"You can howl at the moon, you know? I'm not stopping you." Nile's smirked tauntfully at Keaton, sitting beside him more tense than ever. Even in the shroud of night, and with only one eye, Niles could still make out the wolf fidgeting, hear him tapping the heel of his boot into the ground, gloved claws plucking up blades of grass and then sprinkling the dirt on their fingertips off all the while his stare remained fixated on the bright moon in the sky. No doubt the hair on the back his neck was standing high at attention as well. Niles gave a small snicker at Keaton's expense, tho not meant to be condescending. The archer saw no shame in doing what felt natural, even if it was something strange to another race such as a human. Afterall, Niles had already shown multiple practices and personal customs to Keaton from caring for his eye socket to bathing with water instead of dust. It was already known that the wolf had a habit of collecting garbage, which was seen as bizarre so why was this any different? Why be so hesitant to do what seemed normal for him?

Keaton on the other hand, wasn't so quick to just give in and bark away at the sky. To him, it felt like that was expected of him, that maybe Niles would even laugh and call it a typical action for someone like him to perform. WELL...he was right. Keaton had been itching to howl, to communicate back home and check in on everyone on the mountains, but that didn't mean he'd give in so easily to a human's expectation of him. He was too stubborn for that. Keaton leered his eyes at Niles for a moment before digging his heel in the dirt, halting his actions from earlier. Arms were folded over his chest. He even stiffened his tail and forced it to curl up behind him, and titled his ears down so as to not appear so excited. A disgruntled hmph puffed from his lips. "There's no need," he said spoke through gritted teeth. "I'm sure the tribe ain't missin' me so much. 'Sides, the moon ain't even full."

"Oh? Is that really so important?" Niles glanced up at the moon, and indeed Keaton was right. The moon wasn't full, but it was certainly close. "Tell me, what does it matter if the moon is full? Surely wolfskin nearby would still hear you, would they not?" He was baiting Keaton's responses a little, and he knew it. Still, that didn't mean there wasn't even the smallest trace of actual curiosity to his question. By all means, this was chance to learn more about Keaton, and about the wolf tribes in general, so long as the other was willing to speak up.

Keaton's control over his ears was immediately lost, and Niles had noticed when they spiked back up. He grumbled, and shifted his gaze away from Niles as his fingers dug into his arms, still crossed. The points of his claws slightly began to poke through the thick leather of his gloves. Niles was right (again). It didn't really matter all that much if the moon was full or not, but that's besides the point. "It's…" he was hesitating again, wanting to choose his words very carefully. "...it's because during the full moon the tribe is most active. More are likely to hear me if I wait another night or two. So there! Any more questions? Or did you just wanna see me- h-hey! Ya can't just- s-stop it!"

He had been cut in his little tangit by Niles's every so casual hand taking its usual spot at the roots of the wolf's ears. Nails were quick to make grip at the sweet spots and stir up any reaction, tail wagging and legs shaking. Keaton could feel his body growing soft immediately, his struggle quickly simmering down to just small shoves and swings at the archer's arm. Even with the success of shaking Niles off of him, Keaton still felt much less agitated than earlier, despite the annoyance now present. He huffed once again before letting his body relax, stretch his limbs, and fall back onto the grass behind them.

Niles...only smiled and followed suit, keeping his hands to himself. "Tell me, Keaton, do you know the stars well?" His tone was cheerful, almost innocent. Both hands were placed behind his head as he spoke, eye aimed up at the sky, already dotting along the lines the stars made.

"Ehh...not really. Never was good at that sorta stuff. Too many little dots ta memorize and none of 'em really do that much. All the tribe ever really needed was the moon ta communicate with each other and that was it." He yawned momentarily. "Where's this goin'? You ain't about ta teach me every little twinkle up there, are ya?"

"No, not every little star, that is." It would seem that Keaton was smarter than he came across...or he had spent enough time around Niles to better predict his intentions. Either way, Niles wasn't giving him enough credit, he felt. "You see...the stars do serve purpose if you know how to use them. See those over there, how the form a long line with two arms outstretched?" Niles was sure to move closer to Keaton so that as he pointed with his finger, outlining the stars, their perspective would better match.

"I...guess? Why?"

