Northstar Vale Astéria

Darkness had fallen and Antigone was drawn out by the shimmering of starlight. He had seen his father talk about stars with his sister, once. It was a nice memory for the boy. They had looked happy, gazing up at the burning balls of light in the darkness. The red-hooded child had wondered why it had drawn both of their eye, why it was so important.

A chill had swept in on the wind. Antigone shivered at the touch of it, turning his sights from the heavens to the dark shadows that were created by the brush. It was an ominous sight. The boy wondered if the children from the other families were adventurous enough to journey out into the dark.

Zulema crept out of the den after her brother, the talk of stars capturing her attention for a moment, but she slipped past. She would probably pester her father or sister for an explanation later. Instead of tuning in to their conversation, she bounded after Antigone she slowed to his pace while glancing around at the shadowy surroundings.

❝What're we doin?❞ Zulema chirped, dropping her gaze from the skies and turning back towards her ruddy counterpart, his fur outlined by the faint glow of night sky.

Zulema surprised him. Antigone regarded her with sharp eyes, searching her face. She had been drawn toward their father, but it had only been a fleeting thing. It seemed that she was signing up for whatever her brother had in mind. The red-hooded pup nodded his snout toward the ground.

We are going to explore.

The answer was quiet and plain. Antigone blinked at his sister before turning and pointing his snout toward the thick brush. He padded through it, unafraid of the darkness or the long shadows that were cast. There were things to be smelled out there.

❝Cool.❞ Zulema's response was almost a whisper, acting as if their exploration was a secret.

Regardless of her quiet response, her travel through the brush was loud. Hushed laughs and poor whispers to her brother filling the air as the leaves crunched beneath her. The girl clearly hadn't picked up on the concept of whispering completely, but she tried anyway. It wasn't as if they were directly disobeying their parents, it simply seemed like a sin to disrupt the quietness of the night.

❝Wanna go to the spring? I bet there's lots of frogs.❞ Or monsters, she thought, but she didn't say that.

She wondered what it would look like in the dark, the night sky illuminated everything in it's own special way. Perhaps Antigone simply wished to see new places, Zulema was up for that too.

The willingness of Zulema was appreciated. Antigone did not let her know, but he silently admired that she was so willing to step away from their safe little home and into the unknown of the dark. The world seemed different at night. It was almost like it was a different place. The small paths he had carved during the daylight were foreign, unfamiliar things.

Where she was noisy, Antigone was quiet. Each of his steps was made lightly. He moved like a rogue, precise, nearly obsessive. The steps that he took were planned. It would have been an impressive thing if he wasn’t using it to sneak away from his parents. With Zulema at his side, there would be little trouble that would find them.

They were only going to see the frogs.

Yeah, let’s see the frogs, he agreed. One glance over his shoulder with ears perked, Antigone checked to make sure their father wasn’t following.

She didn't bother glancing back like her brother. Once he agreed, she hopped through the brush ecstatic for the frog hunting. Things felt so much more exciting at night, the looming shadows making everything more dramatic. The distant croak of the frogs at the spring were becoming more apparent as they got closer. Coming up on the stream that coursed its way around their home, she jumped into the water and sent a splash spraying outwards, following her action with a giggle and more hushed apologies to Antigone. The cold water did eventually began to sting at her paws, and sucking in a harsh breath she hopped out with a squeal.

❝Cold, cold, cold, ow cold.❞ Zulema tapped her paws over the ground, ❝Jus jump over Ant.❞

She turned back towards the general direction of Lotus Spring, cocking her head sideways at the louder croaking now.

❝We should bring back a frog for Zosime-❞ She paused suppressing a laugh, ❝If we can catch one.❞

As they walked further from their home, Zulema seemed to grow louder. She charged ahead with a fearless gleam in her eye. Antigone padded quietly after her, snout swinging from side to side as he scanned the trees and the looming shadows for movement.

At the stream, she leapt into the water and sent a splash to the other side. The boy watched her with a solemn expression on his face. He could almost tell when the stream had become too cold for her. There was a shift in her expression, a swift bouncing between her paws. She stepped out of the water muttering about the cold and then said that he should jump over it to avoid getting his paws wet.

Antigone’s hind leg slipped into the water, but he had made it to the other side with only a small grunt. He shook the wet foot, a motion that traveled up his body and shifted his weight. The croaking sounded from the spring.

I don’t want to touch the frogs, he explained quietly. You catch one for Zosime.

❝Fine.❞ She let out an exaggerated sigh. ❝You gotta help me find em' though.❞

Zulema resisted the urge to plead with him as he spoke on his preference not to touch the strange looking creatures. The girl hadn't actually seen one, which may prove to be a problem on her makeshift hunt, but the croaking she had heard was already explained to be frogs.

The spring was beautiful under the luminous glow from the sky. It was as if the spring never slept, the faint sound of moving water, bugs zipping across the face of it, and the frog's continuous noise. The near croaking had paused as she stepped closer, excitement budding in her.

❝Must be close,❞ She smiled, tail wagging at a ridiculous speed per usual as she sniffed through the brush.

The boy nodded his head in agreement.

Antigone saw no problem with helping his sister track and locate the frogs. The only issue came when he imagined pressing his paws to their slippery backs. The sensation that he pictured was not pleasant – it filled his stomach with unease. There would be no way that he could try to catch one. Frogs were shuffled to the list of untouchables in the boy’s mind.

