it's a new world, it's a new start ;
it's alive with the beating of young hearts
T
he beach has gotten a lot quieter since the sun has set. I can see the last brush strokes of color on the horizon as I look out at the sea. It had been a really pretty sunset and I think I need to watch them more often from here. I found myself spending more time in the woods or by the lake if I'm not in the castle, but not so much by the sea. It scares me a little just with how big and deep it is, but being among everyone here for the party makes me a little more comfortable. I just probably won't go swimming like some of the others.
Of course, I could probably do without the bonfires spread out along the beach. I know it's just something about our Court, but it doesn't help me not think about my powers. They even showed up again the other day and I wasn't even in any sort of danger. I'm worried I won't have any control over it at all and it'll just show up whenever it wants. What if it gets stronger? I don't know what I'd do.
I easily spiral out with my thoughts so I take a deep breath. Rory gently pulls at my mane as if to tell me it's okay and I smile at him. If it's not Bram, it's Rory and I appreciate bondeds even more. I don't know what I'd do without them.
Now that the moon is fully visible in the sky, it seems everyone is lively in a different way. There is some laughter and chatter, but it's not as loud as it had been through the day. I think more are starting to appreciate the moment a little more. I know I am. Rory and I settle down in a spot in the sand and I just take it all in. I close my eyes and taste the salt from the sea on my tongue as the ocean spray comes back to me a little. The smoke from the fires travels in the air too, almost bringing a warning along with it.
When I open my eyes, I start to not look at the moon as I usually do. Instead, I find myself making shapes with the stars and wondering how they all got up there. I've heard the stories that they're our ancestors, but are they? Could there be something more to it? How long of a journey is it to get up into the sky? I don't have wings, so I imagine it'd be really difficult for me.
Then, I see a streak of light race across the sky and my jaw drops. For a moment, I thought I imagined it but I definitely see another, fainter one go by. I gasp. "Wow! Rory did you see that? I wonder what those were?" The hawk nods, looking just as interested as I am. I'm hoping it's not an ancestor falling back down, although it does make me wonder more about falling stars.
In the distance, I can hear a few others whispering about it too, but more of them are gathered in front of a story guy to listen to whatever he has to say. It doesn't seem as interesting as the sky tonight, so I wait for more falling stars with wide eyes.
When the sun goes down, Denocte comes alive. It had always been so, yet on nights like tonight, where the festival roars around them, it seemed to ring even more true. Bonfires leapt at the black sky, filling the air with ash and light. Music sounded up and down the beach, in pockets of groups who gathered around to hear. Paper lanterns launched into the night sky, even as shell-seekers combed the surf for bits and baubles which had washed ashore now with low-tide. And Azrael comes alive with it all, his stars shining bright in the clarion sky, beaming down as Caligo would, on the celebration of summer.
He paints a splendid picture in the darkness, ribbons of light rising from his body, meeting the smoke-filled air with a peculiar sort of haze. A dreamcatcher staff rests against his shoulder, twined into a leather harness which holds it, twinkling as the light hits bits of silver filament which weave throughout its webbing. Upon his chest, an obelisk glows brightly, throwing a halo of light against him which bobbed with his movement – for the stallion seemed to move with purpose, staring at the sky as if expecting something to happen, face turned to the heavens as if vying to see what lie beyond their realm of understanding.
Noctua rests near him, her matching turquoise eyes blinking at the gathering, feathers ruffling in the seabreezes as she watches the spectacle. The barn owl voice coos softly to Maeve and her hawk, making note of them with casual interest before watching the shed-star once more. Only when Azrael’s gasp of delight beckons her closer does she perk up with curiosity, following his gaze in time to see a second star shoot across the diamond sky, and shivering from the wonder of it.
Wow! Rory did you see that? I wonder what those were? The girl’s words are edged with excitement, enough so for the shed-star to turn to greet her. And as he does, he stares at a child who looks strikingly similar to her mother, offering her a knowing smile . “You must be Maeve.” He remembers the name from the island, when Morrighan searched for the girl among the emptiness and shadows. “I’m Azrael, and this is Noctua.” The owl steps closer, into the light of the bonfire, cooing softly and butting her feathered head against the stallion in an affectionate gesture.
“Isn’t it something?” He gestures back to the sky. “You should make a wish… for magic is always stronger during meteor storms such as this. Just wait… and watch. It’s just getting started.” As if on cue, three more lights flash across the sky, dancing with streams of cosmic dust in their wake. Many are oblivious to it, dancing and drinking without a mind to the world around them, but the shed-star watches intently, tuning out the incessant noise as he years for more, flicking a glance back at Maeve to see her reaction to the cosmic event.
it's a new world, it's a new start ;
it's alive with the beating of young hearts
A
man that glows almost as brightly as the shooting stars comes over to me. He has a bird companion too except his is an adorable owl. I'm a little surprised that he knows my name, but I guess now that Momma's the Sovereign, everyone's bound to know who I am. I'm not sure if I like it. At least this man seems nice enough though.
