Solitude remained perched upon his broad shoulders as he walked deeper into the forest. He found himself alone, but the feeling wasn’t entirely unwelcome. The kids were having fun, he felt like he was getting a vacation, and he didn’t have to think about his problems. All he had to do was avoid conflict with Ashmedai. He chuckled to himself as he continued on, though the situation wasn’t funny in the least. He lost Peggy and her pups, but there had been no bloodshed. He just had to look forward to the new whelps coming. Shaye’s sister, and his own.

The white raven cracked loudly, instructing his master to offer his container so that the pair of them might catch another few of the bright bugs.

Shaye, still wondering easily through the grounds of the festival, caught the scent of Rhyme, and shook her head with a fond smile. She had seen him slip by her a few times - on accident, she knew, as their paths had refused to cross on anything except the race itself.

She made her way towards him, and would find him with a container, and a clear intent to hunt fireflies. She had already caught her own, but that wasn’t about to stop her from enjoying the fun. She sneaked up behind him, and snagged the nearest pile off the ground into her newly emptied container. She knew she couldn’t hand these in, but that wasn’t the point. “You need to be faster than that!” she warned him, holding up her prize.

Rhyme and Solitude were both focused on their task, and neither managed to detect Shaye as she approached. Suddenly her voice was at his ear and his last batch was gone. He looked in disbelief from where they had been to where Shaye now stood, teasing him with his own catch. Rhyme furrowed his brows in mock frustration and frowned as she teased him. ”I’m doing quite well with my speed, thank you.” He returned her playful teasing as he made motion to grab them back. His quick movement cause Solitude to flap to keep his balance.

Of course there were more fireflies to catch, so Rhyme couldn’t focus on her for very long. He looked to the bugs that flew around his head and for the last time he made an attempt to catch them.