---

He slept during the day, most of the time. So when he woke and the sun disappeared below the horizon he would rise, stretching out stiff limbs and yawning before he would make his way back to the location where Amaris would be. He would be a diligent student, he had waited far too long for an opportunity like this arise to just throw it away by being late.

No. Rinon lived and breathed by the books, his long legs drawing him to their meeting spot from the night prior the boy settled along the lakes edge. Crimson eyes drifting down to the clear water that reflected back his white mask and bloody eyes.

And as he waited, he would breath - seeking to clear his mind of lifes recent chaos he took several more deep breaths before looking up to the sky. The stars littering the night sky with speckles brilliance, his gaze resting on what his mother had told him was the milky way, he silently recalled the story of two star crossed lovers separated by the river of stars, who could only meet once a year.

--
Amaris

❝ ❞

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Skill: Ranger?/Astronomer

---

The Five had blessed the horizon with a clearer night sky, one where the stars above danced and twinkled beside the softened glow of the moon. Tonight would become the first of many nights where he and Rinon would gaze upon the stars, and Amaris would somehow become a…mentor to the boy. It felt odd to think such words and to embody such a role. Especially when Amaris felt he knew so little about himself.

But the boy needed help, and Amaris was determined to deliver.

He returned to their rendezvous spot, the same location where they had agreed to meet again. And while Amaris hadn’t thought himself to be late--he was shocked to see the darkened silhouette of Rinon already there. Waiting. For him.

Am I late? Amaris asked into the evening air as his paws would cut the distance that lingered between them.

However, after a deliberate pause, The Five has blessed us with a clear night sky, He murmured to his pupil as his silhouette rested beside the other. Amaris lowered himself to his haunches, a tail sweeping easily to place atop his paws, as he similarly twisted a golden gaze to the sparkling horizon above.

Are you ready to begin?

---

"Am I late?" white tipped ear pivoted, followed by those rich crimson pools as his head traced the forever tired face of Amaris. Rinon startled slightly, ❝ No! ─ No ❞ he shook his head, smirking a little. ❝ I've just been waiting my whole life for this ❞ as short as that was so far, it certainly hadn't felt like a blip in time. "The Five has blessed us with a clear night sky," the boy tilted his head, glancing back skyward, ❝ Who are the five? ❞ he wondered curiously.

"Are you ready to begin?" he nodded. Unable to help the thrumming of his heart, anticipation and excitement. What a funny thing for learning. Most got the physical shake from something thrilling, something that injected adrenaline into their veins. ❝ I was born ready, ❞ he answered.



--

❝ ❞

---

Skill: Orator

---

A brow rose quietly amid Rinon’s words as a delicate gaze washed over his. Amaris couldn’t be certain what it was that they would learn—together—or if the answers truly lay in the stars as the other boy thought, but he would try, nonetheless.

Even if the responsibility, now, seemed to weigh heavy on the silver yearling’s shoulders.

The Five? He echoed, his words holding a moment of shock as he glanced toward the other’s expression. I’m surprised my mother did not introduce you to the Five already… Were his murmured words as he swung his attention back toward the stars.

Amaris was no storyteller, no great spinner of words or teller of tales, but he presumed he could try, at least this once. It was a day of firsts. After all, why not lean into it? I’m no storyteller like my mother, but the Five are…our guiding lights in this life, he started after a breath.

Houtu is our Great All-Mother—she is creation, she is love, she is home. It’s said that she and her younger brothers and sisters were the ones to create these worlds—nurturing them into existence. Amaris continued with a smile, recounting the words he had heard throughout his life.

Rhys, her brother and lord of the flame, brought fertile soil to the worlds so that life could grow. Aether, lord of the wind, shaped the mountains and valleys of the world so that others would have a home to thrive within. Then, there is Nivia, our lady of water and snow, who brought water into the world, ensuring that Houtu’s children would have a place to drink and nourish themselves. The last sister is Sylvanus, our lady of flora, who, through her love, sowed the seeds of plants, herbs, and trees, bringing grass and other foliage to our existence.

The All-Mother then created life, creatures and beasts alike, but held a special place for wolves like you and myself. We are not meant to take from this world more than necessary but ensure, in Houtu’s image, that the world remains at peace. We follow her guidance and love here in Elysium.

