Of all the things in the world,  stars were among the young princesses favorite things. The way that the sky glimmered and swirled at night had utterly captivated the tiny girl. She came to look at the stars every night and was still amazed each time. The undulating galaxies were mesmerizing and she had begun to learn the locations of the biggest and brightest of them.

The night was clear and the temperature was mild. While her family slept,  Aslatiel lay upon her back in a flattened section of the long grass. Her own galaxy-like eyes roamed the heavens. She was in love with the stars.  Did they even know that she existed? If she could learn their names,  perhaps they could learn hers. "Can you hear me,  stars? I'm Aslatiel, but you can call me Asla." Her voice was a soft,  girlish whisper.  The same tone she took every time she spoke to the stars as if speaking any louder might frighten them away.

After looking at the sky for a time, Asla rolled over on her stomach. Before her lay a large, smooth deer skin. Taking up a piece of charred wood, the child drew out the locations of the different stars that she was learning in the night sky. Next to each, she drew a little picture. No one told her whether or not stars had names, so she was naming them herself.

Odette Mooncrest Working late into the night was becoming just another factor of the young handmaiden's daily routines. In the early mornings she would rise and find herself breakfast, most often from her own hens as she tended to them. Each morning before the sun would rise she would task herself with cleaning out the hen house, collecting their most recently laid eggs, and open the doors for them to feed and drink. Then the woman would leave her feline company to tend to the flock while Odette brought their goods to the pack. On her way back, she would often stop and check in on her warlord and queen, sometimes running into one or two of their pups before departing. The whole day would be spent tending to the birds; herding them to different pastures to cut down the grass and bugs, bringing them to the water's edge to drink, and bringing them back home before the sun sets and more predators came for them. By that time, Odette would often stay up to watch over them, an honest shepherd guarding her flock. But on this night, after running off yet another raccoon and his friends, Odette had enough. She needed help; either with extra training or with extra guards. It was no secret the woman detested conflict and battle, but ever since she took charge of the chickens she had grown protective of them, and demanded to give them the best protection so they could thrive and feed the pack. With winter approaching and their homelands so close to the volcano and ocean, Odette was constantly worried about another natural disaster striking, or food growing scarce, or a raid to come. Her hens were not large enough, not old enough yet to produce for their growing pack and survive. So the fawn female trotted along the tall grass, intending to visit her warlord and ask for his guidance on the matter, but faltered when a familiar, tiny voice broke the midnight silence. Intrigued as to why the young princess would be out at this hour, Odette changed her course and quietly walked through the tall grass in search of the pup. When she caught sight of her light blonde locks against the grass, Odette slowed her pace to a stop. "Aslatiel? What are you doing up?" She would quietly ask, inching her snout through the blades of grass to peer at the small girl's artwork. It was fascinating for Odette, not having pups of her own, to see how their young minds grew and developed, even from afar. Though she didn't want to be wrong, Odette had an idea just what the scribbles on the deer skin were meant to reflect. To confirm her suspicions, the woman turned her chin up to the night sky, noting... seemingly for the first time, the true beauty the grass plains had to offer at such a time. Busy with her work and her duties, Odette never felt the desire to admire the night sky... but perhaps she should more often. "Speech"

Table by Sea
Art by Fox

When the sound of an approaching form met the girls fluffy, dark ears, her first instinct was aggression. She stood, lowering her head and puffing out her stripey little pelt to appear bigger. Only when the wind brought the smell of Odette to her tiny brown nose did she settle. After her incident with the raccoon... every nocturnal sound was a predator in the girls mind. She was glad that she didn't have to fight tonight since map making was taking her full attention. As the woman pushed her way into the clearing where Aslatiel was working, the child seated herself again. She was questioned and the girl shrugged, still a little embarrassed at her hobby. When Odette went forward to look at the map, Asla tensed. Would she understand what it was or had she just been wasting her time. When the tan and brown fae looked to the sky however... the child breathed an internal sigh of relief. So she could tell that it was a star map. That was good. "Making a map," she finally answered in her small, soft voice. The child was working hard on her craft. She spoke to the stars as she drew them and was coming to know each and every one personally. It felt a little strange to talk about it with her mothers handmaiden. The woman was like a servant. Why would a servant care what she was doing? Not really sure what to say, Aslatiel remained silent, a slightly sullen look on her features. "Speech"

Odette Mooncrest She could feel the tension in the air when Odette approached, though aggression was certainly not unheard of in the litter, she was still surprised to see Aslatiel with such hostility, even for a moment. The princess was within her lands, protected by friends, families, and sworn warriors of the like; what on earth would she have to be scared of? Hearing the child voice her interest in creating a map of the stars, Odette hummed lightly and took a seat, tucking her tail close as she peered up at the heavens with new found interest. Most of her family was interested in fighting, killing, bloodthirsty little pups. It was safe to say that seeing this one with so much interest in something other than that, was refreshing. The fawn lady could remember the days when the pups were but tiny forms snuggled up against the side of their mother's breast, and how they wondered who they would grow up to be. She allowed herself a soft smile as she clicked her tongue, continuing to stare at the tiny balls of light as she spoke softly to the princess."A map of the stars? How interesting... do you have any names for them? Have they told you their stories?" Odette may have heard one or two tales... but it was her understanding that the stars up above were a constant as old as the sun and the moon. So when empires rose and fell with the coming of each new tide, new names came for the constants. This caused Odette to become intrigued in the imagination of the pup, to see what innocence like hers would have created within the safe space of her own mind. With no one to influence her decision besides the stars themselves. "Speech"

