Twilight had passed, and the sky was pitch dark. Glittering with stars, and a sliver of the moon overhead. The burly yearling wanted to visit with one of his sisters, and so he meandered up to the apex of one of the ridges. Followed the well worn path, and the familiar scent of his lavender sister. He had heard that their sire had helped construct a special watch point for her, though he was a bit fuzzy on the details. Why not pester her about it? With a pilfered ibex haunch clasped in his thick jaws, the dun Fatalis made his way higher and higher towards the summit. Now that the sun had fallen below the horizon, it was cool at these altitudes. Completely oblivious to the chill, Stratum was lucky to be a heavyset lad in moments like these. "Andy?" he called out as he caught a glimpse of faded violet in the low light. "You busy?" he asked, dropping his prize to his paws as he loitered at the outskirts of her carefully built lookout. Liquid mercury gaze drifted from one contraption to another, to the hard packed ground, to his sister. She was a busy soul, always up to something. He felt at a distance with her, and wondered if it was on purpose. Andromeda was miles smarter than he'd ever be, but he loved her even if she might have thought he was a moron. "I wanted to see what you've been doing up here- I brought a snack for us." he offered with a lopsided smile, tail wagging gently against his heels.

The day was almost upon Andy when she and Kite would travel down to the Hallows and put her sister’s plan into action. Anxiety continually boils in her stomach as the time to leave is fast approaching and the girl often retreats up to the observation post that she and Sirius had built. Lavender paws know the path up First Point Light well and they trace it with ease. The wooden wall that serves as the back of the building comes into view and she pauses near the doorway to pull a few weeds that are beginning to appear in the flowerbeds that line the outer wall.

It was a labor love that her father had graciously gifted her and the flowers he had planted outside make it all the more special. A voice from behind her, calls out her name, and the lavender girl lifts her head to turn her head to spy Stratum moving down the path, toward her with a haunch of some kind in his jaws. Gently, Andy shakes her head in the negative at his question and the girl softly says, “I am never too busy for you, Stratum.” A gentle smile appears as her tail wags slowly behind her, curious if he is need of a favor like Kite.

Family means everything to the young Fatalis girl and, while it may tear her up inside to hide things from other family members, she will always be there for her siblings… no matter what. At his words, the girl beckons him forward, the gentle smile growing into a bright grin as she says, “Well, come here and I will show you! Plus we can enjoy the snack out of the cool air.” Moving to the opening, a slender leg lifts to push the fur that acts as the door aside as Andy invites her brother into the special building. She is more than happy to show one of her interests to her brother.

Where the back wall of the building is made of wood, the other three walls, and ceiling, are made entirely of glass. The large, thick panes had been carefully fitted into place with wooden supports to make a very study building. While the building isn’t enormous, there is enough space for her desk, a large chest, and nice big pile of furs to all fit comfortably inside. On the desk, a large sheet of parchment is spread out, the edges are pinned down with stones to keep it from rolling back up.

A quill and inkwell sit beside it and there are several dark circles already marked on the parchment. Books lay open and scattered on the floor around the desk, with one notably propped up and open above the in-progress sky chart. Once he is inside, Andy steps in behind him and waves a paw at the pile of furs, saying, “Please, make yourself at home! Uh… don’t mind the mess.” Quickly, she moves around the area, gathering the strewn books and piling them back into the chest that sits open next to her desk.


"Andromeda Fatalis"

His smallest sister welcomed him with a smile, reassuring him with just a few words and a wag of her tail. He picked the haunch up off the ground as she waved him closer with a dainty lavender paw, trundling towards the hide-covered doorway with careful steps. Mind the shoulders, watch the clearance on the door for the horns... and he's in! Nothing knocked over or broken. The hide that draped over the door was caught on his hip as he picked his way over the parchment covered floor, and finally slid back into place as he stepped over a roll of parchment bound with twine, set beside an ink-stained quill. Bright mercury eyes tracked over the assortment of books while he moved about, each bound in a different shade of leather or hide, some unbound. He flopped over onto the pile of furs, tucked his legs closer to his chest and belly to make room for his sister. The titanic male settled the meat across the tops of his carefully folded forelegs, feeling very uneasy around all of these delicate and fragile supplies. It was only a matter of time before he wrecked something. He watched Andy tidy up, busily tucking her supplied into nooks and shelves and chests in a way that spoke of ease within the space, a familiarity with the little building he only associated with his den. A small smile made its way onto his face unbidden, happy to see her so happy in her pursuits. "How long have you been working on the uh," he hesitated, muzzle pointed at the partially completed star map on the desk. He didn't actually know what any of this was. He was just happy to be along for the ride. "the, uh. Thing. On the table. Sorry." heat crept into his turquoise dusted cheeks, brow furrowed a little as he looked over the seemingly random dots and lines arranged on the parchment. Scooting over just a little more, he was careful to lean the bulk of his weight against the support beams instead of the walls as he rested his back against the wall. Carefully tucked his hind legs beneath himself for stability, leaving space for Andy to get comfortable when she was done cleaning. Not that he much cared for the mess either way, he was hardly the tidiest guy around.

Even though Andy is short, the building that is now her observation post was built to comfortably house all of the giants in the pack. It had been built by her and Sirius, so of course the girl had made certain that he could easily access the space. Stratum ducks his head underneath the fur, careful of his horns and the girl is forced to suppress a giggle. She knows the plight of having horns first hand but, seeing her much taller, much bigger sibling attempting to fold in on himself to avoid damaging anything inside… well, it actually made Andy feel extremely gratefully.

Giving the area a quick clean-up, she looks up from where she is depositing some books into a chest as he asks how long she has been working on the map and she smiles warmly at him. Andy continues to tidy as she says, “Oh, that star chart? Uh, a few months now. I have been tracking the stars progress every night. Eventually, I hope to know the position of all the stars during each season! That way I can help travelers and stuff.” A small shrug is given as she moves to join him on the furs and the boy scoots over to allow her more room.

With a soft giggle, Andy says, “You don’t need to move Stratum. I don’t have cooties!” Lightly, she bats his leg as she lays beside him and leans gently into his side, sighing contently. Gently, she asks, “How are you doing?” She loves all of siblings but they don’t always get a chance to check in with each other. The cuff that their father had gifted them for their birthdays is wrapped around her upper, left leg and, as she looks at Stratum, Andy sees their mother in face. A loving smile appears in her lips.


"Andromeda Fatalis"