You said she's scared of me?

The night was high as the moon was full, and the Queen of Elkshire could not sleep well. Leaving her quarters so, she ventured out of the forest that blocked the sky and sought for higher ground. The land of the Jawbone, although looked treacherous, she had been mapping it for quite some time and knew it's layout. Ferocious it seemed, but inside was lush with the sleeping rams and the quiet sounds of crickets hidden within the thistles. It was rather peaceful, as she made her way through the spires and found a ledge, that looked directly over The Elk's Crown.

An orange gaze, looked high within the sky as the stars twinkled to the cloudless view. The moon shinning bright, a light to the otherwise dark world and letting her see the fluttering birds hovering above the forest.. There was a sigh, that followed, stepping to the ledge and laying down, paws dangling over.

Her children growing, the waters had been poisoned, her young had died, and another attacked — and now silence, overtook the dramatics. What was next, she wondered while head faced upwards.

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Plopping Adrastos in as though he has been present for at least a day or two. Let me know if this needs to be changed!

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Elkshire had not been his home for long. A few days, at most. It would take time to get used to. Packs weren't for all. If time were to travel a moon or so back, Adrastos may have grimaced at the mere thought of one. But times changed. He was not yet old, but he was still aging. What could this hurt? Who knows, maybe it would do him some good.

Thoughts raged on through his mind. Considerations had been made and possible futuristic plans had been deviated. Though, who could be so sure of what would happen in any span of time? These thoughts kept him awake — and with his wake, the man figured he would make himself somewhat useful. After all, his new Queen had chosen him out of admiration for his likely abilities... or so he'd assumed. Why else would she be keen to have him join? Upon first speaking, the suggestion that Elkshire was short of shielding bodies had been made. Now, with him present, the wood had another set of tooth and claw at its disposal.

Up from where he'd chosen to rest — despite the fact he would probably rest less often than needed — Adrastos wandered through the wood. He walked on and on, no route particularly set to mind. Well... not until a familiar scent wafted near.

Ah, speaking of the Queen...

It took only a short trip to reach the resting sight of Célnes. A pitiful lump, by the looks of her. He wondered then if something was amiss. Of course, he could ask- but... was it his place? Heck, even if it wasn't, he would more than likely pursue to question regardless. “Couldn't sleep, or are you just a fan of stargazing while dangling over a steep ledge?” Thick baritone broke the silence , a hulking frame nearing to sit close. There was noted humor through the tone, but only slightly. If there truly was something the matter, it wouldn't be his intent to upset by suffocation of poor jests.

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She turned to see Andrastos, a man newly welcomed to Elkshire and a much needed presence. She smiled at him, a slight hum to her voice before she answered, "a bit of both," and welcomed his presence to sit by her. Perhaps a comfort, knowing of a guard nearby.. The times where Celnes had a royal guard was welcomed, a comfort and pride that felt like a Queen ; but she had lost such trust in many, that it no longer felt the same. However.. The taint in the waters which was well gone now, still brought the question, on who did it.

They'd never know, which was troublesome to say the least. Or whether it was truly aimed, for Elkshire.

"There was a time, many months ago, where the stars changed and moved. Beasts, roamed the skies. I always wonder, whether they will re-appear." She returned fiery eye to the sky itself, where it twinkled in a stillness. No indications of a paw streaking through the sky, and what was only heard were the night birds. Not the beast that she heard roar from her den, or anything else. Although the time was foggy, to say the least, for during her pregnancy and birth, she was not.. The well-presented, malnourished and overall within a deep depression that settled.

But she was better.

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Both, huh? So... he wasn't the only with sleepless nights, as it so seemed.

“If there is anything better than pacing aimlessly due to lack of sleep, stargazing would be it.” Though his tone was slightly disgruntled, he meant nothing but sure sincerity.

Despite the queen having invited him closer, Adrastos remained where he had placed himself prior. There was no better offering of trust than to show respect of personal space. She had offered for the space to be broken, yes, but it was not his place to do so nonetheless. Perhaps if they knew each other better... but not now.

As her gaze lifted in return to the skies, his followed suite.

“As a child, I often questioned my mother whenever the stars sat so still as this. So, when I asked, she would tell me that they were resting. Like us, they move constantly, trying their hardest to remain strong and preserve the radiance they carry with them. But sometimes, we all must stop and take a look at ourselves. The more and more we continue on without resting, our tiredness overcomes us and our burdens grow heavy on our shoulders. Tomorrow, the stars will decide whether they are ready to be seen again, brighter than the time prior. But for now, they must rest.”

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She had offered but a spot, and he yet remove himself, and stayed like a statue within his own space. She couldn't tell whether it was like Remus who made a clear line of where they were as employer and bodyguard, but something about him always.. Edged into discomfort, for he still, in the end never pledged to Elkshire — and although a year has now passed, he still remains. She was surprised he returned from Greenwood, and assumed he would stay. Or if Adrastos was only respecting her. Her tongue lopped over her teeth as she listened.

"Your mother is a wise woman," a drop of wisdom was given that let a sly smile hail through, as gaze returned to the shinning sky above. Twinkling as so, although Celnes could try and tell what constellations were — she could not see them well. Her mind was muddled and cursed, she couldn't tell High Elk signs, nor' could she see the imagination of constellations. Above was but a scattering of dots, pretty little light things that every so often, they'd see one rain below. Colors blazed above though, for a galaxy they know not, was in their view.

