Moonspear i'd like to take this time to say

AW <3 maybe smelly @Yama?

it was good to be home, to be reunited with revui. arcturus wouldn't have said it, but it felt like a massive, choking tether had been released from round his neck. how long had he carried this burden, this strangling anxiety? and how had it melded to him so subtly, like a hangman's torc?

he breathed a sigh mixed with relief and exhaustion - part of the puzzle had been put in place, but then small pieces fell away. he was so young to have learned this so early, that life often unraveled plans swifter than one could commit to them, and that when one thing clicked in place, something somewhere else often drifted away...

this time it was vela. maybe it was heartless of him, but he didn't have the same connection with charon's mini-me that he did with yama and revui. he hoped she would come back soon, of course, and already he missed her -- but she was older than he and he would not search for her.

as he moved lost in thought, arcturus discovered he had come to the summit where the star had fallen to earth in a blinding flash. as he neared the corrupted star, black and as hardened as a stone, his gait slowed. arcturus was not superstitious the way his father was, but he did believe the star had power here, and that it was kismet that it fell in their mountain.

Something had changed.

Songbirds shared their delight all throughout the morning, just as they had for the past several mornings. Although Yama did not yet understand what it meant, she knew that it meant something—and, without her knowing why, it eased a weight within her chest. All day, she’d been prancing around the mountain, head high and a smile plastered across her face. What was this newfound joy that filled her to the brim? What had caused it to come on so suddenly? She didn’t know, couldn’t think of a way to figure it out, and, honestly, she wasn’t so sure it really mattered why! Happiness was happiness, no matter the reason for it, and it was a true breath of fresh air from her usual wintertime gloom.

Higher and higher she climbed, reaching heights she never would have even considered attempting just weeks prior; but now it wasn’t so cold, in comparison. Her tail waved like a flag woven from sheer pride, an abnormality when it came to the young Ostrega, as she trekked onward. For a great while she was alone—and then she wasn’t.

Yama slowed to a stop as she noticed two black masses, one sentient and the other... possibly not. She tilted her head in observance of him and asked, “What are you doing?” Staring at a star? Or was there something more?

arcturus looked up as he heard the tread of his sibling; yama had a particular step, and her gait arcturus had memorized some time ago. he could tell most of his family members before they came into view - charon had a heavy but swinging step, amekaze's was light and proud - and his last remaining sister's was as ingrained in him as the features of his home.

he stepped back from the corrupted star, giving yama a chance to look closer if she wished. "do you ever wonder where it came from?" great job, arcturus - answer a question with another question. "or what made it fall? do all stars fall?"

It seemed he had questions of his own but, whereas hers was a simple one, there were complexities to his that made her mind wonder, too. Yama found her gaze being drawn to the fallen star, and it lingered there for a good few minutes whilst she pondered how to answer. “It came from the sky,” she decided on. “...I think. Beyond that, I don’t know.” Where had it come from? It fell from the sky, she knew that much, but where exactly had it originated?

“I don’t know if they all fall,” she continued, pulling her eyes off of the star and redirecting them towards her brother. “If one fell, doesn’t that mean they all can? Do you think they all can?” The image of a thousand stars falling down to the mountain, all at once, flashed through her head—and it was terrifying. Suddenly, she hoped that maybe not all could fall... only a few falling was acceptable, though.

the corrupted star held arcturus' attention as yama spoke, its dark and blackened surface almost hypnotic with surreal edges and sharp, glittering points. it was not smooth entirely; half of it seemed shaven by a blackened hand, while the other half remained as porous as gnarled wood.

could stars fall? what made them fall? did all stars fall? his mind raced as yama's questions brought more questions to the surface.

did stars die?

was this star dead? he shook his head, it was too much to think about, and somehow it terrified him -- because there was so much of the world he didn't know or understand. "i don't know." he answered unhelpfully, peering at the sky overhead with newfound consternation.

Neither of them knew... but perhaps no one knew. Yama’s brows pinched together and she wrinkled her nose as she stared at the star, thinking. Would she ever find the answers her brother sought? Most likely not, however, she would try for him. “Maybe mama or papa know,” she suggested, readjusting her face and setting her sights on Arcturus. Actually, would it even be okay to ask them?

Suddenly, she shook her head. “Nevermind... maybe we can figure it out together!” was her next suggestion. With a wag of her tail and a warm smile on his lips, Yama approached him and gently butted his shoulder with her head. “We’ll find the answer!” she said, possibly one of the first sentences to leave her mouth confidently.

as much as arcturus wished to learn more of this star, he didn't much want to invite the attention of either of his parents. he was worried he might be scolded for being so soft -- and little did he know that his mother was perhaps one of the better sources for astronomical information there was.

buffeting yama back as she pushed him, arcturus' tail wagged at the prospect of a challenge. "maybe we can scout for clues, or something." he dived nose-first to the stones around, snuffing the ground for any signal that might be of interest.

Scouting for clues—it sounded exciting! She felt confident that, that was the absolute best way to go to discover what they wanted to know. Before long, they might even become experts on the whole thing. “Yeah!” she said excitedly, suddenly quite the eager beaver. Her nose, too, was soon pointed downward as she began taking in every scent that was there. She very briefly parted with her brother in order to follow the diameter of the star—but there was nothing!

With a drooped tail, she circled back around to meet Arcturus. “It just smells like here,” she declared. “I didn’t smell it coming from anywhere that isn’t here... could you?” Maybe her nose was just broken.

wow - i'm the worst

arcturus wasn't pulling up much either. he could smell the faded, but still present scent of smoldering ruin off of the star - it was ever so slight, but it pulsated -- every now and then he would get a whiff and then it would be gone again.

but nothing else around the star yielded any clues. discouraged by this, arcturus settled alongside yama and shook his head in response. he hadn't found anything either. he looked skyward, almost helpless -- did it mean all stars might fall to their world one day? "i couldn't smell anything either." he gave up with a shrug, not one to dwell on his failures for long (lol - oh, give it time you big idiot). deciding it was not worth pursuing further, arcturus grinned impishly and took a dive for yama's pelt in a toothy gesture to play.

nah, that’s actually my title lmao

While her brother didn’t dwell on the matter, Yama couldn’t help but do exactly that. She wanted answers and some part of her wanted to be the one to find those answers—which was difficult to do when there really wasn’t anything to find. Her shoulders slumped forward with discouragement, momentarily upset that she couldn’t help gather any clues. But then she heard movement beside her and her attention was diverted.

Before she could turn to see what he was doing, she felt a playful nip to her side and yipped with surprise. It didn’t take much to encourage her to engage and soon Yama was springing towards him, grinning as she tried to knock into his side.

FALSEHOODS

with yama's side exposed, arcturus' hit nailed home -- briefly, anyway.

his sibling was quick to spin on her toes, rebuffing his second advance with a shove to his flank. arcturus sidestepped, but did not dodge; for a moment his footing was as rocky as the stones underneath, and he went stiff as a board to balance -- all the while giggling.

play was where arcturus was in his element -- for now anyway. little did he know some months in the future he'd turn into an unfun sourpuss, but for now his mind had forgotten all about the meteor, and was focused on tripping up yama so he could bite any toes he could.

they fought this way for some time, mighty little cubs that they were -- and they slept heavily that night, dreaming of worlds to come.