Ahote

Shadow and Moths

The forest would have been immensely dark if it weren't for the small flickering lights flitting between the trees. They were not an unusual sight here, surrounding the cafe. Most dragons were asleep at this time, oblivious to the beauty out there, but Ahote knew of it. He would fly at night, under the stars, and explore beneath the trees and willow-wisp lights.

Tonight, he lay on his back under an oak tree, gazing up at the gently swishing branches. They could have been the fingers of a giant or the phalanges of a dragon's skeletal wing if he squinted. The shining stars twinkled through them and brightly down at him, like small, distant eyes.

Then a shadow passed over, blocking those pretty points of light from his vision for a moment. Curious, he rolled to his feet, his head tipped back to watch the sky. It was cloudless in the atmosphere, so the shadow had not been any cloud.

Long minutes passed with nothing to see, or nothing odd, anyway. He relaxed back into a crouch, continuing to gaze up to the galaxies so far above. Nothing disturbed the peace save for the gentle breeze rustling dry leaves. But then... There! A dark blob in the tree way above him. He sprang up and took flight swiftly, climbing quickly to where the mysterious thing had been. When he reached it he found nothing but a pale moth, one of many that followed him around. Ahote smiled at it and ran a claw over the soft white fur on it's back. The lunar moth's wings shivered at the touch. Then another moth fluttered around his head, distracting him. His friends were always close, they would know if anything was wrong in the forest around him.

The first moth fluttered up and out from the canopy of the forest. He followed it with his eyes and yet again saw the shadow, gliding quietly, silently above him. He couldn't tell what it was, yet the moths didn't seem bothered by it.

He followed his friend into the night sky , watching the strange dark thing fly away over the tops of the trees, at first gliding low then soaring up and vanishing into the darkened heavens. No trace of its existence remained.

Ahote put his head to one side, wondering to follow it. He had not seen anything like that before. But he decided against it, it had disappeared completely by now, there was no way he would be able to find it.

With the pale moths gathering around him, he glided over the canopy, heading in the general direction of the cafe.