[PRP] Under the Shimmering Sky (Imara x Borealis)

[Polette]

The sky seemed to glow. It had darkened, but the moon illuminated every aspect of the scenery, so it was like daytime in a different color. Imara's blue eyes flicked open, after having been closed for an extended afternoon nap. She had started this strange sleeping pattern after she noticed an increase in large predators roaming around in the afternoon, so she had nothing to do while they were lurking about.

So this was hunting time for the young female. It actually hadn't been too long since she grew old enough to leave the safety of her parents' den. She had adapted well, but there were still things that were alien to her. In fact, she had never even met anyone outside her family. Only coming out in the night and early morning didn't help her social situation, but her lonely life didn't phase her much, as she was still young, and wanted to see the world and what it had to offer.

Slinking down from the tree she had cooped herself up in, a smile crossed her maw. There was a certain excitement about being awake and on the prowl at night that just sent chills up her spine. Her ears swiveled as she cautiously moved to an open area, where she broke out into an all-out run.

 

[Fiction1119]

Borealis was studying the stars. Every night he spent a few hours watching the stars and the moon, wondering if his sister was out there somewhere looking at the same sky. Ever since his mother told him about his sister on her deathbed he had been searching for her, he didn't even know what she looked like but he was certain that when the time was right he would know.

His dark pelt faded into the grass even though he was not trying to hide, only his bright colorful stripe down his back could be seen, it seemed to glow in the moon light much like his namesake, the northern lights.

He had hunted and eaten earlier in the evening, the larger predators seemed to ignore him for some reason. Even if he normally was ignored it was not a smart move to assume that it would always be the case, so when he heard something move a ways back he kept his ears peeled but kept his eyes to the sky since what he heard might have been the light breeze that was cooling the night.  

[Polette]

Imara came to an almost complete halt when she noticed something moving in the grass ahead of her. She ducked, slowly slinking through the grass behind it. It was strange; she couldn't tell what it was, and it scared her. All she saw was a line of luminous color, with nothing attached to it.

Her paws flexed and her heart raced. She didn't know whether to treat it as prey or predator. It was like a ghost, lightly stepping through the night. Imara knew that she had little knoweledge of other creatures that lived out here on the savannah, but she had absolutely no idea what on earth this strange thing in front of her was. She only hoped that it was just her darkened vision that was creating an illusion instead of a monster crawling before her.

She swallowed her fear, gripping the dirt beneath her paws, thrusting herself forward towards the strange thing. She flung herself at it, but kept her claws in just in case it wasn't something to be afraid of.

 

[Fiction1119]

Even with hearing the grass moving around him and having some idea that it might be something out there besides the wind, Borealis was still surprised when a fur covered cannonball tackled him. The fact that there were not claws piercing his dark fur kept him from attacking back with claws and teeth as well. With a yell he tried to dislodge his attacker with out causing any real damage.

"Get off!" he growled as he tried to get some leverage to get the light color fur ball off of him while rolling around on the ground kicking up dust. The dust coated his black fur making him lighter then he normally was.  

[Polette]

"So you're not a monster!" Imara's eyes widened a little, and she sat back on her haunches. Now that she was close up, and the dirt lightened his fur, she could see that what stood before her was a creature....just like her. She moved her head from side to side, double checking his body, tail, ears-- just to make sure. She had never seen someone like her outside her family, so it was almost like seeing a ghost.

"I'm sorry." Her face dropped as she remembered that she had just tackled the male. "I just didn't know what you were." It quickly moved to a happy face as she proclaimed her ignorance. "I know now, though."

 

[Fiction1119]

"A monster?" Borealis said as the fuzz ball backed off and he could see that it was another serval that had tackled him. "Its ok, no harm done." He said as he got to his paws and gave himself a good shake, causing the dust in his fur to dislodge and his black fur to blend once more into the background.

It was a girl and a inexperienced one as well by the way she acted and talked. "Um are you from around here?" One of the few things that Ali learned when he left his home was that not every place was kind to others and he hoped that this was not such a place.  

[Polette]

"Not....particularly." She smiled, tilting her head to the side. While she had technically lived in the general area her entire life, she had never been outside the den until recently. "I guess I just don't get out much." Imara had to laugh at her own state; it was quite sad that her mother had kept her enclosed in the den with cub siblings until this age.

