Kione sat above the waterfall, looking up to the night sky.  The painted dog was wet from swimming and taking time to enjoy the stars as he dried off.  No clouds tonight, just a well-lit night sky, and numerous constellations visible to enjoy.

One of his many aunts in his wild dog family had been highly knowledgeable on the stars and shared many a story with him.  Sure, she knew where they belonged in the sky and how to navigate using them but more than that, she taught how the stars held secrets of the past.  Whether any of her old stories were true or not didn’t matter as they were fun to linger on.

Regardless, the truth of stories or not, the placement of stars in the sky for each of the seasons was a truth that one could use when lost.  In the end, that was what mattered most.


"Kione"

The pack that Keahi has pledged loyalty to is quickly becoming her family. Even the tall Ruga has wormed his way into her heart and the tropical wolf finds it harder and harder to think of returning to her island. Still, the bitter winter of the northern lands has been taking its toll on the thinner coated wolf and she decided to travel back down to the blazing heat of southern lands. She didn’t plan to be gone long, a week at most, and she told herself that she can always explore while away from the pack. The hot summer days had been a welcome change as the red wolf crossed the land bridge, pausing a moment to soak in the sun before striking out to find a place to stay.

The thunder of the falls surrounded by cedar trees had beckoned her and Keahi had found a cave to use for her trip. She had quickly settled in for a nap and, when her blue eyes reopen, night has already fallen. Standing, she stretches her stiff muscles and gives her red coat a good shake before exciting the cave. A scent catches her attention, pulling her focus up to the top of the waterfall where a painted figure sits staring up at the night sky. Quietly the tropical wolf makes her way up to where Kione sits, settling in next to the wild dog and tilting her head skyward. Softly, she says, “It is humbling to know that the stars that shine down on us here also shine down on my family far from these lands.”


"Keahi Mogotsi"

While Kione was reminiscing of old days and watching the stars with a large number of his kind a wolf also thinking of stars appeared.  No matter how large Kione’s pack had been there were certainly more stars in the sky.  No matter how far Kione had walked from one land to another, the same stars did indeed look down on him in their appointed season.

“These same stars,” Kione started to tell the wolf of the stars being in his past and present but changed his mind part way through.  No one needed to hear of that time.  Perhaps that secret was only meant to be shared now with the stars. “yes,” Kione tried to not sound too much like he was dropping off his initial answer, “it is humbling.  I’ve roamed much of the land and yet these stars were at all marks.”

Kione was a happy sort of guy but the peace here had left him in a bitter-sweet state.  He was a bit melancholy now, now like himself at all.  Still, they were pleasant memories and the stars knew them all.  “Did you know,” Kione easily turned the subject with a thought, “the true great predators, not by blood but by deed, those who did not let their souls fade away but instead were able to travel up and become part of the night sky.  It’s no easy achievement but it's certainly a wonderful goal for one to aspire to.  It’s not just wolves or painted wolves but any predator has a shot at it.”

If such a thing was true Kione doubted any in his family were up there.  It wasn’t that they couldn’t have made it but that they had been cheated of the chance to live long enough to prove themselves.  Kione pointed out one of the brighter stars, “That one for instance, is apparently a spirit of a fox, or perhaps foxes.  My aunt was uncertain if the family would join the one who made it there.  Most likely that means they don’t and she didn’t want to tell a bunch of kids that part.”  Kione smirked at the idea but in truth, he’d never know.

“The wolves have two stars up there.  One,” he pointed out a dimmer star, “is brightest in what would be summer in Boreas."

"Kione"

Blue eyes stay locked on the stars as Keahi sits next to the painted dog. He was first soul she laid on eyes after her shipwreck, the first one show to her some kindness in these strange lands. Kione speaks and the red wolf hums softly in answer, allowing him speak without interrupting while also acknowledging that she hears him and understands. Eyes slide sideways to look Kione even as her head stays lifted, noting that the happy, chirpy dog she had raced has been replaced by a deep heaviness. Of course, she understands how he feels but Keahi doesn’t want to pry into his life so she remains quiet.

He speaks of the great predators that lay in the stars and Keahi looks back to glittering heavenly bodies, following his paws as he speaks of the fox spirits that live in that. A sad, wistful smile pulls at her lips as she remembers her own family’s stories of the stars. Kione points out a dimmer star, saying it is one of two wolf stars and Keahi dutifully asks, “What is its name?” Each place has their own customs and names for the heavenly bodies and the red wolf is curious as to what the painted dog calls it.

"Keahi Mogotsi"

Kione hadn’t planned on company tonight.  He wasn’t the sort to chase anyone away but tonight wasn’t the moment to show his jovial side, at least not this moment.  There had to be time for remembrance and the stars tonight had claimed his soul for a bit.  He was the only one left of his family and if none of the others had got a chance to find a place up there, would he?  Kione wasn’t aware of any great deed to earn himself a spot.

“That one,” nodding to the one had pointed out earlier, “Stratos, the lone hunter.  It was said he was the only wolf who has roamed the entire western land, far beyond the sea we know here.  He took his knowledge of the land to the sky.”  Kione glanced to the east and pointed to the other, “Goramus.  It is said a large fire ranged across the land.  He saved many wolves, including pups.  He would not give up till all escaped the flames.  Sadly, he was the only wolf to die in that giant fire.”  It was a sad tale but the ending had a glorious note, “now he also watches the sky.  No flame can ever touch him up there and he can keep watch of all his kind.”  

Obviously, the wild dog had always preferred stories of his own kind but it didn’t mean the other species could not have their own glorious tales.  There were lessons mixed in.


"Kione"

Keahi is glad she made the trip down to Auster, not just because of the warmer weather but because she gets to share this small moment with Kione. Blue eyes trace the two stars that the wild dog points out, listening intently to their names and stories. A sad smile appears on red lips as the story ends and she allows her eyes to linger on the star he calls Goramus. Softly, the tropical wolf says, “I have traveled across the ocean using the stars to guide me. There is one that always shines true north.” Her eyes find it easily and she lifts a paw to point out the bright star. She continues, “We call it Polaris, or the North Star. You could never be lost as long as you know where that star is." Red paw falls back to the ground and Keahi allows a comfortable to fall between the pair.  As the night progress, the pair swap stories about the stars what stories each one knows of them.

"Keahi Mogotsi"