[Kallile]

The midnight air was crisp and clean--the first true sign that fall was approaching. The leaves had yet to begin changing in mass; instead only a few orange gems dotted the trees like little treasures waiting to be plucked from their resting places. As Sekou walked up the slight incline to one of the various miniature mountains surrounding the Falls, he couldn't help but smile to himself.

It had been years since he had first come to live at the Disillusioned Mansion and meet the cast of strange characters that dwelled there, and in those years he'd spent a great deal of time thinking about one in particular. Mocha.

The female was somewhere behind him, no doubt entranced by a wayward firefly or something of the like. He didn't fear for her here--it was so rare for him to even be seen at the house that no one cared to notice when he was gone. Likewise, everyone knew of Mocha's flighty, youthful nature. It would be a long while before Nara began worrying about one of her charges.

Finally reaching the top, Sekou turned his head back to the path, ears upright and listening carefully. "Mocha? You're going to miss the display." He said as casually as possible in spite of the fact that his heart was beating like a hammer inside his ribcage.

(31)

[Kallile]

Indeed, the female had become rather distracted by a small lizard trying desperately to make it to its favorite wintering spot. Alas, Mocha happened upon it first. With Sekou far ahead of her, the bristle-coated Lucain went about trying to find 'better' homes for the cold blooded creature. The little being hissed and puffed at her each time she came near, however, and soon her quest became more disheartening than anything else.

Her ears flipped forward at Sekou's call and a bright smile spread across her face. "Coming!" she chimed back, tails giving a brief but fanatic wag before her attention returned to the lizard who thought it had finally scared her off. "Don't you go too far. I'll be back soon to help you!" The Lucain whispered happily before prancing off. The lizard gave a small puff and continued, perhaps with a bit more determination, on its way.

As Mocha crested the top of the small mountain that Sekou had picked for them she looked around, wondering just what she was supposed to be watching. "What's up here, Sekou? I don't see anything..." A pouting look hung on her face for only a second before she plopped herself down beside him and turned to look at his face. "Don't tell me I missed it already."

(16)

[Kallile]

Sekou watched as she can up the path, smiling brightly at her as she did. Her emotions had always been so close to the surface; he loved that about her. She was so open and honest in everything she did, there wasn’t a single ounce of malice that he could ever see stemming from her. An earth-bound angel, if he could go so far as to make such a cheesy comparison.

“No, you haven’t missed it yet. You’re just in time. Come up here and make yourself comfortable.” He patted a paw on the ground beside him invitingly. The moonlight was just bright enough to allow them  some sight; it helped that the dogtag on Mocha’s neck caught and reflected a lot of it to better point out her location. “It should be starting any minute now.”

[Kallile]

Mocha did just that eagerly—taking a few bounding leaps she landed at Sekou’s side with tails waving furiously. “I’m glad I didn’t miss it! It would be awfully silly to come all the way up here just to have me miss what you wanted to show me.” Her voice rang out amidst laughter. Really, she was just glad she hadn’t ruined his surprise! She would have felt really badly if she would have.

“So what did you want me to see, Sekou?”

[Kallile]

“It would never be silly even if we had missed it. I still got to take a walk with you on a lovely evening, didn’t I?” The larger male asked quietly. Any time he got to spend with her alone was something to be cherished; they could have walked up here in a blizzard and he would still be this happy to sit in this exact same spot with her right beside him.

“It’s in the sky, just wait for it, it should start any minute.” He urged as he gave a single bob of his head up towards the moon. He knew asking Mocha to wait for a mystery was like asking a child to not touch a brand new toy…but he could only hope the stars were going to stay on schedule.