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 Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 1:55 pm
She was lying on her back, leaning against the roots of the tree that she had come to favour more than any other in the lands. It was a comfy sort of tree, with knooks and crannys to play around and comfortable places to lie back and enjoy the world.
What a dreamer, this girl was!
Now, with the sun going down, she was coming into herself. She seemed more awake and her eyes had lost that sleepy sheen from earlier. She wasn't being active yet, though. She was saving her energy for when her friend Mimi arrived.
So, she lay on her back and watched the first stars appearing in the darkening sky. The tree rustled in the evening breeze and ruffled the tuft of hair between her ears.
"I wonder what it's like..." She whispered. "Living up there in the star city."
Mimi was still as cheerful as he had been early in the morning. He rose early and stayed out rather late but it never seemed to affect him. Which to him was a very interesting and curious thing. Didn't really make sense at all. Of course, but then nothing the boy did really made much sense at all. He was a very spuratic type of character. It matched him and his pelt very well. At least he thought so.
"Bet it's nice and bright up there! Bet they play aaaaaaaaall night and they sleep aaaaaaaaaall day."
Mimi chirped up as he came up to the tree where he had first met his very bestest best friend. They had only known each other for a day and already he deemed her his best and closest friend, outside of family of course.
And best friends they would be, that was for sure. They seemed quite content to play these little games, to such an extent that maybe they'd not be games for long. What would it be like, to live in a world where imagination and reality merged and became one? Beautiful? Scary? Madness? Only time would tell.
"Mimi!" Izo squeaked, leaping to her paws in an instant, full of life. "There you are! I thought maybe you'd gone to sleep and I'd have to send the fireflies out to find you!"
She blinked and her fiery eyes seemed strikingly vivid in comparison to the otherwise cold colours of her pelt. "Are you ready to meet them, soon-to-be-King of the Fireflies?" She grinned - a flash of white teeth in her jaws.
Even now he didn't feel like it was a game, though the time had been short, he felt as though it had been a century since they had met. And the idea of a kingdom of fireflies was just to tempting to the male. Especially if Izo was by his side. Much better than being alone that was for sure. "I promised I'd be here, awake too!" He chirped happily practically beaming. He was happy to see her and was thrilled that she too was happy to see him. It felt nice having an outsider, family-wise, that was happy to see you.
Sticking his tongue out at her he grinned goofily. "Now I promised I'd be, besides with so much excitement it's hard to sleep anyway!" Not that he tried. He had always had trouble sleeping even if it wasn't obvious to anyone but him. "Yes, yes! Let's go!" He was simply too excited for many words.
She gave a small 'prrr-um' of happiness and nodded sharply, eager to be off, eager to begin this adventure to start all adventures! "I knew I could count on you!" And, with a shrill cry, she bounced towards him - almost as if she were going to pounce him - but she fell short and the moment her paws touched the ground she was bouncing backwards.
Then she was turning and running as fast as her little legs could take her. She was still a cub, still so young and the place she wanted to take her friend seemed far away, to legs short and unpracticed. Even still, she was moving surprisingly fast and her peals of laughter filled the air as she bounded along.
"This way, Mimi!" And a second later she had dived head first into some thick vegetation. Once, it would have been difficult to get through the foliage but since she'd started coming this way, her body had formed a little pathway through it. Now, the cub-sized tunnel was leading them towards the spring where the fireflies dwelled.
Excitement bubbled through her, and before she realised she caught her paws in a vine and toppled head over heels, tumbling out onto the soft, mossy bank of the spring.
A hundred firefles clouded the air, like tiny golden lanterns.
"Always!" He chimed happily watching as she ran for a minute in wonder. She was quite the runner for how small she was. Of course he was no exception to this. After a minute of standing in awe he raced after her laughter spilling from his lips as he pushed himself to catch up with her. To reach her side quickly. Still he remained a few paces behind her not really running as fast as he could if only because he wanted to watch her. She had said he shined brightly like a firefly but he believed that it was her and not him that did.
