Sirius and Van

<sub>Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared beneath the stars above,
For a moment all the world was right,
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye?

And now I'm glad I didn't know
the way it all would end,
the way it all would go.
Our lives are better left to chance.
I could have missed the pain,
But I'd have had to miss the dance.

- "The Dance," Garth Brooks</sub>

Perhaps it was mutual fascination, perhaps it was two lonely souls seeking solace. The summer night echoed with laughter from all corners as the Longdance reached its zenith, but for the gaily painted stallion and the smoky blue mare they were a distant hum and a sweet memory.

Van found Sirius intriguing, caring and genuine but with a fierceness of spirit he could find in no Plainsborn mare. He knew her, he was sure he knew her, but could not place her. She carried her secrets close. Watching him, wolflike with those pale, rosy-gold eyes... she was frankly unnerving. But when she closed them, Van realized that she was not only interesting... she was truly a lovely mare, for all her scars.

Van would miss her with an unexpected pain, come the morning. It was a feeling of regret as he had never possessed for another. But like that mysterious mare named for the stars, he held grief a silent companion.

Sirius belongs to *Losmios, and Van belongs to me.