Sniffing at the earth, the red-hooded child was overwhelmed with the scents that mingled with the dirt and muck. As they searched, the sounds of bugs grew louder and louder. Antigone’s ears swiveled around on his head, hunting for the sound of the frogs as their bodies struck the spring water.

They might be in the reeds, there, he motioned with his snout toward the tall stalks shooting from the spring.

Zulema stopped her shuffling and perked up, glancing to where he motioned towards. She bounded towards the reeds, letting out a small 'ew' at the water that pooled by her ankles, but still trudged further, her tiny body soon hidden in the tall plants. It was silent for a moment, minus the quiet splashes of water and stirring of the brush. A small shriek had then sounded out, followed by louder splashing and stirring of brush.

❝IT JUMPED AT ME!❞ Zulema squealed out.

She had been frightened at first as it leaped from it's refuge clinging to the reeds towards her direction, but she recovered quickly. It quieted again, the loud struggle and splashing coming to short-lived stop.

❝I got it!❞ Zulema triumphed, her speech hardly intelligible from the frog that muffled her yelling.

It was gross, she wanted it out of her mouth, but she hopped out of the brush towards her brother, muddy and wet. Her tail was wagging at a ridiculous speed again, but she stopped to shake her coat out. The girl would try to get rid of the evidence of her small adventure, but it would be written all over her coat no matter how long she would try to dry off.

❝Think she'll like it?❞ She asked him after her shake, but he probably would struggled to understand her muffled words.

Antigone did not envy his sister as she sloshed into the water, soaking her coat up to her ankles and then nearly to her elbows. The young boy could feel his skin crawl if he imagined the sensation of it for himself. When she shrieked out, the red-hooded brother turned his head sharply toward the water. If something happened to his sister and he could not overcome his fear of the ick to save her, it would be his fault.

But Zulema emerged victorious.

Antigone’s mouth fell slightly. She had really caught a frog. His sister stood before him, bathed in mud and water, clasping the slippery creature in her mouth with a triumphant stare. The boy felt fear burst from inside him. He did not like the look of the mud. He did not like the peculiar texture of the frog’s skin, or that it was in his sister’s mouth.

The boy stood and stared at Zulema, silence passing after her question.

Would Zosime like it? Antigone didn’t. He could not be sure if his other sister would find the creature appealing or horrifying.

Yes, I’m sure she will. If she doesn’t, dad will probably like it.

Zulema was very happy to hear that Zosime would like it, unaware her brother had no clue. He simply kept her spirits up, something she would grow to appreciate later on.

Her tail still waved, little droplets of water spraying around her. She took a few bounding hops forward, spinning around into a bow several feet away from him.
❝Lets go show 'em!❞ Zulema grinned, her speech sounding like gibberish yet again while she held the frog. [/font]

❝We can race back?❞ She huffed and pulled herself back up to stand normal while staring at him for a response.

Zulema appeared pleased with the answer he’d given. She wagged her tail, flicking mud. The boy watched the flecks, making sure they didn’t touch him. The sight of it was difficult to process. He felt overwhelmed with the urge to run away.

It was fortunate that the boy’s sister asked for a race.

Antigone glanced toward Zulema. His navy-blue gaze was hard. Would it be fair to race when she was carrying the frog with her? It was an added piece that he didn’t have. If she wanted to run, he wouldn’t decline. It would please the itch inside of him – run from the mess.

Yeah, let’s race. I’ll catch you a treat later if you beat me.

But Antigone did not wait for her to agree. He darted away, eager to put as much distance between himself and the frog as he could.

Zulema's eyes brightened at his agreement, though her expression shifted the instant he sprinted off. She wanted to yell about how it wasn't fair, but her immediate shock already had her behind. The ruddy girl grumbled and broke off into a sprint after him. The race back wasn't terrible though, the course of adrenaline while running through the dark woods, the leap over the stream, it was nice.

❝Hey!❞ She yelled out, voice still muffled as she had finally gained on the distance between them.

Unfortunately, keeping up with Antigone proved difficult, she still lingered a considerable distance. Zulema decided she would whine about how unfair the race was, though her short attention span would be stolen when they did arrive at their home to show her prize to Zosime.

We can wrap this one and have another? ^^<3

The head start that he had taken was not fair. Her shout of indignance could be heard behind him. The young wolf’s ears flicked forward, intent on where he was running. Antigone did not want to waste another moment beside the mud and the croaking of frogs. He thought of their home and the smell of their mother, the scents that clung to their father’s pelt when he returned from patrols, and that was where he wished to be.

When the duo arrived back at their family’s den, the red-hooded boy watched from a few paces away while Zulema offered Zosime the frog she’d caught. The boy couldn’t help but squirm uncomfortably as he looked at the animal’s slippery legs.

sounds good, thank you for the thread. last from me <3

She had previously planned on whining to her brother, but like expected, her attention had shifted rather quickly to her sister and father. Showing Zosime the horrid little creature was first on her plate, which clearly struggled to contain more than one thing. The small adventure would linger in her mind far into the future, regardless of how young the two were.

It was a lovely memory, even if it was just the antics of two unsupervised siblings.