Roamer's Rest Star Gazing

RE: Avella's blind date with @Hagar.
Evening| cold| clear

The deer trail that Avella had been following most of the day had led her out of Willow Ridge. It took her further south, she knew she wouldn't be able to catch a deer by herself. That wasn't why she'd chosen to follow it. She wanted to see if it was part of a herd and where they might be located in case they were close enough for a pack hunt. Unfortunately the further she went the less likely she thought a pack hunt would be an option.

As the sun slipped toward the horizon she found herself walking and taking some time for herself. She spotted the large tree with the hollowed out bottom and thought it light make a good place to rest for the night before heading home. She wasn't quite ready to turn in just then so she'd the decision to sit outside. Her gaze had gone up to the sky to look up at the stars.

Hagar had been after the very same scent, and yet had managed so far not to cross paths with Avella or even become aware that she too was out here, looking for a herd the pack might feed off of. It wasn't until dark had fallen again and he was about to turn back and start the long trek home when the scent of another wolf finally tickled his nose. Curiosity took him to her, and when he recognized Avella, his tail began to sway back and forth amicably.

He found her in front of a tree, looking up at the night sky. He approached with a soft chuff to announce himself before sidling up to his leader's side and turning his own muzzle upward toward the stars above them. He hadn't expected to find company out here, but certainly was very happy to have done so.

A young fawn has gotten separated from its herd. Hunt Opportunity, +8 Health

The stars were so pretty up in the sky as they shimmered against the black background. The clear weather allowed her to see so many across the dark expanse. She could there all night long but it was rather cold. She was glad to have found the hollowed out tree. It would make a perfect shelter for the night before she returned to the willows in the morning. She hadn't gathered any new information but she was sure there would be other chances. Avella had decided that she'd stay out just a little longer to stare up at the stars.

The masked woman wasn't really aware when the man came to sit next to her. She felt his presence so turned her mismatched gaze toward him and found Hagar sitting there, this was very unexpected. "Hagar," she said softly her tail sweeping the snow. She was happy to see him. "I didn't know you were here." The surprise at finding him sitting next her was still there until she changed the subject. "The stars are pretty tonight, don't you think?"

His verdant gaze returned to the earth as Avella spoke his name, peering over at her masquerade features. He gave a small smile as way of answering, as though that and the steady thump of his tail clearly communicated I didn't know I'd find you, either! She mentioned the sky's inhabitants then, and his muzzle pointed straight toward the heavens once more to take in their glittering sight.

"They are."

He watched them a moment, before turning to look back behind him, at the peculiar darkness of the tree's base. He realized then that there was a den within the plant, much to his surprise.

"Were you going to stay the night?"

Avella had always wondered what stars were and how they could shimmer like that. Why were they up there in the sky? She had so many questions but on that night she chose to just enjoy seeing them. It wasn't always clear skies in the winter which often made it difficult to see them properly. It truly was a nice sight to see before she turned in for the night.

Her mismatched gaze landed on the chocolate man. A smile graced her features as he approached. It seemed they were both not expecting to find the other there. Avella was happy to have the company now that he was there.

Her gaze had returned to the night sky before she asked his thoughts on the stars. He agreed that they were pretty. Then she thought that maybe he knew more about them than she did, "What do you think they are?"

Her attention was drawn from the sky to the tree behind her when he asked his question. A second later she turned to look at Hagar, "I was, I thought it might be too late to head back. Were you planning on heading back tonight."

What do you think they are? she mused aloud, before answering and subsequently returning his own question to him. Hagar hummed with thought for a brief moment before answering.

"I will stay, if that's alright."

The thought of turning back while she stayed was not appealing, especially given her position as his alpha. No, he would stay to make sure she was warm through the night and made her way safely back to the pack's territory.

"I was always told we could never know," he then spoke about the stars, eyes tilting upward as the words tumbled out. As such, he had also been told there was not much worth in wondering. He remembered guessing after the colors in the sky with @Moore, and stretched his imagination once more.

"... they're fixed like plants, don't you think?"

Avella had always wondered about the stars, she remembered laying in the forest looking up at them as a pup. So many hours had been spent doing so when she'd first gotten lost from her family. Sometimes it had seemed like they were her best friend when she hadn't had Scully.

Her gaze rested on Hagar as he said that he'd stay but only if she was okay with it. "I would like it very much if you stayed." While she would have been fine on her own she would much rather have the company.

He spoke of what he believed about the stars, "That makes sense," Avella said thoughtfully looking back up at them. "They're so high up so we can't go and explore them like we do our homes as pups." She looked back at Hagar as he spoke again, "I do actually. I used to stare up at them at night when I was younger. I did notice they don't seem to move."

"Good," he answered quietly, speaking the thought only because Avella had expressed before her wish for him to do so. It made sound sense for the two to see the night through together, so that he could ensure his alpha was properly sheltered, warmed and protected.

They're so high up, she mused, prompting a novel wondering to the man of what animals who dwelled in the sky thought of the stars. What did they see and know, being so much closer?

He nodded too as she spoke of their relatively-stationary existence.

"They creep and shift, but like the moon and seasons it's all in a cycle that never changes pattern. I wonder... if it's wind that pushes them like flowers in a field... or if the darkness is something instead of nothing and works like a current, submerging stones during the thaw and revealing them again in summer's heat..."

His imaginings had grown with practiced thought ever since his and @Moore's first night together witnessing the explosive aurora in the sky, just as he himself as a wolf was in the presence of so much novel stimuli, all thanks to these new friends.

(This post was last modified: Feb 20, 2022, 09:07 PM by Hagar.)

Avella smiled at the chocolate man, "It is," she agreed. She very capable of staying there on her own and had been fully ready to do so. However, it wasn't something she particularly wanted to do. Having not had to be in a long while so she was thankful for Hagar being there. She didn't want him going back so late either not when there was a perfectly good place they both could take shelter in. "We can travel back together in the morning." That had been her plan before she knew Hagar was out there with her.

She spoke her thoughts about the stars openly to the chocolate man. She wished there was a way to know more about the stars but she knew there would always be more questions and guessing.

Hagar did surprise her when he spoke next. She felt it might be the most she'd ever heard him speak at one time. It made her smile to hear him voice such an opinion and in such an eloquent way.

"You've been holding out on me," she teased lightly with a smile. There was so much more going on behind those green eyes of his. "It does seem to go in a cycle," she agreed, "And maybe the wind does touch them." But the truly profound thing that he said was that the darkness could be something instead of nothing. "Like something that pushes them along on their path through the sky. That is certainly something to consider. Actually everything you said is a lot to consoder." Maybe they could have more conversations such as these.

The things that he'd spoken about lead her to believe he'd spent some real time considering it all. So she had to wonder what else had he spent time thinking about. She knew he was much smarter than he seemed to be to those who might not know him.

The masked woman turned to look at him again, "What you said was really beautiful."