Distant Starlight

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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Nice job on this! It really was quite a swell chapter!
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Leotamer »

Distant Starlight - Misinterpretation

Sirius rushed into the room. Kris walked up to him, "Ok so, as turns it out, they just wanted to know why I wasn't meeting my quotas until so close to the deadline. Yeah, they said that I need do additional training this year."

Bella, still a frazzled about all that just happened, "Where we you doing this?"

Sirius replied in his usual neutral tone, "Someone was using a snow-globe to probe my memories. Can you excuse me a moment to report this to the judge." he said, walking off.

Bella leaned closer to Kris, "Is that normal?"

Kris craned his neck towards her, "No. Not at all. He is just a magnet for that kind of stuff."

Afterwards, Kris invited the other two to an Ice cream parlor. They sat down to eat, and there was an awkward silence until Bella asked, "So about that whole omniscently knowing if you are naughty or nice."

Kris answered, "You mean accounting?"

"So you could get information about anyone, anywhere?" Bella asked.

"I am not usually allowed to get that kind of information. I guess I could ask but, they would probably say no and it is kind of.. um." his words trailing off with a proper end.

Bella glanced between the two, "I will take your word for that. So, you two must have stories."

Kris immediately jumped up, "There was the time we had to stop a snowman revolution."

Sirius clarified, "What I believe he means is that one year the snow elementals refused to work during a heat-wave."

Kris continued, "Oh, yeah that living volcano came by because, oh what was it."

Sirius replied, "I don't believe they ever told us why. I remember we had to adjust the ambivant temperature."

"I am not sure why they put the thermostat at the end of a labyrinth." he said.

The pair ended up sharing stories for the rest of the day, with Bella only half-following along. She was the first to realize how late it was getting, "Does time pass the same here as our world? Won't people start to wonder if you just vanish into the ether."

Kris replied, "Oh yeah. It is getting late. I am not sure about your questions, but I am sure it will be fine, prefectly fine. But I probably should take you back, they probably wouldn't like it if I oversleep the day after they gave me this warning. It has been nice seeing you again."

Sirius nodded, "It has been."
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Leotamer »

Distant Starlight - Fate

As Sirius tried to go sleep, the images of the snow globe still haunted him. He fought himself, trying to still dispel the lingering memories. However his mind was a stronger force than some magical trinket. He managed to avoid reliving the worst of it, but something about what happen after forced itself to the surface.

He was walking out the white marble building, marble poles rose up in the ground around bearing lamp-post and decorated with red ribbons wrapped down them. Procyon had met himself out, and tried to convince him that it wasn't his fault. He was already certain of his guilt. He had saw what happened if he went on that mission. He would not have been able to return. He described what happened in such detail, tried to convince him not to go. It had only made him upset, and he couldn't change what he saw. Sirius was in tears, when Procyon sat him down and explained that Kris would recover. He told him that his vision said that he wouldn't make it, but he did. Explaining that it was probably his acute eye for detail that let Kris know that danger was coming, and allowing him to escape the worst of it. He looked bad, but he was saw after by potent healers.

It made him feel better, but their relationship was just never the same, at last until today. Sirius didn't really understand, but the pair was frozen on that day and could not move past it. Thinking about at the stories they told, they had positive interactions since then. It was just that one event cast a shadow upon everything that came after. Upon reflection, the fight seemed rather silly.

However, reminding this caused to remember something else. He couldn't remember how he knew what would happen would. If it was a memory-lock, it was far subtler than the one more recently placed upon it. Procyon had regularly made sure that the group didn't have arcane traps placed inside of them, and he could never find it. Procyon also didn't want to look to far to find future-sight. He never did like anything that messed with causality.

Sirius sat in bed sleeplessly, wondering if Procyon was safe.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

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Glad that I was able to get back into this! It is really amazing!
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Re: Distant Starlight

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Distant Starlight - Reunion

Sitting the yard, Sirius looked out skyward. Even through the light population of the city, he could still see the stars. He whispered an old nursery rhyme from when he was young.

He closed his eyes. He was exhausted. He almost found himself falling asleep. He jolted as he heard a long sound. It was jarring, but familiar. It took him a moment to realize that it wasn't a sound, but more accurately an emanation.

He opened his eyes, and saw a familiar portal with two familiar figures emerging from it: Master Alexander and Procyon. Alexander immediately spoke up, "Sorry for keeping you waiting. It was a crazy trip. Our travel agency closed shortly after we reached out destination, and so we had to take the long route home. There was also the thing with the spider armada.." he said, looking at Procyon glaring at him, "Oh well, we will have plenty of times to swap stories later. I hope you had a better time than we did."

