Tyrian dropped to his belly in the long grass, his eyes fixed on the telltale flicker of yellow light hovering over a nearby cattail. He needed a veritable butt ton of fireflies if he was going to win. And he really wanted to win.

His rump rose as he prepared to pounce and wiggled from side to side as he shifted his weight from paw to paw just like Zahir had showed him. 3...2...1gogogogo!

Tyrian pounced on the lightning bug with both front paws. He stamped it to the ground and then eagerly flipped his paws over to inspect the damage.

There was nothing there. Not even a hint of guts between his toes. Damn bug.

Tyrian rolled his eyes over to Zahir and then eyed her up and down. His face scrunched up in a sly look she knew all too well so Zahir flattened her ears at him and stared back. Her expression very clearly said ‘NO.’ and to emphasis her point her tail lashed from side to side irritably.

”Zahir....” he said in a singsong voice.

She narrowed her eyes at him. ”No. I’m not playing.”

”Pleaaase...”

Silence as she looked pointedly elsewhere.

”PleeEEEEEaaaase...pleasepleaseplease...” He crept closer, rested his chin on her shoulder and looked up at her with soft, sad eyes. ”I’m asking nicely and everything! One bug...”

Zahir pursued her lips and then looked down at him. She held up one paw. ”One catch.”

With a whoop Tyrian took off and did a victory lap around the clearing. As he got back to Zahir, he and his companion both noticed a cloud of fireflies rising off the grasses nearby and pounced after them.

Theory had been largely left to her own devices. Rhyme had gone off somewhere, but she wasn't too terribly concerned. It felt good to be this far outside of Abaven territory - in fact, it was all terribly exciting. The young female tried to keep her composure, reminding herself that it wasn't too befitting of the daughter of an alpha to lose her cool completely. There something about the energy of the festival, though, that had her positively buzzing.

Catching fireflies sounded easy enough! She had spent most of the summer before the fire doing just that in the calm evenings in front of Shaye's den. Theo considered herself and Poem masters at it, so she figured this event would come easily. Armed with a hollow gourd, Theory awkwardly maneuvered it through the air to try and snag a few bugs.

Pleeeeeaseeee... pleasepleaseplease... She pricked her ears at the droning sound of another young voice, about as needling as any bug that might whizz in your ear. Giggling to herself, Theory followed the noise. I'm asking nicely and everything! As she came upon the scene, she gasped and dropped the gourd to the ground. Alouette had been watching nearby from the trees and swooped down to land next to Theory, shuffling her wings nervously. She hadn't seen a big cat since Cannival had came and went, although she had heard rumors of another at Abaven's borders. What was with all of these cats?

"Hello...?" She called uncertainly. In the dark, she couldn't make out Tyrian's telltale Imperialis markings. It was quite difficult to make out anything but the flickering appearance of the fireflies. Alouette snapped idly at the glittering bugs, nudging Theory with her beak to keep up the catch. Still eyeing the strangers, Theory picked up the gourd and swiped it through the air.

Theory and Alouette catch fireflies #1

Sparrow, at all costs, was NOT gonna let Tyrian get something cooler than her from this festival. He already had fangs AND a companion. This was Sparrow's chance to shine, her chance to get the spotlight, her chance to make Tyr jealous. Of course part of that was keeping an eye on him and making sure he didn't get the lead on her. As she saw, there was another wolf. A girl wolf. The perfect distraction while Sparrow swooped in and tried to snag some fireflies.

She was pretty sure they couldn't see her. Mostly sure. Well, kind of sure. Not like it mattered much. By the time they'd see her, she would have caught all the fireflies ANYWAY! It was the best plan.

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

"Hey guys, wait up!"

Álarr bounded in the direction he thought Tyrian and Sparrow had gone, his pack bouncing lightly his back as he ran. He didn't mean to keep getting distracted but there were so many cool plants and he wanted to take them back to Auntie Rhythm. His companion, Afi was right behind him grumbling about this and that. He glanced up to spy Brynhildr's ivory form soaring above, diving at the fireflies, no doubt she was interested in eating them.

