Firefly Glen ^________________________^

Though there were not so many gathered for the nuptials, Tiuttuk lingered where she was most comfortable: at the fringe. She only planned to stay for the ceremony itself, heading back to the quiet of Moonspear before the subsequent feasting began. She hoped the newlyweds—and all her kin, for that matter—knew it wasn’t that she didn’t wish to celebrate the union. She would simply never be comfortable in a crowd, forever destined to be the Ostregas’ requisite wallflower.

After the vows were exchanged, she slipped away into the shadows of the darkling glen. Treepie took her time wending her way back toward home, smiling at the sound of happy voices as they gradually faded behind her. Fireflies danced in the dark as she sent silent well wishes to the couple, then blinked skyward through the leafy boughs to wish for her own happily ever after someday.

. . .

A little while later, Pie still found herself lingering in the glen, seated now beneath the branches of a tree swaying slightly in the breeze. She listened to the distant sounds of the wedding party, even caught the occasional waft of comestibles on the April night air. All of it eventually faded, leaving the yearling to bask in the afterglow—literally, considering the fireflies that still winked all around her.

Her ulaq called to her. Pie pushed onto all fours, stretching and yawning as she prepared herself for the climb. She resumed walking toward Moonspear, only for her stomach to growl with such sudden ferocity that it actually startled her. She froze, eyes wide in the dark, then started laughing. She hadn’t even realized how hungry she was until now.

She glanced over her shoulder, wondering… would there be spoils left over from the reception feast? Would it be in terrible taste—pun not intended—to go back and pick through them? Before she could make up her mind, Pie pivoted and began walking back toward the area cleared for the venue, mouth watering at the unmistakable smell of provender.