Sun Mote Copse I saw the constellations reveal themselves one star at a time

She'd hoped that the kids would settle down for Bronco, and simply curl up and go to sleep, making it easy for him to babysit...But she'd learned by this point that her son had absolutely no intentions of taking the easy route and letting his younger siblings settle down and go to sleep. Shaking her head, she let them be- and simply shrugged as they left the densite amid the loud sounds of a brawl. "Well...They'll sleep good tonight after he's done with them at least," She commented to @Phox. She kissed his cheek and, knowing that the stars were beginning to appear amidst the deep violet of the skies, she took off into a sprint, luring her mate away from her as the sounds of shreiking children faded into silence. 

The squeals and barks of her usual daytime soundtrack faded into the chirrupping sound of crickets and the peeping sound of frogs from the marsh. She slowed when the trees parted and revealed the sky, having chosen this place knowing how much the stars and constellations meant to Phox. Still panting somewhat, she smiled, and sat down, turning her gaze for a moment to the sky. There was still a faint hint of light toward the West, but with every moment, the light trickled away, and the stars began to twinkle. "Hey," She breathed, and gave him a smile. "Maybe the 'Rora Borealis will be out," She said, recalling the night they'd seen them last, which was, for three obvious reasons, a very important night in their relationship. Of course, Niamh was horrible with names and failed to properly recall the name he'd given the dancing lights in the sky- but came close enough. "Where's the bear one again?" she asked, looking back up toward the stars. For some reason, she'd always struggled with finding the constellations that Phox seemed to pick out so easily, but he had a talent for picking out the concrete from the abstract, and the potential from the mess.

Phox loved all four of his kids to pieces, and when they left the youngest three behind in the care of Bronco, he looked back no less than three times, wondering if that squeal or that shout was something horrible happening to them. Stopping too many times to count, he followed Niamh out to the clearing, hearing the younger voices fade as they made their way. It was so hard to leave them behind, but he knew it was for the best. He and Niamh needed their time together apart from the children. It was so strange this year, since he had that one extra relationship to keep up. (The relationship with Towhee had always been a natural one, but with Niamh, he knew he had to work at it a bit more.)

He didn't correct her when she mispronounced the name, knowing exactly what she meant and why it was a significant thing to bring up. That night had been all kinds of things, eventually leading to the three hellions they had left in the care of Bronco. And hey, maybe Figment would stop by, too?

When she asked about the bear, Phox turned south, finding Leo the cougar and then moving his gaze upward. -The big one, you mean?- he asked. There were two, but that was usually the one folks were talking about. The smaller one was more difficult to find for him. -It's one of the easier ones to pick out. Brighter than the other stars around it.-

She glanced to Phox, catching movement out of the corner of her eye, before she looked back up at the sky. One of the brightest ones, eh? This meant that she was supposed to find not just one star, but a series of them that were supposed to form the shape of a bear. She'd almost been able to imagine it the last time she'd been shown what it looked like, but still found it difficult to find all the stars. Of course, it would be another hour at least before the sky became completely dark, making those stars stand out- but she was determined to find it. 

"That's the one that points to the North star, right?" She asked. "Sort of like...The bear's butt or hip bones or whatever line up and point north?" She asked, but didn't give him much time to answer, as she'd turned her head to gaze in that direction, and was able to pick out a few of the stars she was looking for. "That's them, there, innit?" She asked eagerly.

Phox nodded, feeling a bit of joy that Niamh had remembered that bit. Had he taught that to her? It didn't matter. -Yeah, the rectangular part points to Polaris—the North star—which is the neck part of the little bear.- Niamh had already managed to pick out the big bear, and Phox once again. -That's them!- What a good student she was. Among other things, of course.

He let his own eyes follow the line from the big bear down to the bright star that Arcturus had been named after. From there, he found Virgo, the mother. He thought that maybe his own namesake mother looked down on him from somewhere in that constellation.

She gazed up at the collection of the stars- and wondered why it was that they stayed in the same place every night, at least in relation to one another. Of course- this was an observation made by a creature who had no idea that there were such things that would move in their own path- such as satellites and planets- and who didn't look at the night sky enough to have made a note that there were celestial beings that didn't simply stay locked into the starlit patterns. It was probably all for the best- Niamh was the sort of wolf who probably would've become very neurotic about the possibility of alien invasion if she ever caught sight of a moving object in the night sky. Imagine Niamh seeing Starlink. 

She saw some reason in at least being able to find where North was at night, though such knowledge would be useless should there be cloud coverage and she liked to rely on her own inner sense of direction. -What would we have to do, then, to get our own consolation?- She asked, leaning her shoulder against his.

Now there was a lofty goal! -I guess somebody would have to decide that we deserved it,- Phox replied. -And then they'd have to tell their friends and family, maybe make up some grand story about us, then get outsiders in on it, too.- It seemed like an awful lot of work for something that Phox didn't think would mean much to him once he was gone. He would be happy becoming a single star in somebody else's constellation.

There was something downright comforting about having Niamh lean against him, and Phox let himself be lost in that sensation for now. Things were so wonderfully peaceful and comfortable here with the Firebirds, especially with the children he and Niamh had created. He couldn't imagine a better life even if he'd tried.

