Let the Night Shine On [Serryph]

[Poet]

"And the days they all turn black...
And our dreams all start to fade.
But there's no turning back.

Quite frankly, Vivi was proud of herself for getting this far. At first, she had tried running in her animal form, but even though Oncillas were better at running than she was, and she covered more ground at first, she was way smaller in that form, and tired more quickly. So after a little bit of enjoying herself in that form, she had realized that if she ever wanted to get to the awesome firefly meadow place, she would have to walk humanely, and so had switched. At least Evan was hanging around her now, though, so it wasn’t too bad.

Her feet were feeling like they were going to fall off, though, and the girl wanted to do nothing more than curl up in the grass and fall asleep, resting and being unwary of anything around her. Vivi could sleep anywhere, after all. But her best friend kept motioning her onward, telling her, in his own wordless way, that it was just there, just beyond the horizon, so she continued, a small part of her half-hoping that one of her guardians would find her, so she could be carried back home. That would be much better than her permanently losing one of her appendages, for sure.

However, when the girl crossed that last hill, and her eyes lit upon the meadow… That thought was wiped from her head completely. It was beautiful, the green grasses swaying in a light breeze even though winter had set upon them all, and though it wasn’t warm, it certainly wasn’t cold as the fireflies danced all around, their lights illuminating the place as Vivi’s mouth dropped open as she took it in. Unnoticed by her, Evan was smirking off to the side, pleased as punch that he had managed to get her there.

And like that, all of her tiredness dissipated, gone forever. Laughing brightly, giggles escaping her without purpose, Vivi dashed off, romping through the pretty grass and trying to catch the fireflies. It was fun, even if they quite easily escaped her by flying beyond her short reach, and she was so thoroughly entertained that she didn’t notice when Evan faded away, his form disappearing until there was nothing. He knew when he wasn’t needed.

Finally, when the girl had no breath and her legs burned but in a good way, she successfully caught one of the elusive bugs, flopping down on her bottom in the grass with her legs splayed out to either side, uncaring of the fact she was wearing a dress as she peered at the insect cupped in her hands. So cool!

~~~~~~

Word Count: 435 words
Song: What If by Simple Plan

[serryph]

Shayne Lorelai found that he was more comfortable in his animal form when alone. He felt not need to speak aloud, and could run faster, move quieter, and in general was better as a lion than as a man. Besides that, as he slept, it made it so much easier to remain aware, as a warrior should, with the heightened senses of his lion's form. Such a night was tonight, when he chose to sleep in the open among the meadows that he roamed, rather than in the shelter he had formed among the trees at the onset of winter.

His coat was thick with the soft under-coat, and his mane felt longer, and thus a bit heavier than usual. But there was something odd about the night. He could not find anything to help him relax. He had gorged himself on a deer earlier, spent a few hours grooming to get the blood from his claws and fur, and was now watching the stars. His feet itched to do something, whether it was run or kill or fight. Finally, the lion stood from where he was, and started walking through the grasses of the meadow. A faint sound to his left attracted his attention. Was that...giggling? He turned to look, red-flecked eyes glowing in the ever darkening night.

Curiosity over took him, and he walked towards the sound, hearing a muffled thump and heavy breathing. His back was above the grasses, but his dark coat made him nearly invisible in the night, and his paws let him be mostly silent. But he could not hide his cough of shock when a child came into his sight. His heart seemed to clench in his chest at the reminder that he was childless and on his own, and his leonine face seemed to soften, rounded ears perked forward.

His voice was soft and unthreatening as he spoke, "What are you doing out here on your own, youngling?" He sat down ,letting his tufted tail curl around large paws

[Poet]

"And the days they all turn black...
And our dreams all start to fade.
But there's no turning back.

The light of the firefly was entrancing, beautiful, and Vivi was reluctant to let it go. Couldn’t she take it home, make a pet out of it, and let it light up her room at night with its prettiness, so that it wouldn’t be dark, ever? But even though she didn’t see Evan there, shaking his head and frowning at her (he was like a little mini-adult! Really!), the girl knew that she couldn’t keep it, and so opened her cupped hands, watching it fly away wistfully. And it was gone…

That lasted all of a minute, tops, though, before she was off again, trying to catch another. Maybe she couldn’t bring one home, of course, but there were no limits on how many fireflies she was allowed to catch and then set free! So, laughing gaily and practically skipping through the fields, Vivi found herself chasing after another firefly, jumping up and catching it just by the tips of her fingers, with them curling in and trapping it.

She was about to inspect it like she had done the other, cupping it and peering in and ‘ooo’-ing as she saw the pretty light, but before she could do so, a voice spoke and she jumped, firefly escaping from her hands as she whipped around, her braids banging against her as she stared at the lion (Lion! Lion! Omigosh, a lion! A kitty-cat like her!) with wide eyes.

Oh, wait, he had asked her a question! “’M out ketchin’ fireflies!” the girl announced, meandering closer. “Dere so pretty!” After saying that, she paused, before tacking on another statement. “’N mah name’s Vivi, not… youn’lin’,” Weird thing to call her, but whatever. Everyone seemed to want to address her with something that said she was young, for some reason! Was it an ‘in’ thing? Cause Mama had said never do ‘in’ things just cause you wanna be popular.

Thoughts for another time, those were.

Tipping her head to the side, and resisting the urge to ask him if she could pet him, Vivi asked a different question, instead. “Wha’ ‘bout you, Mistah Lion?” she asked, curiosity radiating from her and her tone. “Whatta you doin’ ou’ here?”

