Heron Lake Plateau under stars
a determination so powerful it could turn the sky storm black
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Ooc — Athena
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#1
Pack Activity 
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The meteors had started sometime early in the month.  She'd talked to @Raven then, for the first time since Tuathal had left, about maybe doing something when they started to pick up.  Pack morale had seemed low since Screech had ... done everything he had done ... and she herself felt pretty down.

She didn't know the name for the phenomenon was going on, and she didn't know anyone who was even interested in stars in the pack that might be able to tell her.  But she worked diligently, trying to catch food and stock up and get things ready.  She didn't even know if anyone would show up — she hadn't done a very good job at actually communicating with other people that something would be happening tonight — but as long as someone did, it'd all be worthwhile.

The sun had just dipped below the horizon when she threw her head back and called for anyone who was willing to show up to watch the phenomenon of the raining stars with her.

ring the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in
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Ooc — Kat
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#2
As summer began its slow creep toward fall, Towhee found herself itching more and more to try out another road trip. Specifically, she wanted to go visit the caldera. But there was no good reason to do that and she didn't want to rob the pack of at least two able bodies (herself and at least one travel companion) for several days, maybe even a week or more. That was why traveling had never made much sense to her. A wolf belonged at home, where it could hunt, guard and patrol. What good was she out there, roaming aimlessly, visiting ghost towns? None, she always answered herself, hence why she hadn't even bothered floating the idea past anyone.

But she was rethinking it the past few days. Traveling would be more difficult in winter, so if she really wanted to go, she should do it soon. Besides, the ranks were pretty full, so the Redhawks could spare her for a short spell, along with whoever she asked to go with her. She was walking across the darkening plateau, debating whether it made more sense to ask Niamh or Tegan to accompany her, when she looked up absently and saw Ceara sitting in the grass in the middle distance. Even as the Beta gazed at her silhouette, she saw the she-wolf raise her muzzle and howl.

Brow furrowing, she dropped her thoughts about a peregrination for now and trotted nearer to the Epsilon, woofing a query under her breath.
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

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Ooc — Jitterwater
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#3
Timelines...? PAH!



Okay so he hadn't charmed a stranger to get in to the pack, he'd just found Niamh, but that had worked. Was it cheating? Maybe. Was Bruges also cheating? Most likely; Ambrose knew his brother well enough to expect as much, but he wasn't thinking about the bet right this second. During the day, sure. It was evening now though, and he was taking a breather. The air was cooling just a little, althoug humidity still hung like a wet cloth in the air, and he had half a mind to find his sister for some more catching up when he heard a call. 

It sounded like someone was throwing a party. No wonder Niamh liked it here so much! It was beautiful, and they weren't afraid to have a little fun!

His tail was whisking behind him as he sought out the voice, and eventually arrived just after Towhee — but he didn't see her at first. The sunset had begun to transition the sky through an array of deep pinks while the few clouds became counter-shaded in reds and then purples, and it caught Amrose's eye. He was watching the clouds drifting and staring in awe up at the glorious colors, at least until he got close enough to make out Towhee's figure and just beyond that, Fire's. They were both familiar for different reasons.

Hello! He greeted cheerfully, but at this point he'd stopped staring at the colorful sky and was watching the two of them, wondering if this was supposed to be a girls night or maybe a date, which maybe he wasn't invited to after all. Am I intruding?

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Ooc — Kim
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Like the aging male he was, Elwood was getting ready for bed when he heard Ceara's call. He had just completed the second of three rotations before settling down in the grass, but he paused and looked in the direction of the howl, then shifted his gaze to make eye contact with @Finley. She, too, had been preparing for a lazy night "in," but the duo exchanged shrugs and decided to see what was going on.

When they arrived, Ceara had already been joined by Towhee and Ambrose. Elwood chuffed a greeting towards the latter, glad to see the male that he had already been acquainted with outside of the territory. He and Finley approached Towhee. "Hey," Elwood said, as Finley moved to bump her own shoulder against Towhee's. The pair of retirees then looked to their relative, waiting for Ceara to explain the reason for celebration.
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Ooc — Athena
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Surprisingly enough, people came shuffling in quickly.  Already there were four gathered here — one she recognized and two more unfamiliar faces — and she couldn't quite hide the surprise on her face.