When he finally caught up to his siblings he noticed another girl was there to. "Oh, hey there. I-  OW!" He yelped and jumped as Afi missed a firefly, the cats claws pricking him right in the butt.  "Watch it Afi!" The cat smirked. "Then why don't you give me a paw? This is a firefly festival after all, don't you want to go home with some souvenirs?"

He shrugged and decided to crouch down and be very still, well mostly still. "My names Álarr," he whispered to the girl. A firefly caught his attention not far off and he bounded toward it. Behind him Afi was trying his swift feline paws against the bugs.

Tyrian came up empty, but he turned around just in time to see Zahir stuff a lightning bug into the bag. He whooped then enthused, "I knew you'd get one! See? You're good at it! You should try some more..."

His head had just dropped below the grass line when the voice of a girl brought him up like a meerkat. He was startled by the girl's familiar facial features and had just enough time to wonder if Noir had gotten headbutted in the floppies and that was why he sounded like a girl, when he realized that no, he was looking at an actual girl.

About the same time Alarr introduced himself, Tyrian said, "Oh, um, hi!" A nearby firefly caught his eye and instinctively he pounced after it, his next words running together in his haste to make a catch. "I'mTyriannicetameetya." Out of the corner of his eye he could see Zahir also swatting at bugs.

As Tyrian turned to look her in the face, Theo's eyes widened above her white Imperialis dots. His face was so familiar. She tried to stutter a greeting, but quick as could be, two other pups crashed the party. It was a welcome distraction. Another female, rambunctious, crashed on to the scene. By the flash of the fireflies, Theory was just able to make out the mark of Imperialis beneath her eyes as well. What was going on? Was she living in an alternate dimension?

Stumbling a bit, Theory backed up and bumped into the fourth pup to arrive on the scene. My name's Álarr. Did everyone here know each other? Theory felt like she was having a waking nightmare. All of them bore the Imperialis mark, and they were total strangers to her. Hadn't Rhyme said that they were no longer allowed to bear that name?

What had happened? Nervously, Theory pinned her ears back and tried to regain her composure. Alouette circled down and roosted on her shoulders, grooming beneath her ears affectionately. Theo leaned in to the touch, then tried to get back to gathering fireflies. Lou helped, snatching the bugs out of the air with her beak. "Uh... I'm Theory Cavaliere-Destruction. Do any of you notice anything weird about this?" She confessed, her voice an octave higher than it usually would be.

Theory and Alouette catch fireflies #2

Great, Sparrow was pretty sure Álarr blew her cover by the way the girl looked at them. Her uncles introduced themselves and Sparrow threw out her own name simply as she tried to grab another bug. It was only then the girl said her own name did Sparrow's head whip around to look at her.

"Oh- my mom's a Destruction," she said, just now realizing the markings Theory had. "My dad's an Imperialis, though. So am I."

She was so caught up in staring at Theory that she missed it as the firefly squirmed its way between her pinned toes and flew away. blinking steadily.

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr bounded after another clump of fireflies with his feline companion hot on his heels. Between the two of them they'd have a jar full in no time. His brother introduced himself and Álarr just caught the girls' name. He'd been so enraptured in the hunt the fireflies drew most of his attention. At first he didn't really make a connection between the girls last name and that of other members of his pack like Rhythm. In his mind both words blurred together into an entirely new surname that didn't bear any relevance on his life.

Do any of you notice anything weird about this?

Álarr sat down for a moment and gazed about him at the flickering bugs then he glanced back at the girl. "What do you mean weird? Ain'tcha seen fireflies before? This is what they normally do or do you just not catch them where you're from?"