Or mayed they both simply did.
He blinked when she disappeared into vegitation pausing before it for a minute before also plunging into it. "Izo?" He called tentively having lost the light from the moon. When he saw her again he smiled and dashed over to her side no longer willing to be left behind.
Of course when he saw the fireflies his breath caught in his throat. "Wow...." He mumbled.
She shook her head, dazed, and lifted her eyes to glance at the shining male. She couldn't help but think it when she looked at him. He was a firefly in lion form. He glowed as brilliantly as they did and his cheerful outlook on everything reminded her of how the little bigs danced the night away - unaware of troubles or sadness.
She pulled herself to sit beside him and let her tail wave slowly from side to side in the air - almost as if in time to silent music.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" And her voice had gained a slightly different tone. A revered, respectful hush that gave he impression of great importance. "These are the fireflies. See how they fly over the water? They like this place better than any other. I'm not sure why. It's a guarded secret of their's, but maybe they'll tell us someday."
She gave him a nudge on the shoulder with her nose. "Let's see if they like you." And raising her voice slightly, she stood and took a step towards them.
"Fireflies, friends. I've come again to see you and I've brought a friend. Do you see the way he shines? Just like you do! I am your Queen. But, is he your King?"
The fireflies did not flinch, did not give the impression that they had heard at all, but whether they had understood or just mere coincidence, some of the fireflies came to settle upon them both.
They settled shoulders, on backs, on heads and briefly; on noses. Izo could barely contain her excitement. She shifted her eyes to look at Mimi to see his reaction, a smile on her face.
He had remained silent, his golden eyes simply watching the glowing bugs in all their glory. The way the danced in the sky, moving without direction or purpose making it the perfect dance. It appeared as though they had not a care in the world which made them that much more beautiful to him. Never once had he seen anything or anyone that just lived freely, there was always something to be worried about. Well except for him but that was because he lived in the moment, never wondering about what he could have done different or what the future held for him.
Maybe he was a firefly.
Now that would be AWESOME!
When they came to settle upon him he swallowed as though he was nervous before his big, bright smile spread across his maw. He too looked at his companion thrilled that he could share this with her. "They like me Izo. They like me!" He was so, so happy! "They've accepted me!" Without thinking he moved to her and lightly nuzzled her neck.
She laughed. A clear, true sound that could lighten the hearts of any saddened creature. Then, with a snort, she used her nose to ruffle the tuft of hair between his ears as he leaned towards her. "They do! I knew it! See? It's because you glow, just like they do. They feel comfortable enough to use you to rest their wings!"
She bounced with joy and the fireflies perched on her took to the air again, filling the sky with the delightful thrum of buzzing wings.
"King Mimi!" She declared loudly. "Come on, let's go play!" And, reaching out to tug on his ear she leapt forwards into the shallows of the spring, splashing water up around her.
The fireflies dipped and dived to avoid getting wet.
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 9:00 am
Pulling away from her he once again found himself standing, staring at her in awe. The glow of the fireflies just illuminated her features and made her seem more alive than ever. It was nice. No it was simply...beautiful. When she called his name he was pulled from his trance and nodded.
"As you wish Queen Izo!"
He replied dipping his head to her, as he assumed a king would do to his queen, and sprang after her. His paws hit the water and he laughed as the water came to splash him in the face. Then, once he had all four paws in the water, he swirled in a circle tossing his head back smiling. His eyes watched the fireflies as they dipped and dived around them. Dancing along with them.
She felt at peace here. She felt that this was what she lived for. She was the carer, the protector of these beautiful, delicate creatures. And now, to be able to share that with someone, it was a wonderful thought. She glanced at him, her face dripping with water, and smiled.
The glow of the fireflies was a beautiful thing, a thing that should be shared with special friends. Mimi was special and so it was only right he join her in this.
With a squeal of delight, she pounced at him, intent on bowling them both into the water.
