Enjoy ur shitty phone post!! >:3



The boy ambles ever onward, dragging paws to leave scuff marks in the grass. The surroundings shift and change until they tread upon new ground and lands alike. Others would surely be captived by these lands - the way the air hums with spiritual energy and heavy fog blanketing the areas they weren't meant to see just yet. He, however, is delightfully unimpressed as he so often is - taking it all in with baleful eyes. It is not regret that turns his features, just an eternal air of displeasure.

The night is cold verging on freezing, but he continues - knowing that she will drag him regardless. The incline at least is am easy walk and soon they find themselves at the top of this particular peak. Others are taller and surely better, but Mors would hate them just as much. With a huff (to both express his inner angst and to dislodge the forelock hanging in his eyes), he plops himself down on the grassy part of the peak, head inclining up. Despite the chill in the air it's a clear night and overhead, there is nothing but stars.

Awe comes, quick and unexpected. He's seen the stars before of course but never like this. Mismatched eyes widen minutely - jaws relaxing their frown for a moment or two. Quietly he cuffs for his almost-sister, assuming she's followed him. Certainly she'll have something to say about the view here: the stars were her domain, after all. Ears tip, waiting for the pastel girl, as he simmers frighteningly close to contentment.

pls enjoy my trash offering

you're still living life in the dark?

a tail to mors' coment ilu follows quietly behind. though her pelt sticks out - even in the deepening dark - the babe's footsteps do not. delicately the girl carries herself, eyes flitting upward every few seconds to catch the promising view. it is this distraction that lets morostide get further ahead. because of course she cant help herself from slowing down to take in more. this land has proven strange so far but at least the sky is familiar. after a few minutes however the pastel princess notices she is suddenly very alone. something like fear ripples through. illuminata is fine being alone unless being with her darker companion was an option. besides, his mother gave them few instructions besides stay together. except honestly it sounded more like a suggestion if she was thinking back fully.

turning this way and that it's the chuff that finally directs the youth. dusty rose paws carry her toward him, a light smile dancing upon black lined lips. before she can speak however the view captures her breath. mismatched lenses flick upward to take in the wide expanse. immediately the girl comes to a halt ignoring her sibling. another tick, tick, tick of moments before she remembers he did call her over. that they were traveling together and she turns smiling brightly at him. "this is amazing! and a very good sign. they're welcoming us." it comes out breathless in a singular rush. there is only the faintest trace of accent there. something decidedly southern yet french.

"i can't believe our luck. i mean - when are we lucky?" she giggles another smile breaking across ebony lips. the girl moves into a sit quickly, tail settling over her speckled paws. boxy crown would tilt upward to take in the view better, the light from above feeling like sunshine to the celestial. "do you see those?" using her maw the girl jerks her head to a cluster toward their left. "those are the ones i used to wish on at home. have you ever wished for anything momo?" big eyes flick to him for the briefest of moments before fluttering back skyward. illuminata spent most of her time wishing, thinking about going back to the place she was from. or at the very least somewhere else. somewhere with things to see and views like this. somewhere that brought her close to the sky. she wasn't meant for swamps and dank little forests. even now she shudders to remember the enclosed spaces they called home.

this was a home. a place with a view where she could feel something.

she hadn't lagged too far behind - but still, there's a strange sort of comfort when she appears, bounding and bouncing. the twilight twists her pink pelt into something deeper, darker - almost appearing purple in the dimming light. still, he'd recognize her anywhere - especially when she skids to a stop, eyes up and glossy with indifference. towards him, at least; it's the stars that she cares about. this is expected and he takes no offense to it, no more than he takes offense to any slight. he did not always see what she saw when he looked up into the night sky, but he could grudgingly admit it was pretty - especially on nights like this. there is a stretch of silence before illu comes back to herself and finishes bounding forward, mouth open and talking a mile a minute. ears twist backward, half-burying into his mullet of a mane, in protest of her sing-song voice that seemed awful loud against the quiet.

she goes on about them being welcomed and lucky - and it's here he has to scoff. the sound snarls from his throat, having already perfected the annoyed tch sound even at this young age. to be fair, he had gotten plenty of practice between her and helly. "how are we lucky?" he, too, speaks with only the lightest lilts - the ghost of a french accent, a what could have been in every syllable. heloise had given them little and less, and even her accent hadn't quite imprinted fully. as he speaks, he turns his sleek muzzle towards her, brows bunching together. she sits but he does not, not yet - happy instead to prowl around a bit more. the clearing itself was not big and he didn't dare get too close to the ledge (heights often had a way of making his head swim), but elongated claws clack against the stone as the terrain turns away from being grass.