-Hey,- she signed to Towhee, a little rusty since she'd been spending less time with Raven.  She continued with something like -meeting- before she gave up and used her words.  Um, the stars are supposed to be beautiful tonight.  She ducked her head in embarrassment for a second before she shrugged.  I caught some food and stuff for everyone, things have been kind of Debbie Downers around here so I figured that.. maybe you know, we could all gather and...  well, what, exactly?  Fuck around?  watch them.. together.

Lame, lame lame.  Just in time for the new, kind of cute guy to see what a dipshit she was.  No, you're not intruding.  There's food here, if you want some.  And then in the back, Elwood and Finley.  Hey, guys.  I don't think we've even formally met yet.  I'm Ceara.  Um.  Blackthorn, obviously, heh.  She gave her darkened spine a wiggle before turning her head to the sky.  We're lucky it's clear outside tonight.  Should be starting soon.
ring the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in
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Ooc — Kat
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#6
There was fresh game scattered around Ceara. Towhee slowed and cocked an eyebrow at this, her head flicking sideways when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Now both brows rose in surprise at the sight of Ambrose casually strolling toward them, looking more or less at home. When had that happened...? The Beta's lips parted to ask him how he'd turned up here when her godparents' arrival stole her attention. She grinned broadly at them, stepping closer to nudge Elwood's and Finley's cheeks in turn before allowing her focus to finally drift back to Ceara (but not without another inquisitive flicker to Ambrose).

"—of Debbie Downers around here so I figured that... maybe, you know, we could all gather and... well... watch them... together." Although Towhee had missed some of the context, she tried to piece together the clues. She was a bit hung up on the Debbie Downers comment. What was Ceara talking about? Her orange eyes followed as she (Ceara) introduced herself to her fellow Blackthorns, finally mentioning the clear skies, which prompted Towhee to look upward.

Was something happening with the moon? The stars? Feeling mildly frustrated at having missed much of the point of this gathering, Towhee nonetheless planted her hindquarters. She would just have to wait and see, find out what this was all about. Or maybe someone would cotton on to her chagrin and deign to fill her in on current events.
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

I archive threads if my partner goes inactive and/or there are no new replies for several weeks. I'm more than happy to continue an archived thread if you're interested. Just revive it (via maintenance) and tag me in your next reply. :)
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Ooc — Bryndel
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Owen was startled awake by the howl that came reverberating down the hollow of the entryway. He glanced uncertainly around, but with curiosity getting the better of him stuck his small black nose outdoors and wriggled it intently. The velvet carpet of the sky high above glittered clear and beautiful, and the longer his nose worked the more individuals' scents he could pick out, not that far away and several of them pretty familiar by now. He took a deep breath, girded his courage about him and, with one final glance back to check and see who if anyone else in the dark recesses of the den might follow—da was still back there, at least, right? He had been when Owen had gone to sleep, but the boy feared his courage would fail him if he snuck back in again to check now, and he didn't hear anything from @Quixote, so... he then padded out into the night. His gait was only a little uncertain and unsteady these days; most of his feet's weaving was now due to a combination of environmental hazards and the turbulence of his inner emotional state that was driving them onward. As Owen reached the edge of the gathering of wolves, his feet stuttered to a halt; after a brief hesitation he silently offered an uncertain signing of, -Hello...to all...?-