~~~~~~

Word Count: 366 words
Song: What If by Simple Plan

[serryph]

Shayne couldn't help it. His jaw dropped open in a leonine grin, and his tail twitched at the blatant curiosity, and slight amount of attitude in her tone as she told him her name. Red, gold flecked eyes scanned the child, this 'Vivi' and he estimated her to be maybe five. But she seemed very well spoken for one so young, and would her nurse, for surely she had a watcher, know where she was or were they searching over the lands for a young girl-child. Or she's older than she looks... He shook his mane slightly and tilted his head at her.

'Mistah Lion' was something he had never been called before. A small chuckle escaped him. "I was simply out walking, Miss Vivi. I live alone around here, and took it in my mind to wander the night away among the fireflies and under the stars. I'm not so adept at catching the fireflies to admire them as you are though." His mind raced behind his friendly attitude. Where was her watcher? And would they attack him for talking to her? He couldn't just leave her alone. There were dangers out among the wildlands, outside of the boundaries of the separate Realms. Most of the rogues were not fond of children, save their own.

Many were not such as Shayne. He was a rogue, true, but he still kept to his own code of honor. Shayne shivered his skin and shifted his weight to lay down, rather than sitting. Settled comfortably, he continued to look at the child, 'You're out awfully late, aren't you? At your age, I would have been in bed hours ago." He wasn't sure how to act around the child. He certainly could not be his warrior self, altogether intimidating. A challenge of anything coming from a challenge was one to rise up to in play, not anything else. But his heart ached, longing for the company of one so innocent to the world, who had not seen the horrors he had, and who was still naive enough to talk to strangers without too much suspicion. It was a breath of fresh air in the stagnancy of his life.

[Poet]

"And the days they all turn black...
And our dreams all start to fade.
But there's no turning back."

Miss Vivi? Miss? At that, the little girl wrinkled up her nose in a grin that spread across her whole face. “Nevah been call’ ‘Miss’ afore!” she told the lion, clearly amused. But her head tipped to the side as she took in the rest of his sentence. “Ya live alone?” she asked, eyes widening. “Lucky!”

He was big enough to not need parents, right? So they could still be alive somewhere? Vivi wouldn’t wish that sorrow on anyone else, but the fact that he was allowed to live on his own, without any empty-eyed stupid guardians that always meddled in your business and were just plain creepy people altogether, so that was awesome. Something that she wished for, at least. “Do ya want me ta ketch a firefly for ya so ya ken see?” The girl questioned, refocusing her attention on the conversation at hand. Of course, she’d probably be off catching one anyway, but this way it was more polite cause she was doing it for the other, plus she felt bad for him. Couldn’t be fun to not be able to catch them.

Taking her cue from him and plopping down in the grass by him, Vivi shrugged. “Ah guess…” she replied, unconcerned. “I stay up this la’ all tha time, an’ I wanted ta see da fireflies, too! Kan’ see those in da day…” Wasn’t like she needed that much sleep, and besides, if she did get too tired come morning, she could always sleep in. She didn’t have anywhere to go, anything to do… Well, besides playing and stuff like that. But that didn’t count. “’Sides, eben if I was n’ bed, I wouldn’ be sleepin’. Betta ta be doin’ stuff, den, righ’?”