Procyon walked over to Sirius, and Sirius hugged him. He was still wearing his same vest, but it was a little more worst for wear. Procyon let out a breath and returned the gesture, "You have entangled yourself with the local ley-lines again. Let me help with that."

Waving his paw over Sirius, slicing through the arcane threads like a sharp knife, Procyon stated, "We may have arrived sooner, but Alex insisted we spend time at a hotel for their hot-springs."

Getting defensive, he replied, "You know that crossing the bounders between realities is exhausting work. Would you have rather I spent that time resting in the giant super-volcano instead?"

Sirius smiled a bit, and the two of them looked at each other and dropped it.

As they were getting ready to leave, Sirius stopped them, "Oh, I have something I need to do first."

He quickly scurried back into the kitchen, while be carefully not to disturb anyone with a sudden loud noise. He quickly found where he left his pen and paper, and left a note. While he realized that he couldn't describe the magical or extra-dimensional aspects, he could say that Master Alexander had returned from his trip and he was leaving with him. He also ensured that thanked them for hosting him.

And with that, he returned home.
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Leotamer »

This might seem abrupt, but I am calling the last chapter, Reunion, to be the finale of Distant Starlight. As I believe I mentioned, I had a plan for an arc to start in January. And as January was ending, I mentally rescheduled it for the start of April. Now that we moving through March, I decided that I wanted there to be some conclusion. The events of Reunion were more or less how I planned it, I had just thought that it would be further into the story, and possibly more foreshadowed and not as brief. I hope whoever read it to this premature end still enjoyed the story.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

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Really like the work that you are putting into this! Great job!
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Re: Distant Starlight

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Amazee Dayzee wrote: Fri Mar 11, 2022 2:03 am Really like the work that you are putting into this! Great job!
I just discovered your story and liked it. :)
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I am honestly quite shocked that you just noticed it now considering how long you have been a member here. :P
Leotamer
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Leotamer »

I am debating with myself if I want to continue this. I am considering writing some self-contained side stories, but I am really not entirely sure about what.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Whatever you decide to do we will support you no matter what! It is a pleasure to have you writing stories here!
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Re: Distant Starlight

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Side-Story: Procyon Origins

Adopting a talking dog was harder than he anticipated. He didn’t feel right about just buying a dog. He thought that if he simply looked, he could find the perfect companion; loyal but not mindlessly obedient, rebellious but not needlessly defiant, adventurous but not reckless. He would have had an easier time finding a unicorn.

He became deflated when the attendant explained that was the last dog they were adopting out. As the worker stepped away to write down the address of another shelter, Alex stepped forward, pointing, “It looks like there is a dog in that cage?”

The attendant explained that a dog like that wasn’t a good fit for a new pet owner, without elaborating what “that” meant. Alex insisted until he relented. The cage seemed well-kempt, with everything methodically placed and organized. A malamute in a puffy camo vest laid against the bars while bouncing a ball against the wall. Suppressing the urge to consider the moral implications of this, he announced himself, “Hello dog.”

The dog didn’t even turn around. He didn’t even stop bouncing the ball against the wall, “Did you really just say ‘hello dog’? How would you feel if I told you ‘hello human’?”

Alex thought for a moment, “People keep saying that, but I don’t remember ever being offended by anyone saying ‘hello human’ to me.”

As the ball bounced back, the dog failed to catch it. “Well, human. What do you want with me?”

“I could be mistaken but I think most people come to animal shelters to look for a pet. Perhaps we have gotten off on the wrong foot. My name is Alex, and yours is?” he said, squatting down.

“I don’t have a name. Not one that I will care to use anyway. If you just want a pet, you should just save everyone a lot of heartache and go to a pet store.” he said.

Alex rubbed his chin, “Well, that would be a problem. I don’t want just a pet. To be honest, this whole talking dog thing is starting to lose its appeal.”

“Talking dog thing?” the malamute said incredulously, “You are thinking straight right?”

The wheels turned in his head, “What I meant to say was.” he stuttered over the new words with an incoherent string of hms and uhs before composing himself, “Aren’t those padded jackets supposed to help dogs with anxiety?”

Puffing his chest up, “Yes, and what does that have to do anything? You are really weird.”

Laying back against the other side of the bars, he said, “You know, people keep saying that too. I just don’t want to be so lonely anymore. I thought that this would be the perfect solution, but child’s television had betrayed me. This is just not working at all.”

The dog finally turned around to look at him, “Do you have to make everything into a joke? I don’t know what you are going through, but it sounds like you need therapy instead of a dog.”