His ears perked up as Sparrow mentioned her mom was a Destruction. "Oh, so's Auntie Rhythm." He glanced at the girl. "Maybe you guys are related?"

Tyrian corralled his catch into the bag as the girl introduced herself. He had just enough time to make another grab at a passing bug before Theory's tone made him pay closer attention. Tyrian looked up at her quizzically and listened as Alarr questioned her. Thinking she was being a girl about it, he tried to reassure her with, "There's nothing weird about 'em, promise. They're just bugs and they don't bite."

As for Sparrow, Tyrian's dad had attempted to explain it to him. "Yeah, Auntie Rhythm is Sparrow's Auntie too. Dad says so." There was more to it, somehow the connection made Rhythm 'great' or something like that, but all Tyrian had really paid attention to was her Imperialis side - because that part made him Sparrow's uncle, which meant she had to listen to him.

Zahir brushed by his shoulder in pursuit of a firefly and Tyrian's attention was briefly captured by her. His gaze quickly returned to Theory. Alarr's question got him thinking about Noir again and his similarities to Theory. "Do you know Poem and Noir?"

Auntie Rhythm. Theory's world tilted a bit on its axis, and she stumbled as she tried to catch the next firefly. And then the next one after that. Alouette alighted on the ground and tried to do Theory's work for her, clacking her beak a bit in worry. It seemed that all of the other pups around her were related to her, in one way or another. She hoped Rhyme hadn't been this irresponsible, and if not Rhyme, who did they descend from? The whole thing was giving her a big old headache. She smiled awkwardly at Sparrow, nodding in acknowledgment. Her mother was a Destruction - who was she?

"Poem and Noir are my siblings!" She announced in relief. Finally, a question that made sense. She stepped closer to Tyrian, attempting to catch another firefly as she did. "How do you know them? Do you know my father?" Theo asked hopefully, her tail flagging. Maybe Rhyme could help make sense of this all, once she tracked him down later. There was no point in asking if any of them knew Tana - as far as Theory knew, her mother had lived a brief and uneventful life. While her existence in Abaven had altered the fabric of the pack irrevocably, something told her that Tana hadn't left many pawprints anywhere else.

Theory and Alouette catch fireflies #3

There was a bunch of chatter over who was related to who and how and Sparrow only half paid attention while she snapped at the fireflies that passed by. Rhythm was all of their aunt somehow even though Tyrian and Alarr were her uncles which was the name of a aunt but for boys. Apparently Tyrian knew some other wolves who happened to also be Theory's siblings. Then Theory asked if Tyr knew her dad. "All dads go by Dad, but what's your dad's REAL name?" she asked. Maybe Tyr knew him, but maybe Alarr did, or even Sparrow herself.

As they worked on catching fireflies, Sparrow began to think that maybe the world was a really small place. The thought was a little dissatisfying and it made Sparrow long for the high seas and freedoms of the pirate band her father boasted about so easily. Somewhere where if someone knew your name it was because of something YOU did and not because of some family or something. Yeah, that sounded pretty cool.

What in the ever loving - Lyra froze just as she snapped her jaws towards a firefly, eyes drawn to... a... miniature... Valentine? What the fuck? What the hell was going on? How did Valentine shrink? What? Shaking herself all over as if creepy crawlies were in her fur, she immediately bounded over to the group of puppies, ignoring the others and focusing solely on Tyrian.... and was in for an even bigger surprise. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of fangs, very similar to her father's. Her mouth opened, shut, opened again, and shut once more with an audible click. For once, the wolf was actually speechless and had absolutely no idea how to react. Her gaze travelled over the pup's body, only to pause again. "Well, fuck, kid," she finally blurted. "Not only are you identical to my grandfather, you have my father's fangs, and my paws." At the end of paws, she held out one of her own, letting the claws slide out silently in demonstration. "Who are you?" Okay, there was no way in hell they weren't related. No way at all. But she had no knowledge of any other puppies in the family - and Rhyme and Rhythm both looked quite different to their dad. So what the hell was going on?

