Rooftop Reflection

Darkness. The husky was not a fan of the night time. He had always been a more visual-focused canna than most. Well, maybe less than Tavi or her pups, but he'd never really bothered to ask if they preferred their sight to their sense of smell or hearing. However, the sky lights during the darkest time of the day had always enthralled him. They acted much like clouds during the day, only taking place during the night time. Of course, there were clouds at night but their shapes were hard to discern.

Padding through the prison halls, Kukuk made his way up the stairs and through a small hatch that separated the building's ceiling from the sky. The roof truly was one of his favorite places.

Stepping out under the night sky, the husky took in a deep breath of the fresh air. After the storms of the past month the air was feeling a little heavy, but it was still enjoyable and carried many interesting scents on its winds. Suddenly, the male noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The shadowed shape of another canna nearly made him jump out of his skin. Stepping forward to investigate, he noted the familiar clan member.

"Li'Navira," he stated formally - probably the only formal thing he had ever consistently done in his life. "I didn't expect to find you up here."

His words were blatant but filled with a good-natured innocence. His tail wagged in a greeting and his muscles visibly relaxed. "Sorry if I am bothering you," he said as he immediately sat down directly next to her. His side leaned into his companion as he laid down on his belly. Sometimes the canine had a habit of being too friendly. He could also be bad at reading others and whether or not he was unwanted. His greatest flaw that he displayed currently, however, was his lack of personal space as he laid next to his chief, turning his head nearly upside down to look at her face from his current angle. His tongue hanging lazily from his upside down muzzle in a carefree smile.

Kukuk's insincere apology, it turned out, was unnecessary. It wasn't insincere in the idea that he had wanted to bother her, more so that if he had and she had stated outright he would have left, but he would not have genuinely felt sorry for acting within his nature. It just wasn't who he was.

The husky's tongue snaked back into his mouth as he nodded at his chief's inquiry. "I did," he stated plainly, turning his head up towards the darkened sky above them. His thick tail swished upon the ground, sending up settled dirt and some small leaves that had been carried up by the wind days prior. "Have you noticed the spots on Ridna'kah move? I think it's most noticeable when she blinks," he added to the inquiry. Lowering his gaze to meet that of Navira he opted to drop the subject. Knowing that most of the other Why'o canna seemed to think he spoke nonsense, he turned his mind instead to the topic of clouds.

"I like the clouds. They have no shape in the dark but it makes it more like a forest. It helps Ridna to hide." He paused, considering his next words carefully. "Do you suppose she hides from something, or is instead stalking?"

The darkened muzzle of the husky turned back towards the sky, his face turning this way and that trying to follow the clouds. Or perhaps he was trying to see through them. Ridna'kah was so expansive up there, it was hard to fathom a canna of that size. But he knew she was there. The movement of his tail slowed as he concentrated on the detailed scene up above.

Restephus? The name alone sent a shiver down the agouti mutt's spine. He nodded his head as his chief spoke, eyeing her slightly from his singular mud colored eye. A thought tickled at the back of the husky's mind at the name. Just the smallest glimmer of an inquiry. His bi-colored gaze lowered as he stared down at his paws, his lips pursed, deep in thought.

Folding his ears flat upon his head he addressed the chief. "Li'Navira?" he said, the name escaping from his muzzle in the form of a question. "I listened in to the story you shared the other night, with the cadets." The admission was not one of guilt or anything that should have been surprising. Many of the ele'canna and owi alike had listened in along with the ele'cannara. A dark ear flicked atop his pointed head as he continued, his gaze still settled upon his paws. "What if the Rozo'ama akoda was not caused by Rot'zo?"

He lifted his gaze and took a breath before turning to face her. "The world has changed again, like it had before. Even Ridna'kah seems to have been affected by shifting in her slumber. What if, instead of Rot'zo's garuru that shook the world it was Restephus getting loose?" His own words caused him to sniff curiously at the wind, as if he might get a hint of an answer from the heavens upon the breeze. It was an unsettling thought, but the pieces were starting to fit together. Shaking his head as if someone had just blown into his ear, the darker thoughts were pushed from his mind.

With a wide grin that caused his eyes to squint his tail began to wag across the ground - thumping with the typical dita'du beat. "Nevermind." His voice was back to his standard, cheery tone. It was a silly thought anyways.