[PRP] They Had Stars in their Eyes [END]

[Asparegus]

[AIM: Ume & Felyn]

Orifiel dragged himself forward, his eyes on his feet. He hadn't returned to the den yet tonight. One could not deny that he was getting older and bigger. And with those came hormones. He was used to being reserved and internally angsty but he also hated himself for it. However, so it seemed, he couldn't escape that. For there was something he was missing although he wasn't sure yet. The traditions of the pride he had come to learn along with their stories and songs, although he was never any good at remembering them in detail ...just mostly the points of the stories.

He glanced up at the moon, an orbital sphere he often found himself watching. It seemed so... loved, surrounded by stars to twinkle back at it. But also so at peace with its position and its job. Why couldn't he feel a bit more like that himself?

Bright eyes blinked up at the heavens, tracing the patterns, the swirling patterns of stars. They twinkled, shining bright, beckoning her forward with brilliant laughter. Her own soft laugh trickled forward, paws drawing her along a beaten path, head forever tilted upwards. Her eyes shone with the glory, bright specs mirroring those of the sky, set against her deep brown pelt.

Without really watching what she was doing, the fem bumped right into Ori. A few blinks later, clearing the haze from her mind and her eyes, she found herself staring at the teal creature that had been her one of her most constant companions since the day they had found him broken and beaten down.

"Ori," she said with a laugh, bright eyes still dancing in a slight haze as she took a few deft, dancing steps to stop at his side. "Ori, aren't they beautiful?" she asked softly, turning her eyes up once more. They were like tiny fairies in the sky, laughing and glittering in their glory. Maybe she could be a tiny fairy too.

Ori jerked back at the sudden contact before realizing that it was Rani. How had he not expected this? Rani was notorious for her nighttime wanderings. May a times, he had followed after her concerned, seeing the nighttime as dangerous. But perhaps it was from that constant watching that he had come to love the nighttime and all it's splendor. It was peaceful and the night air acted like a gateway to his soul. But he did not share the same bond she did with the stars. They were always merry and he had become too serious of a person to enjoy their splendor. No, he looked to the moon, serene and always observant, always seeming to care about those on earth despite its many friends in the heavens.

But for Rani, he smiled and nodded. Yes they were beautiful, he admitted. But he found himself not looking up to the sky to see them but looking at them through her eyes. "Do they speak to you?" he couldn't help but ask.

She never truly noticed the moon, not with the stars dancing so brightly around her. At times, she smiled upon it for the light it gave her to see by, but in an instant her attention reverted back to the great stars. She felt they were connected to her somehow, as if her soul might sprout wings and fly intot he heavens to join them. The thought made her laugh, and she was almost positive she could hear echoing laughter from the stars in her head as well.

"Speak?" she asked softly, turning her eyes back to him with a smile. She tilted her head, considering him for a moment, then let out another little laugh as she leaned into him. "They speak, they sing, they tell me stories," she whispered it, eyes drifting up again, as if it were all the prettiest dream and she might ruin it speaking too loudly.

Ori was surprised by the contact, the feel of her pressed against him. But he found he was not displeased. Blinking, he looked up to the sky. They laughed but they said nothing to him. But he wondered why they weren't whiped out, who made sure they stayed alive and no one, angry about their laughter, took it into their own hands. What could possibly keep them alive. His eyes moved to the moon, as they always did. It was large and hard to miss especially on nights like tonight when it was full. It shone like the stars but largely and clearer. But the stars near it didn't seem blinded by it. No, they seemed to shine the brightest. The moon, the moon kept them where they were.

But if it was the moon that protected them, he certainly hoped the moon wouldn't let her sprout wings and join them. it was a very selfish wish but he didn't think much about what it meant. Just that he wanted it to be so. Of course, he didn't know that she would wish to sprout wings and join them. He just knew he didn't want her to be lost to them, captured by the stars and their enticing beauty. "They.... don't tell me anything," he said. "What kinds of stories?"  

[Asparegus]

If Rani had ever had the mentality to consider it at such an age, at night when it would have possibly been brought to her mind, she would have been able to tell Ori where his heart belonged among nature. As she felt herself connected to the stars, the moon did somewhat bring her a feeling of Ori. it grounded the stars, kept the dancing pixies in line. They seemed to flock to it, crowd around it, just as she often flocked to Ori. The moon and stars went together as far as she could see, and it was enough for her.

"Oh, all sorts," she said with a laugh, the feeling of Ori's furred warmth bringing her mind away from the stars more easily than she had been able to accomplish before. She turned her tangerine orbs up to his, almost as bright as the stars themselves. "Do you want me to tell you one?" she asked, a soft gasp in her voice. She loved stories, telling and listening, and any chance to do either excited her.

He nodded. Yes he would like to hear one. Maybe hearing one would help him understand their laughter, their merriment as they watched down upon those on land. Maybe he could understand why she loved them so much. They had always told her things like that he would come to them. Maybe a story would explain why they chose her and hid their secrets from him. The moon, their silent protector, was too silent, too loyal to give it away.

