Sota had never seen a sky so clear, at least not that he could recall in recent memory. Tonight there wasn't a single cloud to be found overhead, the vast expanse of stars overhead twinkling like diamonds. They were a stark contrast to the dark black sky, and somewhere among the mess stood the moon in all its glory. It seemed even larger than usual, occupying part of his peripheral vision wherever he seemed to look. The sight transfixed the tiny man as he made his way across the plains, his attention largely focused up rather than on his front paws. Fortunately the terrain was forgiving for such a careless journey, a lush stretch of grass that had little in the way of obstacles. Occasionally there might be a few upturned rocks, or clusters of thicker vegetation here and there, but mostly it was consistent - nothing but grass and brilliant stars for miles and miles in each direction.

Once he'd found comfort in the trees, and though he still did, he was learning to grow accustomed to new lands. How his family would've loved the castle, for one! These plains would've been quite daunting to them, though. Something about this place made him feel eerily defenseless, but living among friends had taught him that being vulnerable wasn't such a bad thing. In fact, it could be quite nice at times if you really allowed it. He let out a content sigh as he continued on, head tipped back once again as he thought he saw the tail end of a star streaking across the sky, hoping he could catch another glimpse of the phenomena.

Words: 274

Serenity spent a lot of her time to herself, lost in her own thoughts. She avoided socializing with the other wolves of The Hallows for no real reason, or no reason at all. She was concerned about fitting in, she never had before in her life. She had found comfort in strangers at times, she had experienced kind wolves and selfish wolves in her time as a loner. And it made her wary in the means of safety for herself and safety for her new family. But it also made her wary of getting to know others too. She was so used to a brief encounter, or a one night stand with a man. It was so easy to just move on from that and look on to the next day. Really no responsibilities, no deep feelings. And she had been thrown into this new world of pack life. Having a father, siblings. She really had no problem in this life per say. She could provide for herself and the pack. That was the easy part. But getting out there, getting to know her pack mates, making real connections that would possibly hold her down, make her settle; it was scary for her.

She was up in some of the tallest parts of the castle, along the wall. She had her own secret place up here. Her paws dangled over a crumbling edge while she looked out at the shimmering shores west of them. She had never seen them up close and personal, but she had seen the shining shores many many times from up here on the ledge. It was relaxing, but it also kept her stuck in those thoughts she didn't want to be lost in. Meeting her father brought up a lot of old baggage. How her mother didn't want her, how she had to fend for herself and wander aimlessly hoping to make it to the next day, and everything that came along with that.

Sometimes she just had to walk. It made the thoughts easier to get by when she was watching where her paws stepped instead of her eyes lost in the shimmering shores. And it's what led her to the plains. She had on some nights added herself as an extra patrol just for this very reason. To occupy her mind. Seeing the stars above her on the plains was relaxing too, but gave her the same wandering comfort that the shores gave her. Lost in the beauty of the skies. She had noticed a pack member admiring the same beauty or nature, and while she tended to keep to herself, it was really never her intention to be so secluded. She wanted to do better, for her father and for herself. She carefully approached the tiny man, tinnier than she thought as she became closer to him. But the bright, starlit sky showed both of his brilliant light and dark markings. Her nose looked down on him before her gaze went back up to the sky, settling down beside him, "It is beautiful, isn't it?"

Total Word Count: 787 words
Word Count Goal: 1500 words

"Serenity"

For so long Sota had worried about fitting in within The Hallows. He'd never really felt like he truly fit in anywhere, not even where he'd been born. Over time though he realized there was no real secret to it - there was nothing he could do to make himself magically feel like he belonged. It was something he had to work at, stepping outside of his comfort zone and getting to know the wolves around him, to figure out where his abilities truly lie. He'd found himself content simply helping others and providing for those around him. Maybe feeling like you really belonged somewhere wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Either way he'd come to learn to be content with things how they were, because he knew they could always be worse. This life he'd carved for himself here, well, he was happy with it.

Though his attention was mainly on the skies above, he heard the approach of a stranger and briefly let his focus retracted from the stars to her approach. A smile lit up his features, the stars reflecting in his pale gaze. Once he would've regarded a woman of her stature with fear, but now he didn't display even a hint of wariness. There was a sort of mutual respect between packmates that allowed him to let down his guard, and despite his size he knew he could take care of himself if a bad situation arose - he'd been raised that way, and though he'd changed considerably, he was still the same Sota as he'd been back in his youth. "It is," he breathed in quiet agreement. "I know the stars are always here, but sometimes they seem so much more... present, you know?" Tonight the sky was clear and not a single cloud obscured their view, and the stark blue sky made the stars look even more brilliant.

They made him feel small in a strangely comforting way. He was just another wolf, in a world shared by so many others. He wondered what they really were; they seemed so far away and so completely out of this world in a way he couldn't begin to fathom. "I'm Sota, by the way," he offered after a moment, realizing it was possible she didn't know his name. He didn't have long to linger on that thought before he saw another one of those stars, moving and streaking across the sky. "Look!" He lifted a paw in the direction he saw it, twisting around and watching as the star streaked faintly across a section of sky, hoping Serenity had seen it too.

