The Fireflies (6) : 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 a blue 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. This isn’t the first time they’ve appeared in Destiny City, but no one’s been able to tell where they came from or where they’re going. No matter how quickly you chase them, they always seem to disappear before you can find any answers.
How often did one get a moment to themselves in which they could simply think back on the year that had been? For at least one order-aligned Mauvian the answer could have been simply: not enough moments. But for Illyria the time that she could not spend thinking about how life had changed was only because she was now enjoying exactly what it was keeping her from being able to reflect on things, "And I can't be too angry or disappointed about that, now can I?"
This question was merely a rhetorical one for herself but it was also directed up at the growing expanse of dark sky that was beginning to twinkle and flash as the first few pairs of fireflies began their impressive light show. Illyria's gaze never left the original pair that she had been following for a while until the duo had joined up with a much larger grouping of mating insects. Even as she curled up into a tiny ball of fur did the feline continue to keep an eye on the visual light display that was going on over her head before allowing her thoughts to drift. It had been just over a year since the last Star Festival and it was with this exact moment in time that the guardian cat had made a stalwart friend in the Senshi of Heat, Eleonora. On that night one year back she had been searching for a geocache when her attention had been diverted by the colourful light show that had been happening above, almost like this one. Although this year she wasn't hunting for any particular cache at the moment. Nope, she was just relaxing and trying to take things easy.
Her mind drifted back to the year previous and the success in locating that geocache had definitely solidified the friendship with Ele and given them something to do during the next time they'd run across each other. After that place. Illyria's gaze travelled upwards as a bug's abdomen flashed from blue to red and the feline shuddered. That place ... had been called Astraya.
Illyria's eyes squeezed shut at the remembrance of the events that had occurred on that strange world. Surly's image, unbidden, rose from her subconscious and she flinched at the reminder of what the robot had looked like, and just what exactly he'd done to her. There wasn't a single individual, powered chaos, order, or neutral aligned that would ever forget the sensation of having their starseed extracted. Illyria could remember the agony of having filaments striking her, burrowing deep, and then pulling back with her starseed on the end. The pain faded but at that point in time she was unaware. Once Surly had left the area Illyria had found herself being able to still exist, in a sense, but it had been enough to get the alarm out of what was happening all over. Surly had just been one of the many robots on that world that had been waiting for the chance to obtain their own starseeds. Tucking her head into her paws for a moment, Illyria wept. That little mistake of trusting an individual that was completely a stranger to her had nearly cost her her young life. It was lucky for the Mauvian that Ida had taken her at her word of what had occurred after she had managed to find the Orchid senshi while she had been in a non-corporeal form.
Ida!
The word alone had Illyria's tear-streaked gaze drifting back towards the bugs above as another brilliant flash of colour reflected purple into her eyes before she shifted into her human form. Purple was a color that indicated royalty. Ida was that royalty in her life. Delicate fingers wiped away the tear streaks before she gazed warily around her location before sighing. Ida was one of the many changes in her life that she could not believe had been bestowed upon her. The senshi of orchids had always been another close friend to Illyria and even though Ida had been around much longer in the war that raged daily in Destiny City ... she and Illyria had gravitated towards each other at random times. There had been no rhyme or reason to when they crossed paths but in each occurrence it seemed that it allowed their friendship to only grow stronger. Ultimately it was this friendship that led to something more in the form of an invitation to view Ida's home world. Illyria had gladly taken the offer up to see what a normal home world visit could look like. Once they had arrived on Ida that first time something else had happened in Illyria's life that was a first for her: one moment she had been a cat and then the next moment she had sprouted a human body. Yes, it had been on her first visit to a friend's world that she had unlocked the ability to be as she currently was now. Illyria concentrated for a moment before she summoned an item from her own little subspace pocket before she gazed at the flower that was pressed between sheets of wax paper that she had preserved. This was an Idan wildflower, plucked by Ida's hands and given freely as a gift that Illyria had cherished since then. But it was not the only gift that the Orchid Senshi had given her. The time that had been spent up on Ida had been a boon, hidden at first, but revealed later on in yet another surprising twist to the unsuspecting pair at the time. It was one of the first steps that they both took towards being bonded as a senshi and mauvian pair.
Bonded!, a flash of red-pink light from another bug caught Illyria's gaze and she lay back to continue watching the display above.
Even now Illyria still couldn't believe it. But the charm that sat attached to her collar even at this exact moment spoke of the power of the bond that she and Ida shared. It was this charm, crafted from a piece of metal from Ida, that allowed her to travel to Ida's world ... by herself if she needed too. It was on the explanation from another Guardian cat that Illyria finally understood what it all meant. The charm, the feelings of growing closer with Ida, and being able to sense things that she'd not been able to do before all pointed towards the explanation that had made everything make sense. It was on Orah's birthday that Illyria had dropped that little truth bomb into her friend's lap and although appearing shocked at the news, Illyria believed that Ida had been as thrilled as she was at the development. There'd been some initial trepidation at first but now it seemed as if being bonded was working out for both of them. Both enjoyed each other's company and it was this bond that allowed Illyria to make the discovery that chaos had taken root on Ida's world, undetected. It was now gone, but during the period of time in which the chaos had been there, her friend had clearly been miserable as a result.
As the lightning bugs continued their colourful dance above her Illyria sighed before gently reaching out in order to attempt touching one. She drew back at the last moment remembering that Eleonora had tried that exact same move the year before. Earth had completed another lap around the sun since the last time these bugs had been observed and now, even as she moved to sit upright before rising to her feet and brushing off invisible grass stains did the Mauvian inwardly thank the many blessings that had been put into her path on this lovely planet. The blessings always were interspersed with moments of levity that one needed to balance things out ... but by and by Illyria considered the previous year to have been a memorable one.
"That's the way life should be. Of course you little bugs probably can't understand what it's like to be around longer than what your lifespan is or the good things that can come into your orbit. But you keep being you. I'll let you be alone in peace and quiet. Thank you for the light show once more ... and the time to just reflect."
With that Illyria shifted back into her cat form before padding off silently only to stop at the sight of a green-colored multi-starred charm that lay in the grass. Violet orbs scanned the area but knowing that no one was in sight the Mauvian gently scooped the charm up before stashing it safely into the pocket of subspace for a time when she'd be able to examine it more closely. Maybe if it was the right time, Illyria would present the charm as a gift of spontaneity to a friend that needed possible cheering up. She thought about the other charm that she had found this year before giving the ground a sullen look. She still hadn't been able to track down that young senshi yet ... that would need to change, and soon.
