Firefly Glen where the wild things are

@Anathema

The brilliant reds and oranges of sunfall provide a backlight for a distant mountain range. It is a beacon that calls, and Lómion listens. He stares towards it, hasn't broken it since the day's start.

It calls for him, but he is hesitant to answer.

Soon, he assured himself, finally blinking away as the sun is swallowed by the skyline. He needed more time.

Note to self: we will decide where this goes in the timeline later

Ponyboy was gone. The island beckoned. Ana did not sleep.

Who needed sleep, anyway? Not her. She watched the sun disappear behind the horizon again. No progress today. That was fine. She would get there eventually.

Oh, but there was a man. Ana wandered closer, watching him quietly. No pack scent on him; that was good. It was dangerous to be so close to these packs, she knew. But where else could she go?

The glen was not without life tonight. Apart from him, and the many fireflies that begun the task of lighting the dark, someone else lurked nearby. And she'd gone unseen for quite awhile, until her scent had mixed in the still air.

Lómion's nose began to twitch. His sense of smell led his eyes to wander. Perhaps by complete chance, he caught sight of a pair of eyes. Too distant to discern what he was staring at, but close enough to confirm that there was indeed someone there.

The man fell still, all for a quick twitch of an ear.

Eventually he caught her staring, but he didn't say anything. He only stared back at her. Ana wondered what he was thinking. She wondered if he knew what she was, if he could tell just by looking at her. She was someone who hurt others. He should have turned and gone the other direction.

But he didn't. Ana stepped closer, ever silent. It'd been so long since she'd had company.

Despite her approach, Lómion had barely moved. He had yet to break eye contact as well. Vague features were made more decipherable as she crept closer. A small, young thing with a stare so cool. Her pelt could easily get lost in the approaching nightfall, he thought, just as his.

But oh— what was that? A spark nestled between dark furs. She carried scarlette hues. A scarce feature compared to the rest of her, but enough to do away with his initial thought. It was eyecatching, and it surely had his gaze ensnared.

Finally Lómion shifted, swaying on the weight of his paws. He felt an obligation that wasn't there before, to speak. 

Hello.

A quiet man. A man cloaked in shadows. She tilted her head as he spoke, fascinated by the sound of his voice. It was a nice voice, she thought. But that didn't mean he was a nice man.

Hello, She echoed, still studying him. Are you alone? That was important, very important. If he wasn't alone, she couldn't stay. Not here. Not when there were others surely hunting her for what she had done.

She matched the simplicity of his greeting with her own, something he could apprectate. Then came a question, to which he nodded.

Are you? One could assume she was not, given her appearance. Nearly filled into age, but not quite. Lómion half expected her kin to come out the woodwork, to sweep her away. He glanced one way. Maybe he'd meet another pair of eyes in the darkness. He did not.

He was alone. Good. They had something in common, then. Ana returned his nod, daring a glance away from him to survey their surroundings briefly. She'd been on edge ever since her departure from Brecheliant.

Are you going somewhere? She asked next, because why else would he be on his own? Ana would never have chosen solitude if she wasn't traveling. She couldn't fathom any other reason for it.

So she was alone.

His surveying of their surroundings stop, green eyes returning their full attention to the girl. Ah. How did that come to be, he wondered?

Not yet. But soon. He shifted again, biting his cheek for a moment. I think. The last bit came with a hum of uncertainty. 

When I am ready.

They had more in common than she would have guessed. Her mouth felt dry. She wasn't safe like this, alone with some strange man, and she knew that. She wasn't sure when the last time she'd felt truly safe was. Something kept her in place nonetheless.

Is it the ocean? Ana asked before she could stop herself. The island. Foolish to think he even knew the place, but she waited with bated breath nonetheless. Maybe he did. Maybe he would take her there.

"Is it the ocean?"

No. A shiver followed his adnormally sharp reply.

No... Softer now, he shrunk within himself. That is where i wish to go.

With his nose he gestured to the mountain range. Somewhere nestled between the slopes was the place he once called home. And for a moment he wondered how much it had changed since he'd gone, if at all.

Nostalgic memories hadn't stuck in his mind for long. He turned back to the girl, and again he felt an urge to speak further.

Why the ocean of all guesses? The question did not easily fall from the tongue. The mere mention of the sea almost had him stumble over his words.

He was not here to take her home. Ana wilted in much the same manner, ashamed of her naive hopes. At first she only shrugged at his question. How could she ever explain?

She couldn't, she decided, and settled for the truth.

That's where I want to go, She said simply, an imperfect echo of his words. Her gaze followed his gesture belatedly, drifting to the mountain range.

Moonglow?

I see, there was a drone to his voice as his mind wandered to unpleasent things. Thing. Such seemingly fresh memory brought a phantom smell of salt to the nose, and metalic taste to his tongue.

The hum tapered off at the mention of Moonglow.

You know of it? Lómion nodded as he continued. I lived there once, as a child.

I lived there once. How odd.

You know Kukutux? Her big glassy eyes studied him. She's not a ghost. Not yet, anyway.