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“You want to take photos of me making incense and luring butterflies?” Tighnari gazed at her with furrowed brows.
“Yes.” Lumine nodded, placing up a camera in Tighnari's home, aimed at his workspace. “We didn't have a chance to capture the process of how you created and launched it during the Championship. Kareena asked us to take additional photos for articles about the event, especially since you won the first round. Would that be a problem?”
“It's not a problem. I still have the necessary ingredients, but…” The man looked reluctantly at the camera. “I was hoping the whole Championship farce was over.” He finished, muttering more to himself than to her.
“Sorry.” Lumine folded her hands apologetically. “I promise, just this one more thing and I won't pester you with photos anymore.”
Tighnari sighed and nodded. He approached his desk and started pulling out the necessary ingredients and equipment. Lumine's nose quickly picked up a pleasant scent of fruits and flowers.
She watched as he precisely handled each part of the process. His thoughtful face and eyes lowered to the element he was working on made him seem exceptionally handsome. Lumine's heart pounded stronger as she observed him through the camera lens.
“By the way…” She got startled as the man suddenly spoke without shifting his eyes from a mortar in his hands. “Are you there alone? Where's your squeaky companion?”
“Paimon said bugs were boring and went to interview Kaveh instead,” explained Lumine, trying to ignore the rapid beating of her heart. “Although I have a feeling she's hoping to be treated to a feast again.”
The Forest Ranger snorted, his ears flicking with annoyance.
“I hope not. Kaveh has enough financial problems, even without feeding the hungry flying black hole.” He made a short pause. “Besides, butterflies are insects, not bugs.”
Lumine chuckled briefly and zoomed in the camera on his hands which at the moment were peeling Zaytun Peach's skin. His nimble and slender fingers have always fascinated her. She was curious what they looked like under his gloves…
“Wake up, sleepyhead! I'm done!” Tighnari’s voice snapped her out of her reverie. “If you want to take photos while it's still daytime, we need to hurry.”
Tighnari led her to one of the hills surrounding Gandharva Ville, where there was a meadow filled with flowers. Many beautiful butterflies were flying around, appearing unbothered by the arrival of people.
“This place will do. With butterflies already here, luring them away a little won't disturb the ecosystem,” said the botanist, setting up a container of incense on the ground.
Lumine quickly set up the camera, glancing anxiously at the setting sun. There wasn't much daylight time left.
“Okay, ready,” she looked at Tighnari.
The man nodded and lit the incense. Lumine captured in photos how the smoke began to rise, and how the first butterflies flew to it almost immediately. Over time, so many gathered they obscured the man standing next to them.
“I think it's enough. Kareena should be happy, so thank you for your cooperation.” Lumine gave a thumbs-up to Tighnari.
He smiled slightly in response.
“I really hope she will stop asking for more.” He sighed and pointed to a fallen tree nearby. “We have to wait until the incense burns out before returning to the village. How about sitting down?”
Lumine nodded and both of them rested on the trunk, watching butterflies dancing around the incense. As the sun was setting, it was increasingly noticeable that the insects radiated a soft light.
“I forgot to ask this last time, but why do these butterflies seem to glow?” asked Lumine.
Tighnari's eyes lit up with enthusiasm, as always, when he was going to talk about something fascinating.
“I added pollen from luminous flowers to the incense. Thanks to that, even if the round of the competition lasted all night, I was able to more easily see Swiftflies among the gathered butterflies. This is not harmful to them because…”
The man continued to explain as Lumine stared at him. Although his words didn't exactly interest her, she didn't mind listening to his voice. She also liked watching his face make different expressions and his ears and tail react to his words.
Being with Tighnari was… simply enjoyable. He didn't hesitate to speak his mind; he cared about others and was full of commitment to the issues that concerned him. At the same time, he was very handsome, with interesting eye color, long eyelashes, subtly pink lips and…
“Hm?” Tighnari looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Do I have something on my face?”
Lumine felt the blood rush to her face at being caught staring. She quickly turned her gaze back to the cloud of insects.
“Oh, look, fireflies have joined the butterflies! I didn't know incense had something to attract them,” she called, trying to change the topic.
