|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 5:57 pm
 Night snuck into the Swamp, chasing the last rays of the sun as it settled in the west. As the creatures of the day settled in to sleep, those more nocturnal entities could be found awakening from their rest. Cicadas sung in the distance, ringing in the darkness. Slowly, the blinking lights of fireflies awoke; first one, and then many.
And where there were fireflies, there Heed the Glowing Call could be found. This particular swarm, one he followed without meaning to at all, was vast. It lit up the area they occupied, flying lazily here and there and bringing their dim glow with them. Heed smiled a little under the glow of the fireflies, content in his reverie. In this daze, he allowed his guard to falter. Normally, night fall was met with a well-honed apprehension; though he was rarely attacked, he liked to be aware of guests as they came to him. Being caught off guard just wasn't in his agenda.
But now, as Heed settled in with his fireflies, he couldn't help but allow his attention to wane, and soon he was sitting in a warm daze, watching the fireflies hover back and forth and thinking about absolutely nothing. It was a peaceful feeling; one without worries. One he quite enjoyed, to be honest.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 6:35 pm
 Sleep had evaded the doe as night descended. She normally was not one to kneel down in the darkness to submit to slumber; she preferred to be awake in the hours of shadows, whether it be only to watch or to explore. This night however found her normal interest waning and yet sleep would not come. Lull in Sunlight had stood up and headed into the night, then. If sleep wasn't coming to her then she wound have to find it. Or find something to hold her attention. She had trailed without forethought into the night -- almost unseeing as a newborn -- folded into her oft loved, intriguing shadows. She had passed by other creatures, both slumbering and waking nocturnal beasts, without even a flutter of curiosity stealing into her. The doe had about decided there was nothing this night to interest her, nothing at all and she would simply have to be bored into sleep's clutches. And then light had swept before her eyes. She had of course seen fireflies before but as she followed the lazy flier she found a great deal many than she had ever seen at one time. She almost smiled like a giddy filly at the entrancing glowing display -- until her eyes fell on the buck wrapped in the swarm's embrace. "How, lovely," she breathed. Though whether she referred to the buck or the fireflies, it was hard to say.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 6:49 pm
The sounds should have awoken him from his reverie, but they didn't. The sudden way that the fireflies had parted their circle, though, to make room for the newcoming kimeti, that made him jerk. He glanced over sharply, his gold eyes narrowing a fraction until they fixed themselves on the doe. Oh.
Well, then.
He rose from his mossy throne, turning to face the doe with a welcoming smile across his face. "They are." He agreed, definitely speaking of the fireflies. What else could she possibly mean? Him? Perhaps, but he preferred compliments like that to go to the bugs that he so cherished. "It's rare to find swarms this big at once, but that makes them all the more special. Join me, if you like." He invited, moving to sit again after his introduction. That was enough to warrant sitting, in his eyes. He acknowledged, even smiled...
He glanced up, watching the lazy circles as the bugs moved around, and smiled.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:22 pm
Normally, such interest so apparent on her face would have been exaggerated -- indeed if any true interest existed. In this case, there was nothing false about her. The light of the bugs entranced her quite thoroughly and she was much more like a filly than she ever had been growing up.
She found her gaze drift and settle onto the buck as the fireflies parted -- opened their circle and welcomed her as if in an embrace -- and she smiled back. In the back of her mind she could not help but exhale in relief when he agreed. A genuine comment of respect was not something she'd usually allow to pass her lips should it be scoffed at. She was too used to charming and flattering, lying without shame, to let her true thoughts out in the open. And here she was letting all be read on her face. She would have scoffed had she not found the fireflies so very beautiful.
Not wishing to ruin the moment she ignored her thoughts and focused instead on the glow and the buck. She listened without any sarcastic thought as he spoke. "I have never seen so many before," she admitted at length -- shortly before he explained the rarity of it. She almost giggled, almost said it was a rarity for her to be so true. But she didn't. He didn't need to know that.
