Kieran raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a bird." He replied. "And I…don't need anymore sleep tonight. I got enough." He shook his head slightly. I won't be able to sleep anyway; i never can after one of these. He thought, biting his lip for a moment, then looking over at Elara. "Go back to bed, your highness."
"I'm not goin' back there, tha's for sure." Elara said, referring to her mind and the dreams that it created. Or more like, the memories it refused to let lay to rest. She used the bed to pull herself up, and began trying to pull the comforter off, which was a bit of an issue with her ankle. "So no more sleep for both o' us. Come'n stargaze with me." She paused, thinking, before looking over at him. "Please?"
Kieran sighed. "Fine." He said, standing and walking over. "But you really should get more sleep." He helped her with the comforter, holding it. "Where do you want to go?" He asked, looking at her. His orange eyes were distant, and still closed off.
"Should, but can't." Elara said, shrugging a shoulder. She limped over to the window, climbing out and muttering a few choice swear words as she bumped her ankle. "Rooftop stargazing is the best. Clearest view o' the sky."
Kieran nodded. "Do i need to lift you up there? I doubt you can make it up on your own." He said, climbing out the window and putting the comforter on the roof, then climbing back down. "I don't mind picking you up."
“This is so much harder when yer ‘sposed t’ be takin’ care o’ yourself.” Elara complained, giving up for a moment to rethink her strategy. Then she sighed. “Yeah, alright, if you’re sure you don’ mind helpin’ me up.”
Kieran nodded. He reached down with his hands, hooking his legs into the edges of the roof and holding himself securely. He took her hand, wrapping his other arm around her waist, and pulled her up onto the roof, setting her down on the edge as he readjusted himself so he wouldn't fall. "There." He said as he sat down.
Elara met out a small noise of surprise as he lifted her, despite having known it was coming. Might have been because she couldn’t remember the last time anyone had lifted her up like that to help her. Or just been lifted in general. “Uh, thanks.” She said as he set her down, looking up at the sky instead of at him, trying to ignore the slight blush on her cheeks from embarrassment.
He nodded, and spread out the comforter, sitting down on it. "So. Stargazing." He said, looking over at her. His black and white hair was loose, hanging down in curly strands around his face.
“Stargazing.” She repeated with a nod, tugging a hand through her messy hair. “Okay, uh, see that really bright star right there?” She asked, pointing in the direction of the brightest star visible.
He followed her pointing, and nodded. "I see it." He replied, leabing back on his hands as he looked up at the night sky. He estimated that they had a few hours until dawn, when the others would start waking up.
“Well, the constellation it’s attached to is called Ursa Minor, or the Little Dipper. Over there is Ursa Major.” A soft smile played on her lips as she pointed out the constellations, her freckles taking on that soft glow without her even realizing it, mimicking the stars above them.
Kieran nodded slowly. "Okay." He watched the sky, looking around. "Are there others?" He asked, glancing at her, then back at the sky. He raised an eyebrow slightly at her glowing freckles, but didn't say anything about it.
“Dippers? That’s it for those. But there’s a shitton of constellations. We can’t see all of ‘em, because the planet moves all year, but if we were t’ go stargazing in the winter, we could see a bunch of different ones.” Elara explained, maybe going into a bit too much detail, a bit too excitedly, but that excitement made up for it. She loved the stars, and that showed in such an innocent excitement.
Kieran nodded. "Okay." He said, looking up at the sky curiously. "Are there any other constellations out right now, that you know?" He glanced at her, then back up at the velvety black of the night sky above them.
“Gods, yes. See those three stars? In a straight line? Tha’s Orion’s Belt, part o’ a larger constellation…” She continued pointing out various constellations, smiling happily. The glow on her freckles didn’t fade, twinkling softly just like the stars she was pointing out.
He nodded, watching as she pointed out the stars. He wished that he knew a bit more about the stars, but he had never had a chance to learn much about anything. So he listened to what Elara was saying.
It wasn’t long before she was talking about things beyond the stars, planets and universes and black holes she had read about scientists discovering. It had always been fascinating to her, even as a young child, the idea of worlds beyond theirs. Worlds they could someday get to. Worlds that didn’t see her as nothing but a thief or a princess, that would she her as more, as a person instead of a title.
Kieran listened quietly, absorbing the information that he had never before had the chance to learn. He sighed softly as he listened, laying down on his back and looking up at the sky.
“There’s a planet made entirely of diamond, can ya believe?” Elara wrapped her arms around herself to keep out the chill, still smiling that awed smile. “There’re planets made o’ fire and planets that rain glass sideways, planets that’re all ocean, and planets that’re nothin’ but gas. So many new and cool worlds, some of ‘em even habitable.”
He nodded. "Wow. That is…amazing." he said slowly, looking at the stars. It was amazing to him that space contained so much. It really was. He hadn't ever imagined that space could contain so much.
“Right? Mom used to think it was funny, that I knew so much about the stars, space, worlds that weren’t my own.” She said, an almost wistful undertone to her voice as she laid back, using one arm as a pillow and keeping the other wrapped around her.
He nodded. "If I may ask…what…happened to your mother?" He said slowly, looking over at her. "You dont have to tell me if you don't want to." He shrugged slightly.
The smile on her face turned sad, the wistfulness showing itself fully now. “It’s fine. She uh…she’s gone. Not dead, I don’ think, just…gone. When I was fifteen. I got back t’ our apartment we were rentin’ after a night out, an’ she just…wa’n’t there. Her stuff was, a few things missing, kinda things you’d take on an overnight stay. Haven’t seen her since.”
He nodded. "Oh. I'm sorry." He replied, looking up at the sky again. "And…you have no idea what happened to her?" He questioned, not looking at her. "I am sorry. I know family means a lot to most humans. I am glad that I won't have to go through that." He shook his head slightly.