Sheltered Life

A small giggle left the little girl, the blue fabric of her dress gently covering her young form as she knelt down beside the tree root, leaning over it to look at the flowers that managed to survive in the shadows of the thick shadows thrown from the oak. Her antennae twitched softly, curled locks hanging from her head as she reached down and gently touched one of the petals on the flower. "So p'etty..." Luf said softly, giggling before perking up as she looked ahead.

That trail her teacher showed her had to be somewhere nearby...hm, she wanted to find that pond! It had been so pretty with so many colorful flowers and scents...

She got to her feet, walking away from the tree, her steps light on the grass as she searched for the trail through the forest her mentor had shown her. The Golden Valley was so peaceful and quiet - the young sugar ant had nothing to fear in the forest as she walked alone. Or so she thought, she really had no clue as to how dangerous it was for a buglet her age to be wandering alone. Though her teacher was sleeping back at the estate and she had taken the chance to sneak away.

It hadn't been to hard to slip past the maids and get outside. And she had been positive that she would be able to find the path again...though so far she was only managing to get lost in the forest, the scent of the coast beginning to strengthen as she walked. The pond wasn't anywhere near the ocean though! Oh, she was getting a little frustrated now...

Luf stopped, antennae drooping a bit. This wasn't as fun as she thought it would be! She was hungry...and the forest was getting boring - there weren't too many flowers to look at... "I wanna go home now..." Luf said, pouting softly.

Flying around in the calm breeze a brightly colored moon moth flies her way through the branches above the ground. Laughing lightly as she drives a certain tarantula wasp up the wall with him trying to keep up. The younger female moth was more agile and hyper then he was. The young male insect continued to follow her until he spots something down below. Coming to a slow stop he lands a good distance away from the smaller insect. Looking around, he spotted no elder...well anyone for that matter. She seemed lost and in these woods, it was dangerous. Walking up to the girl from behind, he still kept a distance, a concerned look on his face.

"...little one, are you lost?" His voice was kept soft though it still had a low rumble to it. His antennas were kept held back and held high to pick up on anything near by. It pained him to see children lost and alone, that was how he met up with the moth he was following before. The said moth would turn around for him once she realized he stopped following so he wasn't worried about her. She was an adult now anyways. For now he kept his eyes on the small sugar ant, hoping he wouldn't frighten her either.

She blinked, turning at the voice...and her eyes brightened, the little hyme looking at the male wasp curiously.

"I'm not lost! I'm looking for the pond..." she frowned softly, looking around as she brushed some leaves off her blue dress. "...well...I don't think I'm lost...I just can't find the path to the pond that teacher showed me." Luf said sadly, drooping a little, her antennae drooping back against her head. "...t-teacher will be mad if I got lost." the sugar ant said, a small whine in her voice and she looked up at him sadly.

Before he could answer, the little moth he was chasing happens to come back and land behind the small girl. Parfe tilts her head looking to the girl confused before looking to Arkane.

"kane...whats going on?" Parfe kneels down to the girls height and smiles softly to her to show she means no harm.

"Hello...did my friend scare you, if so I'm very sorry...he means no harm, he's a real teddy bear once you get to know him" Laughing lightly as Arkane seems to blush and give a slight scowl at her. But he didn't say anything about it to keep this relatively calm.

" I would help you find this pond but I think the wiser idea would be to bring you back to your teacher or the adult in charge...wandering around alone is very dangerous..."

She squeaked when she felt the breeze of someone landing behind her, antennae perking up against her curled locks and she turned, looking up at the moth and smiling softly.

"H-He didn't scare me, I'm used to bees and stuff." the little one said and frowned as she heard the moth. "...I don't remember where the estate is though. I was going to head back after a bit, but by now teacher will already realize I'm missing." she shifted a little, obviously not liking that thought. Luf looked at them, "Do you know where the estate is if you don't know where the pond is?" she asked hopefully.

The hyme brightened at his words, giggling softly when he knelt and bowed, her eyes widening softly in awe...oh wow, he was like one of those knights in the stories her mother used to read her! Luf, fluffed her blue dress a bit, smiling happily up at the elder, "I-I would love that! I could find my way back easy from the pond." Luf said happily, flushing a little.

Parfe smiles at the sight in front of her. Arkane was a charmer alright and she was glad to see that the little girl seemed to be in a better mood now.
She says nothing as Arkane handles the situation on his own. The said wasp holds his hand out to her gently giving a soft smile with the added soft warm eyes of his.

" I promise I will not drop you, your protection is priority from this point on, m'lady" Giving a small wink to her. Parfe almost giggles herself, he could do this all day and he'd probably win over MANY females like this, but he only used it to make others happy, not for any sort of advantage.

Luf giggled, her ruby eyes brightening happily as she watched the older hyme before moving closer to him and slipping her much smaller hand into his, her antennae perking up.
Oh wow, he was so cool! She couldn't believe what luck she had into running into such a new wasp - her teacher told her that the wasps in this area were cruel...but that definitely wasn't the case with this one!

"Thank you!" the buglet said happily as she watched him in a sort of admiration and awe, not afraid or hesitant in the least. "I'm not heavy though, I promise! Teacher won't let me eat too many sweets to make sure I stay a good shape!"

Arkane smiled to the girl and nodded, a child was nothing to him to lift. Gently he lifts the small girl into his arms, his wings shifting back out into position
before looking down to the small girl.

"I promise I wont drop you, hold on as tight as you like though" He added before slowly hovering above the ground for a moment before rejoining Parfe
in the air above them.

" To the lake!" Parfe yelled a bit, giggling before taking off with Arkane not far behind her.

Shifting a bit, Luf relaxed in the male's arms - though squeaked when he flew up to meet the lepidoran, resting her head against the wasp's chest and gripping at his shoulders with her little hands, her brunette locks swaying gently around her young features as Arkane flew. She had only been flown once or twice before, though she tried to look brave for her knight even as she curled into his hold a bit.

"Thank you helping me, I want to be back in time for din-din, otherwise teacher will scold me again..." Luf said against Arkane's chest, her blue dress ruffling as he flew with her.