Laeta’s journey so far had been filled with a surge of new experiences, sights, and emotions. Her recent joining of the Hallows brought her the sanctity she didn’t realize she required, and the rest her body seemed to infinitely crave. Rest — in the loner lands it was almost a curse word; to rest meant to take a considerable amount of risk. You had to choose wisely, and not just what appeared to be the obvious. A hollowed out hole in the barren earth might seem appealing to a pack-less, sometimes down on their luck stranger — but that hole could have been claimed by someone nearby. And curling into it, furthermore, could cause a serious clash, possibly with bloodshed. Though the idea of fighting tooth and claw over seemingly trivial items like uncomfortable dens, scraps of food, and the rare spot of shade in the scorching heat of Boreas’s summers could’ve been perceived as exaggerated, Laeta had seen in all. Everything. Finding her normally comfortable and airy room to be a bit confining, her thoughts threatening to tear her apart like a whirlwind, the woman trotted briskly out of the castle the Hallows called home, and proceeded further out into the clear, flat plains beneath the night sky. The evening breeze tickled her face, as the blades of grass poked put between her alabaster toes. Once she’d taken a moment to catch her breath from her unexpected romp, she proceeded to close her ruby eyes, lifting her muzzle towards the heavens. She began a mantra of deep breathing, something she’d taught herself. It kept her from losing control, from hyperventilating, and from her overactive ‘survival mode’ mechanism — which, she realized, was partially what drove her to run off. Lae focused herself on the deep breathing, and deep breathing only. In and out, Lae, she whispered mentally, using the phrase like a soothing metronome. After a few minutes had passed, and the thoughts that once crowded her skull like thousands of grasshoppers were silent, she opened her soft ruby orbs again. The sight that lay before her nearly took her breath away. The sky was awash with the most brilliant cerulean, teal, and rich purple colors she had ever seen. Although the castle itself held its own wonders, Laeta was unable to move from the sheer beauty of it all. Stars, like winking eyes, twinkled softly in the galactical glow, ever inviting. She felt at peace here. She felt she belonged, and it felt as if the sky itself was embracing her within its celestial comfort. Suddenly, the appearing of other twinkling lights abrupted her view. Lae squinted. Not that they weren’t beautiful themselves but..what the hell? Those aren’t stars.. She thought, her flat expression morphing into a furrowed brow and soft frown. They weren’t there before, were they? Where did they even come from? As the she-wolf stared at the now numerous blue twinkles, she noticed they were singular units clumped together in clouds of sorts, and gave the illusion of an extraterrestrial nebula. There were thousands, no, millions maybe? Laeta wasn’t the best at mathematics, but if she had to wager, she’d guess they’d be at least in the millions. They were all around her, periodically blinking, as if each unit of light had its own pulse. She couldn’t help but be mesmerized instead of frightened, though. She was tired of being frightened and cold and lost. Perhaps these blue little..things were what she needed to relax and calm down. Although, there were a lot of them. More than she’d thought should congregate in even an open, vast space such as the plains. Tilting her head, the frowning woman sat back on her haunches, investigsting all manner of basic theories as to why they were here. Migrating bugs? Yes, clearly they were bugs — she didn’t need to see them up close to realize that. Though, they were a bit too close, and almost by some instinct, the woman swatted at several too-close fireflies in her face. The others twinkled and floated about like some ethereal orbs. Deciding that she would see these as migrating bugs and not some strange creatures plucked from the endless nebulas above, she blinked as she couldn’t help but be reeled into their pulses, their floaty dances, and all manners of dancing movement that met the eye. What the woman perceived to be the stirring of the wind, however, soon became apparent that it was..something else. Lae blinked from her staring trance. The wind had been curiously..sentient. Although just picking it up now, she soon connected that the wind was in the path of these creatures. Laeta’s ears pricked and her body stiffened again as she could swear she heard whispers. She paused, hoping her anxious mind was just playing tricks on her. No, definitely more than just the stirring of a summer breeze. It was as if the fireflies were speaking. Suddenly, the pleasant, lulling mood soured. The peace and serenity Laeta fought so hard to culminate in leiu of panic became just that — a rise in panic thatbmanifested as the thrumming of her heart within her ribcage. She stood up suddenly, watching the floating fireflies and their illusion of beauty as they whispered. Oh gods, She thought — not even a religious woman herself, but out of some deeply stirred fear — I’m being driven insane. She backed away as the fireflies paid her no mind, floating in a seemingly endless swath of cerulean pulses. Beckoning. They weren’t real. They weren’t real. This was a dream. It had to be. Were they here all along? Did they mock her as she slept? Did they watch as she attempted to assimilate into the life of a pack wolf, watching and whispering their indiscernible phrases? She didn’t even know what the hell they were saying. Why were they here? The rush of thoughts she’d tried so desperately to escape from rammed into her thoughts like an uncoordinated beast, forcing the breaths in her chest to rise in and out in an inevitable spiral to hyperventilation. And still, they floated about lazily. This was too much. Too much. Toomuchtoomuchtoomuch. Though the whispers were just that — plain whispers of something, the woman’s drive to survive was too much for her to thoroughly bask in the sights anymore. Attempting to catch her breath again, she decided to trot back to the castle, all the while being surrounding in their blue glow. She couldn’t stand to see their light anymore. Couldn’t stand their whispers. With that, she snapped her jaws in the air, finding that several of the bugs had been caught in her maw. She continued trotting off in a huff after (unintentionally) consuming a few of the bugs, attempting to collect herself from her panic. That’ll show ‘em, she thought, scowl deepening. They were just bugs, she figured. What harm could they do? She ate them all the time in her loner life back on Boreas, after all. Perhaps these were just..weird Auster bugs. WORD COUNT; 1,171 words "Speech"

