Waiting For You All My Life

It had been a while since Blackweed had last sent out a prayer for the return of her family. She didn't feel like she needed to. If anything, Blackweed felt like she needed to give thanks for all of the good fortune she was getting. Blackweed wasn't a downer by any means. She was generally rather positive, or tried to be. There was a while there, though, where she had felt herself slipping back into loneliness and depression. Back into the vicious grips of addiction and the void of emotion. All of this goodness was coming at just the right time. For the first time since Blackweed had come back to life and settled to live in the Dark Dynasty, she felt like things were starting to fall into place.

There were two things that Blackweed knew would never become a reality. Her late husband would never come home, for once. Blackweed was actually rather content with that. She had gotten rather sick of babysitting him towards the end. He was one incident of setting himself on fire away from a divorce. The second was that her daughter, Jadedragon, would most likely never come home. She wasn't a lost soul like Project K. Blackweed wasn't sure what she was. Jadedragon wavered in this dead space of being dead and alive at the same time. Her soul wasn't visible to Blackweed through the Sight, but Jade also wasn't entirely gone. There were hints of her still around. Blackweed could sometimes feel her presence even though she couldn't see her.

Catching bugs had been Jade's favorite activity as a young child. While Blackweed collected up herbs, her daughter would be off hunting beetles and moths to take home and poke at. She knew all of the facts about bugs there was to know. Jade was the one to call to evict roaches or spiders. There was one bug she loved in particular, light bugs. They only came out at certain times a year. They were dazzling and unique to any other bug. Jade would go out and catch them in masses to hang in jars for a night and then let them free the next.

Every single summer, Blackweed would catch the first light bugs she saw in a jar and keep them for a night. It was almost like a tribute to Jade, her lost daughter that would never come home. Watching them was a great comfort. The moment Blackweed saw the gentle flickers between the branches of bamboo, she had run back to her den and snatched an empty jar from her stash. Weaving her way though the trees, Blackweed opened up the jar and got ready to slap the lid on upon catching a few bugs. When Blackweed dove into the fray of light bugs, she only came out with one in the jar. A bit disappointing. She felt bad that she had taken this one bug away from it's group, with no friends to keep it company. Opening the lid of the jar, Blackweed set it on the ground. "Go ahead, go back to your friends. Don't want you to be lonely." She explained to the insect, nudging the jar with one paw in hopes of shooing it off faster.

"What do you mean? I'm not going anywhere. This is a mighty good jar." 

Blackweed did a double take, staring at the bug on the side of the jar. She could have sworn she heard a familiar voice, but Blackweed brushed it off as nothing. She was getting old and was rather lonely. Blackweed was bound to hear things. Well, since this bug seemed determined to stay in the jar, Blackweed turned and started to make her way home. She would return in the morning to gather up the jar when the bug had went home.

"Going so soon, mother, you just caught me."
Blackweed froze, hearing the same voice again. She looked around once. She couldn't be going completely crazy, surely? She was old, but not that old. Clearing her throat, Blackweed decided there couldn't be a harm in attempting to answer. "Hello? Anyone there?"
"You're not blind, turn around!"

Spinning on her heels, Blackweed turned sharply. She had expected to see the healthy, sleek body of a short furred black cat. Instead, it was just the bug in the jar. "Are you really talking? ...Blink twice if I'm not crazy."
Sure enough, the light bug flashed it's light twice and took flight out of the top of the jar to light on the tip of Blackweed's nose. "Not crazy at all."
Blackweed supposed that the idea of her daughter being trapped in a bug's body couldn't be all that far fetched. She had seen crazier things. "Can other people hear you, or will they think I'm crazy?" Blackweed prompted. The last thing she needed was for the population of the Dark Dynasty to assume she was insane. She had just gotten a very pleasant promotion into a comfortable position. Blackweed definitely did not need a conversation with a light bug who may or may not be her daughter to ruin that for her.

"Y'know, I'm not all that sure myself." The bug answered, crawling it's way over Blackweed's face to the tip of her ear. "We could test it."

Blackweed wasn't all that fond of the idea of walking into the middle of camp and introducing everyone to a light bug, but it was worth a try. Back though the bamboo Blackweed went and to the center of camp. She sat down and moved the bug from her ear onto the leafy ground. "Alright, say something." She demanded.

With a soft hum, the bug introduced itself. "I am Jadedragon, less of a dragon and more of a bug now, but that's okay. Beggars can't be choosey, I guess." 

Looking around for any interest, Blackweed turned back to the bug. Staring at the insect on the ground, Blackweed felt anxiety in her chest. Suppose she was going crazy? Although, would she have the suspicion of herself going crazy if she really was? But if this insect was really talking to her, what would happen if Jade accidentally got squished? Blackweed would never forgive herself. She had lost her daughter once and it couldn't happen again. It hadn't yet sunk in that Jade was alive and back in her company. The old feline was still caught on the fact that she was talking to an insect.