Sylvia walked slowly on the plains, in the distance she saw the stone steppe. This monument has always intrigued her, but to see it in person was truly breathtaking. She came to a halt for a moment, feeling the soft wind blow through her moonlight fur. Her ocean blue eyes locked onto the monument as she broke into a run.

As she ran her paws hit the earth, each time the soil beneath her toes felt cool and calm. The monument drew closer and when Sylvia was about two feet from it she slowed to a walk. She panted after such a long sprint, even if she was agile she didn’t have much endurance to go on. She walked slowly into the stone circle with caution but also admiration at the same time.

Now being a healer, Sylvia was only a beginner one. She only knew of medical plants used to help wolves or other animals, she didn’t know much of fungi or poisonous plants. As she looked to her right, just beside a stone in the circle, an interesting plant caught her eye. It had big green leaves and a twisted vine by the looks of it (Ayahuasca). She became curious, after all how much damage could a plant she’s never seen before do?

This plant is something strange, and I don’t know what is telling me to try it. I should be okay because it doesn’t smell dangerous. At least I’ll hope I’ll be okay.. She chuckled nervously in her head and decided to put a leaf in her mouth. It definitely tasted funny to her as she only chewed a small bit of it, nothing happened at first so she decided to sit and wait.

30 Minutes Later...

Sylvia rolled onto her back in the grass, she was still in the middle of the stone circle but she definitely regretted her decision. The clouds to her became animals and her paws looked like jello. Everything around her became loopy and she just laid there looking up at the sky. I regret this I shouldn’t have done it. This plant bender reality or something. Am I hallucinating? Just a small bit of this plant sucks she growled in her head.

She flipped over on her side, looking to stand up, but as she did she could barely keep her balance. To her it looked like her legs were moving when in fact she was standing still. As she pressed down on the grass she thought she heard the grass scream and she knew then that she’s lost it. ”WHAT DID I EAT?!” she howled before laying down and putting her paws over her eyes. If I just close my eyes then I can’t hallucinate with my vision, but I’ll probably still hear things she thought in her head. To her this was the best option, and she hoped that no one would walk in on her and see this.

The witch had never been this far north before, it was strange to see, but she needed the time to think. Ulric wanted to join a pack so that he could learn from the alpha while Azariah tried to get over the anxiety inducing thought. It wasn't long before her paws and the fae got her lost. They led her to a circle of standing stones, one that looked ancient and as if it had been used in old rituals. "WHAT DID I EAT!?" Surprise made the witch jump and snarl, but she regained herself as the sound registered as someone in distress. Not usually one to go rushing into things, Azariah found herself moving toward the cry, finding another wolf just around the bend of one of the stones. There in the center of the stone structure lay a wolf with her paws over her eyes, who looked to be in a great deal of trouble. Judging by the muscle twitches and quivering, Azariah looked around the area for anything that may have been ingested and could cause harm. The only thing she could find was a twisted vine that looked as if it were braided together by gods, with big leaves and pretty white flowers.

Her ruby eyes widened as soon as she recognized the plant, B. caapi - ayahuasca. It caused heavy hallucinations, even when used on its own, though her family would mix it with other herbs to create a tea that would be given to criminals as a punishment and the sick as a cure. A look of pity washed over the witch's skull-masked face, remembering what the drug had done to her when she had first tried it. Woof, this would be rough. Knowing better than to simply creep up on a hallucinating wolf - thank you, Iscariot - Azariah began to sing softly to announce her presence. Her mother had told her she was a fabulous singer and helped to guide those under the drug to a good or bad trip - on a strict case by case basis. Singing helped because it gave the ingester something to focus on, usually, only the melody mattered but in some cases, she would be asked to add certain phrases to direct a bad trip on criminals.

This time, she added words to help ease the anxiety she could easily recognize in the stranger. "Peace, keep your mind quiet, peace, it will be alright." She sang the words, drawing them out so they would be pleasant to listen to while also being effective. There had never been a way to stop the hallucinations, but Aza hoped she could at least make them less terrifying. There was no telling how long the other woman had been there, but this could go on for hours - or she could die if she had ingested too much. Sitting a few feet away from the woman, Aza hummed softly and sang peacefully, not knowing how far down the rabbit hole the other woman had gone. She didn't introduce herself just yet, she wanted to make sure the stranger didn't die or have a worse reaction to the plant. The witch wanted to help, she wanted the other wolf to make it, but without knowing how much and which parts were eaten, she could only guide the trip now.

Walk. "Talk." Think. "Umbra."

Art by MONSTER