"That is called Cancer, and is depicted as a giant crab. Old legends of such say it once tried to aid in the defeat of a great hero, but was quickly squashed under their feet. If you follow the opening of the stars then you'll see a cluster of them close together. Do you see it?" he paused, guiding Keaton with his finger, slowly charting out the next constellation. "That is the head of a great beast known as the hydra: a snake monster that would grow 3 heads should even a single one be cut off."

Keaton listened and followed along, but hardly showed any interest. Fairytales and folklore was something he had never found all that fascinating compared to others during his days as a wolf cub. It was all made up stories to impress children, or as a way of keeping history alive, even if the more specific details had been lost to the ages past. "I get it but where ya goin' with this? How does a bunch of fairytales and made up pictures in the skies help us out?"

Niles didn't speak right away. Instead, he just moved his finger towards the center of the sky. "Do you see that one star right there? Bright and alone?"

Keaton nodded. "Yeah...kinda hard ta miss."

"You see Keaton, all the stars move in a large circle throughout time, but that star never shifts. It's at the center of the sky. So long as you can find that star and notice the pattern of how all the other stars move around it, in theory, one can use it to navigate their way through uncharted lands during nightfall."

"...wait- what?" Keaton pushed off the grass, sitting up straight again. His tail beat the ground behind him, sweeping up clumps of dirt, dust and tiny pebbles. Niles had captured his attention. "Ya...ya kiddin' right? Ya really expect me to believe that I could use the stars to find my way back home if I ever got lost again?"

Bingo. The bait had been taken, and now Niles had his attention. "Yes! It's quite easy once you understand how works. One star at the center never moves. Throughout the months, the rest of the stars move in a large circle around the center star. So if you're ever lost, you can just look up at the sky, note the position of the constellations in relation to the center star, and you'll immediately put yourself back on track!"

Keaton was silent for a moment, staring up at the center star in the sky, and then his eyes darted around at the everything, noting the more easy to recognize patterns he had been staring at ever since he was a child. Come to think of it, Niles was actually making a bit of sense. There had been plenty of times where he'd look up and see the same sets of three of four stars suddenly in different locations than he had been used to seeing them from his home mountain top. Maybe they really were moving throughout the year, just like Niles had said!

"Huh...I didn't know any a' that, really. Kinda neat." Tho his tone was calm, his express gave away how impressed he was. There was a smile on his face along with his ears perky as ever as he layed back down on the grass beside Niles. "Say, is there a wolf up there? There's gotta be! Come on, tell me!"

Niles only chuckled. "There is, but...it isn't of a pleasant legend you'd like to hear, I'm certain. The Lupus wolf was said to have been killed as a offering for the king of the centaurs, or so the legend says."

Keaton pouted immediately, but didn't press the question any further. Typical, a human's fairytale claiming a wolf was only good as a sacrifice.

The silence didn't last as Niles finally took the second opportunity to reach over and place his hand at the wolf's head. Only this time there was a much different reaction. He had grown used to this pattern, of Keaton trying to act like he hated this attention the first time, and then accepting in the second time around. It was rather cute, he thought, that Keaton still tried to hide his enjoyment in such simple treatments such as having his ears scratched.

"Keaton...I did not invite you out here with me for the sake of my own amusement, you know. I wanted you here because your company is always welcomed." The tone shifted slightly, despite Niles trying to keep the atmosphere light. He could sense Keaton feel little targeted, maybe even insecure, yet he continued speaking. "What I'm getting at is...I like you, and the way you are. I enjoy scratching your ears and watching you curl up like you are right now. I like the way you look at Felicia's shattered dinner plates and admire every crack and shard no matter how insignificant they could ever be now that they are but useless porcelain pieces. What others find to be garbage, you find it to be beauty." Was he actually talking about Felicia's accidents? The more he pondered on that in the back of his mind, the more Niles came to theorize that Keaton very well may apply the same treatment to damaged people as he does to damaged objects. Afterall, the wolf was spending most of his time with one that most wouldn't dare be alone with.

He paused for a moment to let the atmosphere loosen up. Though the wolf beside him wasn't saying anything he could feel the other's ears drop and his tail no longer thud against the dirt. Niles seemed to be getting through to him...or at least embarrassing him, which was more than satisfactory. "I've no qualm or shame is sharing my own embarrassments with you, even if you've found them a tad strange; whether it be star charts or...my lack of an eye. You've no reason to be ashamed of any way you act around me, either. Whether it be having your ears scratched or…" Niles paused once more, decided to word his last sentence very cautiously. "...messaging home."