Owen's eyes darted from one wolf to another, hovering briefly on first this one and then that like a dragonfly on the prowl. It was just as he was looking again at Towhee and quietly wondering if he was going to see some strange display of her bird-morphing powers this evening, and if perhaps the howl had had something to do with that, that he caught a sudden flickering glimpse of something bright and fast in the sky high above. Owen gasped and darted into his aunt Towhee's shadow, where he cowered and looked about more wildly yet. What on earth had that thing been?! He had never in his short life seen anything like it. He huddled and worried about its opinions regarding the tastiness of small puppies even as he looked around at the adults in bewilderment to see if any of them had seen...whatever it was, and whether they too were perhaps worried about the size of its teeth or the capacity of its stomach. Owen threw a pleading glance over his shoulder, hoping that ma or da or perhaps @Niamh or @Eljay might at any moment materialize there to reassure him; right now he was ready to dart over to them and press his face straight into their fur if that somehow magically did happen. Once he was absolutely certain he was safe, then he could have a better look around and maybe try to figure out what he had glimpsed. But thus far in his short life he hadn't had the best of luck with strange inanimate objects; he wasn't about to take a chance with this one that seemed to be fully and quite speedily animate.
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Ooc — Jennifer
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#8
Quixote hadn't been sleeping yet, but things had definitely settled down for the evening and at a certain point just simply not waking the kids was a simple enough goal.  Too bad not everyone got the memo.  Oh well.  Owen had been woken up and after a moment curiosity had apparently gotten the better of the pup as he disappeared into the early evening.  It was easier at the moment for Quixote to be the one to follow his son and make sure he didn't get into trouble, so he did so.  He lagged a bit behind just so he could watch what Owen would do, giving him enough space to make his own decisions as long as he like... didn't walk off a cliff or something.

Soon enough, the wolves that had gathered came into view -- a pretty good sized group too.  Sorry, we're a little late I guess.  Fashionably late, yeah?  The alpha had totally missed the streak in the sky that Owen had spotted, and just continued on to sit near the others, greeting them with a dip of his head and a faint smile.  Hopefully his own calmness would be enough to make Owen chill out a little -- was it too many people, maybe?  Dunno.  Quixote was here mostly because he didn't want Owen to be unescorted while ambling about in the darkness, but that didn't mean he wasn't curious, though he wasn't gonna go and ask for a repeat of what might have already been said, opting for the "just wait and see what happens" option.
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Ooc — Iris
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#9
Not long after Owen's saving angel showed up in the form of his father, Eljay stumbled in as well. He smiled and said, "Heya," to the other wolves before pulling up to Owen's side and gently nudging the boy's cheek reassuringly. He glanced at Ceara and waited quietly to hear what the meeting was all about. Something about raining stars..? Eljay still absolutely sucked at ptero, but luckily he'd missed most of that going on. Luckily Owen and Quixote both were a little late too, so that he didn't have to feel too terrible about that.

Eljay glanced at the sky but he didn't notice anything just yet, and he wasn't too sure what was going to happen so that didn't help. Hopefully Ceara would explain to the latecomers so he didn't have to pretend he knew what was going on here.
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Ooc — Stevie
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Can y'all remove this old lady from PPC please and thank you? :)

Finley had whined about coming back. She was old, she was tired, she was spent. She'd had a billion babies and really, wasn't the pack just sick of her already? But Elwood had given her that look, and the very brief protest she'd had inside of her own mind was over. With a shrug, she agreed to join them again, seated herself beside her old man, and looked around with tired, curious eyes.

I honestly have no idea what's happened since we last saw Finley, but my understanding is that it was a lot. They seemed to have gotten themselves to a quiet-ish point though, and for that, the old Blackthorn was grateful. She looked at each of the wolves that had been collected, thrilling once again over the fact that nearly all of them were Blackthorns, or they were at least married to one. Or they were a Redhawk, which might as well be the same thing these days. In any event, it was all family as far as the eye could see. Some newer, some older, but all a part of the legacy.

Fin grinned secretly at the thought and leaned into her mate's shoulder. Subtly, she lifted her chin to his ear and whispered, "I'm glad we're not dead yet," before lowering her muzzle again to watch and wait for this show to start.
 
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Ooc — Kim
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Ceara's introduction reminded Elwood just how much things had changed in the past few months; when he and Finley were in leadership, they had known each and every pack member. But they didn't seem to be socializing quite as much these days, and the pack had been sustaining a large number of wolves for some time. He knew who Ceara was, but was glad to finally put a face to the name and make her acquaintance. "Nice to officially meet you," he said with a warm smile, then turned his gaze skyward to take in the view Ceara had mentioned.

