And I Will Still Be Here, Stargazing

The purple pup sits with the young Carpathius girl, enjoying their time stargazing. Taly is insightful and smart, easily figuring out that Polaris will always guide her North. Andy goes on to offer the story behind the bright star, a smile pulling at her lips as the pup softly mumbles her amazement at the story. When she mentions that the gods put him up there, Taly looks to her and exclaims in surprise, questioning if they can really make someone into a star.

Pale blue gaze moves to look at her new friend and she shrugs her shoulders in a noncommittally gesture as she says, “Mom says that the gods can do anything. The statues that have popped up in different lands are said to be their work. They have been known to give gifts and deal out punishments. I don’t think it would be difficult for them to make a wolf into a star… or stars.” A sheepish grin crosses Andy’s lips as the girl reveals what she has heard and what she believes about the faceless, nameless gods.

Worried that she might be boring Taly, the lavender girl is excited to find that the deer spotted pup actually seems interested in the stories. Andy’s smile grows and she turns her attention back to the sky, tilts her head back as she searches carefully for a constellation. A purple paw lifts to point out three bright stars as she says, “There. That is part of the constellation known as Orion.” Her paw traces the shape of Orion before, again, tracing the three bright stars as she explains, “That is his collar. Orion was the greatest hunter to ever roam the world. The gods loved him so much, that they put him up there to continue hunting through the ages.”

Paw drops back to the ground as she turns her gaze to Taly, eyebrows lifting as happiness sparkles in her eyes. Andy continues on, “That one is special for two reasons. First, Orion is only in the sky when the weather is cold. If you search for him during the summer, you won’t find him. And two, those three stars…” Attention turns back to the constellation, paw once again tracing the three stars but going done beyond them as she says, “point to the brightest star in the winter sky.” She stops a bright star that has a faint blue aura and says, “That is Sirius.”


"Andromeda Fatalis"