Words: 437
Total words: 1 224

She didn't fully understand what he meant, but she admired how observant he was. Thinking that the stars were here even while the sun was out, she wasn't even sure that she knew that. But they didn't move like the sun or the moon. Well, maybe they did, she wasn't educated with constellations and whatnot. But she did have the realization of what he was saying was true. The sun somehow hid the stars during the day, and they made their appearance at night with the moon. Their stunning, beautiful appearance above them in The Starlit Plains.

She just admired the stars in his statement until he introduced himself as Sota. She decided she could relax more and laid down beside him before introducing herself almost quietly like if she spoke too loud, the stars would all retreat to nowhere. "I'm Serenity." And her gaze moved back to the star lit sky, She would have nearly missed the shooting star if Sota hadn't said anything. She was getting lost in those thoughts again. She smiled as he pointed it out, her nose slowly following it's tail in the sky until it vanished into it's destination. "Wonder where it's going." She had never sat, or laid down to watch the stars like this. There were many nights she spent under the stars, but somehow this moment felt a little different. Maybe from sharing it with someone? Sota was clearly just a stranger, but it was easy for Serenity to feel comfortable in his presence. Her whole life had been full of strangers, and maybe that's what made it so easy for her to be sociable. But now under the stars here, she had to realize that her whole life wasn't going to be full of strangers anymore. That she would see Sota again one day soon, as well as her siblings and her father and everyone else that resided in The Hallows or even more that would join. It somehow almost made her feel sick, though because she thought she had to put up some kind of expectation for herself. She didn't think she was worthy of the company of others. That they wouldn't like her or think she was weird or something of the sort. It felt silly that in her adult age she felt this way, and she wanted to change the way she felt. But she didn't know what kind of steps she had to take to get there.

Total Word Count: 1635 words
Word Count Goal: 1500 words (Met)

"Serenity"

His people weren't really the type to stargaze, not really. They preferred things more tangible, things you could immediately touch and experience - like the trees and the weather. As Sota slowly adapted to this new world he found his mind broadening and his attention captured by things like the night sky. They seemed infinitely far away, but still clearly part of the world, and he wondered what they could tell them, if anything at all. Maybe they had no purpose at all, he could accept that too, but he had to wonder if they symbolized something that his mind just couldn't grasp.

"Nice to meet you, Serenity. Officially, I mean." Sota explained. One of the strange things about living in a pack was that, even though you were a cohesive group, you didn't always know everyone by name even if you knew of them. Or maybe that was just due to his introversion. He couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about it though, and he knew he had to push himself to get to know the rest of the pack he'd neglected to connect with. He grinned as he settled down as well, sliding down onto his belly to lay beside Serenity.

"Do you ever feel like one of these stars? Like.. you're just... falling into nothingness," he mused thoughtfully as he watched one of the stray stars streak across the sky and disappear. He didn't mean it into a depressing way, not really, and he quickly corrected himself. "I don't mean that in a morbid way. Just that feeling of... being without direction, I guess, like the ground could give out from beneath you without warning." Or maybe it was just him? He'd felt that way when he'd first left home, and even more so when he'd found out Eris had been captured. Finally he remembered feeling that way once he'd drifted apart from Eris and Oxide and Casper. He'd only felt stable once he'd ended up with this group, and since then he'd felt more steady than ever before.

They both relaxed as they just looked up at the twinkling sky. It was, peaceful. Even though Sota was here with her to keep her company or visa versa, she didn't feel like they were burdening each other with their presence under the stars. Sometimes the sounds of the insects in the plains were silent to Serenity's ears as she looked up at the sky with Sota.

When he spoke again, her gaze carefully moved to him, and she tilted her head in a face of thought, "Well I uh, never thought of the stars that way. But I definitely get what you're saying." Her voice was still quiet as she spoke. They may have lived different lives through different consequences, but she believed she knew the feeling all too well. Her gaze moved up to the skies again when she spoke out, "Kind of how I ended up here. Just moving around on a breeze, making it day by day but... I don't know, I may not have been here long but it feels like a lot to lose for me now." It was a strange thought because while she hadn't spent a ton of time with her new found siblings getting to know them, she felt connected to them. Like losing them would really hurt her. It was a position she didn't want to put herself in. She may have not liked her mother, but losing her meant everything. Her survival depended on her, and she was the only wolf Serenity knew, and really knew at that time. She never wanted to get close to others because she didn't want to lose them. And it made her drift back even when she wanted to get to know them.

"Serenity"

Peaceful was the right word for it. It was only recently that Sota had really found peace here, coming to accept the life he'd left behind. He'd never go back to where he came from, he decided; a life like this suited him best and this was where he would remain unless something unusual happened to force him to seek refuge elsewhere. He enjoyed his packmates and enjoyed where he lived - and moments like this, simple and lovely, only further solidified his choice. He let out a wistful sigh as he lay there, overcome with the urge to lay his head against her - he was far too much of a gentleman though and so the thought was pushed away as quickly as it came to him, his head twisting to get a better look at her before his attention lifted back to the field of stars above.

"I know, maybe I just think too much," he suggested with a small laugh. "That's kind of how I ended up here, too. Broke my leg just over a year ago and needed a place to recover. I offered to repay my debt once I was all fixed up, but I never ended up leaving." Life was a strange thing and often where he'd ended up, at least after the fact, had felt entirely out of his control. The Hallows was no exception. "It's hard for me to imagine leaving now, too. I don't know a lot of the wolves here, but the ones I've met have left quite the impression on me." All for good reasons, and all for their own reasons.