His ears twitch to acknowledge the arrival of Quixote, Owen, and Eljay, but he didn't look away from the sky until he heard Finley whisper in his ear. He gave her a sidelong glance then smirked at her quip, his tail stirring in the grass behind him as he leaned over to reply, "Me too."
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Ooc — Athena
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Wow, damn.  Like.  Ninety percent of the pack that she hadn't met?  Showed up.  Which was all fine and good, but it was also kind of intimidating because she was beginning to feel like the little meal and get together she prepared was a little... lame.  If wolves could sweat, she'd have one of those big comical anime sweat drops.  She cleared her throat and swallowed through the thick, and forced herself to reiterate everything to all the newcomers.. this time, hopefully a little better.

Well, uh, hey guys.  It's nice to meet you.. I just.. tonight's supposed to be really pretty and I thought that maybe I could get some people to join me to watch the stars, because it's supposed to be really pretty.  Got some food here, you can dig into.. talk amongst yourselves, you know.  She shuffled and awkwardly tried to start again, but just as she opened her mouth to speak the sky above them opened up.  At first it was one or two stars that distracted her and caused her head to swivel, and then it was an entire shower.  That... that's why.. we're here.

Stellar.
ring the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in
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Ooc — Kat
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#13
Nobody seemed to notice Towhee's mounting frustration. She was considering the merit of an impatient outburst when little Owen's arrival softened the hardness etching into her features. It warmed the cockles of her heart when his first instinct was to sign a greeting. Shuffling past her godparents, she moved toward the puppy, offering a small smile for other recent arrivals before planting herself beside the tyke.

-Hey, little dude!- she signed to him, then added out loud (and loudly), "I have no idea what we're all doing here. But," and here Towhee returned to silent signing, -It's good to see you out and about. Where are your sisters?-
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

I archive threads if my partner goes inactive and/or there are no new replies for several weeks. I'm more than happy to continue an archived thread if you're interested. Just revive it (via maintenance) and tag me in your next reply. :)
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Ooc — Bryndel
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For all that he'd been scanning behind him specifically looking for the guy, Owen nonetheless startled a little as Quixote's voice and then his face loomed up out of the darkness that that inky-black fur blended into all too well at times. Owen skittered over to cuddle up beside his father's furry bulk before offering a glad lick of gratitude to Eljay's proffered nose. Owen first awkwardly tried to place a paw on the freckly Blackthorn's nose to hold it there—he wanted those bigger teeth on call, in case more inanimate monsters were going to make an appearance tonight—and then he squinted and pointed his ears in concentration at Towhee as she put herself before him and started signing. -Hi, he signed at her as he bobbed his head in acknowledgement, but the rest of her words took a moment for his puppy brain to digest. -Out an' about, all, yes. ...Sisters...sleepy, rest behind there, behind me.- Owen wagged his stubby red tail in pride, thinking he had made himself pretty clear. He was doubly glad to not only have Quixote behind him but also two more of his trusted protectors ringing him; surely with this many and this big of attentive adults around, nothing could get at him to harm him. Owen reached out his other paw toward Towhee before craning his neck up, over, and around to blink with some confusion at Ceara and her words. Why would anyone watch stars? They were just boring little pinpoints of light, weren't they? It wasn't like wolves could hunt or eat them, so far as Owen knew, even if there hadn't already been some pretty interestingly tasty smells pre-hunted and awaiting them off to the side.

