Firefly Glen [PHE]Lonliness Pours off of you

Alaric found his way through the throng of wolves. A multitude of majestic colors and lifting and raising voices all coming to a loud staccato that made his breathing uneven, but all in a good way. He had not realized how much he missed others until he was here among all these ones. he had been on the mountain so quietly and it had been fine. But he had been lonely. Elentari and Sialuk were shadows of themselves and he could not blame them. Two sons gone. One his own. It was painful. Heart wrenching. But sometimes children did that. They wandered off no matter how hard you tried to hold them tightly. 

He moved through the packs, an assortment of furs and baubles on his back. Singing a jaunty song under his breath as he did so.

they had broken off together, he and @Lucette, and were exploring the varied shadowed paths of the glen when a man just as dark approached from the left. drawing to a sharp halt, lafayette raised his muzzle and bristled just a bit in wariness, looking the stranger over.

he was singing, though, which reminded him of auntie Chacal, and he carried with him an assortment of items—but why?

what's dat? he asked, interrupting the song without preamble while gesturing toward the furs and such with his nose. an' what you singin'?

his sister looked a bit uneasy, and ready to be on her way, but curiosity had gotten the best of him.

A striking young man caught his attention. A mask of coals on ember fur. He smelled of salt and sand. There was a faint accent to his words. He had heard the wolf Etienne speak it when at the healer's circle. Wondered briefly if they were related. But soon turned his ears forward to listen to the youth. 

These are items to trade with other wolves for different things. Maybe some trinkets, some herbs I Don't have, or meat that I can't catch on my mountain home.

A soft laugh despite himself. Oh just a song I know.

He lifted his voice, the jaunty tune dancing along the deep richness of his voice. Laughter in his gaze. A small dance step or two.

Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars

In other words, hold my hand
Oh, in other words, baby, kiss me

Yeah, fill my heart with song
Let me sing for ever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore
Ooh, in other words
Yeah, in other words
In other words, I love you

You, oh, fill my heart with song
Let me sing forever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore

Ooh, in other words
Yeah, in other words
In other words, I love you

He dipped his head. By the way I am Alaric.

Fly me to the moon,  Joseph Vincent

his eyes and mouth both grew at the song, and the man would find the sapphique boy slack-jawed at the end of it, gaze filled with wonder.

you can fly to de moon?! lafayette asked. it seems so far away!

the rest of the song was based upon love and touch and embrace, but he was focused upon the supernatural; the ability to sail beyond the horizon toward that peaceful cut of light in the sky.

how?!

The youth seemed to like the song. Alaric was feeling good about it. Until a question he had no answer for was voiced. A small smile as he thought of a response. 

I don't know if you can physically, but in your mind your heart sure you can. I think it is more a metaphor a way to describe how much the songwriter loves their partner.

ah, he replied, a bit disappointed. that said, lafayette would strain to sprout wings between his shoulders right now if it were indeed possible to fly all the way up there. how different it must be in the domain of papa syel and sè lalin!

my auntie chacal be singin', lafayette went on. more than she be speakin', really. where do you learn all dese songs?

he was already trying to commit this one to memory, though admittedly the melody was slipping away, superseded by his curiosity regarding the words. perhaps alaric would sing it again for him—

oh! he exclaimed, suddenly remembering his manners. sorry. i'm lafayette, from sapphique. do you know of sapphique?

Alaric himself wouldn't mind flying. There had been a few moments where he felt that exhilaration and he jus tknew it would be amazing. When he jumped up a tree or when he leaped from rock to rock and for that one inexplicable moment the whole word bottomed out and you were just floating. Yea. He'd do the same. 

I'll have to meet your auntie then. I have heard them in my travels or passed down from my family. We were bards and storytellers, traveling healers. I only settled around here last year.

Alaric would have no problem repeating the song if the young man wanted to learn it.

lafayette really liked the idea of being a traveling singer and storyteller. if he wasn't so attached to the cliffs of sapphique. . .but then, maybe one day, he wouldn't be so much.

now was the time to practice.

fly me to de moon, he echoed, smiling, lemme play among de stars; lemme see wha' spring be like on ju—wait, what's 'jupiter' and 'mars'? are dey stars, too? the boy asked alaric.

he had way more questions about the song than desire to sing it, it turned out. and he was sure that nearby lucette was absolutely bored to death by his badgering of the man.

Alaric had loved traveling. Amd when he had left the horrible and behind. Well he had also found solace in it.

Alaric listened with a smile. Each verse his smile growing. He was pleased with. Then questions started.

An old wolf told me once upon a time. That they were planets. He studied the stars and the moon and space.

planets, he repeated. that one word only opened up a thousand other questions, but he decided to resist them—for now. maybe an adult or two in sapphique were privy to the idea of space, and he'd bother them, instead.

happily humming the tune, lafayette turned to lucette, and then back to alaric. i wish i had somet'ing to give you, the boy said ruefully. dere be so many pretty shells an' stones on our beaches. per'aps we'll meet again and i find you some!

with a buoyant mèsi! and a fond farewell, the twins sauntered off, leaving alaric and his wares to carry on—unaware of the fact that lafayette would drive his sister crazy with continued repetition of his new favorite song.