Alex turned back to face the dog. He noticed that his jacket had faded out text that was difficult to read. He asked, “You were a military dog? What are you doing here?”

He stared at the floor, “This place has better food than the VA office, nothing more than that.”

Alex could almost read between the lines, but decided not to think too hard about it. He failed, and thought too hard about it.

The dog didn’t look until he heard his cage door open and his head instinctively turned. He was almost sure that the door was locked, and he didn’t have time to pick the lock or even use a key he might have swiped. “You aren’t supposed to be in here.”

Alexander extended his hand towards him, “Does that matter to you?”

The dog paused, before reaching his paw out towards the human, “I don’t think it does.”

---

The dog felt a terrible mixture of confusion and nausea after being guided through a portal. His mind was too distracted by his stomach doing somersaults to process what was happening.

Alex said, “The first interdimensional trip is the hardest. It isn’t as nauseating the second time.”

He nearly puked after hearing the word “interdimensional” used so casually. His vertigo did not happen in that regard. But after looking at the man, one thought crossed his mind, “It gets easier? Look at you, you are curled over yourself.”

The proud mage quickly stood up, before needing to shift his feet from under him to keep standing. “I am not nauseated. I am winded from creating the portal. There is a difference.” he said indignantly.

“Where are we?” the dog said, composing himself to look around. The ground was made of purple sand. Pillars of semi-transparent crystal rose from the ground, twisting itself into the shape of tree trunks and raising further and spreading out like branches. Each branch was adorned with stained glass instead of leaves. The sky was pitch black except for a ring of the brightest yellows and oranges.

Alex thought for a moment, “I haven’t met anyone who lives here, and I never thought to name it.”

“Why did you bring me here?” he asked. When he didn’t answer, he pressed, “This is a lot to absorb. Why don’t you talk about this to another human?”

Alex grimaced, “I tried.” After a long pause, he half-heartedly said, “It didn’t work out so well.”

“Oh and so you thought that even if you told a dog about all this, we couldn’t do anything about it.” he asked.

Alex rubbed his arm, “Well, that wasn’t my original intention but I guess I did consider it.”

As the dog tried to process it, he thought out loud, “And what is going to happen when someone at the shelter walks by and notices that we both disappeared. And you probably didn’t even check if there were cameras, did you?”

“About that.” Alex took a deep breath, grabbed an energy bar from his pocket to quickly inhale before making another portal.

Ending back up in the cage, Alex quickly dashed out and somehow relocked the door before collapsing against the bars.

The dog took careful steps towards him. After stifling his gag reflex, he said, “Not making portals or making doors mysteriously open. I mean someone running away from their problems and distracting themselves from thinking about all the mistakes they have made. If you keep at it, you will just have more problems and make more mistakes. Let me be blunt. I don’t think you are responsible enough to own a goldfish. But I don’t have anything better to do. You adopt me and I will keep you from doing anything stupid.”

Alex smiled, “I like the sound of that. But you will need a name. I have picked one out, but I think you are too prickly to be a Sirius.” he hummed, “What about Procyon?”

“I feel like I am going to regret this.” the dog replied.

Alex smiled harder, “Would you rather just continue to sit there, wondering how much chaos I am spreading across the cosmos?”

“Procyon it is then.” he replied.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I thought you did really nice work on this chapter! Great work!
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Obbl »

Ah, poor Procyon. Knew exactly what he was getting into and did it anyway :lol:
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

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That's what happens when you decide to ignore your gut and do something anyway. It for the most part is never pretty.
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Leotamer »

The alternative would have been leaving Alex unsupervised. I am glad y'all seem to enjoy this as I really happy to write for Procyon. I still don't know what other stories I intend to write, but I feel like they would probably heavily skew towards more Procyon. If anyone has any suggestions, I am open to them.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

If I think of any suggestions on what I want to see from you in writing the next chapter I will definitely let you know!
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Re: Distant Starlight

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Side Story: Thunder and Lightning

Zeus stood up and complained, "What was that?"

Thor casually picked up the basketball from the ground, "I was blocking you, and then you ran into me."

Zeus retorted, "No, you shoved me."

While drippling the ball, he said, "No, I threw my hands out to block you. Like you do when you are playing basketball."

Stomping around a bit, he retorted, "I didn't know basketball was a contact sport. You know, why don't we do that instead."

Shooting the ball through the hoop, he said, "What? So you can lose two sports to me in the same day."

"Maybe it so that I can watch you cheat in another game." he said.

"I don't cheat. You are just a sore loser." he said in response.

