The moon shines brightly from her place in her celestial abode. Silver moonlight ignites the white of the stones in this land, making it appear as if mountains are made of silver. Calico Jack slips through the night, large paws alighting on the milky stones without making a sound. Spring may be arriving in the southern lands of Boreas, but here, in the north, winter still reigns. Clouds of steam erupt into the night air as the boy breathes, his warm breath almost freezing as it leaves his nose. There are no clouds to obstruct the silver maiden’s light and stars shine brightly all around her.

Pausing in his slow trot, Calico Jack surveys the land, noting the track that an ancient river once cut through the rocks. Snow blankets the now dry bed, creating a beautiful wintery scene even in the midst of spring. The patchwork boy turns his eyes to the rocky edifice he is climbing, tracing a vein of gold with his eyes. At night, all the veins of various colors are muted, their sparkling brilliance of daytime now dim as if they too slumber. Paws find holds where none seem apparent and the calico boy continues his upward trek.

The veins of once valuable materials are not why Calico Jack is here and he continues to climb toward his reward. He has chosen a small mountain with a mostly flat top and, as he crests the peak, the boy is exceedingly glad that he picked this one. Here, high above the dry riverbed, the calico boy has an uninterrupted view of the night sky. His breath hitches in his chest as the stars shiny with an intensity he has never seen before. Moving away from the edge, he seats himself on the cold stone and cranes his neck back, taking in the full splendor of the cold spring night.

From his seat, the stars appear to be white gems, waiting for him to reach up and pluck them from there dark haven. Eyes trace familiar constellations, finding their shapes and mentally checking them against his knowledge. Softly, Calico Jack says, “Okay, there is Polaris. That means that Ursa Minor is… there and she is pointing to… Ursa Major.” A paw has lifted to trace the stars as he mutters to himself, getting his bearings of the north before beginning to turn and find more constellations.

A sound, as soft as a whisper, tickles his ear and Jack’s head swivels toward it, suddenly aware that he might not be only one up here. Did they come to stargaze too… or are they here to attack the unsuspecting boy? He hopes it is the former and not the later as he softly whispers, “Anyone there?”



WC: 457
Total WC: 457 / 1500


"Calico Jack"

Aoede hadn’t gone far from the place where she had met Levi, one of the Armada’s youths. He had been short with her, but Ao couldn’t deny how much fun she had pushing his buttons. Part of her wanted to linger here in the northern reaches for exactly that reason. She wanted another chance to bother the short statured man. She wasn’t sitting idly around, waiting for him to stumble across her path a second time, she was making sure she saw every inch of the Northern reaches.

Her fox-like paws carried her over the frozen tundra, not much in the way of vegetation could grow up here. Still, hardy green grass took hold to every speck of dirt in this harsh land. Lichen clung to the rocky surfaces, living and dying and creating more soil for grass to colonize. Large grazing animals flocked to these places in the late spring and summer as the pastures grew, sharing the space with smaller animals as well, grazing geese, small rodents. All of these beasts brought with them the predators of the land.

She saw hints of other wolves in the area, a faint whiff of a polar bear, but much more were arctic foxes and coyotes. In the day she could see golden eagles high in the sky, a raptor of that size was a threat to a smaller wolf like herself. She was careful to try and find cover when their shadow raced over the ground. In the evening and night she found herself transfixed with the snowy owls.

The most interesting part was where an ancient river had opened up a deep wound at the surface of the earth. A deep gouging ravine that cut through brilliant veins of marble. Aoede’s dark paws carefully traversed the lichen covered marble at the top of the gorge. She and her companion fox both moved with great caution, survival was unlikely if either slipped into the ravine. Thankfully this night the moon was a brilliant light over the land. It lit the white marble and streak of gold in otherworldly light. Like nothing the star spangled she wolf had ever seen before.

To her amusement, she was not the only one here having their fill of the nearly unbelievable gash into the marble. Her golden gilded gaze watched as the boy’s deft paws put an old mountain goat to shame as he painstakingly ascended the sheer walls of water carved marble. He was lucky that the river had been gone for so long, or there would have been no footholds at all. Thanks to the relentless rolling on of time, the years had chipped away at the incredible ivory colored marble.

She lowered herself to the scruffy grasses, not voluntarily making herself known to him as he leaned abc and looked up at the stars above. She could hear him muttering from downwind, but couldn’t really hear him as he traced the sky with his toes. Reading the stars, no doubt. Suddenly his concentration was broken, and it looked like he was aware that he was no longer alone. The night was quiet, but she couldn’t hear his whisper over the gentle wind. Thinking she was caught, Ao lifted herself to her paws, she was far enough away to not be a threat, just watching.

"Aoede Regni"

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The stars shine brightly above the calico boy and the moon bathes the marble land in its silvery rays. Up here, on this small mountain, Calico Jack feels like he could reach up and scoop the heavens into his paws. He mutters to himself while tracing constellations with one, large paw, getting his bearings by reading the stars. A soft sound tickles his ears and he looks to where it orientated from, softly calling out to check if anyone is there. He is unprepared for the small wolf that silently stands up from her hiding place in the grass, revealing herself to his curious gaze.

She appears to be plucked from the very heavens that shine above them, her coat glittering with the same soft intensity as the stars above. Awe washes across his features as Jack looks at the woman, never before having seen such beauty in wolfen form. His icy gaze is intense but somehow, gentle as he catches the star-woman’s molten gold eyes and he offers her a small smile. With more confidence in his voice than the boy feels, he says, “Hello. I’m Calico Jack. Do you want to know how to read the stars?”

Once the beautiful wolf gives voice to her interest, and her name, Calico offers a huge, dreamy smile before moving to stand beside her. In another life, the boy may have thought himself worthy of getting to know the stranger better but, right here, right now, Aoede feels as ethereal and intangible as the stars in the sky. He easily dwarfs her in the height department so, with her permission, he seats himself behind her twinkling form and takes one of her delicate paws in one of his own. Gently, he lifts her leg while lowering his head so he can see the stars from her perspective.

First, he finds the brightest star in the sky and points their paws at it, softly whispering the name of their celestial partner, Polaris, into her ear. From there, their paws trace down Ursa Minor before jumping over to find Ursa Major. He offers the constellations names as they go, whispering all the strange and fantastic stories that he has heard about how the stars and constellations earned their names. From there he shows her where Cassiopeia rests, relaying a tale of how the queen had thought her daughter the most beautiful in the land and explains how she can find the vain queen year-round.

Calico Jack then shows her Boötes, Leo, Hydra, Virgo, Cancer, and Crater, the pair gently caressing their forms with their raised paws while keeping themselves firmly planted on earth. Finally, he returns their paws to the ground, lifting his head away from her own so that the boy can explain how these constellations only appear in Spring time. A faraway look comes over the patchwork boy as he loving explains how the stars shift from season to season so that others may come out to play.

Since he believes that Aoede is not really here, that she is just part of the night sky given an earthy form for the night, Calico Jack boldly interacts with her. While their time together is drawing to a close but, for now, the boy shares tales with the heavenly wolf for as long as he can.




WC: 554
Total WC: 1564 / 1500


"Calico Jack"