She settled into the dark of the room with barely a whisper of sound, smiling to see him asleep on the bed by the corner. Moonlight shone in from the window, casting a soft glow that rested on the sparse furnishings and bare walls. When she sat by his side, he did not stir, save to nestle his head deeper into the pillow. He had grown lean and slim since last she'd seen him...the man now so different from the soft little boy she once remembered. She lovingly caressed the back of his head before sliding her fingertips down the long braid of his hair. It was tightly-woven and very neat, and she was pleased to see the care he had taken in keeping it so.

She leaned in close, then, gazing longingly at him. She could almost see his dreams taking shape, the shade of a smile on his lips a reassurance they were happy ones.

"You have always been my stars and moon, young one." Her voice was no more than a whisper, yet it filled every corner through little eddies of wind. "So bright and mysterious by night, yet so far away." She could not keep the creep of a sombre tone from her words, a sorrow she felt deep within her heart. "I have always tried to keep you near, but you are taking your own path now." Her palm cupped the back of his head, and she ran her thumb gently over the curve of his ear. "Soon, very soon, you shall fly. Many will stand in awe as you do, and many more in fear." She leaned ever closer, her lips a bare inch from his ear, her eyes following the quick flutters of his lids as he slept. "When you do, you must climb ever higher. Everything shall seek to hold you down, grasping like the hands of those who wish to chain you to the earth. Free yourself, and seek to break through to new, unimagined heights." Her throat trembled now, and she reached to grasp at it, as if to still the doubts and fears to which it gave an opening.

"For when you fly higher than the highest clouds, you will finally reach a realm of unlimited possibilities. There will be none to hold you back, and all the stars in the sky will be yours, their light shining on you." The hand at her throat moved away, closing tightly as if to hold in what she feared would be lost. Her lips brushed at his brow, and with the kiss, a soft tear spilled onto his skin. "And when you do reach that realm, my son, perhaps we shall dance in the sky, as I have always dreamed."

He woke, then, stirring to touch at the wetness which flowed down his cheek, but she was already gone; a rustle of wings and a shadow joining the night sky.