Zeus' voice started to raise, "Me, a sore loser? Whenever I win, it is always because you are coming down with something or you were just giving it to me. And when you win, I have to spend the next three years being reminded about it."

Thor causally said, "I am sorry the only times you can beat me is when I am sick or not trying. Besides, I am not the one who keeps yapping about a sniffing contest I won as a puppy."

"If you catch a grounded frisbee, I have to hear about it from you, our mom, your parents, and everyone else. But no, I can't have one thing to my name." he said, getting more irritated.

"You are always like this. Can't go a single afternoon without throwing a fit whenever something doesn't go your way?" he said, dismissively.

"I'm always like this. You're always like this. When something goes wrong it's my fault and when something goes right it's yours." he shouted.

"What is that noise." someone said from behind the house's backdoor. As she opened, and saw the two dogs continue to bicker, Thor's owner shouted, "Zeus, stop fighting. Come inside and cool off."

His short protests were met with a stern, "Don't argue with me."

Zeus walked inside and started pacing in the living room, while Trevor was playing some game and paying him no mind.

Zeus' owner walked in from the backdoor and asked, "What are you doing instead."

He half-heartedly lied, "It was hot out there."

"Well, I finished with my school-work early today, so if it isn't too hot, we could head to the park?" he said.

"I guess it isn't that hot." Zeus replied.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Great job on putting this together! Keep it up!
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Re: Distant Starlight

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Side Story: Familiar Strangers

Sebastian straighten his vest, and used the back of his paw to knock on the door. After a moment's pause, he walked in. Camilla was sitting behind her desk, covered with tall stacks of neatly organized papers. His eyes were immediately drawn to a rabbit sit on the edge of the desk, casually kicking her feet without a care in the world. Neatly placing a paper in its proper placement, "The Azure Creek report, Lady Camilla." His gaze shifting over to the rabbit, "I wasn't expecting Selene today."

Selene continued to kick her feet, "I was just chatting with Cammy about what happened to my dear Dabra. Just some minor mental incursions."

Making a deliberate effort to straight his back further, "As I have stated in my report, I believe that Azure Creek is becoming a far less stable environment. Perhaps it is time to reconsider the placement of the heirs."

Selene giggled, "Everything is fine. It is their little sandbox to play in. Besides, I wasn't the one who invited a wolf in false clothing into their home."

"That situation is well within hand." he said. "I must admit that I am still concerned by how little we know about Azure Creek and its resident spirit."

Camilla did not look up from her desk as she continued to look over and sign papers, "We have discerned that it is a benevolent spirit. We know its true nature if and when its choose to reveal it to us."

"Should we not at least consider inducting them into magical society? Others have made it know they believe waiting this long as been improper" Sebastian asked.

Camilla frowned, "I would not worry myself about what others believe. It will be done at the proper time and in the proper manner."

Selene leaned forward, "I have a question for ya. What happens when little wolfly isn't so little anymore? Some brew and glamour can fool the vets, but that trick won't work so well when he is seven foot tall. Kind of gives it away."

"The potion was never a permeant solution. Once he becomes a familiar, that is no longer our concern. It will be his human's responsibility to make sure he is happy and safe."
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

This was a great little story here! Great work!
Leotamer
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Leotamer »

I wanted to clarify some relationships with these side stories, and ended up with a mundane and magical story this week. I hope I didn't make Thor to unlikable. I also wanted to clarify what Sebastian is doing from his perspective since others haven't been the nicest when talking about him.

If y'all don't mind sharing, do y'all have any particular favorite or least favorite characters?
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I honestly don't have a character I like or dislike more than the others. They are all so well-rounded I feel!
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Leotamer »

Side Story: Sirius Origins

Gold found himself increasingly alone in his house. The owner of the house barely had anything to do with him. Her staff tended to him and treated him well, but they did their jobs and nothing more. His mother was always busy. Of his three siblings, two had moved out while the third mostly ignored him. His father had vanished since giving him his bandana.

Gold was a runt, born of poor health but exceptionally intelligent. His brother joked that he could read before he could even walk. At first, whenever he would use big words, it would impress people and they would praise him for being a smart pup. But as time progressed, the novelty wore off and it just made him seem weird.

He found refuge in the manor’s bookroom. Nobody entered the sizable storage space except him and the occasional cleaner. There was a sizable collection of books, ranging from well-regarded classics to obscure textbooks.

While browsing the shelf, he stumbled upon an odd book. Unlike the other professionally made books of the small library, it was a collection of various hand-written papers bound together in a tome. The first few pages were in English and made of printer paper, but the book contained all varieties of different types of paper and various different languages across the world. Most of the pages were illegible for one reason or another, if they were not ripped or torn out.