Table by Sea
Art by Fox

Aslatiel still felt a little uncomfortable since she and her mothers handmaiden hadn't spoken much before. It wasn't so much because they were speaking, but because she still wasn't sure if her new hobby was acceptable. If it was acceptable, she wasn't sure if such things had been done before. She could just be wasting her time. If she was wasting her time though, she couldn't imagine turning her back on the stars. Odette questioned her about the stars and the girls dark ears perked. "They haven't told me their stories or their names, so I'm naming them myself." Rising, she moved forward and pointed to the largest star. "That's Sirius, the largest star in the sky because my papa is the biggest wolf in the world." She then moved her little paw to the opposite side of the map and pointed to a smaller star. "This is Zee after my momma because it always seems to glow blue." The girl went through and pointed out stars named Indigo, Mortis and Azure. She kept herself off of the map because it seemed wrong to name a star after herself. There was one called 'The Princess" though. She thought that was fair. Casting her amaranthine gaze to Odette, Asla questioned her. "You kind of smell like a chicken. What were you doing?" One little brow arched, pulling the grey and white marking upwards with the action. Her mother had told her that the chickens belonged to her, not Odette. The child was confused. "Speech"

Odette Mooncrest Odette was completely immersed in the conversation with the young princess, forgetting all about her mission and scooting herself closer to view the stars as Aslatiel pointed out her stars. The biggest star for her giant of a father, a tiny star for her smaller mother, she even named a star for each of her siblings. It was heart melting to hear the child name such beautiful balls of light after her own blood, showing just how small her world truly was. How simply it was. Odette smiled softly at this, wondering if her world was ever so small, so simple, so peaceful. Her younger years were becoming harder and harder to remember, as if her own mind was putting a block on them. She shook her head gently, letting out a chuckle as she turned her head back to the pup. "I've heard many names for the same stars, but I do believe naming them after your family is the best suited." The woman would pause for a moment before allowing hersel to fall back into the grass, her eyes gazing up at the stars as she outstretched a paw to point the way. "It's interesting you chose these stars. Did you know, some of them can be a part of a bigger collection, and make an image? I can almost see the outline of your father by the star you named after him. Do you see it?" She needed to close one of her eyes to truly focus on the faint stars, but there she could clump together, connecting the stars, and see his powerful stance outlined in them. She grinned softly as she glanced over at the pup before adding; "Some believe the legends of great wolves are written in the stars. Some from the past... the present.. even the future." She allowed herself to shrug her shoulders as she settled in further into the grass. "Seems only fitting your family is among them." For a moment she was simply content, pondering the stars with youth, wondering about the future. Would she ever grow from a handmaiden? Would her story turn out like Zee; a handmaiden who fell in love, showed her worth, and was rewarded land, a pack, a mate, and pups? Or was her tail her own to spin, and something even more awaited her fate? Odette was content to wonder such things, until the princess spoke once more, causing Odette to stare wide-eyed at the heavens for a moment. Smell? Like a... Chicken? She sighed deeply, trying to steady herself before answering. Perhaps it was true, but was it polite to comment such things? Either way, Odette would make a note to bathe more often.. as it was apparently needed. "I am the keeper of the chickens. I was going to speak to you father about a persistent... pest problem." "Speech"

Table by Sea
Art by Fox

Odette began speaking of old wolves in the stars and Aslatiel arched one brow, pulling her markings upwards with the action. Wolves in the stars? No. The child knew that the stars were their own entity. Even at such a young age, she had a gut feeling that each star was its own and that putting labels on them in the form of dead wolves was blasphemous and rude. Rather than open that can of worms though,  the girl merely sighed and helped the subject to change, although she did say, "My family won't be among the stars. They're place holders until the stars tell me their true names." About this, she was adamant. Her connection with the stars told her that his had to be true. They listened to her. They watched her every night. They couldn't just be dead guys in the sky. Mentioning that the earthen fae smelled of chickens seemed to get an interesting reaction. She could feel the woman tense beside her and noted the expression on her face. So Odette was the keeper of the chicken, was she? Did that mean that you had to smell like a chicken? Even though Asla didn't like water, she still kept herself clean so that she didn't smell of dead things. The word 'pest' piqued the girls interest. "What kind of pests?" Again that left brow arched as she asked her question. "Did you know that I caught a raccoon trying to eat the chickens? I scared the raccoon away and killed the chicken that it hurt. Dad let me eat it." There was more to the story, of course, but Aslatiel didn't think that the other parts were necessary. Her father had said that she'd done nothing wrong, so she didn't feel the need to explain herself. "Speech"