She was quiet for a moment (longer than usual, anyway) as she pondered Phox's suggestion. She gazed up at the stars, and saw nothing but a random sprinkling of dots on a dark background, the same way shells were washed ashore willy-nilly on a beach. Somehow, he saw shapes and forms in them, and she supposed with practice it might get easier, as the stars tended not to move- but she'd not taken any interest in them until she'd met Phox. Now, thinking of any story that might be worthy of getting her frame designed in a constellation...She found herself grasping for threads, until she looked up again at the bear constellation, and a sad but fond thought hit her. 

"We need to find a Finley one. Somewhere near the bear." She said softly, perusing the skies that lingered around the constellation she'd mentioned, though it became more difficult when she felt tears prickling the corners of her eyes. Unspoken, she wondered if she should find a constellation for Colt, too...But she didn't want to say it out loud. Instead, she spoke with a slightly broken voice, though she paused to clear her throat in an attempt to shove the pang of grief aside. "An' one for Elwood. We got lots of stories about them...They should have a constellation." She said.

I had to do so much research for this, LOL. Neat graphic here though: http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/find-leo-...om-uma.gif

Phox was content to stare at the sky endlessly, watching the stars and the occasional strange light flicker by. He still wasn't quite sure what those were, but they didn't seem to fit the same properties as the rest of the stars. They weren't stationary by any means, and they blinked rather than twinkled. Some of them even had multi-colored lights. Maybe they were stars on their way to finding their homes, or perhaps they were stars who had finished their time and were finally drifting off somewhere else. Nobody he'd met had an answer for him about that.

His train of thought was broken by the mention of Finley, which immediately pained and warmed his heart. He missed her terribly, and he often thought of all the time he'd lost when he'd been away from the Redhawks for so long. The same went for Elwood. They had been best friends with his parents, and they had acted as guardians to him along with Raven. He searched across the sky, trying to find the best place for the Blackthorns to live out their afterlives and tell their stories from up high.

Towhee and I always likened ourselves to Gemini, because of the whole 'two peas in a pod' thing. Maybe Finley and Elwood could be near there. We won't be able to see Gemini until morning, but if you look at the big bear, there's a way to find it from there. The process was a bit complicated, but Phox did his best. Trace from where the box meets the line away from the line. That's the head of one of the twins, and their sibling just to the left of him. Finley and Elwood can be the protector of the twins. There's a little cluster of stars between them that would work perfectly.

That's so neat! I gawk up at the stars all the time while I'm out delivering newspapers at stupid o'clock in the morning, so I've been trying to pick those few constellations out the past couple mornings. We're also forecasted to get some Northern Lights over the next couple days, hopefully, so I'll be looking for those too :D

Niamh had never really found herself uncomfortable with the close bond between Phox and Towhee, nor had she really found herself ever feeling jealous or envious or left out- which was an unusual thing for a wolf like Niamh who needed so much attention and acknowledgement. So when Phox mentioned the fact that he and Towhee already sort of had a constellation, she was neither surprised nor jealous; this was exactly the sort of thing she would've expected to hear from Phox anyway, given how much he liked stargazing. 

She tried to figure out which stars he meant, to line up and draw away from, and found her gaze dropping toward the horizon where she assumed the Gemini constellation was still somewhat hidden. She wasn't sure she'd be able to pick it out even if it had been obvious- given how much effort it took her to pick out something as visible and remarkable as Ursa Major. Still- she nodded, her lips pulling up in a feeble, somewhat trembling smile as she agreed- Finley and Elwood would always be watching over them. "I like that," She said, and found herself becoming a bit more emotional than she'd expected to be about the idea. "Ugh. Stupid," She said, chuckling softly as she rubbed her muzzle against her foreleg to try and discourage the tears that gathered along the ridge of her lower eyelid. "I miss them. We should tell the kids more stories about them." She said, "Just so...They know." She said, with a small, stifled sniff.

Phox smiled, even as he heard Niamh's voice break a little. He nibbled at the back of her ear when she rose back up from rubbing her muzzle on her leg. I miss them, too. And we should. Maybe you, Towhee, and I can tell them next time we can wrangle them all together. He stayed there a little while longer, leaning into Niamh and just enjoying the quiet of the night. The start of their relationship had been rather tumultuous, but everything since had been smooth as butter. He really couldn't complain, especially when they had three lovely children to show for it.

Those kids we made are somethin', huh? Have you noticed the way Primrose is always falling in love with everyone he meets? And then there's Alyx with her absolute loathing of the water. Then we've got Quetzal over here just... doing her own wild thing. They're just so fricking perfect, y'know?

This, of course, got him thinking about next year, because his children were his life, and they gave him a reason to be a better wolf. Not only that, but he had a feeling Niamh would want kids again, too. Right? ... RIGHT???

Solemnly, she nodded, and wondered what stories would be best to tell the kids. There were lots of them, though she did feel as though they had had more stories to tell than she would ever be able to remember. Maybe, she thought, they could bring the kids out to show them the constellations, and share as many stories of Finley and Elwood as the three of them could possibly remember. 

