"Dawn! Look at how high I can bounce!"
"Wow! You almost touched the ceiling!"
Orion jumped again, but rather than trailing his fingers along the ceiling, as he'd done before, his foot slipped on the corner of the bed and he tumbled to the floor, prompting another fit of giggles from him and his little sister. However, their mirth was quickly silenced when they heard the soft click-clack of their uncle's talons coming up the stairs.
The door creaked open, and Uncle's face appeared. He frowned at the sight of Orion on the floor, tangled in his blankets, and Dawn beside him, clutching her favorite stuffed manticore doll.
Uncle raised an eyebrow. "Didn't I put you kids to bed half an hour ago?"
"But Uncle, we're too excited to sleep!" cried Orion from beneath the blanket, as Dawn stifled another giggle.
"Sure enough, the one night your mama calls me to babysit is on Resurrections Eve." Uncle sighed, but there was a smile on his face. "You kids pumped for the festival tomorrow?"
"Yeah!'
"Yay!"
"Good, good. But you guys gotta get your sleep, so you're not bone tired before the party even starts!" He scooped up Orion in his arms and Dawn in his tail, and tucked them both back into bed. "And if you tykes aren't in dreamland by the time your mama and daddy get home, all three of us are going to be in trouble."
Using his tail to pull up a chair and cracking open a beer he'd brought upstairs with him, Uncle asked, "So, what'll it be, kiddos? Lullaby? Your Auntie Shy taught me a couple good ones."
"Uncle!" Orion crossed his arms, indignant. "Lullabies are for babies!"
"Yeah, babies!" His little sister mimicked the motion with her hooves. "Tell us a story!"
Their uncle took a sip of his beer and blew a puff of smoke. "Well, what kind of story do you want, then?"
Orion wanted, "Adventure and action!"
So, of course, Dawn wanted, "Romance and mystery!"
"Hmm..." Uncle rubbed his chin for a moment. Then, his eyes suddenly lit up like fireworks. "I know the perfect one! How about I tell you kids the story of the very first Resurrection Day?"
"The very first Resurrection Day?" The siblings said together.
"Yup, the very first Resurrection Day." Uncle grinned devilishly before promising, "It'll be just like you were there, yourselves."
He took a deep breath and blew smoke about the room. However, unlike his normal smoke, this stuff was purple and smelled funny. Orion and Dawn felt their minds opening up, like lotus blossoms in the moonlight.
What Uncle said was true. It was as if they were there, themselves.
"It began many years ago, not long before Orion was born, on a warm summer night, just like tonight..."