Northstar Vale pomodoro break

Phox gazed at the sky with his one good eye, taking in the twinkling lights and remembering some long ago story about how each one was a wolf passed on from this life and onto the next. That made him smile sadly, thinking of Leona, of Primrose, of Camilla and Niamh. Even his own parents, whom he'd never met, were up there somewhere. It was a comforting thought, to some degree, and he hoped that there was some truth to it.

Phox had made himself into the perfect lumpy target.

Jack prowled through the brush and snow, careful to keep his paws light and springy. He wanted to land a whopper of a surprise, if he could. There was a gleam of mischief in the orangewash color of his eyes. A little wiggle of his butt and the boy sprung forward with wild paws.

Hey! a yap was offered. The boy bounced on his feet and then flopped to his belly near Phox. Watching the old man was like looking back in time, Jack Snipe thought. There had to be some wild stories in their family. Whatcha doing?

For once, Phox had been so caught up in looking up, that he failed to notice Jack until his "attack." Thankfully, Phox was quick to recognize who it was, and he was good natured in his response to the surprise. Hey, kiddo. Although, honestly, Jack was looking less and less like a kid every day. He was still gangly, but Phox was pretty sure he'd reached his full height.

Just lookin' at the stars, he said. Thinkin' thoughts.

Stars make good company for thoughts, huh?

Jack totally understood why Phox would stargaze while thinking. The night sky felt like it could capture every thought in the boy’s head and hold it above him for safekeeping. Those thoughts would never be alone, either. Glittering starlight would keep them company until time had swept them away.

Are you thinking about anything special?

The young wolf rolled to his side and cast his eyes on the dark-furred Phox. Jack liked to fill the space with words, if he could. There hadn’t been many opportunities to spend one-on-one time with his uncle. This felt like the perfect opportunity to fix that.

Phox nodded, and he couldn't agree more. The stars were excellent listeners, on account of they couldn't talk back. He liked that about them, and the Redhawk felt that they had taught him a lot about listening in their own way.

I was thinking about my ma and pa, Phox said. I never got to meet them, but my older sister once said they went up there to live with the stars. He'd been thinking about Leona, too, and he wondered if Jack would make that connection on his own.

You never got to meet them? Jack asked with surprise ringing in his voice. He couldn’t imagine such a life! The boy looked as though all his flabbers had been gasted. Life would not have been nearly as fun or awesome without Towhee and Maxim in it. But Phox seemed alright… he seemed well-rounded and fulfilled with his star parents. 

I love my mom and dad too much. They can’t be stars. 

Decided. No budging Jack on such a matter. But the secondary thought struck him after a heavy pause and a sharp inhale of air. 

Do you think Leo will go up there?

closing out here since jack's on npc. <3

Phox shook his head. His namesake and his father were mysterious to him. He knew only what Raven, Finely, Elwood, and Eljay had told him as a child, and he didn't know if there was more to it. In his youth, Phox had idolized them, but as he'd grown older, he'd come to realize they were probably not as remarkable as he'd made them out to be.

-Oh, don't you worry about that. Your mom and pops aren't going anywhere for a long time,- he assured the boy. That is, of course, unless something out of the ordinary happened... but how likely was that? Phox decided it was better to keep things on the positive side. Besides, Jack was asking about Leona.

-I think so,- he said with a sad smile. -Maybe she's up there chilling with my mom and pop.-