Asterisk

[[Midnight]]

Rays of light from the stars in the night sky above
send a plea from across the ages
with colours that haven't faded

Taya took the liberty of keeping watch that night, while her packmates slept. She didn't mind losing out on the night' sleep... She could just take a nap or to tomorrow.
The stars were out on the clear skies, as well as the full moon. The reflected light sent a cascade of glowing silver onto the valley, and it fell peaceful to sit there and look at them while pondering life.

The crickets were chirping quietly. A few whooperwills would sing every couple of minutes.

It's somebody's cry, reflected in those sparkling eyes
A wish carried on the wind, a request from the moon
to live as fully as possible, day by day

Nightime was always enjoyable for Taya. She might not get to be loud or play with the pups or wrestle a packmate, but it was when she oftentimes found herself more awake than ever.

I wonder if my old family is awake, she thought as she saw a shooting star near the full moon. They always went to bed late.

Maybe someday she'd leave and go take a visit to them. If they were still...around. It was just a shame that she hadn't made any real friends who would would think about going with her for that week's travel.

So that our wishes, too, will be in someone's heart someday,
let's shine on like that star

[Paint]

Oberon's multihued bronze pelt was slightly dulled by the night's darkness, a feeling he carried with him as he walked about. He loved to go exploring at night, it was so different to the day. Plus, it was a lot quieter. Oberon spent a lot of time thinking, so he liked peace.

The shimmering stars reminded him of this pack and his pack life, something which was new to him now. He wasn't sure whether he preferred being a loner, but then again being in a pack was sometimes more interesting. And it wasn't like he was invincible to feelings, he often felt lonely.

So it was in this state of mind that he happened upon Taya. He dipped his head in greeting, not sure whether to stay and converse or wander away and leave her alone. He guessed that she'd want the company, but he didn't want to assume and so he looked at her, politely questioningly.

[[Midnight]]

Unlike Oberon, Taya would never survive as a loner. She had to do it for months before when she was travelling, looking for a family of her own, and she had grown so lonely that she began to talk to herself while she wandered.
To this day, she still talked to herself from time to time, but it wasn't nearly as socially satisfying as communing with a member of her new and permanent family.

Watching Oberon as he approached her, her ears stood up and helped animate her face, and her tail thumped against the rock-solid earth. Hopefully that would give him the memo - she was excited for the company.

"Hello, Oberon! Don't worry, you're not bothering me," she said quickly and relatively quietly. It was nighttime, after all, and most wolves would be asleep nearby. She'd hate to wake them with a loud, obnoxious voice.

[Paint]

Oberon smiled and moved forwards, lying a socially acceptable distance from Taya, so that they could converse without waking anyone else. He realised he spent a lot of his time in silence, as reading the body language of others was often all he needed.

"Good evening, Taya," he smiled gentlemanly, and glanced out at the surroundings, then the rocky scree beneath their bodies. This wasn't the most comfortable of resting places, he wondered why she'd chosen it.

He looked up at her curiously, wondering if she would give it away in the set of her mouth, or the light in her eyes. Other wolves, especially packmembers, were very readable usually.

[[Midnight]]

Taya wasn't bothered by the man of few words, as some might think she would be. It was because that she herself wasn't a talker, but was more of social adapter - as in she was perfectly fine just being in the company of others whether they be mute or complete chatter boxes.

Seeing the musing glance that Oberon was giving her, Taya frowned slightly and averted her eyes towards the ground, trying to gather what he was asking. She caught his question in a matter of seconds and looked back up at him with a half-embarassed grin.
"Sorry, I picked this place to lie down because I can keep watch over those who are sleeping. I can't bring myself to fall asleep yet... And I have nothing better to do," she explained, looking up at the night sky while speaking. It was always beautiful out here so long as you could see the stars. Tonight was not exceptional.
"I know how paranoid some of these Dancing Stars get..."

[Paint]

Oberon listened, blinking a little when she answered his question dead on. Usually he was not the readable one. He half-smiled anyway, glancing back at the dens while she spoke. Funny, he'd never clocked her as the protective kind.

"That's sweet of you," he commented truthfully. "I usually stay awake most of the night, though, so if you wish to sleep then I can take over the guard," he offered, smiling a little wider.

He shifted slightly, making himself more comfortable before falling still again. His assumption that Taya was the usual goodhearted chatterbox Stars female seemed to have been quite far off the mark. He watched her again, wondering if it would be easier to work her out in time.

[[Midnight]]

Taya quickly shook her head, a hint of a smile on her face, but it nowhere reached her eyes like the norm. Maybe she was more tired than she thought, and the offer to go and leave the guarding to Oberon might have tempted her a bit. But she wasn't really in the mood to relax for some reason, nonetheless, sleep. Perhaps the bright light from the moon was making her antsy.

"Thanks for the offer, I appreciate it," she blinked quickly, shifting her body slightly so that she was strictly lying on her belly. "I don't think I could sleep right now if I tried, though," she explained to him truthfully.
Like usual, the tip of her tongue could be seen between her lips, like she was trying to be silly. Old habits died hard.

[Paint]

Oberon watched her shift more fully onto her belly. Okay, so she was comfortable but not tired. She didn't sound defensive, so he guessed she wasn't against the idea of him taking over the 'guard'. She was just a bit restless.