He shrugged as his gaze still tracked the stars, My mother speaks of them better than I can, he quickly followed up. It is the All-Mother who has blessed my siblings and me and, perhaps, has blessed you as well, Amaris murmured.

His gaze was cast to the stars toward the clearer sky that twinkled down at them. And as his words had come to a close, a flash of light danced across the horizon. Look! There! He pointed to the falling star with his muzzle, quickly drawing in a breath as his ears would right themselves atop his crown. A shooting star, he whispered with a smile.

Perhaps the Five had heard them.

skill: n/a

---

"The Five?" Rinon looked on with wide eyes, eager to learn. "I’m surprised my mother did not introduce you to the Five already…" he watched the other yearling, tracing his eyes to the stars as he too looked skyward. "I’m no storyteller like my mother, but the Five are…our guiding lights in this life," that sounded...nice. To have such guidance, Rinon had moved through much of young life with next to nothing to follow. No one to guide or teach him.

Maybe he could rely on the five too.

Rinon listened attentively, he was a good listener he found. Like a sponge soaking in all the insight Amaris has to offer. And he found his crimson eyes falling from the sky and tracing the lines of Amaris' soft grayscale face, smiling when he did, enraptured by the words he wove and the way his eyes so intently watched the sky.

When he did catch himself staring too long Rinon would quickly shift his gaze away ─ feeling the heat that suddenly brushed his cheeks his ears drew back with confusion. What was that? Why had he felt so nervous all of a sudden. He dismissed it, it was nothing surely. Returning his attention "My mother speaks of them better than I can," Rinon blinked, "It is the All-Mother who has blessed my siblings and me and, perhaps, has blessed you as well," ❝ I thought you did very well ❞ he would offer gently. ❝ I have never experienced such guidance...do you think the five would accept me..too? ❞ he was but an outsider among Amaris and his family. But there a glimmer of hope there.

"Look! There!" Rinons gaze shot skyward, tracing the direction in which Amaris pointed ─ and like the star he lit up maw falling open slightly in awe. "A shooting star," ❝ Oh wow...look at that...what does it mean? ❞ his tail swept across the snow.

---

❝ speech ❞
notes:

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Skill: Ranger/Astrologer

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Lost in the words he uttered—a story told to him time and time again—Amaris recited what he knew as a longing gaze trailed the skies. Did the Five believe in him as much as he believed in them? It was a thought that passed between his murmured speech and one that he quietly sought the answer to. Although, within the vastness of the horizon that greeted him, only the sound of his voice and the silence of the wind responded in kind.

After all he had done, he wondered, at times, if they’d ever turn their back on him.

Though as his words trailed to an end and breath was given to his lungs, Amaris’ attention would flicker back towards Rinon—his words a guiding light that drew him quickly back to reality.

Amaris couldn’t help but smile, a quirk of his lips as his own ears faltered toward a place atop his skull. A light-hearted sound, doused in the flames of quiet embarrassment, slipped from his lips as he hesitantly shook his head. Ahh—You’re kind, Rinon, He murmured into the dark as his own gaze flashed along the other’s crimson stare. Amaris was nothing compared to his silver mother in her ability to weave words from nonsense so beautifully—and poetically so—that not a soul would dare interrupt, too lost in the images she created by the mere sound of her voice.

Still, he bashfully accepted the compliment: Thank you… before his gaze furtively chased the stars.

While Amaris could never know the true inner workings of the Five, he could not imagine them to cast another willfully away. It was not in their DNA, makeup, or intrinsic design. They accepted everyone, didn’t they?

Of course, He added after a pause, I don’t see why they wouldn’t. He glanced then to Rinon as he studied his expression quietly. You say you have visions—memories of other worlds hidden in the stars—maybe the Five have guided you all along.

A small smile crept across the Moon’s features, a hidden tug on his cheek as he turned back towards the twinkling sky. Often, it had only been with Aelia that Amaris felt at ease, comforted, and calm. And yet, here, doused in the moonlight and hidden beneath the stars with another, Amaris felt…safe. Safe to be himself—as much of himself as he would allow another that was not his twin to see—but safe, at ease, comfortable.

The shooting star was enough to bring up his spirits, and while his ears perked forward, a softened chuckle replaced his words as he watched it. A sign--a hello from up above... he added after a moment, what do you think it means?