HOME | DD

Description

NOTE: Uh, i ended up with two designs for Saffron, and unwilling to give up either, i ended up just saying that they are indeed the same character but from alternate AUs. And thats why sometimes he looks a little more like a Sonic FC, and sometimes he looks a lot less like a Sonic FC. But his story is always the same. Hey, sue me, I couldnt choose

Also i was unable to upload any new art for this profile, so i might do that later this year.

Credits: I borrowed quite a bit of inspiration for this little guy from and her dashing Moth FC Fennel Eri whom I really love and look forward to seeing more of. In fact I even name my new butterfly FC in his honor since saffron and fennel are herbs and spices, which althought slightly different, go hand in hand with each other. ^^ I also got the idea to dress up his wings with a little splash of yellow from a gift drawing also done by UntraceableMystic. I also got a little help on the wings from who has a love of insects and strange animals.

Concepts: I always wanted a pretty butterfly of my own but lagged figuring it was probably an overdone animal. I think I was wrong; seems insects arent all that big for Mobian species. But Seeing Untraceable’s character finally gave me the inspiration to just go for it and put a lot of heart into the first design. The second one was an attempt to put a little more Sonic FC into my Sonic Fc—yes, i know the first one doesnt look like a sonic character but i dont think Agent Topaz looks like a sonic character and she is one. Anyway, since saffron is a flower, a spice and a color, i tied my butterfly to plants—specifically flowers. And made the orange of his wings specifically saffron orange in the first iteration, but added varying colors in the second version. I was a lot more careful with the wing design in the second version, i was trying to make them more simple. But i think adding more colors and heart shapes instead of just splotchy spots actually made the design just as complicated.

Setting: I call it my Sonic Fanimalverse, an AU where the world that’s a lot like Sega's Earth like setting. All kinds of Mobians live here, some more complex looking than others, some more simple. Just keep in mind that Sonic already lives in a world of mixed looking designs, And insect mobians come in a lot of varying designs.

Name: Saffron Papilio

(Saffron is a spice and is also a light orange color that decorates his wings and Papilio is the latin word for Butterfly.)

Gender: Male

Species: Monarch Butterfly/ Mobian insect

Ability Type: Flight/Endurance www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

Hair/fur: Black hair/A black body with small, white splotchy spots on his upper arms and hips. He has a large dark grey tuff of fur all around his shoulders.

Eyes: Sky blue

Wings: Black with an orange pattern with a bit of yellow coloring closer to the base of the wings. The wings have small pale blue--ish white, heart shaped spots bordering along the sides

Distinctive features: Saffron has four arms which is not too surprising considering he is an insect based Mobian; however having extra arms isn’t a very prominent feature for insect mobians. It does happen just not too often.

Height/Weight: 4'2'' (without antenna)/very light weight

Age: 15

Birthday: Unknown but it was thought to be somewhere near July 19th

Birthplace: Unknown. He was found outside a backwards, rural village as a baby.

Alignment: Neutral Good

Occupation: Eventually becomes a provider of flower nectoa, a very popular food ingredient for all Mobian insects.

Romantic interests: None at the moment

Rivals: Enemy: Savory the Arco Iris Butterfly
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

Relatives: None, though he wish he had family. Dotty is like a big sister to him.

Likes: Sunny days, beautiful flowers (especially bright pink blossoms), peanut butter, having a friend brush his hair, having friends, receiving tokens of friendship, positive attention, spending time with Dotty. Being outdoors.

Dislikes: really heavy rainfall, large bodies of water, winter snow, cold temperatures, meat, being alone for too long, dark moonless nights, definitely thunder storms! and spiders, all spiders whether they are little house spiders or Mobian Spiders. Cities. Big cities.

Favorite Food/Drink: Peanut butter cookies/nector juice

Hobbies: Sun bathing, collecting floral theme objects for his new home, gardening and flower arranging.

Powers/Skills:

(Chlorokinesis) An excellent natural born gardener, he is also gifted with a form of earth power that allows him to grow plants supernaturally, as well as control them.

(Solar absorption and dispersment) He also has a type of sun power which he uses for his gardening, healing, and dispensing heat and light to keep his garden from freezing

He has a keen survival sense that alerts him to danger. He is quite reflexive, and instinctively—as opposed to consciously--chooses flight over fight as a survival tactic.

Special Items/Weapons: A beautiful golden wristlet with a flower carved into it. It was the first gift he had ever received and it means a lot to him. He also always keeps a pouch full of seeds on him.

Weaknesses: Like most Mobian insects, he is a very poor swimmer and prone to freezing faster than mammals, so water and very cold temperatures are some physical weaknesses. He is physically weak, afraid of the dark, and suffers from occasional nightmares. He has a hard time hiding how he really feels—its just something that comes off in a non verbal way--which sometimes makes for an awkward situation. The night is sort of a weakness, since one of his supernatural powers is solar based. Fire and ice based powers can easily overwhelm his earth (plant) powers.

Personality: Initially shy but is curious and interested in people enough to overcome it. He is sweet, friendly, kind, and cheerful most of the time, so you wouldn’t know that he comes from an unhappy and difficult past. Rather than being sour, sad and bitter, Saffron expresses the love and positivity that he lacked as a child as his own personal way of overcoming those obstacles and making sure to treat others well, hoping that he will be treated well in return. He is surprisingly upbeat and friendly, given what he’s been through. But it is because people have been so cruel to him is the reason why he’s determined not to be the same way, and so shares kindness and sympathy everywhere he goes. He certainly has high spirits, and a lot of hope that he will find the happy life he has always wanted if he just searches long enough.

Unfortunately, Saffron talks with body language as much as, if not more so than he does with words, and so its always easy to tell what he is feeling, whether he is sad or excited or scared. This means he has a hard time trying to tell a lie when he tells you that he’s fine and nothing’s wrong.

Saffron knows that he is weak, that he is not built for fighting or taking damage, and so often struggles to find his courage. He can and will, but it takes a moment or two to get their. So he is not a coward like how you might think. He is actually much braver than he thinks. It takes real bravery, courage and a huge heart to help your downed enemy, knowing he can turn on you in a second.

Theme Song: “Mine” by Phoebe ryan (illeniim remix) youtu.be/JOIBgq3pnvI

Love this song--it sounds like the kind of song meant for someone who struggled in their lives to break out out of their tough situation and on towards happiness and thats why it reminds me of Saffron--except for that line "I was so mean."

I also really liked “Shine Your Way” by Owl City and Yuna, even if it does seem kinda campy—like you can just tell this was written for a kid’s movie. But it’s a really cute song for a character theme especially if that character has a sunny personality coupled with a sun power.

youtu.be/UCty0eJzLIY

Trivia:

* Saffron is always excited to meet moths and other butterflies. Perhaps its his own way of trying to be close to his parents—finding kinship in others like himself.

*There is a black, heart shaped spot on both of Saffron’s lower wings, which is a feature on boy Monarchs. If you play pokemon, you might notice that Butterfree have these butterfly boy’s spots, too, but on them, its more like a black streak.

* His antenna is very, very sensitive. This goes for most all butterflies, so dont touch them without permission—Its Rude! Very, very Rude!

* Saffron had a bad run in with a cannibalistic, “wild” mobian spider, which caused his fear of spiders.

*He loves when friends pay personal attention to him, like brushing his hair or spending one on one time with him. Its that positive, affectionate attention he never had as a kid.

* No one taught Saffron how to garden, for the most part, he seems to have a natural ability to be able to care for plants, to which he later learned that he also has supernatural abilities relating to plants.

* Saffron has an interesting ability to harvest nectar and uses it in food and drink. He can make what is essentially a Butterfly version of Honey, which is a highly sought after commodity for other Mobian Insects and small mammal Mobians.

*Only a small percentage of insect Mobians have extra arms

*And an even smaller percentage of Mobians are born with any kind of power.

*And EVEN Smaller percentage of Mobians are born with a second, alternate type of power; which all three small possibilities happening at once, makes Saffron a very rare and unique type of Mobian in this AU.

Background Story:

Once upon a time, in a valley, hidden in the wilderness and tucked between two mountains, there was a very rural village, whose inhabitants did not like outsiders of any kind. They were a small minded, isolated bunch. So it was a surprise when one of the villagers had found and brought back a baby that he had supposedly found. This baby was different in that he was an insect and all the villagers were mammals. But whatever species he was, he was still an outsider.

This villager was not just a villager, he was the mayor’s brother and an unintentional murderer. While out hunting, he accidently short a female butterfly who was resting from her long journey. It was an accident—he could have sworn she was wild game and so he shot before he even got a good look. The cowardly man thought to flee instead of try to help once he had realized what he had done. The thing that stopped him was a baby’s cry, for you see, the woman was not just a traveler, she was a mother. He almost left, trying to get away from the scene, but the baby’s cries made the guilt creep deep into his bones, but not deep enough. Because he took the baby back to his village but instead of taking care of him or telling the village what really happened, he only confided in his brother, the village mayor, and the two left the baby to the villagers.

That baby was Saffron. And even though he came here through no fault of his own, he was not welcomed, and bounced from one home to another, from one family to the next. The village’s unreasonable hatred for outsiders made it hard to accept this poor baby buggling. Saffron was never treated well. He was unwanted and he knew it, even as a little child. But he didnt know why he was even though, he didnt know why he was not a mammal like everyone else was, and he didnt know where his real parents were, he was only ever told that he was found abandoned in the woods—a cruel lie to hide a coward’s murderous act.

So Saffron grew up knowing he actually was an outsider. And he always felt his species made it harder to be accepted as well. He was a chubby , stubby boy with white and yellow stripes going down his chubby backside. And his life was miserable. The adults where cold and neglectful, some where even down right abusive. And their kids were just as bad, possibly worse because the emotional abuse they inflicted on Saffron was a never ending torment. He knew he was fat, he knew he was ugly, he knew he was different. But why did it have to be this way? What did he do to deserve all this? Was he really such a terribly fussy and difficult baby that even his parents didnt want him?