"Were you here? The day that the sky shattered?" she asked awfully calmly.

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A wise woman. Something he always wished to say for himself as a man. But he had not yet lived up to that reputation. Maybe someday it would happen.

“She was a wise woman, yes.” Was. The correction stung, even when coming from his lips. Her death had not yet escaped his memory, nor would it ever. Adrastos had often been fond of her company, as well as grateful for her many teachings. It was she that gave him life, and she that kept him high held on his feet.

Célnes mentioned the day when the sky shattered. She asked if was there. Part of him wished he had been. Something so intriguing would have been enjoyed by the burly man, even despite his lack of knowledge when it came to the truths of the skies.

“The day the sky shattered?” He repeated, iterating his confusion for the event she spoke of. “I was not, no. Were you?” What a silly question. Surely she had been, for she sits here now asking him of it. But the question escaped all too soon. He could not take it back, no matter how foolish it sounded.

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"The stars are silent, but twice have been witnessed to change. The stars above shifting to what seemed to be beasts above ; a horse, a wolf, what looked like a cougar. They moved and shifted, night after night.. Before only one ran across the sky, never to be seen again. It seems like weeks they haunted, until one day, they disappeared." When she recounted such story, there was a calmness. A gazing toward above and not breaking from, almost expecting them to be appear before the two ; and prove themselves forward. She would think anyone who had said this would be a madman, but Celnes had personally witnessed this.. Strangeness that came from the skies.

It gave the soul a shiver.

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He listened carefully as she recalled the recent activities of the stars. It amazed him, truthfully. He would have never guessed anyone to have such an engrossed fascination in something he thought to be so minuscule of purpose in this life. Apparently, they meant more.

“I have never noticed this of the stars. I take it you fancy them, then? With such a keen eye for them and all... ” Words laced with a small compliment, but nothing to place too bright of a spotlight over the woman. Adrastos was not here to impress anyone, nor be considered a suck up; he was simply here to follow with the flow in which the current known as life took him.

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"When there is so much to do as a ruler, as a Queen, as a mother.. Looking at the stars are one of the more pleasant moments of peace and comfort," and a reminder, she is mortal. All her efforts through politics alike, in the end she was another wolf in this vast land. Rulers were all around and names to keep, but would her own be written down within a history? Would she be remembered as a beloved, or hated ruler? Would the pack she brought up and held firm, die down, or would it thrive with the next crown?

There was so much to think as Celnes looked to the skies. Seeing the glittering galaxy where a stillness remained and nothing more ; but every so often moved with the strength of the heavens. Would they move again? Or would she be in the heavens, by that time it happened?

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In a sense, he could understand her words. He was no ruler, nor father... but all required their moments of peace. But all had them in different times and with different views.

“When you see stars, you see the clear skies high above. Up there, they have no quarrels nor obstacles. They are allowed to be as they are... to roam or stay put; the choice is for them to make.” Adrastos' gaze followed hers again to the shimmering above them. “But they have no purpose, nor fate drawn for them. They are only as they are. We have similarities, but differences all at once. Do not wish to be there-”His muzzle swung high, gesturing to where the stars rested. “There is peace, but it can distract you from reality. You are given challenges, yes... but those challenges remind you of who you are and what you were put on this world to be. Mother, sovereign, daughter, sister, friend... wife, even, if you choose to be so.” All were possibilities; the last making him swallow. If his mother were here now, she would have scorned him for failing to have courted a woman. But what was the point?

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"I had taken you as a quiet man, but that was a false image." Celnes chuckled with a mild amusement as she joked so. He seemed of a quiet guard, somewhat like Remus or otherwise who simply did their duties and remain at peace ; but as she spoke to him he did have quite a few to say, especially the stars above. It had been some time since she was able to talk down to earth with another, for her children were.. Difficult. She could not have that affection of late-night talking when either scorn of ignorance was given to her, and to the rest around.. She felt different. It was a nice change, but she struggled to think how this would look if it would continue, and if she looked vulnerable.

"Nonetheless," she rose from her position, "most are all titles I am to keep, until my death." She smiled at so, for there was one though that was absent.. The very thought of being a wife was a laughable, but interesting idea. However it was also a dream, for though the evil that lurks and the power she seeks, in truth she was jealous of those who fell into the arms of someone beloved, with kids to adore and love and not to need them just to ensure a future of a crown. As a leader, she thought it was all but politics, and she rather be single then force to remain with a man.

"Let us go back, shall we?" she invited him to return to Elkshire with her, so that they may actually sleep on this night.

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She had thought him to be quiet. It wasn't a new concept, as most did. But all would see images of another in different ways. He could not judge any for what they thought, so he would not.

“Actions and appearances can be seen different. It can some time for someones true nature to shine through the darkness.” There were times he preferred silence; but it was not always this way.

Celnes was truly an interesting individual. Unlike others he had spoke with, she drew the words from him with enjoyment. It was a refreshing change, but not something he should linger on. For now, Adrastos would hold his respect and continue on. If they spoke like this again, so be it. 

When she stood and invited for them to return, he nodded and rose to follow. Sleep would do him good, whether he wanted it or not. The same could be said for her as well.

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