He tried to read one section to himself, but it was too difficult and he had to read it aloud. Something felt weird. He felt as though someone was watching him, and it caused a chill to run down his spine. He looked around and there was nobody there. He continued to read. He stumbled through the page having to poorly sound several words out, all the while there was an eerie presence lingering. But when he finished, the presence felt warmer. He could just tell that it was happy with him.

The anxiety melted away as he felt as if he was acknowledged by the unseen force. Instead he became curious. He tried asking it questions, but it didn’t answer. The book didn’t provide any useful insight either, not that he could read anyways. He eventually looked down and saw his bandana, and he arrived at his answer. It must have been the magic sky lady that his father spoke of. He was thankful to her for keeping him company.

Months passed. Gold spent a significant amount of time with the tome, reading passages he had already read and attempting to decipher new ones. He still read other books, but his research also caused him to take interest in books he had overlooked before; dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopedias and foreign language guides.


Gold was happy. But even as oblivious as he was, he noticed that his family was less so. His homebound sibling openly complained, while his sister who returned to visit on occasion and his mother would complain when they thought he couldn’t overhear them. His brother sent letters home that he would occasionally glance at and see he similarly had concerns.

The young pup thought that the magic sky lady brought him happiness, and so he thought she might be able to make his family happy. While looking back through the book, he mysteriously found a section that wasn’t there before that read in plain English instructions to make your loved ones prosperous. Having not developed proper skepticism yet, he didn’t question this turn of good fortune.

He followed the instructions to the best of his abilities. He gathered the reagents as he understood it: a plastic table one of his siblings owned, a glass of milk, a plate of cookies, a candle, some jewelry that was lost to furniture, some curtains found in the closet, and a vase of flowers. A few house-keepers saw him move some of this stuff around, but only one thought to ask what he was doing and they were satisfied when he answered that he was doing a project for his mother and siblings. He also needed some blank pieces of papers to draw some symbols on. He wasn’t the best drawer, but they were simple enough to copy using pencils and a straight edge.

After setting everything up, he spoke aloud an incantation from the book. His paw clung to his bandana as if it were a lucky charm. It was late and the final instruction simply said wait. Nothing immediately happened that he could see, but he could feel something intangible shift. After he retired for the night and returned the next day, the plastic table was cleared. Without needing to read from the book, he had the sense that the magic sky lady was happy. He just hoped his family would be too.

A few days later, his mother fetched him and began to quickly make him presentable. He didn’t mind the grooming, but he thought it was pointless and generally a prelude to a boring day. He was pulled down to the guest lounge where the owner of the house was. Sitting across from her were four strangers; a female human with a male cat and a male human with a male dog. They were introduced in order as Camilla, Sebastian, Alexander, and Procyon.

His mother led him to sit in the corner, and handed him a book to keep him occupied. But the book was far too simple to keep his attention. He ended up overhearing what they were talking about.

Apparently, he was to live with Alexander. He grabbed his bandana at the thought of being taken away. His mother protested, but only indirectly so. The house owner seemed to understand, and repeated her concerns more directly, apparently also unconvinced. Camilla appealed to some connection that she had with her, as well reputation when it came to working with animals. She mentioned how Alexander and Procyon worked closely with her on several projects.

The conversation dragged on. Not helping was that Gold’s nerves made seconds feel like hours.

For his part, Alexander did not seem able to get a word in edgewise. What few comments he could make were stiff and uncomfortable. Eventually he asked to be excused. As he returned, he walked by Gold, causing him to freeze up. Alex looked down at the book, and made a terrible pun about it. Alex then apologized about making him get dressed up and paraded out just for all of this.

Gold was caught off-guard. He didn’t know how to react. Nobody seemed to notice Alex talking to him, and he thought for a moment if he should grab their attention. He chose not to, at least not immediately.

Alex mentioned how he hated stuff like this when he was a kid. Looking at the book and how he had tossed it aside, he asked him if he liked to read and what. Gold taught for a moment if he should answer, and he did. He ended up blathering and using unnecessarily large words that he didn’t fully grasp the meaning of to answer a relatively simple question. Alex smirked, but when Gold looked embarrassed, he clarified he just reminded him of a friend. He went on to elaborate how this friend had a hat that was taller than his head and it had a long braid that constantly swung in front of his face whenever he turned his head too fast.

