[ P ] all-nighter

Atlas

Being a student required far more diligence than Atlas had expected. There were wolves his own age who were far more prepared for an academic life than he was. For the first time the young wolf wondered if he had what it took to become a lawyer and one day a professor. He'd confidently assured his parents that this was what he wanted. He didn't know what he would do if he failed. It would mean all his mother's tutoring would have been for nothing and he would not allow that to happen. He would read until his head was too heavy to hold up and until his eyes were rolling around in his skull.

It was getting dark when he crept inside the college library. The amount of books made his heart tremble with delight the first time he saw them. Now they were almost intimidating, challenging him with the thickness of the tomes. Atlas carefully chose a volume on the fundamentals of law. He had to start somewhere. Care he turned each page with his nose, eyes devouring the words and forcing his brain to recall the information. Time ticked on. Dark became light and eventually the young flame point wolf was slumped over the book, using it as a pillow as he fell deep into slumber. A large wet patch of drool soaked the page he'd been reading from, trailing from his half open mouth.

@Lyra

code by claerie & art by renallia

LYRA TIAMAT

Lyra wasn't sure at what point she had fallen asleep but, as a slanted ray of light gently brushed against her fur, she gave a start. Almost immediately, however, she grimaced. Her neck was stiff from curling so tightly into a corner and her left hip had gone entirely numb. Pins and needles pricked along her skin as she awkwardly unfurled, brow creasing as her toes stretched. It took all of her strength not to mutter a curse word. While a fuck echoed in her skull, she still felt much too young to say such a vulgar thing. Those were words reserved for soldiers and she was... not one.

After having congratulated Lenora at her entrance ceremony, Lyra had been bundled up and sent to the college for orientation. There, she had sullenly listened to talks of the glories of learning, the beauty of a young and expanding mind and... other drivel. Normally, Lyra loved such lip service. But, now that she was enrolled against her will, she felt as if some part of her future had been stolen from her. It made it difficult to adjust and, as a result, Lyra hadn't felt ready to face her new roommate or any of the other girls in her dorm hall.

Instead, she had slipped off to the library. With classes newly starting, no one had yet camped out there to study. And so... Lyra had cried... herself to sleep. Apparently.

...

Hopefully no one had found her.

Shaking her head, she began to make her way past the tall bookshelves, all the while favoring her slowly reawakening leg. When at last she neared the reading tables, she stopped. Her dual-colored eyes registered shock immediately before her expression softened into something more... wary and perhaps a bit... sympathetic.

Atlas.

He slept, his face in an open book, a puddle of drool slowly forming underneath his open jaws. Lenora's weird little brother—that was how Lyra knew him. It didn't mean that she disliked him but they had never interacted much. Not for Lyra's lack of trying in the beginning, they had just never clicked.

She had half a mind to leave him for fear of him also realizing that she was here and somehow intuiting why. But, if it was her, she'd want to be woken up. And he did belong to Lenora after all—she couldn't just leave him. Besides, she doubted he'd be able to guess that she had cried herself to sleep here the night before. The place was so big.

So it was settled.

Walking up, Lyra poked his shoulder. "Atlas, you're ruining that book," she stated matter of factly.

"someone speaking"
"speaking"

table by rae - image by FILLCREDIT

@Atlas

Atlas

Atlas dreamed that he was riding atop a giant butterfly, gliding over the redwoods and soaring above the giant trees. He let out an excited yip like a puppy, enjoying the feeling of the wind in his fur. In the waking world the sleeping Atlas yipped too and his tail thumped against the ground happily. Something cold and wet was covering his face. Was it raining? Slowly the butterfly and the redwoods began to fade away and the touch of someone's paw prodding him forced him to jerk awake. "I'm awake, Professor! I'm awake!" he exclaimed, too sleepy no notice that it wasn't a professor waking him up during class. Reality flooded in and Lyra came into view. He blinked sleepily at her, not realising that he had a patch of ink staining around his left eye in a circle making him look like a panda.

What had she said?
Atlas, you're ruining that book.
He looked down and swallowed nervously. It was only one page, but a section of the text was now unreadable. "Oh no. No, no, no. Professor Krook is going to kill me," he whined, wide eyes looking down at the drool stained book in a panic. He tried blowing on it gently, hoping to dry the drool from the page.

Fear that he might be expelled for damaging college property made his belly clench uncomfortably. College life was hard. It didn't mean that he didn't enjoy learning about the law. It was his dream to become a lawyer and if he couldn't do that then he'd be crushed. Lenora and Riften had joined the army. Atlas couldn't do that. He couldn't bring himself to fight or hurt another person. He'd seen what that kind of pain had done to his father and he'd vowed he'd find another way to protect people.

