fishing in the dark

It was dark, and he probably should have been finding a place to sleep. But no matter how much he tried to convince himself he was all grown up now, Alarik was still young and a dreamer at heart. And his inner pup couldn't bear to pull himself away from the view he was enjoying right now.

The sun had found its rest below the horizon a good hour ago, and the sky had changed from a deep evening blue to a blue so dark it was almost black. And, he supposed, in another hour or so it would be black. The stars had seemed to peek out one by one, as if most of them were shy and wanted to wait for the bravest among them to go first. But after the first handful of stars had become visible, within minutes the sky was full of them. Alarik had been walking during this time, exploring with a purpose just like he'd promised himself he would do. But now... now he had been so suddenly and remarkably filled with awe that he just had to sit. And then lay down. And then roll over onto his back so his belly faced the sky.

And that's where Alarik was on this night, laying on his back atop a thin layer of snow, a soft smile on his face as he admired the beautiful night sky.