The girl paused, and leaned closer to Mr. Lion hesitantly, now voicing her question. “Ken… Ken I pet ya, Mistah Lion! I’ll be real genta n’ nice ‘bout it, promise!” Ooh, she really wanted to! He looked all fluffy and soft and awesome, and even though she really wanted to play with his tail and muss up his mane, she was pretty sure that she couldn’t. After all, she didn’t like it when people played with her tail… Maybe she could ask another time? Maybe?

…Yeah, she was just trying to convince herself. Even Vivi doubted that she’d be able to.

~~~~~~

Word Count: 389 words
Song: What If by Simple Plan

[serryph]

Idly, Shayne wondered what Vivi's shifted form was as he shook his head slightly in wonder. He had been alone for far to long, when the honesty and openness of a young child would leave him so amazed. His heart was feeling warm, though, glowing with an affection that had hidden from his soul for far too long. Perhaps I need to be around children more... Maybe becoming a rogue was the wrong choice... His tail tip flipped from one side to the other with his thoughts, though part of him remained focused on Vivi.

His grin widened as she dismissed the time. It was irrelevant. Well, considering that she would not have much in the way of duties to her kingdom, and that she was likely left to play all day under watchful eyes, and as young things often did, would drop to sleep as soon as she was fully exhausted, the lion supposed it was all right. "I suppose I shall have to agree with you. It's far better to be out and doing something, whether it's having fun or just wandering." His ears flicked one way and then another as her face took on that look of something about to burst.

Her question exploded into the air, reached his ears and made him pause for a split second before a rich laugh came from his throat and made him tilt his head back a little, shaking out his dark ruff of fur. He couldn't help but let her eager air surround him with joy as she stayed leaning in towards him. Shayne's purred response was filled with the humor that continued to rumble from him in small chuffs of sound. "Yes, Miss Vivi. You can indeed. And don't worry too much about being gentle. I've had my fair share of rough housing. If anything, I should be promising you that I shan't hurt you should you tug at some point." He dipped his head a little. "I simply cannot refuse such joy in the face of your excitement."

Silently, he laughed at himself. Just a big softy, you are. All your air of battles and anger is dispelled by a child with big eyes and an eager honesty in her words. Silly lion. His skin shivered slightly over his shoulders as the wind brushed by them both.

[Poet]

"And the days they all turn black...
And our dreams all start to fade.
But there's no turning back."

Her grin widened gleefully as he agreed with her. “’En yer onna th’ smar’ grown-ups!” she proclaimed, delighted by this. “Nah many ‘gree with me!” The ever changing guardians, for one, though Vivi had already known they weren’t smart. After all, if she, a little bitsy girl, could sneak by them all the time and get to places that she wasn’t supposed to, it was a given. Probably a good thing that they weren’t out patrolling or anything, otherwise they’d either die or a bunch of people would get by them.

…Bad thoughts, Vivi, bad thoughts.

Wait, was he laughing at her? The little girl wasn’t sure, but merely folded her hands in her lap, waiting eagerly for her answer. If she could’ve figured out that he was laughing at her, then she would’ve pouted or something like that, but… She didn’t know. So waiting it was.

“Thanks!” was her immediate response, before she giggled slightly. “Psh, you won’ hur’ me!” Vivi told him with a grin. “Ah do ‘rough-housin’’ too!” Then, with a pause, she amended her thought. “If ya tried ta ea’ me, tha’ migh’ hur’, but ya wouldna’ do tha’!” And she didn’t even have to put that in question form! The girl wasn’t sure what he meant by ‘refusing joy in the face of excitement’ and all that, but whatever. She could pet him! Time for asking questions later (and boy, she never thought she’d ever think that)!

Carefully, the girl scooted closer, dragging her bottom across the grass (uncaring of the fact that she might get grass stains on it), and reached out with one hand, skimming lightly across the top of his fur. “Wow, yer sof’, Mistah Lion!” she told him, petting him a bit more firmly now, with her fingers becoming semi-entangled in his fur. Was her fur soft? She didn’t know, cause it was kind of hard to pet yourself… Well, when you were transformed. She could pet herself now, if she wanted to (but she didn’t, cause that would be weird), but not when she had paws. Too hard.

As she pet him, trying to not pull anything and being very careful, large smile on her face, Vivi tipped her head to the side, curious. “Hey, wha’s yer name, Mistah Lion? Can’t keep callin’ ya tha’ all th’ time!” And he had to stop calling her Miss Vivi, too. Sounded so… adult-ish. Bleh.

~~~~~~

Word Count: 402 words
Song: What If by Simple Plan