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In the warm summer nights, little glowing lights begin to bob and dart through the city. Fireflies are mating, so this isn't uncommon in itself; in the past few days you've probably seen hundreds of fireflies. What makes these lights so unique is that they seem to change color; you might see an orange one, a green one, a red one. They flicker randomly, and something just seems off with them. If you come into contact with one, you will find yourself with a strange electric jolt. They cannot be caught, and will flicker away if you pursue too aggressively. What are they, and what are they doing? --And where are they going? No matter how quickly you chase them, they always seem to disappear before you can find any answers.
When Myles had been younger, Jeremy had shown him how to catch fireflies. He'd been very small, but he remembered looking up to his older brother, enamored at the little glowing bugs. He'd begged Jeremy to let him take some home, and while Jeremy had relented and let him keep a few in a jar over night, Myles had been devastated when Jeremy had freed them by morning. Back then, he hadn't understood--but now?
They would have lived a sad, lonely life in a little jar. Myles had gone to sleep enamored with them, loving the idea of them, and it had been enough.
It hadn't curbed his interest in them, though--only, as he powered up tonight, he realized that he'd never seen them come in the colors he was seeing. All the ones from his memories had been a pale yellow, almost white. He thought his mind had been playing tricks on him--not uncommon, both as a Senshi and as, well, him, but when he stood still and watched he saw the most beautiful rainbow of flashing lights.
They were slow and peaceful, bobbing up and down. Sometimes it looked like they were changing colors--or maybe he was just confusing one firefly with another.
He distantly remembered capturing them in a jar--how easily his brother had gently scooped them into his hands.
Caia wanted to do that--wanted to surprise Jeremy with fireflies, that they could set free in the morning.
He lingered for a moment, wondering if he was abandoning his Senshi duties to fulfill a frivolous child's dream, but...
...No one was around to see. No one would care if he screwed around for one night. He wasn't exactly an amazing senshi anyway so he knew he didn't even have that many people to let down.
Eagerly, he trotted towards the fireflies, trying to catch up with them. Fifteen steps nearer to the lights and he didn't feel any closer, but he hadn't seen them moving so quickly. He tried again, taking faster steps, but still they were out of reach.
He slowed then, trying to be more observant. He'd found a star charm, forgotten or discarded on the ground, and ran his thumb over it like a worry stone to try and focus.
...Which didn't end very well because afterwards he ran as fast as he could to try and catch up with the fireflies.
He ran for almost a full minute--and while he knew he had passed through where they had been bobbing, he hadn't gotten any closer. They still looked the same distance away.
...If his mind was playing tricks on him, he knew there was at least one way to stay on top of things.
He pulled out his cell phone and fiddled with it for a moment until he got to the video screen. It took a few seconds of fumbling, but he held the phone up and began recording.
The lights showed up on the screen of his phone, and he slowly walked closer, trying to catch up with them.
Still, they moved.
...Caia wasn't keen on giving up, but he'd tried his best. He had a video of the lights, and that was better than nothing. He could show Jeremy that--and not have to worry about running home and getting a jar.
...And if Jeremy was out patrolling at night, maybe he'd have seen them too.
Curiosity was tugging at him, and faced with the fact that he couldn't catch the fireflies, Caia just couldn't stand there and let them taunt him.
"All right," he sighed dramtically, waving to the little lights. "It was nice to meet you, you're beautiful. I hope you let me catch you some time!"
...If he saw them again, he'd try again.
But for now, he'd be happy with the video and the happy memory.
