She liked this already, this easy banter. No worrying about where her family was going to end up someday, if she'd get everyone back that she missed, if they'd have a home tomorrow. Just an easy, casual distraction from the mess her life had fallen into. Avana was pleased with herself for evoking a chuckle from her companion, smiling quietly to herself as she continued to listen to his voice. Though @Jericho seemed to doubt the meaning in his name, the Hodari wasn't convinced that it didn't fit him just as perfectly Avana fit her. True, she wasn't a physical flower, but she could see the figurative comparison between her odd coloring and the colors of flowers.

Avana's head turned to her left to meet his gaze, finding herself studying his features as he pointed out her own. "Hm, I dunno. I think you're wrong," the Hodari offered a playful rebuttal. "Just as I am not a literal flower, you're not the literal moon, but your coloring... I think your family got it right." A brow quirked as the girl's mismatched gaze narrowed in an analytical way. "Your pelt is dark like the night sky, dappled like the stars on a clear night. And your face," a paw moved to motion in a circular fashion about the male's muzzle. "You've got this nice creamy color going on, spreading over your face more than you usually see on a lion. It's like moonlight." Was that enough of an explanation to convince the man that of the moon did, indeed, suit him?

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I think you're wrong, the words that elicited such a strong expression on his face as she proposed that he was indeed every bit of wrong about himself. Going on to explain that his coloring was very much that "of the moon" business. Despite how much he wanted to shake his head and disagree with @Avana, knock away the nice way in which she described his appearance he couldn't. For in the way that she said it, he almost sensed that looking at him and seeing it was relaxing to her. Distracting her as she distracted him, finding that the moonlight above them did a lot in lighting up her strawberry coat. The very pastel pink so bright within the night sky that he wondered what it might look like under the sun.

You don't think it's too ... on the nose, do you? he asked, having always felt like his traveling family put too much emphasis in the stars and their constellations at times. As though that was the only thing in their life worth mentioning and talking about. Jericho had never seen the stars as the only thing worth talking or thinking about, but they were wonderful and deserved attention. There were just other things that he wanted to see in this world and he couldn't so long as he was trapped in the embrace of those who couldn't will change.

Avana couldn't help but smirk at the expression she received at calling the man wrong. She'd only just met the lion and here she was calling him out on his beliefs about his own name. Damn, Avie. Before she could feel like she had sufficiently stuffed her paw in her mouth on this one, though, @Jericho seemed to understand her explanation, thankfully. He didn't offer any rebuttal or seek to cut her off, but actually sat there and listened. Avana felt understood and heard, which was saying a lot when she used to be surrounded by so many siblings and family and pridemates. That was maybe one of the few good things about these new lands. There was so much space to finally breathe and relax. While the yearling still missed her home, Avana was not afraid of new adventures.

With his question, the strawberry lass regarded carefully. Her lips scrunched to one side in deep thought, still peering over his image with interest. "Hm... Well, maybe," she'd relent, "But what's the harm in that? If it fits, it fits, right?" Sometimes a name was just perfect for someone, and apparently his parents knew that when Jericho was born. "Besides, it could be worse. They could have just plainly named you Moon or something." At least there was a little bit of mystery to his name. Not everyone would know the meaning behind it. It could be up to the merle lion to offer that knowledge or not, just like Avana doubted if many knew the meaning of her own name without her explaining it. "Or it could have been flamingo," the maned girl muttered to herself with a slight chuckle, recalling the story of what her big brother almost named her.

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Here they were meant to be stargazing and all they were doing was bantering, bickering and picking at each other. In the best of ways, obviously! Jericho would much rather be basking in the humor and liveliness of company than be staring up at the sky alone. He was happy to spend some time with this girl that was so bold to call him wrong and to also call him out. If anything it was amusing and a breath of fresh air to be told outright that he didn't have all the answers.

Eyes went large and he chuckled, amazed by her forward nature at suggesting that his parents might've called him Moon and he was lucky that they hadn't been such simpletons. Yikes. You're absolutely right -- glad to not be named Moon. To be named something so bland would've been a mockery of his entire family but at least they had had the decency to give him a little sustenance when he could introduce himself. That definitely sounds like more of your name, Miss Flamingo. He teased, having a feeling that that was why she'd brought it up seeing as he had no similarities to a flamingo but @Avana was a dead ringer.

