I GET A LAUGH OUTTA STARIN' AT DARKNESS /
AND WONDERING WHY PEOPLE LIVE IN THE LIGHT /
I DRIVE FAST AND RUMBLE THE HARDEST /
I DON'T FEEL ALIVE IF I AIN'T IN THE FIGHT /
There was no pattern as to when Leonidas would appear. Lilliana kept an eye on the moon as it waxed or wane to see if it called to the young star like the tides. When the moon was gone, there was Leonidas shining bright. When the moon was full, there he was again, attempting to shine brighter (and seeming somewhat affronted that the moon would take up so much of his sky). She kept track of the path that the stars traveled, watching to see if the motion of the others would change something for Leonidas.
Sometimes, he was gone for several nights (to which he would tell Lilliana: I was playing tag with the Pleiades. or Have you been to the Milky Way? All the stars there love to shine and it would be rude to not say hello.). Sometimes, Leonidas came night after night while Lilliana did her best to hide his existence from her family. (Because what could she say? My ancestors have always followed the stars. They are known as the Heralds of Change, Shepards of the Lost, and the last time I thought I saw the stars, they lead me down a path that I am still recovering from. I no longer trust the Gods of my kin so how can I ask you to trust what I do not?)
She isn't sure how she has managed to go this long concealing his existence.
On nights like tonight though, she is reminded that it can't go on forever. Leonidas beams with energy and he dances, twirling between and around the Redwoods. He glows and then dims, trying to get Lilliana to indulge him in a game. Her children have already fallen asleep and Leilan lingers somewhere nearby (if he has noticed Lilli drifting into the dark during some nights, he has never said). While a winter storm rages around the northern part of Beqanna, the dense forest keeps them sheltered from the worst of it. The star and the Taigan mare spends hours as Leonidas floats among the flurries.
What is this? the star asks, having never seen snow before. Misery, Lilliana had teasingly thought back as her skin quivered, attempting to disperse the flakes that settled on her crimson coat. He had prodded her for more, lowering down to the ground where the snow glittered lovely beneath his starshine. This is the time of year that our world sleeps, Lilliana explained. The snow reminds us to rest.
Leonidas hovered above the ground before rising again, curious about this snow and the drifts it made between the Sequoias. His curiosity made him more radiant than usual and so Lilliana lead him out of Taiga and to a place where she wouldn't have to conceal his brilliant nature. They walk as the storm stills and finally dies away, leaving Lilliana to plod along the powder-covered ground while Leonidas still glows with excitement. The chestnut mare attempts to join in - and as she starts to illuminate around her white-socked ankles - the star darted between barren branches. The sudden darkness nearly blinded her and her sight readjusted to reveal a figure moving through the Forest. It's the white wings she sees first (always) and it is a flash of her involuntary fear that sends Leonidas charging down from the bough that he kept watch of Warden from.
"@[Warden]," Lilliana greeted the Tephran with a warm, summer smile that becomes interrupted by Leonidas and she grimaces as he blazes bright between them. The star burns a brilliant blue before blinking out in warning, spiraling up and down above the antlered stallion. "Leonidas," she softly called out, trying to calm him down. "It's alright." The young star slowed before rising to hover above them in a way that still seemed protective over Lilliana and distrustful of the pegasus. "This is a friend."
hurricane (johnnie's song) - lord huron
image credit to footybandit
lmao so i guess he is an angry little star that feels threatened by Warden. let me know if i need to change anything <3
but it's all in the past, love
it's all gone with the wind