MOTH GUIDED

BY FIREFLIES

Tribe of Floating Stones

brown long haired she cat with green eyes

Moth Guided by Fireflies is a softly built cat. At first glance, not many would pin her for the kind of cat who could be Head of Prey-Hunters. She is below average height and even with her long fur, she has a thin build. Her lank body makes her fur droop with gravity. Her muscles are compact and tightly twined with her frame making her look skinnier than she actually is. Moth has difficulty putting on weight and her body eats up excess fat faster than the average cat. 

Moth's build tends to make her look very twig-like. Thin and stretched out. Her limbs, tail, and even her neck are elegantly long. Her feathered, thick tail tends to drag along the ground if she doesn't pick it up. It took Moth several moons to grow into her lanky limbs, but eventually she mastered her body enough to develop a graceful gait. Moth's face is as slim and well defined as the rest of her body. She has oriental features hat give her sharp cheek bones and a protruding muzzle.  

Moth's coat is long and lax. It hangs off her frame like a curtain of vine leaves from a willow tree. Her pelt is rather thick and has a soft texture. Her fur colour is a solid brown with light tabby markings on her face. Her pelt is a gradient of dark brown along her spine, to a honey brown along her under belly. The fur around her neck is also a lighter colour of brown and fluffs out like a lion's mane. 

Moth's facial features are striking because of her oriental nature. Her eyes are big and a light green in colour. Her whiskers are white and droop gently around her face. Her nose is a dark brown to match the rest of her colour palette. 

Moth Guided by Fireflies is a very responsible cat. She has always been the kind of cat who had to grow up quickly and take care of others. She's quick to take on the burdens of others and shoulder the weight of duty for herself. She doesn't shy away from hard work and likes it when others put her in positions of leadership. She likes being trusted with hard decisions and thrives best under pressure. Moth puts a lot of stock into her own word and is honour-bound by her word. She does everything in her power to keep a promise. When the whole world looks like its ending, Moth is the kind of steady, dependable cat who can be trusted to make decisions. 

Moth is a natural leader type. She is assertive and can easily step into the position of leadership without a hiccup. Her confidence is pushy and bossy, the kind that pushes her to the front of the pack instead of being one of the crowd. Her bold personality is fatalistic to her own health. Moth is bold, fearless, and reckless. She lacks caution and would rather act first, ask questions later. As Head Prey-Hunter, Moth is most well known for her daring hunts. She likes the feeling of death breathing down her neck and the thrum of adrenaline after a near brush with death. She is in the firm opinion that she is too smart to die. She has a false sense of invincibility that makes her take risky gambles that normal cats would balk at.

It's her cunning that makes Moth such a fierce opponent. She is inherently intelligent and has a mind that moves a mile-a-minute. Her keen eyes never miss anything. With a mind like a steel trap, Moth never forgets anything and is very skilled at learning from her mistakes. She'll never make the same mistake twice. 

For all her posturing, Moth is a very gentle cat. She has a deep connection with nature, which is her true claim to fame as the Head Prey-Hunter. Her kindness extends to all living things, not just her Tribemates. She loves her islands just as much as her clanmates and considers them under her protection as much as any cat. 

Family;
Mother - Sunflower where Bee Sleeps
Father - Path Guarded by Brambles
Littermates - Buzz of Angry Honey Bee, Ladybug Lost on Gentle Breeze
Siblings - Burr that Sticks to Fox, Fog that Hangs in Air, Spark that Starts Forest Fire
Son - Leaf that Blows in Wind
Uncle - Wolf that Howls when Alone


Moth Guided by Fireflies is the first born daughter of Sunflower Where Bee Sleeps and Path Guarded by Brambles. She was shortly followed by her littermates, Buzz of Angry Honey Bee and Ladybug Lost on Gentle Breeze. Among her litter mates, Moth was the least troublesome kit. Which wasn't saying much. Buzz and Ladybug were right menaces most of the time. Poor Moth just got caught up in their schemes like an innocent butterfly in a spider's web. 