He'd heard of his mother's struggles with her ex-husband. At first he'd been confused. Wasn't his dad her husband? Then he learned about the law against divorce and that was what fueled his desire to become a lawyer. If the laws were hurting people then he wanted to be a force for change that could make them more fair and just.

@Lyra

code by claerie & art by renallia

He'd looked so happy, his tail thumping lazily behind him whilst he slept. His mouth was open, his lips spread wide in a smile. Saliva dripped from his tongue into a slowly widening pool upon his page. Despite the fact that she'd cried herself raw last night, the sight of him brought some mirth. He did look quite ridiculous, so naive to the injustices in the world. Rather than make her feel jealous, however, she felt an odd need to... protect him? To keep him this pure, bumbling bee that flitted from book to book like flowers, before flopping in them to fall asleep. It'd be nice if she could keep him Lenora's weird little brother forever. He jerked awake after she prodded him, yelping: "I'm awake, Professor! I'm awake!" This did warrant a small quirk of her brow. Is this not the first time you've fallen asleep? And during class? Bast she expected this from but not Atlas. When he came to, he stared at her with sleepy silvery-violet eyes. Lyra, keeping her smile tightly tucked away, met his gaze expectantly. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock... She waited, watching the loading dots steadily appear within his eyes. His muzzle dropped down and then, within all of one second—and yes she counted—it all came together. "Oh no. No, no, no. Professor Krook is going to kill me!" "I thought you liked reading," Lyra tutted, regarding the situation with far less gravity than he. She imagined this was not the first book that a student had... "dented". In fact, many in this library bore the stains and marks of young, careless scholars. As a result, expulsion didn't even cross her mind. She could only be so lucky, truly. "Yet you fell asleep on the poor thing. Did you not like it?" Lyra questioned, using menial chatter as a diffusion technique. And she did want to tease him just a little.

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@Atlas

Atlas

Atlas was not making the best impression in front of his sister's best friend. His fur was tussled from sleep, wet drool covered the side of his cheek and ink from the book stained a ring around his eye. He'd always felt awkward around the youngest Tiamat sisters. The first time he'd been introduced to them as a pup he'd hidden behind Lenora and refused to come out. Then the following playdate he'd snuck into their library and been caught by a servant reading books without permission. The most embarrassing part was being carried by the scruff like a newborn and deposited in front of his scowling father who'd scolded him severely for his behaviour. With a bowed head and teary eyes he'd apologised to the Tiamats for his rudeness. It was as if he was fated to show his worst side to them whenever they crossed paths.

"D-Don't tell Lenora. I'm not a delinquent I swear!" he pleaded his innocence, realising how it must appear. Professor Krook was always telling him to keep up with his studies or he'd drop out and become a delinquent. He didn't know exactly what one was, but he knew it must be bad.

"I thought you liked reading,"
She finally spoke and he felt himself withering under her blue-orange gaze. "Huh?" he mumbled in confusion. He thought it was obvious that he liked reading.

"Yet you fell asleep on the poor thing. Did you not like it?"
"Ah! I'm sorry!" he apologised, gathering the book up into his arms and clutching it to his chest like it was the most precious object in the world to him. "I love books. I really do. I'm trying to remember everything it says… so I can be a good lawyer someday," he explained, rising from his slouch, purple–silver eyes shining passionately. "I'm not brave like you and Lenora. I'm scared of blood and violence. So I… I need to study as much as I can. It's the only way I can protect people," he explained, smiling sheepishly.

@Lyra

code by claerie & art by renallia

Lyra remembered Atlas the way that she remembered dandelion puffs—there for a second then gone the next. Fluffy, pale, cute—but not terribly memorable. It was hard to have many strong memories of someone that hid away to read, but that didn't mean that Lyra ever disregarded Atlas. She, too, loved reading. Only, when Lenora came over, she preferred to talk and explore instead. On the few times when Lyra had found Atlas tucked away in their libraries, she had snuck away undetected, not wanting to bother him. He had never struck her as someone that wanted to be noticed, unlike her sister. So she simply hadn't made a fuss over him. Talking to him like this was a first. "D-Don't tell Lenora. I'm not a delinquent I swear!" Lyra couldn't help but smirk slightly as she supressed a giggle (it wouldn't serve her to show her hand, now would it?). "I won't tell—but only if you don't keep this up," she cautioned, blue-orange gaze warm as she regarded him. While they were the same age as Lenora and her he felt so much... younger. It made her want to tease him and, simultaneously, help him overcome any and all obstacles. As she mentioned the book he'd drenched, her gathered it up and pressed it to his chest. Lyra's ears flicked back as she heard a soft squelch. "Maybe let's let it dry first... in case the drool wets more pages..." Glancing up from the book, she couldn't help but soften as he mentioned his passion for law. Had he always had this intensity for life in him? This dream? It reminded her of—ah. Lyra felt a little pinprick in her heart as she thought of Lenora's induction into the army. Jealousy made her mood sour, more so because she knew that she didn't have a right to be jealous. But her mind couldn't tame her heart. Brave. Lyra looked up, expression incredibly open as she stared at him for a second. He thought of her as... brave? Even... here? In this library? As if this bravery was a trait of hers and not some armor she got only by being a soldier? "...I'm scared of blood and violence. So I… I need to study as much as I can. It's the only way I can protect people." Lyra managed to close the small "o" her lips had made before he finished his thought. She didn't want to lose whatever spark had made him think of her as brave. "I never thought about law that way," Lyra said then, realizing that she'd never actually asked Atlas... anything. Not a real question, anyway. "What will you do as a lawyer? What kind of people will you protect?" And, if he let her, she'd ask this while trying to help him tidy the book's pages to protect those that were still dry.

