Musing about the stars

As Varos walked behind Katholes and Maple, he glanced to Cailu, then to the Watcher leading them further into the cave who had been teaching the party about the meaning behind certain constellations as well as celestial bodies, his word thick with reverence for the night sky.   Each step by the small chaser made against the cold stone floor was filled with wonder which was also reflected in his parties eyes as their eyes were transfixed upon their surroundings.
The closer the four got to the heart of the watchers territory the more star murals, some even incorporating glowing paint cropped up, almost as if the party themselves were walking through the afternoon sky, their movement a representation to the passage of time until the stars would twinkle above.

Maples eyes were transfixed on the murals painted on cavern walls, sides of houses, even vegetation, with her own eyes the size of the moon it took the watcher haedian clearing his throat three times before maples eyes moved away from the murals onto the haedian wearing dark flowy silks and silver jewelry.

"As I was saying, we watchers believe that every star holds a story, every constellation a lesson." he gestured to an empty portion of cave wall as he continued to speak. "You have shown me that you are ready so I want to invite you to leave a bit of yourself here with us- paint a mural of your very own." Katholes wasnt thrilled by the idea but also didnt audibly reject the idea- he had hoped for a bit more action but now that he thought a bit more about the watchers and what he had been told about them it became clear to him that the watchers would not offer the thrill of action that Katholes saught.

Maple couldnt help but audibly gasp at the suggestion of a group painting session, one clawed paw outstretched in front of her to point at a particular glowing mural off in the distance. "Could we also get some glowing paint?" the excitement was palpable in her every word, netting her a beaming smile from the haedian. 

"That won't be a problem-" Varos sharing Maples enthusiasm initially stopped to think what he would draw- he definitely wanted the drawing to feature constellations, celestial bodies or simply stars- but. he didnt really know any constellations and was fearful of celestial bodies turning out wonky. He considered himself an artist- though that was only true for the culinary field- something Varos was acutely aware of.

"Im all for it." said Varos to Maples delight and with Katholes not objecting  the watcher haedian quickly made off to gather drawing supplies for the 3 friends to paint with.

Mulling it over for a moment Varos decided to share his trouble of being unsure on what to draw with his friends.
Maple didnt see an issue and actually offered great advice right out of the gate, as if her suggestion would have been the first and most logical conclusion to come to anyways.

"If you dont know a lot about astronomy- then thats okay too. Why dont you put a spin on things and draw about things that are important to you in a constellation kind of way?" Varos opened his mouth to object, only to shut it again- that suggestion got him thinking again- maybe he could draw his favorite dish? or cooking ingredients? he was well acquainted with those things so it would pose no trouble for the small chaser to draw these things accurately from memory.

Varos happily nodded, with Katholes blankly looking at the group, Maples words had also rung around in his head and put a thought into motion. What if this mural told a bit of Katholes story? Something cryptic that couldnt be traced back to him but still carried meaning... he hummed, the noise drawing his companions attention.

"Oh it looks like you have an idea too Katholes, right?" asked Maple, her infectious optimism once again being on full display.

As the friends shared their ideas to one another it wasnt long before the haedian returned, brushed, paint and artist paint boards, with the supplies split amongst the friends they all turned their attention to the big cave wall in front of them. 

All of them started at the same time, yet their approaches were entirely unique, where Katholes strokes were precise and deliberately made, Varos kept walking away from the wall after each stroke to check how his mural was looking like from a distance,  Maple in the meantime was getting lost in painting, the only saving grace for her not ending up covered in paint too being that the clothes they were all still wearing were loaned and as such the tyrian intended for them to be returned in prime condition.

Soon the parties murals were coming together- each one telling its very own story.

Once everyone was satisfied with their artworks their eyes wandered over to their friends murals.

Varos had drawn constellations looking like a pot with fire under it, a carrot and onion above it, Katholes mural was simple, clean and quite pretty to look at. He had drawn something looking like a dagger in motion, the tip of the sharp object drawn with bioluminescent paint to draw attention to it, whilst the rest of the dagger was painted so lightly as to allow it to blend in. Maples portion of the wall was bright and colorful, reflecting her personality wonderfully. She had drawn something that looked like a galaxy.

"Everyones murals turned out to pretty. I love it!" said Maple, giggling contently. What Varos Murals stood for was apparent but the tyrian would still ask her friend about it, confirming what she had already surmised.

"I ended up following your advice and drew a few constellations made to look like items i use when cooking. I kind of-" he glanced at his mural, a smile creeping onto his face. "I wanted to capture a celebration of the simple things in life with my drawings as a reminder to cherish every moment, whatever that might be to a person individually. for me- im just happy to cook something tasty for my friends." Maple aww'ed at her friends explanation, her focus now shifting to their red pelted companion Katholes.

"My mural is... what I wish to accomplish the most." he said, not adding much more, leaving his friends to analyse what he had drawn on their own and whilst what Katholes had drawn and what it meant wasnt something the other two friends could immediately agree on they could at least, both come to the common consens that Katholes mural was very pretty to look at.

The watcher haedian was the one to actually catch maples attention as he spoke, having slinked toward the group to inspect Maples mural more closely.

"Yours looks so vibrant. Tell me the story of your mural." Maple nodded happily, answering the haedian in a heart beat.

"I drew a galaxy!" she exclaimed, and moved over to point out a number of specks within the galaxy that stuck closely together. "This one is Varos, this one Katholes, this is Cailu, this is me and I also drew you." she declared, claw resting on each dot for a second whichs shade coincided with the individuals coat color that the dot was dedicated to.

"I wanted to draw something that showed how connected we all are and thought what better way to show that but than a galaxy."

The watcher haedian was left speechless at first, then an approving nod gently rocked the silver jewelry hanging from his ears.

"I see, very well. These murals are all very special indeed. I thank you for allowing me to show us our ways." Varos refuted the last part as he felt it important to clarify one thing.

"We are the ones to thank you! It was really nice to get to paint with everyone!" all the friends agreed to the small chasers addition to the conversation, this also including the red-coated puller Katholes who had initially seemed less than thrilled about the idea- yet now when the friends glanced over to their puller friend, they saw a sense of calmness and serenity that hadnt been there before on Katholes face.

They knew this was special- and perhaps this collaborative creative effort was the first milestone on Katholes path to redemption.