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It was this time of night in which Inanna felt the most alive.

She certainly did not seem to be "alive," so to speak. The faerie pae kept to the ground, mostly staring up at the skies, staying still for minutes at a time with not much movement other than her eyes scanning the sky over and over for even the most minute changes. There was the occasional ooh and aah of fascination, though she mostly kept her mouth shut, observing in relative silence.

It helped her enjoy what space truly was, this quiet. She imagined it was even more quiet up there, between the stars. Were there any other pae up there, just like them? Perhaps there was one staring up at the stars from another isle much like this one on another land just like this, wondering where the other pae like her might be, out in that distant space somewhere off in the distance. The thought was enchanting, in some ways, and Inanna let out a soft sigh, imagining what this pae must have looked like. Were they as colourful as the residents here? Perhaps they were of colours unknown to even her eyes. What could they be made of?

Was there another faerie exactly like her, perhaps? Appearing to be made from the stars themselves, able to pull from the power of the cosmos to help her out with her day to day duties and life, wishing upon the stars that someday she may be able to truly be out there and see what there was to discover--

Inanna was nearly jolted out of her fantasies when something--or someone--flew over her head, blotting out the beautiful stars with the image of inky blackness, or what she must have pictured it would look like between the stars up above. Or would it all look like this, distant and beautiful, sky sparkling from every angle in every which shape --

She cautiously rose to her feet, waving to the faerie in the air, perhaps attempting to gain her attentions.

Ah, the other saw her. As dark as pitch, this one was, a lot like the space between the stars in sky.

It was fascinating.

As the other faerie landed in front of her, Inanna stepped closer, observing her and listening to her silky voice touch her ears. For a moment, it almost seemed she didn't register the question at all, too fascinated by looking over the other who decided to come outside at this time of night. She saw it on this one, too -- there was a shape of a crescent on her chest, and a star on her forehead, like the stars up in the sky and the moon she saw in the distance.

The moon on this night was even smaller, though, adding to just how dark it appeared outside. How peaceful it was. This woman's voice almost blended in to the background noise of the night.

"I see you bear the mark of the moon." Inanna pointed this out, just in case the other did not realize what she was referring to, before looking to the sky. "Do you admire it, too?"

She was clearly referring to what was 'out there,' so to speak.

At hearing the 'indeed,' Inanna clapped quietly, once, twice, before lowering her hands back down, not wanting to interrupt the peacefulness of the nighttime any further with sounds that did not seem quite to fit, no matter how quiet her claps were. In space, it would be even quieter, this much she knew for certain.

The situation might have been a little surreal, but this fact was a bit lost on Inanna, blending into the conversation with someone who understood as easily as swimming in the lake. "I am." Her eyes were still on the skies, scanning over what was out there. She wondered if she could find some of the constellations tonight. Perhaps something was in them that she could observe from down here.

For a moment, she seemed lost in it, before she blinked and turned her attention back to the woman in front of her. Inanna couldn't stop smiling.

"Do you wish to watch them?" She glanced to the ground, and then back up at the other. "I sit here, and watch. They're beautiful." Inanna spoke with a reverence reserved for what was usually the Squires, or a Chief, or a Queen. Her admiration was in the stars.

Inanna seemed relieved that the other wished to join her, and as soon as the invitation was accepted, Inanna was back onto the cool ground, looking up at the sky above.

It was beautiful.

She did not seem to notice that the other moved herself closer before sitting down, too trained on the shared peace they had in the nighttime to particularly care. To others of the night, she felt an immediate connection. They understood. They knew why the night skies mattered so much, why what was out there and beyond their understanding was so important to their lives, and so fascinating, too. Inanna had more questions about the stars than she had any kind of answer, and she was okay with that.

When the other commented on the beauty of the night, a smile spread across Inanna's face. "Isn't it?" Her whisper nearly blended in with the breeze and the sound of nearby water against the shores. "The skies are exceptionally clear tonight. You can see," Inanna took a deep breath in, taking in the air, "everything."

When Inanna leaned back a bit further, her hair scraped against the ground.

"There's just so much up there..."

Inanna breathed in some of the air, quietly, through her nose, before letting out a small sigh. This was relaxing. She could almost feel herself fading into the night, joining what was out there in a moment of calm and unison with what was above--

Constellations. "The stories of the stars?" whispered Inanna, in turn, looking to the other faerie for a moment before looking back up to the sky. "Yes. I do know them. They are quite easy to spot out here, when the night is so clear."

Not a cloud in the sky. Sometimes, that was what was so amazing about living out on the Isle. She had to wonder if it was similar out there, on other planets, that they would have beautiful, clear nights like this, where they could look up and beyond and wonder what was out there. It was too bad she could not reach up out there and touch the hand of another reaching back from far away, unable to learn about them, if they existed out there, somewhere, so far away.

She smiled. "Some of the stories are so beautiful."

Inanna found all of those books fascinating, but perhaps more than that, she found the very words that people spoke more fascinating, loving to hear the stories they weaved about the skies above. Every theory was valid, every story was wonderful to the ears.

The big spoon? Inanna's eyes lifted, looking to where Niday's hand was gesturing, and giggled to herself. Ah, yes, the big spoon! Pouring water into a bowl below that she could see, one which she traced with a finger she lifted into the air and moved around.

"There's a bowl, below it," she murmured, looking to Niday with a smile. "I wonder what is placed inside the soup of the stars?"

The soup of the stars? Inanna couldn't help chuckling at her own phrasing, laying back on the sands. After a few moments of silence, she added, quietly, like a whisper in the sea breeze, "I'm sure something like that would be quite pleasant to taste."

And she took a deep breath in.

Cease to be mortal? At this, Inanna closed her eyes, thinking on what Niday suggested.

"No longer mortal? Would we be goddesses of the sky, or perhaps mystical beings, creating the stars that we see above?" She let a small breath out, further relaxing into the sands below them.

When Inanna opened her eyes back up, for a moment, she reached to the small spoon in the sky, and with her hand, moved it, pretending to motion the spoon into the bowl of star soup she alluded to. She brought this imaginary spoon to her mouth, sipping from it, before setting her hand down and chuckling softly.