The two spent a while just talking about books. Eventually, the others noticed. His mom and the house-owner were surprised by how well they were getting along, while Camilla just said that was right about how perfect a match they were. They signed some paperwork that he didn’t quite understand. His mother hugged him and gave him all sorts of reassurances and warnings. And then he left with the strangers.

For some reason a part of the process was having his name changed. He didn’t fully understand it, but he liked his new name, Sirius Gold.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Loved the way that this chapter came out! Awesome work!
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Leotamer »

It has been awhile. I have been going back and forth on this for awhile. Does anyone much want any more side stories or a sequel series?
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I'm fine with anything that you decide to do with your story! I just want to read more from you!
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by NHWestoN »

Sure.
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by NHWestoN »

Amazee Dayzee wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 11:57 pm I am honestly quite shocked that you just noticed it now considering how long you have been a member here. :P
Blame it on fragmentary attention span. ;)
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Harry Johnathan »

It has been a while hasn't it?
Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But [The LORD] said, “Yes, you did laugh.” - Genesis 18:15 (NIV).
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

When that happens I usually just assume that a pesky little thing called real life got in the way. :P
Leotamer
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Leotamer »

Distant Starlight - Celestial Alignment: Reignition

Almost an entire year had passed since Sirius' visit to Azure Creek. He was sitting in a messy apartment, surrounded by various books and arcane implements. An intricate glyphic pattern was woven in the carpet he was sitting on. He was staring at a crystal ball intensely, begging and pleading with it to reveal its secrets with his sheer force of will. He was unable to replenish his magic, nor was he was to invoke the magic of any imbued item. It was as if his spark of his magic had simply petered out and died. He had tried everything to perform even the smallest sliver of magic; enchanted glades, tarot cards, wands, runes, disco, the lost library of Alexandria, potions, staves, robes, song, blessed hot springs, the spirit of Christmas, spell books, spell scrolls, numerology, astrology, astronomy, enchanted armor, enchanted swords, enchanted maces, the spirit of Arbor Day, the power of friendship, precautionary exorcisms, elvish medical examinations, rituals, arcane spires, among many other failed attempts.

Procyon walked into the room, and slowly sat his paw on Sirius' shoulder. "You have learned all the wrong lessons from us. I know you think this is your fault, and I know that it can be hard to not blame yourself, but you shouldn't. Magic is just a callous and fickle thing. I know I have been saying this is a lot, but I will say it as many times as you need to hear it. We will figure this out, we always do."

Sirius didn't reply except by resting his eyes. He found his paw resting on his bandana, once a powerful mystic artifact reduced to a simple piece of cloth. Despite his long-time attachment to the item, perhaps he was now most akin to it.

His brief rest was interrupted by the door opening, revealing Alexander and one of his friends, Samantha. Alexander quickly blurted out, "I think we should all move to Azure Creek."

Procyon immediately protested, "You shouldn't make jokes like that."

"This isn't a joke." he rebutted.

Procyon glared at him, "If this is just another one of your flights of fancy..."

He wasn't able to finish the thought before Samantha interrupted, "I have conducting a thorough initial inspection of the community. It seems like it is powered by an intensively good magic that seems tailored to aid and protect vulnerable magic users. I will of course join you to continue my studies, and keep an eye on how it effects Sirius."

Procyon's glare shifted between the two so-called adult humans, "You are both helpless. Wouldn't people there immediately recognize him, and think that we kidnapped him. Which I suppose by a strictly legal sense, we did."

Sam replied, "We don't have to worry about that. The town has its own glamour. Everyone will remember him just fine, but they think he was just being kept at request of a friend of a friend while his owners were doing something in Europe."

Procyon eye's narrowed, "And how did you find that out?"

Before Alex could just jump in, Sam replied, "We showed his picture to the family he was saying at."

Procyon pretended like he didn't hear that, "And if this place can so easily influence the minds of others, whose to say it isn't messing with your minds."

Alex replied, "That is always a concern, but that is why we prepare for it and don't think about it to hard lest we go insane unable to tell reality from fiction."

Both Sam and Procyon thought that was dumb for entirely separate reasons, but couldn't find the appropriate words to express it. After several days of arguing, planning and bickering, they moved into a house that was conveniently for sale. In order to not test the limits of the glamour on their first day, Sam had to drive everyone there. Procyon poked at Alex for his inability to drive, but he rebutted that Procyon couldn't drive either. Ignoring the more sound reasoning that people with an innate ability to teleport have less reason than others to learn how to.

As soon as Sirius crossed the gates, he regain his awareness of his own magical nature. It was never gone, simply dark and hidden. He could feel it pour out of him, and lunge towards someone nearby. Meanwhile, the magic nature of the town immediately resonated with him. It flowed within him, and he felt a comfortable warmth overtake him.

