Sanguine Cove Look at the Stars

Special tag for @Moonshadow <3 but aw to any one or two.

 

Nighttime was swiftly becoming the young boys favorite, now that he wasn’t expected to just snooze it all away. The world looked so different in the dark, his eyes adjusting to the low light, to show everything in dark silhouette rather than bright color. And of course, there were the stars!

 

From the first night that Leo had seen the little twinkling lights in the sky, he had been mesmerized! It was like a dream, he still didn’t entirely believe they could be real, and many of his nights were spent gazing up at the ethereal glow.

 

Tonight was no different, the clear skies showing off a shower of sparks and twinkles, and Leo had found himself a nice little hilltop, not too far for from the den, as to not worry anyone. Here he could sit in peace, admiring the lightshow above and wondering in aw, just exactly what all this glitter was and how it had ended up stuck to the heavens.

(This post was last modified: Aug 15, 2021, 12:38 AM by Leo.)

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

Awww so excited for this! <3

The night blanketed the land in its dark sheet but speckled sheet. The moon had yet to rise allowing the stars to shine brightly against their inky background. The nighttime namesake woman moved slowly through the trees as she made her way towards the communal den. The scent of one of the pups caught her attention, causing her to change her course. It was late for any of the little ones to be up. It wasnt long until the tiny greyish form came into view, sitting atop a small hilltop looking towards the sky. Moonshadow quickly figured out it was Leo, the oldest of the triplets. A fond smile formed on her silvering maw as she approached the pup.

"Hello dear" she greeted the boy as she moved to lay next to him. "Are we star gazin' tonight?" the inky she-wolf asked as she too looked to the stary night, admiring its beauty.

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His ears twitched, hearing the approaching paws, but his gaze remained fixed on the heavens. If it was mom or one of the others, come to herd him back to the dreary gloom of the den, the boy wanted to catch as much of the display as he could before then.   But when the adult came to a stop beside him, the voice speaking the soft greeting was not one he had expected. Leo glanced sideways as the elderly woman lay down, nodding his head solemnly in silent reply to her hello. He knew Moon, she was a common enough nursemaid for the four Vuesain pups, but not usually strict, and rarely one to drag him away from his studies. Instead, she settled next to him, tilting her own head upward. Leo gave his skinny tail a small wag, delighted to see someone else show interest in the sky lights.   He had turned his eyes back up when she spoke again, though this time, the words made him frown. Looking over at the adult again, Leo tilted his head, moving his lips silently for a few moments, before he carefully attempted to repeat the unknown word; “Ga… Gay-seen…?” He looked at her quizzically, waiting for an explanation. He loved learning new words, maybe even more than he liked looking at the stars, and so it was worth keeping his attention on Moonshadow now, at least until she’d told him the meaning of the phrase. Then he could return to his star gazin’. ”Speech" Thoughts

dawnthieves.de

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

The sky was clear allowing the faintest of stars to shine brightly over the cove. Mercury orbs watched them twinkle against the inky sky as she greeted the little Vuesian-Kipley pup. She saw him look at her trying to repeat her words from the corner of her eye. She turned to him with a warm smile as he attempted. "Very good hun" she praised with a sway of her silver dusted tail. "Star gazin' is when we watch the stars in the sky." She explained motioning back to the sky, her gaze searching for a constellation. She spotted a pretty easily recognizable one. "Do ya see that one there? Its called the big dipper." Moon herself didnt understand what a dipper was but she had been told what it was by Namid. If Leo would like she would happily tell him the story she had been told by his grandmother. Though she would allow him to process what she had just told him before asking about the story.

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The pup’s skinny tail thumped the ground at the praise, but his face remained unchanged, focused on the dark woman as she gave her explanation. His little eyes shone as bright as the stars above, alight with the joy of learning something new. Again his lips parted, the tip of his tongue slipping out, almost like a snake’s, as if to try and taste the new words before he spoke them. “Sta-ar gay-seen,” he mouthed, with slow and careful motions, putting the two words together just as the older wolf had done, to achieve the full meaning.

 

Again his eyes followed hers to the sky, following her directions to spot the distant formation of lights. Leo’s head tilted, a frown forming on his face. “Sta-ars?” he said in confusion, they’d established this already, was she telling him there were different words for stars? A fresh glow brewed in large puppy eyes, round and wonderous as they turned on the elder woman, his tail wagging visibly now; “Wo-ord? Mo-ore wo-ord, sta-ars?” It was an entirely new world opening up to the little wolf, an added dimension to his star gazing that he had never even imagined.

