"Why do you think stars twinkle?" Sid asked, his voice a soft echo in the den.
Diego growled quietly once more, putting a large paw over his face in annoyance. "Sid, it's late. I'm trying to sleep," he replied in a mixed tone of exasperation and affection. This was probably the fifth time he's reminded this to the restless sloth. "Oh, right. I'm sorry," Sid murmured, his gaze shifting from the glittering sky outside the den entrance to the slumbering saber beside him. He nuzzled closer, his fur warm and comforting. "But don't you ever wonder? Like, why can't we just reach out and touch them?" The sloth went on, extending an arm up into the air.
Diego sighed, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He couldn't stay irritated with him for long. The sloth's boundless enthusiasm was infectious. "Because they're far away, Sid. Really, really far." Diego muttered tiredly. He turned his head, trying to hide the smile that's beginning to grow a little wider, "Now can we please go to sleep?" Ignoring Diego's question, Sid's curiosity grew. "But what if we could fly, Diego? Imagine flying up there to get closer to those sparkly dots. Wouldn't that be amazing?" Diego groaned softly and rolled onto his side to face the sloth, propping himself up on an arm. "You're not going to let this go, are you?" His eyes searched Sid's in the dim moonlight, amusement slightly visible on his face.
Sid's eyes are wide with excitement. "Could you imagine? We'd be like those flying squirrels we saw once!" He paused, then whispered conspiratorially, "Maybe there's a way, Diego. Maybe if we…" Diego tried to hold back a chuckle, but failed only slightly. The saber sighed and cut him off before he could finish, "We're not squirrels, Sid. And we can't just decide to sprout wings." He laid back down, his eyes closing once again, but not turning away from the sloth's gaze. But Sid was undeterred. "I know that, but maybe we could still find a way to get closer. Like, what if we climbed a really, really tall tree?"
Diego's eyes snapped open again, irritation beginning to return into his tone of voice. "Sid, we're not climbing trees in the middle of the night. And we're definitely not doing it to chase stars." He stared straight into Sid's eyes, putting on a menacing expression in hopes of getting him to listen. Sid shrank back a little at the look, but still wasn't completely convinced to stop, when normally, that intimidating face of his would always get him to shut up. Sid looked at Diego with a pout, his eyes shimmering with the reflection of the moon and stars outside their shared den. "Why not?" Diego's expression softened a little. He knew Sid's inability to sleep was due to his overactive imagination. It wasn't the first time he's dealt with night's like this with the sloth's restlessness and curiosity.
"Because it's not safe, Sid. And because we need to get some rest right now." Diego said in a soothing voice, smiling softly at him. Sid sighed, his enthusiasm beginning to deflate and letting out a yawn. The sound relieved Diego as he took it as a sign of him finally settling down for the night and knew it would never take long for the sloth to fall asleep considering his lazy personality. "Okay, Diego. I'll try to be quiet," Sid replied, his voice lowering in volume and his eyes quickly growing heavy. For a few moments, the only sounds were the distant calls of nocturnal creatures and the crackling of the small fire that had burned down to embers. Diego's breathing grew deeper, hinting that he was finally drifting off to sleep. The quiet was soothing, and the warmth of Diego's body next to him was comforting.
As Sid's eyes grew heavier by the second, his mind continued to race with thoughts of the stars in the sky, and what it would be like if they could chase after them. But as he became more and more fatigued, he couldn't find the energy to speak the questions out loud anymore, but he figured he should just let his tiger sleep for once after remembering hearing him ask multiple times for him to shut his mouth. Suddenly, a small but cold breeze of wind blew into the den, sending a shiver down Sid's spine. He instinctively cuddled closer to Diego's side, seeking warmth. The saber, half-asleep, wrapped an arm around Sid's small frame, holding him just a little closer without even opening his eyes. A quiet purr rumbled deeply through Diego's chest as a small smile appeared on his muzzle once more before it faded again, drifting deeper into sleep.
"Thanks," Sid murmured, his voice barely audible as he drifted to sleep with him. Diego's hold tightened around him in response and his breathing remained steady. Sid felt the warmth of Diego's body heat seep into him, chasing away the cold. His mind slowed down, the stars outside becoming less of an obsession. The tension in his body began to ease as he allowed sleep to claim him. Diego could feel Sid's chest rising and falling in time with his own, and despite his earlier annoyance, he found the sloth's proximity comforting.