Yeah. Sure. Stars. Whatever. Avana had already seemed to forget what had brought her to this hill in the first place, but frankly, she didn't mind the distraction. Secretly, she actually feared her own interest in the stars, knowing that her mother had a checkered past with her biological family and their connections with the stars. Would Hanneth have a problem with her daughter wishing to learn about the night skies? Or any sky for that matter. The strawberry pixie just wanted to learn the lands, and the stars seemed to be a good way of navigating. For now, though, the Hodari was content to banter with her new companion.

Of course she was right! At hearing the words, Avana looked positively smug with the affirmation. The name @Jericho, even though it likely wasn't the part of his name that actually meant 'of the moon,' was a much more complicated veil to uphold than the simple moniker of 'Moon.' Now that that was settled, though, Avana was ready to turn her sights back to the skies. At least, she was until she realized that the speckled lion had caught her little muttered statement about the flamingo name. The Hodari went red in the face, whipping her head back towards him while looking flustered. All in good humor, of course, though. She knew he was only teasing, but Avana would still aim a playful shove at his shoulder with her nearest paw. "Alright, Mister Moonie," the rose-gold pixie teased right back with a glint of mischief in her gaze. "Why don't you tell me one of your families stories about the stars, hm?" A brow rose as if to taunt the man, as if she didn't believe that his family was so adept with the stars. Prove her wrong, boy.

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The pathfinder was greatly overjoyed by the reaction that he received upon calling her the Miss Flamingo. The very idea that he had ruffled her feathers in much the same way that he'd been ruffled by the very thought of being called Moon or being wrong. Something about her face in the moment was charming and otherwise sought to keep his interest afloat within their cozy little corner of the world.

Moonie was like a dagger to his heart but truthfully, he felt like even if @Avana continued to call him that it was like a code name. Something that the two of them now shared together that made it just a little more memorable instead of the boring sham of a life that he felt he was living in this new world of his. One I remember more than others that our storyteller would tell practically every night, and the only one that he could think of in the moment that wasn't drawn out and over-told.

There lived a little star with his starry mother. They were particularly happy though the little star couldn't help but be sad. He stood shining in one of the corners of the sky, far from the others. Pausing to take a little breath. The bigger stars laughed at him and made fun of his small size and the little star wished he could be big like them. Soon the mother took notice and asked "Little star, why are you so sad?" And the Little Star explained that the Big stars made fun of him because of his size and asking why he couldn't be big and bright like them.

Jericho felt a little silly telling this particular story if only because it was clear that it was meant for a younger generation of cubs. His mother hugged him and said "My love, each star in the sky is unique and important no matter how big or how bright." Suddenly the little star understood why it was that he was so different from the rest of them. Many, many years later as the Little Star grew up he came to be known as the largest and brightest star of them all. Jericho coughed and made a flattened smile, suggesting it was the end of his story with a lift of his eyebrows.

When @Jericho gave no objection to her new nickname for him, Avana would make it a point to never forget it. Yep, that was going to be his name now, any time they might cross paths, whether he liked it or not. Deep down, the Hodari cherished the thought. Even if it was just a childish way to poke fun at one another, even if he'd return with the Miss Flamingo each time, Avana didn't care. Just having something to share with someone else made her feel not so alone in this world. She missed this sort of thing with her own family, now growing selfishly aware that she was likely trying to fill some sort of void with this back-and-forth teasing with Jericho. Oh well.

Nevertheless, the Hodari was respectful enough to quiet down and actually listen to the male's story. It quickly became clear that this was probably a story intended for children of the pride and not necessarily picked with her in mind, but Avana would listen intently all the same. Regardless of the intended audience, she still appreciated the fact that Jericho was willing to share such a thing with her after only just meeting her.

By the end of it all, the maned girl could practically see the ending coming. Little star grows up to be the biggest and brightest of them all. Of course he did, because that was the kind of positive-thinking stories adults told little kids, and Avana still wished to cling onto such ideals sometimes. "That was cute," she'd comment with a gentle smile, her words genuine. "Thanks for sharing it with me." There was a subtle shift from the teasing that had been going on just moments ago, a somber feeling Avana found just the mere fact that someone had shared anything with her at all. With a light sight, yet still a ghost of a smile on her face, the maned girl returned her gaze to the stars above. "So, which one do you think is the Little Star now?" she'd question half-seriously.

