Running Up That Hill
Solo
Bloodletter
But some nights he just had to be alone. He was at least optimistic publicly, or he tried to be even if his tone was more flat than outgoing. He never let his emotions get the best of him. Even while he was out here alone along the cliffside.
The strange hues of the moon were troublesome, and he couldn't help but feel like it was almost a curse. Or he imagined his dead mother and father behind the moon, something like their spirits angry for the way they died. He didn't take the feelings seriously. It was a silly thought, but whatever was next for them surely didn't feel right.
Pallid form slipped over the dry grasses with a lazy gait, long limbs pulling him up towards the summit of the cliffs. He dodged warily between the eerie blue fireflies, unsettled by the way they seemed to hang in the cool evening air until he got too close. They simply disappeared without a trace, and he found that he couldn't hear any buzzing of wings as they floated by. Mercury eyes reflected the cool hues of the never waning moon as he reached the highest point of his climb, flanks shuddering with mild exertion. He only realized that he'd been unconsciously following Balthier's scent trail when he found himself staring at the other boy's silhouette on the cliffs. "I feel like I haven't seen you in months," he rumbled absently, striding up to stand by his brother's side. After a beat, he lifted his snout to snort softly at one of the creepy blue fireflies that had floated too close to his face. It faded into nothing, where an ordinary bug would have moved as his breath buffeted its fragile wings.
"do you think the moon is going to simply disappear soon, and it's been staying full so we can enjoy its last rays?" his deep vocals offered the question up at almost a whisper, wide eyes fixed on the pale face of the moon as it rose overhead. Tentatively, he dropped onto his haunches beside Balthier, and gently leaned one muscular shoulder into his. Both of them had been like ghosts for the past few months, aimlessly following their routines without truly thinking about it. He wanted desperately for that to change- he longed for the simplicity of their youth, and the laughter that he used to hear so often.
His gaze moved up to the ocean far below and in front of him, watching the colors of the moon flash through the waves as his brother mentioned the moon possibly disappearing from the sky. "I... don't know." It was really no answer and he wondered why he even opened his mouth. But he tried hard to even ignore the strange happenings around them. He didn't want to think that something else bad was coming their way. After only a few seconds of silence, he questioned, "Do you think dad is up there?" That wasn't really what he meant, but he wasn't exactly quite sure how to word it, "Or I mean, do you think the moon is for us like... I don't know, we've had so much happen to us." He was trying to suggest he felt the ailment in the colors and changes of the moon as well as the little unknown firefly type creatures. But it also felt so silly to ask that the bad luck was only coming for them.
His brother's hesitation was understandable, none of this made any sense at all. The silence that followed Balthier's uncertain response was ended when the dark boy glanced over and asked in a quiet voice, "Do you think dad is up there?" in a tone that fought not to betray anxiety. The pale yearling frowned at his paws for a moment, and then shrugged heavily. Balthier clarified almost right away, saying "Or I mean, do you think the moon is for us like... I don't know, we've had so much happen to us." To this, Solo still had no concrete answer. He lifted his gaze back up to the bright face of the full moon, its light reflecting on his dark mask and turning the ebony fur silvery-grey. His gaze tracked over the strange streaks of light that seemed to take up the rest of the vast black expanse overhead. Were those the stars? He hadn't even noticed, the moon stole any attention that might have been paid to the rest of the dark midnight skies. "Look at the stars, Balt. There's something wrong with them too," he murmured, jostling the other boy lightly with his shoulder to prompt him to lift his gaze. "I don't think we have the power to make the entire sky like this, so I think it's something else." he reassured his brother with a soft laugh, a weak attempt to lighten his dour disposition.
"Maybe it's got something to do with last winter, and the mammoths that showed up with that ice bridge? Perhaps this year we're seeing something else like that, but it's all in the sky." he mused aloud, snorting again as one of the ghostly fireflies floated towards him. Silver eyes turned towards his brother, and he lightly lowered his heavy skull to bump it gently into Balthier's neck. "Though I don't think that explains the hares and ptarmigans that have changed colour- have you noticed them too?" he questioned. Part of him wanted to make sure he wasn't losing his mind, while the rest of him just wanted to get his brother talking, maybe even laughing with him.
"I really try not to look too far into it." He explained as Solo asked if he had noticed even more of the changes. Leaning into his brother like they could hold each other up, "But I think we should still stay careful. Look after Azzie and Psalm. I don't know how we can prepare for what we don't know."
It caught him entirely by surprise when Balthier spoke up next, a quiet admission of love that Solo would never have expected. "I am honored... to have you as a brother." the dark furred yearling said quietly, and the warmth in his expression set Solo's ebony tipped tail beating softly on the frosty grass beside him. He leaned a little further against Balthier's shoulder, momentarily distracted from the reality of the strange midnight realm they were sitting in. However, when his brother finally mentioned his aversion to investigating the strange phenomena of this winter, he found himself bobbing his head solemnly. He felt Balthier's own familiar weight pressed against his shoulder, the two boys supporting one another while they worked slowly through the strangeness of the new season and the trauma of their past. "But I think we should still stay careful. Look after Azzie and Psalm. I don't know how we can prepare for what we don't know." his brother explained quietly, and again the pale yearling found himself nodding in mute agreement.
Turning his thick muzzle towards his brother, the boy gently nipped at the thick fur of his dark cheek."I think the best way to be prepared for whatever the weird sky is going to bring, is to stay together. We'll make sure everyone comes back to the den when the sun starts to set, and we can take turns watching the entrance. If one of us is out on patrol then we can rearrange the schedule. Maybe this is just the sky being weird, but I've never seen fireflies out this late in the year, so I think something might happen soon.." as if on cue, another one of the spectral bugs floated closer, and Solo wondered if they were watching the wolves of Boreas.
