[Serene] Milky Way [Isis 1.2, Wisher 1.2]

Mischa

It's utterly beautiful. The stars are bright enough to read signs by, sometimes a book. For a moment, as you two trudge away from camp, away from man's fire, the world seems to hold its breath and there's not a sound from living beast, just the whisper of the water and the slightest crackle of the campfire. The whole of the sky's majestic tapestry is open to you.

For all Sparks' wonders, they can't hold a candle to the stars. The moment passes and it feels like it's just the two of you against the world, against the wolves.

What do you do?

Adam

The moment passed? Could have fooled me... Isis finds me sitting on a small hill overlooking the brook, leaning back on my hands, and looking up at the stars. My dad used to tell me stories about the men in the stars, and how they told stories to the world that was. I always try to find new men in the stars, and tell their stories whenever I get a chance. Sometimes the stories just come to me, and sometimes I have to make them up. I crane my neck around when I hear Isis coming, and smile wide when she comes into focus.

"It's nice to be alone again... Folks are great and all, but I miss the quiet times where it's just us." I pat the ground next to me, and offer to take the sleepsacks from her. "Lemme help..."

KatelynR

Wisher found a good spot with a nice view. We set up the sleep sacks and get comfy.

"So, what do you see in the stars tonight?" I ask Wisher. He always has great stories about the stars. They are a welcomed distraction from what often goes through my mind at night. Looking at the stars gives me peace.

Adam

I lie back down, and let myself get lost in the stars dotting the night sky... I know Isis has trouble sleeping, and I know she's always looking for distractions. I don't think I do much for her, so I like to try and give her that distraction when she asks for it. Eventually, I settle on a small pattern off near the horizon, and point it out. "See there? That's Bullpen — he kinda looks like he's got horns, see? He's a tiny guy with these big horns that he got from the Wild Bull — a huge creature, like a million feet tall, that would roam the hillside looking for the greenest pastures. Bullpen had someone he loved very much, but he couldn't keep her safe onnacount of him being so small..."

I snuggle up a little closer to Isis, and turn on my side to face her. "So he walked for years, tracking the Wild Bull. He would stop and help anyone who needed it, however he could. When he finally found the Wild Bull in a big, green, grassy pasture, he told the Wild Bull his story – about how he loved this girl, and left home to find the Bull, and met all these people, and helped them as best he could. The bull was so happy to hear the story, that he gave Bullpen his horns to wear on his head..."

"But he never made it back to her," I say, low and serious, "cause he walked too far, and by the time he finally got back home, the girl had started her own life... So he climbed right up into the stars to watch over her, and her family — and now that they're gone, he watches over all of us."

Adam

OOC: Reading Isis.
(Rolled: 2d6+1. Rolls: 2, 6. Total: 9)

Adam

OOC: spending my 1 hold: How could I get Isis to fall in love with me?

KatelynR

"That's kind of nice and sad at the same time. Nice about him watching over her and everyone but sad that she had moved on by the time he got back. It's too bad he thought he had to go out and get stronger for her though. She should have loved him the way he was - he shouldn't have had to prove anything to her." I say lying back with my head on my hands looking up at Bullpen.

KatelynR

I'm not blind. I see the way Wisher looks at me. The same way he is looking at me now. I don't want him to keep his hopes up that something could happen between us. It's not fair to him. Maybe if the world wasn't such a messed up place...if the Wolves weren't around. Maybe if we so get rid of them...then there could be a chance for us.

"Wisher, there's something I never told you, or anyone for that matter, but I figure you should know. It might give you a better understanding of where my head is. You know that Wolf I killed not long before we met? It wasn't just any Wolf. I knew him. He was my partner. My lover. We had been together for quite some time. We were curious about the Wolves...we hunted them down together...but didn't realize how powerful they were. He was strong, but still got taken over by a mask. And there was nothing I could do." My voice shakes a bit. I hate talking about this. "It was kill or be killed...and I had to kill him. That is why I was such a wreck when we met. That is why I still can't sleep. I dream of Wolves, I dream of him. I dream of what I did."

I turn to face Wisher to see his reaction. "I'm not dumb. I know you have feelings for me. But I can't think about that right now. I need the Wolves gone. I can't have history repeat itself. Maybe when they are gone...when we are free from their torment. Maybe then we can start over...together. But for now, I need to stay focused. We need our freedom back."

Adam

I'm trying to look hopeful through all this, but the booze is making things fuzzy... It doesn't sound hopeful — or at least, it doesn't sound hopeful yet. I feel really terrible about her lover... She didn't even name him. "That's really awful, Isis," I whisper, genuinely concerned, "I'm sorry you had to do that..."

This is what the wolves do to people... They find you, they toy with you, and then they consume whatever part of you they find most delicious. I can see why Isis would be cautious about love, to protect her heart, but I'm not the man her lover was. "But we are focused," I say, reaching out to put a hand on her arm, "the wolves have been after me for as long as I can remember, Isis... If I had to stay focused on running, or fighting, then I wouldn't have a reason to keep running, or fighting... The people we meet, the joy we find in our travels, our time together... It makes life worth living. We don't have to give that up just because we're stuck in the middle of this mess..."

Mischa

Wisher, who was the last person who gave you joy?

Isis, who was the first Wolf you killed?

KatelynR

I know Wisher is right. We have to find some joy in our day to day lives now. But I can't risk getting close with someone again. Not after Nero. Not while the Wolves are still running the show and not while Wisher is still being tormented by them.

I sigh a bit, and give Wisher a faint smile "I do enjoy our time together. I just...I just can't. Not right now. I'm sorry." I give his hand a squeeze. "We need to get some sleep. Big day ahead of us." I say as I turn to my side to try and sleep. I know I won't though... At least not until I get so exhausted that my body forces me to. Until that point my mind races.

Part of me wishes I had never met Nero. But then again if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have found out Wolves can be killed. He showed me that. The broken mask is from the first Wolf I killed, with his help. I never expected to have to do that to Nero though. Why did he have to go and get cocky and assume he could take on any Wolf. He let his guard down and now he is gone and I'm...fucked up. Damn you Nero.

Adam

Lots of people give me joy... It's a fleeting thing, y'know? You drink yourself silly, and dance in the wind to a bunch of folks beating drums, and singing songs. That thing in your chest, then and there, is joy — but the minute your brain comes along and thinks about it, joy's gone. I try not to think about stuff too much... Ignorance is bliss, right?

But you don't mean that... You mean who's the last person that set my heart on fire, and left me weak in the knees. You mean Lilah. She was before Isis came around... I was travelling alone, and came across this farmhouse, all but burned to the ground. She lost her family. I stayed a few days to help her get back on her feet; but then days turned to weeks, and weeks to months — before I knew it, I was learning how to farm, and build houses.

Then she found that damn mask... The one her father kept in the basement, locked up under the rocks. She started hearing things when there wasn't anything there; but I knew better, 'cause a wolf was there. I watched that damn mask turn a beautiful woman into a starving, husk of a creature. I had to leave before she put it on... I didn't want to remember her that way. I wanted to remember Lilah the way I'd come to know her — light-hearted, and caring. Motherly, almost. Our time together is something I treasure still...

The smile slowly drains from my face, and I look down at her hand gripping mine in resignation. I nod. "K." Damn wolves... Nothing's ever enough for them.

The world is spinning around me — literally, I know, but in my head too. Booze makes it hard to sleep for me. I lie back down on my back, and whisper, "g'night Isis..."

Mischa

[END SCENE]