The light had started to fade and the fireflies had come out. Everything seemed to come alive in the Grotto when the night blossomed. There was more activity than there was during the day. The little, flickering bugs weren't around when the sun was out. That meant he had nothing to play with during the daylight hours.

The translucent cub raced about in an attempt to catch the insects. He would dash after one glow and then another, running from one insect to another. Pyp was playing just like any other cub might. He had no realization that he had his own glow as well. And perhaps this is what attracted the fireflies to him in return because before he knew it he was surrounded by glowing lights.

The ghost cub laughed and lifted up a paw to playfully bat at the fireflies. He didn't see his paw passing through them but simply thought that they had flickered away before he could touch them. He didn't realize that he didn't have a solid form any longer. The child had no idea that he was dead.

Fending for herself wasn't anything new for Kalahari, she had been doing it for the past year, after all. Doing it while recovering from an injury was significantly more difficult, but if nothing else, the tawny woman was a stubborn one. She would scavenge from picked-over carcasses if she had to, or get by on spring hares and field mice. She wasn't in great condition, but the simple fact that she was still alive was evidence enough that she had managed to find enough food to get by.

It also helped that she had at least some knowledge of medicinal plants, and so had been able to keep her wounded shoulder largely free of infection, something that had sped up the healing process significantly. She had come back to the Peaks that day for just such a purpose actually, having previously found a small grove of oil palms there--the nuts of which could be cracked open and chewed up to render a pain-soothing pulp. Kalahari was still unfamiliar with the territory, however, and to her chagrin, she had only managed to get herself lost deeper in the peaks. Now, as night spread its dark wings across the land, she was looking for a place to bed down, or perhaps a hare to make a paltry dinner.

What she found instead was a stunningly-beautiful little valley, all but hidden behind a cascade of water. She had heard a child's laughter from outside the grotto and followed it, curious. This hadn't smelled like a pride territory, what was a child doing out here alone? She had pushed her way through a crevasse in the rock to find the grotto, lit up with the tiny, dancing lights of fireflies. And amidst them, seeming to reflect their glow on his fur, was a speckled and striped cub, who leaped and laughed as he joined in their dance.

It was a heartwarming sight, and her first impulse was to approach and greet the boy, but something held her back for a moment. Animal instinct was telling her that something was amiss here, and like any animal, she knew to be cautious around the unknown. Realization came with a habitual sniff of the air: he had no scent. Why did he have no scent...?

Realizing that she was likely to be noticed sooner or later, she stepped forward and gave a soft chuff, intending to announce her presence without startling him. "Are you alright, little one? Is your family nearby?" He looked much too young to be away from his parents, and as secluded and safe as the grotto seemed, a lion cub was a tempting target for other carnivores.

code by corvus

The boy was enjoying his time romping around. He had no one else to play with as his Papa wasn't here to play with him at the moment. Others traveled through the area from time to time but not many stopped to play with him. That was okay because he had learned to entertain himself over the years, not that he even knew that years had passed. Heck the boy didn't even realize the passing of days. He had no concept of time.

Pyp turned eagerly at the calling voice, hope fluttered in his chest that his Papa had returned to play with him. But that was dashed by the presence of the female. His form dimmed as he was disappointed by this discovery. He missed his Papa terribly when he was gone. He missed his Mama even more but she never came.

"Papa not here now. Mama never here." The Spectre child responded to the question. He had family but they were... well, wherever they were when they weren't here. "No one here. Only me." At least he was the only visible spirit for the time being.

@Kalahari

The boy had spun around excitedly when she called out, only to look somewhat crestfallen when he caught sight of her as if he had been expecting someone else. Perhaps her eyes were merely playing tricks on her, but she could have sworn the glow of the fireflies seemed to abandon him slightly in that moment.

More perturbing was the fact that he was indeed alone. The tawny woman's brows furrowed slightly. "Do they often leave you alone like this?" His mother, especially! This boy couldn't have been more than four or five months old, he still had the soft lines and faint spotting of a young child that hadn't yet weaned. What kind of mother left their babe on their own so often--oh.

