Little nature's light || fireflies

[Ravenwatcher.]

Alongside plant life, some of that were missing in Leaf-bare have made a return. Cricket songs, buzzing bees, fireflies... write about your character's interaction with these critters

So I walk alone down the darkest roads​

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Ravenwatcher had found herself standing outside of camp, unable to sleep for once which was nothing too new for her but...the sounds of chirping crickets were what was keeping her up, new leaf sure brought back...a lot of life, including the ones that decided to sing at night she supposed. Sighing a bit the young warrior's eyes drifted into the horizon before blinking at a little light that just faded away and then returned. Ears twitching with curiosity the she-cat attempted to follow it, but another light flickered from the corner of the she-cat's eyes.

Her head drifted towards that light as she once again attempted to follow the light, but the creature seemed to move out of the way, perhaps playing little tricks with the warrior which made her narrow her eyes a bit. Soon as the next flick of light appear Ravenwatcher was quick to pounce on it, catching the tiny bug that was connected to it. Opening her paws slightly she stared at the creature which light flickered faster now due to its unforeseen capture...this...it was a firefly, wasn't it? Tilting her head slightly she lifted her paws away and allowed the creature free, hearing pawsteps approach and looking over to whoever it was that also seemed to not been able to sleep, nodding her head in greetings to them. "Lively night, I think...those are fireflies..." she said coolly, eyes returning to the tiny bugs that flickered with light briefly and then disappear afterwords only to show where they were few seconds later...​

"speak""Thoughts"​

 

[Halfshade]

"You know..." Halfshade purred in amusement, watching the other wander off drawn by twinkling lights as though a moth to flame, "I heard stories once of lights in forests that were actually malevolent spirits guiding creatures to their doom. One ought to be more careful to not follow such things, hm?"
As a young kit the stories had come from her mother and spoke more of her wanderlust being dangerous, more to the world around them being filled with cats with cruel hearts and sharp claws but as a child she had not made that connection. She had seen the lights and avoided them, not knowing they were only an analogy for glinting eyes in the dark. Fireflies used to scare her, perhaps in a way they still made her uneasy but thankfully she now had fond memories of them as well alongside the former. Walking quietly in darkly lit forests alongside a gray coat, leaning into dark striped fur and for once not feeling as isolated as ShadowClan often left her to be.
The torbie wandered forward, not wanting to go too far from the camp given her current disposition and heavy stomach, but she had seen the sparkling lights herself and thought to sit in some peace for a moment.
​

 

[loampelt]

In his short life, Loampaw has yet to see every bug that crawled or fluttered or buzzed. The changing of the season brought countless new things. These lights — a low green glow, patterned only to the observant, are undoubtedly new. It's a periodic glow-fade-glow that has Loampaw's ears perked with interest. Not enough to pursue one on his own; he lets Ravenwatcher squish one, and then leans over her hard work to inspect the smear on her paw.

Halfshade has her own story about them, something that Loampaw considers for only long enough to dismiss. It could hardly be a spirit when it was here and physical, reduced to an ugly stain. There isn't any mystique to that, just a red-headed beetle with a strange butt.

"Follow where?" Comes Loampaw's doubtful voice, "T-tuh-tall grass? A buh-bush? That seems t-tuh-to be wheh-where they live." Loampaw angles his ears outwards, towards the expanse of marsh that stands before camp, towards the various other fireflies that dot the landscape. ​

tags ∘ shadowclan apprentice ∘ solid black with hazel eyes ∘ curled front foot ∘ 11 moons​

​

 

[GECKOSCREECH]

"honestly i wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be true considering our type of luck." from the nearby underbrush emerges geckoscreech who also seems be plagued with restlesness, she was going to just take a short walk around the territory until she felt drowsy enough to try sleeping again but the sound of halfshade's voice had brought her over here instead. limber limbs would carry the warrior to an empty spot closeby and soon enough she'd find herself settling down onto her stomach, one paw crossing neatly over the other. "there's quite a pawful out here tonight now that i'm looking." it's spoken with a quiet hum, eyes jumping from one flickering light to another as she watches the fireflies twirl around eachother in a hypnotic dance. ​

∘₊✧ ONE LAST LIFELINE, I'M HANGING HIGH. ✧₊∘​

 

[EERIENIGHT]

Bright in the night and glimmering like the stars above, one who'd never seen StarClan with their own eyes might think the fireflies dancing around them are fallen cats visiting their former home. Eeriepaw briefly wonders if this is the case, though Ravenwatcher is quick to pounce on the glowing specks in the air, quick to conclude they're fireflies and not their star-pelted ancestors.

And he considers Halfshade's tale, that such lights were spirits, like Eeriepaw had first thought, but spirits of evil, rather than the StarClanners he'd assumed. Disguised like StarClanners, perhaps. Would that make sense, for something so pretty to be so evil? The tom isn't sure.

Dark eyes watch as the spirits dance around their audience, thin tail wrapped around his abyss-furred paws. A spirit seems to stray from the dance, towards Eeriepaw instead. The boy blinks at its glow, watching it for a moment longer, before jaws aim to snap at the firefly, hoping to trap it within his teeth.
​

 

[SHARPSHADOW]

† Fireflies stagnate in the damp air. Sharppaw wonders what it's like to be one of them. Wonders what they think about. You would hardly ever find one of them on their lonesome. They drifted in groups – array of blinking lights. Off and on... they buzzied and prettied themself as they pleased, drifting between the paws of ShadowClan. A group like them, maybe. Only, Sharppaw figures, they must be the worse of the two. Did the fireflies simply exist as ShadowClan did? At least they could make their own light.

Sharppaw struggles to recall a time when the marsh was so alive. Recent memory brings back images of the cold and colder; frost - stutted nettles and ponds given an icy finish. He's seen greenleaf, he knows. BUt he could hardly remember anymore. Were the fireflies able to remember so far back?

From how fragile insects were, he doubts it.

An ear is offered to Halfshade, her story dragging Sharppaw's lips down into a light frown. Could something so small be so sinister? Was it another fox, another monster, another rogue looking to drag ShadowClan with it, flying around in the skin of the stars? Maybe. What was one more? Geckoscreech utters his very thoughts, but Sharppaw says nothing, eyes half - lidded and downcast. He turns his paw in front of him, and monstrous little light dances around him. He can hear the snapping of jaws, and barely lifts his face in time to see Eeriepaw's stilted form shift that hair out of place. The rest of them still dance, despite the peril their kin was in. " ... Doom isn't a place, I don't think. "​