Mimi had been taken off guard and Izo's pounce got her the result she had wanted. He crashed into the water laughing as he went down. He didn't care that he was completely soaked, if anything he loved it, if only because he was sharing a special moment with a very special friend. When his laughter died down he stared at her also wet form, his smile as big and bright as ever.
"Thank you. Thank you for chosing me!"
He told her seriously, while still cheerfully. He knew that now this would be their special place and no one. Not a single person. Could ever take it from them.
It worked! The water greeted them and her laughter was muffled by the splashes that came to wet her face. Then, when she had regained her breath she took a step back and tilted her head to get a better look of him.
"I chose to bring you here." She replied with a smile. "But the fireflies chose to let you stay. They see your inner light, you see. We all glow like they do, but their light shines on the outside for all to see their brilliant natures. We have to work harder to make our light known. But you..." She whispered. "You have light on your fur, not the same as their's but a light all the same." She continued. "You are a good cub, Miminiwa."
A firefly came to land on her whisker and she smiled gently. "This one agrees with me." She replied with a grin. "King Mimi!" And she bounded towards him again, slipping to one side and scrambling back up onto the mossy bank.
"Maybe if we work together we can unravel more of their secrets."
"I thank them as well. Where would a King, or Queen, be without their subjects?" He asked rolling to his stomach and pushing himself up as she stepped away. At her words he looked at himself, it was true. He was bright, even at night thanks to the moonlight, and always looked as such. Maybe that's what brought the fireflies to him. Perhaps they thought that he was one of them. Although he supposed at this point he was. "You glow too Izo. Perhaps even brighter than I do." He told her glancing down sheepishly.
"Queen Izo!" He chimed also scrambling up the mossy bank. "I'd like that, I'd like that a lot."
She smiled, blushing beneath her fur. "I'm going to try my best to shine as brightly as they do." She turned to face him, hearing him moving up the bank towards her. "Then it's agreed. We're going to try our best to do all we can for them."
She reached out and touched her muzzle to his neck.
"It's going to be much more fun with you around." She shook the water droplets from her fur and began heading back to the tunnel through the vegitation.
"I better start heading back." She replied. "Need to go have a bath now." She grinned. It wasn't exactly the time to start demanding that her parents wash her, but she didn't seem to realise that others might be wanting to sleep right now.
"You're already there." He stated blushing a little when he realized what he had just said. Never before had he been so thankful for his mostly pink fur. It hid embarrassment like that rather well. "Yes! One day we'll know everything there is to know about fireflies. That way we can better ourselves for them." He declared with a nod as he pressed his nose to her neck. Pulling away he nodded.
"Definitely!"
When she stated that she should head back he frowned the slightest bit but still followed her. It still felt too early to return home but he knew that he too needed to return to his family. He needed to get some sleep at some point during the night. "Yes, yes...I should go...sleep I think." He mumbled his brow furrowing a bit. He should sleep, but would he? Perhaps.
Probably not though.
She nodded, inwardly purring at his compliments. It made her feel warm and cosy inside. She liked it. "Yes, go and sleep. Sleep is good." And though she preferred to sleep during the day so she could spend all her time with the fireflies, she knew that it wasn't always possible.
Her eyes were telling her that she needed a nap, too.
She made her way through the tunnel and came back out into the lands of the pride, pausing to glance at him again. "You'll come and see me again soon, yes? You know where to find me!" And with a wink, she turned and bounded off into the darkness.
"Sleep is good." He agreed as the exited the tunnel. He nodded at her. "Of course I will!" He chirped as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, and it very well could have been. "Good-bye Izo!" He called to her fading form before turning away and bounding off in the other direction. He was practically bouncing with excitement as well as feeling the tugs of exhaustion. He wanted to tell his family about his adventure but wouldn't.
No, that would take away the specialness.
Instead, when they woke, he would tell them that he had made a new friend and that would be that. Yeah that sounded good right after a nice nap.
/fin
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