Or a candle dancing on the breeze

@Dante - a very, very long thread challenge.

It was a day or two after Blue willow's children had been brought in the world, and Osprey, who had no specified place of living at the moment, had moved out of her shallow pit of dead leaves and moved to sleep closer to Willow's den. She couldn't do much at helping to tend for the children, nor did she want to burden her friend with her constant company, yet she wanted to be useful in some way. And keeping an open ear and watchful eye open at night for the safety of the new mother and her kin, seemed as a good opportunity to involve herself.

She had almost got used to sleeping outside - of course, being out in the open also meant that she never dared to drift too much away. She was constantly aware of her surroundings and even the slightest sound made her snap out of her snooze and look around to make sure that everything was in order. It was early winter morning and Osprey was partly awake, lying on her back, exposing her belly to the sky, while her sleepy eyes followed a tiny little mouse digging for something in the leaves in a very upside-down world. The tiny creature didn't seem to be aware of the predator watching her nearby, but maybe it sensed that the same being was too lazy to get up and catch it.

Dante was somewhat aware of Osprey's sleeping arrangements, but had said nothing on it (though he'd intended to.) He hadn't really found another suitable den yet and when it came to asking if she wanted to share his, well... the concept was awkward in the worst way. Sure it would be a gesture of friendship, but he still felt it would be forward, and he was hopeless when it came to that.

In truth he was coming by not to visit her, but to check on the Plateau's newest members. He'd been unable to sleep any longer and wished to at least make sure all was well in the den and surrounding area. The presence of little ones had upped his warden instincts considerably and he would be increasingly protective of their borders and land in the coming months. He paused, though, and couldn't help but grin when he caught sight of Osprey in her odd position.

"Enjoying the morning sun?" he asked with a laugh in his tone, unable to see what she was focused on.

Osprey was dozing off, beginning to see a myriad of colorful images before her eyes and hear muffled voices that didn't belong to the real world. The idea of falling asleep without having to worry of what was happening around, was very enticing, but the instinct of survival was too strong - it was like an alarm clock you couldn't turn off. It began to ring, whenever she was dangerously close to passing out.

Therefore Dante's appearance didn't seem so sudden and surprising - she had sensed someone coming her way. Osprey yawned and opened one green eye to peek up at the alpha, wavering of whether she should get up and greet him properly - as his rank demanded - or she could remain lying, where she was. She decided for the latter, figuring that they knew each other well enough to remain informal.

"I am gaining a new perspective in life," Osprey replied in an all too serious tone for it to be true. "Viewing things upside-down really helps."

She didn't move to get up and Dante was glad of it. She looked... Comfortable? Well, content at least. And Dante was the last wolf to expect formality, especially from friends. She was definitely among that number, even if they hadn't spent a ton of time to get to know each other.

"Really? Interesting concept. And what have you gained so far, in your different perspective?" His tone mached hers, serious, and he turned his head sideways a bit to look at her. Experience so far had told him that rolling with her jokes normally came with an interesting story. Their conversations so far had been far from boring.

"Yup," Osprey nodded, even though it was a bit hard to do in the position she was in. Then she rolled to lie on her belly and yawned, squinting her eyes, because the world was "swimming a bit" from the sudden change of position. This soon passed, however, and giving a quick shake of her head, she got to her feet and in an easy manner that would make any begginer-yogi jealous - did the downward/upward dog stretch. It's easy, when you do not have to pretend, but when you - in fact - are the creature.

"Makes you reconsider a lot of things," she went on to explain. "Why don't you try?" she tilted her head to the side and eyed him innocently.

Truthfully he'd intended to do just that even before she suggested the idea to him. "Sure thing. I can always use a different perspective." Can't we all, he thought wryly, as he laid down a shot distance away, situated so that he'd roll over and be parallel to her on the grass.