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"Speech" "You"

art by rainbowglaze123

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr turned to Tyrian, trying to work out the family tree. He forgot that Rhythm was also Sparrow's aunt. "So we're like… what cousins?" Honestly he pretty much considered Sparrow another sibling in a lot of ways and all the family connection stuff was confusing and boring anyway. He had no idea who Poem and Noir were but apparently they were this girls siblings. He gazed at Tyrian questioningly, wondering when he'd gone off to meet these random wolves.

All to soon he stopped paying to the conversation and to the fireflies as well when he spied a bunch of dandelions. He quickly bounded over to them, sniffing the plants excitedly. "Hey Afi," he hissed, "weren't you saying something about the uses of dandelions?" He'd always thought they were just weeds but the cat seemed to think they had some merit. Afi came over to him, crunching on a firefly. "Oh yes, useful plants these even if some insist on calling them weeds. You'll find the root to be of the most use." Álarr nodded and started to dig near one of the plants when in bounded one of his other relatives. Oh crumbs what was her name? Lyra? She seemed quite surprised to see Theory.

Álarr wrinkled his nose. She didn't look that much like his dad.

Theory quickly confirmed Tyrian's suspicions. That explained by she looked so much like Noir in the face. Tyrian nodded. "Yeah, Rhyme. That means Alarr and I are your uncles because our daddy is your daddy's daddy. And I met them all on the river." He neglected to mention that Rhyme had pulled him out of the water when he'd nearly drowned or that Valentine had later tried to explain Rhyme's weird connection to the family.

To Alarr he said, "Nonono, we're Sparrow's uncles too.""I think..." He swatted at a passing firefly absentmindedly and noted that Zahir did the same.

Suddenly a big neon lady was looming over him. He blinked up at her, his wariness of her keen interest only tempered by her vague similarities to his nephew Jupiter. By now he was used to finding relatives in odd places so her confusion, like Theory's, was strange to him. "Tyrian Imperialis. Who are you?"

A strange, brightly colored female bounded out of the shadows, who also claimed to share some kinship with Tyrian. Well, that meant they were related too... right? Theory snapped awkwardly at a firefly as she turned to address Sparrow's question. "My father is Rhyme, alpha of Abaven," she said proudly. Her small, bunny-like tail flicked upwards at the mention of her father. Being his daughter and a member of Abaven were both things to be proud of.

"Uncles..." she muttered, folding her ears. But they younger than her! Weren't uncles usually an older figure? "Well, since you're younger, I won't listen to you," she asserted quickly. Especially not until she could figure out exactly how they were all related to each other. "If your daddy is Rhyme's daddy, who the hell is he?" Theory blurted a bit crossly. This was all so confusing! Lyra's appearance only further muddied the whole interaction - in fact, Alarr and Sparrow already seemed a bit checked out. Sparrow was wrapped up in the fireflies and Alarr had set about digging at a weed.

At least catching fireflies was a straightforward task. Theory redoubled her efforts, focusing on the blinking bugs and trying to shuttle them into her container. Lou swept her wings in the direction of the container's opening, peering cautiously about at Zahir as she did. The raven was a little bit suspicious of the big cat.

Theory and Alouette catch fireflies #4

Okay, so Tyr and Alarr were this chick's uncles too... weird. They definitely weren't siblings. Sparrow made a point to look her up and down.  She announced that her father was an alpha. Well so was uncle Chaos, so she wasn't that special! "Yeah? Well my dad is King of the Pirates! He's traveled the seven se-" Sparrow was cut off as someone else decided to march up and start talking. Big dumb idiot adult thinking she could just barge up and flex her claws or whatever. So what? She was in the middle of talking about pirates!

Sparrow was beginning to believe that if these two really were related to her, then she got the lucky end of the stick by only having to deal with Alarr and Tyr every day. They were already much better and nicer than these two... girls. Whatever, Sparrow had fireflies to catch. She snapped at them idly, still listening into the conversation.