She moved forward and dipped her head, not quite coquettishly, before kneeling down into the moss. She found the greenery soft and a comfort, "Thank you," she told him for the invitation. She tilted her head up to watch the uncoordinated dance. "How did you find them?" she asked, though she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:34 pm
Heed was not necessarily one who enjoyed the company of others at night. During the day, when his obsession did not hinder him from conversation, he hardly minded. But in the twilight, he rathered his focus be on the glowing pinpricks than another kimeti. This doe, however, seemed more fascinated with them than with him. For that, he could respect that. He even welcomed the company, tonight. Typically the only kimeti still enthralled with them were very young, or very old, and she was neither.
He inclined his head towards her, thinking of her question before he spoke. "Sometimes, it's as simple as walking into a clearing. They prefer open spaces." He smiled. "Others, it's like a game of chase. Still others find that they find me long before I find them. It depends on the night, and the wind that carries them." He spoke with ease, grinning a little at the less-than-straightforward answer. To be honest, even Heed wasn't sure how he kept stumbling into them. Only that he did, and for that he was grateful. He didn't often question the mysteries of life. He only accepted them, appreciated them, and moved on.
"I am called Heed the Glowing Call." He said, turning his head to look at her from his mossy seat. "Though you can call me Heed, if you like. What of you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 8:02 pm
The words pressed lightly against her ears as he spoke and she thought them over. She liked the idea of a mere clearing holding them tight -- wondered in a foolishly naive manner if they might settle along a kimeti's body and make it glow -- although the thought of chasing them had it's hook. Not that she would chase them now. She'd hate to do anything to the darlings. Perhaps on those nights, ones like this one, where she could not find rest she could have a quest to find these bugs in a swarm like this. Or maybe not. It wasn't her calling. But she would hope to find them again.
She let her head drop as he introduced himself. She found herself smiling, she was right then. It wasn't her calling but it was his. Or so his name led her to believe. "Lull in Sunlight," she replied. She seemed to pause for a moment in thought. She wasn't one to have repeat encounters and rarely offered a nickname, sometimes she didn't even offer her name at all. In this case, it seemed wrong not to and though it was hardly much more than shortening her name she decided to offer him something. "Lull. You may call me Lull if you wish it."
Her vision seemed to become fogged as she watched a particular flier land on the moss bed. She watched it crawl and creep and again thought of a kimeti draped in glowing embrace of them. It was that thought -- a childish dream of herself glowing so bright as she danced in a clearing -- that caused her to once more offer a question. "Do they land on you often?" She assumed they must occasionally. He, after all, almost seemed to be one of them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 7:44 pm
"Lull." He nodded politely, smiling a little. It was an appropriate name for the doe; her colors spoke well to her name. Heed watched her out of the corner of his eye, playing as though he were watching the fireflies. In truth, he was; but he was focusing on her, as well. It'd be rude not to, wouldn't it?
"Sometimes." He nodded, with a smile as he looked over. "If you're very still. Even a slight breath will make them fly away. You have to be as still as a tree for them to linger for longer than a second." He explained, watching them as a few drifted closer to the doe, before flitting away. "They're smart; they know to stay away from us. We're bigger, and more likely a threat. But if you're still enough, they don't anticipate an attack." He tilted his head.
"It's hard, though. Not something I try regularly." Staying that still took concentration that could be broken in an instant. For the rare ocassions that a firefly blessed him with its touch, he preferred it to be by happenstance, not on purpose.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 10:23 am
She noticed that he looked at her, her defenses may have been sprawling on the ground before her -- useless, but she could still feel when one watched her. It was no bother. She was rather good at cultivating attention given to her, especially if she wanted it. And if she didn't, there were ways to misdirect or rid it from her. This particular moment, however, saw her having no desire to either end. It was almost like she was oblivious -- even though she wasn't. (If she had ever been truly oblivious in her lifetime, she couldn't recall, but undoubtedly if she had then that one second of it had manifested in her son. He was nothing but oblivious.)
Well she could hold very still, she thought, except it'd open her up and make her vulnerable to do that for too long. And to be as still as a tree, she would have to do it for a very long time. Too long. She nodded in agreement, hard was likely an understatement. "I imagine not," she smiled. It certainly wasn't something she'd try regularly either -- or ever.