It seemed to work as Tighnari scratched his chin in thought.
“I also didn't expect that. Adult fireflies don't need to eat, so the aroma of fruits and flowers shouldn't interest them. Perhaps they followed the light from the butterflies or…” He smirked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. “...their own kind attracted them.”
Lumine rolled her eyes and giggled.
“I highly doubt it.”
She noticed one of the butterflies had separated from the rest and flew up to them. With slight amusement, she watched as it landed on top of Tighnari’s ear. The man tensed immediately, and when the butterfly started opening and closing its wings, he let out a giggle.
“It tickles!”
Lumine realized that despite Tighnari smiling often, she hardly ever had a chance to see him laugh. What a shame. His laughter was so adorable.
“Can you take it off?” He asked, shifting his eyes to her. “I could flicker my ear, but… that would be rude.”
This time it was Lumine who chuckled. The man, who usually didn’t hesitate to speak his mind with blunt remarks, was worried about offending a little butterfly. So cute.
“Sure,” she said, shifting closer to him.
She reached out to his ears and gently picked up the butterfly with her finger. It seemed to not mind as it didn’t fly away, staying still on her nail.
Lumine sat back next to Tighnari, observing the little guest. The butterfly had pretty golden wings, glowing beautifully in the dark.
“What species is this?”
“Vindula erota.”
Tighnari answered immediately, yet something in his voice sounded distant as if he wasn’t there with his thoughts. Lumine raised her head to look at him and realized the man wasn’t observing the butterfly. He was watching her.
She only then noticed how close they were to each other. She could see countless glowing butterflies and fireflies dancing in his eyes. His irises were always beautiful with their unique color, reminding her of the forest. But now, with flickering lights inside, they made her heart beat faster.
The butterfly on her finger suddenly took off, making her tear her gaze from Tighnari as she watched it joining back the others. She soon couldn’t tell which one it was.
“Lumine.”
The man’s voice sounded unusually deep and breathy. She looked again at him and blushed, realizing he didn’t stop observing her.
“You have pollen on your face,” he said quietly.
He raised his hand, hesitating before gently rubbing her cheek with his thumb. The leather of his gloves was warm and soft, leaving a pleasant sensation on her skin. Lumine subconsciously leaned into it and relaxed. She could hear Tighnari holding his breath.
Then he moved closer, stopping for a moment as if waiting for her to push him away. When she didn’t, he took a big breath and leaned forward slowly, finally closing the distance between them.
The first thing she noticed was how soft and pleasant his lips were. They were slowly and tenderly tasting her, as if not wanting to scare her away. Lumine knew that even at this moment, he first and foremost cared about her wellbeing. She loved how selfless he was, yet…
One of her hands landed on the back of his head, petting the base of his ears. Tighnari groaned quietly, allowing her tongue to enter his mouth. Without breaking the kiss, she climbed into his lap and drew him even closer. Their bodies melted into each other as his pleasant and soothing scent embraced her.
A wave of electricity passed between them as their tongues danced. Lumine could feel her entire body being flooded with warmth and passion. Every touch and every movement felt like pure magic. She knew this was something special, something that couldn't be forgotten. Something she would never want to end.
Tighnari became more confident with his actions, causing her to moan quietly with sucking on her lower lip or caressing her tongue with his own. His hands traveled down her body, resting on her hips.
That was too much for poor Lumine’s heart. She moved away a little, panting with her face burning from blushes. Tighnari also had a quickened breath as he stared at her with fire in his eyes.
“Looks like…” he started with satisfaction in his voice. “…the incense helped me lure an especially unique firefly.”
Lumine huffed, feeling her cheeks burning even more.
“I don’t think it was just incense’s fault,” she said. “The Chief Officer of Forest Watchers is a trap for poor fireflies himself.” Tighnari raised his eyebrows. “Handsome face, cute ears, fluffy tail…” At the mention, the tail wrapped itself around her, keeping her close. “Taunting the fireflies with his knowledge and caring personality… and that soothing voice and scent…”
Tighnari squinted his eyes with a smirk.
“Looks like this firefly has been trapped for a while,” he noticed, amused. “I wonder when…”
Lumine shut him up with another kiss.