Alex, Sam and Procyon were all cognizant something was happening, and once they arrived quickly rushed him inside and observed. They discussed and bickered among themselves as they all made their own observations about what was happening. The sound of their voices trailed off and became distant as he found himself surrendering himself to astral sleep.

He had a vision that he was standing up the tops of light pink and blue clouds, an experience that had at least once before. He stared at the sun, and it didn't burn his eyes or blur his sight. He had a sudden awareness that this was a sun that never set, and yet now it had started its descent into the night. He was drawn to the center of the cloud. In stark contrast to the elysian features of the cloud and sun, he found a clean but run-down stable. He passed by row after row of empty stalls until walked far past where the back of the stable should have been. In the far back stall, adorned by marble pillars and decorated with golden leaves, was a pegasus laying down on the ground, her wings tucked against her sides. Her eyes did not leave the ground, but he understood that she had saw him in a manner that he was once capable of himself. She stated in a meek but ethereal tone, "Welcome back, young Sirius Gold."
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

This was such a great chapter! I look forward to whatever you have planned next!
Leotamer
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Leotamer »

Distant Starlight - Celestial Alignment: Vigilance

After Sirius awoke from his trance, Sam barraged him with questions while she pulled out magic tool after magic tool to examine him. Alex offered possible explanations and would help Sirius when he struggled to put something into words, while he also attempted to trace the magic to its source.

A part of Procyon wanted to just let the poor kid rest, but he could tell that he was just as excited by the mystery as the two humans. He walked into a kitchen and made a cup of tea, angling his nose to be as far away from it as possible. He brought it to Sirius, before announcing that he was going outside to look around.

He patrolled the streets, carefully examining every small detail and looking for any hidden magic. This task was rather difficult considering that the entire place was infused with powerful magic. His attention was first drawn to the wall surrounding community. He could only make tentative observations, but it seemed to be the reason why the mystical energies where contained in this region. He couldn't be sure which came first, the magic or the wall.

His focus shifted to the houses. Some emanated magic more strongly than others, and he was to memorize the ones that did. One in particular seemed to under the influence of some type of fear-inducing power. He would need to deal with that eventually. However another house caught his eye in particular. It radiated with far more magic than anything else.

As he circled the house, he was eventually approached by a dog in a police vest. "I am Jax. Are you lost?"

"I am Procyon. I am new here, and simply acclimating myself." He was accustomed to telling partial truths even before becoming a world-hopping magician.

"That name sounds familiar." he paused for a moment, "Aren't you Sirius' brother?" He seemed to try to remember something, but couldn't.

"I am not his biological brothers, but in a manner of speaking, we are family." He replied. Hoping that the conversation would end.

Jax seemed to struggle for a moment, "How is your owner? Alex? I think I have heard some nasty rumors concerning him."

"Alex is eccentric, but I trust him more than most. I won't lie and say that he never causes me grieve, but it never out of malice and only rarely out of stupidity." Procyon replied. He had mostly left the conservation as he considered the possible source of the rumors. Either the glamor had lessened the possible accusation of dognapping to idle gossip, Sebastian was causing trouble, or something Sirius said left a very negative impression on him. When the other dog didn't reply for a moment, he walked off and returned to the new home base.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I do really enjoy how you wrote this! Keep up the fabulous work!
Leotamer
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Leotamer »

Distant Starlight - Celestial Alignment: Snared

Sam's research notes
____________________
Escape Attempt 1: Alex opened a portal and proceeded through it. Sirius was unable to enter the portal. When he had his hand against it, it made a harmonic thrumming noise. Recorded it for analysis and possibly as white noise for reading or sleeping.

Escape Attempt 2: Procyon attempted to disenchant Sirius. No effect. Mana saturation to high?

Escape Attempt 3: Attempted to walk through the front gate. Sirius could not pass through. No sound.

Escape Attempt 4: Attempted to drive through the front gate slowly. Reinforced the car's wards. The car could not pass through the front gate while Sirius was in vehicle.

Escape Attempt 5: Suggested driving through the gate fast. Was over-ruled 2 to 1. Did not perform.

Escape Attempt 6: Lifting Sirius over the wall. Same as front gate. Examined wall. Materials = local. Magic = unidentified. Weakness = None? Extraplanar?

Escape Attempt 7: Attempted to siphon magical energy. Energy replenished faster than we could drain.

Escape Attempt 8: Estimated force required to destroy barrier. Why do people feel the need to tell me not drop nukes on a populated area?