"Nice to meet you," I say with a smile on my face. Next to me, Rory seems unsure of the owl and stays where he is. "This is Rory."
When we look back up at the sky, I happen to see the end trail of another shooting star before it fizzles out. He suggests I make a wish and I'm curious what kind of magic controls all of this. Is it the same kind of magic that helps you make wishes on dandelions and paper lanterns? He says it's stronger magic, so I'll have to make a really big wish tonight.
After three more stars fly across the sky, I close my eyes to make my wish. It doesn't take me long to think of something (I think it's cause it's always on my mind). "I wish to be stronger and not as afraid." When I open my eyes again, I swear the fire is flickering more as if it heard my thoughts.
"Why do the stars fall like that? Momma's told me the story that all the stars up there are our ancestors, so does this mean their time up there is over now and they're falling down? Where do they go?" I realize I've asked a lot of questions, but I can't help it. They've all been stirring in my mind since the meteor shower started and Azrael seems like one of those adults that know a lot. At least with this, I don't mind if he tells me all the things he knows.
Azrael chuckled at the question, a twinkle in his eye as he nods in agreement with the child. “You’re not the first to ask such things, for as long as there have been stars in the sky, there have been those who questioned why.” His gaze tilts skyward, as if praying to the heavens, before continuing. “She is right, about our ancestors. Where I come from, they teach us that when we die, our spirits become stars. They shine down to those we have left behind, guiding them and watching them… so we’re never alone.” Azrael didn’t know if it was true, but the romanticism of it was enough that he wanted it to be so.
“But those… those aren’t stars… at least not the same type. They are called metors.” The astral bodies were a complicated concept, one which had many stories and legends behind them. Rather than considering them a simple product of friction, he liked to muse over the possibilities. “Some say that shooting stars are the gods prying open the cosmos to peer down at us. That’s why we wish… for if the gods are looking down on us, they are certainly more likely to hear us.
Or maybe, they are an omen of something to come.” Something dark, he mused… but Azrael did not share this with the child. It simply wasn’t necessary to worry her, particularly on a night which ws meant for fun and celebration. “When the stars turn and shift in ways like this, I find it’s always the start of something different.”
Azrael wasn’t a fortune teller, so he doesn’t elaborate further on what that something might entail, leaving it up to imagination. Instead, he turns to the bonfires once more, watching the celebration with a lightness to his carriage. It wasn’t often that the shed star saw fit to relax, though these days he was finding more and more opportunity to let go and embrace what might come. For life was more interesting, he found, when moments were spontaneous.
“What do you think?” Azrael turns to Maeve and her companion, curious to know what her curious mind might think of the information. For perhaps the child could make sense of the lore – he found that often, children were more perceptive and open to the possibility of something strange and wonderfully impossible. It was simply the way they were built, all trust and fairy dust… and he, for one, wanted to learn from their insights and see the world through their innocence and wonder.
Azrael watched the child, noting the way her eyes followed him with a hint of reverence, and he smiled gently. Maeve did not hold him in the same regard of Elliana, in such that he was not her father (or a father figure), but there were so many similarities between them. Perhaps it is their natural innocence or their thirsty curiosity and need to wonder about the world around them. For their sake, Azrael hoped this was something they would keep forever, for life had a way of beating it out of adults, and they could all use a bit more optimism in life.
He stands easily beside her, watching the meteor shower and the filly at the same time, ensuring that no harm would come to her while in his protection. Around them, the party continued, but the youth maintained her steady wonder at the heavens, even as the night began to wear on. It was quite a celestial event to behold, far from the simple shooting stars which you might only catch a glimpse of once or twice a year (if you were truly looking), and he was content to sit and watch all night.
But the child’s patience grew thin, distractions weighing in as she stifled a yawn and looked to him with a sleepy and apologetic smile. “Go along then, you won’t miss anything… promise.” He grins to her encouragingly, watching her retreating form as his own gaze turns skyward once more.
Alone now, Azrael sighed and let the weight of the world wash away from him, allowing Caligo’s stars to relax him as they had so many nights before. Others who had gathered began to thin and wane, leaving only the most steadfast of stargazers to their watching. He paid them little mind, losing himself in the silence of the night, hushed appreciation lingering on his lips until the last star died into the darkness. Only once it fell did he turn from this place, his heart fuller than before, climbing the mountains and finding himself alone in the darkness once more.
