[PRP] Under the Star's Light (Starlight x Violet Stag)

[Krysin]

Just audible in the cool night air, a wistful breath escaped a pale wolf's maw as he looked up the slope of the mountainside. Towards the base of the mountain, the incline was still shallow and deceptively easy to scale. So close to the base of the mountain, the foliage was still green and the trees only just begun to thin out. Further up the Bluestone mountains, the trek would certainly grow more dangerous and it twisted his stomach with both anxiety and excitement.

The wolf was still young, and from the way he moved with ungainly steps it was clear he had barely shaken off his adolescence. For a direwolf he was small, and likely wouldn't get much larger in the year or so left he had of growing. With unnaturally large ears that dwarfed his face, Starlight was the perfect image of youth. Someone who had just grown up and yet had so much more growing up ahead of him.

He had traveled this far on a whim, had allowed his fantasies to carry him away from everything he had ever known and taken comfort in. It should have scared him, but it didn't. Leaving his life behind should have been hard, but reflecting upon it now... it hadn't been.

He'd come this far to touch the stars, to feel their light warm against his paws. Would it be warm? Or would it be as cool as the night air that surrounded him now? All that remained between him and the answers he looked for was one giant mountain. It was just a mountain, and he had traveled so far just to make it here that climbing to its peak seemed to be a trivial task.

Shia bean

 

[Shia bean]

For some, it was far more than just a mountain. It was a living, breathing domain all its own.

Violet Stag knew it as Her dwelling. That 'Mother Beneath The Mountains', who he had grown up with. A 'higher power' in which he sent his deepest, most profound prayers to. The being, or many beings, who overlooked, protected, and thwarted creatures both worthy and unworthy into and out of her domain. She was his keeper. She was his guide. He was one of her children. Blessed to feel her presence, always. And here, within the mountains keep, he was home.



Cloaked in the shadows of a tree cluster near by, Violet watched. Unsure. He couldn't be sure, not with out fresh faced he was to the Dawnstar. Based on the looks of the stranger, and a little on the smell, the pale wolf was an outsider. But rogues frequented these lower parts. He used to. Keeping to where the trees were still plentiful and the elements forgiving, because a lone wolf in up in the mountains did not always find her favor. The queer part was that they rarely seemed eager to move forward. And here was this large eared male, gazing. Longingly.

The dark male was a small, sharing in the others stature but of three turns himself. He was not a patrol, not a guard, not a warrior, but a hunter. A hunter, and lover of the worldly balance. Of spirituality. Of fate and destiny and how it wove itself together in the creation of all things... He rarely found wolves who understood him, let alone appreciated his perspectives so to confront this situation would be risky. He considered that, perhaps, it would be more efficient sharing his sighting over pulling information out of someone. He was quick, quiet, and could manage it with ease. But where would the next pack member show up? And how much time would it take for trouble to find their doorstep? He was the only Dawnstar present. He, too, had made his way this far on a whim, following her whisper wherever it would take him. Trusting in her infinite wisdom.

He was here for a reason.

His eyes followed the strangers up to where the peaks reached for the heavens. Today, the whole of the mountain was put clearly upon the sky canvas. Violet's jaw slacked in awe. Then, the winds swelled suddenly and he felt pulled to the side, like hands reaching through the void. The breeze put Violet upwind and pushed at him to travel down. His gaze fell back upon the other male, a knowing smile crossing his lips. When she had him meet someone, anyone, it was always for the highest good.

So he moved. Stepping into the moonlight and across the snow, stopping just shy to take in the stranger and be heard.

"Hello." Breathy tendrils accompanied his greeting, the crispness of night enveloping them both. His deep, ruddy gaze swept across the glistening white of the other male, tipped and dyed in blues that made him look almost like the ice itself. Interesting.

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

Startled, he turned his gaze away from the stars and back down to earth. In the dark, he could make out the outline of another wolf, the white markings stark against a dark pelt. The voice gave him pause, having expected to encounter no one else in the area. It wasn't as if he had actually been paying attention to his surroundings - he had picked up the scent of multiple wolves in the area, but had not planned to be in one spot long enough to matter.

The smile, easy and sweet, that appeared on his face spoke more than words ever could have. Here was a young wolf who had never in his life been given a reason to fear anyone else. Any other wolf would display some modicum of caution, yet Starlight's tail swayed with youthful innocence. His large, bat-like ears flicked at Violet's direction. There was no denying that he had heard the greeting, especially with ears like the ones he had upon his head.

