Silverlight Terrace my taste in music is your face

for @Revui if you'd still like a thread

he'd always been a night owl, starkly different from that of his sunrise loving kin. winter had temporarily pushed him to be more active during the day, primarily due to the fact that it was warmer, but with the slight shift in temperature he found himself naturally craving the familiarity of the moon and stars.

and so while the weather permitted it, astaroth planned to take full advantage of a night such as this. peaceful, starlit, and without any distractions, he made his was across the moon kissed field, gaze skyward and full of curiosity for the endless void above him.

He thought he had been on a familiar trail homeward, with a dark shape drifting occasionally across his vision. He thought it had been his brother, or a sister, or someone else important - the stranger carried themselves with a self-assured gait and looked sizable enough, young, healthy. They could have been a new recruit to the mountain and Revui would not have known; but his first thought was of family, and he trailed after them without a hint of malice. Hydra had charged him to patrol the areas surrounding the mountain and he continued to do that, having found little reason to disobey. It was a freeing experience.

Tonight was exceptional; the stars dotted the heavens, the moon was nearing its luminous apex, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The oncoming spring had brought with it the winds characteristic of the season, and they swept through the valley in the daylight, leading to this perfect night. Clarity abounds - and yet, the dark shape remains obscured to him. They duck among some trees and are temporarily lost to Revui's line of sight, which prompts him to pick up the pace. He overshoots wherever they have sequestered themselves; when he doubles back, he finds himself faced with bright eyes in the dark.

These eyes, he does not know. They reflect the silver glow of the moon, and after a pause Revui realizes the stranger hasn't yet seen him; they are looking up, watching the sky in the way that his mother used to, which stalls any further motion from the warrior. He stares without approaching, tracing the silhouette with his own gaze, before deeming the stranger a non-issue, and contemplates leaving before he himself is spotted.

a collection of stars capture his attention, their dotted placement forming the constellation gemini, unbeknownst to him. they are bright enough that even he can see they form a figure, watered down gold connecting each star to the next until the picture comes into focus. to his untrained eyes the constellation appears as nothing more than a warped piece of artwork, a picasso worthy painting that only an art collector would recognize.

he likely would have moved on to the next bunch of stars had the wind not revealed his unexpected company, his gaze flickering from the inky sky to the greyscale figure standing a ways off. "excuse me" he called out, his attention now set on the way the moon reflected with a silver sheen atop the stranger's pelt. "you wouldn't happened to know the name of that constellation would you?" he asked with a upwards tilt of his muzzle.

He lingers too long. The shadow notices him and draws closer, and Revui idles there like a silver flame lit by the moon. At first he is tense and increasingly cautious while the other wolf drifts along. He cannot tell with certainty where the angles of their body begin and the shadows end; he does see the way the moonlight catches in the finer hairs along their back, dappling their spine, catching on the contours of the face - and he tries to relax, lest his nervous energy be read as something more volatile. Despite always being interested in a fight, Revui finds himself placated in the immediate moment. He would rather enjoy the darkness and the clarity of the night, even if it is with a stranger who could mean him ill. He is confident enough in himself not to worry for long.

The stranger is more attuned to the stars as they emerge overhead, which is a good sign. Their question brings to mind the tiny lessons that his parents attempted to pass down to their children; Revui, who always found sleep more rewarding than staring at the nothingness of the cosmos, could not immediately draw any names to mind. Arcturus might know, or perhaps Jarilo, or any of his other numerous siblings - but he was not the one to ask.

in the end he shrugged and made something up on the spot.

The shrike. He connects them with his imagination, tracing them with his eyes. Its wings are there— he says, motioning to a cluster with a tilt of his snout, and below, it impales its dinner. The line of stars arcs towards a bowl-shape but Revui disregards that bit as it does not suit his impromptu narrative; all of which is surprisingly creative for someone with the intellectual capacity of a rock.

he wondered what it took to be immortalized in the stars. was there some requirement in obtaining a spot among an ocean of ebony? did you need to live a sinless life or worship a god to acquire such everlasting glorification? or were they stories simply made up by those with enough imagination to give them life? ah, if only he knew.

"huh" he let out as he tips his head skyward to look upon the constellation once more. even with the kind stranger revealing the truth, or so he believed, behind the cluster of stars, astaroth had yet to put the peices together. the night sky was a puzzle far too large and complicated for him to figure out on his own, even with the aid of others.

"never would have guessed that" he announces, a few countless blinks bringing about the end of his curiosity for the shrike. off to the next then, "that one looks like a snake poised to strike" he declares with a tilt of his head, muzzle motioning to some nameless collection of stars dotting the sky.

The man accepted the tale, which made Revui feel infinitely better about himself. Smarter, as if the little lie proved his superiority in some tiny, pointless way. He was rarely the smart brother when it came to his family; he was the blunt instrument, to be utilized when blood was to be shed or a body was to be broken. He had always found such a life enjoyable, and yet this momentary pause in the dark, with the starlight shining on high, felt somehow intimate and satisfying in a way that Revui could not fully appreciate. It was different, that was all.

The wolf directed his attention to another cluster of stars; these were strung out in irregular sequence and he squinted up at them. A snake poised to strike — The hydra, he intoned immediately, tracing the branching heads without mentioning them. Mentally he labelled them: Hydra, Ayla, Lyra. They loomed over a simple triangular arrangement, to which he motioned and said, The Spire.

