The pup had been handed a bag…but no explanation on how he was supposed to catch the damn bugs. The youth would carry the bag in his mouth, keeping his head held high to prevent it from dragging on the ground and further disturbing the fireflies he was supposed to attempt to catch. The night was in full swing by this time and the field seemed to be a little less cluttered than it had been previously. A relief for him, it meant he could attempt this without too many bystanders watching him…and laughing at him. Huffing softly, he would sit his bag down and look around at the blades of grass. Ears forward and muscles tense he waited until a cluster lit up in the grass and then, he pounced in the same fashion a fox would. It worked on mice and voles…itd work on bugs too…right?


attempting to catch fireflies

she was separated from her family briefly, catching the eye of another pup as she wandered closer to him. her intention was to ask if the boy saw Papa or Mama, or even one of her siblings but when she neared him... well, Siobhan was intrigued. he was jumping all over the place with a bag in his mouth. oh! he was firefly catching! but he was also alone. frowning, she'd walk closer. "hello!" she'd beam, her goals forgotten. she still had her own little bag from playing with Paddy briefly. it hung around her neck on a leather string, the glow of the still living fireflies deep within. "I'm Siobhan!" her encounters with people so far made her less scared of approaching strangers. perhaps that was a bad thing but she didn't seem to care. "are you alone?" duh, of course, he was. but that didn't stop her from being friendly. he was the first pup she saw that wasn't huge and he looked... normal? was that the word? the fancy markings of the people at the festival were overwhelming. it was really nice to see someone who was more natural. course, as a pup Siobhan didn't really put stock into such things. he looked neat. that was all. a firefly zoomed past her head and she yapped excitedly, jumping up to try and catch it. ooc; third attempt at fireflies

So engrossed in catching bugs he hadn’t noticed anyone – especially another pup- approaching him, thus, as he stuffed his squished fireflies into his bag he would be startled by the friendly greeting. Jumping back, leaving the bag on the ground, he would turn to look at the other pup with wide eyes. She had the dark and light markings that reminded him of a raccoon…but obviously he wasn’t going to tell her that. He would laugh softly, a light giggle almost, at himself for being startled by a pup his own age. Ears twitched as she told him her name, Siobhan…interesting. “Sandor…” He offered her, his shy smile slowly growing as tail began to wag.

Her next blurted out question made his ears fall back and he faltered for a moment. She was a pup, no harm in telling her that his family was gone…. “Yeah…my dad and mom are gone…” He tried to play tough, like it didn’t bother him, but there was sorrow in his eyes as he pushed away the memory before tears formed. Fortunately, the sad subject- for the moment- was cast aside as a firefly zoomed by her and she snapped at it. He giggled again and would attempt to pounce on some more in the grass, eager to fill his bag up…although he wasn’t sure what exactly the prize was.

"wow" she said in awe, her eyes wide as she looked at him. Siobhan couldn't imagine being away from Papa and Mama. that they could be gone one day... her little pup mind couldn't think of such things. and naively and innocent as she was, she burst into a wide smile with her little tag wagging behind her. "you must be so brave!" she yipped, pocketing her fireflies to turn back to him. "I couldn't live alone. I'd be scared." she thought he was really courageous if he could come all the way here on his own. Siobhan jumped suddenly, trying to capture more fireflies. she fell to the earth, her attempts forgotten and not counted as she looked to Sandor again. whether she caught more was beyond her. she wasn't counting; it was too fun to chat. she saw some wolves using their familiars to help! those cheaters! "maybe you can visit me at Lirim!" she went on to say, grinning broadly. surely Papa would let Sandor have a bite to eat at least? the boy looked so skinny. she pointed in a direction at seemingly random "its that way!" ooc; 4th attempt at fireflies

Her awed voice and wide eyes made Sandor seem like he was some sort of hero or…amazing creature and as great as that felt he also knew it couldn’t be further from the truth. Her innocence made him smile faintly, but it was a ghost of his regular smile. Shifting uncomfortably as she mentioned being scared he nodded. “It can be scary sometimes…” He reluctantly admitted. As much as he wanted to be the brave, fearless rogue pup that she met at the festival he simply wasn’t…not yet. He was brave, but far from fearless…well…he thought he was brave anyway.