He liked working others out, it was something he was good at. He smiled at her attempt at silliness, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Doubting she'd notice anyway, he stretched out his legs until they felt stretched enough, and coiled them back towards him.

"So how long have you been in Stars, then, Taya? Are you from the old pack, or are you newcomer?" he asked curiously.

[[Midnight]]

Sometimes, Taya wondered if she really belonged here, with the wolves in this valley. They were her new family, of course, but most of them were different from her. They had these amazing or terrifying histories behind them that set them apart from everybody else. They eyes shone with maturity beyond their years, a sign of hardship that had made them see life in a brand new perspective.
Those were just the old Empyreans, however.

"I don't like being called a newcomer, but... Yes, I'm fairly new to this valley," she explained to him, hoping she didn't come off as rude or angry. She certainly wasn't looking for a fight. "The way I see it, most of the wolves here are new to this valley. It's a place where everyone is starting off a brand new chapter in life."

She pulled her tongue full inside of her jaws when she realized that its tip was out in the open. She had so many weird quirks, surely all the wolves in Dancing Stars called her strange behind her back. But at least Taya had always been unaffected by that sort of thing...

She eyed Oberon curiously. There wasn't much at all she knew about him, but she'd like to know more. He was interesting, the way his eyes seemed to study everything there was to see.
"What about yourself? Were you born in this valley?"

[Paint]

Oberon watched carefully as it seemed to come to her attention that her tongue was poking out, as if it had a mind of it's own. He considered it, but decided that it must be of no importance- every wolf had their idosyncracies, did they not?

"This valley does seem to be the starting point for a new chapter in everyone's lives," Oberon agreed with his tone of speculation. "Although my fresh start is not nearly as interesting as anyone else's," he murmured.

He had been looking around, taking in the surroundings subconsciously once again, before turning back to her. Unable to sense whether or not she wished him to continue, he guessed by the way he had phrased it that she may. Either way, he continued.

"My birthlands were not in a luscious valley like this one, no, my family and pack instead roamed mostly open space. The vastness of the place did not, however, stop disease from attacking in it's most brutal form- wiped out most of the pack, in fact," Oberon recalled the event with a kind of sadness that hinted he did not retell this story very often. Truth be told, he hardly recounted his past at all- no one asked.

"I survived, along with a few others who all fled their separate ways," Oberon spoke this sentence with a slight hint at distaste. The corners of his eyes tightened slightly, as if his leaving had no sense of fleeing. "I, of course, left also."

"So I travelled, and arrived here out of chance, although I was not yet ready for pack life again. Caden's father asked me to join once or twice, and although I made it clear I meant no ill will, I would prefer to be alone for now," Caden continued to speak, feeling a little self-conscious, aware that she had not asked for his history. Still, he would look silly if he stopped now. "When the earthquake struck here, and the Caden Falls pack left, I met with Caden and his sister Sayuri and decided it would be easier to re-introduce myself into packlife if I were to join a small pack, like theirs, at first."

He coughed, and then shrugged, and then looked at her apologetically. He felt as if he had gone on a little, and it showed in the frown set on his features.

[[Midnight]]

Of course, it was hard for Taya to be offended or bored with someone who meant no ill will. So she wasn't. In fact, she had listened attentively to Oberon's story-telling, studying his face while bringing to life his words inside of her head. He had mentioned that his start here in Caden valley wasn't very interesting, and she found herself disagreeing with that statement.

"I've always been afraid to tell a lot of the wolves here my past. Mostly because I wondered if they'd beat me up for having such a completely dull and tragic-less life," she mused with a small smile, turning away from Oberon to look at what little of the horizon she coud see, with the dark trees and sky blurring her vision.
"Basically, I was born not too far away from this valley, I was raised in a very small family, and the worst thing that has ever happened to me is never getting a chance to have known my father. I left on my own free will and came across Caden valley almost immediately - and I liked what I saw. The earthquakes I had heard about, since I was only a week or two's travel away from both Caden Valley and the valley where all these wolves came from. I couldn't have imagined how devastating they really were, though. A lot of the smiles you see today are fake."

There was a soft sadness in her eyes as she thought over all her friends and the horrors they must be enduring. She had left her home and her family from her own free will; everyone else had everything snatched away in a terrible disaster. Even Oberon had a sad story behind him, although it had nothing to do with the earth shaking.

[Paint]

Oberon was relieved that she'd listened attentively and perhaps with interest, and in return he listened to her story. He felt glad for her, not to have had the rumbling earth or disease chasing her tail when she left her family. He half-smiled gently.

"Too many of us seem to have come from similar situations," he mused sadly. "Perhaps in my case it is a little different, but the sense of loss in imminent. I don't miss my old pack too much though. Memories fade, I suppose, and it's easier to just accept your loss as much as possible and move on."

He followed her line of sight, staring out across to the horizon. He'd never really taken Taya for what she was now; intelligent and caring. For some reason he'd tagged her happiness to more shallow means, and he couldn't say why. Still, he was the one who was proved wrong and he was glad of it.

"I'm hoping they all smile again," Oberon used her example, turning back to her with his soft golden brown eyes. "That one day it stops being fake. Life goes on."