"What sort of things are you reconsidering? If talking about them won't break the reconsidering, of course. Wouldn't want to do that." Tilting his head back, he observed the horizon from his upside-down viewpoint. "Personally I'm wondering what it would be like if your eyes stuck like this." Would you adjust, or constantly be waiting to float off into the sky? It was a kinda unnerving yet cool thought.

Osprey watched him obey and lie down - she hadn't expected him to give in so easily. The role of being the alpha had grown on him - Dante always seemed to be so serious and focused on his duties, so responsible and collected all the time, a good leader, no doubt about that. Yet she wondered, whether he - apart from that one time (running through the woods with her, howling and yowling in a chorus as mad) - knew, how to relax, how not to worry, how to be playful and reckless sometimes? Osprey had always tried to secure these streaks of childishness in her and viewed the grown-ups, who had lost them, with a bit of a pity.

"Well, there is a slight possibility that you will ever find out that," she said, moving closer to him so that she was now standing above the lying wolf and was looking down at him. "But this..." she said, lying down on her belly and reaching out to lightly clasp Dante's muzzle between her jaws and then released it. "... was, how the curiousity killed the cat," she finished with a playful smile in her lips and her eyes having a glint of laughter for a prank well played.

She was right in a lot of ways; Dante didn't have a ton of fun in his life. It wasn't by choice or by lack of enjoyment, but rather moreso a lack of inspiration. He just generally tended towards doing what he knew, and that happened to be duties. He hadn't had the chance as a child to do things like play and make up stories, and as a result he didn't really know how to handle himself in such situations a lot of the time. You couldn't really lose what you never had to begin with. It made dealing with children fun but slightly terrifying, and Osprey much the same. He never really knew what she was going to do next, as she illustrated quite clearly in a few seconds.

His grin at her words turned into a look of pure surprise as suddenly his muzzle was clasped in her jaws. What could only be described as a giggle escaped, turning quickly into a laugh. While he wasn't quite sure how to respond, he appreciated that she'd gotten the better of his upside-down state.

"I can already tell, I'm going to be stuck like this forever. I'll just have to figure out how to navigate an upside-down world. Maybe I'll make friends with some ants, being on their level and all." He churned his forepaws a couple of times for effect. Then he rolled over, lying on his side to look up at her. Very dignified, oh captain my captain, he thought to himself, but his smile never broke.

It was nice to see Dante relax and laugh - had he many occasions in everyday life to be like this? Carefree as a kid? Osprey couldn't tell. While it seemed that she had known him for a long time, actually they knew very little about each other. Just from observations, the spoken word of others and assumptions based on first impressions.

"Really," Osprey lifted her eyebrows, when Dante announced that he was going to lie like this forever. "This is unexpected... will you require the rest of us - pateau dewllers - to live upside down too? Should I call an emergency meeting?" she said, getting to her feet and her smile growing bigger with every passing moment. "You do remember that I can be very loud, if I want. One howl and I bet everyone would be here in a matter of minutes to hear the news."

Dante looked at her, surprised, and spoke jokingly as though the answer were obvious. "Of course. I can't very well be the only upside-down dweller, now can I? What kind of a leader would I be seeing everything from a completely different perspective?" He heaved a sigh. "No, it just won't do!"

Then he shook his head with a chuckle, rolling over to lay on his stomach. "Nah, I'll just learn to travel everywhere upside down. Then there will be no difference." He enjoyed the ruse, but he wasn't sure if she was serious about calling everyone. Friends they may be, but his thoughts a bit mirrored her own... There was much they did not know about one another, and her sense of humor (and how far it extended) were a bit of a mystery to him.

"A very odd leader, indeed," Osprey agreed to Dante's opinion. "Fancy one too - I am 100% sure that there would be no second "upside-down" leader and pack in the world. We would go in the history!" she exclaimed, for a moment seeing a flash of a scene, where one wolf tells another wolf of a very odd pack in the faraway land decades from now. Oh, the possibilities and rumors of why had they become the "upside down" wolves...

