Stránnik, the old space wolf, looks around slowly and wistfully as the lights of the station begin to flicker. His face appears stoic and grim, but his emotions race. So many adventures, so many friends come and gone. This was the first place he felt at home and at peace.
An alarm sounds, and the fusion core goes offline. For a moment he feels weightlessness, untill the backup generators whine to life. A day -- at most -- is all that's left before they too go silent forever.
Many of the stations' occupants are already gone, streaks of light across the blackness as the head out to new homes among the stars. He is one of the last, deciding to reminisce better days. He walks the quiet halls and the empty bays. Here and there another calls out a greeting, and he raises a paw in return. But with each passing hour there are fewer.
He finds an abandoned control station, and spends awhile scrolling through the last messages in the mainframe. Smiling at familiar names and wondering where they may meet again. They will not be forgotten.
After a few moments of reflection, he keys the station intercom:
"Farewell, friends. I carry your memory with me on the journey ahead. Treasure your time and remember always that it is precious and short. Laugh often, forgive easily, and don't be afraid to love. It is the strongest force in the universe. Be well, until we meet again."
(Thought I'd make something special for my dad too)
Despite his old age, his strength never fails him, he's still the strong and agile warrior he's always been, but with a gentle and heartwarming smile of a father.
His eyes always have a distant, longing look whenever lost in thoughts, reflecting on all that he's been through, but also to remind him that it's not the time to think of another world on the other side. Yet.
Those eyes have witnessed as much as his paws and claws have taken him, his units, and the station throughout the universe, through all the journeys that he'd had the honor of being a part of.
But even with his current age, there is still a tiny spark of flame within him.
A spark of hope that this would not be the final farewell to the friends that he'd made along the way.
If there's anyone that would still stay until the very end, it'd be the old wolf, no doubt about it.
But he's not here to compromise. He knows, everyone knows, that this station will not last much longer. One day top, then the light will be out for good. Despite so many valiant attempts at keeping it up and holding it together, the unfortunate fate is still upon them all.
This wouldn't be denial. He's come to terms with it. Accepted it. Accepted that this is it. One can tell that the wolf means it when looking in his eyes.
But this doesn't mean surrender. Never. Far from it. He is simply waiting until the last moment, until the time is right for him to finally take off to the stars beyond once more, with the very few still remaining here with him until now.
... Perhaps... for one more grand journey ?
When the old wolf finishes his message, there are someone at the door.
The blacksmith named
Jin.
Standing near him, are his children.
Galaxy,
Francesca (
@Fcomega121 ),
Sapphael (
@Sappho_Cortez ) and
Dantomus.
"I believe these are yours, father."
The blacksmith elephant holds before the wolf a blue sword and shield, both of matching design.
The look in the elephant's eyes say it all.
This may be the end of this place that they call home, but the journeys are far from over.
With the end of this place, comes a journey for a new home, maybe even a new promise land.
The elephant waits for his father to take the gear, but the wolf could also see that his family are already armed themselves, too, with their own equipment.
All that's left, is the wolf's signal.
"This may be the end of this chapter, grandfather..." the phoenix wolf won't deny that she's still mourning for this place, but she is also happy that she's been able to be there with them through the trying times.
"... But the stars are calling for our names." the nebula wolf's star dusts and nebula clouds coming off her fur coat, while faint, have an emerald-green color. Her favorite color. She hands him a tag name with the icon of a wolf on it, and the name reads
Stránnik of the Event Horizon written in a blue color.
"Because in the end, it's the friends that we've made along the way, the journeys we've had together and the memories we've shared together." the red-fur wolf gives a playful, toothy smile.
"And we'll always find our flame. We are the flame. We are undefeatable." the buffalo holds up his clenched fist, always as unbreakable as he's been when he first joined this expedition with the others.