Hm. It was sort of fun to bullshit his way through this, he thought with a rare smirk.

to those looking in, they saw a gullible man. to astaroth, he was simply trusting. he took the stranger's words as truth, ears flickering in the light breeze as the silver titan revealed the constellation to be the hydra. he'd not expected a legend of his home to make an appearance here, and certainly not come from the lips of this stranger.

interested, he arched a brow, gaze trailing over to catch sight of the wraith's smirk. "if that is the hydra" he started, attention fleeing back to the night sky. "then perhaps hercules is near to slay it" he mused aloud, honeyed gaze narrowing as he began to pick out the stars that aligned to form the greek legend.

Content in his choices, and amused that somehow his sisters and the mountain would persist long after the mountain had fallen - even if it was only in the mind of this boy - he set to watching the stars silently, wondering to himself what other shapes could be made. Jarilo, there; guarding two irregular shapes he would deem Yama and Yami. A swatch of darkness where the stars were too tiny to perceive, but in the midst of that, a brilliant solitary facet: Charon.

—perhaps Hercules is near to slay it, the boy was saying, to which Revui gave his attention but had missed the initial premise. He glanced to the stranger and saw the way they looked skyward, so he returned to doing so. I have not met a Hercules, he mentions with his rough voice, inviting the stranger to explain if he so chooses.

there was a moment of confusion sewn into his features when the man revealed he'd never heard of hercules. he knew of the monstrous hydra, but not the mortal who slayed it? curious, he cast a baffled glance in the titan's direction, nose scrunching as he thought of a way to quickly summarize the story of the greek legend.

"he was a mortal with exceptional strength and courage" he began, thoughts trailing back to the countless number of lessons his mother had forced him through. "among his greatest victories, was the slaying of the hydra" he revealed, wondering if any of this might spark some sort of familiarity to the silver stranger.

The abridged tale made Revui squint a moment at the sky and snort, a belly laugh not far behind. It was a dissonant sound coming from a man who rarely understood humor; as he tied his false constellations to family, it sounded ridiculous that anyone claim success against Hydra or the sisters. Whoever this Hercules was, Revui was of the mindset he was truly a liar and a brigand if he thought himself to be so capable.

No, she is too great a warrior, he went on to declare. Three snapping heads and a will strong enough to be queen of these wilds - and a rogue thinks he can fell her? He continued to laugh, the baritone bubbling from his chest and making his eyes water. Afterwards, as he calmed, he looked to the sky again. This boy had odd stories but Revui decided they were entertaining.

his eyes widened as laughter filled the air around them. the last thing he'd expected was for the stranger to find the story humorous, especially when most others thought it grand and awe-inspiring. the cheerful sound was taken as a compliment though, and he let the titan laugh until he could no more.

"perhaps i got the story wrong, and the hydra was the one to slay hercules" he thought aloud, wondering if he had mixed up the tale in his head. truth was he hadn't listened much to his mother's ramblings as a child, for he'd been far too interested in running off and wreaking havoc upon others to have paid much attention to anything else.

The mirth gradually left him. He blinked away a film that collected across his eyes, and looked to the stars again as he took in a few breaths of night air. The boy mentioned having possibly gotten the story wrong and Revui shook his head - either way, he was amused.

Hydra slays those that threaten her family, he spoke with great pride. To think - someone from a far-off land knew of his sister! Told tales of her prowess! One day maybe they would speak of Revui in such a way; the leviathan. Perhaps he should plot out his likeness in the stars while he was alive to do so.

The moment ebbed in to quiet. The stars twinkled overhead but there came a greying, a haze of cloud as the wind hurried to blanket them. Revui's attention therefore dropped, and he watched the boy with a bemused light in his eyes. Her mountain is near. You should be careful - or like Hercules of your story, you will be slain. He was so nonchalant as he gave this warning it might've been unclear if he was being serious - except that glint left his eyes as he spoke.

To make his point known, he motioned to the darkly looming mountain that made the trees seem so puny. There, her mountain - Moonspear. Just like reciting another constellation.

the idea that the nameless stranger spoke of a someone rather than a something hadn't quite clicked into place yet. the hydra was a ruthless beast that could not tell friend from foe, so the idea that it protected it's family - or that it even had one in general - came across as quite the shock to the wayward yearling.

"i suppose it is good then that i am no threat", he let out with nervous laughter as he looked off to catch a glance of the mentioned mountain. he most certainly did not want to meet the fangs of any beast that might resided atop the summit, and so decided then and there that he'd do well to avoid causing trouble near this moonspear the greyscale titan spoke of.

The mirth collected in the pit of his belly. It warmed his cheeks. He had never laughed like that before - and probably wouldn't for a while yet - so he savoured the sensations that lingered. As the boy reiterated that he was no threat, Revui was still softly chuckling to himself but he nodded, and then sombrely added: No, you are funny! You should visit just to tell them your story. I am sure Hydra would be amused by it also. As he spoke he began to move away from the spry young wolf, no longer finding it important to observe him or trace the glimmering stars overhead. He had half a mind to return to the mountain to try and share the tale himself but - it would have been better coming from this storyteller. So lost in his good humours was Revui that he soon was drifting away in the night, like a ship mistakenly untied from its moorings.