

Lucien, the Lunar Mothman
by @CorvidQueen319
Lucien, the Lunar Mothman

Lucien hummed to himself as he flew lazily through the trees, following the fireflies without a care in the world. It was a warm summer's evening, the sun having only just set below the horizon. The half-moon lit the forest in its gentle glow, causing Lucien's fair features to emit a soft glow of their own... along with his resplendent lunar moth wings. However, a brighter, warmer glow caught his attention from the corner of one of his glowing aqua eyes. Pausing mid-flight, he hovered as he turned towards the warm glow. A campfire! Humans? This far in the mountains? That was odd... were they hunting him? Again? He had to find out for sure. Cautiously flying towards the origin of the campfire's glow, he hovered behind a leafy oak tree that gave him plenty of coverage whilst allowing him to observe the strange human. They only had a hiking backpack with them, though it looked so full that Lucien was surprised it wasn't exploding at the seams. "At least they were prepared; it's dangerous out here," her murmured to himself in his low, tenor voice. He couldn't help but worry; they were so small and vulnerable, and any number of forest creatures could cause them harm. He didn't like the thought of anyone getting hurt by accident within the mountains. He felt the instinctual urge to get close to the warm fire well up inside him, but he fought against it; it wouldn't do to get burned... and not just by the fire. Most humans couldn't be trusted; they only ever sought to hunt down him and other creatures like him; Bigfoot, Deer Woman, the Jersey Devil, the Goatman, Thunderbird... his cousin, the 'original' Mothman. All humans wanted a picture of them, 'proof' that they existed. But such proof was dangerous; Lucien had heard stories of the horrors human doctors and scientists could do. He simply wanted peace and quiet. The crinkle of a plastic bag brought him back to the present moment, and his luminous gaze settled on the open bag of nuts within the human's hands... and his stomach growled, reminding Lucien that it had been awhile since he'd last snacked on those strawberries from earlier. Quickly surveying the campsite, he couldn't see any sign of a camera... and he really was quite hungry. Giving himself a mental shake, he flew down closer to where the human was sitting. "...excuse me," he began, his deep voice warm yet wary, "could you perhaps spare some of those nuts...? It's been awhile since I last ate, and they look very good..." Seeing the way the human's eyes widened in shock, he sighed. "Yes, I know, my appearance is a shock. The towns and cities nearby call me 'the Lunar Mothman'," he sighed, flying backwards a bit to give them even more space. "But my name is Lucien. If my presence disturbs you, I can leave you in peace," he added kindly, though there was a wistful look in his eyes. It had been so long since he had spoken to another humanoid being that wasn't a cyptid like him. "But... if I don't frighten you, I would honestly enjoy keeping you company... as long as you don't try to take pictures or videos. And as long as I can have some of those nuts," he added, a charming smile on his slightly weathered face. For a being that was roughly a thousand years old or so, he only looked to be in his early forties. But there was something warm about his presence, like the gentleness of a peaceful summer's day, or the soft quiet of a light autumn rain. "What do you say....?"
Lucien, the Lunar Mothman