[STARFALL] Constellation Connection 2017 Written Portion
By me
Starring: Veik and Varinia
Also included: #28108680, #32111365, #24653733
By me
Starring: Veik and Varinia
Also included: #28108680, #32111365, #24653733
It was subtle, but Veik definitely noticed the crowd parting as he walked next to the female Wildclaw. Veik narrowed his eyes, but when he glanced over at Varinia, she remained unfazed. Veik knew that it was other dragons' suspicions of witchers that led them to avoid the Wildclaw, but he couldn't help but feel that it was a little unfair.
Varinia must have sensed that he was getting upset, because she cleared her throat to get his attention.
"Did you want to visit any of these stalls, since we're passing through?" she asked him, her gaze meeting his. It was a look that Veik knew all too well, one that was meant to scare him out of starting trouble. It worked.
Veik stayed silent for a moment, looking around at the various stalls they passed as they walked. He didn't have much interest in festivals; there were too many people. He and Varinia were only here because the festival grounds were on the route to their next job. They were hunting down a nykur, a fearsome horse beast that lured people into lakes to drown and eat them.
The Imperial noticed Varinia still patiently waiting for him to make a decision, her gaze steady. Veik cleared his throat somewhat sheepishly, turning away.
"Right, um, how about that one?" he asked, pointing at a small yet rather professional looking stall. It was manned by two brightly-coloured Imperials and a blue Fae, all of whom were eagerly trying to attract people over.
Varinia shrugged, obviously happy to go wherever Veik wanted, and so the Imperial male led her over to the stall. It was the purple Imperial who approached them first. Veik watched with mild annoyance as the dragon gave Varinia a once over, his eyes finally settling on her witchers' pendant. As usual, Varinia didn't care.
"Welcome! I trust you're both enjoying this celebration?" the Imperial asked.
Veik nodded slowly, still trying to figure out what exactly this stall was selling.
"Yes, this is all very...festive..." he eventually muttered in response, trying his hardest not to notice Varinia rolling her eyes. "What exactly are you selling here?"
From the back of the stall, the female Imperial shook her head vigorously before she approached.
"Oh, no, we're not selling anything here!" she replied. "Right, Tallow? This is a stall that exists purely to expand our knowledge of the skies, and maybe even spread our love of what exists above us."
Veik raised an eyebrow, stifling a sigh as he watched Varinia hide her laughter behind her hands. What in Sornieth had he gotten himself into?
The female Imperial beckoned Veik behind the stall, over to where the Fae was staring intently at some kind of star map.
"Here, look at this map," the Imperial said, and Veik stared over her shoulder at the piece of parchment spread out over the table. The marks on the map meant nothing to him, and he shot an alarmed glance over at Varinia. The Wildclaw simply grinned at him, and he made a mental note to yell about it later.
"Oh hey, Stardawn. Did you find someone to help us out?" the Fae asked.
Stardawn nodded.
"Yup! This is...what's your name?"
"Veik. It's Veik."
"This is Veik."
The Fae gave Veik a strange look, and he wondered vaguely if his reputation was starting to get around. After all, anyone who traveled with a witcher tended to get noticed.
"Well then, Veik. I'm Kaika. This here is a star map of a piece of sky that, until now, remained undiscovered."
"That's...pretty neat, actually," Veik had to admit, and the faces of all three dragons immediately lit up. "What does it have to do with me, though?"
It was Stardawn who spoke up this time.
"Well, you see, one of the most exciting parts of mapping the sky is the constellations," the Imperial explained. "However, us three have been discovering them for years, and now our creative juices are...lacking."
"That's why we need you," Kaika continued. "A fresh set of eyes may be able to see what we can't." She gestured at the star map. "Come, take a look. Tell me, what do you see?"
Veik glanced back again at Varinia, who gave him a thumbs up, before the three dragons turned his attention back to the map. He could feel their eyes all on him, and it made him nervous. What if he said the wrong thing? Could he even say the wrong thing about something like this?
