Hoshor Plains We picked up the shards and formed them into shapes of stars

She traveled well into the night, and was much relieved when she found Sumac's scent. The blackbear picked up the pace, seeking out her friend with gladness already welling in her chest.

What she came across was not unlike the scene where they'd first met. He was a dark blip at the crest of a hill, his face turned skyward. Some of her buoyancy was lost as she took in the slump of his shoulders. She was still pleased to see him, but a sense of melancholy invaded her heart as she climbed the hillside to pad up beside him.

"What are they saying?" she asked him, her voice quiet. "The stars," she clarified. There was a glimmer of mischief in her eyes, but it was half-buried beneath tenderness and concern.