"Okay - then there is no time to waste," Osprey returned back to the business. She sat down, cleared her throat, lifted her muzzle, drew in a mighty breath and howled... almost, when she stopped and gave a side-glance to Dante. "Are you sure, you won't change your mind about this? I mean, big deals like these must be thought twiceover. These are my five cents - of course, you can do as you wish."

His eyes widened a bit as she went to howl, not really expecting her to make the motion with so little warning. Thankfully, she paused. Dante made as though he were mulling it over. "You know, imagining the looks on their faces, I'm almost tempted. Telling Blue Willow and Lasher you called them away from their kids so that they could learn to see things upside down with their Alpha..." He paused. "On second thought, if we wanna keep our good looks, we might wanna scrap that idea." He finished with a smile.

The parents would appreciate a good joke, he was sure, but not one that took them away from the den. He did wonder if she would have actually gone through with it. It was quite the idea, though, wasn't it? An entire pack with clouds beneath and grasses overhead. "I guess history will have to do without until one comes along!"

"I don't think that they would take it that lightly - I am pretty sure that Blue would rip our heads off to be called away for such... a reason," Osprey nodded, not being so sure, if both of the parents would appreciate the joke. One thing was Osprey, who danced among the middle tier ranks and, who didn't stand firmly on the ground with all four feet. Completely the other was Dante, who was at the top and being serious was one part of his job.

"It always comes to the looks, doesn't it..." she replied, looking a little sad. "Just think, how many good ideas have died just because we have to live up to other's expectations," jokes aside, now she had sailed in private waters. "You know... sometimes I have a feeling that all people I know, friends included, see me as they want to see me. And not the real me. Do you know, how it is?" she asked him.

He had not meant looks the way she took it, and perhaps his words would have been better put as 'pretty faces'. It had been a jesting reference to the fact that Lasher or Blue might take physical retribution to such a summons (despite their sweet tempers). She instead took it to mean their reputations, which actually made a lot of sense in a more serious tone.

He did not mind serious talk, not one bit, and actually could relate quite well to the topic. "I think I do. What is it you think they see?" He was curious. In his case... well, sometimes he wondered if others saw much of anything. He had no intentions of changing, nor did he dislike the way he was, but he sometimes wondered what it would be like to have a stronger personality. Would he still feel disconnected as he sometimes did? Part of him thought everyone likely felt the same at some time or another, but it was hard to imagine with some.

"Just the surface," Osprey explained. Now that she gave a second thought - maybe it was not, what others saw, but how much they actually did, how much they needed. "The childish one, the carefree one, always happy and optimistic... I don't know, part of me is all of those things and yet... that's not all," she shrugged. In the end it was hard to pinpoint, what had caused her to feel like that. The only thing she was sure about was that it existed.

"I am a bit disappointed in Saena too, for she can't see past the fact that I was gone for a while. In the light of all the good things that I have done, being disowned for this doesn't feel fair," Osprey said. She could pretend and say that Saena's opinion didn't matter in any way to her, that if the girl wanted to hold a grudge against her, she could do it. That she was the child, who had no idea, what the life was and what challenges it held for each one of them. But Osprey also couldn't deny that it was not pleasant to live in a pack, if you knew that someone hated you.

"What is it like for you? To be seen as someone you are not?" she asked.

Dante didn't refute her words, though he did feel as though there was more to her than that. He sensed she wasn't looking for validation and he knew he wouldn't be able to put it into words. Beneath her fun, and yes perhaps childish, exterior he felt lay a deep caring, a desire to spread a sense of happiness and fun to others. It definitely rubbed off on him when he was around her. He had not known her long, and yet already she was seeing another side to her. Introspection didn't really fit well in the image she thought she displayed, not of this sort at least.

The news of Saena troubled him, and to have two of his packmates at odds with one another was hardly a good thing. The part of him that wished to stay out of others' business and arguments warred with the part that knew it was his responsibility to keep things running smoothly. This job description included interpersonal relations.

