Forest of Fireflies

good morning starshine, earth says hello

Now that she had a family, a name, Nightshade was ready to conquer the Fae Forest. She strutted around as though she owned the place, knowing about the spirits and the fae that claimed the land as their own. She was cautious of them, so very respectful for the land, but if anyone crossed her, she would handle it herself. Golden eyes looked around as she bopped from side to side, bouncing on her paws. She had a lack of fear and with that, a whole lot of confidence to sit with it. The young pup found herself in a small grove of flowers. Not wanting to crush the petals, she stood on the outer perimeter and just smelled the flowers. As she was standing there, sniffing silently, a bee came buzzing around the area, landing on her onyx nose. Not really sure what to do, Nightshade stared at her nose, crossing her eyes and stood perfectly still.

[Open]

"We are all young and naive still."

Henbane was the youngest of the pups, the most recently found as of that moment. The Fae had given her to Momma and given Bane in turn a family. She was thankful for that, even though she didn’t understand the weight of it just yet. She marched around like she owned the place, on tiny legs that were more a toddle than a march. She was young, still, only a few months old, still learning her way in the world.

She was fast to learn though, quick to pick up on the fact that she could use her nose. She followed a familiar scent and soon found herself peering from the underbrush towards a darkened pelt that she shared a den with.

“What are you doing, Nighty?” She asked from her position, hidden in the underbrush.

"We are all young and naive still."

good morning starshine, earth says hello The buzzing was pretty loud, or maybe it only seemed that way since it was in her little face. She was standing perfectly still, unsure if this creature was friend or foe. She breathed softly, trying to make sure this thing was not aggressive. But then she heard a voice and her ears laid flat. Not now... she thought to herself. Nightshade was trying not to make any extra noise, not sure if it would startle the other or not. "Bane..." she whispered, "be very quiet..." She hoped that alone would not startle the insect or whatever it was. "Bane..." she said softly, looking at the younger wolf. "I don't know what to do..." Panic was starting to set in as the bee settled upon her snout. @Henbane

table ▸ bunny

The buzzing was quiet in Henbane’s ears, something that drew her interest. This little creature that Nightshade was observing was something new to her, something that she had never seen before. Her head tilted slightly to the side as Nightshade began speaking.

“Bane… Be very quiet….” Her sister said. One of Henbane’s ears flickered back, as she glanced around. There didn’t seem to be any danger around them. Surely she wasn’t talking about the strange little creature? It seemed so harmless, in Bane’s eyes.

“Bane… I don’t know what to do…” Nightshade said; Henbane’s green gaze flickered to the darker pup. Slowly, she crept forward, peering at the creature as it landed on Nightshade’s nose. She lifted a paw close to the other’s nose, her head tilted slightly to the side.

“I don’t think it’s going to hurt you,” Henbane said to the other. “I think it’s just curious — don’t panic about it, I’m sure it’s okay. Here… I’ll get it on my paw instead.”

She moved her paw a little more, trying to coax the thing to crawl onto her by placing her paw in its crawling path.

“It looks like a bug — but maybe it’s one of the fae!” Henbane said quietly, still peering at the little creature. It twitched its antennae, pausing in its path as it seemed to be thinking about whether or not it wanted to crawl up onto the outstretched paw in its path.

"We are all young and naive still."

good morning starshine, earth says hello Henbane did not listen to Nightshade, but she was not going to growl at her right now. She was not sure what this thing was, what its intentions were. She didn't want either of them to be hurt, and when she saw the paw moving towards her face, she almost shouted. But she was able to keep her cool, eyes now locked onto her sister. What the heck are you doing?! she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. But as the bug decided to leave the midnight wolf's nose, and moved towards the paw, a leg or foot or whatever it was gently tickled the inner nostril just enough to make her nose twitch. She tried to stop the twitch, but it would not end until it caused a sneeze to erupt from her nose. A great burst of air was shoved from her mouth and nose, sending the bee somewhere else. Hopefully it would not be mad and bring back friends to enact revenge. "We should get out of here before it comes back!" She jerked her head to look at Bane, "also.... what in the neck were you thinking? What if that thing killed you or bit you? Do you know how much trouble I would be in with Mother?!" @Henbane

table ▸ bunny

The bug was almost ready to crawl onto her paw when it was launched into the ether by a gigantic sneeze erupting from Nightshade. Henbane flicked an ear back, an annoyed expression crossing her features. She sighed, lowering her foot to the ground, shaking her head slightly.

“We should get out of here before it comes back!” Nighty exclaimed. “Also… What in the heck were you thinking? What if that thing killed you or bit you? Do you know how much trouble I would be in with Mother?!” Henbane blinked, looking almost bored for a moment.

“Is that all you care about? How much trouble you’d be in?” Henbane asked, as she stood and slowly began to meander away. “You wouldn’t miss me or anything? Besides. It was just a bug. Probably one of the fae — it wouldn’t hurt me. Let alone kill me.” She waved her paw nonchalantly, before beginning to walk further. She paused, glancing back over her shoulder.

“Aren’t you coming?” She asked. “You were the one that wanted to get away so badly, Nighty.”


"We are all young and naive still."

good morning starshine, earth says hello With the present danger gone, Nightshade felt more like herself. She was worried about the unknown, not really knowing what it was all about. It could have been deadly, how would she know if it were or not? "You don't know everything..." she huffed under her breath. Nightshade looked over the multicolored female, trying to think of other snide comments she could make towards the other. As she listened to her sister going on and on about how she wouldn't be missed and she was selfish for worrying about her own safety and being out of trouble - Nightshade mimicked her sibling. Nodding her head back and forth as she made an ugly face to "match" her sister's. She had been too busy to realize that Henbane was no longer speaking, but now walking and had stopped to turn and make sure that Nightshade was also going with her. "Umm duh!" she shouted as she picked up the pace and shoulder checked the other wolf as she ran by. Her tail held itself high in the air with glee as she moved ahead of their path. She wasn't really sure where they were going or why, but she was just ready for the adventure of it all. She hoped that no other bugs would be able to approach them. "Come on slow poke," she said calling out to the other. @Henbane

table ▸ bunny

Henbane had, from the moment she’d opened her eyes, been one who faced the danger of the world head-on. She believed, through the indoctrination of the Coven, that the Goddess would keep her safe from anything she was not inherently meant to experience in life. Hence, her lack of fear for the little bug, that Henbane believed might have been a fae creature in the mortal world.

“You don’t know everything…” Nightshade said. Henbane looked at her for a moment, before the pup shrugged.

“No, I don’t,” she said. “But I do believe that the Goddess will keep us safe from things we aren’t meant to learn.”

As she realized what Nightshade was doing, however, Henbane’s toxic green eyes narrowed, her lips peeling back slightly. She had every ounce of her small body telling her to throw herself at her sister, to push her nose into the dirt. But, Bane restrained herself. Momma Rhiannon wouldn’t like that very much at all. Instead, the pup turned, pausing to glance back.

“Umm duh!” Nighty shouted, as she picked up the pace. The shoulder check nearly sent Bane off her paws. A tiny growl came from her. “Come on slow poke!”

With that, Bane caught her balance and charged after her darker-pelted sister. She ran past her, taking the lead once more on their little journey. Henbane liked to be first, liked to be in the lead. She followed the trail that they were on deeper into the forest, her head and tail held high despite her small pup stature.


"We are all young and naive still."