Then, in the center of the map, he saw something. His eyes narrowed; yes, it was definitely there. He took a step back, turning to Varinia.
"Hey, Varinia, you're never gonna believe this, but there's a nykur on this map."
The Wildclaw gave him a look, and walked to the back of the stall. Stardawn, Kaika, and Tallow all moved to let her stand beside Veik.
"You see it? Right there in the middle," Veik said, pointing.
Varinia nodded.
"So there is. I doubt it means anything, though."
"Aw, come on, Varinia. This has to mean that this hunt is going to go well."
"Don't count on it. I still expect you to try your hardest in the fight."
Beside them, the three astronomers started to quickly gather together some materials. Veik and Varinia got out of their way as Kaika grabbed a small quill and dipped it in white ink.
"Here, Veik; show Kaika where you want the lines drawn to make the constellation," Stardawn said.
Veik nodded and stepped forward again.
"You see it in the center there? Yeah, yeah, that's the front two legs, and then the head is- no, wait, move forward just a li- there we go. Yeah, and then the tail is up there. That's it; that's what it looks like."
Stardawn and Tallow glanced over Kaika's work, seemingly impressed. Stardawn turned to Veik.
"Thank you for your time! This is very exciting; what a constellation!"
Varinia cleared her throat.
"We must get going now, Veik. The sun will be going down soon, and I for one don't wish to hunt a nykur in the dark."
Veik nodded, thanking the three astronomers and then following Varinia away from the stall.
"Are you sure that has nothing to do with what we're hunting?" Veik asked.
Varinia shook her head. "Don't be so superstitious; stars have been in the sky longer than dragons have been in Sornieth. It doesn't mean anything."
Veik grinned.
"Whatever you say, but I think it means that this'll be a good hunt."
-----
Veik's constellation would end up becoming rather famous across Sornieth. It became best known in the Beast Clans are some of the more old-fashioned of the dragon folk. Named "Hunt of the Nykur", who is being hunted and who is doing the hunting changes depending on who you ask. Interestingly enough, when viewed in the sky this constellation is often obscured by a nebula that lies somewhere behind it. When the Nykur can be seen clearly, it is thought to bring nights of successful hunting.
Varinia must have sensed that he was getting upset, because she cleared her throat to get his attention.
"Did you want to visit any of these stalls, since we're passing through?" she asked him, her gaze meeting his. It was a look that Veik knew all too well, one that was meant to scare him out of starting trouble. It worked.
Veik stayed silent for a moment, looking around at the various stalls they passed as they walked. He didn't have much interest in festivals; there were too many people. He and Varinia were only here because the festival grounds were on the route to their next job. They were hunting down a nykur, a fearsome horse beast that lured people into lakes to drown and eat them.
The Imperial noticed Varinia still patiently waiting for him to make a decision, her gaze steady. Veik cleared his throat somewhat sheepishly, turning away.
"Right, um, how about that one?" he asked, pointing at a small yet rather professional looking stall. It was manned by two brightly-coloured Imperials and a blue Fae, all of whom were eagerly trying to attract people over.
Varinia shrugged, obviously happy to go wherever Veik wanted, and so the Imperial male led her over to the stall. It was the purple Imperial who approached them first. Veik watched with mild annoyance as the dragon gave Varinia a once over, his eyes finally settling on her witchers' pendant. As usual, Varinia didn't care.
"Welcome! I trust you're both enjoying this celebration?" the Imperial asked.
Veik nodded slowly, still trying to figure out what exactly this stall was selling.
"Yes, this is all very...festive..." he eventually muttered in response, trying his hardest not to notice Varinia rolling her eyes. "What exactly are you selling here?"
From the back of the stall, the female Imperial shook her head vigorously before she approached.
"Oh, no, we're not selling anything here!" she replied. "Right, Tallow? This is a stall that exists purely to expand our knowledge of the skies, and maybe even spread our love of what exists above us."