Buzz and Ladybug were trouble from the moment they could walk. They liked to pester the adults with faux hunting games - Buzz especially had a taste for biting down on your tail when you were least expecting it. At first, they were content to pounce on any available adult in the nursery, but when the adults finally lost patience for their games they turned their attention to Moth. They would let Moth have a ten second head start to find a place to hide before they races on another to find her. The winning condition was apparently to wrestle their protesting sister to the ground and chew on her ears until she cried. Sunflower was quick to ban that game and corralled little Moth to her side with a sympathetic purr. 

Unfortunately, Sunflower was forced to bend to her kits. Ladybug had taken to literally climbing the wall of the nursery for fun. She finally let the little terrors outside of the nursery - on the one condition that they take Moth with them.

'The Great Outdoors' as Buzz like to call it, were a whole new world of opportunity. New cats to bother, new sights to see, new wonders to witness; the trio of kits took full advantage of their newfound freedom. Even Moth found joy in her new surroundings. One late evening, she returned to the nursery with her very own moth and proudly introduced Sunflower to her 'son'. Sunflower tried to gently discourage Moth from adopting a literal moth but Moth had already named him Leaf that Blows in Wind. The two of them were still arguing over the morality of adopting a kit of another species when Buzz entered the nursery. Before either of them could say anything, Buzz quickly pounced on the newly named Leaf that Blows in Wind and ate him whole. Moth screamed bloody murder and swore vengeance for the death of her son. 

Eventually, Sunflower's sanity was saved when her kits turned six moons old and were named To-Bes (Or in Buzz's case, a To-BEE). Sunflower cried throughout their ceremony; from relief, not sadness. Moth was the only one to comfort her mother, her siblings having been too busy exchanging evil grins with each other. 

The kits training immediately caused the three of them to be split up. Probably an effort to curb the amount of damage they could do when together. Moth was shuffled off to her uncle, Wolf that Howls when Alone. He was dark, brooding tom who was obsessed with his own fur. Moth had to admit his glossy fur was rather admirable. Wolf was a stone-guard with exceptional talent... when he wasn't too busy looking at his own reflection. Under his steady paw Moth learned a lot. 

Her time with Wolf was short. Not long after, she met Thunder of Distant Storm. He was a prey-hunter who introduced Moth to her life long love: hunting. Moth had always been terribly empathetic towards other animals, but Thunder was the one who introduced her to the concept of shepherding. He framed hunting as a duty to the earth itself. The Tribe cats controlled the ebb and flow of all life on the islands. They kept the prey population under control and carefully allowed others to flourish. 

Moth quickly developed a deep love for hunting. She fancied herself the guardian of all the animals on the island. Which was why she was one of the first to notice the sudden decrease in the vole population. Instead of bringing this up with the Tribe, Moth decided to be brave and investigate for herself. She was half way out of camp when her nerves got the best of her and she doubled back. She woke her sister, Ladybug, and filled her in on the situation. Ladybug was more than willing to join in on the adventure. 

So the two sisters made their way to the Rock where Leaves Fall. The water at night was so cold but Ladybug urged her on. They were so close! Then they could return to the Tribe as heroes. Moth and Ladybug were quick to discover the source of the trouble. An infestation of rats. 

At first, they scoffed at the idea. Rats? They could take on a couple of overgrown mice! But the moment the battle began, it became obvious they were overwhelmed. All it took was one misstep for Ladybug to be overwhelmed by the mass of rats. Overcome by emotion, Moth fought her way to Ladybug's side. She ignored the rats in favour of grabbing her sister by the scruff and throwing the both of them off the nearest cliff. The fall wasn't far but the cold was a shock to both of them. The next few moments were a blur in Moth's memory, but somehow she got Ladybug back to the shores of the Tribe island. Her strength was sapped from the fight and the swim. She struggle to stand but all she could do was collapse by Ladybug's unresponsive side and try to keep her sister warm. 