"I don't think Saena's thoughts are on fairness right now. She's had a lot of change to deal with, and still some growing up to do. Still, I agree. It is too harsh." She had come a long ways, true, but he could see how hard she fought to prove herself and how harshly she judged those around her. It was natural, that some would be more agressive, but without temperance she would fall to the same problems that Junior had. A leader wasn't only the most dominant. They needed understanding as well or none would agree to follow them. He had little doubts age and experience would teach these lessons. He was sure he'd been much the same when young, possibly even worse.

"I can talk to her if you wish," he offered, compromising. If she did not want him to get involved, he would stay out of it until it began to affect the pack's welfare.

"For me, it is less that people see something I am not, and more that they do not see all. Though they do not see anything bad, I feel they don't see anything particularly good either. I guess I just don't see myself as making much of an impression at all. I don't mind that much." He finished affably, with a shrug. Honestly he wasn't even sure there was more to him than what he showed. How could he expect others to see it if he couldn't? But he did feel it, so that had to count for something.

"I wonder if there's anyone out there who doesn't feel like that," he added. He seriously doubted it.

"I agree with you and I understand her reasoning. I would probably be upset too, if everyone I knew to be my relatives left. It would be easier to apologize, but this is, where I have to draw a line - I have nothing to feel guilty for," Osprey explained - she had decided to give Saena space and not have their paths cross at this moment. Her dominance had bothered her a little, but as long as it didn't get to an actualy fight for rank, she could live with that too.

"Oh, don't try - you will join the "disowned family members" club too - believe me, it's no fun to be in it," she regarded Dante with a smile and look of appreciation. It was nice of him to suggest that, even if this problem was between her and the grand-niece to solve. "I hope that she gets over that in time. I am upset a bit with her at the moment, but I still like her," she finished the Saena-subject, putting the moody teenager, adult-soon-to-be aside.

"Well, I can assure you - you are far from invisible," she told him and chuckled. "Probably not... that's why we go so at lengths to be noticed. Maybe that upside-down thing wasn't such a bad idea after all? Would show us to the world from a different perspective," she joked.

Her line was reasonable, and she had done all she could it seemed by explaining herself. The rest would really be up to Saena. He would do as Osprey wished and stay out of it... again, only so long as it did not affect the pack's welfare. "I can't imagine," he said in response to her comment on the 'disowned family members' party. After all, he'd been the one to initiate his own disownment, and he still counted it as one of the best decisions he'd ever made. "Definitely glad to avoid it though." He'd already chased one of her nieces away and he'd hate to do the same to another.

Then her tone went back to jovial, and the conversation consciously switched from Saena's ire to other topics. He went along happily, glad not to dwell. "Are you sure I'm not? What a disappointment. Think of what I could do if I was! Again, not so great for my rank, but that might be even better than upside down for seeing a different perspective." To be able to go anywhere, see anything, completely unhampered by borders. It would be a lonely and terrifying life, but an interesting one so long as it did not last too long.

By "invisible" Osprey had meant something as a metaphore, but the direct meaning worked also - it proved that Dante had imagination and that all was not lost with him in terms of being a bit of a kid. Which was definitely a plus in his checklist of good qualities. "It would probably be great to possess a gift like that for a while, but then again it would always mean that if you are capable of becoming invisible then someone somewhere can do the same," it was the simple rule of magic. You were never alone in the ability to practice it.

"Say, if you could choose to be someone/something else for a day - what would you like to be?" she asked him, deciding to continue their conversation about possible/impossible things. "I know that I would want to be a bird - an osprey - to know, how it feels to fly high above the treetops. How the world looks like from up there."

"Ah that is true. I guess I could only hope it be a friend and not a foe." He would not profess to know the rules and logic behind such magic (if there were some). But he would accept them as she told them, since she seemed the more knowledgeable in such arts and fancies. His own stories of myth and magic had all involved the gods or sorcerers, and in such tales, rules weren't really the focus.

Yet also, rarely was magic ever seen a good thing.

