Rasmus snapped awake to a noticable shift in his nest. A tug of a beak against the fine feathers lining his neck made him grumble and burrow his neck back into his chest. One dark eye blinked open to be met with
Aurelia's stunning gold orbs. So much like the sun ceaselessly creeping up toward the horizon. Through the tree branches, he could clearly see the sky get steadily more and more bright. He lamented the loss of his peaceful doze.
Aurelia's gaze (so much like the center of bright hot embers of the forge of his childhood cave, and warm to combat the biting winds of the north) was expectant, and Rasmus groaned at the look. He knew that look.
"Can't this wait, Aur? I'm at least trying to get a full day of sleep here. The battle chaw and the colliers seemed to be in a competition all night to see who could get more of their members hurt." "This'll only take a few minutes, I promise. Then you can go back to your beauty rest, ya old coot."Rasmus huffed at that.
"You're older than me, Aur.""Then start acting your age," the golden owl teased, and then lifted off towards the bare edges of the tree. Through the towering branches, the lightening sky seemed to make her feathers shine like the precious element she was named after. She didn't even have to look back to see that Rasmus would follow. He always did.
Alighting on the sturdy branch Aurelia decided to choose, he squinted his eyes comically at the sky and tucked his beak into his wing. Aurelia snorted and nudged him playfully at that.
"Oh, stop it, you. The sky's not even that bright yet."Nonetheless, he still didn't budge from his position. The bare amount of light might be alright for her, but in his groggy state, it was still far too bright. Aurelia fell into silence for a moment before starting back up, and Rasmus tilted his head just so to show he was listening.
"It's amazing seeing how the stars begin to disappear in the daytime. You know that the Nav' chaw leader actually told us the sun is just a big star too? Just closer really. It's crazy to think that all stars are this bright, but just so far away. Weird to think we're near just another star in the sky. Maybe that's where our ancestors go, near to another star that is. Maybe they can still see us as a dot in the sky. Might mean they never really leave us that way." Aurelia's lilting voice, becoming ever so quieter, served to coax him back into a doze. The golden light was still seen behind his eyelids, but it fused with the female owl's voice to thread a shimmering cord of gilded sleep through him.
He's not sure what made him open his eyes again, but as he looked over to his friend, he was met with the prettiest star of all. The first rays of the sun peeked over the horizon and made Aurelia's feathers shimmer like the finest sheets of burnished gold. The larger female looked oh, so soft in that moment.
Rasmus felt himself be abruptly pulled from the vestiges of sleep as his maw went dry. The one leg that held him up slipped slightly, and he spasmed to regain balance on both legs. Aurelia's keen gaze then slid over to her friend, and was met with Rasmus's dumfounded look. She tilted her pretty head in question.
"You alright, Raz? You must be more out of it than I realized."Rasmus coughed to cover up the slip.
"No, no. Just fine, really."She didn't look too convinced, but she still straightened up to fly off back to their shared hollow.
"If you say so, but let's turn in for the day. You mind if I share your nest today? I donated mine to the nursery a few hours ago 'cause Gwen was worried about shortages for new eggs coming in. You know how it is, all these owls getting cozy with each other this time of year." Rasmus cursed inwardly and sputtered, losing his balance again just as he was getting ready to lift off. Misunderstanding the reason why, Aurelia laughed.
"You're such a prude, Rasmus! Alright, alright, I won't offend your delicate ears." Rasmus groaned.
If only that were the case...Later that day, under the shadows of their hollow, Rasmus opened his eyes to warmth and gold feathers underneath his beak. The soft sounds of Aurelia's breathing quieted the anxious thoughts he always got from waking up randomly in the day, and he smiled as he burrowed further into his friend's side to return to sleep. The day didn't seem so bad when he had his own personal sun right by his side.