He was less frightened and more puzzled now as he turned his eyes toward the heavens once more. He stifled another gasp as more and more of the stars did indeed come to life, now, streaking across the heavens with a brighter and briefer trail than any rabbit, dazzling his young eyes more than the brightest whitetail's retreating stub. Owen pulled his chosen protectors closer and squished up against them as best he could, but with the comforting scents and bulk of those adults nearby—albeit unable to all three be compressed into the same small space all around him as Owen might have preferred; hopefully Qui and Towhee and Eljay weren't claustrophobic—Owen felt reasonably confident still that none of the strange shooting-star-creatures could get to him. -Up...up!- he managed, staring, and then, breathlessly quietly yipped aloud in case anyone had missed it: Up! He wasn't quite certain who all of these others were, many of their scents only vaguely familiar to the boy, but he didn't really want those zippy sneaksome stars to catch any of them unawares, either.
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Ooc — Iris
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It was nice to see that mommy and daddy were here too. Of course, Eljay's parents would never die. He had been afraid of it happening but he had been told so many times that he shouldn't worry about it -- and then it hadn't happened, just like he'd been told -- that Eljay really thought them immortals at this point. He didn't often think of death, and found it difficult to think back to those that had passed. Except when mentioned in conversation or when someone asked him about it, Eljay still really considered them simply 'gone', not 'dead' or 'gone forever'. As if they had simply wandered off.

It also made Eljay feel relieved to hear that the organiser of the night was a little nervous. He didn't know her, but she seemed nice enough. It instantly made Eljay feel less nervous and out of place to see that she tripped over her words, and he smiled softly and encouragingly at her. Owen ptero'd something to Towhee but Eljay could not make sense of it in all the happenings. Towhee seemed frustrated about something but Eljay decided to simply try and ignore that, as he wasn't sure it was something he could solve anyway.

The touch and look Owen had given him was enough for Eljay to stay by the boy's side for now though. Maybe he would catch up with star-watching-organising-girl later to thank her for the night, or something, and at least reassure her that she had done well to organise it in case she felt insecure about her somewhat stammered explanatin.

Anyway, soon Eljay was distracted from his thoughts as Owen shouted 'up!' Considering he was still next to the boy Eljay startled briefly but then looked up just to catch the tail end of a falling star. Not sure if he had simply looked wrong Eljay kept watching the sky, hoping that wouldn't have been the last of it.
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Ooc — Jennifer
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At least Fire had gone and repeated what he'd probably missed, as they weren't even the last of the arrivals, as Eljay had shown up as well. There were a couple of times he looked like he'd been about to say something to her, but he kept getting distracted by Owen flailing about next to him.  Kids were kind of distracting and Owen being there was pretty much keeping Quixote's attention stapled earthwards.

There were times like this where Quixote wished the pack was smaller, where there weren't so many extended family members on his mate's side of things.  And yet here was his son drawing in how many of them while Quixote himself felt quite distanced from all of them.  Hell, he still sometimes thought Owen hated him for no reason, but at least that seemed like it was maybe starting to fade.  Then again, he wasn't the easiest wolf to get to know.

If he could catch Towhee's eye, he'd mouth, 'He doesn't like sleeping.'  Though Quixote had gotten a vague understanding of some of the ptero basics from just lumping together enough context that eventually he got the gist of it, he wasn't good at actually using it.  His brain just didn't hook the motions and words together fast enough on his end -- it was far easier and faster for him to just talk.

That was about when Fire and Owen directed everyone skywards again but Quixote had missed it again.  But there were more to come, right?  Then again, to Owen assuring him, Yeah, you saw it?  Keep watching!
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Ooc — Kim
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#17
There was a low buzz of conversation around as the Redhawks interacted, but Elwood became distracted by the light show as soon as it started. He watched as the stars began to dance across the night sky, and was captivated by what he saw. For the next few moments, he watched quietly, only tearing his gaze away long enough to take a bit of the proffered food to share with Finley.
a determination so powerful it could turn the sky storm black
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Ooc — Athena
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srry for the wait!  y'all don't have to wait on me.  turns out i'm real bad at running these group threads, trying to figure out pacing, etc.

Just after she got done explaining for a second time why she had apparently disturbed everyone and brought them all together, Towhee yelled out (probably unintentionally) that she had absolutely zero clue why they were here.  Her face dropped as she watched Towhee interact with one of Raven's children, and she felt a little out of place.  