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

Tiny puppy words warmed her heart as he mimicked her the best he could. "Yes very good Leo" she praised once more as the words star gazing came from him a little clearer a second time around. She continued on to point out the big dipper constellation. Moon colored eyes moved from the sky to the young boy next to her with a smile. He asked more word stars, and she smiled more. "Yes love, there are more words for stars. Like a group of stars is called a constellation and a group of wolves is called a pack." The elderly woman explained hoping that it wasnt too much information at once. She turned her attention back to the sky and her smile widened with a hint of sadness as she remembered her friend. "Yer grandmother told me the story of how the big dipper came to be. Would ya like to hear?" Moonshadow asked little Leo as she looked back to him. Maybe he didnt want to hear, or maybe he wanted to hear about something else.

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His tail tapped the ground again, once, at the continued praise, but already his attention was locked on greater things! They’d done the star gazing bit, he wanted to hear more words, new words, if there was a word for every single star in the sky, Leo wanted to know it. So he was beyond pleased when Moonshadow quickly moved on to tell him more about the heavens that fascinated him so. The young pup tilted his head, eyes wide in wonder at the correlation; Packs of stars…!

 

He wrinkled his nose a little, correcting himself out loud: “Co… Cone-a-lai-on.” It was an attempt, but he instantly knew it wasn’t right, shaking his head in frustration. Furrowing his dark brow in concentration, he tried again: “Cost-a-lasion?” Better, though the inquisitive little boy still wasn’t satisfied. But his attention was swept along when the aging wolfess continued to offer new information.

 

It was like someone had offered the youngster the stars themselves. Nothing was more wonderful to him than learning, especially learning about the world around him; the pack, their land and their history. So now he looked at Moon with glowing adoration, nodding his head vigorously, too excited to speak. Yes, yes he would very much like to hear.

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

A quiet chuckle fell from her inky maw as the child tried to tackle the much more difficult word. He was definitely determined and seemed excited to learn, both traits the older woman knew would serve him well as he grew. This was more evident when the pup shook his head vigorously in response to her offer. Moon hummed as her tail swept the ground beneath it. "A long long time ago there was a girl who lived with her parents. She was very skilled at what was called quill work. She could make all kinds of beautiful things. One day she began to make something for a boy. Her mother thought it was odd as she had no brothers 'n no one courting her, but the mother didn't say anythin'. Once the girl finished the first, she began a second then a third. After a while the girl had made seven excellent gifts for seven boys. Her mother was still curious but remained silent. When the girl finished the seventh gift she spoke to her mother. She said 'Some place, many days journey away, there are seven brothers. As I am an only child I'd like to take these to my brothers, 'n these gifts are for them.'  The mother smiled 'n replied 'Very well my daughter, I will go with ya.'  The daughter worried for her mother tellin' her the journey was much too far. The mother said she would only go part of the way then." The inky woman began her story, making sure that she didnt go too fast as to confuse little Leo and not too slow that she lost his interest.

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(This post was last modified: Sep 06, 2021, 11:05 PM by Moonshadow.)

  

As the dark woman began her story, Leo settled in to listen close, his big puppy ears perked high, crystalline eyes fixed on the older wolf. He stayed almost frozen still, all his attention on the words spoken in that soft, lilting accent, somehow both soothing and captivating. The tale was filled with new words and concepts, filling the curious puppy’s head with a pleasant buzzing, his heart pounding in tune with excitement.

 

For every new term, Leo silently mouthed along, testing the words on his own tongue, all while keep quiet so as to not interrupt the story. The last thing he wanted was for the wonderful flow of new knowledge to stop, so he strained to keep even his breathing silent, tail held still despite his excitement, draped over his oversized paws. Looking into Moonshadow’s silvery eyes, his gaze would tell her all she needed to know; Keep going!

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

Mercury colored eyes watched the mousy pup's excitement. She could easily see it bursting at the seams, threatening to spill out. Despite this he remained silent, puppy denim eyes glued on her. She was happy to see the story held his interest. "The daughter 'n mother packed up the gifts 'n set out. As they walked the mother said 'Ya seem to know the way.' The daughter replied 'Yes but I'm not sure how.'  'And ya seem to know all about these boys. What makes them special?' The girl's mother asked. The daughter said she she knew about them, though she wasnt sure how she knew. After a little while more the mother told her daughter she could go no further. The girl took the gifts 'n hugged her mother goodbye. The mother headed back to her pack and husband while the girl continued north. After walkin' for a while the girl finally came upon a neatly kept den. With a smile she called out 'It is I, the girl lookin' for brothers. I brought gifts!.'  Then a young boy, a pup not much older than ya are. He said "I am the youngest of seven brothers. I have been expecting ya but ya will be a surprise to my brothers who are out huntin' buffalo, they'll be back soon.'  He welcomed her to the den and she claimed them as her brothers, 'n the boy said he was happy to have her as a sister."