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Mister Moon and Miss Flamingo, he mused quietly to himself seeing as how the idea of having a weird little inside joke made him feel a little less on the outside. As though he actually had a place to belong for once and maybe - just MAYBE - he could actually find something here worth holding onto. Maybe he would even venture back to that Passage place and see what prides there were and if one of them was suitable to his nature. @Avana slowly but surely bringing him out of his shell and making him realize that he really could stand on his own four legs for once.

Yeah, it's uh -- the last story that one of bards of my clan told. Bed time story for the cubs so they fall asleep quicker. There was something about an adult telling a story at night time that instantly put them to sleep. Well, no one has ever shared with me the secret but I've always just assumed it was that one there. Jericho pointed up to the sky to make sure that Avana saw which one it was. That big, exceptionally bright one that couldn't be missed even if you tried. My family called it the North Star. If you were to stand in one spot every night for a year, every night that star is in the same place but the others stars, they rotate but not at a speed that we can physically see.

It was mostly at this point that Jericho felt his insecurities bleed out and recognizing that he was probably sounding so stupid or like a know-it-all. Not wanting to be either, he swallowed and stopped for a moment as though to punish himself for spouting off things that sounded absolutely ridiculous to those who may or may not have grown up knowing them.

Avana could totally get behind an inside joke. She didn't have many, even fewer with the sparseness of her family these days. The strawberry lass just needed something cheerful to hold onto. The pixie thoroughly enjoyed this back and forth, this exchange of words and conversation with a stranger who was already starting to feel less so. Dare she even dream of maybe doing this sort of thing again. It would certainly be a pleasant change from the lonely days she had more often than not.

With a head tilt of genuine interest, the Hodari lingered on the use of the word bard. She knew what it meant, but had never heard of it really being a profession of someone in a pride. It was more so a hobby, in her mind. "Your clan actually had bards? That's so cool. Any story we ever got as kids was mostly just history about the family, nothing so creative or abstract." Though her parents had passed on many of story about their heritage, they were all tales forged in truth and actual events. Perhaps this might change, though, now that her great-grandfather was alive and more readily available. But then again, Avana might be too old for stories by now.

Her mismatched gaze would follow @Jericho's direction towards the North Star. Oddly enough, it was a star she often noticed, but never knew much about. Little did she even ever realize how it stayed put every night, though she had noticed how other clusters of stars seemed to move. "Hm, that makes a lot of sense now that you mention it. I've noticed how the stars seem to move throughout the year, but I never quite realized how they moved around a central point." Avana was a little sheepish in this lapse of knowledge. How could she not have noticed the central pivot to the night sky? At least she knew it now. Never did the pink girl ever seem put off by his abundance of astrological knowledge, however. If anything, Avie was quite enamored by his words.

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Being alone certainly made you doubt yourself more than possible but finding this star-gazer had made him feel a little less alone than usual. A nice conversation that she had given him that allowed him to talk of the things that he was comfortable talking about. Things that weren't so serious or dramatic, something of the home he had left. A lot of them, actually! He shared, as bards were probably the most common skill that his clan took up. Likely because it was the easiest to do since they always had stories to tell. My clan has those, too. Plenty. They're a very... generational family that takes great pride in their lineage. Jericho had spent too many hours being forced to look after cubs. A job that he didn't particularly enjoy then and certainly not now, constantly told that he would change his mind when he had his own. Eh.

Given that it is so far away from us, no matter where we are at any point in time, it's not a fact that one immediately thinks about. It's nice, though, knowing that if I'm ever lost that there is something like that to help me find my way back. The stars in the sky were a great pivotal thing that had made him feel a little bit more confident in himself when was younger. Something that gave him more comfort in knowing that there was something so mysterious and unknown about the sky and its parts. @Avana, whether she realized it or not, had become something of a pivotal turn for him. Realizing that she was slowly leaving her mark on him like few others had in the last few months. An individual that he'd find himself asking about and potentially asking others about, to see where she might be.

Though, for now, he was happy to make casual conversation until she made a point to leave. He couldn't exactly bring himself to depart her side and was more than happy to fall asleep talking and looking out above them. fade exit, maybe?