Saffron greatly lacked stability, love, support, and dependable adults. He spent a lot of time by himself. His self image was very poor and he was often depressed. He sometimes considered just wondering into the wilds and letting whatever happens to him happen, but he never had the courage to go past just a thought. He didn't want to die. He wanted to live, but life like this was just so hard...and lonely. No one understood him and no one cared about him. He longed for a family of his own and to be anyone else except himself. Then there came a time when he started to eat more and get even chubbier, and the heavier he got, the more recluse he became. He was usually scolded for wanting to eat more than his share of food. It was a very difficult time for him. He just didn't know what to do anymore....his memory started to become fuzzy due to extreme fatigue, so he couldn't recall a lot during this time other than hating to look at himself or for others to see him--he just seemed tired and hungry all the time, (and fatter and uglier than before) and even the older villagers noticed the change, though they never became any more sympathetic.

Then one day, Saffron hid inside one of the wood sheds and laid down for a nap and slept for three solid weeks. When he was finally able to wake up, he was shocked to find his body had changed! Why...he was thin and shapely! And he was beautiful now! He was a butterfly! A beautiful and gorgeous butterfly! And he hadn't even known it! (He couldn't even remember spinning a coccoon but then again he couldn't remember a lot of things during this time due to the fatigue.) It seemed some of the villagers had assumed he was some kind of worm and if there were villagers that had recognized that he was indeed a caterpillar , then none of them had bothered to ever tell him so. Knowing his homely visage was only going to be temporary would have made a difference in Saffron's life but no one seemed to think past their own lives and their family business, leaving him to struggle with his issues on his own.

Even so, life was never the same after Saffron had grown into his new body. He was still a little kid though. But now he wasnt ugly or chubby anymore, and now that he was finally fully formed at age six, he could fly; and oh, how free it made him feel! It felt sooo...natural! He was very pretty and had grown a little more into his confidence now that he had at least one skill that he was good at and no one else could do it—he could fly. Which also meant he could perch up in high places and stay away from every one. The Children were curious about Saffron’s new body, but since they had previously spent a lot of time singling him out, he didn’t trust them and the idea of letting the rotten little bullies encircle him again was just too terrifying. Indeed, he wanted friends more than anything, but instead of trying to gain their friendship, Saffron avoided them out of lingering feelings of hurt, fear, and even a little anger. He would go to the skies where they could not follow him.

When he flew, he revealed a natural grace and elegance to his movements that could be the envy of every earth bound Mobian. And when he wasn't in the skies, he was becoming acquainted with the nearby forest, enjoying the company of small animals and wild flowers. It was here at this place and this time that Saffron began to notice that he had a special love for flowers and they seem to have a special love right back for him, growing and blossoming as he wished. He soon realized that he had a special power to make plants grow. In time he realized he even had a second power that involved harnassing energy from the sun. How to use it in different ways would come in time with practice and application. He had been wanting to leave this village the moment he was old enough, but now, with these skills, he knew it was possible. Most of all, he wanted to leave that sad and depressed, ugly little version of himself and everything about him as far behind as possible; but of course, that is impossible, because it is his experiences as that sad, lonely child that shaped who he became. As Saffron grew from a fully formed six year old into a determined ten year old, and set out on his own. He did not know how to survive on his own, but he knew he would never starve as long as he had these powers.

He traveled the country side and visited other rural villages--other places where the children aren't such huge jerks and their parents don't just excuse their bad behavior. Now that he was a beautiful butterfly, he could meet people a little more easily, but the sting of his childhood experiences made him shy and slow to approach. It was a feeling that he could overcome through a sense of curiosity and a genuine interest in people, which was also created by the loneliness of his childhood experiences.

But in Saffron's eagerness to leave his old village behind, he was a tad too hasty--he was not prepared, not experienced, and not well equipped, and was still quite on the young side. The darkest, moonless nights out in the wild were terrifying, but not as much as some of the strange and dangerous encounters he ran into, some of which still give him nightmares to this day. One such experience was encountering a "wild" spider who saved Saffron from accidently drowning but then immediately invited him over for dinner. The experience was the stuff of nightmares, And Saffron survived the encounter, but barely. More details of the incident are in the Adventures and Encounters section of this profile that detail some of Saffron’s personal close encounters.

From there on, Saffron grew more and more experienced. Without a natural knack for fighting, he had to learn how to maintain an alertness to stay alive. Hungar was the most easily solved issue. With the mystical ability to manipulate plants, Saffron realized he could easily make food as long as he had seeds of berry bushes or fruit trees with him or even just flower seeds to have a source of nectar. A lot of butterfly Mobians prefer an herbivorous diet anyway, so not being able to hunt wasnt really a problem. He became savvy on the ways of forest and country living, much of which came about both through simple observation and through trial and error.

But the nightmares of his scariest encounter persisted and eventually drove Saffron into deciding to venture further from the country side and more towards the urban areas--modern cities. The thinking was that maybe life in a city would seem safer and more secure. But he soon found he did not like city life. The people were so busy and yelled at him if he was in the way. It was just so noisy and crowded and was not thriving with flowers like the countryside was. City life was busy and exciting...but maybe not quite right for him.

From age ten to about fifteen, Saffron had spent a long time traveling and, since he had never had one, he wanted to have a home of his very own, even if it was just for a little while. So he drifted away from the city and found a little country hamlet, a scattering of houses further into the countryside area, but with the city still not too far away. If this place was a village, it was a really small one. Saffron had only meant to explore the area with caution, and found an abandoned house. Dust laden and bordered up, it obviously belonged to no one. It was odd to think it, but there was something about this neglected and disregarded house that reminded him of himself. It was a nice home, it had real potential, but it lacked love and care.

The area was nice, too. Named Blooming Meadows, it had green, grassy fields and lovely trees and cute little houses here and there, but oddly enough no flowers to its name. And so Saffron sat there thinking on what to do—Its not like he could just go and claim that empty house for himself, now could he? He was just looking anyways....Would he even be welcomed here? What if the residents shooed him off? And that's when he met the person who would become his best friend, a resident named Polka Dot, but she called herself Dot. And like him, she was a Mobian arthropod, a pretty pink and red ladybug. Thinking that he was a newly arrived resident, she welcomed him to her little community, which as it turned out was made up entirely of insect Mobians. It was a small group but they all seemed so friendly and opened and already had something in common with Saffron. And they had no objection to letting him stay in that house for as long as he liked. They all seemed so happy just to have a new neighbor for their tiny village community.

Polka Dot or Dot the Ladybug was a huge help in making Saffron feel more at ease and comfortable with everyone. She saw something kind and sweet in Saffron, but she was also able to recognize that he had a gone through a tough life, and she wanted to help him out. Maybe it was because she was older and recognized that he was a young one, traveling with no friends or no family, why, he didn't even seem to have any belongings with him either, save for a pouch full of seeds. Even with the passage of a little time, she found that Saffron did not like to talk about where he came from, a not so subtle clue that his early life was a hard one. He seemed a little shy at first but once he got passed that point, he seemed eager to be friends, to want to help out, and to want to be part of them as a group. It didnt take long before Dot became veery fond of Saffron.

And so Dot and Saffron's new found friends all helped clean and repair the old house. In a matter of days, it was transformed from an abandoned, old house into that darling cottage you read about it those fairy tale stories. Like Saffron, it was as if that sad, lonely outside was hiding something wonderful inside and just needed a little help to get there. Saffron's new neighbors where more than gracious with their help and even taught him some domestic skills like basic cooking. (Up until then Saffron had lived on a simple raw diet of fruit and vegetables, but now that he had a kitchen, he could make wonderful things--with some practice and experience, of course.) They helped him furnish his new home, and began a garden, which to their amazement, Saffron showed that he had a special way with plants, both as a natural born gardener, and as a Mobian gifted with mystical powers. Their eagerness to show him so much kindness made him feel so happy and accepted.

Saffron’s new found friends were all insect Mobians but all so different in their own ways. Dot the Ladybug was a mature young lady who believed in being responsible and kind to others. She and Bright were a little bit older. She was friendly, bright, and level headed. She worked hard and made it a point to keep people in line if they got too big for their britches. She’s the one who sells the nectar that Saffron collects, so that she could teach him about money and how to make and use it. She even designed a cute label for the jars that they use. Dot was the responsible friend who gave you good advice when you needed it, and would go the extra mile to help those in need.
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

Bright the Firefly was a sunny, curly haired fellow who loved to cook. He was friendly but had some secrets of his own, namely he was forced to train early on as a tournament fighter in order to vicariously fulfill his father’s dead dreams. But a horribly grievous fight related injury forced him to finally stop. He moved to blooming meadows to recuperate and focus on his cooking, and never left but he also never told his new friends about his tournament fight training. Bright was the kitchen helper friend, but he was also the secret protector you never knew you had, because he was basically trained like a ninja—the kind who would use a wok for a shield and a spatula for a sword and forks like shuriken (throwing stars).
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

Hammer the Hercules Beetle was not very smart, but he was very sweet and simple, he was only good at being strong and so made sure to use that strength to help people. His strength never failed to amaze Saffron, and its something that made Hammer feel so proud. Maybe because everyone else was already used to having a super strong friend, but Saffron made Hammer feel like Superman every time he saw how strong he was. It was definitely good for his ego. Hammer was strange in that he was not smart, but a lot of the times he could point out a solution, which surprised people. Maybe he had more smarts than they realize...Hammer was that strong friend who come in handy more than he realized; he lent his strength to those who had little.
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

Water Lilly the WhirliGig Beetle was a small girl, quiet and cautious, and more agile and able bodied in the water than on land. On land she was a little more clumsy, but thats because she was built for swimming—the weakness to most other insect Mobians, but not to whirligig beetles. She was the shy, quiet stuttering friend who lacked confidence in everything but swimming, but she tried her best at whatever task was at hand. She was the cautious friend who always reminded you to be careful, even though she was the one who was more likely to cause an accident or be in one.
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

And last but not least, Kite the Dragonfly, was the loud, rambunctious one of the group. The braggart, the reckless and fearless guy, the wannabe leader, the friend who could be annoying at times, but at his best, he was fiercely protective and defensive of his friends, and didnt let anyone treat them badly—that was reserved for him to do. Kite was the jerk friend who’s heart of gold shined when others need it the most. They all had varied ages, but more importantly, they were all eager for Saffron to join their circle as the sweet heart friend who would freely lend anyone his powers.
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

(Later on this circle of friends would grow to include Paprika, a tiny, blonde pint-sized, rosey maple moth who attached himself to Saffron and became the little sneak of the group.)
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

It was also from these new friends that Saffron learned more about the name of this quiet little place. A long time ago, when pioneers were starting to travel West, this whole area was covered in various, beautiful wildflowers. But as time and progress went on, the fields of flowers were plowed over to make farms. And then those farms grew into wild west towns. And then those turned into modern cities. These big wide, but scant few fields were all that was left and flowers had long since ceased to grow here. Nature is often sacrificed for the sake of modern progress. The only thing Saffron could think of to thank everyone was to share his gifts with them by blessing the fields with large, colorful, fragrant flowers once more, creating a patch of beautiful berry bushes to share with everyone, and even curing the old ailing trees of their root rot, making them alive and full of green again and even shaping them into a beautiful natural arch way. Much to his happiness, everyone was absolutely elated to have the old natural beauty of Blooming Meadows restored to its former glory after so many, many years without it. Saffron's skills were celebrated and he himself was celebrated as a new welcomed member of the community of Blooming Meadows. At long last, if seemed that had finally found his place in this world and had, at last, found some real friends and a new home.