Laeta

Though fireflies have driven you away toward relative safety and silence, you still occasionally hear the sharp buzz of wings passing by your ear. The further you get from the hoard of bugs the less you hear the strange sound, and hust when you think the experience is over something starts to tickle your inner ear. No matter how much you scratch it, it remains.

Maybe you shouldn't have done that...  

Lae had believed she was in the clear. Trotting across the grassy plains, she tried to shake of the pleasant-turned-nasty encounter with the fireflies as a mere freak of nature type event. It wasn’t out of the blue, considering what was going on lately, anyways. As the thin woman attempted to place a sufficient amount of distance between her and the fireflies, she still heard a sharp buzz flick past her ears every few minutes or so. Every time, Lae would pause, glancing frantically behind her. And each time, she frowned softly in confusion, seeing none of the terrorizing bugs she’d been grappling with. She continued forward, trying her best to ignore it, but the sensation continued. The sharp buzz would constantly re-trigger her sensitive survival mechanism, her heart pounding, then slowing after the noise left. It was beginning to wrack up her anxiety tremendously. She shook her head, feeling her stoic composure crumble as her breaths quickened with her pace, as she headed towards the safety of the castle. Soon, the buzzing dissipated into the vastness of the night, and the monochromatic femme allowed herself to slow down and relax. She dared to stop and glance behind her again into the night, seeing absolutely nothing of interest. The noise that fluttered sharply past her ears, too, had gone. She sighed heavily, partially from the exertion, partially from the panic that stirred from deep in her chest. Maybe it was just your anxiety running rampant again, She thought to herself, scanning the pitch dark horizon. It made sense. Her mechanism stirred into action, compelling a fight or flight mode on which she acted upon, thinking she was in some mortal danger. Thus, the stress made her hear something she didn’t. A wave of embarrassment washed over her as she shook her head and walked forward again. Silly me. It wasn’t long that Lae had settled into a calm, collected walk that a new sensation occurred. This time, she knew it wasn’t anxiety. A strange tickling feeling from within her ear emerged, and out of instinct, the woman plunked herself down on the ground to scratch at it with her hind leg. However, the itch wasn’t going away. She scowled in irritation, scratching harder. The tickling continued, and before long the panic she had settled within emerged yet again. It was coming from deep inside her ear. Oh gods..did one if those bugs get lodged in her ear? Frantically, she began using all her might to claw at that damn ear as the tickling sensation remained, just as strong. A soft sob began to well up from her throat as she writhed on the earth, her composure melting as she attempted to fight a deep tickle thst never ceased. "Speech"

Laeta - It Continues...

Huh? It doesn't seem like anything happened... Well, maybe that's for the best...