Michael
In the height of night, while worn souls recovered upon the flask of dreams and the dead hunted for life, only a sole light graced the outer reaches of Wisterwood's hills. Considered to be in the wilds of Fey rather than the town itself, Syrup and Flapjack loitered at the peak of a hill. They were huddled next to a campfire, away from the windborn smoke, and had a multitude of parchment unscrolled against the grass.

A number of other items, tools, accompanied the paper, such as the astrolabe Cassie had practically just obtained. A telescope as well, up on a tripod just a smidgen above the Girafarig's head, and a few other measurement tools. As well as quill and ink, which she used to paint a map with the aid of psychic energy.

Cassie paused, perhaps due to a distant rustling or perhaps to simple gather where she was. She looked to the fire.

"Stick your tongue into it," Pollux said.

Cassie blew a raspberry.

She was alone, ultimately, up on the hilly clearing. The dense wood around her was open for onlookers who stalked in the night, but the folk of Wisterwood were more or less kind and Pokemon as a whole tended to leave her alone. The sky was clear and the stars were out, and the land was bathed in a moonlight that wasn't quite bright enough.
Samuel
*Even if you wanted it, you can never truly be alone. That was what the Sylveon wandering around Wisterwood would've told her, had she somehow been able to read her thoughts. But she didn't even know of the Girafarig's existence, let alone that of the hill's in the woods. Currently, she was walking in the dark with little aim than to find somewhere to rest for the night.*

*Sora glanced at almost the entirety of the area she was in right about now, asking herself why the quest for shelter was such a difficult one. She may have been poor, but was it really too much to ask for a place to stay, anyway? Apparently, it was, and that made her sad.*

*Nature wasn't very kind to her either, considering she was still a bit soaked from a storm that happened earlier. But nature, despite its tendency of being less than comfortable, might have been her best bet right now, since people were weary of letting a stranger in their home. Of course she did understand their worry, as she was able to envision things from their perspective. But it was still an unfortunate thing she had to deal with, being in the position she was in right now.*

*She sighed, her legs beginning to get unbearable to walk with. But she knew she had to press on, as she couldn't afford to collapse on the floor now. Maybe on a nice, soft, field of grass instead.*

*At least, as soft as she could find. Single bits of grass were called blades for a reason, after all. Wait, was that...?*

*She could see it in the distance, putting her ribbon over her face as she squinted to get a better view.*

*A fire going on, a literal light at the end of her tunnel... Sora prayed the one who started it wouldn't mind a visitor.*

*And so, Sora pushed herself forwards, all the way to the top of the hill. It hurt like hell, but she didn't have much of a choice. She had been through worse in her life, too.*

*By the time she reached the peak near the Girafarig, Sora didn't even have the energy to face them. She was too focused on falling onto the grass, panting heavily as she did so.*

"Hi..." *The Sylveon spoke to the stars in between her attempts to stabilize her breathing.* "I'll be out of your hair in a moment if you want, just... Just give me a moment."
Michael
Obviously, the Sylveon's floppy arrival startled Cassie, and Pollux bit at the air in alarm. They had been so encapsulated by the roaring heavens that not even the death cries of a fox-cat-dog creature could coax suspicion- and that left the Girafarig looking at the woman in shock.

She took in how close the Sylveon was to her star-charts. The one she had been working on currently was only a quarter way through, still a mess of points and lines that could have resembled a leg, or an elbow, or the lip of a spiraled noodle. Cassie set down her feather, fiddled with the astrolabe to keep her spot and then gave Sora a good long look.

It did not take long for an indescribably goofy look to sludge to life on her face.

Pollux blinked.

"Touch her ribbons," He said, also taken by the odd scene.

"Uh! No, uh, hello! Are you okay?" A full foot taller than the Sylveon, Cassie had luck with just leaning over. "I'm not doing anything, do you need an ear?"

"Tell her to go away. Tell her she's pretty," Pollux said.

"Shush," Cassie said, thwacking her tail into the dirt. It didn't do much, truth be told.
Samuel
"An ear?" *Asked Sora as she slowly turned herself over to face the stranger.* "Thanks, but I don't think I could talk it off."
*After all, if it wasn't going to be the way, was an ear truly worth lending?*

*Sora was more focused on listening right now anyway, mainly on the possible go ahead from the stranger regarding being here. From her constant panting, she heard most of the Girafarig in front of her as well as a bit of that from the back. It was just enough to leave her feeling better about the situation, as well as questioning what the deal was of the other voice here.*

"You don't have to worry about me. Just been doing a lot of walking today..." *Sora described the day as if it weren't over yet. To tell the truth, she only saw it finished when she fell asleep, which she was hoping to do in a little bit.* "I'll be fine."

*And then, Sora noticed the telescope.*

*It was difficult for the Sylveon not to eye it, especially considering she was so close to it. Immediately, it piqued her interest and she knew she wanted to hear about what the stranger was doing with it.*

*Plus, she needed something to distract herself from her condition.*

"So... Whatcha doin' with that?" *The Sylveon asked as she slightly scurried about, her line of sight going from that of the Girafarig to the telescope beside her.*
Michael
"Okay," Cassie said, shuffling in place to chase a warmth there was plenty of. A particularly loud snap of the fire spat embers into the air, where they dwindled to nothing but gray smoke.

When her telescope was brought into question, she pulled it a bit closer, blinking as she inhaled a wondrous breath.

"I use it to watch the stars," She mused, raising it higher on her stand. "To explore the constellations, untouched by us pokémon. Oh, they're wondrous things, indecipherable and they're so distant- but we can *See* Them.

"Uh, that's my job, you know? I'm an uranographer, which means I can read the stars, right? Or something of that effect." She purred in that way horses did. "You can tell things, like the month, the day, the season, your location...

"Our current constellation is that of the Princely Riolu, who shares their optimism and bravery with the pokémon born during these months. They're the clearest, here-" She psychically pulled her map towards Sora, hardly giving the poor Sylveon a moment to respond. "I haven't finished mapping it from here, but do you see how they are sitting? Stretched, almost, comfortable up there alone.

"But they're never alone. Stars can't be. I think every soul is first a star, and that's why there are so many. They grow by talking to each other, by blinking and singing- and when they vanish, one night, they return as a pokémon given form. And I-"

She forgot that she was supposed to breathe. She did so with a wheeze, slumping over in the process.

"Idiot. Stupid," Pollux muttered.

"They're my hopes and dreams, those stars..." Cassie finished.