At least the other boy who'd arrived seemed kind.  He shot her an encouraging look and Ceara visibly softened, some of the anxiety she carried melting from her.  It was bizarre to her that there were still so many packmates she hadn't met yet.  Maybe later, she'd reach out to Aunt Finley and uncle El, as well as whoever that other boy was.  

The little boy shouts, Up! and she turns her gaze to the sky.  There it begins, the bright starfall she'd been expecting.  She reclines onto her haunches now that she has nothing left to say, and watches as more stars begin to leave their bright trails across the night sky.

ring the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in
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Ooc — Kat
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#19
Although Owen easily captured Towhee's attention, she couldn't resist looking upward when he signed the word. She blinked, hard, at the first falling star. Many more began drifting across the otherwise dark sky, lending bursts of glowing light as they streaked past and eventually faded. Towhee watched raptly for a few moments, forgetting the pup and everybody else. Suddenly, all she could think of wasn't this spectacular light show, but another...

"Phox, what does it sound like?" Towhee had asked.

-They're not making any noise,- Orca had signed.

Nightjar and Lagan had been there too, along with Uncle Elwood and Aunt Finley...


Towhee blinked herself back to the present, the supernal display reflecting in her orange eyes as she suddenly scooted nearer to her godparents. Out of the handful of wolves there that night, they were the only ones left. Although she was grateful for the presence of newer faces—particularly little Owen's—the reminder caused an ache deep in her chest, particularly for Orca, and Towhee found herself leaning her head gently onto Finley's familiar gray shoulder.
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

I archive threads if my partner goes inactive and/or there are no new replies for several weeks. I'm more than happy to continue an archived thread if you're interested. Just revive it (via maintenance) and tag me in your next reply. :)
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Ooc — Stevie
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#20
Finley's gaze traveled across the pack that had gathered. The stars hadn't begun to be of any interest yet. To be honest, even when they started to fall, she probably wouldn't care all that much. She just liked being there.

Her eyes fell on Eljay as he sat with Owen. She smiled softly to herself and prayed for the thousandth time that he might one day find himself a mate who could give him the big family he deserved. She supposed being an psuedo-uncle and big brother to the children of others was satisfying enough for him, but she still wanted more for him.

The shout for everyone to look up went over her head (lolololol). She only glanced overhead when she saw everyone else do the same. Her thoughts wandered to Liffey as she watched, remembering how much her little river had enjoyed stargazing. She wondered if her daughter still watched the stars, and if she was watching them now. The thought made her sad, and thus Towhee's touch was very timely. Fin glanced down at her tough, loving, way bad ass of a god daughter and smiled, planted a kiss on her crown, and leaned comfortably into her weight.
 
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Ooc — Bryndel
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#21
Owen had told them all to look up, but in truth he himself was likely to make that a little more difficult for the trio he was smotheringly trying to attach himself to in particular. He was gratified that none of his sisters were around to steal the attention of his currently mercurially favored group of adults away, though, and that all three adults were actually listening to him for once. It made him feel somewhat powerful, for a change, a heady sensation that combined with the closeness of the protective adults to make him feel almost content, for once.

And then there were the stars. Owen tilted his own small head back with his mouth wide open, watching avidly as the stars went insane high above him. He'd never seen anything like this, and yet despite his initial trepidations the streaking star-creatures didn't seem to be getting anywhere close to him and none of the adults seemed very concerned. Owen blinked as he glanced around at them all, and whimpered just a little and swiped a paw in Aunt Towhee's general direction as she slumped against Finley instead of him—he couldn't even begin to guess what might be going through her head, beyond a vague wondering as she seemed to draw some comfort from big gray Finley if perhaps Towhee was suddenly in need of protection herself...no, no, surely not; she was big and strong and probably part raptorbird and could never be thought of as weak or needing others the way uncertain little puppies did! Owen himself still had an attentive Quixote and Eljay snugged up closer to him, though, and the dazzling distraction of the spectacular light show Nature was bestowing upon them all: his eyes were quickly pulled away from Towhee and back to the dancing stars, on the off-chance she might mistakenly think the demandingly overdramatic little brat was actually in some sort of real distress.