She jumped to catch fireflies and he did the same, pouncing on them and squishing whatever he got before he lifted his paws to peak at what he had. He seemed to actually care how many he squished. When Siobhan mentioned visiting her in Lirim he looked up at her, head tilting before turning in the direction she pointed. “What…are they like?” He asked, nervous suddenly. He’d had too many pack wolves try and scoop him up and either force him to join their pack or worse- make him a slave. He didn’t want that again, not here.

3rd attempt

Sandor admitted it was scary at times, causing Siobhan to click her tongue in sympathy. as she landed, she'd approach him and reach out to give what she thought was a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Lirim is nice" she'd smile reassuringly "I have lots of brothers and sisters. I gots an aunt, Papa and Mama... a grandpa." she didn't realize compared to other packs, Lirim was smaller than them. she was just happy to have a stable home. the territory was nice and safe too, which was an added bonus. she couldn't wait to see 'snow'! "our healer is a grumpy butt, but I think he's just shy" Siobhan winked as she turned away from the boy to try and catch more fireflies. she'd seen Mister Holland walking around with Aunt Kairi, and she hoped that they were getting along. Mister Holland needed friends. everyone needed friends! "you can be my friend" she'd say as she landed from her final attempt at firefly catching. it wasn't the same as a family, but at least Sandor wasn't going to be alone. she'd turn back to him, a hopeful look on her face. "unless... you don't wanna be friends?" ooc; 5th attempt at fireflies

The comforting pat was welcome, even if it was a bit…awkward. He hadn’t had others comfort him in what seemed like forever. Still, Sandor smiled at the touch, listening as she talked about her pack. It was interesting to hear how many relatives she had in Lirim. Sandor laughed at the thought of studying under a grumpy butt of a healer but he supposed he could deal with that if it meant he could learn. “Do you have fighters in Lirim?” he asked, head tilted to the side with interest and curiosity. His interests didn’t just lie with healing, he wanted to be a good fighter too…it was in his blood.

He grinned at the idea of being her friend and nodded, “thatd be nice! I haven’t had friends in awhile.” He laughed, awkwardly. Sandor once more sprang up to land in the grass on top of some fireflies.

with all her turns up, Siobhan would sit down with her little satchel and try to count how many fireflies she had gotten. her ear twitched as Sandor asked her about fighters, and she'd grin. "my aunt, Kairi, is trainin' to be a fighter!" though she didn't know if the cardinal hued woman was an expert or not. the girl had no real experience with others that were... not her family. she had met a few people so far at the festival, but nobody was going to be close by when she wanted to play. "we can be best friends then!" she added naively and innocently, giggling as Sandor accepted her friendship. she didn't even know if she'd ever see him again, but her youth proclaimed it to be true. she would be friends with this boy for a long time. ooc; all attempts used

Siobhan sat and counted her bugs, but Sandor wasn’t done, he still had one more turn! He scooped the two fireflies into his bag and bounced once again to squish some more for his final attempt. Siobhan mentioned her aunt training to be a fighter and he grinned, lifting his head slightly in a show of pride. “My dad was teachin’ me before he got sick.” He didn’t usually brag, but his dad said he was doing really good.

He nodded eagerly at her claim to being best friends. “Awesome!” He liked being in her presence, she was calming, she didn’t make him feel safe but it was something different. “Would…would Lirim let me stay?” He asked, hesitant. It was a dangerous question for him, he wasn’t sure he wanted to join a pack, there had to be stipulations in place…he needed more important questions answered.

the girl would softly frown, furrowing her brows at the thought of her own father getting sick. then eventually leaving this earth behind him, and her and her siblings. and Mama too. "I'm sorry" she said instinctively, wondering not for the first time if Sandor had a place to even stay. or wolves he had met to rely on. the thought of having nobody made her sad, not just for him but for nobody being near him. he was a nice boy. so when he asked if Lirim could take him in, she'd gasp lightly. "my Papa is alpha, so he could accept you!" it didn't occur to her that Torin may not but Siobhan didn't see a reason why he wouldn't. Papa was kind and wise; he'd surely take in a lone pup. "we can find him at the end of the festival, and... and ask him!" her usual cheerfulness returned at the prospect of returning to Lirim with a friend. ooc; all attempts used