Moonspear forty winks

He admitted he wasn't very good at coming up with beginnings or endings, though he could whip up something in medias res. Meerkat wondered if he would share any of his tales with her. Maybe she could help him bookend them. Now there was an idea: the two of them could collaborate on a story. It might come out a little wacky but she thrilled at the thought.

Before she could voice the suggestion, a twinkle at the corner of her eye captured her attention. "Hey, look," she whispered sotto voce, "it's Polaris, also known as the North Star." Before Atlas could train his attention on the right piece of sky, Meerkat boldly lifted a paw and gingerly guided his face in the right direction, her toes tingling where they pressed so lightly against his cut jaw.

"There's another bright one," she added after a few beats. She pointed and admitted, "But I'm not sure what it is. It looks a little yellower than the rest of the stars." Phox would've known. Meerkat pursed her lips thoughtfully, then gave a little internal shrug. She'd made a disclaimer; she wasn't an expert.

As the night settled in fully around them, Meerkat noticed wisps of what looked like clouds, though she was pretty sure, "That's the Milky Way." She drew in a breath of the cooling air and simply gazed at the whole masterpiece visible from this vantage point. She'd forgotten about her shortness of breath and her dizziness. In fact, Meerkat forgot about her surroundings entirely for a while, save for the warm press of Atlas beside her.

Her eyelids grew heavy, yet she didn't want to close her eyes. She didn't want to stop gazing at the stars, nor did she want to miss a moment here with him. Eventually, though, she lost that fight, drifting off with her head rolling gently on Atlas's dark shoulder. It was time to catch those forty winks.