"Are you? Or are you just as lost around here as I am?" She let out a small giggle, hoping that she wasn't alone in her quest in the darkness. Who knows? Maybe this other serval could become a friend. Or an enemy. She forced her mind to linger on the previous, though.

 

[Fiction1119]

Borealis wondered why she was 'not particularly' from around here, for him you either were or you weren't but he just shrugged it off as female strangeness. "No I'm not from around hear, I'm just a wanderer." Was he lost? He did not know where he was exactly but he was heading no particular place. "I don't think I'm lost since I was not going anywhere in particular. Why are you?"

Ali was watching the female but after a few moments the stars drew his attention again. He was still aware of the other serval but he was gazing at the sparkling jems in the sky as he waited for the female to respond to his question. They really are quite beautiful he thought as the night air swirled through the grass and tugged on his fur.  

[Polette]

"No, I'm just.....finding a place to settle." Imara had to admit, she wasn't fond of the place she had grown up. It was too familiar. Life was too short for her to not go out and change the way she lived. Besides, she was young, and could waste a little time having some fun.

"Aren't they gorgeous?" Imara trotted up next to him, head tilted up while her blue eyes scanned the sky. She felt so small, so insignificant when she saw so many beautiful things all clustered together. It was an amazingly breathtaking experience, which is another reason why she chose to roam more at night.

 

[Fiction1119]

"Isn't that what we are all looking for? A place to settle?" Borealis said even though he was not looking for anyone place but more like his sister. It really was a shame that his mother couldn't tell him more about her, only that she was female and light colored. If Ali under stood his dieing mother correctly, she saw his sister's birth as a bad omen so she didn't stick around to look at her cub closer, that and years had passed since the time of her birth. Why mama? Why did you leave her but keep me? It was the one thought that constantly went through his mind whenever he thought of his quest for his lost sister.

"They are. They are like diamonds." He contemplated the countless spots of light so much like the markings on his front paws, "You know I always thought that they were like our most precious dreams that the gods placed up there so we can always see what we are striving so hard to get." Ali didn't know why he felt so philosophical but it seemed this clear warm night was a perfect night to be.  

[Polette]

"I guess that does preoccupy most." Imara knew that she needed to find somewhere to belong, but the vast savannah seemed to enticing to the young serval to just stay in one place. Not yet. Her mother had kept her closed off for too long, and Imara had grown restless; she just wanted to know the real world, not the one her mother had forced down her throat, even if the real world wasn't as good as she hoped it would be.

Glancing over at the male beside her, her eyes were lost in his pelt. "You're just like them, it seems." She smiled, seeing how his front paws were littered with what looked like stars, his back coated in the colors of a sky she had only heard stories of. Her head turned back to the sky, though, as his words filled her ears. "I'd believe it. Why else do people give up on things so easily? If their dreams are in the sky, some would give up because they don't think they could ever reach that high." Imara thought that maybe that's what happened to her mother after she was born. Becoming a mother at such a young age seemed to have just crushed her spirit, and that may have been why she couldn't move past that.

 

[Fiction1119]

Ali smiled and shifted his front paws restlesly, he knew that it looked like he steped in a star feild but he still felt a bit selfconctious when others point it out as well. When she said that others gave up so easy Ali couldnt help but think how sad that was, and wonder who she knew that gave up. "I like to think that its more like they are there so we strive harder to reach them not give up because its too hard. I was always told that nothing worth having is easy and anything that is easy is worth having."

He looked at the lighter colored female as she studied the stars. "You know I dont think I ever introduced myself. I am Borealis though I go by Ali as well." He smiled and nodded his head. It wasnt surprising to him that he hadnt already introduced himself since they did get off to a rocky start what with her tackling him.  

[Polette]

"Wise words." Imara gave a small smile, eyes glancing back at him from the sky. "It's been a pleasure to meet you Borealis. My name is Imara. I should turn in for the night, but I welcome you to share a sleeping spot, if that's not too odd an offer." She laughed a little, meaning it only in the most innocent of ways. She'd like to talk with him more, but she knew she needed to rest.

"Here, let's rest."