"Hello," he returned the greeting with a soft voice, as if speaking any louder would break the forest's solemn silence. "Sorry if I've... intruded?" Starlight wasn't quite sure that he had, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Starlight was sure that this wolf didn't actually own the entire mountain, but he had been raised with manners. "I won't be long, promise. I'm just going up there, if that's okay?" He lifted a pale paw, pointing up the mountainside. The excitement he felt at the challenge that laid before him threatened to swell and engulf him. Likely, the young wolf did not quite understand what an arduous task it would be to scale up the cold mountain.

He paused, curiosity overwhelming what common sense he had. "Have you been to the peak?"

Shia bean

 

[Shia bean]

Violet Stag returned the gesture in kind, wearing a look all wrapped in warmth and curiosity. He too kept his ears high, listening intently. What were the protocols here? Should he talk about the Dawnstar at all? About Two Tone? When--

Have you been to the peak?

To the question, one of those ears twitched. A first responder, followed by the furrowing of his brow.

He returned to the mountain, following the length of it all the way up. He was gripped by the giant’s unfathomable height on a daily basis, overwhelmed and fearful as much as he was in awe. And he would be the first to admit that they called to him, too, in a way that others could not or would not understand.

But, perhaps out of his unexpected fluster, Violet struggled to understand the other's intentions. The dark wolf looked to the Bluestone peaks as if they were a puzzle. Almost foreign. He was desperately trying to find reason as to why anyone would try to reach for them...

He recounted tales of climbers making their attempts. Of members from his old pack scaling and failing; often. That was what he saw when he looked to this young male. And for those who managed to get past the thresholds, those left by the others who had surrendered to Her… none of the stories thereafter spoke of survivors.

And that, too, was what Violet caught glimpse of. Feared for. So why take that risk? To what end? Really though, who was he to question any of it?

For the dark wolf, he believed their failures were written in the stars. That the Mother, who lingered beneath the mountain, punished as much as she protected. Fate was inevitable, and some were not meant to see a full lifetime here.

He returned to the stranger, head cocked to one side with a question building on his lips. He looked curious, genuinely. Ready to hear all that the other had to share.

"What is it you seek to find, there?"

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

For a wolf born in the lowlands, he did not carry the same respectful fear of the mountain that Violet Stag possessed. His life young, he had yet to encounter many things to make him fearful. The natural cruelties of the world had yet to strip away his whimsical wonder for it. So when eyes, blue as a fresh spring, looked up at what others would consider a daunting task and instead showed excitement and curiosity. He could ascend to the peak and meet his fate there, but at the least he would not regret the trip.

His gaze flicked back to Violet Stag, and the young wolf visibly perked up at the question. Words tumbled freely from his tongue, a dam broken by a swift stream of excitement. "The stars! It is the tallest mountain in all the land, right? If I'm ever going to be able to reach the stars, this will be the only way. They're so small from down here, I can't help but wonder what they'd look like up close... or even what they smell like or feel! I'm not just saying I want to see and know them because of my name," which he had forgotten to give, "but because how can anyone look up at the sky at night and see them every time and not want to?" He took a quick breath, and it was likely he had forgotten to take any at all during his short spiel.

"Like," he began, and then deciding that his words needed a demonstration, he quickly looked around himself for a suitable podium. The white wolf decided that a boulder would do, and quickly scaled up the side gracelessly. Only on top of it could he see clearly above the trees and to what he wanted, gesturing towards a small bright star with an elegant arc of his leg. "This one is my favorite, you can always tell because it's got the three dimmer stars surrounding it. Almost like a triangle? Before I rest every night I like to find it... it's comforting."

He looked back down at Violet, his eyes bright, "It's a little silly, I suppose, but I don't mind."

Shia bean

 

[Shia bean]

"The stars?" Violet hadn't meant to say it out loud, but his thoughts and his voice were no longer willing to go one without the other.

Had he spent so much time staring at the foreground, that he had forgotten there was a world at their backs? Those tiny bursts of distant flames held up against the pitch blackness... did they only serve to illuminate the mountains? Or were they more than just that? The sky, not just a fixture but an entity? Not just a part of the peaks but separate from it... Complimenting one another?