he lingers there, refusing to go any further, but his attention is still snared on his sister-cousin. even her usage of momo doesn't send him packing - though surely one day it would. soon his face would grow tired from all the frowning and scowling, and he'd leave her to her stars. not today, though. instead he retraces his steps, coming back closer to her - before taking a seat just off to her right. settling heavily into the grass he lifts his eyes back to the sky, trying to find the stars she speaks of.

it takes him a moment (he might like them but he's never had the affinity she has for them) to find the brighter stars she speaks of, but when he does he sighs - a sign to continue, no matter how annoyed he sounds. "no," he rumbles - because it's the honest answer. but then his jaws part, speaking again: "i... don't know what i'd wish for." before this, he'd never known anything but their awful, sweltering swamp that heloise called home. and now he only knew of this place and the stars above. he wasn't a creative creature, not like illu, and his worldview was awfully limited. "what did you wish for?" he asks, not bothering to look at her just yet - but he flicks his muzzle, trying once more to dislodge the wayward forelock that hangs in his face. it works for now, and the boy resolves to sit still so it does not fall back in.

""

you're still living life in the dark?
Dusky ears tip forward at the ugly sound he makes. He was typically disgruntled sure but his trademark offering always rankles. Especially here where everything pulses with life and she tingles with joy. Briefly her gaze flicks away from the view to peer as his rolling form. Much like herself he is all legs and wrapped in a bizarre sort of grace. A fluidity to movements perhaps genetic perhaps learned. Their humid home was it’s own sort of training ground leaving both with different skills and scars. Delicate paws press into the ground feeling the smooth mix of grass and dirt with satisfaction. Solid earth, open sky. What more could a girl ask for? to be there. Blinking the babe realizes she hasn’t answered yet again. A smile blooms naturally unto her maw, curving around her words. "we found the best view already. I’m sure of it." chirps the babe eyes moving skyward again. Only now does she - briefly - consider he didn’t really care. Or was he being sarcastic? Almost as soon as the thought comes it disappears, dissolved by her intense focus.

It’s always been easy for her to be overcome with emotion. Swept away in the rapture of the galaxies above and lucid daydreaming. The maiden was absolutely convinced they were meant to come here. It was a blessing and sign that they had come to the right place. She absolutely knew it down to her freckled little toes. Large eyes widen further as he drifts into her orbit. Immediately the youth’s grin stretches wider tail fluttering in quiet delight. you came to sit with me!! she’s learned to keep still in these rare moments though she itches to cuddle closer. Instead her toes press back into the ground and her eyes stay upward. Momo was so easily startled and these moments were so rare. His no hits her directly in the heart. That was so, so, so sad. Illuminata can’t help but tear her gaze away now to peer over at him. Despite their difference in colors, temperament, preferences and nearly everything else they were at least similar in size. For now she didn’t have to look up at him though her crown tilts all the same, open gaze lingering on his dark profile.

She can’t understand not wanting something. For as long as she can remember the star child has wanted. An entire existence needing and knowing something you couldn’t get without wishing. A liquid hot gush of hate gushes from stomach to throat. can you imagine? no. No she absolutely can not. The question ignites a flush beneath already rosy cheeks. "A home. Somewhere that felt like home…at least." smoothly she rolls her shoulders eyes moving upward yet again to the speckled sky. "Somewhere open, without alligators." she giggles softly keeping the air from becoming to serious. Twisting her tail over her paws she continues. "There isn’t anything you want? Anywhere else you wanna be?" it seemed so empty to her. There had to be some void of wanting in him. Her entire system was overwhelmed with it. The girl’s birth mother put the knowledge into her head and now it wouldn’t go. The woman that raised her (a stretch of the word to be sure) never suggested otherwise. A celestial heritage was all she had that was hers. The only thing that made sense in the big empty of this planet. All anger is washed away in a wave of sadness. If she was like everyone else then she wouldn’t have wishes. She wouldn’t feel the light from above or hear their secrets.