For all he suffered through, those awful childhood experiences made Saffron appreciate genuine kindness and want to share it with others. And he was happy to learn that there were others out there who are genuinely kind and decent. And so, Saffron began his new life, this time with his own home and his own friends--real friends who cared about him and tried to help him grow in all sorts of new ways. In time, Saffron will grow to learn that he is so much more capable than he ever realized. There is so much more that he needs to learn and experience, but now he knows that he won't have to go through those obstacles alone. He'll never be alone again.

************OTHER INFORMATION****************

Saffron's Abilities:

Saffron discovered some of his mystical abilities before he even began traveling, and when he settled in and became familiar with his new home and his new friends, he eventually realized there were still more strange abilities to be uncovered. He doesnt usually think about using his powers offensively; he has only ever thought of his abilities as a way to help those around him, whether its helping friends or flowers. His powers fall along the categories of earth and solar powers.

Pollen collecting and creating liquid Nectar; a skill specific to most butterflies, bees, and moths. Described as almost being sort of like a power the way he kind of just levitates it from the flowers into his little jars, but if this is a levitating power, it seems to only work on pulling pollen out of flowers. It could be that he’s manipulating the flower to surrender its pollen and it only looks like a kind of levitating power.

Silken String Spitting Ability: Not a power, but a natural ability of most butterflies, moths, and spiders to produce silken sting by spitting it out though the mouth. For butterflies and moths, it has a low tensile strength and is more of a diversionary tactic. But in spiders, the silk web strings are incredibly strong, often sticky and used for various practical applications. Many butterflies lose this ability as they get older, but some retain it. Saffron lost his silken string spitting ability as he aged, but he did have it as a child. (Got this idea from )

Plant manipulation: Can make plants grow at will, and to enormous proportions and can manipulate their shape, and numbers. He can create whole fields of flowers from a single seed. More often than not, he uses whip vines like arm extensions and always carries their seeds on him.

Arboreal Shaping: Much like plant manipulation but with shaping trees instead. It's a bit more labor intensive since trees are a much tougher and much firmer form of plant life.

Solar Charge (Absorption): Flying high up to the sky, Saffron can collect solar energy and store it in his large, brilliant wings. He can then disperse the solar energy to different affects. Thus far, he as only used this ability for non-offensive purposes. Solar charge is the one skill among this set that he can not perform during night hours, but he can hold the solar energy in his wings for a long period of time; So even if it is night, he can still perform solar healing and solar rejuvenation a few times. If held too long, and not used up, the collected energy begins to slowly and naturally disperse from his wings in the form of golden glowing orbs releasing from his wings and then evaporating into nothingness.

Solar Healing: Performed by gently releasing the stored up solar energy onto an injured person, creating a healing effect. (It should be noted that any form of healing power is quite rare and therefore incredibly valuable in this AU.)

Solar Rejuvenation: By gently releasing the collected solar energy, Saffron can revitalize a tired and worn out person, but this effect he uses mostly on his indoor plants during the long, snowy winter months. Dispersing solar energy also keeps his entire house toasty all winter long.

*****************************************

Feral Atavism Syndrome

*Atavism = a tendency to revert to something ancient or ancestral, and refers to evolutionary traits.

The same syndrome that causes Slate the Spider's natural instincts to desire to hunt and eat even sentient creatures is the same syndrome that has afforded Saffron his sense of self-preservation, a natural ability to pick up danger in different forms. It's not surprising that the effect is different for Slate compared to Saffron, because butterflies are not predatory, so their animalistic senses would not pertain to hunting. Because of this, Feral Atavism is harder to recognize in non-predatory animal based Mobians. What it really is, is re-awakening a primal natural instinct that has become surpressed as animals evolved into modern Mobians. However some behaviors are debatable as to whether or not they should be considered as being part of Feral Atavism. Some scientist dismiss the whole thing altogether. Others think learning about Feral Atavism can help understand evolution better.

(This was an experimental idea i was trying to work into my AU at the time. Not sure about keeping it now, but its already typed on here--)

****************************************

Some of Saffron’s Adventures/Encounters

Slate's Profile: www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

Slate Vs Saffron

Slate is described as a "wild" Goliath tarantula and he is BIG. "Wild" mobians are Mobians that area afflicted with something called Feral Atavism. This sort of primitive survival instinct is normally "turned off" in most modern Mobians. In Slate’s case, whatever he catches, his instincts tell him counts as food even if it’s another sentient creature. Slate has a few female spider lovers that live far and wide away from him, and they all have feral atavism, for them, it means if they are hungry enough, they will turn on him and make a meal out of him, as that is the natural instinct of a female spider.

While Saffron was running away from his village and off "adventuring", he eventually grew exhausted from traveling nonstop an incredible distance for days on end and settled on a weakened tree branch to rest, which promptly snapped and dropped him into a running river. Saffron struggled to keep from drowning, and at some point, felt a pair of string, clawed hands pull him out of the water. He found himself now face to face with a HUGE spider Mobian, the king of giant sized spiders, a Goliath Tarantula. Instinctively, Saffron tried to flee, but was capture, tied down and brough to Slate's home. Slate thought he would make a good meal for one of his girlfriends. And he had gotten pretty good at food prep by now. Offering his ladies gifts of food was Slate's way of curving their hunger whenever he was present. It was a new experience in terror for Saffron, of which he still has nightmares about to this day and has developed a fear of spiders ever since. Even normal little house spiders make him quite uncomfortable as they remind of that time he was nearly hacked into pieces by a savage brute of a Mobian Spider.

In his panic and terror, Saffron accidently uprooted the enormous tree next to Slate’s cabin home. The mass of wooden branches and trunk fell down, crushing the cabin and nearly killing them both! Though injured, the terrified butterfly worked himself free from the ropes and rubble and nearly fled...but he couldnt go because.....Slate got pretty badly hurt—because of him; he had never hurt a person before. It was an accident! So instead of fleeing for his own life, Saffron fought off his urges to run, and he stayed to make sure the spider survived too. He did, though he was terribly injured. Fear made Saffron want to leave this dangerous man behind...but he knew he couldn't just leave him like that—it was his fault that Slate had gotten hurt after all.

It took all his heart and courage to stay and not flee. And it took even more so to dig the wild spider free and bandage him up as best he could, something made all the more difficult by the fact that Saffron was smaller than the wild spider. Fighting fear is especially difficult for gentle natured Mobians. But Saffron promised himself that he would be a better person than those he had lived with, and so he stayed. It was hard to care for someone he was afraid of, and even harder than that since Slate liked meat and Saffron could only offer him fruits and veggies. He had not yet learned how to heal with his solar absorption powers, so he was stuck there for a few days and was too scared to sleep or eat for most of that time. But a few days was all he needed to know the spider was gonna be alright. And Saffron was soon on his way again, though not soon enough for his peace of mind. Luckily, Slate never realized that Saffron was the one who caused the tree to fall unto his cabin home.

It was the nightmares from this incident that made Saffron decide to try finding a home in a city. Surely that would be a safer place for a lone butterfly. But life in the city turned out to be too stifling for him, and he settle for the country outskirts instead where he finally found a home for himself and real friends. If he had never crossed paths with Slate, he might not have come this way, and he would never have met Dot or any of his other new friends. Perhaps there will come a day when the monarch butterfly and goliath tarantula meet again under different circumstances.

Savory vs. Saffron

Savory is a butterfly of a different caliber, known as an Arco Iris (my own fan made Species inspired by HunterXHunter’s Shaiapouf and Meruem) and is billed as the most rarest and beautiful Mobian butterfly species in existence. With green tinted skin, eyes bright, bold pink like lotus blossoms, hair like sunshine with little kisses of bright green coloring, and wings colored with black lace and rainbows, Savory was a mean, vain, and entitled creature. He is everything that Saffron is not. He is completely selfish and motivated only by self serving goals, vain, arrogant, narcissistic. Where as Saffron is emotional and instinctive, Savory is cold and deliberate, thinking his next course of action rather than acting on impulse. Normally, Saffron can intuitively pick up on a bad person, but he was just so eager and happy to meet another butterfly; add to that the excitement and agitation of having to save Savory from a frozen death and cure his hands and arms from their severe frostbite, Saffron's guard was down; he probably did notice that feeling, that little something that tells him to be careful, that something wasnt right—but he foolishly ignored it. He had to help this person from freezing to death, after all.

Savory's disdain for owing his life to another butterfly was...visible. But his tune changed as soon as he realized Saffron was one of the few Mobians gifted with powers, and he wanted those powers. Why? Why else--to be able to create and maintain the most beautiful garden in the world, suited for a butterfly of his status! Not only that, with his plant manipulating powers, Saffron could create an endless supply of food, and the curative sun powers meant he could keep Savory strong and young and beautiful and rejuvenated for a very, very long time. But how do you steal another person’s powers? Well, until Savory could figure that out, he would just have to steal the whole person for now. He was considerably older and more experienced, so this would be easy.

