I have toured the endless starlight…

Where had spring gone? Aerndis had squandered the season chasing ghosts and any rumor of her mother she could track down. One by one the leads dried up and she'd given up hope. She was never going to see her mother or Orion again. She'd spent the past month holed up in a den near the Rio Grande where she let the days slip past her, her only focus on making sure she had enough to eat. Late morning sunshine slipped down into her den and she could hear the rustle of the southern breeze. The air smelt of summer's fragrance. Was a change of seasons really so close?

Aerndis narrowed her eyes. She'd spent way to much time holed up in this den and it wasn't doing her a lick of good. Gritting her teeth and steeling her brow she forced her way out of the den, wiling her muscles to move, fighting the urge to just lay down and sleep most of the day away. She needed a plan. Aerndis wasn't going to spend the rest of her life looking for something that wasn't there and she certainly wasn't going to spend it feeling sorry for herself.

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Nature had reclaimed the range some time ago but the evidence of human work was still evident in the strange structures and artifacts left behind. Aerndis had travelled north to the Range, a decent hunting ground. She wasn't starving, having gorged herself the day before but it wouldn't hurt to mark the movements of prey. Besides, she needed somewhere new to bed down. She needed to keep moving. It was late afternoon now and humid but she didn't see any clouds. That was a good sign.  

Searching for a good place to sleep her eyes widened when she saw a… well, she wasn't sure what it was.  Aerndis gingerly approached the tractor, her nostrils flaring as she took in the strange metallic scent. What the heck was this? The skeleton of some strange animal? A unique mineral deposit? She lifted her right paw, reaching out to touch the thing.

Since connecting with his grandfather Jupiter had spend a great deal of time with the grumpy old fart. Whether he liked it or not, he couldn't help but respect him- although admittedly some of the stories Valentine told were a little hard to believe. He couldn't quite picture the grey-faced male as some kind of big important king surrounded by lovers and warriors, but he was going to cut the old man some slack. Old age may have softened his head a bit. He was making his way back to the old Imperium lands when a familiar form by Valentine's precious tractor caught his eye. Jupiter paused, squinted to be sure, and then grinned wolfishly. His sister seemed quite focused on checking the hunk of metal out. So focused, in fact, she might miss his approach... He trotted over quickly, sneaking in behind Aerndis with cat-like stealth, and then belted out his best wildcat shriek. "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

I have toured the endless starlight…

Aerndis' claws touched the metal and she scratched at it lightly. It felt weird and the noise it made was unpleasant. Her ears flicked back as she carefully pressed her paw pad onto the metal. It was warm from the sun and certainly felt like stone more than it did like bone. However, it was such a strange shape for a rock formation but then she'd seen some pretty strange rock formations in her day and it was so foreign from any of the animals she'd seen. She was about to circle around to the other side when a shriek right behind her caused her fur and hackles to raise and her body to leap into the air.

She scrambled into the seat of the tractor, just managing to twist herself around to prepare for battle when realization hit her light a lightning bolt. It was Jupiter! Fury, disbelief and joy hit her all at once. They swirled in her heart and her stomach until joy finally won out. "JUPITER!!!!" She cried and threw herself down off the tractor, seeking to wrap her arms around her brother's neck. "What are you doing here? I thought you were back up north!"

The yowl was no sooner passed his lips when Aerndis leaped onto the tractor as if her tail was on fire. She whipped around, ready to do battle, and if Jupiter had been smart he'd have jumped away, but his sister's reaction had struck him as so funny that he could do little more than laugh. "I'd probably still be there except - oh, you're going to love this - I met our grandpa." He smirked at her, amused by this bit of knowledge and happy to be the one to share it. "Although if you meet him you can't call him grandpa or he'll have pitch a fit." "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

I have toured the endless starlight…

Aern's tail whipped back and forth in delight. She was too happy to be mad at him for scaring her like that though she did feel the burn of embarrassment light her cheeks. Then Jupiter said he met their grandpa. She pulled back from Jupiter, stunned silence gracing her features. Their grandpa? They had a grandpa? Stupid question, she knew that. Aerndis figured they had a bunch of long dead relatives, she just didn't expect to have any living grandparents. "What? Where did you meet him? Can you show me?" She was trying to imagine what her grandpa would be like. Would he have bright red markings like her and Orion or be more blue like Jupiter and Artemis? Would he be a sweet old man or a grouch.

She giggled as Jupiter said he didn't like to be called 'grandpa'. Ok, maybe he was a grouchier sort. She pretended to pout. "Awwww… what's the fun in having a grandpa if you can't call him that? Maybe we can pick a good nickname like 'Opa' or 'Papi' or… Gom for grumpy old man. Do we have a grandma to?"

Jupiter was tempted to hold out for a little while, to see what Aerndis would do or offer to get him to spill. In the end though he was too excited to commit to a scheme. Valentine may have been a sourpuss but he was family and he was dependable, and that was nice. Not that he'd ever admit it, but having Valentine around made him feel safe. While he could come and go as he pleased, his grandfather (in his own way) offered stability. Jupiter had been alone and adrift for many months. He'd done what he wanted, when he'd wanted and while that felt great a lot of the time, sometimes it left him feeling hollow. He didn't know how Aerdnis was handling their abandonment, but he wanted to offer her what he had. "Yeah, sure, he'd love to meet you, I'm sure." Love in his own grumpy way. "Dad pointed me in this direction."vAbsently, he added, "He's been looking for you, by the way." Her suggestions made him laugh. 'Valentine' and 'Opa' in the same sentence was comical. He objected to grandpa because it made him feel old, but uh, hello, he was old. Jupiter had made a point to call him that against his wishes until the old man jumped him. He'd been taken down with embarrassing swiftness and hadn't dared to say it since. "You know what? I think you should call him Opa. I think he'll like that one." As for a grandma, Jupiter shook his head. "She died a couple seasons ago. I didn't get to meet her." "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

I have toured the endless starlight…

Aerndis was bursting with excitement at the prospect of meeting her grandpa. She couldn't wait to meet him. Her ears perked at the mention that their dad had been looking for them. "Really? H-how is he doing?" She tried to remember him but it had been such a long time ago. She remembered being scared of him at first but eventually warming up to him later. He was a fuzzy blur in her memory but maybe if they got to see their grand dad she'd get to see her dad again to. "Is dad around here? I wouldn't mind seeing him again." Was she being greedy? She felt a bit greedy, here she had the chance to meet her grandpa and she was insisting on meeting her father to.

Aerndis made a mental note to call Valen "Opa" just to see how he'd react. Her mood was good but as Jupiter told her that their grandmother had passed away her body drooped just a bit. She would've loved to meet the woman. Well, there wasn't anything the could do now. "Maybe we can ask Grandpa to tell us some stories about her. Is he nearby? Where are you guys making your densites?"