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Description

It’s calming out here, in an eerie sort of way. Enzo knows he could never explain it to anyone if they asked. How could he, after all? Explain the calm being alone on this outcropping brings him. Explain the way he can stare at that distant, rumbling storm for hours. How, if he closes is eyes, the muffled thrum takes him to another place. Another time; now ages gone.

The hard stone beneath his claws dissipates, replaced with soft grass and downy feathers, ticklish against the delicate pads of his paws. The sky overhead is dark with summer storm clouds. The air heavy with the threat of rain, weighing against his whiskers and fur. No time to be out hunting, this. Enzo sighs as he settles further into the nest. Or tries to. Two lumps of fur stop him from being all that successful, and one goes so far as to raise her head with a plaintive mew at being dislodged.

Enzo sighs.

“Y’know, the two of you are getting too big to share a nest with me,” he says, giving a rueful shake of his head. There’s no real weight behind his words, though. And his younger siblings know it, flashing him mischievous grins as they reclaim their places, half buried in his dark fur. Enzo gives a mental shrug, curling more tightly around them. It’s less comfortable this way, but he’d rather they be with him – safe – than risking the bite of the cold snow beginning to pile up in a nest of their own.

Snow? In the height of summer?

The world swims in front of his eyes, blurred, indistinct. “Maybe we outta go out looking for more bedding, tomorrow,” he presses on, shaking off the sudden confusion and the gut-wrenching dread that accompanies it. Enzo glances outside again, at the red sky. Red? The wind is picking up, sending flurries of snow flying. None of this makes any sense. He glances down to see if his siblings make sure they comfortable and –

Gone.

They’re gone. Enzo scrambles to his paws, panic driving into his heart like an icy spike. Off into the storm, maybe? He has to follow them. Find them before they get too far. The tom takes a step into the wind, snow blasting his face, making him shut his eyes and give his head a violent shake.

Enzo opens his eyes to the mesa. He startles, sending the snow that’s built up around his paws flying. The delicate frost takes on the hues of the sky, flecks of red and black drifting idly back to the ground. Enzo flicks one ear as things click into place. A daydream.

He squeezes his eyes shut. His powers mock him even in his dreams. He’d been elated, at first, to realize that the odd snow drifts that seemed to follow him everywhere weren’t just a quirk of this forsaken realm. The powers he needed were manifest. He had the key to go back to his family.

Tears prick at Enzo’s eyes. He turns them skyward, gaze fixed on the twin suns overhead.

A key without a lock is useless. These powers were useless here. He’s too far from where he needs to be.

Too late. It’s far too late.

Enzo would give up all the powers in the world to go back to that dream.

apastron. n. the point of greatest separation betwee two stars, especially in a binary star situation.

Description

It’s calming out here, in an eerie sort of way. Enzo knows he could never explain it to anyone if they asked. How could he, after all? Explain the calm being alone on this outcropping brings him. Explain the way he can stare at that distant, rumbling storm for hours. How, if he closes is eyes, the muffled thrum takes him to another place. Another time; now ages gone.

The hard stone beneath his claws dissipates, replaced with soft grass and downy feathers, ticklish against the delicate pads of his paws. The sky overhead is dark with summer storm clouds. The air heavy with the threat of rain, weighing against his whiskers and fur. No time to be out hunting, this. Enzo sighs as he settles further into the nest. Or tries to. Two lumps of fur stop him from being all that successful, and one goes so far as to raise her head with a plaintive mew at being dislodged.

Enzo sighs.

“Y’know, the two of you are getting too big to share a nest with me,” he says, giving a rueful shake of his head. There’s no real weight behind his words, though. And his younger siblings know it, flashing him mischievous grins as they reclaim their places, half buried in his dark fur. Enzo gives a mental shrug, curling more tightly around them. It’s less comfortable this way, but he’d rather they be with him – safe – than risking the bite of the cold snow beginning to pile up in a nest of their own.

Snow? In the height of summer?

The world swims in front of his eyes, blurred, indistinct. “Maybe we outta go out looking for more bedding, tomorrow,” he presses on, shaking off the sudden confusion and the gut-wrenching dread that accompanies it. Enzo glances outside again, at the red sky. Red? The wind is picking up, sending flurries of snow flying. None of this makes any sense. He glances down to see if his siblings make sure they comfortable and –

Gone.

They’re gone. Enzo scrambles to his paws, panic driving into his heart like an icy spike. Off into the storm, maybe? He has to follow them. Find them before they get too far. The tom takes a step into the wind, snow blasting his face, making him shut his eyes and give his head a violent shake.

Enzo opens his eyes to the mesa. He startles, sending the snow that’s built up around his paws flying. The delicate frost takes on the hues of the sky, flecks of red and black drifting idly back to the ground. Enzo flicks one ear as things click into place. A daydream.

He squeezes his eyes shut. His powers mock him even in his dreams. He’d been elated, at first, to realize that the odd snow drifts that seemed to follow him everywhere weren’t just a quirk of this forsaken realm. The powers he needed were manifest. He had the key to go back to his family.

Tears prick at Enzo’s eyes. He turns them skyward, gaze fixed on the twin suns overhead.

A key without a lock is useless. These powers were useless here. He’s too far from where he needs to be.

Too late. It’s far too late.

Enzo would give up all the powers in the world to go back to that dream.

apastron. n. the point of greatest separation betwee two stars, especially in a binary star situation.