful in everything, and yet here she was, briefly as stiff and awkward as a robot. That could not possibly be a good sign.

The collar that had been part of the older girl’s costume on Saturday was still on, and Luna had an inkling that it was a symbol of whatever was causing the awkwardness, at the very least. Tigress was, after all, a cat at heart, and when a cat wore a collar it was a sign of ownership. Still, she needed to listen to every word the other girl had to say. She needed to know what was going on, what it meant for her, and what she was supposed to do next, even if she was almost certain that she wouldn’t like it.

Before the explanation even began, Luna felt a little bit sad. She didn’t want the Tigress to have an owner, be it her or anyone else. In her mind, the girl was too perfect and strong and amazing to ever be owned. Still, if it was really what the Tigress wanted, Luna would be the last person in the world to stand in her way.

The Ravenclaw wasn’t sure if she believed what the older girl said about her becoming strong so quickly or how she was amazing and beautiful. Then again, if the Tigress said it, it must be true, and she remembered how she had felt when they were dancing the other night. She had truly felt amazing and beautiful. She had thought it was because of the girl she was with, but maybe she really was capable of being that girl on her own.

Either way, she was not what the Tigress wanted, not in that way at least. And one thing was true in the speech for sure. When Luna was at her best, she was a helper and a leader and a lover of people. She could not really be any of those things if Tigress was the center of the world, because she didn’t need the help Luna could provide, she counted her leader as Harry already, and she hated people for the most part.

She nodded in acceptance, trying to hide the tears that came to her eyes, or at least keep them from falling in front of the woman she so admired. Tigress was not so weak as to cry, and so Luna wouldn’t be either. She did have some things she needed to check on, though, before she would be satisfied. “Please,” she began in a small voice, almost afraid of the answer before she had even gotten any words out. “I may not need you the same way I did on the day we met, but I am far from recovered. I know that things would not be the same if you have a master now, that is a given…but does that mean you have to be out of my life entirely? I feel that there are still things that I could learn from you and I know that you will leave a hole in me if you are gone entirely that is bigger than the whole that will be filled by the right person whenever I find her.” In her passionate moment, Luna had not even noticed that her voice was rising as she went or that she had apparently identified a preferred gender for the first time in her life.

Still, the weakness returned, and her last words were back to being the barely audible whisper of the scared little girl she had been when she got back to school this fall after two months locked at home. “Please tell me there is still a place in your life for me, however small, so that I may keep a place for you in mine.”

It was obvious to Sibes that the blonde before her was breaking, and it hurt her very heart. What could she do, though? She'd found the one person who could tame her wild soul, and it felt so... good. She couldn't help but want to, no need to please her Adonis, and it wouldn't be fair to lead the little Moon along when her heart belonged to the stoic man.

"There will always be room for you in my life, Moonbeam," she purred sadly and softly, knowing that she could never cut the girl out completely, but also knowing they couldn't have the same relationship they'd had before. "I have never had a... drugh before." Her tone was musing as she thought about the idea of having someone to call a friend. It almost seemed like a good idea, and she let a small smile grace her lips.

Sibes tilted her head at the blonde, then nodded as if finally coming to a conclusion. "Yes we shall be, what is it called in your native tongue? Friends? Because I do care about you still, Moonflower. And I want you to find a beautiful and strong woman who will treat you like the goddess you are."

Reaching out slowly, Sibes ran her hand over the other girl's cheek and smiled a bit sadly at her young friend, once lover. "Lift your chin and raise your voice now, my goddess. Show the world that you are strong, that you are worth everything anyone has to give and more. You are no longer this timid creature, scared of her surroundings. You are a powerful female. You boy to no one." Her fingers forced the girl's head up, so that Sibes could see the tears dancing in those wide orbs.

"No one gets to make you cry, Moonbeam. No one." 'Not even me.' It was a small thought at the end, but still there and still monumental in the Russian's mind. She was setting her lover free, and it felt both good and terrifying at the same time. This girl who she had taken under her wing- so innocent and kind- was now going to be out on the world on her own. Sibes knew she could handle it though. Even if her Moonchild did not see herself as a strong and capable lady, the dark Russian could see it. There was a fierce power and independence flaring inside of the Ravenclaw, and now she would have to notice it for herself. Sibes wasn't going to be there to hide it anymore.

Still fingering the collar's charms with one hand, Sibes looked away from the younger girl and let her hand drop away from the soft, pale face. "We should probably part for the moment, Moonflower. I am to meet Adonis and..." Her voice trailed off a bit awkwardly. This was going to take some getting used to...

Luna nodded, a little bit of strength and resolve returning to her with the assurance that things were not as over as they could have been. The purr was also back in the Tigress’s voice, even if it wasn’t the powerful, sexy purr that she normally heard. She would take what she could get in this encounter that was piling more sadness into this time when the Tigress could have been celebrating.

Her inquisitive nature was completely set off by what Russian word it was that could make the older girl talk so thoughtfully and tilt her head like that. It was an expression Luna had often seen in the mirror, but never in any Slytherin that she could remember and certainly not in someone like this. She was about to question in when Tigress translated it into English for her and an actual smile broke on the Ravenclaw’s face for the first time in the encounter, and she was about to raise her head on her own when the Slytherin did it for her.

“You showed me so much about strength and bravery,” Luna answered, working to keep the tears from falling as the dark girl wanted. “I will show you what it is to be a friend and how good it feels to have and know that kind of love. It’s the least that I could do after what you’ve done for me.” She nodded again, feeling better and better about this idea. It was true that Tigress was not the lover she needed in the long-term, and even truer that she was not the lover that Tigress needed. She felt confident that each of them could be the friend the other needed, though.

She nodded again, lowering her head briefly before she raised it up again and spoke, the tears all the way gone for now. “Of course,” she said, more calmly than she realized she would be capable of. “You should be with your Adonis now.” The blonde made a note to try and figure out who Adonis was, though with the Russian’s love of nicknames, she wasn’t entirely sure how good her chances were. Still, it would be nice to know what kind or man could make the older girl feel and act this way.

Still, that was a problem for another day. For now she waved and turned, moving down the corridor and away from what turned out to be more of a footnote than a chapter in the story of her life, at least in terms of time. It was hard to measure the impact someone made on a life until it was further along, but she was sure it would be much larger than the time. For now, it was time to figure out what the next thing to do was.