Veik raised an eyebrow, stifling a sigh as he watched Varinia hide her laughter behind her hands. What in Sornieth had he gotten himself into?
The female Imperial beckoned Veik behind the stall, over to where the Fae was staring intently at some kind of star map.
"Here, look at this map," the Imperial said, and Veik stared over her shoulder at the piece of parchment spread out over the table. The marks on the map meant nothing to him, and he shot an alarmed glance over at Varinia. The Wildclaw simply grinned at him, and he made a mental note to yell about it later.
"Oh hey, Stardawn. Did you find someone to help us out?" the Fae asked.
Stardawn nodded.
"Yup! This is...what's your name?"
"Veik. It's Veik."
"This is Veik."
The Fae gave Veik a strange look, and he wondered vaguely if his reputation was starting to get around. After all, anyone who traveled with a witcher tended to get noticed.
"Well then, Veik. I'm Kaika. This here is a star map of a piece of sky that, until now, remained undiscovered."
"That's...pretty neat, actually," Veik had to admit, and the faces of all three dragons immediately lit up. "What does it have to do with me, though?"
It was Stardawn who spoke up this time.
"Well, you see, one of the most exciting parts of mapping the sky is the constellations," the Imperial explained. "However, us three have been discovering them for years, and now our creative juices are...lacking."
"That's why we need you," Kaika continued. "A fresh set of eyes may be able to see what we can't." She gestured at the star map. "Come, take a look. Tell me, what do you see?"
Veik glanced back again at Varinia, who gave him a thumbs up, before the three dragons turned his attention back to the map. He could feel their eyes all on him, and it made him nervous. What if he said the wrong thing? Could he even say the wrong thing about something like this?
Then, in the center of the map, he saw something. His eyes narrowed; yes, it was definitely there. He took a step back, turning to Varinia.
"Hey, Varinia, you're never gonna believe this, but there's a nykur on this map."
The Wildclaw gave him a look, and walked to the back of the stall. Stardawn, Kaika, and Tallow all moved to let her stand beside Veik.
"You see it? Right there in the middle," Veik said, pointing.
Varinia nodded.
"So there is. I doubt it means anything, though."
"Aw, come on, Varinia. This has to mean that this hunt is going to go well."
"Don't count on it. I still expect you to try your hardest in the fight."
Beside them, the three astronomers started to quickly gather together some materials. Veik and Varinia got out of their way as Kaika grabbed a small quill and dipped it in white ink.
"Here, Veik; show Kaika where you want the lines drawn to make the constellation," Stardawn said.
Veik nodded and stepped forward again.
"You see it in the center there? Yeah, yeah, that's the front two legs, and then the head is- no, wait, move forward just a li- there we go. Yeah, and then the tail is up there. That's it; that's what it looks like."
Stardawn and Tallow glanced over Kaika's work, seemingly impressed. Stardawn turned to Veik.
"Thank you for your time! This is very exciting; what a constellation!"
Varinia cleared her throat.
"We must get going now, Veik. The sun will be going down soon, and I for one don't wish to hunt a nykur in the dark."
Veik nodded, thanking the three astronomers and then following Varinia away from the stall.
"Are you sure that has nothing to do with what we're hunting?" Veik asked.
Varinia shook her head. "Don't be so superstitious; stars have been in the sky longer than dragons have been in Sornieth. It doesn't mean anything."
Veik grinned.
"Whatever you say, but I think it means that this'll be a good hunt."
-----
Veik's constellation would end up becoming rather famous across Sornieth. It became best known in the Beast Clans are some of the more old-fashioned of the dragon folk. Named "Hunt of the Nykur", who is being hunted and who is doing the hunting changes depending on who you ask. Interestingly enough, when viewed in the sky this constellation is often obscured by a nebula that lies somewhere behind it. When the Nykur can be seen clearly, it is thought to bring nights of successful hunting.