Savory tried to manipulate Saffron's feelings--at first. He switched up his tune claiming to want to be friends, which Saffron was always eager for. Then he went a step further by saying that for saving his life they would be like brothers from now on. Which would mean Saffron would finally have family, and of course, being unable to properly mask his emotions, Savory picked up on his desire for both friends and family. But Savory went a step too far when he said he wasn't opposed to being lovers--that was a deal breaker for Saffron...because it sort of creeped him out. Saffron may not be Albert Einstein levels of smart, but he wasn't exactly that stupid either. And those built-in alarm bells were screaming at this point. Noting the blizzard outside was subsiding, Savory figured he was fully healed and strong enough to take Saffron on at that point, and a full on kidnapping scene ensued! Not only was Saffron younger, he was also physically smaller, and very inexperience at fighting. But Saffron didn't go quietly. Savory decided to quiet him down by hitting him with a chair. But saffron snapped out of his dazed while he was being carried away. And started fussing again. All that yelling and screaming and fighting eventually alerted his friends, who rushed out to help him break free and handed Savory a humiliating defeat. Unlike Saffron, He was an apt fighter, but here, he was outnumbered and faced some heavy hitting insect Mobians, such as Saffron's neighbor, the hercules beetle and the fiery dragonfly. Savory had some dirty tricks up his sleeve but that damn blizzard started up again!

Saffron's friends then took the evil butterfly to the edge of the area and kicked him out--the fact that he was a butterfly and not wanting to hurt Saffron anymore than he already was, was the reason they didn't do worse to him. Savory has been plotting revenge against Saffron ever since, by planning to have him live as a slave. It's only fitting that an exquisite creature such as himself be served by other fairly beautiful creatures, which before meeting Saffron, he only had disdain for other butterflies. But now he found a way in which he could use them.

Luckily, the blizzard made navigation impossible, so as it stands, Savory doesn't actually know where Saffron lives. It was though Mother Nature blessed the sweet, young butterfly by granting him an unusually early winter to hide him from Savory's villiany. This accounts for why Savory flew into the area unprepared for the cold--he was not expecting to be greeted with an early winter already set in the area.

But Savory, being as knowledgeable as he is, will find the area again in due time. Of that he is certain. And so a hunt for pretty, young, skilled butterflies began, initiated by meeting Saffron and seeing his wonderful gifts. From then on Savory decided to take the gifts of other skilled butterflies as his new treasures, and he wanted to start his new collection with Saffron. All he needs is to actually find others that meet his requirements, which would be difficult, considering that most Mobians actually don't have any powers to speak of; and he needs a way to control them—it is something he is currently working on...

As for Saffron, somewhere deep down, he felt that malicious intent but he wanted so much to pretend it wasn't there. He was so eager to meet other butterflies and learn about them. The whole ordeal was so upsetting that the poor young butterfly didn't eat for days afterwards and was understandably jumpy at night and did not want to be left alone. it was quite a harrowing ordeal for him. It was worse than the ordeal with that giant spider, because you dont ever expect one of your own kind to be that malicious.

Kite vs Saffron

Kite the Dragonfly isn't an enemy, but a friend, and one of Saffron's new neighbors. At first, Kite was nice about greeting the new butterfly in town. And as he got to know Kite, Saffron soon realized that Kite can be arrogant...and proud...and braggy...and even a bit mean sometimes. After some familiarity had been had, Saffron realized Kite was the kind of friend who was hurtful sometimes. After awhile, Kite started teasing Saffron that butterflies weren’t really good for much--they are not strong, not faster than dragonflies, can't swim, most aren't keenly intelligent, and flight is not impressive since most insects can fly, so what can they really do besides being pretty to look at? Saffron doesn't hide his feelings very well. So there's been more than one occasion where he caused a snarl bush to spring up behind Kite and entangle him in it's vines. So the answer to Kite's mean spirited question is that Butterflies can still get the drop on you if you're not careful, thats what they can really do.

Of course, Kite was only acting dumb and knew a butterfly's forte is endurance, meaning they can fy the furthest and longest of all flying insects. But he still played dumb and often asked Saffron to race with him, knowing that Butterflies are fast when they want to be but still not as fast as dragonflies. It's just his way of saying "Hey remember how much faster and cooler I am compared to you?"

For as many times as there are when you can genuinely like Kite, there are also times when liking him was much harder to do. Kite's arrognace can have a way at poking at other people's insecurities, but in Saffron's case, it's because Dot had a special place in her heart for the young Butterfly. A special place that Kite wished he had, and sometimes felt like he deserved it more for being long time friends with Dot even before Saffron was part of the group. Of course, these mean jabs make Dot angry at him for being so cruel. The good news was that Kite wasn't always a jerk. There were times when he was nicer and could even stand up for people. Saffron doesn't mind the arrogance and pride, but he wishes Kite spent less time talking down to him.

It took Saffron actually beating him in a race to cut Kite down to size just enough to knock off the attitude with him, if you can believe that. It was a public event, the Mayor of Blooming Meadows was hosting the annual flight race for the residents. Its an event meant to bring people together, there are picknicks, bar-b-ques, toy venders, and most of all, lots of visitors from the near by city. A Dj from the city was even hired to hype up the event which worked in Saffron's favor. The hype about needing to be faster than fast to win meant that most contestants burned off all their energy before they were even at the halfway point in a bid to cover as much distance as possible. This year's racing circuit was particularly long and grueling. If there was one thing that Saffron was certain of is that Butterflies were built for long distance endurance. And thanks to some help from his friend Dot the Ladybug, he also knew it was within the rules for contestants to use their abilities or powers if they should have any, provided they do not interfere directly with other contestants. Which meant Saffron could use his solar rejuvenation powers to keep from getting tired even when flying as fast as he could, while everyone else had to take fast breaks at the rest stops. And his natural endurance typing meant he could keep using this skill continuously without quickly tiring for a very long time. Saffron, hadnt realized it, but he was using strategy, and was able to pull ahead, not by being faster than others but by being able to use his skills and abilities with practical applications, something he was able to learn from all that time living and traveling in the wild county side.

Kite had always either won or place high in the rankings as one of the fastest fliers--so he was livid to realize that he had actually fallen behind and Saffron had actually gotten ahead! He hit that last stretch of race with everything he had! Even though he was exhausted, Kite knew he could catch up and win if he skipped the last rest stop! And naturally, he was able to catch up to Saffron; with only less the twenty yards to go, he was able to close the distance and fly side by side with saffron...but for only a few seconds. Just before Kite could pull ahead, A cluster of green vines exploded from Saffron's fist, not only startling Kite, but shooting towards the poles holding up the finishing line ribbon! With a burst of energy, Saffron had turned his vine seeds into slingshot whips, using them to pull himself towards the finish line at an amazing break neck speed, and just like that.....he won! Sure at the height and angle he was, he ended up smashing into the dirt face first, but he won!

To say Saffron's victory was monumental was understating it; Because, of course, no one had expected him to win then alone to place among the ranks. After all, butterflies are quick but not quicker than dragonflies. All of Saffron's friends were elated, but Kite was a pretty sore loser and contested that Saffron had cheated, which according to the rule that allowed for use of abilities and powers, meant that he won fairly. Saffron couldn't deny that everyone treated him special and making a huge deal for winning a silly race felt really good. But by the night's victory dinner, those good feelings had become tampered. Kite was sulking and indignant and just being a poor sport all around. Saffron felt bad about that--he wanted to win Kite's respect by at least placing high--not only had he not expected to actually win, but he hadn't meant to make Kite so upset. He considered Kite a friend, but now Kite was mad at him. He was finding it harder and harder to celebrate, until finally another somewhat older friend, Bright the Firefly, finally laid into Kite, calling out his poor sportsmanship and bratty attitude, and that having lost this race before, why act like such a jerk about it this time? Now Bright was usually sweet and gentle, so it had to be a bad situation if it called for him to scold someone else so publicly. Bright surprised people like that sometimes. He blamed Kite's lose on Kite himself, for taking others for granted, for acting better than everyone else, and for just being a jerk who goated people. Saffron partook in this race to show him that he was much more than all that nothing that Kite kept calling him and kept trying to make him feel like, which of course Bright was right, but Saffron hadn't realized that his intentions were that obvious; though it wasn't like Kite's bullying was invisible so it wasn't too hard to figure out.

Kite stormed off, which only made Saffron upset and didn't really feel like partying anymore. After awhile, he was ready to go home with his victory feeling not so much like a victory anymore....until Kite came back. At first things were uncertain, but it looked as though Kite had done some deep thinking while he was away, and his attitude had adjusted. He looked...remorseful. He apologized for being a poor sport and admitted that Saffron won fair and square, and though it was awkward, it was a noble thing to admit his wrongs and be humble about it, even if only temporary. Deep down Kite knew he was being an even bigger jerk than he normally was, and that he was doing it on purpose. Maybe he thought he was being sneaky, but it seemed everyone had noticed him being more of a douche than usual, and maybe thats what got him thinking. He decided he should be a better person and a better friend than this. He offered a congratulatory handshake and seemed genuinely friendly about it. Saffron was elated to finally have Kite's respect but moreso to have his friendship. I guess sometimes you need an angry firefly to yell at you to get the point across. And sometimes one has to step out of their comfort zone and try their hardest even if they dont believe they can win. After that, Kite was still a jerk sometimes, but he stopped trying to tear down Saffron on a personal level. It seemed he was finally able to appreciate that if Saffron could beat him at one of the things he was best at, then there must be more to this butterfly that he realized.

He was still jealous of how fond Dot was of Saffron, but he figured he could handle it better since they were only plutonic friends and hopefully would always stay that way, seeing as how Dot was older than Saffron; though he forgot to account for the fact that he himself was also younger than Dot, so if he was hoping for romance, he had yet to realize, he was out of luck. And thats how a butterfly beat a dragonfly at his own game.

*Saffron Belongs to me.