The next morning, a patrol found the sisters and rushed them to the Stone Teller. By the time they arrived, Ladybug was already long dead. Moth was devastated by her loss and begged the Stone Teller to give her a second chance to corral the rats. The Stone Teller was skeptical, convinced she was in it for revenge but Moth presented a convincing case. In the end, Moth was one of the few chosen to face the rat infestation. 

After this incident, everyone was convinced she was born to be a stone-guard. But when she finally turned twelve moons old, the Stone Teller named her a prey-hunter. Moth was grateful for his choice. 

As a prey-hunter, Moth finally was given the chance to flourish. She ended up being mentored by Thunder of Distant Storm once again and he taught her everything he knew. Shortly after, Thunder was named the Head prey-hunter. Moth was convinced he would drop her as an apprentice. Thunder quickly assured her this would not be the case. He balanced his new duties with teaching Moth. 

Moth quickly was named a fully fledged Prey-Hunter. So distracted by her training, Moth was blind sided by the arrival of her new siblings. Her mother gave birth to three kits: Spark that stars forest fire, Burr that sticks to fox, and Fog that Hangs in Air. Moth was delighted by her new siblings and took the time to visit them and help her mother raise them. She jokingly told Sunflower that it was the least she could do, after all the trouble she caused her mother as a kit. 

Moth quickly had to put an end to visit to her new siblings. The Tribe had hit a difficult patch. Many of her Tribemates had fallen sick. The prey-hunters had been hit the hardest. Many of Moth's fellow hunters were banished to sick rock to recover. Including the Head Prey-Hunter herself, Robin that Harolds New Leaf. Moth and her fellow prey-hunters were left scrambling to pick up the slack. 

Moth stepped up to the plate to help her Tribemates. She was out hunting at all hours of the day and willingly gave up her food shares to her more vulnerable clan mates. The highlight of her day was personally delivering food to her mother and catching a glimpse of her young siblings. 

Days passed like that. Moth worked herself to the bone to provide for her clan and did her best to keep a cheerful attitude for her mother's sake. Eventually, all her bad habits caught up with her. She caught the sickness that had struck so many of her tribemates. It was with a heavy heart that Moth made her way to sick rock. 

Living on sick rock was horribly boring. As one of the healthier cats on the rock, Moth did her best to feed her sick kin but her infected lungs made it difficult to leave her nest in the mornings. Her tryhard death-march caught the attention of Robin, the head prey-hunter. Taking pity on Moth, Robin took her under her wing and taught her some easier ways to hunt. 

Robin taught Moth how to hunt with more clever tactics. How to use smaller prey as bait to have a chance at catching bigger prey. How to use elaborate traps and infinite patience to snare even the most cunning prey. Under Robin's careful tutorage, Moth blossomed into the fine huntress she is today. 

Eventually, Robin and Moth were deemed healthy enough to return to the tribe. Moth was elated to reunite with her family, but it was bittersweet. Her mother and one of her kits, Burr, had passed away from sickness while she had been gone. Moth didn't have long to mourn their loss. She had a Tribe to take care of and she was determined to not lose any more kin. 

Moth made climatic return to being a prey-hunter when she caught a huge sturgeon on her very first day back. She pranced back into camp with the huge fish in her jaws. The entire Tribe rejoiced in the catch and that was the first night in a very long time that everyone went to bed with full stomachs. 

Slowly the Tribe returned to life and recovered from their losses. Moth's new siblings were made to-bes and she gladly taught them when she wasn't busy. Her attention was drawn from the two of them when Robin died suddenly. Moth was horrified by her sudden death and completely taken off guard when she was voted to become the next Head Prey-Hunter. 

With Robin's death fresh in her mind, Moth humbly accepted the position. As the new Head Prey-Hunter, Moth was determined to do her former mentor proud. She reorganized the whole prey-hunter system and kept a careful eye on the various prey population across the islands. She spends most of her days carefully maintaining the balance between prey and predator.