The Star and The Astonomer (closed to Star Strike)

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent had developed a small headache by this point. The night was growing late and his new charge seemed to be getting more and more active. A pattern in their conversation had emerged. She would call his name, point to something and then coo in her wooshy chime language and look at him as he said the word for her. It was tiring, and he was not drunk enough to do this level of babysitting. Soon the crowd had begun to thin out at people began to go to bed, and Vincent was nodding in and out of consciousness as he watched the young woman flit about.

"Is this our Star?" he asked himself curiously as the scholar glanced over to the bar. The bartender, a bald man by the name of Harold seemed to take pity on him and brought him a steaming mug.

"Coffee," the man said grimly nodding to Vincent. "On the house."

Vincent sipped at the bitter drink and glared over at Stella. "DO you have somewhere to stay?" he asked tiredly.

[Star Strike]

For the current moment Stella is preoccupied with the drink the bartender brought him. It smells good but looks bitter. Pointing to the drink, they motion between the drink and their mouth as though to ask to try the strange concoction.

Stella, recalling Vincent's question, tilted their head to the side unsure of what Vincent had just said. "Stay... *as in to rest for the night? I am afraid the answer is no as my kind is active at night.... I do not know the word for it...*" Looking at Vincent for help, they notice that he is as alert as before. Taking note of this fact, they conclude that unlike them, Vincent isn't naturally awake during the night. Strange considering how many like Vincent force themselves to stay up till with wee hours of the morning.

"Vincent, sleep?" Vincent looks upset with me. I should leave. Standing to their feet, "Stella leave. Thank you Vincent."

Bowing, Stella races out the door and down the street. The night air is chilled and salty from the ocean. They shiver as having stayed inside the comfortable bar for too long. Stellas thin gown does not protect her well from the wind as they hug themselves for warmth. How strange this feeling was to them in their newly grounded skin. Space was always cold but the temperature had never bothered Stella or any of the other Psaróni before.
The salty wind licked at Stella's exposed arms and tossled her long hair, driving away whatever warmth their hair could have provided from her neck. Looking at the sky above, the stars and the sky had shifted as it always does. In another three fists from the horizon, the moon would have set and the sun would begin to show it's rays.

Tucking herself away from the wind behind some cargo crates, Stella began to sing to themselves, a little song they were once taught when they were first apprenticed. A small, quiet comfort in the confusing world they were trapped in.

"*Come home little children
Come home little children of the Stars
Come to the Sky
Your asterism is calling
Your creator is waiting
You traveled far
And learned so much
Come home little children
And rest while the sun reigns
There's always tomorrow
The moon will return
So come home and rest little ones
Little children of the stars...*”

It's sweet and charming and somewhat alluring. A song sailors would easily mistake for a siren. Perhaps it is this song that found Vincent in his dreams and had led him once in the waking realm, to a fast asleep Stella.

[Cards of Fate]

Sighing Vincent scoops the young woman up in his arms, a feet he would not normally be able to do, but she was tiny and as light as a feather. Cradling her in his arms, he returned to the Jolly Otter and set her in his bed to sleep. He however, returned back to the bar to speak with Harold the rugged bartender. The two exchanged pleasantries, and Vincent ordered an ale and pancakes to start off his day. Harold had turned around to a stove and had begun cooking before he spoke.

"So you helped that girl out last night?" he asked as he waited for a cake to cook before flipping it.

"Yeah..." Vincent said rubbing his temples. "Have you seen her around here before? Any friends or family?" he asked curiously.

"She blew into town a week or so ago with some dancers..." he replied. "Something happened though, and the rest left without her."

Vincent frowned. "So she has nowhere to go..."

"It would seem that way Master Vincent." Harold replied turning around with a fresh plate of hotcakes for him. "Could Leona make use of her?" he asked.

"I think she's a card..." Vincent said shrugging. "That's why I'm out here..."