Still it was a nice thought -- a dancing doe cloaked in fireflies. A very nice thought that would have to stay in her head. All for the best. She liked seeming sweet, not daft and damaged.
"It's nice enough to watch them," she said aloud.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 7:21 pm
The oblivious manner that Lull directed towards Heed's inadvertent attention did little to quell the urge to watch her. Rather, it increased. If she wasn't glaring at him for staring, clearly she didn't mind, or didn't know. He was fine with either. The odd ocassions that found him with company meant he would ues it to watch them. Perhaps entertain them with stories, if they were young, but she was no foal.
He nodded in agreement when Lull noted the pleasantness of watching them. "I often wonder what it's like for them." He said idly, watching the fireflies drifting lazily. "Being so small, the world must seem quite large and foreboding for them. Or maybe they don't realize that they're small at all, and just think everything else is bigger. A matter of perspective, I suppose." He mused, his fur rippling slightly when the breeze sent a chill down his spine.
"I don't suppose you often stop to admire fireflies, but you seem comfortable in the dark." He said, looking over. "Is it safe to assume you prefer the cooler night to the warmer day?" He rarely met nocturnal kimeti like himself, and supposed it was all about choices. What appealed more to a kimeti; a warm bed, and a nice sleep, or the sated curiousity of hunting fireflies or foxbuns or whatever caught a kimeti's eye in the dead of night.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 10:19 am
The more he watched, the less she minded. It was hard to take fault with one who found her interesting to look at. Indeed she often cited it as a sign of good taste or sense. She inclined her head to examine a daring firefly as it drew near and if it gave him a better chance to watch her, all the better. It was a much better method than fluttering lashes and acting all innocent -- she'd do it of course but it surely would addle her mind some day. (Or perhaps she'd get fed up and addle someone else's mind with a few hooves to the head.)
She turned her attention back to the buck. She hadn't considered what they must feel like. She thought audibly, "The latter, I would say. They are not the tiniest creature and there is always something bigger." It was a simplistic way to look at it, she knew. And while power of strength, the simpleness of being bigger than one's opponent might be alluring to some, it never had been for her. The mind was a much better weapons in the long run and it was all about how one used their size. She wasn't sure she believed these tiny bugs had thoughts as complex as kimeti but they didn't need to -- after all they'd entranced her. She smiled at the revelation.
The smile relaxed off her face. Of course she seemed comfortable in the dark, she thought to herself. She wondered if there was more behind the question than in it. "The night brings out a certain beauty the sun cannot," she replied. She rather found things to enjoy both -- the sun was unparalleled in it's ability to make anything glow with warmth, night was almost another world entirely in comparison. She admitted that she probably seemed to have recede a little, a few walls rising like a sandbank to protect an island from unpredictable waters. It was only a tiny change, one that was hardly worth noticing.
"I imagine you have a preference for night. It would be hard to enjoy such a moment as this in the bright sunlight," she cast out. She hoped it would draw his attention away from anything he might have noticed in the chance he had noticed anything. If anything, she seemed more lost in thought.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:43 pm
He smiled a little, and nodded at her thoughts. Though they were simple, he found no fault in that. Simple things made life all the more vibrant. He watched wordless as the smile slid from her face, and mused that she was contemplating his inquiry. He sat, ever patient, until she spoke.
A smile broke across his face at her answer. If there was a right one, that was close to it. "I'm inclined to agree. In the brightness of the sun, these little bugs wouldn't shine so brilliantly." He said, his mind barely pausing in its observations of Lull as he spoke. "You're right." He grinned a little, looking up at the bugs for another moment before he spoke.
"When I was born, my brothers and sisters opened their eyes at the sun. But I didn't. My parents thought me blind, or too stupid to know how to open my eyes, and they mourned. But when night fell, and the harsh light had faded, I opened my eyes to the Moon." He said, shaking his head slightly and twitching his ears.
Though he had continued to speak, his eyes were watching her discreetly. He noted the faint shift, but cast it off as nothing more than thoughtfulness. Whatever this doe was; wherever she came from, it didn't matter. They were sharing the effervescent fireflies this night, and he wouldn't disrupt the company.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 4:46 pm
If he noticed anything, he made no comment and that made the p***k of panic ebb. She doubted this buck cared who she could be or even who she was, it seemed to matter only who she was now -- a companion enjoy the night and the fireflies. And that was fine by her, preferred really.