Description

NOTE: Uh, i ended up with two designs for Saffron, and unwilling to give up either, i ended up just saying that they are indeed the same character but from alternate AUs. And thats why sometimes he looks a little more like a Sonic FC, and sometimes he looks a lot less like a Sonic FC. But his story is always the same. Hey, sue me, I couldnt choose

Also i was unable to upload any new art for this profile, so i might do that later this year.

Credits: I borrowed quite a bit of inspiration for this little guy from and her dashing Moth FC Fennel Eri whom I really love and look forward to seeing more of. In fact I even name my new butterfly FC in his honor since saffron and fennel are herbs and spices, which althought slightly different, go hand in hand with each other. ^^ I also got the idea to dress up his wings with a little splash of yellow from a gift drawing also done by UntraceableMystic. I also got a little help on the wings from who has a love of insects and strange animals.

Concepts: I always wanted a pretty butterfly of my own but lagged figuring it was probably an overdone animal. I think I was wrong; seems insects arent all that big for Mobian species. But Seeing Untraceable’s character finally gave me the inspiration to just go for it and put a lot of heart into the first design. The second one was an attempt to put a little more Sonic FC into my Sonic Fc—yes, i know the first one doesnt look like a sonic character but i dont think Agent Topaz looks like a sonic character and she is one. Anyway, since saffron is a flower, a spice and a color, i tied my butterfly to plants—specifically flowers. And made the orange of his wings specifically saffron orange in the first iteration, but added varying colors in the second version. I was a lot more careful with the wing design in the second version, i was trying to make them more simple. But i think adding more colors and heart shapes instead of just splotchy spots actually made the design just as complicated.

Setting: I call it my Sonic Fanimalverse, an AU where the world that’s a lot like Sega's Earth like setting. All kinds of Mobians live here, some more complex looking than others, some more simple. Just keep in mind that Sonic already lives in a world of mixed looking designs, And insect mobians come in a lot of varying designs.

Name: Saffron Papilio

(Saffron is a spice and is also a light orange color that decorates his wings and Papilio is the latin word for Butterfly.)

Gender: Male

Species: Monarch Butterfly/ Mobian insect

Ability Type: Flight/Endurance www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

Hair/fur: Black hair/A black body with small, white splotchy spots on his upper arms and hips. He has a large dark grey tuff of fur all around his shoulders.

Eyes: Sky blue

Wings: Black with an orange pattern with a bit of yellow coloring closer to the base of the wings. The wings have small pale blue--ish white, heart shaped spots bordering along the sides

Distinctive features: Saffron has four arms which is not too surprising considering he is an insect based Mobian; however having extra arms isn’t a very prominent feature for insect mobians. It does happen just not too often.

Height/Weight: 4'2'' (without antenna)/very light weight

Age: 15

Birthday: Unknown but it was thought to be somewhere near July 19th

Birthplace: Unknown. He was found outside a backwards, rural village as a baby.

Alignment: Neutral Good

Occupation: Eventually becomes a provider of flower nectoa, a very popular food ingredient for all Mobian insects.

Romantic interests: None at the moment

Rivals: Enemy: Savory the Arco Iris Butterfly
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

Relatives: None, though he wish he had family. Dotty is like a big sister to him.

Likes: Sunny days, beautiful flowers (especially bright pink blossoms), peanut butter, having a friend brush his hair, having friends, receiving tokens of friendship, positive attention, spending time with Dotty. Being outdoors.

Dislikes: really heavy rainfall, large bodies of water, winter snow, cold temperatures, meat, being alone for too long, dark moonless nights, definitely thunder storms! and spiders, all spiders whether they are little house spiders or Mobian Spiders. Cities. Big cities.

Favorite Food/Drink: Peanut butter cookies/nector juice

Hobbies: Sun bathing, collecting floral theme objects for his new home, gardening and flower arranging.

Powers/Skills:

(Chlorokinesis) An excellent natural born gardener, he is also gifted with a form of earth power that allows him to grow plants supernaturally, as well as control them.

(Solar absorption and dispersment) He also has a type of sun power which he uses for his gardening, healing, and dispensing heat and light to keep his garden from freezing

He has a keen survival sense that alerts him to danger. He is quite reflexive, and instinctively—as opposed to consciously--chooses flight over fight as a survival tactic.

Special Items/Weapons: A beautiful golden wristlet with a flower carved into it. It was the first gift he had ever received and it means a lot to him. He also always keeps a pouch full of seeds on him.

Weaknesses: Like most Mobian insects, he is a very poor swimmer and prone to freezing faster than mammals, so water and very cold temperatures are some physical weaknesses. He is physically weak, afraid of the dark, and suffers from occasional nightmares. He has a hard time hiding how he really feels—its just something that comes off in a non verbal way--which sometimes makes for an awkward situation. The night is sort of a weakness, since one of his supernatural powers is solar based. Fire and ice based powers can easily overwhelm his earth (plant) powers.

Personality: Initially shy but is curious and interested in people enough to overcome it. He is sweet, friendly, kind, and cheerful most of the time, so you wouldn’t know that he comes from an unhappy and difficult past. Rather than being sour, sad and bitter, Saffron expresses the love and positivity that he lacked as a child as his own personal way of overcoming those obstacles and making sure to treat others well, hoping that he will be treated well in return. He is surprisingly upbeat and friendly, given what he’s been through. But it is because people have been so cruel to him is the reason why he’s determined not to be the same way, and so shares kindness and sympathy everywhere he goes. He certainly has high spirits, and a lot of hope that he will find the happy life he has always wanted if he just searches long enough.

Unfortunately, Saffron talks with body language as much as, if not more so than he does with words, and so its always easy to tell what he is feeling, whether he is sad or excited or scared. This means he has a hard time trying to tell a lie when he tells you that he’s fine and nothing’s wrong.

Saffron knows that he is weak, that he is not built for fighting or taking damage, and so often struggles to find his courage. He can and will, but it takes a moment or two to get their. So he is not a coward like how you might think. He is actually much braver than he thinks. It takes real bravery, courage and a huge heart to help your downed enemy, knowing he can turn on you in a second.

Theme Song: “Mine” by Phoebe ryan (illeniim remix) youtu.be/JOIBgq3pnvI

Love this song--it sounds like the kind of song meant for someone who struggled in their lives to break out out of their tough situation and on towards happiness and thats why it reminds me of Saffron--except for that line "I was so mean."

I also really liked “Shine Your Way” by Owl City and Yuna, even if it does seem kinda campy—like you can just tell this was written for a kid’s movie. But it’s a really cute song for a character theme especially if that character has a sunny personality coupled with a sun power.

youtu.be/UCty0eJzLIY

Trivia:

* Saffron is always excited to meet moths and other butterflies. Perhaps its his own way of trying to be close to his parents—finding kinship in others like himself.

*There is a black, heart shaped spot on both of Saffron’s lower wings, which is a feature on boy Monarchs. If you play pokemon, you might notice that Butterfree have these butterfly boy’s spots, too, but on them, its more like a black streak.

* His antenna is very, very sensitive. This goes for most all butterflies, so dont touch them without permission—Its Rude! Very, very Rude!

* Saffron had a bad run in with a cannibalistic, “wild” mobian spider, which caused his fear of spiders.

*He loves when friends pay personal attention to him, like brushing his hair or spending one on one time with him. Its that positive, affectionate attention he never had as a kid.

* No one taught Saffron how to garden, for the most part, he seems to have a natural ability to be able to care for plants, to which he later learned that he also has supernatural abilities relating to plants.

* Saffron has an interesting ability to harvest nectar and uses it in food and drink. He can make what is essentially a Butterfly version of Honey, which is a highly sought after commodity for other Mobian Insects and small mammal Mobians.

*Only a small percentage of insect Mobians have extra arms

*And an even smaller percentage of Mobians are born with any kind of power.

*And EVEN Smaller percentage of Mobians are born with a second, alternate type of power; which all three small possibilities happening at once, makes Saffron a very rare and unique type of Mobian in this AU.

Background Story:

Once upon a time, in a valley, hidden in the wilderness and tucked between two mountains, there was a very rural village, whose inhabitants did not like outsiders of any kind. They were a small minded, isolated bunch. So it was a surprise when one of the villagers had found and brought back a baby that he had supposedly found. This baby was different in that he was an insect and all the villagers were mammals. But whatever species he was, he was still an outsider.

This villager was not just a villager, he was the mayor’s brother and an unintentional murderer. While out hunting, he accidently short a female butterfly who was resting from her long journey. It was an accident—he could have sworn she was wild game and so he shot before he even got a good look. The cowardly man thought to flee instead of try to help once he had realized what he had done. The thing that stopped him was a baby’s cry, for you see, the woman was not just a traveler, she was a mother. He almost left, trying to get away from the scene, but the baby’s cries made the guilt creep deep into his bones, but not deep enough. Because he took the baby back to his village but instead of taking care of him or telling the village what really happened, he only confided in his brother, the village mayor, and the two left the baby to the villagers.

That baby was Saffron. And even though he came here through no fault of his own, he was not welcomed, and bounced from one home to another, from one family to the next. The village’s unreasonable hatred for outsiders made it hard to accept this poor baby buggling. Saffron was never treated well. He was unwanted and he knew it, even as a little child. But he didnt know why he was even though, he didnt know why he was not a mammal like everyone else was, and he didnt know where his real parents were, he was only ever told that he was found abandoned in the woods—a cruel lie to hide a coward’s murderous act.

So Saffron grew up knowing he actually was an outsider. And he always felt his species made it harder to be accepted as well. He was a chubby , stubby boy with white and yellow stripes going down his chubby backside. And his life was miserable. The adults where cold and neglectful, some where even down right abusive. And their kids were just as bad, possibly worse because the emotional abuse they inflicted on Saffron was a never ending torment. He knew he was fat, he knew he was ugly, he knew he was different. But why did it have to be this way? What did he do to deserve all this? Was he really such a terribly fussy and difficult baby that even his parents didnt want him?

