#belongs to Kikiface

[japaniakwrites]

Star-crossed

The sky was as dark and deep as the sea, dusted with stars from one end of the horizon to the next. In that sense, Alexei thought it was perfect--he’d invited Wolfgang out to spend time together for the day, and now he’d get to do one of his favorite summertime activities with her as well.

There were few times where he felt so at peace as when he was gazing up at the night sky, but holding Wolfgang’s small frame against him made it even better. The way her slender fingers felt against his hand and the smell of her hair put that night in the running for one of the best of his life thus far.

Together, they’d been trading stories of the constellations from one end of the summer sky to the other. Alexei had told her the story of a giant wolf who ran across the night sky with a human girl on his back as he helped her escape to freedom, his pursuers a distance behind him in a cluster of nine stars. There were dozens more stories he had, coined either by fellow Dreamlanders or by his teacher just a few years earlier, but he wanted to hear her interpretations. After all, he wasn’t even sure if Nightmarians saw the same constellations at night.

“See that group of six or seven with the milky way running through it?” he asked. “What does that one look like to you?”

Wolfgang remained silent for a moment, as if she were considering it. He looked over to her, watching her violet eyes shift from one star to the next.

“Well, I always thought they were two lovers, a sorcerer in training and a young lady named Yeris and Aniella,” Wolfgang explained. “And for most of the year, they were separated by a veil of magic set in place by Yeris’s master, who wanted to keep them apart. I always imagined he was a good trainer, but was particularly mean about allowing the sorcerer-in-training to see his lover.

“But then there always was a time of year where the master’s magic weakened,” she continued. “Right around midsummer, the veil would fade enough to be passable and the two would be united, if only for a short while. Then they would make as much of it as they possibly could.” She sighed, content. “They only usually had about a month, but they fit a lifetime of love into that little span.”

Alexei looked to her, listening intently. Dew was clinging to his fur and he was slightly cold after letting her wrap his overshirt on top of her dress, but her story had captured him along with her beauty. Even months after they had first met, she still found new ways to amaze him--clearly she had put more thought into this than most people would have.

“Wolfie,” he said softly. “Is that your interpretation, or the one that’s most common in Nightmaria?”

She turned her head. To Wolfgang, there was something special about this boy’s smile that she couldn’t quite describe. Rarely had she ever seen one quite like that--she hoped it’d never fade.

“Mine.”

A blanket of warm, comfortable silence settled over them. After a few more moments, Alexei leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips, not putting much force into it but letting it linger for a few long, precious seconds. He felt her fingers in his hair, sliding to the back of his head and down to his neck and responded by resting his hands gently on her arms, even after they both pulled away.

He was glad to make the most of that moment with her in his arms, whether they had a month or a year or a century.