Suddenly Illu felt terribly for her brousin, and almost for his entire kind. They wouldn’t know the connection she was blessed to feel ever. Pitying eyes flicked briefly to him again and she sighs ever so softly. "Can we stay together still?" she blurts suddenly - maybe weirdly but her grasp on that concept is loose at least. She is overcome with the fear of being separated even here. One day they will be - she has to go to her real home after all - but until then she needed a satellite, a window to this world.

""

illu declares that this is the best view and he scoffs again. tch. yeah, sure, whatever. it didn't matter that this mountain still went up - and therefore there were higher ledges, surely, right above their heads. it didn't matter that they'd only seen a small portion of this place so far. none of that mattered, because illu said otherwise. he doesn't feel much like arguing though, and so he says nothing. maybe once dawn broke they'd continue on, and tomorrow night she'd proclaim their newest resting spot as the best view in the valley. all this and more was expected, and he simply lets her go and go and speak, until she turns to him with large, questioning eyes. and despite his thorny disposition, he flinches and withers.

"i don't know," he says, repeats, and now his tone sounds a little clipped and a lot defensive. he tries to hide the way his shoulders tense up in discomfort as he slides forward to lay on his stomach - letting the coolness of the grass against his stomach distract from her awful, pointed questions. he stretches his paws out straight in front him, flexing his toes apart. looking at them instead of at her or her stars as he continues. "i never... gave it much thought." what was the point? it wasn't like he could've changed anything, before now. now that they were away from heloise and could finally make their own decisions.... the choices were endless, and it made his paws itch. "a home would be nice, though...." did it really count as his wish, if he's just stealing hers?

shrug.

baby steps, and all that.

can we stay together still? her question comes out in a rush, blurted out into the night air. ears twitch then tense and he goes still, muscles tensing under his inky coat. despite the boy's indifference he is awash with a white-hot fear, because he had never considered an alternative. she's been there ever since he was born (or, rather, ever since he could remember being alive) and suddenly the idea of her not being there.... elegant muzzle turns to the side, then, to look at her, ears pricked forward as he stares, trying to see if she's as nervous as he is at the prospect of being alone. "'course." he mumbles, ignoring the way his throat feels too tight to mutter anything through. "this could be our home? i guess?" he's not too impressed either way, truthfully - but he's seen worse. he's lived worse. and it's her opinion that actually matters.

""

Defensive, defeated he meets her question. If illu was a different kind of creature his discomfort might have triggered a feeling of guilt. Or at least a little red warning flag of leave it alone. Instead she merely hovers gaze lingering on him periodically, flitting much like her attention. When he lowers she resists the temptation to join him - for now. Instead she continues to knead the grass enjoying the sensation and feeling almost full. Dusky ears press into the soft curve of her petal pink skull. What did he think about then? For now she skirts the question feeling as though he might say more. The sky above was heavy on her skin and she could almost feel it and their storm shifting emotions. Grinning the nymph nods glad he at least agrees. Everyone wanted to belong somewhere - right? That was something that all creatures could relate to she thought.

"We need a new wish now." she muses brows knitting together studiously. Now that they were somewhere close to ‘home’ the babe was onto the next thought. There was no settling for Illuminata. Always something else to dream up, always another star to chart. Voice soft her crown tilts considering the cosmos. "Maybe not tonight tho…" a soft unknowing comfort to her shadow sibling. An unconscious thought that some more humane (feline?) teases out. He’d probably be freaked out if she pressed a real new wish out of him. Better if they life-rafted together one at a time. Helplessly the girl giggles, shoulders rolling with the motion. Something to break the building tension her erratic thoughts created.

Eyes meet, wide and hesitantly wondering on her end and absolutely concerned on his. Soon she would learn how badly she read others. Luckily the darker youth was one she’d known forever. Moods clearly displayed across his handsome, forlorn mug. course warms her soul and it takes every last ounce of strength to not pounce on him. Instead she stands and wiggles, the motion looking more like a dog shaking itself free of water than anything else. Dramatically the girl flops onto her belly. Long limbs splaying out forward the back stretching to their length. Chin on the ground she keeps her gaze upward though her face is radiant with a smile. "I’d like that. Maybe not like…here exactly but…" she trails off toes wiggling in the grass. "I have a really good feeling, they said this is where we’re meant to be." the girl sighs dreamily tail twitching with lazy flicks. "we can figure it out but I’m sick of traveling and I’m overrrr swamps." applying a bit of a whine to the drawn out word she sighs once more. Partially content, partially bitter with nostalgia already.

