Dead Empress Backwater The Stars reside in your eyes

For the sitewide RE: A meteor shower overtakes the sky! All Welcome, feel free to hop in at any point :) Special callout to @Vanadis @Eros @Viorel but everybody please feel free to join!

Takes place 7/9 just after midnight.

Though his parents had a habit of staying up some nights, Archer usually tucked himself in to sleep early. Exploring was exhausting, especially when one's companion was Eros. His brother was incredibly enthusiastic pretty much always, and while Archer was happy to encourage these antics, sometimes it got to be a bit much and he needed a nap. He was still small, after all, even if his dreams were big.

Tonight, however, Archer got antsy in the middle of the night. He carefully extracted himself from the cuddle pile that was his parents and brother and tip-toed outside. He didn't want to go far; the night created a whole other world from the day, and he wasn't sure how he felt about exploring it alone quite yet.

Even so, the path to the backwater was familiar, and Archer padded along it with care, ears pricked and ready to capture any unusual sound. Even the smallest turn of a pebble underpaw seemed so much louder in the soft quiet of the dark. The burbling of water was a calming familiarity, however, and Archer found himself relaxing as he sidled to the backwater's edge to take a drink.

Something flashed across the surface of the pool and Archer tensed, taking a few prudent steps back. If there was something lurking, he wouldn't be taken without a fight!

Silver streaked across the ripples again, and this time the youngest Valle realized it was a reflection. He looked up, and immediately his eyes widened in awe.

The stars, usually so fixed in place, were running.

(This post was last modified: Jul 09, 2021, 05:59 PM by Archer. Edit Reason: add time )

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

It didn't take long for Archer's absence to sneak into Eros' dreams, rousing him from his slumber. He was quick to shake the sleep off and chase after his brother's scent, almost wounded that the other boy would leave without him at all. His nose snuffled along far too close to the ground as he did his best to track. In all honesty, if Archer had strayed from the pack-worn trail, Eros' untrained nose likely would have lost him. As it was, he found his runaway brother at the edge of the water.

His back was to Eros, and his head was tilted upward. Rather than following his gaze, Eros kept his still-blue eyes locked onto Archer as he prowled forward as quietly as he could. He hoped to catch his brother off guard, a little lesson for not taking him along on this adventure. As such, he was oblivious to the show occurring above their heads.

Archer stared with slack-jawed awe at the light show above him. He didn't know stars could run. They'd always just... Been there. As much as he looked, anyway. They were constant. Constant like his Maa and Daa and Eros. Well, Eros was a bit of a wild card, but he was always there and that was the whole point of this stupid analogy.

His fears about the night we're melting away in awe of the strangeness of the sky and his hyper-sensitivity to his surroundings faded away. He had yet to learn that even in the center of his home, there could still be danger. And so, unaware of the stalker at his back, Archer gazed at the sky.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Whatever Archer was staring at, it had his full attention, much to his brother's delight. Eros crept until he was certain that a spring of his pudgy legs would take him the rest of the distance. He counted slowly in his head, tree, two, go! and launched his assault.

His paws landed square into Archer's back, the rest of his puppy weight following shortly after. In a flurry of kicking and squealing he growled playfully as he tried to wrestle his brother down to the ground and pin him. That would show him!

Archer heard the whisper of steps on dirt, but even as his ears twitched back, paws landed on his back and he was crush forward by his brother's weight. Archer shrieked with surprise and rolled with the momentum to flail his legs at his attacker. He snapped on Eros's direction, an irritated growl rumbling in his throat.

"Eros!" he scolded, heaving with all his might to pry his litter mate off of him. Archer should have known better; Eros had been stalking him at every opportunity. Of course he would take advantage of his distraction in the middle of the night. Archer really should take more care to aim that energy at someone else.

"Look up!" Archer demanded, hoping the oddity of the stars running in unpredictable intervals would distract Eros from his game.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Eros didn't have as thorough a victory as he would've liked, but that was okay. Archer sent him back a foot or so and he recovered as smoothly as a young pup could.

Look? Up? His eyebrows wriggled with confusion, but he obeyed his brother nonetheless.

As expected, the stars lay above their heads, floating in place, like fireflies but still as stones. But then- wait. One shot across the sky, making Eros jump with a soft yip! Where did it go?! His eyes darted across the dark expanse, but instead of spying any trace of it, he witnessed others, all across the sky at seemingly random intervals, streaking downward as though toward the earth before disappearing.

Were the stars falling?!

"What?!" he squawked loudly, very clearly alarmed. They needed to get Da', now.

Archer was pleased that his heave had been enough to get Eros off of him and gain some distance. He'd have to practice that move in case of any future surprises.

Eros finally looked up, and when the next star ran, the elder Valle's exclamation grated on Archer's ears. He cringed, ears flattening against his skull. "Shhh!" he hissed, striding forward on floppy puppy paws and gently closing his teeth over Eros's muzzle. He stepped back. "Do ya wanna get in trouble?"

They hadn't really gotten in trouble in their young lives, but they should have been in bed and Archer didn't want to risk even a light scolding today. Not when the stars were being so fascinating.

"The stars're running," he explained, in case Eros hadn't figured it out. He looked up again. "They're pretty."

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Eros expected his brother to raise the alarm as well, but instead he did quite the opposite. Eros' ears snapped back and his wide, concerned eyes bored down upon Archer's face, but still he obeyed. Trouble? But... He looked up at the moving stars once more, a bad feeling turning in his gut. Something was wrong.

"Runnin'?" he asked quietly, brows knitting together with confusion.

"... they fallin'!"

Even though Eros quieted down, Archer knew his brother was still uneasy and was clearly upset by his scolding. To help smooth it over, Archer affectionately licked the back of Eros's ear a few times.

He looked back up at the sky with a frown and pressed his side against his brother's. "Fallin?" he watched a trio of stars streak across the sky and vanish as quickly as they'd appeared. He looked around. "Then where are they landin?"

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Eros leaned into his brother's gesture, thankful for the comfort. It was entirely clear who the more sensitive sibling was between the two of them, but every day his skin thickened and he learned that just because something seemed harsh didn't mean it wasn't done out of good intentions or by someone who cared for him.

Archer then brought up a good question, and Eros struggled for an answer. Still, didn't his gut know best? Eros glanced down at his pudgy tummy, then back up at the sky, then around them. Listening for noise, looking for damage. Nothing else seemed out of place, the forest sounded just the same. It was only...

His eyes began to fill with more awe than fear.

"... okay. Okay so. Stars run."