Ezra knew he really shouldn't be going against Artorias' wishes, but how was he supposed to say no to Syanna's pleading emerald eyes? It didn't take much for him to give in to what she wanted especially when the promise of his favorite kind of reward awaited them when they returned back to the castle. When Syanna asked him to go with her out to the wildberry grove to accompany her while she gathered some of the glowing herbs he knew full well that it went against the declaration that Art made for them to stay in the castle at night while all this weird stuff was going on, but... surely one little trip out of the pack lands wouldn't hurt. Besides, he was going to have to leave to go stay in the neighboring pack soon and he just wanted to spend every second with Syanna he could and give her everything she wanted as some kind of apology for the fact that he was having to leave even if it wasn't really by choice. He quietly sneaked away with Syanna and they made their way down to the grove of trees and berry bushes, the air filled with firefly-like lights that were blue and purple. The moon was still weirdly full and large in the sky and a blueish fog lingered across the ground, giving everything an eerie feeling. As much as he was happy to give Syanna what she wanted, he was still eager to get back in away from all this creepy stuff.

"Ezra Adravendi"

Syanna was no stranger to bending or breaking rules when she needed to, so when she returned from Boreas to Artorias' order for all Hallowed wolves to remain inside the castle walls during the night, well, that just wouldn't do! See, she needed to harvest one of those strange glowing plants whole and unharmed so she could commence her research and experiments on it. And if they only came out at night, well, you could see where the issue with following the rules came from. Syanna had already committed to the idea of sneaking out and digging up a glow plant, but when she'd told Ezra, of course her boyfriend had objections. So she'd tempted him to come along as her bodyguard with the simple promise of some very pleasant rewarding coming his way once they got back to bed. He was so eager to agree after that, it was adorable.

Syanna trotted briskly northward to the Wildberry Grove with Ezra in tow and a pot for her prize. In a way, she was happy he was coming with her. She hadn't been pleased, per se, when he'd told her about his new task that would take him away from her for nearly half a year, but she understood he had his responsibilities. Besides, it wasn't like she was going anywhere now. The haunting blue full moon hung high in the sky overhead, looming as if it threatened to come crashing down into the earth at any moment. Syanna was more than a bit perturbed by the fact that the moon phase hadn't changed at all in the weeks since the strange events had begun, but she didn't know enough about what was going on to truly be scared. Maybe this plant would help shed some light on the mysterious events going on.

The grove of deciduous trees and berry bushes was silent and empty in the dead of night. A thin bluish mist had settled over the land, making those glowing blue fireflies stand out even more pronounced like foglights. It also made it that much harder to find one of the glowing plants, since everything seemed to be glowing now. Dammit! And here she'd hoped for an easy-in, easy-out sort of situation. Frowning and huffing, Syanna dipped her head to the ground, searching around for any glowing plants. A few trees had begun to give off that paranormal glow, but there was no way she'd be able to dig up a tree and hoist that back to the Hallows. "This might be a little tougher than I thought," she muttered to her partner in crime while she continued her search, hoping to find at least one plant before long. At least the blue fog didn't seem dangerous, just bothersome.

"Syanna Allurain"

Ezra followed close beside Syanna while she searched around for the plant she was wanting, silently hoping that it would be as quick as she promised, but the way she was huffing and grumbling it didn't seem like that would be the case. That thought was confirmed when he heard her say that it might be harder than she thought. "Well... guess we better get looking," he said with a chuckle, joining her search as he tried to determine which plants were actually glowing and which ones were just reflecting some of the stupidly bright moonlight. Sure, he was terrible at identifying plants, but surely he could figure out which ones glow, right? But as he was looking around the grove he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and he looked up, spotting some kind of shape lurking through the trees. His ears flicked uneasily and his smile faded as he started shifting a bit closer to Syanna again. "Um... Syanna... I think we should go," he said as he watched the blue-hued, shadowy shape move closer until it finally stepped into a shaft of moonlight and he saw the familiar face of a saber cat moving toward him. His hackles lifted at the sight, feeling a sense of deja vu as the big cat moved closer. But the longer he looked at it the more strange it looked as if it wasn't actually there. Sections of its body were more mist than solid, but he didn't think that made it any better.

"Ezra Adravendi"

Searching for a glowing plant was indeed a nuisance, but it was little more than a mild inconvenience. Syanna really didn't understand what Artorias had seen that had spooked him so thoroughly to order a ban on all activities outside the walls after sundown. Ezra began to help her look, and together the two wolves scoured the grove looking for a glowing flower. After some time searching, Syanna's verdant eyes landed upon a single lily plant that was glowing the same unearthly blue as the rest of the world. Smiling triumphantly, Syanna gave a cheer and set the pot down while she began to dig around the plant with extreme care. When she'd plucked the glowing plants back in Boreas, they had reverted to their normal selves almost immediately. She would need to harvest this plant whole and intact for her experiments to work.

