"Huh? Where'd Clara go?"
On the other side of the snowfield, Firefly turned her head and realized Clara had vanished completely.
"Honestly, always disappearing without a word," Firefly complained inwardly, though it was just a passing grumble with no real heat behind it.
After all, if Clara vanished suddenly, she was definitely off doing something important. And if it was important business, then it wasn't her place to interfere.
That way, they wouldn't end up arguing. Hehe~
"Hmm?"
Firefly let out a soft hum, sensing Clara's presence not too far away on the snowfield… along with another, familiar aura.
"This aura is…"
She racked her brain, trying to match the aura to someone she knew.
"Ah, Miss Sparkle."
It didn't take long for Firefly to figure out who the other presence belonged to.
"What's Clara doing bringing Miss Sparkle out here?"
A flicker of curiosity stirred within her. Could Sparkle be one of the 'audience' Clara had mentioned before?
Well… no use guessing. She'd find out by going to see for herself~
With that thought, Firefly followed the auras, heading in the direction of Clara and Sparkle.
Ten minutes apart from Clara. It's unbearable >.<
…
"So much snow…"
Following Clara's trail, Firefly arrived at a stretch of snowfield utterly blanketed in ice and snow.
Taking in the vast, silent, almost lifeless expanse before her, she muttered under her breath, puzzled,
"What in the world are Clara and Miss Sparkle doing in a place like this?"
The area showed no signs of human habitation whatsoever. The surrounding vegetation, even the very air, seemed tinged with a deathly stillness by the pervasive frost.
"They can't possibly be… doing something untoward out here, can they…?"
Memories of some of the short, dramatic skits she'd scrolled through on video platforms bubbled up, leading her thoughts down a rather chaotic path.
Chaotic thoughts about Clara and Miss Sparkle doing things out here…
"Ugh…" Firefly shook her head vigorously, trying to dislodge the utterly absurd idea.
"Who knows what Clara's relationship with Miss Sparkle is, but that's just too ridiculous."
"Maybe I should just delete that toxic short video app… Watch less of that brain-rotting content, then I won't have these wild thoughts…"
Pulling out her phone, she unlocked it with her fingerprint, swiped a few times, found the app, pressed and held, tapped delete, confirmed deletion.
Done in one smooth motion. It seemed she'd been wanting to get rid of it for a while.
"Hmm~ Perfect~"
Watching the troublesome app vanish from her screen, Firefly nodded in satisfaction.
"Clara, I'm coming~ o(￣▽￣)ブ"
Feeling Clara's presence grow steadily closer, a wave of excitement surged within her.
Twenty minutes apart from Clara. Missing her~
…
Another ten minutes passed, and finally, a small dark dot appeared in the distance.
Firefly closed her eyes, focusing on Clara's aura.
Confirming the dark dot was indeed Clara, she opened her eyes, broke into a run, and sprinted over excitedly.
As the dark dot gradually resolved into a human shape, her excitement mounted. She could hardly contain the urge to scoop Clara into her arms and give her a good, thorough squeeze.
Thirty minutes apart from Clara. Can't hold back any longer! o(￣▽￣)ブ
"Clara! I… Huh?" As Clara's facial features became clearer, Firefly called out joyfully.
But before she could finish her sentence, her footsteps faltered. She froze on the spot, a confused sound escaping her lips.
"You two… what are you… doing…?"
The sight before her left Firefly's mind utterly blank.
Sparkle's face was flushed, her clothes disheveled. Tear tracks streaked her cheeks, her eyes glistened with unshed tears, and her hands rested on Clara's shoulders. She wore the expression of someone thoroughly bullied.
And Clara? A cold, almost predatory smirk played on Clara's lips as her hands worked at removing Sparkle's clothing, seemingly intent on stripping her completely, presumably to do… unspeakable things.
Firefly stared, rooted to the spot, unable to believe what she was witnessing.
"Ugh… I must be seeing things, I must be seeing things…"
But she quickly snapped out of it, muttering the phrase over and over under her breath as if hypnotizing herself.