"Then why not at least offer her a place to stay?" The bartender asked refilling his cup. "Poor girl could use a little help..."

Vincent nodded and decided that when the youth woke up he would offer her a job with the Hierarchy.

[Star Strike]

Unfortunately for Vincent, it won't be until the sun has set for Stella to wake again. When they do awaken, they look around, confused how they moved from outside to inside. Jumping up, Stella frantically pushes the covers off of them, backing off the bed and up against the headboard. "*I'm... I'm alone.*" Stella places a hand to their heart, trying to calm their racing heart. "*But... where in Pleiades name am I?*" Stella glances around the room. They didn't recognize the room but making their way to the window, they spotted the marina. "*Okay Stella, at least you haven't been taken out of town. Now to figure out where in town you are.*" Peering around the room they spotted a table with a shoulder bag. They open the bag, finding a book and star charts. "*Vincent.*"

Stella did their best to put the bag back where they found it and made their way cautiously out the room and down the stair to the pub below. Stella looks at the bartender. "Vincent." He points to the table "Wait." She sits patiently like a dog waiting for their master to return home. The bartender brings them a plate of hot food, sausages and mash. "Welcome to the land of the living. Eat up, Vincent will be back real quick."

Stella eats up, not noticing or paying heed to the strange glances and stares from the other patrons. When Vincent walks into the Jolly Otter, Stella grins and waves at him to join them at his table. "Vincent!"

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent smiled at the young girl and sat down next to her. The man placed another plate in front of him and he slid out a few coins from his purse to the man. The crowd had filled up once, and the scholar had spent the ENTIRE day searching for clues about the young woman. Instead he had found nothing other than some tale of a man touching one of the dancers and her freaking out. He ate his bland bar food and sighed.

“Hey Stella.” Vincent began between bites of food. “Do you have anywhere to stay?” He asked curiously. A bard nearby began a merry little song on his cheap fiddle while several drunkards began to sloppily dance. The bar in general became very loud and hard to think in. He motioned for her to follow him outside to the street where it was significantly quieter. The scholar paused for a moment before continuing. “I did some research on your predicament, I don’t have all of the answers... but enough of an idea to understand that you don’t have a home…” he leans against the wall for a moment choosing his words. “Would you like to come live with me and my friends?”

[Star Strike]

Stella thinks for a second, not fully understanding the words that Vincent had said. Turning their head away, they coo quietly to themself in the tongue only they could understand.
"*I... I wish I could tell all that I know and all that I am but I cannot. You and this earthly plane cannot understand the predicament of an astral being such as I. We are of two different realms, earth and sky. And like them while it appears we touch we are in fact miles upon miles apart. I'm sorry Vincent I just... I just don't have the words to explain it to you as I would like. But I promise you,*" Stella looked into Vincent's eyes. "*I promise you that once I do, I'll tell you everything. But for now it is best of you to think of me as the mere weak child I appear to be and not the centuries old being I actually am. While I do not possess the wisdom of my elders or Deneb, I will do my best so that every time you see me dance, you will find hope in the time that is ahead of you.*"

Grabbing hold of Vincent's hand, Stella beckoned Vincent to join them in dance. Though he refused, Stella went ahead and began to dance. Their dance is not special or particular in any sense of the word, but their movements were light and flowing, taking small steps quick enough to give an appearance to weightlessness. As they danced their dress seemed to extend their limps. Surely this small frame could not contain the capacity to move and dance like one at least twenty years their elder but measured by the applause that rung out at the end of the peddlers song, Stella's dance was much more than just captivating and moving. It was alive.

"Vincet." Stella called extending her hand out once more asking him to join, "Yes. Stella stay Vincent."

[Philomel]

Name of Thread: The Star and the Astronomer
Judgement Type: Workshop Submission
Participants: Cards of Fate and Star Strike

Rewards:

Cards of Fate receives:
765 EXP
105 GP

Star Strike receives:
695 EXP
105 GP

[Lye]

EXP & GP Added!