Oh.

Well...now she felt rather like an ass for assuming the worst. Perhaps the poor boy had never gotten to know his mother at all.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your dance with the fireflies," she said, hoping to shift the conversation to more pleasant matters. Kala sat back on her haunches and looked around at the winking, yellow-green lights that floated around them. "I had just never seen a place like this before, and I had to have a look around."

@Pypar

code by corvus

Pypar didn't really consider being alone. He wasn't always aware of what went on in the Grotto. The Spectre didn't even realize when he wasn't here, or at least he didn't have some visual form at the time. Just as there was no concept of time there was no concept of space either. Pyp just was.

"Papa sometimes here. Papa sometimes not here. Papa brings presents." Not all of the time but usually something was brought along to attract Pyp's interest. But then the ghost cub also just enjoyed it when he had his father around to spend time with. Not too many really seemed to come play with him.

"Fireflies like dance." A nod of agreement joined the words. "You dance too?" It was an invitation to play, if not with him then with the fireflies at least. "Is nice here. Is quiet."

@Kalahari

He almost seemed puzzled by the question, and equally unbothered by his father's apparent tendency to drop in and out. This grotto did seem like a safe place, lots of underbrush for a cub to hide in if some unwelcome visitor came sniffing about, but it was still risky for them to be left unattended for too long. That was another strange thing--there were no scent-markers around that might have suggested a pride called this place home. No other kids, either. Raising cubs alone, outside the safety of a pride...was it just this boy and his father? Far be it from her to judge the parenting styles of others when she herself had never even had children, but still...

She hadn't been entirely sure how to respond, and so was somewhat relieved when he changed the subject to lighter matters. Generally, Kalahari wouldn't have lingered around someone else's child, but she couldn't help but feel for the boy, if the only one he ever really talked with was his sire. "If it's all right with you and the fireflies," she said with a smile, as she bowed, "I would love to dance. I'll follow your lead, then?" They could make a game of it, she could try to copy his leaps and bounds as they chased the glowing insects.

@Pypar

code by corvus

His offer to play was accepted and caused the boy to wiggle about eagerly, as well as glowing brighter. "I lead real good!" Pyp stated excitedly. He was glad to have someone else to play with even if it wasn't Papa. Years past his death the childlilke nature still clung to him. But then he didn't have knowledge of the world outside the Grotto to influence him.

Pyp turned his focus back to the fireflies once more. With a laugh the boy reached up with a forepaw to bat at the fireflies again as he had been doing before. When the firefly would get out of reach the boy attempted to leap up after it in order to try and get it back close to him once more.

@Kalahari

He appeared to welcome the idea of a playmate, he practically beamed in fact. At first she had just thought the boy had exceptionally glossy dark fur, but no, there definitely seemed to be a shine of some sort around him. That was...odd, to say the least, but he didn't seem to notice himself, and before she could question it, he was already off, jumping about after the glowing lights. Maybe her eyes were just playing tricks on her.

She kept pace with him as he raced about the meadow, jumping and high-stepping as he did. It was a simple, silly game, but the boy's happiness was infectious, warming her heart in a way she hadn't felt in quite some time, until Kala began to feel a bit of cublike merriment herself. At one point, a firefly he was chasing veered towards her, and with a grin, she swung her own paw at it. She didn't intend to hit it, however, only cause it to drift back towards the boy so that he could more easily capture it himself when he jumped for it. "There! Get that one!"

@Pypar

code by corvus

The spectre child had almost forgotten about his companion during his play, as he was so used to amusing himself, until her voice rung out and brought his attention back towards the lioness. "You got one!" He called out happily as he watched the firefly that she was corralling back towards him.

He laughed and went after the firefly himself. An incorporeal paw reached up to try and grab at the firefly but went right through it instead. This didn't bother the ghost child in the slightest. "I got it!" Whole body wiggled happily despite the firefly continuing on its lazy way.

"Very good catch." The boy praised the lioness. "Want play more?" Pyp asked, a hopeful look passing over his features. "Can play find."

@Kalahari