she says they need a new wish, and immediately mors is displeased. like - ugh, seriously? already he's had to confront the fact that he's a horrible person for not wasting his time daydreaming about things that would never happen, but now he's been put on the spot twice. his sister, truly, was a terror. a growl rumbles in his throat, low and quiet, but he quiets himself after a moment - mostly because she finishes her thought, cutting him some slack almost offhandedly. there's a silence to him then as he considers everything she's said, and everything she hasn't - the implications ringing just as loud.

dreams, wishes, fantasies. they were for babies, and they weren't kids anymore. they'd never been allowed to be kids - illu just had never gotten that memo, it seemed. but jsut like the rest of the island stretches out before them here, their lives too unravel. the future waits, dark and dreary for now - but soon the dawn would come and it'd be all bright and shit. hmmm. maybe... maybe all of this wasn't so bad. his shoulders rise and fall as he tenses them, before letting them relax - and with it, some fo the extra tension in his frame leaves, too. a sigh shuddering out of him - not of discomfort or displeasure, but of relief.

she stands and wiggles in place, burning off some extra energy and shaking off the dust before flopping to the ground next to him. he says nothing, just scoots his extended front legs a little to the side - not wanting her to get in his way. he flexes his toes for good measure, happy to let his extra-long claws come unsheathed. a threat, but an empty one, as he digs them into the cold ground and not her pinky fur. his kneading stops, just a for a moment, as she starts to speak - but soon resumes when she finishes her laundry list of demands.

"no more swamps," he agrees in a low voice. he, personally, did not mind swamps in general - he was just tired of their swamp. but he'd rather have a happy illu than a pouting illu, so he relents easily enough. "dunno what else there could be." they'd seen only a snippet of things on their way in, and it's already been established that he's far from creative. "maybe... a forest. with a clearing for you." so she could always see the stars - but she often wants to be close to them, too, not just have them in eyesight. "a tall forest, but with less rocks than here. with lots of hares, and no lizards." he continues, muzzle parting with a simper, drawling tone finally starting to sound animated.

""

you're still living life in the dark?

Once more her moodier sibling rumbles next to her. The sound as familiar as the scowl that ages his young face. Both were fixtures in the babes life and she hardly registered them at all. Gaze remained skyward instead of flitting to the dusky boy. Just as quickly as it came the sound vanishes leaving them blanketed in starry silence. In these moments her head empties deliciously yet again. It fills with the endless beauty of the sky above sending her reeling. Alive and full Illuminata feels herself practically vibrating beneath the glow. Despite her young age the girl was unused to feeling relaxed. Glimpses of the sky were fairly rare in their swamp. Expeditions outside of it even more so. They were isolated largely unsupervised children in a place few things lived and fewer ventured into. Besides Mors her only friends were the often invisible stars. This sense of peace wasn’t exactly new but it was certainly rare enough to be cherished. relished

she wasn’t giving it up.

A lifetime denied the sky was more than enough. Illuminata would not be living anywhere it was not. Gently she presses her toes into the earth promising with everything she had. Gaze would flutter toward her brother-cousin dancing over his lengthy talons. Though they were similar in size he was terribly long. A lanky throwback in their otherwise stocky genetic history. Almost subconsciously the girl extends her own dappled limbs to match him, little sister syndrome as clinical as her madness. Delighted the star child giggles offering him the brightest of smiles. Once more the urge to press into him rises but better senses prevail yet again. His slowly working toes offer a decent deterrent as well. "thank you." she chirps eyes closing quickly in pleasure. Not only would they be together but they could be somewhere nice. Somewhere they could maybe be happy. Illuminata was fairly certain she’d been happy before but it never seemed anything but fleeting. Blinking skyward she shivers in sheer delight.

At the word forest the girls ears rush backward, features twisting into shock. with trees? Shadow trees. Big trees. Trees? T r e e e s? the shiver become a shudder until he finishes. Panic is washed away with warm, sparkling love. She could kiss him. Brilliant boy, sad boy. Her boy. Her brother and best friend. Cherubic features alight with the idea of their new home. Despite his lack of creativity the picture is beautiful. If she could close her eyes the girl is positive she could see it. Instead she keeps her lenses trained on the expanse above seeking their council. Anywhere she could worship and wish freely would be good. Would be perfect. "no big birds." she hisses solemnly head bobbing in agreement to his lizard free policy. Birds were her own cross to bear. The large herons with long legs and longer beaks. Always stalking, spearing, peeping. Nothing about them was good and they freaked her out endlessly. Surely a forest wouldn’t have snakes and giant birds - right?

