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"I'll catchup in a second, *amant*!" and the love trailed off on a tease, all playful snipe encased in the fluffiest of feelings. Waru wanted to stay behind for a bit; allowed his group of unlikely friends trail on up ahead at their own leisure -- they were all eager for giftshops, glitter, n the food courts that lay at the end of these sorts of events. He just --- just for a moment -- wanted to stand and stare quietly at everything around him. It was a rare sort of thing. To seek out peace. All the ways he usually found it - they involved adrenaline spikes n battling the elements - but here? Surrounded by soft flowers and a menagerie of fluttering beings in a manmade attraction; he found himself wanting more time.

There was something about insects that he'd always liked, the same way he liked horses, bears, and sharks.

Butterflies, though?

Stunningly beautiful things, too delicate to be rough around. They had wing dust, n little probosci that curled like loopy straws, and...

If he stood still long enough -- he could become a resting place -- like some misplaced tree. Had heard every sort of story how they drank sweat, tears, n honey. Thought it silly, how something so fragile n large eyed could exist seemingly aimlessly. They didn't seem to go anywhere, their movements all seemed like misplaced dodges n pattern-less dance...

Pretty.

Waru got lost staring at an orange monarch while it tiptoed along, index to thumb tip, hung it upside down and laughed to himself for how little it cared in it's itty bitty micro world about the goings on of his macro one.

The pink hair and light lilt of her voice caught him a bit off guard, but Waru smiled all the same. Held his hand closer to where she could see — the chunky monarch that made its way lazily over over his splayed palm, traipsed lazily across lifelines and old scars like it didn’t mind traversing the valleys of a giant hill.

Waru might as well have been a tree. Preferred that idea even - at least - right then he did.

“The big orange stripy ones, but only cause their the one thing that cares to land on me. Butterflies are *so…*” fearless, flitty, bright!! He had a million descriptives awaiting on the tip of his tongue, but wasn’t ready to tour-guide the poor girl to death. Nah, better to keep it short n sweet “…they’re cool, yanno? Though I kinda wish this place had a moth exhibit too.”

“Just don’t tell the butterflies that.” stage whisper trailed with an obvious wink, all play while he tried not to move too much less he spooked his tickly buggy passenger.

Ohshit, was he being loud? Possibly, probably? It was hard to tell sometimes, being all enclosed in a nice warm fluttery dome - he hardly heard himself half the time. Especially not with so much else to focus on, like soft sounding girls with lingering gazes who were into blue morphos? Who maybe honestly liked bugs, at least the pretty kinds!

And if his face warmed when he caught a hint of her lingering gaze - he blamed it on the weather - maybe even held himself a little bit extra still - just for show.

"Sorry," steam whistle hush as he aimed for a whisper set on a five instead of a ten, "and thanks - don't want them getting jealous, yanno? A guy's gotta have some secrets. Heh, moth secrets," her name tripped him up, set him stuttering over his t's and uncrossing his consonants. He actually had to stare at her, just for a moment, long enough to blink any idea of pink curls n Halloween worthy loli-pop swirls free.

Livie was totally just a name! Other people could have it, was probably short for Olivia, or oliveoil or...Whatever Livie was shortened for these days. He didn't know, he wasn't a prominent namer of things, especially of the people variety.

"Livi, huhn? M'Waru, and you'll have to point your blue ones out. I'm about as good with names as I am with volume control -- though, oddly enough? I learned a whole fact today; butterflies use glamor's. The blues are brown, the eyeballs aren't eyeballs, and? Moths are still cooler, cause they can look like snakes -- can you imagine? A flying snake bigger n my hand!" Waru was excited about it at least, all hushed enthusiasm and wide grin; if his crawly orange inhabitant grew bored - maybe saw a flash of flower more entertaining than a nectar-less palm, it seemed content to flutter lazily off in that direction.

He tried to imagine it. Dutifully. Tilted his face skywards, towards glass domed greenery, all mosaicked in plants, and squinched his eyes shut to get the best possible imagery — that tricksy butterfly stuff probably only worked on birds and spiders, however? If one landed on his face. A giant one. The most giant butterfly of all —- maybe then….

“Nawp, my imagination’s failed me on this one…but maybe if I see it in person?” and there was an idea, one that sent him smiling slow and nodding down a corridor adjacent to their own, an offshoot through weaves of protectively hung bitterly netting — to deter the little buggies from fluttering out — “C’mon Livie, there’s this exhibit you’ve gotta see.”

His friends could wait, his phone was a back pocket, easy enough to sneak out and snap a text over that was the equivalent to brb - only with extra hearts.

He got skulls and knife-eyes back in turn. So all was well with them!!

“It’s ‘Night-flyers and Day-Trippers’, I was gonna head into it alone, but — company I can get to know is better n crowds fulla strangers,” hedged his bets and hesitated only briefly, before shoving the netting aside and waiving her along. “Besides? Not everyone likes butterflies as much as you seem to.”

And to him? She seemed like the kinda girl who could do fun. Who maybe wouldn’t mind dark halls back-lit with black-light and neon mushroom painted scenics; full to the brim of common buckeyes and rare farfallas, eyes as far as the eye could see — if one cared look.

“I love being stared at, for the right reasons, obviously, not the wrong sorts - but hey? Attentions attention…” drifted through the dark and he had to duck his head to dodge some of the overhanging adornments properly, the setup of the whole place was buttefly-ly bizzare, yet also beautiful.

“Cause imagine this? It’s dark out, you’re all alone, then suddenly —- you’re being watched — but the eyes are the prettiest hue, and the person behind those eyes isn’t bad looking herself, and you get to thinking; ‘hey, maybe the staring isn’t so sinister after all?” Softly spoken so as not to spook the nocturnal fluttery friends, yet, as often as he was looking for owlish eyes and expansive wingspans, he was also looking at her directly, tilted his head just so and flashed a big smile.

“Then you invite them to more than just exhibits, and butterfly museums — a’course only once your sure those eyes are attached to a nice person and not an a*****e.” Cause he knew how it sounded, how it coulda come across, but man — he had no end of space in his heart for friends, old, new, pink. The kind who’s names pinged old memories in a way that made his heart sore. But what was love without a risk of bruising?

“So whadya say?”And the invite was clearly a setup for more, other places, other times, but only if she so desired.