A planet floated in space, surrounded by a galaxy they did not understand, yet every night they stared up into a darkening sky to observe twinkling lights. Over time, they named these lights. They traced them into patterns, gave them names, and in doing so they breathed new life into what had once been dormant.

  Ursa Major was the first. Orion came next in line. Others followed their footsteps. Each birthed a bright Luminary as their heirs. Dubhe and Merak were born to Ursa Major. Rigel belonged to Orion. Polaris, the star of navigation for those below, was the most important of the major stars. It would be Polaris who originally began to Grand Council. Each Major Constellation had a seat on this Council.

  Over time, the Constellations and their Luminaries grew lonely. There was little to do when their lives were seemingly infinite. The Grand Council convened one night over one thousand years ago. Each Constellation would turn one of their stars into a habitat that could sustain any type of life they chose to create. Most being grateful to the ones who gave them life decided to mold their creations after them.

  Canis Major was one of these Constellations. His creations would look like the humans who created them though they had the ears, tails, sharp teeth, and claws of the human's longest companion; dogs. Canids were agile, intelligent, loyal, and above all, resilient. They were fiercely loyal to a point of jealousy and obsession especially of ones they deemed as theirs. Most of all though, they were easily trained.

  Canids became laborers, soldiers, assassins, anything that the Hunter and his Luminary wanted them to be. Even so, the dogs of Canis Major were always seen as nothing more than 'savage animals'. This hardened some of their kind. If they were going to be treated like savages, then that is what they would be. They were the ones Orion and Rigel wanted as soldiers in their armies. Others fought against the stereotypes by creating art, showing grace to those who needed it, and being all over kind. All of that had been fine before the Cosmic Shift happened.

  It had been a year since Orion had taken power from Polaris. The change in power had shifted everything to a degree that event was given a name. Whereas Polaris kept the peace, Orion only sought to control all of the Constellations through whatever means necessary. This included forcing Canids into his armies to fight his futile fights for him. Recently, more and more of their kind had gone missing only to be seen again on the battlefield, either physically dead or mentally gone.

  "I'm getting sick of it." The voice was rough with age. Frustration dripped off of every word.

  "We are all sick of it but what are we supposed to do about it Cor?" A feminine voice retorted with a snapping of teeth. It belonged to a younger Canid. She didn't look much older than twenty-five human years.

  She leaned back in the creaky wooden chair she sat in. The room they met in was just below ground level. Its walls had yet to be sealed with clay. It smelled musty with a hint of damp earth. She wished they could have had their meetings somewhere in the open. Maybe she needed to wear her mask more. Her eyes locked on the man across from her. He was older than her by probably fifteen years. Unlike the dogs they were modeled after, Canids lived very, very long lives. It was a perk of being a Celestial.

  His copper colored ears laid back as he growled lowly. "I don't know Tala. Every attempt we've made to try to do something, anything, has resulted in a Culling."

  Both of them got quiet at the mention of a Culling. Neither looked at each other. The last Culling had been two weeks ago. Both of them had lost friends to Orion's forces. Their numbers were dwindling. Canis Major couldn't help them. At least not in a way that mattered. He was just as oppressed as his own people.

  Her hand ran through her strawberry blonde hair. Her ears twitched at the sensation. She closed her eyes as her head tilted back. When they eventually reopened, she was looking at the floor above them. There was a line of rot moving down one of the beams. It reminded her of a snake resting on a log, beautiful yet dangerous. One wrong move with either would cause a collapse. She would have to try to remember to take care of that soon.

  Before she could speak again, both Canids sat up straight. Their noses twitched. Even through the must and wet dirt, they could both smell as someone else entered the small cabin they were occupying. Cor moved his hand towards the simple dagger on his hip. Tala held her hand up to stop him. She inhaled deeper.

  "Hello Sirius." She spoke his name on her exhale.

  The Canid she called Sirius opened the old wooden gently. There was the slightest creak that made all of them flinch slightly. He had to duck to enter the dim light room. Every Luminary was larger than the Celestials. Where Tala stood at five foot six, Sirius was a good foot or more taller than she was. The first thing both of them saw was that his inky black hair had been cut short. It was almost to the scalp. Seeing that made Tala's lip pull up in a snarl. That meant he had seen either Orion or Rigel in the last few hours. What had he done to be made an example of?