She’d never really…seen..a forest.

"maybe not to high up though." she finally considers brows knitting thoughtfully. "it might get cold." a child of tropics and humidity cold didn’t sound very appealing. "maybe with somewhere to swim? Or at least somewhere for you to creep off to. Like good sturdy trees, none of that half dead stuff." quickly a playful smirk touches ebony lined lips. Ilu wasn’t the biggest fan of his climbing hobby - she was very, very, very uncoordinated and unable to join - it would still be nice for their new home to have something for him. It needed to make both of them happy. She wasn’t sure if there was anywhere that would make them feel “fitted” but having a somewhere seemed important. Part of it maybe. Shifting she favors the boy with her vibrant gaze, hoping her content excitement was catching.


""

she adds to his vision, slotting her wishes into his wants. at first he thinks to grumble about it - this was his masterpiece that he was building, this was his list of wants/demands/wishes. but the moment comes and goes, rolling over him like a shaft of moonlight. he is far too excited (excited?) to indulge in this newfound hobby of fantasizing to chide her. so instead he welcomes her into his fantasy, ears rustling out of his mullet as she continues. no big birds, nothing too cold. that all sounded fine to him. he's a little salty he didn't think of it first, but still he purses his lips - considering before relenting. "we'll find something just like that." he says after a long, quiet moment - a stroke of confidence hardening his vocals. it's an easy declaration to make but certainly harder to follow through with. but mors has unfortunately inherited his family's inflated sense of self, and he knows that it'll be an easy thing.

if anyone can do it, it's him.

them.

still, it won't be without bumps in the road. he looks to her, then to the open night sky above. the stars mean little and less to him - illu has prattled on and on about them, but it usually goes in one ear and out the other. but tonight he's feeling generous - and maybe a little lost. so he asks: "could you use them? to help us?" you know, like... ask them a question, and if they twinkled twice that meant yes? ears tip forward, two perfect little circles peeking out of his messy mane. mismatched gaze is wide and curious - and maybe, just maybe. if she looks close enough she'll see a light blush to his features, sheepishness cut across feminine features.

""

you're still living life in the dark?

Toes splayed in the moonlight the babe shivers in delight. Their silences more comfortable beneath the celestial blanket. Delicate ears twist backward to catch his softly grumbled tones. Once more pastel lenses lingered on his carved profile excitement bubbling within her breast. It was such a foreign emotion and the youth delighted in it. Their new world would be large and scary but also it would be a choice. Something they decided together for themselves. A little grin catches on her blacklined lips picturing them somewhere with ample moonbeams.

When he turns she is still facing him, goofy grin fixated to her muzzle. For a second it stumbles before growing somehow larger as if she could anticipate the question. Starry eyed she humms softly to herself considering, considering. Sure they talked to her but would they offer any assistance? Blinking the babe keeps her gaze skyward. "maybe." ilu finally speaks lips twisting together in a thoughtful frown. This expression folds her features oddly as the pastel babe rarely has anything to frown about. "sometimes they want to talk and sometimes they’re so quiet." sighing she flops onto the side, spine toward him paws facing outward. She knew better than to stick her little toes all over him. Instead only the vague wisps of curly mane reach out to the shadow. One eye rolls upward to consider the sky once more.

"I know some of them though - like where they are normally and stuff. So even if they don’t want to help they will!" she chrips brighter, tail tapping on the grass with the tempo of her thoughts. "not that they wouldn’t want to help! Just ya’know…nothings easy." grown up words in a child's mouth. She didn’t really believe that - plenty of things were easy. But most of the older lions said as much. A vague half-smile presses onto her features yet again. "they welcomed us so they want us here. And they’ll want us to have a home." just like that she’s convinced herself. Conjured their success into truth with just a few simple words. Now she waits wondering if he was convinced. Or at least a little swayed. Illuminata wasn’t sure how deep her brother’s optimism went. She knew there was some in there, at least a little.

Obtuse little thing she doesn’t note his vague embarrassment. Instead with eyes heavenward she asks; "can we stay here tonight? we can think of what to ask!"

""