Chaos and Change: Eyes of Stars' Story

Though he hadn't been entirely sure about this whole "finding more bonds for Yesinal" quest to begin with, Eyes of Stars was willing to make an effort to make his little girl happy. Nothing terribly untoward had happened to Yesinal, herself, so far, and she had been very sad now and then. Honestly, Eyes of Stars himself thought, tentatively, that he might like having more company than just the chattery little ouxriax. He was a herd-minded creature, after all.

But when, after a long talk with one of the various Keepers-- Kaz refused to have anything to do with anything that required being friendly or helping someone, so they had to make do with one of the others-- he and Yesinal disagreed on where, exactly, they wanted to go, he started having second thoughts. Especially when Yesinal's locale was a place that gave him shudders just to think about, and the creatures she was interested in seemed so... odd and questionable.

"You don't even know if they'll be meat-eaters," he protested. "A spider and a dragon?"

"And a unicorn," she pointed out, pointing to the screen where images of all three parents involved with the biosynth.

"But look at those teeth," Eyes of Stars countered. "Those are not the teeth of a grass-eater, like us."

"Oh, come on," Yesinal protested, "it's not as if one's going to eat us, or anything. We're sentient, they're sentient, and they'll be bonded to us. And besides, look at that little spidery one!" she added, changing screens on the data-monitor to show the definitely-not-identical-twins offspring of the synth. Her voice was all but a coo. "He's adorable!"

Eyes of Stars tried a different, and probably more important, tact. "But, Yesinal, it's on a space ship. It's probably got more delicate machinery and computer systems than-- than anywhere I've ever been. I could-- I could wind up changing something and messing things up horribly...."

"We're not even allowed to stay there," Yesinal huffed. "We're staying at Star City."

"Which is just as bad, it's a space station."

"Oh, you never change anything for the worse, 'Stars!" she protested, herself, shortening his name in exasperation. "You're just nervous, don't try to lie about it."

Shifting anxiously from one hoof to another, he pulled his ears back just a little. "I don't like being inside enclosed places," he admitted, feeling terribly embarrassed at the admission. She probably already knew, but having to say it was different.... "Being in here is uncomfortable. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't go outside and see sky at a moment's notice...."

"But I really want to go to this one," Yesinal pouted. She understood, but she was also stubborn....

"Isn't the SaaShiyovisa adoption a better idea, though?" he tried again. "They're fairly small, they're friendly and have interesting magic, and... and they eat fruit and seeds and things, like us. They'd think more like we do, not like a predator."

"And it's outside," Yesinal added narrowly.

"Well, yes, it's outside," he snorted at her. "But I think it's probably a better fit for us."

"But that Muse, even if he is a meat-eater, he seems so nice!"

"Yesinal, he's insane," Eyes of Stars sighed. "The SaaShiyovisa are perfectly sane, and we wouldn't have to rely on niceness to make sure they won't look at us like food. Besides, they're really very pretty, aren't they?"

"Well, yes," Yesinal admitted. "But so are the dragon-spidery ones...."

"Why don't you try to go to both?"

Both of them looked sharply to the door, surprised. There stood Hivele, and it was impossible to tell how long he'd been standing there. He smiled a little shyly at them both.

"Because," Eyes of Stars floundered a little, unprepared for such an option, "because I don't want to send Yesinal away by herself?"

"Because I'll be lonely!" Yesinal whimpered.

"What if someone went with you?" Hivele suggested. "To keep you company."

"But... not many people here like leaving the anory," Yesinal said. "And none of them are him...."

"It's dangerous, Star City," Eyes of Stars added fretfully. "It would have to be someone who could protect her."

"I know I'm not your bond, and I might not be very well-practiced at protecting," Hivele said modestly, "but I would be willing to escort you, Yesinal...."

Yesinal's eyes lit up, and she pounced her friend's foreleg-- she wasn't big enough yet for anything else-- clinging there happily. "Oh, Hivele, that's wonderful! Would you really? Would you? I'd love that, I really would! I could be happy if it were you, and then I could go to the Destiny, and get spidery-bonds, and-- thank you!"

"Perhaps you ought to make sure your bond is going to allow that," Hivele said delicately.

" --oh." She turned wide, pleading eyes on Eyes of Stars, who winced. He had a hard time resisting her pleading faces. "Eyes of Stars, you'll let me go, won't you? You know Hivele'll look after me, don't you? Please? I really, really wanna go! Pleeeeeease?"

"Only if Daaruuv goes with you, too," Eyes of Stars finally managed, trying to sound stern. "So she can find me if there's trouble." The shadowy cat, who had come to join them somehow or another halfway through their research, flipped her tail; who knew what kind of answer that was, agreement or refusal? He decided not to worry about it. " --And I'm going to go with you first, just for a little while, to make sure you get settled all right." Hopefully he could stand being indoors that long. He thought he could. No, he would.

Yesinal, ignoring his tone-- like usual-- pounced him excitedly, throwing her forelegs around his neck and squealing happily. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou! I'll be careful, I promise I will! And I'll bring home somebody really, really nice, I promise!"

"You won't have a choice in who you bring home, darling, and you know that," he replied, that time utterly failing at sounding stern.

"Well... I'll do my best!" she amended. "And you can go to the SaaShiyovisa at that Valley place, and then we'll have a whole kret! It'll be wonderful!"

"You really think you can put up with her for as long as it's likely to take?" Eyes of Stars asked Hivele, who had his head ducked as if overwhelmed by the onslaught of words.

"I'll be all right," Hivele promised, smiling a bit. "I'm used to her, after all."

"I won't talk his horns off, or anything," Yesinal giggled. "Not too much, anyway. Can we go, then? Right now?"

Eyes of Stars couldn't help but laugh a little. "Tomorrow morning, little filly," he told her. "Give us adults time to get ready, and time to make plans with Kaz for leaving."

"All right... but I'll be so excited I won't sleep at all tonight!" she promised.

Sadly enough, Eyes of Stars expected that would be true. Ah, well... he could put up with it for one night. He might not be sleeping, himself, though for entirely different reasons! It was too bad Yesinal never seemed to feel nervousness; it would have been nice to have a little sympathy before he lost her for the couple weeks this was all likely to take.

The Sythyn and Llyr aRraanor are the creations of CacophenyAngel. Do not use without permission.