Ezra's nervous voice ushering them to leave was met with a disgruntled huff from Syanna, but nothing else. She continued to carefully extract the dirt from around the lily, making sure her claws didn't nick any of its roots in the process. At some point during her work, Syanna felt Ezra bump into her, nearly making her disturb the flower. She gasped, then turned to shoot daggers at her boyfriend with her pointed gaze—only to see the massive hulking shadow beast looming in the fog, staring them down. Syanna's breath caught in her throat with a gasp, staring with wide eyes at the new threat. It looked just like the sabertooth tiger they had fought here all those seasons ago. Ice ran through Syanna's blood. "What the fuck is that...?" she asked in a frantic whisper.

As much as she didn't want to be here anymore, Syanna desperately wanted this flower! Gritting her teeth, she began to claw away at the earth to free the iridescent flower, needing only a couple minutes more. "Can you, I dunno, keep it busy or something for a minute? I'm so close!"

"Syanna Allurain"

Ezra's ears flicked worriedly when Syanna asked him to keep it busy for a minute while she frantically tried to finish excavating the flower she found. "I don't think that's a good idea..." he muttered, shifting a bit to more fully block off the ghostly saber cat from Syanna. It felt too much like when he had defended her here before when he had gotten badly hurt by said saber cat and had only really made it back to the pack alive because of Syanna's quick work patching him up. He didn't have his armor with him this time though and Syanna didn't have her supplies. He didn't even know if this strange spectral saber cat could really attack them or not, but he really didn't want to take that chance. He didn't know if his luck would be as good the second time around.

He lowered himself into a fighting stance, giving the glowing big cat a warning growl, but that didn't seem to hinder it's slow, steady advance on them, only occasionally pausing like it was studying them. It was getting too close for comfort and even when he lunged at it to try and scare it off nothing changed. "Alright, that's it, we're leaving," he demanded when the saber cat got within a range that if it charged them there would be no avoiding it. He quickly turned to Syanna, scooping her up and throwing her onto his back, snatching her pot between his teeth whether there was a flower in it or not, and then took off running toward the castle. "Hold on!" he muttered around the pot he was carrying. Behind him he heard the roar of the cat like a echo and he didn't look back to see if it was chasing them or not. The faster he could get them back behind the castle walls the better.

"Ezra Adravendi"

Syanna wasn't paying attention to Ezra to hear his muttered comment, too focused and busy getting the glowing lily out of the ground. She'd come this far, she wasn't about to stop now! Who knows what they could learn from one of these glowing plants? She felt Ezra shift next to her and heard his ferocious growl, acting as big and tough as he could to keep her safe. While she appreciated his attempts to protect her, she doubted any supernatural paranormal horrors would be deterred by a flash of teeth and a snarl. Frantic cream-furred paws were covered in dirt while she dug and dug, carefully extracting the bundle of roots from beneath the stem of the flower. Finally, after what felt like an age, she pried the plant free from the earth with a triumphant laugh.

No sooner had she gotten the lily out of the ground and made sure it was still glowing, Ezra declared that they were leaving. Syanna gingerly set the plant into the pot and began packing soil in around it to protect it during transit, but she only got a couple of pawfuls in before her world was suddenly shifting. Syanna gasped in surprise, finding herself pulled off her paws and slung across Ezra's back rather unceremoniously. "My plant!" she cried out, but Ezra was already snatching up the pot in his teeth. That was when Syanna got her first good look at the spectral saber cat, seeing the blue glow of its empty eyes and the snarl on its misty face. The apparition tensed, ready to lunge. Syanna gasped in fright.

Then there was motion, and Syanna was moving so fast her eyes couldn't make sense of what was going on in the dark. Syanna gripped to the back of Ezra's scruff, holding onto her boyfriend for dear life while he hauled ass across the plains back in the direction of the castle. Behind them, she saw the shadow cat snarl and let out an eerie, distorted version of a leonine roar before giving chase to the two wolves. "Faster, Ezra! Faster!" Ezra was running with all his might, but the ghost didn't seem to be getting further away. Wide, terrified eyes watched as it came closer and closer, pursuing them all the way across the empty plains towards the castle. The sky darkened overhead, stars falling and streaking all over the heavens. A cold wind kicked up around them, seeing to whisper promises of death in her ears. Syanna's blood turned to ice in her veins, yet she couldn't look away from their pursuer. It got closer... closer... so close it could almost nip at Ezra's haunches!

And then the spectral tiger disappeared in a burst of mist. Syanna blinked and stared in bewilderment, trying to figure out what happened when she realized Ezra had brought them across the castle threshold. The moment they had passed the castle walls, they were safe. Syanna gasped for breath, her mind reeling from everything they had just witnessed. Unbeknownst to her, her paws were trembling where she held Ezra's fur, more shaken up than she cared to admit. But she had her glowing flower! The night had ultimately been a success. "Can you bring me to bed, please?" the vixen-like fae asked, speaking softly into Ezra's ear. "I just wanna forget all of this, and I believe I owe you a reward for protecting me."

"Syanna Allurain"

Ezra

You notice a nearby plant reflecting the purple glow of the moon. You also find 3 crystals. Maybe these are worth keeping…

Syanna

You notice a cluster of faintly glowing fungi up ahead. You also find 1 crystal. Maybe these are worth keeping…