Saffron greatly lacked stability, love, support, and dependable adults. He spent a lot of time by himself. His self image was very poor and he was often depressed. He sometimes considered just wondering into the wilds and letting whatever happens to him happen, but he never had the courage to go past just a thought. He didn't want to die. He wanted to live, but life like this was just so hard...and lonely. No one understood him and no one cared about him. He longed for a family of his own and to be anyone else except himself. Then there came a time when he started to eat more and get even chubbier, and the heavier he got, the more recluse he became. He was usually scolded for wanting to eat more than his share of food. It was a very difficult time for him. He just didn't know what to do anymore....his memory started to become fuzzy due to extreme fatigue, so he couldn't recall a lot during this time other than hating to look at himself or for others to see him--he just seemed tired and hungry all the time, (and fatter and uglier than before) and even the older villagers noticed the change, though they never became any more sympathetic.

Then one day, Saffron hid inside one of the wood sheds and laid down for a nap and slept for three solid weeks. When he was finally able to wake up, he was shocked to find his body had changed! Why...he was thin and shapely! And he was beautiful now! He was a butterfly! A beautiful and gorgeous butterfly! And he hadn't even known it! (He couldn't even remember spinning a coccoon but then again he couldn't remember a lot of things during this time due to the fatigue.) It seemed some of the villagers had assumed he was some kind of worm and if there were villagers that had recognized that he was indeed a caterpillar , then none of them had bothered to ever tell him so. Knowing his homely visage was only going to be temporary would have made a difference in Saffron's life but no one seemed to think past their own lives and their family business, leaving him to struggle with his issues on his own.

Even so, life was never the same after Saffron had grown into his new body. He was still a little kid though. But now he wasnt ugly or chubby anymore, and now that he was finally fully formed at age six, he could fly; and oh, how free it made him feel! It felt sooo...natural! He was very pretty and had grown a little more into his confidence now that he had at least one skill that he was good at and no one else could do it—he could fly. Which also meant he could perch up in high places and stay away from every one. The Children were curious about Saffron’s new body, but since they had previously spent a lot of time singling him out, he didn’t trust them and the idea of letting the rotten little bullies encircle him again was just too terrifying. Indeed, he wanted friends more than anything, but instead of trying to gain their friendship, Saffron avoided them out of lingering feelings of hurt, fear, and even a little anger. He would go to the skies where they could not follow him.

When he flew, he revealed a natural grace and elegance to his movements that could be the envy of every earth bound Mobian. And when he wasn't in the skies, he was becoming acquainted with the nearby forest, enjoying the company of small animals and wild flowers. It was here at this place and this time that Saffron began to notice that he had a special love for flowers and they seem to have a special love right back for him, growing and blossoming as he wished. He soon realized that he had a special power to make plants grow. In time he realized he even had a second power that involved harnassing energy from the sun. How to use it in different ways would come in time with practice and application. He had been wanting to leave this village the moment he was old enough, but now, with these skills, he knew it was possible. Most of all, he wanted to leave that sad and depressed, ugly little version of himself and everything about him as far behind as possible; but of course, that is impossible, because it is his experiences as that sad, lonely child that shaped who he became. As Saffron grew from a fully formed six year old into a determined ten year old, and set out on his own. He did not know how to survive on his own, but he knew he would never starve as long as he had these powers.

He traveled the country side and visited other rural villages--other places where the children aren't such huge jerks and their parents don't just excuse their bad behavior. Now that he was a beautiful butterfly, he could meet people a little more easily, but the sting of his childhood experiences made him shy and slow to approach. It was a feeling that he could overcome through a sense of curiosity and a genuine interest in people, which was also created by the loneliness of his childhood experiences.

But in Saffron's eagerness to leave his old village behind, he was a tad too hasty--he was not prepared, not experienced, and not well equipped, and was still quite on the young side. The darkest, moonless nights out in the wild were terrifying, but not as much as some of the strange and dangerous encounters he ran into, some of which still give him nightmares to this day. One such experience was encountering a "wild" spider who saved Saffron from accidently drowning but then immediately invited him over for dinner. The experience was the stuff of nightmares, And Saffron survived the encounter, but barely. More details of the incident are in the Adventures and Encounters section of this profile that detail some of Saffron’s personal close encounters.

From there on, Saffron grew more and more experienced. Without a natural knack for fighting, he had to learn how to maintain an alertness to stay alive. Hungar was the most easily solved issue. With the mystical ability to manipulate plants, Saffron realized he could easily make food as long as he had seeds of berry bushes or fruit trees with him or even just flower seeds to have a source of nectar. A lot of butterfly Mobians prefer an herbivorous diet anyway, so not being able to hunt wasnt really a problem. He became savvy on the ways of forest and country living, much of which came about both through simple observation and through trial and error.

But the nightmares of his scariest encounter persisted and eventually drove Saffron into deciding to venture further from the country side and more towards the urban areas--modern cities. The thinking was that maybe life in a city would seem safer and more secure. But he soon found he did not like city life. The people were so busy and yelled at him if he was in the way. It was just so noisy and crowded and was not thriving with flowers like the countryside was. City life was busy and exciting...but maybe not quite right for him.

From age ten to about fifteen, Saffron had spent a long time traveling and, since he had never had one, he wanted to have a home of his very own, even if it was just for a little while. So he drifted away from the city and found a little country hamlet, a scattering of houses further into the countryside area, but with the city still not too far away. If this place was a village, it was a really small one. Saffron had only meant to explore the area with caution, and found an abandoned house. Dust laden and bordered up, it obviously belonged to no one. It was odd to think it, but there was something about this neglected and disregarded house that reminded him of himself. It was a nice home, it had real potential, but it lacked love and care.

The area was nice, too. Named Blooming Meadows, it had green, grassy fields and lovely trees and cute little houses here and there, but oddly enough no flowers to its name. And so Saffron sat there thinking on what to do—Its not like he could just go and claim that empty house for himself, now could he? He was just looking anyways....Would he even be welcomed here? What if the residents shooed him off? And that's when he met the person who would become his best friend, a resident named Polka Dot, but she called herself Dot. And like him, she was a Mobian arthropod, a pretty pink and red ladybug. Thinking that he was a newly arrived resident, she welcomed him to her little community, which as it turned out was made up entirely of insect Mobians. It was a small group but they all seemed so friendly and opened and already had something in common with Saffron. And they had no objection to letting him stay in that house for as long as he liked. They all seemed so happy just to have a new neighbor for their tiny village community.

Polka Dot or Dot the Ladybug was a huge help in making Saffron feel more at ease and comfortable with everyone. She saw something kind and sweet in Saffron, but she was also able to recognize that he had a gone through a tough life, and she wanted to help him out. Maybe it was because she was older and recognized that he was a young one, traveling with no friends or no family, why, he didn't even seem to have any belongings with him either, save for a pouch full of seeds. Even with the passage of a little time, she found that Saffron did not like to talk about where he came from, a not so subtle clue that his early life was a hard one. He seemed a little shy at first but once he got passed that point, he seemed eager to be friends, to want to help out, and to want to be part of them as a group. It didnt take long before Dot became veery fond of Saffron.

And so Dot and Saffron's new found friends all helped clean and repair the old house. In a matter of days, it was transformed from an abandoned, old house into that darling cottage you read about it those fairy tale stories. Like Saffron, it was as if that sad, lonely outside was hiding something wonderful inside and just needed a little help to get there. Saffron's new neighbors where more than gracious with their help and even taught him some domestic skills like basic cooking. (Up until then Saffron had lived on a simple raw diet of fruit and vegetables, but now that he had a kitchen, he could make wonderful things--with some practice and experience, of course.) They helped him furnish his new home, and began a garden, which to their amazement, Saffron showed that he had a special way with plants, both as a natural born gardener, and as a Mobian gifted with mystical powers. Their eagerness to show him so much kindness made him feel so happy and accepted.

Saffron’s new found friends were all insect Mobians but all so different in their own ways. Dot the Ladybug was a mature young lady who believed in being responsible and kind to others. She and Bright were a little bit older. She was friendly, bright, and level headed. She worked hard and made it a point to keep people in line if they got too big for their britches. She’s the one who sells the nectar that Saffron collects, so that she could teach him about money and how to make and use it. She even designed a cute label for the jars that they use. Dot was the responsible friend who gave you good advice when you needed it, and would go the extra mile to help those in need.
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

Bright the Firefly was a sunny, curly haired fellow who loved to cook. He was friendly but had some secrets of his own, namely he was forced to train early on as a tournament fighter in order to vicariously fulfill his father’s dead dreams. But a horribly grievous fight related injury forced him to finally stop. He moved to blooming meadows to recuperate and focus on his cooking, and never left but he also never told his new friends about his tournament fight training. Bright was the kitchen helper friend, but he was also the secret protector you never knew you had, because he was basically trained like a ninja—the kind who would use a wok for a shield and a spatula for a sword and forks like shuriken (throwing stars).
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

Hammer the Hercules Beetle was not very smart, but he was very sweet and simple, he was only good at being strong and so made sure to use that strength to help people. His strength never failed to amaze Saffron, and its something that made Hammer feel so proud. Maybe because everyone else was already used to having a super strong friend, but Saffron made Hammer feel like Superman every time he saw how strong he was. It was definitely good for his ego. Hammer was strange in that he was not smart, but a lot of the times he could point out a solution, which surprised people. Maybe he had more smarts than they realize...Hammer was that strong friend who come in handy more than he realized; he lent his strength to those who had little.
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

Water Lilly the WhirliGig Beetle was a small girl, quiet and cautious, and more agile and able bodied in the water than on land. On land she was a little more clumsy, but thats because she was built for swimming—the weakness to most other insect Mobians, but not to whirligig beetles. She was the shy, quiet stuttering friend who lacked confidence in everything but swimming, but she tried her best at whatever task was at hand. She was the cautious friend who always reminded you to be careful, even though she was the one who was more likely to cause an accident or be in one.
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

And last but not least, Kite the Dragonfly, was the loud, rambunctious one of the group. The braggart, the reckless and fearless guy, the wannabe leader, the friend who could be annoying at times, but at his best, he was fiercely protective and defensive of his friends, and didnt let anyone treat them badly—that was reserved for him to do. Kite was the jerk friend who’s heart of gold shined when others need it the most. They all had varied ages, but more importantly, they were all eager for Saffron to join their circle as the sweet heart friend who would freely lend anyone his powers.
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

(Later on this circle of friends would grow to include Paprika, a tiny, blonde pint-sized, rosey maple moth who attached himself to Saffron and became the little sneak of the group.)
www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

It was also from these new friends that Saffron learned more about the name of this quiet little place. A long time ago, when pioneers were starting to travel West, this whole area was covered in various, beautiful wildflowers. But as time and progress went on, the fields of flowers were plowed over to make farms. And then those farms grew into wild west towns. And then those turned into modern cities. These big wide, but scant few fields were all that was left and flowers had long since ceased to grow here. Nature is often sacrificed for the sake of modern progress. The only thing Saffron could think of to thank everyone was to share his gifts with them by blessing the fields with large, colorful, fragrant flowers once more, creating a patch of beautiful berry bushes to share with everyone, and even curing the old ailing trees of their root rot, making them alive and full of green again and even shaping them into a beautiful natural arch way. Much to his happiness, everyone was absolutely elated to have the old natural beauty of Blooming Meadows restored to its former glory after so many, many years without it. Saffron's skills were celebrated and he himself was celebrated as a new welcomed member of the community of Blooming Meadows. At long last, if seemed that had finally found his place in this world and had, at last, found some real friends and a new home.