And of course the story gave him an excuse to remain next to her. He always found himself near her, no matter what happened. Maybe he had a problem and subconsciously found himself near her. But he couldn't feel completely guilty for it.

She grinned brightly as he agreed to listen to one of her stories. She let her mind travel through the vaults of her mind where stories were kept for later use, for later entertainment. She finally settled upon one, a twinkle in her eyes as she let out the softest laugh. She shifted, moving to lay down and motioning him to do the same, beginning to speak in a lilting voice appropriate for any story teller.

"There was once a beautiful lioness, with fur as dark as night, a mane as pale as the precious moon, and eyes that mimicked the stars. She was the envy of all the lions in the land, but she was so sad and lonely," she paused for dramatic effect before she began again. "She could not find it in her heart to mate the lions that came to capture it, those burly fellows that sought her for her beauty instead of her mind. She ached in her lonliness and would often go off by herself."

"The stars above her, the guardians of the night, watched her and felt such sorrow for her. One in particular, a young star blazing gold, would watch her whenever night brought her to his eyes. He ached as she ached, cried when she cried," she glanced to the stars at this point, her eyes sweeping over them. "The stars are happy things, taking joy in one another, in their own glory - but not this one. He felt along among his companions, alone among those that had always been his joy. He wished to be with the lioness, to dry her tears and warm her heart."

"One night, as the moon shown full and the lioness turned her eyes up to the stars, she made a wish for someone that would love her as she wanted to be loved. Her wish was so strong, so heartfelt, that it pulled the young star out of the sky." She smiled, watching the stars now, as if she expected one to fall at her feet, "and the star fell to earth, to the lioness, and rose as a great golden lion."

She turned her eyes upon him, a soft purr growing in her voice, "and the lioness fell in love with the star that had been her guardian for so long, and the star mended her aching heart. From that day forth, day and night, they were as one - and the stars above smiled upon them."

He listened to her story with intent but he felt a tug at his heart. As she told her story, he saw not the lioness she mentioned but Rani herself. "Do you want to ...have a star by your side?" and have your heart carried away from me. He thought. He was panged to think about it. Yes, maybe he was in love with her. He certainly didn't want to lose it to the heavens, a place too far away to reach.

He looked to the moon, his breath shakey. Then turning to look at her, almost scared to, he asked. "What about the moon?"  

[Asparegus]

She considered his question for a long moment, staring up at the stars, her eyes drifting over them slowly. Then, finally, she let them fall back to his own eyes, "I don't need a star at my side, Ori, because I'm not lonely." She wasn't sure what made her different from the lioness, for she was still a touch too young to understand true love, but she knew that she was not lonely. She had her family and she had Ori - what else did she really need? She didn't need a star, not for a lover or a friend, they were good enough to her in the heavens where they belonged.

At his next question, she glanced up at the moon, staring at the bright orb. Her features softened happily at the sight, a bit of a purr on her voice, "the moon watches the stars, the big brother." She grinned yet again, glancing away to the stars again, her tail wavering behind her. "The moon and the stars, they go together like.. the ocean and the beach."

Ori had no clue where he wanted to go with this, maybe caused by his confusion over her answer. It was a bit of him not knowing what he wanted. He was a confused teenager, it was easy enough to say. All he knew was that her answer made him happy. A part of him was afraid that she was so lost in the stars to be attatched to anyone down here.

He pondered for a moment. "You think I could be like the moon?" Maybe he wouldn't be able to be anything more than a friend, someone who followed her around to make sure she stayed safe. But it was better than nothing. She was the best friend he ever had, if not his only one.

She grinned at his words, leaning against him so that she was lying on her side somewhat. She stared at the moon from the corner of her eyes, listening to him breathing. She glanced up at him then, tilting her head back somewhat to do so, "I think you are a lot like the moon. You always watch me and make sure I'm ok, don't you?" She shut her eyes partially, tail flickering and thwapping slightly against his side.

She could hear the stars laughing, singing, drawing her attention back to them. Even with her eyes closed they danced, taunted her, begged her to come play. For now she was staying by Ori - by her moon.

He smiled at that thought as though she had said the best thing in the world to him. "Yes, I suppose I am," he beamed but not in a vain way. He looked down at her leaning lightly against him as though she depended on him. "Don't go where I can't find you, 'kay?" he added. A part of him knew that he would probably try wherever it was. He had sort of built his new life around it and to not try and find her would be torture, Ori being relatively a creature of habbit. He looked up at the stars, wondering what they were telling her, how they tempted her.

She smiled, nuzzling her head against his shoulder, letting him ground her where she stood. She could resist the taunting so long as he was here beside her, she could resist their calls. "I would never," she whispered softly, opening her eyes to look up at him. Then, with a gentle purr and a small smile, turned her eyes back up to the sky. She watched the stars, watched them dance before her eyes. Then, she let those tangerine eyes drift back towards the moon, "I need you with me too." She simply smiled then, cuddling closer to him, and let their words fade to silence.