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@Atlas

Atlas

During his early puppyhood Atlas had been fascinated by everything. Every blade of grass, leaf and tiny ant that crawled into view. He hadn't held a singular passion for anything except learning. It was his mother's kindness and determination to help others that kindled it within him. While Lenora and Riften had been inspired by their father's service in the army Atlas saw the toll it had taken on his body and mind and he realised he never wanted to be in a position where it happened to him or someone else because of him. The thought of hurting someone had made his small paws quiver and it still did. Maybe he was a coward, but he wanted to find another way to help people without hurting them. His mother's struggles were the driving force behind his dream. The law was hurting someone he loved so he wanted to work to change it so that she could be free to love his father without regret.

"I won't. I promise," he assured her. He would not let himself fall asleep on a book again. If he had to, he would bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself awake. "I'm going to work harder so I don't fall asleep like this again," Atlas insisted, believing that it was simply a weakness that he could overcome.

Then Lyra pointed out that the book needed to dry. The book that he had just crushed against his chest. "R-Right," he replied and laid it flat on the table again. A blot of ink now stained his chest as well as his eye. He blew on it gently, trying to dry the pages and salvage the pages he'd drooled on.

The subject of the law made his eyes light up with joy and the awkward, timid boy became passionate and well spoken. "I believe in the law, but it's not perfect. There's laws that hurt people and I want to change that so that the law protects people like it should," he declared, lifting a fiery paw to hold it against his chest. "I want to protect people stuck in unhappy marriages and stop the death penalty. I want to save thieves who stole because they were hungry or any victim who was forced into crime because they didn't have any other choice," Atlas told her, dual-hued eyes shining with passion.

"Do you have a dream, Lyra?" he asked, voice growing low and looking away because he felt a little embarrassed sharing his dreams so passionately.


@Lyra

code by claerie & art by renallia

As if she was his drill sargeant and he her soldier, he promised to keep the books intact with the zest of a new recruit. There was not a hint of protest or frustration in his lavender eyes. Instead, he seemed to come alive with determination, a surprising stubbornness to succeed. Lyra wanted to laugh, to ruffle the fur on his head and tell him that it wasn't such a big deal. But, she also didn't want to diminish him. This was the first time she had seen Atlas come alive like this. Actually, it was probably the first time they'd traded more than greetings since this time he wasn't hiding behind anyone or a book. Who was she to tell him to relax? Plus, he was cute when he was like this, like a proper little brother. "Just find time to sleep too, okay?" Lyra said instead, sighing slightly but smiling nonetheless. As they tended to the book, Lyra had to chew on her lip to stop herself from laughing at his new monocle and neck-tie. She would, however, stop him before he left the library, lest he become a laughing stock within the first semester. Her question seemed to unlock a whole new level of excitement however, and she listened curiously as he seemed to positively glow with fervor for the law. Atlas was even pressing a paw to his heart as if in salute! But it made sense, all silliness aside. "I didn't know there were laws that hurt people but... it makes sense," she said, reflecting now on the draft she'd been told about. In her foolishness, she'd only been thinking about how lucky they were and wishing that she was older. But, if Atlas was dragged into the military... that wouldn't make sense. It'd be sad. What made this dream all the more real was just how specific it was. Atlas already knew exactly what he wanted to do. Meanwhile, she just knew that she wanted to be a "soldier". There wasn't more to it than that other than just living up to her family legacy. Suddenly, her dreams felt small by comparison. Or naive, as if a child had colored them while Atlas' composed a whole painting. When he asked, Lyra froze. "Oh, uh... I..." But, thank god, there came the distant tolling of the bells, announcing the beginning of the first classes. "I'll tell you about it later. We should hurry right? And get you cleaned up." - fade exit of Atlas' new big sister LOL -

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@Atlas