For all he suffered through, those awful childhood experiences made Saffron appreciate genuine kindness and want to share it with others. And he was happy to learn that there were others out there who are genuinely kind and decent. And so, Saffron began his new life, this time with his own home and his own friends--real friends who cared about him and tried to help him grow in all sorts of new ways. In time, Saffron will grow to learn that he is so much more capable than he ever realized. There is so much more that he needs to learn and experience, but now he knows that he won't have to go through those obstacles alone. He'll never be alone again.

************OTHER INFORMATION****************

Saffron's Abilities:

Saffron discovered some of his mystical abilities before he even began traveling, and when he settled in and became familiar with his new home and his new friends, he eventually realized there were still more strange abilities to be uncovered. He doesnt usually think about using his powers offensively; he has only ever thought of his abilities as a way to help those around him, whether its helping friends or flowers. His powers fall along the categories of earth and solar powers.

Pollen collecting and creating liquid Nectar; a skill specific to most butterflies, bees, and moths. Described as almost being sort of like a power the way he kind of just levitates it from the flowers into his little jars, but if this is a levitating power, it seems to only work on pulling pollen out of flowers. It could be that he’s manipulating the flower to surrender its pollen and it only looks like a kind of levitating power.

Silken String Spitting Ability: Not a power, but a natural ability of most butterflies, moths, and spiders to produce silken sting by spitting it out though the mouth. For butterflies and moths, it has a low tensile strength and is more of a diversionary tactic. But in spiders, the silk web strings are incredibly strong, often sticky and used for various practical applications. Many butterflies lose this ability as they get older, but some retain it. Saffron lost his silken string spitting ability as he aged, but he did have it as a child. (Got this idea from )

Plant manipulation: Can make plants grow at will, and to enormous proportions and can manipulate their shape, and numbers. He can create whole fields of flowers from a single seed. More often than not, he uses whip vines like arm extensions and always carries their seeds on him.

Arboreal Shaping: Much like plant manipulation but with shaping trees instead. It's a bit more labor intensive since trees are a much tougher and much firmer form of plant life.

Solar Charge (Absorption): Flying high up to the sky, Saffron can collect solar energy and store it in his large, brilliant wings. He can then disperse the solar energy to different affects. Thus far, he as only used this ability for non-offensive purposes. Solar charge is the one skill among this set that he can not perform during night hours, but he can hold the solar energy in his wings for a long period of time; So even if it is night, he can still perform solar healing and solar rejuvenation a few times. If held too long, and not used up, the collected energy begins to slowly and naturally disperse from his wings in the form of golden glowing orbs releasing from his wings and then evaporating into nothingness.

Solar Healing: Performed by gently releasing the stored up solar energy onto an injured person, creating a healing effect. (It should be noted that any form of healing power is quite rare and therefore incredibly valuable in this AU.)

Solar Rejuvenation: By gently releasing the collected solar energy, Saffron can revitalize a tired and worn out person, but this effect he uses mostly on his indoor plants during the long, snowy winter months. Dispersing solar energy also keeps his entire house toasty all winter long.

*****************************************

Feral Atavism Syndrome

*Atavism = a tendency to revert to something ancient or ancestral, and refers to evolutionary traits.

The same syndrome that causes Slate the Spider's natural instincts to desire to hunt and eat even sentient creatures is the same syndrome that has afforded Saffron his sense of self-preservation, a natural ability to pick up danger in different forms. It's not surprising that the effect is different for Slate compared to Saffron, because butterflies are not predatory, so their animalistic senses would not pertain to hunting. Because of this, Feral Atavism is harder to recognize in non-predatory animal based Mobians. What it really is, is re-awakening a primal natural instinct that has become surpressed as animals evolved into modern Mobians. However some behaviors are debatable as to whether or not they should be considered as being part of Feral Atavism. Some scientist dismiss the whole thing altogether. Others think learning about Feral Atavism can help understand evolution better.

(This was an experimental idea i was trying to work into my AU at the time. Not sure about keeping it now, but its already typed on here--)

****************************************

Some of Saffron’s Adventures/Encounters

Slate's Profile: www.deviantart.com/luckyladyxa…

Slate Vs Saffron

Slate is described as a "wild" Goliath tarantula and he is BIG. "Wild" mobians are Mobians that area afflicted with something called Feral Atavism. This sort of primitive survival instinct is normally "turned off" in most modern Mobians. In Slate’s case, whatever he catches, his instincts tell him counts as food even if it’s another sentient creature. Slate has a few female spider lovers that live far and wide away from him, and they all have feral atavism, for them, it means if they are hungry enough, they will turn on him and make a meal out of him, as that is the natural instinct of a female spider.

While Saffron was running away from his village and off "adventuring", he eventually grew exhausted from traveling nonstop an incredible distance for days on end and settled on a weakened tree branch to rest, which promptly snapped and dropped him into a running river. Saffron struggled to keep from drowning, and at some point, felt a pair of string, clawed hands pull him out of the water. He found himself now face to face with a HUGE spider Mobian, the king of giant sized spiders, a Goliath Tarantula. Instinctively, Saffron tried to flee, but was capture, tied down and brough to Slate's home. Slate thought he would make a good meal for one of his girlfriends. And he had gotten pretty good at food prep by now. Offering his ladies gifts of food was Slate's way of curving their hunger whenever he was present. It was a new experience in terror for Saffron, of which he still has nightmares about to this day and has developed a fear of spiders ever since. Even normal little house spiders make him quite uncomfortable as they remind of that time he was nearly hacked into pieces by a savage brute of a Mobian Spider.

In his panic and terror, Saffron accidently uprooted the enormous tree next to Slate’s cabin home. The mass of wooden branches and trunk fell down, crushing the cabin and nearly killing them both! Though injured, the terrified butterfly worked himself free from the ropes and rubble and nearly fled...but he couldnt go because.....Slate got pretty badly hurt—because of him; he had never hurt a person before. It was an accident! So instead of fleeing for his own life, Saffron fought off his urges to run, and he stayed to make sure the spider survived too. He did, though he was terribly injured. Fear made Saffron want to leave this dangerous man behind...but he knew he couldn't just leave him like that—it was his fault that Slate had gotten hurt after all.

It took all his heart and courage to stay and not flee. And it took even more so to dig the wild spider free and bandage him up as best he could, something made all the more difficult by the fact that Saffron was smaller than the wild spider. Fighting fear is especially difficult for gentle natured Mobians. But Saffron promised himself that he would be a better person than those he had lived with, and so he stayed. It was hard to care for someone he was afraid of, and even harder than that since Slate liked meat and Saffron could only offer him fruits and veggies. He had not yet learned how to heal with his solar absorption powers, so he was stuck there for a few days and was too scared to sleep or eat for most of that time. But a few days was all he needed to know the spider was gonna be alright. And Saffron was soon on his way again, though not soon enough for his peace of mind. Luckily, Slate never realized that Saffron was the one who caused the tree to fall unto his cabin home.

It was the nightmares from this incident that made Saffron decide to try finding a home in a city. Surely that would be a safer place for a lone butterfly. But life in the city turned out to be too stifling for him, and he settle for the country outskirts instead where he finally found a home for himself and real friends. If he had never crossed paths with Slate, he might not have come this way, and he would never have met Dot or any of his other new friends. Perhaps there will come a day when the monarch butterfly and goliath tarantula meet again under different circumstances.

Savory vs. Saffron

Savory is a butterfly of a different caliber, known as an Arco Iris (my own fan made Species inspired by HunterXHunter’s Shaiapouf and Meruem) and is billed as the most rarest and beautiful Mobian butterfly species in existence. With green tinted skin, eyes bright, bold pink like lotus blossoms, hair like sunshine with little kisses of bright green coloring, and wings colored with black lace and rainbows, Savory was a mean, vain, and entitled creature. He is everything that Saffron is not. He is completely selfish and motivated only by self serving goals, vain, arrogant, narcissistic. Where as Saffron is emotional and instinctive, Savory is cold and deliberate, thinking his next course of action rather than acting on impulse. Normally, Saffron can intuitively pick up on a bad person, but he was just so eager and happy to meet another butterfly; add to that the excitement and agitation of having to save Savory from a frozen death and cure his hands and arms from their severe frostbite, Saffron's guard was down; he probably did notice that feeling, that little something that tells him to be careful, that something wasnt right—but he foolishly ignored it. He had to help this person from freezing to death, after all.

Savory's disdain for owing his life to another butterfly was...visible. But his tune changed as soon as he realized Saffron was one of the few Mobians gifted with powers, and he wanted those powers. Why? Why else--to be able to create and maintain the most beautiful garden in the world, suited for a butterfly of his status! Not only that, with his plant manipulating powers, Saffron could create an endless supply of food, and the curative sun powers meant he could keep Savory strong and young and beautiful and rejuvenated for a very, very long time. But how do you steal another person’s powers? Well, until Savory could figure that out, he would just have to steal the whole person for now. He was considerably older and more experienced, so this would be easy.

