OPEN True Blue | Catching Fireflies

[Grateful Mae]

All it took was one time for Mae to hear that there were fireflies somewhere in this joint and she had decided to make it her life's mission to stay up until they appeared so she could catch one. She had made a terrible error in coming to this frosty place. There was a stark lack of insects. Insects and arachnids were Mae's only friends these days and she was missing them. Mae had yet to see a moth of any kind and trust, she had looked. It felt empty without the moths. Sure, the man who had raised her was off doing who knows what who knows where, but that didn't matter. Mae could handle it.
So what if she had gotten lost on a walk and no one had bothered to look very hard for her? She wasn't upset. Not in the slightest.
The juvenile fox's tail swished back and forth in the snow, her wings buzzing angrily as she stared at the clearing she had been hiding in the bushes around. The blinks of light flashed around the edges when her wings buzzed, the fireflies zooming in all directions away from the noise.
No part of her was irrationally angry about the fact that she was stuck in this stupid snow hut unless she decided to go out and look for him. Wasn't she supposed to be the baby in this equation? She had surely spent enough of her life being yelled at for doing and learning and reading all the things she wanted because she was too young and just a baby. 6 months old wasn't a baby. Mae wasn't a baby. She could go where ever it is that she wanted to go and everyone else could suck it up. Her real parents weren't here to tell her any different, so who was Mister Project to tell her anything anyway? Screw that guy, he hadn't even looked for her good enough.
Focusing again on the fireflies, Mae squinted her foggy eyes. The light emitting from them kind of... really hurt. Narrowing her eyes to slits, Mae lunged and swatted an unsuspecting insect out of the sky, kidnapping it from its little insect family, under her paw. Mae lifted her paw enough to find the insect underneath and bent to analyze it in the low light of the moon going in and out of the cloud cover. "You're my new best friend." Mae announced to the insect, presumably much to its dismay.

[w]isker

[Montgomery]

The archon cherished the fireflies greatly. Besides him and the older members, the fireflies were often guides that led others around the territory. They lifted a great weight off his shoulders. Even so, what added on to the weight was watching a young and new face wander the territory without any care. The taiga was not often friendly. Night proved to be even worse. At the sight of the adolescent fox heading into the distance, the alarm bells in Montgomery's head went off. The canine rose to his feet immediately as they slipped into the dark.

The moonlit sky luckily highlighted Mae and he was able to keep a distant eye on them as he approached. As the fox lunged at the firefly and swooped down with it, he audibly squeaked. Montgomery thought she had smashed the bug. "No, no, let's not do that!" he chided. 

Thankfully, as he rushed forward, it appeared that was not the case. A sense of relief rushed over him. Their numbers were already dwindling. They did not need to lose more of their precious helpers. He leaned forward to take a closer look at the firefly, checking them for any wing injuries, before turning his head up to her. "I didn't mean to startle you, sorry," he muttered.

Perhaps this could be a lesson though. One of his claws moved to point down at the bug before them. "The fireflies are congregants too, providing guidance to our territory." His paw shifted and gestured out towards the rest that littered the sky. Many clearly recognized Montgomery and swarmed hesitantly above him. "It is important we treat them well." The leader attempted to take the paw he pointed with and lightly jab at the young fox's to try and release the firefly by moving her away. "Then maybe they will be your best friend." All it takes is some patience... Capturing them surely did not help.

MONTGOMERY S. - ARCHON OF COG