Moonshadow took a small breath looking to the sky and the constellation she was telling her tale about. It had been a long time since Namid had told her this tale. Looking back to the little Vuesain boy, the inky mother smiled and continued her story. "The girl entered the den 'n arranged the gifts for each of the brothers. She decided to go gather something to eat for them all. The girl finally returned to the den with enough for them all to eat just in time to see the six older brothers arriving with plenty of buffalo meat. The youngest brother ran out to show the others his gift. One of the older brothers asked where he had gotten the gift and the youngest replied 'We have a new sister, she's inside 'n made gifts for us all.'  The other brothers greeted the girl 'n were very excited to have a new sister. They lived happily from there on out. One day after the older brothers went out to hunt a light brown buffalo calf came. The youngest brother asked what they wanted and the calf said 'I am from the buffalo nation. We have heard about your beautiful sister 'n want her for our own.'  'Ya cant have her, go away' said the boy. The calf said 'Then someone bigger than I will come.' Then ran off clicking its hoofs. The next day when the girl 'n boy were alone again a young female buffalo came. She too demanded to take the girl 'n the brother once more said to go away, the buffalo couldnt have her. The buffalo gave the same warning as the calf before her, then ran off. The third day a large buffalo cow appeared demanding the girl for their own. The youngest son stood his ground once more, telling the cow the buffalo could not have his sister. The cow's warning was more serious than the last two. She said 'Someone very big will come, he wont come alone  'n he will kill ya if ya dont give him yer sister.'  Then the buffalo cow trotted off." The Eastfall matriarch widened her eyes at the ominous threat for dramatic effect. "The cow's threat kept the six older brothers home to protect their new sister on the fourth day. Sure enough the buffalo cow was right. A large buffalo bull thundered across the land with the entire buffalo nation behind him. The six older brothers peered from within the den, very much afraid of the gigantic bull. The youngest brother however, exited the den 'n asked the bull what he wanted. The large bull bellowed 'I want yer sister. If ya dont give her to me then I will kill ya all.'  The boy called for his brothers and sister to come out. Terrified, they exited the den 'n the bull bellowed he would take the girl. The boy said no 'n to go away. This angered the bull, he declared that he would kill the eight of them 'n began to charge. The boy ran back to the den 'n grabbed magic seeds. He came back out and dug a small hole, dropped the seeds 'n covered them next to a nearby tree. He yelled for the girl 'n his brothers to grab on to the branches of the small tree. They did as he said, all climbin' into the tree. The tree began to shake, just as the youngest brother climbed in, the tree began to grow very quickly. It shot into the sky, quickly reaching the heavens. The girl 'n her new brothers thought they were safe now that they stood among the stars 'n the angry buffalo was far below them. Alas they were wrong. The bull buffalo bellowed, chargin' the tree, aimin' to knock it down with his mighty horns. Huge chunks of the trunk were ripped from the tree with each might hit. Finally the tree swayed enough that the girl cried 'What do we do now little brother?' Lookin' around the little brother saw they were among the clouds. He shouted for them to jump on to the clouds. 'Don't be afraid, trust me.' he told his siblings as he crawled onto the nearest cloud. They all followed just as the buffalo hit the tree again, it went crashin' to the ground, leaving the seven brothers 'n the girl safely on the cloud. 'We can't go back to earth, we are too high up.' the oldest of the brothers pointed out. 'What are we to do now?' questioned another. The little boy thought for a moment...'Dont worry I'll turn us into stars!' He exclaimed with a wide smile upon his maw. Just then the young girl 'n her seven brothers were surrounded by a bright light. They turned into the light 'n floated even higher in the sky. They formed themselves into that constellation right there." Moon explained once more pointing up to the constellation. "The brightest star is the beautiful young girl. 'N the twinklin' star on the end is the little brother. Can ya see them?" The aging matriarch asked while still gazing upon the clear night sky. She was proud she had remembered the story Namid had told her so many years before. She hoped that little Leo liked the tale, and that she had done Namid's story some justice.

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