It hadn't occurred to him that the sky was a space worth reaching for or, in fact, that it even could be reached.

"Honestly, I..." He started, forehead wrinkling. What words were there to argue against this claim? Did he even want to argue? The impassioned appealed to Violet, for he was passionate himself and knew what it felt like to simply 'know' things. Even when the world wanted to infect him with doubt, his faith never wavered. And that was what he could see in the other male. The way he seemed to vanish into the very object of his fascination when his crystal gaze set upon it.

It was familiar and strangely comforting. It made Violet Smile wider than he ever thought he could.

"I don't find it silly. I find it brave. To know what you know without falter. To take a risk for the sake of life -- not in spite of it. I don't know what you will find up there, but I believe that if anyone can, it is a spirit like yours that will."

Positioned where he was, Violet Stag looked up to the stranger now, his tail swaying from side to side. Now was probably the perfect time.

"You're nearing the territory of the Dawnstar." He staggered a moment, finding new meaning in the title. "I will send word that a traveler is passing through on his way to the summit."

Tilting his head, Violet quietly admired the other male. There was flutter within him. An unfamiliar warmth that radiated through his chest. And it lingered there, long after his eyes peeled away to look at the star.

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

He watched Violet silently, as if he could read the thoughts and words swirling in the other's mind. To know what the other felt as his own words sunk in would be too much of an advantage for this world, but a curious mind could not help but wonder. When words failed it was because the thoughts behind them were too great, too fast and expansive to be molded into simple words. So, he waited for Violet to find them, his smile never wavering and his youthful enthusiasm bringing a light to his eyes that shone brighter than the stars above.

"You're too kind," he replied softly when Violet finally found his words. A blush rose to his cheeks at the flattering words, though it was likely too dark for the color to be visible. He had been traveling on his own for long enough that he had forgotten what it felt like to have someone else who believed in him. He had never needed anyone else to, but it was nice and even reassuring that not everyone in this world believed him to be a foolish pup.

"Oh, thank you. I thought the area was starting to smell strongly of others," but it hadn't been enough to deter him from his goal. His intention had never been to trespass, but rather to reach his goal of touching the stars. The young wolf had traveled too far to let a pack's territory stand in his way. He had meant to move quickly and quietly through the area, so as not to disturb anyone or cause trouble.

"Are you a member of the Dawnstar?" he asked, his curiosity piqued. "The name is fitting, for a pack so close to the mountain." Had none tried to scale the summit? He wanted to ask, but at the same time did not want to know the answer. Starlight wanted to discover for himself what ascending to the peak of the mountain would be like. "What are they... like?" He had no interest in settling down anytime soon, but his natural curiosity was a hard creature to shake. If there was something to know, he wanted to know it.

Shia bean

 

[Shia bean]

He was amused by the way their thoughts aligned so perfectly. Reading the mind of another was too great a power, sure, but the longer they spoke the more he wondered...

Yes. Dawnstar was fitting.



He scanned the twinkling expanse in search of answers, as if attempting to gleam them from whatever source Starlight seemed destined for. But the calm omnipotence kept its secrets folded within darkness. To the true questions posed of him, Violet nodded. It was almost absentminded. “Yes.” His eyes closed briefly, lingering behind their veil, keeping this moment fresh while his head leveled again with his acquaintances. He would continue speaking before they would reopen.

“Kind, compassionate, friendly. They’re strong as a whole but also individually. They remind me of my first family. The first of blood and the first I found... The Dawnstar have embraced me and my past and do not shun me for my beliefs; which is a powerful statement of their own tolerance. In fact, I’d say they celebrate that I have a belief to begin with.”

When he fell silent and settled, smiling, it occurred to him that, on some level, he was attempting to convince Star to stay. Perhaps to join the Dawnstar, or perhaps just to stay here. A little longer. Staring up at the stars together. But it was a pipe dream more than hope, and one that could not be fulfilled... Violet knew better than that. Despite their hearts being so similar and their strength of purpose a kinship, he could sense that their paths were far from parallel. Like the Mountain was to the earth, and the stars to the sky, they were bound to their planes by some forgotten laws of the world. Sure, the mountain reached to meet the stars, and the stars wrapped around the mountains horizon, but to touch? To really touch?... Their goals were the same yet varied. They sought for a depth but in different directions and that was okay. It had to be okay.