Escape Attempt 9: I attempted to ask nicely. No reply.

Escape Attempt 10: Started work on a magic quarantine room. Progressing slow. Anti magic barrier seem to degrade over time. Ambient magic overwhelming it, or is the magic adapting to it?
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I like the work that you put into this installment! Keep it up!
Leotamer
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Leotamer »

Distant Starlight - Celestial Alignment: Fun

While he was working on making an anti-magic mesh, Procyon noticed that Sirius' eyes were boring a hole in the back of his head. He asked, "What do you want?"

Sirius meekly replied, "You are preoccupied. It can wait."

Procyon glanced at the work-table, and then at Sirius. He paused for a moment. A part of him wanted to ignore this and just get the job done, but he didn't like that part of himself. He knew how hard this was on Sirius. He had to be the responsible one. He sat his tools down and walked over to Sirius, "What is it?"

Sirius took a moment to collect himself, "I thought, perhaps. I could introduce you to my friend that lives here."

Procyon nodded, "That would be nice."

-----

Sirius knocked on the door, and Trevor's owner opened the door, "Oh hello. You are. Um. I thought you." He didn't continue that thought and then he glanced at Procyon, "Um. Who are you with?"

Stepping forward to introduce himself, "Hello, I am Procyon. Sirius and I moved her recently with our human, and Sirius wanted to reconnect with his friend."

Trevor's owner glanced at the ground, and thought for a moment and mumbled something to himself. He stepped back and opened the door further, "Well, Trevor is in the living room."

The two walked in, and Trevor was engrossed in a game. He didn't acknowledge them when they entered the room, or as Sirius walked over beside him and sat down and watched the screen. After a moments of silence, Procyon awkwardly interjected, "Hello, I am Procyon."

Trevor quickly replied without turning his head, "Hey, I am Trevor."

A few more minutes passed, and Procyon was rather confused. When Trevor finished the level. He quickly saved, and closed the game. He got up for the first time, dashed over to grab a second controller and thrusted it in Sirius' hand. He asked if he wanted to play something, but it sounded more like a statement than a question to Procyon. While he didn't fully understand what was happening, he could appreciate they were doing something together.

--------

Procyon heard raised voices from outside, and instinctively went towards the noise. Two Labs were fighting over a basketball. One threatening the other that if he keep acting up, he would be taken to the pound.

He approached them. It took them a minute of bickering at each other for them to even notice him looming over them. In that time, Procyon learned that they were fighting over nothing in particular.

One of them snapped at him, "Who are you?"

Procyon calmly replied, "I am Procyon. I moved her with Sirius recently, and we came here to visit his friend. I came outside because I heard you two arguing."

The dog seemed like he was trying to say something snippy, but couldn't find a response. In the meanwhile, the other dog commented, "Why don't you tell him he needs to stop acting like a stray."

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Can I ask your names before anything else?"

They looked at each other and introduced them. The snippy one was Zeus, and the self-righteous one was Thor. "What exactly are you arguing about."

The two gave two completely different answers, and started arguing about that instead.

Procyon interrupted, "Do you often find reasons to argue."

Thor replied, "He does this all of the time. My owner said that if keeps up, he is going to insist on him getting schooled. Maybe they could save the trouble and just get him a muzzle."

Zeus went to raise his voice and was about to say something very unflattering about the color and smell of Thor's muzzle, but Procyon stopped him and gestured to lower to his voice.

Procyon took another deep breath. He could tell they wouldn't listen to reason while work up like this. After thinking about it for a moment about how to deescalate the situation. Zeus picked up the ball, and Thor ripped it from his hands. Zeus was going to fall flat on his back, but Procyon quickly caught him and steadied him to his feet.

He could tell those were about to start again, and so stated matter-of-factly, "I can tell that this did not start today, and likely won't end today. But can I ask that you give some thought to Sirius inside, trying to enjoy time with his friend which he has not saw in months."

Thor was clearly unconvinced with how tightly he held on to the ball, but didn't say anything probably because he wanted the moral high-ground. Zeus on the other hand, "I haven't seen him in awhile either. I should go inside and see him."

----------------

Inside, Trevor made an off-hand comment, "Can you come by more often. My owner has made a big deal about socializing ever since Ash and them cancelled our DnD sessions."
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

You have done a remarkable job once again! Awesome work!
Leotamer
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Re: Distant Starlight

Post by Leotamer »

I hope people have been enjoying the new chapters. They have been and probably will continue to be more magic focused. I hope the mystery around Azure Creek is engaging.

Does anyone have any questions or suggestions?
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