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  "Which one was it?" Her tone was clipped. Sirius looked over at her. His icy blue eyes met her purple ones. They stared at one another for what felt like a lifetime. Their silent communication spoke volumes.

  Cor cleared his throat. Both of them looked over at him. His muscular arms were crossed over his broad chest. Sirius might have been the tallest but Cor was the widest ,built for fighting. He raised a thick eyebrow as he waited on one them to share. There were times he envied how close Tala and Sirius were. The Luminary had seen enough promise in Tala to make her Astral. Few Celestials earned that title.

  Another look passed between Sirius and Tala. It would be Sirius who finally spoke.

  "Rigel was at the Capital today. He wanted to speak to me privately. I said something he didn't enjoy hearing. I was lucky all he did was cut my hair." He didn't want them to know that Rigel had threatened to slice his ear off to truly send a message to the others if Sirius didn't agree to what he wanted.

  Tala's tail swished irritably. Her nostrils flared. Making deals with other Luminaries, especially Rigel, was never a good thing. They were never equivalent in what was asked of both parties. More often than not, the Canids got the short end of the stick. It was how they had ended up in this situation in the first place. Orion and his consorts were not to be trusted yet here Sirius was, repeating the same mistake that Canis Major had made.

  None of them spoke for more than a few minutes. The only sounds where their own heartbeats and their tails moving against the fabric of their pants . Tension radiated from all of them. Cor wanted to punch Sirius in his face. Tala felt similar but she also understood that the Luminary was just doing what he needed to try to keep them safe.

  "You have to understand I-" Sirius began speaking only to be cut off by Tala raising a dirt smudged hand towards him.

  "Luminary's do not apologize for decisions they make. We all know that. If you weren't making decisions that were bettering your people then you wouldn't exactly be a good Luminary would you?" There was still a hint of annoyance flitting in her words. It wasn't nearly as prevalent as before.

  Sirius looked between his pack mates. They had been his left and right hand for over a decade now. Most had thought him crazy to take a pup as his Astral. Hushed whispers of Sirius training Tala to take his place had also flowed through their people like a river. It gave some hope. Others were trying to figure out why he would do such a thing unless he planned to become the next Canis Major. That had made his deal with Rigel that much harder.

  Cor was getting irritated. Of the three of them, he was the quickest to anger. It made him a great solider and had kept him alive all these years. Sadly, it made him shitty at trying to wait out tense situations.

  "Just spit it out already!" He slammed a large hand on the table they say at.

  The noise made Tala's ears ring. They pinned back as she glared daggers at Cor. "That hurt you dumb ass mongrel." She snarled while standing up.

  He matched her movement without hesitation. Their growls filled the small room. Teeth were bared, claws at the ready, and the other was waiting for the other to make the first move. When Cor blinked, Tala lunged only to be snatched backwards by her collar.

  Sirius wrapped a thick arm around her lithe frame to hold her back. She struggled against him, claws digging into his flesh a little so he would drop her.

  "Heel! Both of you!" His voice boomed. Both of the others immediately tucked their tails. Tala whimpered which made him drop her. They both looked down as their heads bowed in an act of submission.

  "Apologies Luminary." They replied in unison.

  Sirius reached over. He tapped both of them on their shoulders. Both of the younger Canids stood up straight and looked up at him again.

  He sighed heavily before speaking. "Rigel has offered his protection in exchange for something."

  Tala and Cor looked at one another. What in the starry sky could Rigel want from them of all celestials?

  "What did he ask for Sirius."

  Both men registered that she did not ask. Demands were rarely made of Luminaries yet Tala had no qualms about it. Especially not now with what little information Sirius had given them.

  "He wants you." Sirius met her eyes that had been locked on him this entire time.

  A barking laughed escaped Tala. "Oh that is rich Sirius. You have jokes now it seems." She looked over at Cor while wiping tears from her eyes.

  Cor wasn't laughing with her. In fact, he was looking down. Tala returned her attention to Sirius. Her heart dropped.

  "No. No you can't make me do this. You can't. I won't do it." She took a step back as Sirius shook his head. Her ears pinned back. "Please Sirius…" She whined. The sound echoed in the small room.

  "In sorry Tala. You're going to save us all one day. He promised."

  Before she could reply, the outside door of the cabin opened. Rigel had come to collect his payment.