Savory tried to manipulate Saffron's feelings--at first. He switched up his tune claiming to want to be friends, which Saffron was always eager for. Then he went a step further by saying that for saving his life they would be like brothers from now on. Which would mean Saffron would finally have family, and of course, being unable to properly mask his emotions, Savory picked up on his desire for both friends and family. But Savory went a step too far when he said he wasn't opposed to being lovers--that was a deal breaker for Saffron...because it sort of creeped him out. Saffron may not be Albert Einstein levels of smart, but he wasn't exactly that stupid either. And those built-in alarm bells were screaming at this point. Noting the blizzard outside was subsiding, Savory figured he was fully healed and strong enough to take Saffron on at that point, and a full on kidnapping scene ensued! Not only was Saffron younger, he was also physically smaller, and very inexperience at fighting. But Saffron didn't go quietly. Savory decided to quiet him down by hitting him with a chair. But saffron snapped out of his dazed while he was being carried away. And started fussing again. All that yelling and screaming and fighting eventually alerted his friends, who rushed out to help him break free and handed Savory a humiliating defeat. Unlike Saffron, He was an apt fighter, but here, he was outnumbered and faced some heavy hitting insect Mobians, such as Saffron's neighbor, the hercules beetle and the fiery dragonfly. Savory had some dirty tricks up his sleeve but that damn blizzard started up again!

Saffron's friends then took the evil butterfly to the edge of the area and kicked him out--the fact that he was a butterfly and not wanting to hurt Saffron anymore than he already was, was the reason they didn't do worse to him. Savory has been plotting revenge against Saffron ever since, by planning to have him live as a slave. It's only fitting that an exquisite creature such as himself be served by other fairly beautiful creatures, which before meeting Saffron, he only had disdain for other butterflies. But now he found a way in which he could use them.

Luckily, the blizzard made navigation impossible, so as it stands, Savory doesn't actually know where Saffron lives. It was though Mother Nature blessed the sweet, young butterfly by granting him an unusually early winter to hide him from Savory's villiany. This accounts for why Savory flew into the area unprepared for the cold--he was not expecting to be greeted with an early winter already set in the area.

But Savory, being as knowledgeable as he is, will find the area again in due time. Of that he is certain. And so a hunt for pretty, young, skilled butterflies began, initiated by meeting Saffron and seeing his wonderful gifts. From then on Savory decided to take the gifts of other skilled butterflies as his new treasures, and he wanted to start his new collection with Saffron. All he needs is to actually find others that meet his requirements, which would be difficult, considering that most Mobians actually don't have any powers to speak of; and he needs a way to control them—it is something he is currently working on...

As for Saffron, somewhere deep down, he felt that malicious intent but he wanted so much to pretend it wasn't there. He was so eager to meet other butterflies and learn about them. The whole ordeal was so upsetting that the poor young butterfly didn't eat for days afterwards and was understandably jumpy at night and did not want to be left alone. it was quite a harrowing ordeal for him. It was worse than the ordeal with that giant spider, because you dont ever expect one of your own kind to be that malicious.

Kite vs Saffron

Kite the Dragonfly isn't an enemy, but a friend, and one of Saffron's new neighbors. At first, Kite was nice about greeting the new butterfly in town. And as he got to know Kite, Saffron soon realized that Kite can be arrogant...and proud...and braggy...and even a bit mean sometimes. After some familiarity had been had, Saffron realized Kite was the kind of friend who was hurtful sometimes. After awhile, Kite started teasing Saffron that butterflies weren’t really good for much--they are not strong, not faster than dragonflies, can't swim, most aren't keenly intelligent, and flight is not impressive since most insects can fly, so what can they really do besides being pretty to look at? Saffron doesn't hide his feelings very well. So there's been more than one occasion where he caused a snarl bush to spring up behind Kite and entangle him in it's vines. So the answer to Kite's mean spirited question is that Butterflies can still get the drop on you if you're not careful, thats what they can really do.

Of course, Kite was only acting dumb and knew a butterfly's forte is endurance, meaning they can fy the furthest and longest of all flying insects. But he still played dumb and often asked Saffron to race with him, knowing that Butterflies are fast when they want to be but still not as fast as dragonflies. It's just his way of saying "Hey remember how much faster and cooler I am compared to you?"

For as many times as there are when you can genuinely like Kite, there are also times when liking him was much harder to do. Kite's arrognace can have a way at poking at other people's insecurities, but in Saffron's case, it's because Dot had a special place in her heart for the young Butterfly. A special place that Kite wished he had, and sometimes felt like he deserved it more for being long time friends with Dot even before Saffron was part of the group. Of course, these mean jabs make Dot angry at him for being so cruel. The good news was that Kite wasn't always a jerk. There were times when he was nicer and could even stand up for people. Saffron doesn't mind the arrogance and pride, but he wishes Kite spent less time talking down to him.

It took Saffron actually beating him in a race to cut Kite down to size just enough to knock off the attitude with him, if you can believe that. It was a public event, the Mayor of Blooming Meadows was hosting the annual flight race for the residents. Its an event meant to bring people together, there are picknicks, bar-b-ques, toy venders, and most of all, lots of visitors from the near by city. A Dj from the city was even hired to hype up the event which worked in Saffron's favor. The hype about needing to be faster than fast to win meant that most contestants burned off all their energy before they were even at the halfway point in a bid to cover as much distance as possible. This year's racing circuit was particularly long and grueling. If there was one thing that Saffron was certain of is that Butterflies were built for long distance endurance. And thanks to some help from his friend Dot the Ladybug, he also knew it was within the rules for contestants to use their abilities or powers if they should have any, provided they do not interfere directly with other contestants. Which meant Saffron could use his solar rejuvenation powers to keep from getting tired even when flying as fast as he could, while everyone else had to take fast breaks at the rest stops. And his natural endurance typing meant he could keep using this skill continuously without quickly tiring for a very long time. Saffron, hadnt realized it, but he was using strategy, and was able to pull ahead, not by being faster than others but by being able to use his skills and abilities with practical applications, something he was able to learn from all that time living and traveling in the wild county side.

Kite had always either won or place high in the rankings as one of the fastest fliers--so he was livid to realize that he had actually fallen behind and Saffron had actually gotten ahead! He hit that last stretch of race with everything he had! Even though he was exhausted, Kite knew he could catch up and win if he skipped the last rest stop! And naturally, he was able to catch up to Saffron; with only less the twenty yards to go, he was able to close the distance and fly side by side with saffron...but for only a few seconds. Just before Kite could pull ahead, A cluster of green vines exploded from Saffron's fist, not only startling Kite, but shooting towards the poles holding up the finishing line ribbon! With a burst of energy, Saffron had turned his vine seeds into slingshot whips, using them to pull himself towards the finish line at an amazing break neck speed, and just like that.....he won! Sure at the height and angle he was, he ended up smashing into the dirt face first, but he won!

To say Saffron's victory was monumental was understating it; Because, of course, no one had expected him to win then alone to place among the ranks. After all, butterflies are quick but not quicker than dragonflies. All of Saffron's friends were elated, but Kite was a pretty sore loser and contested that Saffron had cheated, which according to the rule that allowed for use of abilities and powers, meant that he won fairly. Saffron couldn't deny that everyone treated him special and making a huge deal for winning a silly race felt really good. But by the night's victory dinner, those good feelings had become tampered. Kite was sulking and indignant and just being a poor sport all around. Saffron felt bad about that--he wanted to win Kite's respect by at least placing high--not only had he not expected to actually win, but he hadn't meant to make Kite so upset. He considered Kite a friend, but now Kite was mad at him. He was finding it harder and harder to celebrate, until finally another somewhat older friend, Bright the Firefly, finally laid into Kite, calling out his poor sportsmanship and bratty attitude, and that having lost this race before, why act like such a jerk about it this time? Now Bright was usually sweet and gentle, so it had to be a bad situation if it called for him to scold someone else so publicly. Bright surprised people like that sometimes. He blamed Kite's lose on Kite himself, for taking others for granted, for acting better than everyone else, and for just being a jerk who goated people. Saffron partook in this race to show him that he was much more than all that nothing that Kite kept calling him and kept trying to make him feel like, which of course Bright was right, but Saffron hadn't realized that his intentions were that obvious; though it wasn't like Kite's bullying was invisible so it wasn't too hard to figure out.

Kite stormed off, which only made Saffron upset and didn't really feel like partying anymore. After awhile, he was ready to go home with his victory feeling not so much like a victory anymore....until Kite came back. At first things were uncertain, but it looked as though Kite had done some deep thinking while he was away, and his attitude had adjusted. He looked...remorseful. He apologized for being a poor sport and admitted that Saffron won fair and square, and though it was awkward, it was a noble thing to admit his wrongs and be humble about it, even if only temporary. Deep down Kite knew he was being an even bigger jerk than he normally was, and that he was doing it on purpose. Maybe he thought he was being sneaky, but it seemed everyone had noticed him being more of a douche than usual, and maybe thats what got him thinking. He decided he should be a better person and a better friend than this. He offered a congratulatory handshake and seemed genuinely friendly about it. Saffron was elated to finally have Kite's respect but moreso to have his friendship. I guess sometimes you need an angry firefly to yell at you to get the point across. And sometimes one has to step out of their comfort zone and try their hardest even if they dont believe they can win. After that, Kite was still a jerk sometimes, but he stopped trying to tear down Saffron on a personal level. It seemed he was finally able to appreciate that if Saffron could beat him at one of the things he was best at, then there must be more to this butterfly that he realized.

He was still jealous of how fond Dot was of Saffron, but he figured he could handle it better since they were only plutonic friends and hopefully would always stay that way, seeing as how Dot was older than Saffron; though he forgot to account for the fact that he himself was also younger than Dot, so if he was hoping for romance, he had yet to realize, he was out of luck. And thats how a butterfly beat a dragonfly at his own game.

*Saffron Belongs to me.