The thought of speaking, of a verbal agreement, was turned into a mere nod as he moved into talking about himself as a foal. She remembered her own birth or the moment the sac had burst and she had been delivered ungracefully to the ground. She'd been found and fawned over. She hadn't opened her eyes until dusk because she had liked how the does fawned and did everything she might have wanted. Even then she'd loved the shadows and all they hid.
"The moon is more forgiving, more beautiful," she supplied. "Or at least a beauty that doesn't ask a price in return for staring." Not that she thought the sun did it on purpose, only knew it was far easier to watch the moon's cool light than the sun's fiery light. She turned her eyes to a firefly that floated near -- a soft smile lining her mouth.
"I would like to think the fireflies, at least, would realize your smart choice in waiting for the night's master," she said, though she wasn't quite sure on the choice of words. Who was the say the night wasn't the moon's master? If either of them were. She didn't dwell on it, "I opened my eyes at dusk. The sun's rays were fleeing and made a nearby creek shine bright. And then the moon came and I liked that better." But she was still fond of shiny things, shiny bucks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 8:19 pm
He nodded in agreement, smirking a little. "She asks little; only appreciate her for what she is, and she opens your eyes to the beauty of the night." He muttered musingly, snorting a bit. "It's a blameless thing, but the sun is harsh."
He nodded again as she spoke of her birth, and smiled. "A good choice, then." He said, standing up and twisting his head towards the shadows of the trees. There, he knew, more fireflies waited. He returned his gaze to the doe and his hoard of insects, though. They could wait another night.
"Do you have a family?" He inquired, treading towards her in an effort to stretch his legs. "Children, I mean." He knew she had parents; everyone did. He was more interested in the progeny than the lineage, if there were progeny to be aware of. Children were something Heed found himself wary of. While he liked the idea of continuing his legacy, he was grateful that very few does seemed intent on finding a mate that would stay forever.
His wanderlust was great, and he would always feel the aching need for fireflies far before he felt the aching need for family.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 9:02 am
The doe gave a brief tilt of her head, considering if the moon had ever asked anything of her. She doubted it and thought she quite gave her appreciation freely to those that deserved it. There was as yet no reason not to appreciate the moon and though the sun was less deserving she was glad for it, too. Even if he spoke the truth because the sun was harsh.
"I always thought so, yes," she returned her lips pulling into a smile. She watched as he stood and wondered if the time was approaching where one of them should leave. She considered mirroring his movement and then decided against it. She did however follow his gaze into the shadows -- let her eyes stare into the darker parts of night even when she felt him return to looking at her.
A flick of her ears and she turned back to him. Family? she thought until he clarified. Oh. She nodded, "Yes -- only two." She wondered why he had brought that up, wondered what if anything he wanted to hear about them. There were too many possibilities to run through them all and he did not seem like the type to hide motives. A tidbit of information might extract a reaction to tell her something. "My daughter must be headstrong. She emerged and as soon as she could walk, she left. My son is bright," she offered. She meant brightly colored because she thought him daft most of the time but her neglect at clarifying had nothing to do with deceit. She simply found it tricky to explain the buck without throwing it all onto his name which described him perfectly. She wasn't sure she wanted to offer names at this point. Well names beside her own as she'd done that already.
She considered returning the question but she thought he might answer that on his own. First she wanted to know why he was asking about offspring.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:17 am
Heed nodded as she spoke of her children. Two was more than he had, and his curiousity was peaked as she spoke of the daughter who left, and the son who remained. He smirked a little at her description, nodding. "I've yet to have young of my own." He explained. "Hearing others speak of their children... Fulfills my curiousity. For the moment." He said, standing in front of her and smiling a little.
"I'm sorry if that seemed like an odd question." He added as an afterthought, tilting his head slightly. "It's only fair you ask something, if you wish." Even as he said it, his mind was running at full speed, wondering what, if anything, she might ask. And more importantly, how he would answer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