There was a stillness surrounding them both therefore after. Had it not been for the sound of crickets and night frogs around them it would have felt as though the whole world had froze until Keaton finally let out a long, annoyed huff and shifted himself away from Niles's reach. "Humans like yourself really are...strange beings, ya know?" As he sat up, Keaton rolled his shoulders, feeling the joints pop lightly as he continued to stretch his limbs once more. "You're lucky we're friends. I'll tell ya that much, Niles. If it was anyone else at this point I probably would have bitten then, or much worse."

Niles just smiled and watched patiently. He knew what was about to happen, and it excited him. Still, it was a pity. The lack of any kind of lighting made it difficult to make out. He wished he'd be able to it this close in the daylight someday, because he could only imagine what others would give to able to see a wolfskin transform right in front of them and immediately not have to flee for their lives. Niles knew what a rare sight, what a privilege this was, and he would treasure every detail he could capture.

And then came the howling. It rang clean and clear, loud and beautiful like music to the archer. Each time Keaton's voice rang out it was in a different tone, once sounding softer and calm as if it were far away, another time loud and high pitched, and then once in between. No doubt the tone, order, and length of each howl indicated something different being spoken, Niles predicted. Within seconds just like that...it was over, yet Keaton didn't move from his perch. Niles's keen eye could make out his ears twitching, picking up words from the closest wolfskin which in reality could have been so far away that only Keaton himself could actually hear them howling back.

The whole experience was only a fleeting few moments, no longer than a minute or two, perhaps. Yet when all was finished, Keaton didn't immediately transform back. In fact, he just stared up at the moon for a moment, fixated on it once again like he had been a few minutes prior to Niles's star explanation. He turned his attention on Niles right then, aiming his big, bright, glowing red eyes at him. He crawled over to him, growling rough and low all while yet Niles didn't budge an inch. In fact, he just smirked at the giant wolf and remained laying down on his back, both hands behind his head as if to say no danger was expected, that any bluff Keaton might be pulling wasn't going to work.

Then suddenly- thud.

Niles coughed as he reached up around the wolf's shoulder, his friend's large carcass having decided to make nest over his own. Feeling in his legs were lost for a few seconds until he felt the rumble of Keaton's body shifting about to try and get in a more comfortable position. "Good boy," he choked up as he resumed petting and scratching as best he could at Keaton's ears. "Everyone okay back home?"

Keaton titled his head into Niles's touch and then nodded. "Yeah. everyone is fine. The cubs are becoming more adventurous and wandering outside the tribal grounds, but nothing they can't handle, they say."

"That's good to hear."

And then, for a few brief moments there was silence once more. Rather than total silence there was just a lack of spoken word. Crickets kept chirping, and night frogs kept croaking. Niles continued soothing Keaton, pleasing him with attention all the while Keaton continued humming, growling, and shifting his body to allow Niles to better reach certain areas. It was a peaceful night for them both, indeed. Before long, Niles had moved from Keaton's ears to under his jaw, to his shoulders, and the finally down along his sides, difficult to reach until Keaton finally surrendered what little pride he had left and suddenly rolled over onto his own back, picking up Niles in the process so that their positions were now switched.

Piercing eyes stared up at Niles, demanding, and thirsty. Anyone else seeing those eyes would have turned tail and run, would have been afraid, but not Niles. Instead he felt calm, intrigued, and flattered. It was like being granted access to a King's private treasure room, to sit on their throne despite not being the true king, or something similar, he felt. "You know...you are capable of doing this yourself," he teased as he straightened himself out across Keaton's large torso. The wolf's beast form was that of a giant, possibly twice Niles's normal height. "Why so eager for my help?" He smirked, already knowing the answer.

Keaton just breathed and panted at first. "You...do it best."

"Very well then. I suppose I can continue to aid you, so long as do the same. Do you plan on perhaps...remaining in this form when we go back to our tent tonight?"

"Do you plan on muttering and shouting in your sleep if I don't?"

Niles just smiled softly down at his wolf companion, and Keaton then nodded as he pulled his jaw apart, showing his fangs. This must have been the best possible way he could smile in this form, Niles figured.

"Very well then. It's a deal. Now...I hope you're ready!" Niles cracked his fingers as he readied himself and without any hesitation, both hands at the ready he started. The raced across the wolfskin's belly, scratching wildly.