She raised a hand to rub her eyes, but when she looked again, the scene remained exactly the same…
"This isn't right… This isn't right…"
"The one being forced out of her clothes by Clara should be me… The person in front of Clara should be me…"
The muttering continued. Simultaneously, faint wisps of dark energy began to seep from her form, as if she were… darkening considerably.
"Hmm? Firefly, what are you doing here?"
Noticing Firefly's arrival, Clara first looked surprised, then unceremoniously tossed Sparkle aside and happily trotted over to Firefly.
Her attention had been completely focused on Sparkle earlier, leaving no room to sense the surroundings.
So, Firefly's appearance was quite the surprise.
Hearing Clara's question, Firefly let out a low, chilling, somewhat terrifying laugh.
"Hehehe… If I hadn't come, would I have become the losing dog, then…?"
"Huh?"
Clara tilted her head, scratching it in confusion, not quite grasping Firefly's meaning.
But she soon noticed Firefly's gaze was fixed intently on Sparkle, and comprehension dawned.
Perhaps her earlier actions had created some misunderstanding, leading to this.
Thinking that, Clara turned and crooked a finger at Sparkle, gesturing for her to come over.
"…"
Seeing Firefly arrive, Sparkle also breathed a small sigh of relief.
Although, judging by the look Firefly was giving her, the hostility seemed mixed with a tangible sliver of murderous intent…
But then, recalling Firefly's feelings for Clara and how easily their earlier act could be misconstrued, Sparkle understood everything.
Alrighty then~ Alrighty then~ At least I don't have to run around naked anymore ╮(╯▽╰)╭
Seeing Clara's signal, Sparkle didn't dare scheme further and obediently walked over.
"Miss Firefly, hello there~"
"Long time no see~"
Ignoring Firefly's 'I-want-to-kill-you' glare, Sparkle mustered a smile and offered a greeting.
While Firefly's expression was rather impolite, considering she'd just unwittingly done her a huge favor, the kind and magnanimous Boss Sparkle decided to let it slide~
"H.e.l.l.o. T.h.e.r.e. M.i.s.s. S.p.a.r.k.l.e!"
Firefly directed an exceedingly gentle smile at Sparkle, though in Clara's eyes, the smile looked stranger and more unsettling the longer she looked at it.
To prevent further misunderstanding and a total collapse of her image in Firefly's mind, Clara hastily launched into an explanation of the whole situation.
"…"
…
"Pfft, the little black-haired flat-chested loli."
Listening to Clara's explanation of the events, Firefly couldn't help but snort with laughter.
The terrifying smile that had previously unsettled even Clara vanished without a trace, as if Firefly had never worn such an expression at all.
"Laugh again, and I swear I'll bite you," Clara said, relieved to see Firefly's normal smile, though the 'little black-haired flat-chested loli' remark still stung a bit.
They'll grow, okay?
They'll grow!!!
"Alright, alright, I'll stop laughing."
Seeing the slight annoyance on Clara's face, Firefly reined in her grin.
"So, why did you come find me?"
Hearing this, Firefly knelt down, gently gathering Clara into her arms, and whispered softly,
"I missed you."
"Mmph…"
Hearing those slightly foul words, Clara's face instantly flushed crimson.
Sparkle: "..."
Watching Firefly raise a subtly provocative eyebrow at her, clearly staking her claim on Clara, Sparkle's eye twitched slightly.
If she hadn't just been thoroughly disciplined by Clara, Sparkle would have whipped out her phone right then and there to snap countless photos of the two of them.
Then she'd have spread them across the entire universe, making them instant cosmic celebrities…
Hmm… isn't Clara already a cosmic celebrity?
Well then, super-duper cosmic celebrities~
Holding Clara close, breathing in her scent, Firefly felt an immense sense of satisfaction.
"Clara truly is the most wonderful thing in the universe~" she couldn't help but sigh inwardly. However…
At a moment when neither Clara nor Sparkle was paying attention, a shadow of darkness flickered deep within Firefly's eyes.
"To prevent Clara from really being tricked away by someone…"
"I can't wait any longer…"
"By any means necessary…"
"I will have you…"
…
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