Imperialis. Well, that wasn't a surprise at all. "Lyra Saxe. Chaos' daughter." Her attention was taken away by the small Rhyme look-alike, and she tilted her head. Rhyme's daughter, so not an Imperialis as Rhyme was disowned for his unbecoming behavior. Was this one of the incest puppies? Lyra typically lacked manners at times, but even she knew not to ask that question. She'd investigate later if she could, but she truthfully didn't care much for Rhyme or his whelps. He was a disgrace to the Imperialis name, and while she didn't hold the name herself, that blood ran through her veins. She was a Saxe because there were so few, and her grandmother wanted to carry the line on.. thus Chaos. And she was his daughter, and therefore she laid claim to the Saxe name as well.

"Rhyme's father is Valentine Imperialis." The answer was said with a note of finality. She was quite familiar with Valentine as he was her randfather, and he grew up hearing sotires of him and Imperum - she sorta assumed so would this puppy... but perhaps not, since they were all disowned and considered disgraces. Her eyes flicked back to the mini-Valentine. "Kinda surprising to see Valentine had more kids. Make our family proud, Tyrian."

Álarr let out a laugh. "What really? Oh I feel old now!" He didn't realize he was actually an uncle, especially not to this strange girl he'd never met before. And he was an uncle to Sparrow to? Oh that was weird! He wrinkled his nose. "This family stuff is weird." It also made his head hurt to try and imagine how old Rhyme was and how everything was connected. Álarr puffed up as he answered Theory's question. "Our dad is the mighty Valentine Imperialis!" Sparrow started to mention something about her dad being king of the pirates but Álarr was pretty sure Valentine was more awesome. "So wait, which one is he then?" Sparrow's dad had to be one of Chaos' brothers but he was having a terrible time keeping everyone straight in his head.

Apparently the brightly colored woman was one of Chaos' kids. "So that would make you… my cousin?" Was he finally beginning to get this stuff figured out? "Oh, wait… oh bleh, are you my niece? What is happening in this family!"

This conversation was making his head hurt, he continued to dig around the dandelion until he had one mostly exposed then he reached down to try and pull it but could feel it wasn't going to come out just yet and he didn't want to rip it so he set himself back to digging.

The big adult introduced herself quickly and as Tyrian had suspected, they were related. "Oh yeah, I knew Chaos had a girl." He thought it for a second and then chortled with a grin, "That means Alarr and I are YOUR uncles too!" Things just kept getting more and more complicated, but since some of the others were struggling to keep up he was going to pretend he was finding it all confusing. "And don't you worry, I will," he said to Lyra with a crooked smirk.

To Alarr, he said in exasperation, "Her dad is Ashmedai, duh." After a beat he added something sure to rile his niece up, "Dunno about no pirate king, though, because that would make her a princess and she's not no princess." He eyed Sparrow up and down, trying to see if he could goad her into another fight. She liked to claim she was a pirate something or other a lot, and he liked to deny her piratehood. It was an ongoing dispute they'd had since she'd adopted the pirate moniker.

Theory blinked in confusion. Apparently, they were all related. She wrinkled her nose. "So then... you are my father's brothers, if Valentine is your father too," she said, a bit lamely. These other boys were her uncles, then? But they were so young! How old was Rhyme's father? He was still having children? Strange, although she supposed that weirder things had happened.

Ashmedai... She committed more names to her memory. Once she got back to Abaven, she'd have loads of questions for her father. Theo hoped he would answer them without too much begging. It was important that she knew the rest of her family, wasn't it? "Hey," she said quietly to Tyrian, shooting him a look. As the second oldest present - and one of three females - she felt strangely protective over Sparrow. "She can be whatever she wants to be." Theo had gotten used to playing peacemaker between Noir and her sisters.