Once upon a time Violet had heard that 'soulmates' could not possibly stay together, not in the same way that other unions might, for they were far too much a like and the energies therein would be unmanageable. That the purpose of a soulmate was to go out and have as many other souls experience them, for there were two to do so with. And should they find one another throughout their lifetimes, they would recognize the mirror, one might try to join the other but in the end... they would simply let each other be...

It was a huge assumption to say that Starlight was his soulmate. He wasn't even sure why the thought had come to him, but it wasn't entirely impossible either.

His smile grew feint and his eyes fell away from Star, returning to the mountain beyond. He could sense that their time together was fleeting, and he thought to remain silent but couldn't. Whatever this was, whoever this was, and for however long this was to play out, he would never forgive himself if he let anything go unsaid.

“After you've reached your peak and should you choose to come down from it… I would love to hear of what you found. I would like to see you again someday.”

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

Starlight could tell, not by words alone but how Violet spoke them that the Dawnstar were something else entirely. The other had found his place in the world, a family that truly accepted him for all that he was... and it brought forth an emotion that was wholly unfamiliar to the young wolf. Loneliness. Throughout his entire journey so far he had never wanted the company of another, so distracted by youthful curiosities and a mission held close to his heart. It was as if in that moment when he let Violet Stag into his thoughts, his world, that he realized he missed having someone around. Someone to share soft conversations with in the middle of the night, someone to listen to his silly ideas and tell him that they weren't all that silly.

That realization coaxed the smile from his face, if only for a brief moment easy to miss within the dark. "They sound lovely," he admitted sweetly, his smile back. Those few words he meant, spoken with sincerity and happiness. He already had begun to realize that loneliness was likely to be par for the course, because as much as he desired Violet's company past this single beautiful night, he knew that he... would not stay, and Violet would not go.

It was silly of him to even want Violet to, when it seemed like the other male had everything he could ever want here. "It is beautiful, to be able to find others in this world so accepting, so welcoming. I have not seen much of the world yet, in fact I hope there is much more for it to show me still... but no place has sounded quite so wonderful."

Starlight followed Violet's gaze back towards the mountain, sitting in silent contemplation that seemed to stretch longer in his head than it did in actuality. Violet's words washed over him so softly that he had almost not heard them through the gentle tide of his own thoughts. Warmth fluttered in his chest, and he shyly cast his gaze to his paws. He would like that, truly, to come back down the mountain and be greeted by a familiar face instead of another stranger. In the small amount of time he had come to know Violet, there was no way he could ever think the other a stranger.

Convinced that there were no words that could describe what Violet's own meant to him in that moment, he tried regardless to say something halfway as meaningful back. "I would like that too, whether I return successful or not, I think whatever I discover up there will be remarkable. It would be... a story I'd like you to hear." Their time together drew closer to its end - there would not be enough of the night left for Starlight to make it to the peak if he lingered much longer. Even so, the mountain was tall and treacherous, and he doubted he would climb it in a single evening.

But, it was time.

He knew, and he was sure that Violet knew as well. "If I reach them, I'll come back for you for sure - I'll take you up there, so you can feel what I feel and see what I see and..." Passion threatened to overtake him, and he snapped his jaw shut with an audible 'click'. "I would... like to, at least," he admitted with gentle finality.

"I... should get going now. Um, thank you.

Just, thank you."

Shia bean

 

[Shia bean]

His own heart seemed to beat quicker as the moments grew shorter, nerves forcing the slightest of quakes to his form. And his smile, although still there somewhere in his heart, faded into the darkness as the core of him surged with sadness... That mental confrontation with loneliness had not escaped him either, and it took a hard swallow to rid him of his worry. They had been alone before, and it wasn't as if the loneliness would last forever...

Although this certainly felt a little different.

Star's final words received only a nod from Violet. It was all he had left to give. What more could, or should, he do? This was fate. Not always pretty, not always kind, but intentional. He would watch Starlight leave, standing in the cold for as long as he could make out that pale form on the horizon, with his tall ears and the gleam of a necklace touched by the moonlight. And when he could no longer make that out, he would leave... knowing that the land would forever be consecrated by their meeting. Forever held near and dear to his heart.

And from time to time when a hunt would have him pass this vignette by, he would stall long enough to sweep a look across the mountain peaks; searching the heavens for a new star.