He absentmindedly tried to more-firmly encircle the nearest convenient bits of Quixote and Eljay with his stubby legs and squoosh them ever closer to him, just like a small child clutching a favorite stuffed animal. He distractedly signed an affirmative -I watch, yes,- at his father, despite Qui possibly being just about the least likely wolf here to be able to parse this bit of ptero. What he said aloud was a breathy, Oooooh. And then, his continued distraction and fascination plain, after staring at the falling stars for a little while, he asked of the general gathered company as the question popped into his head: Can weh' catchem? What would it be like to hunt fleeing stars, and what would they taste like?
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Ooc — Jennifer
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#22
He sort of understood the kid, the fact that he'd been looking upwards and only caught Owen's flailing out of the corner of his eye hadn't helped either.  He mostly managed because between 'watching' and 'yes' they were pretty obvious signs to him, so he got the gist of it.

Again he spoke quietly to his son, Well, I don't know, but I think they pretty much stay up there.  The stars are really far away -- even if you climb the tallest mountain around, you still won't be close to them.  He didn't want to dominate what conversation might happen.  If Owen was still awake by the time things broke up for the night, maybe they could chat on the way back to the den before the pup hopefully went to sleep this time.

This time, though, he was actually able to catch sight of one of the shooting stars.  They were kind of pretty, he supposed.  If this was going to keep happening longer than a night or so, he'd have to make sure Raven got a chance to hang out and see the stars too.
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Ooc — Iris
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#23
Eljay could not suppress the smile that crept onto his face when Owen grabbed his leg and pulled him in close. It was perhaps the first time that he realised that maybe he wanted a family some day. Eljay had never considered that before, because he did not think it was for him. He didn't remember ever falling in love with anyone -- well, in that way, anyway -- and in a way, he had never seen himself as 'one of the adults'. But to receive such love from a child that he cared for so much was powerful, and it made him wish that he could have what Quixote had one day. Immediately after those thoughts, his head was filled with doubt and fear that he might not be good enough. That he might not live up to the expectations of his children, that he might not raise them well enough or that they would resent him for not being a stronger man when they grew up.

It was easy to shake these thoughts off, not only because he had no mate to start with and he did not really think it was going to happen any time soon, but also because the sky was filled with stars falling down. At the same time as Owen Eljay let out an "Oooh!" paired with a gasp as he first saw a falling star. Owen then asked whether stars could be caught, and Eljay chuckled while Quixote answered the question. "If only they could," Eljay tacked on and he nuzzled the top of Owen's head lovingly, feeling proud that Owen was asking questions to find out how the world worked.
a determination so powerful it could turn the sky storm black
683 Posts
Ooc — Athena
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#24

Everyone had crowded close to one another and had preoccupied themselves with the stars, but Ceara's gaze was trained on the gathering.  She wished that she could feel connected to them.  She wondered if out there, somewhere, @Tuathal was looking at the same meteor shower and thinking of her.  She wondered if her mother and father missed her.  She wondered if they'd had any more kids yet to replace their youngest that had flown the roost.

She wasn't needed here anymore.  The big happy family had each other, and Ceara?  She could fend for herself, she guessed.  The gunmetal bite of her eyes dropped to the ground, and she turned without another word and departed the scene.  Nobody'd miss her here.

ring the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in
2,313 Posts
Ooc — Kim
Tracker
Master Guardian
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#25
My last post I think?

With a mouthful of food, Elwood turned his attention back to the spectacle overhead. There were murmurs around him from the other wolves gathered, and he noticed when Finley's weight shifted away from him as she leaned against Towhee. He was content to watch quietly until the show was over.

Belatedly, he glanced at the location where Ceara had been standing, intending to thank her for organizing this get together. But she was gone. He blinked and craned his neck to look for her, but the fiery she-wolf was nowhere to be found. He assumed that she simply thought her duty had been fulfilled, so he didn't put much stock into her disappearance and remained there with his family until they all started to disperse.