And while she was tired almost all the time, and felt the topic of children to be a bit draining after having to take care of a litter of three, she did smile and nod when Phox gushed about how adorable their children were. That she would always agree on; little Quetzal and Alyx were her beautiful twins- so alike in guise but unique in demeanour, and Primrose was her perfect little pink boy who wore his heart on his sleeve. "They're pretty amazing," She hummed. "I mean, I'm not surprised. I don't think either you or I could put out a bad, or ugly child- let alone the two of us combining our wicked genies together," Probably my favourte malapropism yet "And this is only the first batch of them. Wait until you see next year's kids," She said with a laugh.

Phox smiled contentedly as Niamh spoke, listening as she praised their abilities of putting out good, pretty children. He wondered if she forgot "smart" as one of the qualities, but he didn't make any effort to correct her, because soon enough she was talking about next year's kids, and he got the warm fuzzies. Next year's kids, yeah, he replied in a dreamy voice.

But there was something else to consider. You think Towhee will try and have more kids? he asked. She'd thought she was barren before, but Meerkat had proven them all wrong in that assumption. Phox wondered if she wanted more, or if she would be happy to cling to her one and only. Phox knew that he would always welcome more sons and daughters into his life.

Then again, maybe she would reign in her usual slut-fest (no shame) so that she didn't end up with more kids.

It's so hard to watch kids go when they grow up... I have a sneaking suspicion that not all four of ours will stay around forever, based on last year's numbers. I just hope they give us a little bit of notice. When Fennec left... I don't know; it felt like it came out of nowhere.

Niamh response came almost as a knee-jerk reaction. "I'd think so, yeah. I'd hope so, anyway," She admitted. Not everyone would've handled a surprise pregnancy (or birth, considering the fact that Meerkat's existence hadn't exactly been noticed until she was actually born) nearly as well as Towhee had, but Niamh had known for some time that Towhee had been mourning for the children she'd once believed that she would never have. Given the fact that Raven's suspicions had been proven wrong, Niamh assumed, then, that Towhee should be able to conceive again, though she had to keep in mind the fact that Towhee had tried during her first heat- and had been unsuccessful. Niamh didn't like to think that it might happen again- and wanted instead to simply turn an ignorant shoulder to that possibility and have faith in the fact that Towhee would be a mother again- and hopefully a good few times yet. 

What Phox felt with regards to Fennec's departure reminded Niamh of how she'd felt when Nellie had disappeared. Of course, she hadn't even been given a goodbye, and she tried not to relive the entire situation- especially considering the fact it was still a sore point for her, and it had caused a divide between her and Phox once before. Don't beat the dead horse, she told herself. She had to repeat it in her mind a few times to keep herself from saying something that might pick a fight. 

"I know." She said. "Yeah, I dunno if they'll hang around. I think I'll have Bronco tagging around forever, the same way Eljay stuck with his folks for his whole life," She said with a slight laugh, though her voice was a bit hollow. She wanted him to get out and see the world- and grow up a bit. He was still so soft and malleable; the world would eat him alive if he didn't get out and learn to find his footing. "But these four...I dunno. I think Prim'll be a homebody, Meerk too. But the girls...It wouldn't surprise me in the least if they runnoft, at some point," She said, somewhat ruefully. "Next year can we just have all boys?" She asked, jokingly.

The thought of Bronco ending up like Eljay was a little bit laughable. Phox had a feeling that Primrose was the most likely candidate for that role. He seemed soft natured like Eljay, although Phox thought it might be something Prim would grow out of. If not... well, Phox had dealt with a blind daughter and crazy twins, so surely he could handle whatever Primrose ended up being like, even if it was like Eljay.

As for Meerkat, Phox wasn’t so sure. She was incredibly outgoing and loved to talk to everyone. Maybe she’d end up one of those traveling types who was always making new friends everywhere she went. Phox could see her doing that. Same could be said for Quetzal. I think Alyx is going to end up being our homebody child, Phox decided. Little did he know...

You OK to fade this one out?

Alyx, a homebody? Niamh pondered the suggestion for a few moments, and she too felt that their noisier, messier daughter was more likely to wander off, but she still felt that both girls might follow the same footsteps as their older sister, Nellie, and their mother as well- who'd flown the coop before she'd turned a year old. Only weeks shy of it, of course, but still. "I guess only time'll tell," She said with a shrug. "But I think we should just stick to havin' boys next year." She said. 

She leaned against Phox for a moment, still gazing up at the stars, before she gave his ear a nip. "C'mon. We should prolly go relieve Bronco of his babysitting duty," She said.

Faded!

Phox gave Niamh a smooch on the cheek when she again mentioned them having all boys. If there was one thing they couldn't control, it was whatever their kids ended up being. Sure, they could guide them this way and that, but in the end, Phox had learned that they really were their own people. That was part of the beauty of it all. Knowing that they would grow up and do their own thing... whatever that thing may be.

If you insist, he replied, bumping her shoulder before jogging back with her to the rendezvous site. Phox could think of nothing better right now than to bunker down with his family and get a good sleep in before the sun rose again tomorrow.