searching in the endless night

aphelion feels the world around him. he feels when his paws make contact with the earth, feels when the wind splits in two around him, feels his heart thumping in time with his pace and devouring the ecstasy in the air. it's electric, frenetic, a drug unlike any other. his tongue is burning for more, chasing the fear-scent washing across his tastebuds. but the fox was haring further away from the coastal hunting grounds and the surf crashing against the sand was growing quieter from this distance. it's giving his mind more space to begin a hunt of its own that was as eternal as the night cycle.

so, sweating, aphelion slowed to a stop. the air was sweet and salty, and every breath felt like both a trial and a reward. and he loved it. his albinism–and coursework–prevented him from such intense workouts during the day, so the occasional sleepless night was a treat that aph couldn't deny himself... even if he might regret it come morning.

at least for now he could enjoy the sea-soaked breeze in his fur, the sweat beading upon his skin, and the seaside symphony until he forgot that he had some serious studying waiting for him back at his dorm.

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Nilu watched him from the darkness, his pale fur glowing like the moon above. She had never seen someone so ethereal and she was entranced. But she was also uncertain on approaching him. He seemed engrossed in his own thing and she didn't want to disturb him. So she waited in the darkness, the water lapping at her paws, until he came to a stop up the shore. Her ears twitched and she moved closer, red-tinted eyes searching. "Hi," she said, a little shyly, she wasn't sure what to make of him at first with his pale fur and strange eyes. He reminded her of herself, only the opposite. "I'm Nilu," she offered quietly, the only sound after her words was that of the ocean beside them. The breeze carried it's salty spray towards her, along with his peculiar scent. He was younger, like her, that much she could tell. But he was different, like her and that was perhaps what had caught her eye about him now. She didn't often find... different. "..."

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It was easy to get lost in the night. Aph tilted his muzzle into the wind and closed his eyes, reveling in the interplay between flushed skin and chilled air. this was the only time he let his vigilant guard down. he was always most comfortable in the dark, and being so far removed from society, surrounded by water and endless sand, bolstered that mentality. he could rest assured knowing that he'd spy an oncoming threat from a mile away.

except when those threats were soundless, sentientshadows.

aphelion pivoted the back half of his body around until he was facing the voice, spreading his paws out into a more defensive position. his heart changed course from gradually slowing to racing faster than when he'd been hunting. it wasn't until the shadow introduced herself that aph managed to control his breathing again, letting his posture relax as he sized her up - or down, rather. she was much, much shorter than he was, and thankfully framed by the stark, moonlit beach so it was easier to find the details in her strangely all-black features. nothing about her screamed 'danger' but not all dangers are obvious from the start. he kept his tone cordial but carefully guarded as he offered an introduction in turn, "aphelion." but he couldn't help his curiosity, like a mirror of her own, at the oddity before him. "what are yeh?"

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It was apparent she had startled him and that, in turn, startled her. She jumped a little, dark eyes widening slightly as she stared up at him. He wasn't outright aggressive and so that was why she lingered as he began to assess her silently. She regarded him like she were looking into a mirror only seeing the exact opposite of herself instead of her own reflection. Where she was an endless void, he was stark in contrast with pale skin and eyes. An anomaly, something she'd never seen before. "Aphelion," he offered simply before asking her a rather peculiar question. "What are you?" A little giggle escaped her and her stubbed tail bobbed behind her lithe frame. "I already told you, silly. I'm Nilu!" she tossed back, unaware that he meant something else entirely. She didn't really know what she was, the technical terms for it, but she didn't feel like a what... she just felt like herself. "You are..." she tilted her head, her breath coming out airily as she tried to find the word she wanted to say. "Beautiful," she said. The red in her eyes seemed to glint with admiration as she stared at him, unabashed from the compliment that fell from her lips. She had never seen someone glimmer in the moonlight like he did and it was breathtaking. "Why do you look like that?" she asked. She wanted to ask him just what he was, but she expected himt to give her the same answer she'd offered. Maybe that was what he'd meant when he'd asked her what she was. Truthfully she didn't know the answer to either. She'd been left in the forest and had nobody to tell her who or what she was so she'd just figured it out alone. "..."

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If Aphelion thought he might receive an answer that could even begin to fill the endless pit that was his curiosity, he was disappointed to find that the well was still empty. Nilu wasn't offering anything different from what she already had. His nostrils flared a bit, unable to hide his dismay.

Then she called him beautiful. Quite honestly, he didn't know what to do with the warmth that gathered in his cheeks or the fluttering in his chest, like his heart had up and grown wings big enough to create gales with every beat. All Aph could think to do was look away, out across the unending sea, until he thought he had his face under control. Against his will, it still burned pink—more obviously than normal, that is. "Eheh, uh, thank yeh?" Aphelion had never been told he was beautiful or anything of the sort. He knew his father was proud of him, because Grigori told both his boys as often as he could, and that he and Perihelion were special based solely on what his Auntie Willow said, but this was a first. He wasn't sure that he liked the attention or how her eyes were sparkling up at him.

He also wasn't sure that he didn't like it. In some way it was kind of nice to be noticed after spending so much of his time in the background.

Her question made him glance down at himself, at the stark whiteness of his paws and how pale his skin was beneath the rather thin fur. It was a question he'd been asking all his life, and only now that he was enrolled in college had he recently learned the truth behind his strange appearance. Worried he might look like a know-it-all though, Aph instead offered something that resembled a joke in his own quiet, uncertain way: "Wasn't done bakin'," he quipped, thinking about the undercooked pastry he'd once bitten into. Looking more steadily at Nilu, he added, "They must not have taken yeh out in time."

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He seemed amused by her words and this brought a smile to her face. She laughed a little at his own comment and then shrugged her shoulders. "You don't meet many like... us." she said. "It's nice." she added. quietly. A moment or two passed before she looked to the chilly sea, the night air swirling around them in the moment. "What are you doing out here, anyway?" she asked, tilting her head curiously as she returned her gaze to him. "Looking for lost souls or taking a swim?" Nilu wasn't sure what she was doing out here, but it was nice to be here. She was thrilled to meet such a beautiful soul as Aphelion but two souls could still get lonely and bored. Maybe they could entertain one another for the night, somehow. She knew she would like that. Most of her nights were boring and spent alone or spent running from some guard or wolf she'd stolen from for food. But she had a full belly and no need for that now so she found she could simply be. "..."

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