all welcome
The nights were getting longer and the sun was fading away. That was what Galileo had begun to notice as the last weeks of Autumn began to roll by. Out of all the seasons, Spring held a special place in his heart, though the russet spectacle before his eyes didn't fall far behind.
He walked as quietly as his heavy paws would allow him, though the crisp rug of dried leaves underneath his feet didn't help much either. He had begun to walk away from his den without a real destination in mind; as usual. It was a habit that had stuck after his long years of being a loner, he still wore those quirks and habits upon his sleeve like an old tattoo made in his teenage years.
He was a veteran now -- or at least that was the road he was taking.
Like the slowly melting sun, he would one day sink too.
Until then, the peppered male planned to do indulge in the simple pleasures in life that with age, he had learnt to appreciate more.
Autumn was one of them.
She followed the scent till she could she the source. It was the gray wolf who she had seen at both the meetings she'd attended. She didn't know his name, but she was pretty sure he'd been at the Creek longer than Star. She trotted up to him as he walked on fallen leaves. "Hello" she said as a greeting to this wolf.
Even if his muscles had deteriorated after the years, the man's hearing was still intact (thankfully). As the young white female, who resembled what only could've been a younger version of Bazi called, out to him he turned his head quickly, adressing her with a low chuff and a gentle bow of his head.
"I can't deny orange is one of my favorite colors" he commented while casting a quick glance to the leaf-covered floor and the tip of the trees. Autumn was the season for the quiet. It wasn't as energetic at Summer or Spring, and it wasn't as lonely as Winter.
It seemed as if she had read his thoughts of Autumn. "It's rather quiet and peaceful, huh." She decided to introduce herself to the older wolf. "I'm Star." She said quietly. She didn't bother to ask his, as she assumed he would reply.
Life was too short for introductions. He knew the female had seen him before, they had exchanged glances during a meeting once or twice. He was not tired of the conventional structure that conversations seemed to follow, he much rathered to let the words flow freely.
"Beautifully quiet indeed" he barked with a small flick of his ear. The girl didn't wait long to push their conversation back on track, to which the male simply responded with a nod of his head instead of the routinary response with his own name. "I have quite a passion for stars -- and all luminous being in general" he barked carrying on with his words without stopping to see the female's reaction. He wished he could tell her how much more fun it was to let the words fly out of one's lips, something like the way the leaves slipped of the branches and swirled around the air.
The freckled male's throat purred softly as if to voice his agreement with the Bazi look-alike's statement. He could still remember the exact instant he had fallen in love with the skies. The glistering diamonds that began to scatter across the empty canvas of the night had captivated him from the start, when he was still a child.
He remebered clearly, sitting outside his family's den to simply look up, while his mother and father argued in the background and his brother teased her sister or tried to sneak out. They had been his escape and had turned into his passion; his obsession. Even to this very day he had not allowed a single night to go by unnoticed, unappreciated. Every night before crawling into the depths of his den and resting his heavy bones on the cold floor, he casted his eyes to the heavens and wished thm goodnight.
But they were more than a simple company for Galileo. Over the years and months he had begun to notice patterns and distinct shapes that formed when the stars began their dance across the nightsky.
The faint sound of the girl's voice pulled his eyes back to her, he had forgotten about her for a second. "Galileo" he barked, sensing the annoyance in the female's tone. He chuffed soflty and settled his amber eyes onto the young one's face, he could do nothing againts her impatience. Sooner or later she would come across the harsh reality that life was not a race.
His eyes shifted from her face to the sky, in the dark blue stage that was the night the very first stars began to make their appereance, appearing slowly from the gloom where nothing but emptiness laid moment before. It was a truly beautiful moment that he wished not to taint with useless words or distractions.
But, yet, even at the glorious age of four, he had to be reminded thing couldn't always go the way he wanted them to. The girl spoke again, disturbing the silence but not his gentle heart. "As much as they let me" he barked with a little chuckle, "It'd be hard to believe but they're never the same, like you and I, they are molded by their surrounding and sometimes bent out of shape" he went on, his amber eyes twinkling like the few shinning dots of the sky, "But they're always as glorious he finished, not really bothering to turn to face her or see her reaction.
He would not waste one more second on this Earth, he would not stop doing the things he loved until the stillness of his heart stopped him.
The girl's silent response was both comforting, yet emtpy for the male. There were times were it was alright to be quiet, and the peppered male wouldn't have minded she talked. She had a clear soft voice that would one day, if she persued the right interests, rise over others with strenght and poise.
With a sideways glance and a small curl of his lips, the Theta thanked the female quietly for her company. Being alone was not longer an interest of his. While he had enjoyed many lonely nights studying the heavens and mapping the nightsky he was beginning to realize it was much more fullfilling when having someone to appreciate the stars with you.
A little huff escaped his lips as he motined towards the sky, not wanting to taiint the moment againt with his low voice. Above them, the sky was beginning to shed the bright coat of orange in order to get into her pitch-black dress. It was a beautiful sight he would never get tired of witnessing day after day, especially when he had such a lovely companion by his side.
She thanked him for his as well quietly. Not that she had needed company, but it had been nice to meet him and watch the stars come out together. She watched as the orange got lower with the sun. The sky became black around the edges and it spread quickly, announcing the arrival of the nightime. She would probably need to go to sleep soon if she was to run in the morning, but she wanted to watched the stars just a little longer. She had never looked at them so closely and she had taken them for granted. But now she watch the pretty, sparkling, magical dots that freckled the night's face.