How fitting her name was, if that was her wish. Dante had a rather harder time with the question, needing to think a few moments. "Anything or anyone I wished? Hmm." A bird would be wonderful, flying above the ground, but he was also perfectly content with all four feet planted. "I don't know that there is anything I would rather be. Even only for a day."

Dante's honest answer surprised Osprey, who had expected him to have a wish of a similar pattern. People usually did - in her almost four years of life she had met no-one, who - just for a moment - hadn't wished to walk in someone else's shoes. When her leader turned out to be the very first to go against the stream, it confused her and made her feel a bit ashamed for her own silly little dream and regret being so open about it. She looked away from him and focused her gaze at the sky above them and the tiny, moving dark dots that were birds of some kind.

When you gave a second thought about, what he had said, it made her see that in a totally different light. "Then... you are a very lucky person," she said turning back to him and smiling once again. "You are content with your own skin, so to say. There aren't many people like that in the world. In fact - you are the first I have ever met. Cheers for that!"

If he had known his answer had caused that reaction in her, he would have been sorry for it, for in truth he was embarrassed by his own response the instant he delivered it. It was plain, no trace of the creativity or vision that hers had held, but it was true. He could not imagine being anything but what he was, and he was content.

"I like what I know. Sadly, such a thing rarely leads to adventure or much of an interesting life, but I guess I have never minded the idea my life might be boring." He smiled back. "Some of us were built for other things. Thank you, though I much preferred your own answer." As his had given her some insight, hers had given him some as well. It showed a bit more of the type of personality she was... A learner, interested in the sights and what the world had to offer. "I imagine you would learn a lot with wings, even for only a day."

"Don't say that - as long as you keep yourself busy, life can't be boring. Boring is for those, who do nothing at all," Osprey contradicted Dante's opinion about himself. She didn't like, when people attempted to compare themselves to her and therefore were left feeling plain, even though they weren't. Every person was a gem in it's own way. Even if one's life meant never-changing routine. "And if you like it the way it is - who are others to tell you that it should be different?"

A world was a big place, but she would have never got to know the extent of it, had she not decided to leave the comfortable spot at her birth pack. She blushed beneath her fur, when her companion sort of praised her dream. So it was not that silly at all. Thank you for that! "Maybe," she replied, growing thoughtful again. "At the same time this one day would probably leave me wanting for more and I would be miserable for the rest of my life. No... it's a good thing that we sometimes don't get everything we want. It's probably better to be here and dream... then get to know and regret that you are not someone else."

"And if I like boring?" He asked, a note of teasing entering his tone. Then he laughed, shaking his head as though to rid the notion. "You are right, of course." Excitement was oftimes synonymous with trouble, and such drama was better off staying away from him. He had no desire for it. Others seemed to seek it out, and he would never understand why that was. It was more hardship than it was worth.

Her words on the bird fancy were wise and he looked at her with some surprise. Not that such wisdom would come from her - he knew her to be clever, likely far moreso than he - but at the notion itself. "I would never have thought of that, but that is true. You would likely spend the rest of your years longing for another flight. Unless of course you found it not to your liking. However unlikely that may be." He looked at the sky. "Perhaps you would rise only to discover a crippling fear of heights?"

Not liking the fulfilled wish was always a possibility, but Osprey doubted that it would be like that in this case. She had "flown" many times in her dreams and not once had she thought about fear. Of course, imaginary experience couldn't compete with the real one. She wasn't going to argue about that. The very idea that there could be a bird afraid of heights was funny and she chuckled, thinking of a very unhappy crow prowling through the lands, because he was terrified of heights. Once again - a good material for a story.

"Well... I doubt that people fear heigths - it's the possibility to fall down that scares them," she shared her views on this topic. "Birds can't technically fall down to their death unless they get injured. So... I think it is highly unlikely that I - as a bird - would be afraid of heights. But we will never know that for sure," Osprey finished. "Do you have siblings, Dante?"