Veigar's world had finally gone completely dark. It was an inevitable thing, something he'd been preparing for for ages now. The loss of his sight had been a progressive thing, painfully slow in how it had deteriorated. Though it'd given him time to get used to his new reality, season by season as things progressed, sometimes he'd wished it had happened suddenly. Like ripping a bandage off an old wound. Painful, sure, but over quickly enough. Instead he'd been left to stew on his new reality, and over time - especially since Medusa's takeover - he'd grown more miserable, and far more resentful. The one wolf he'd trusted the most wasn't even around right now, and somehow he'd managed to keep his blindness a secret until now. He'd been able to see the vaguest hints of light and shadows for awhile, but now he saw nothing except pitch black darkness. Instead of trying to hide what he knew eventually someone (and then everyone) would find out, he hid out as much as possible, growing thin from the difficulty hunting now provided. More often than not he'd taken to scavenging, feeding off whatever kills he could find throughout the packlands and close by, but it wasn't a permanent solution - not when hunger gnawed so painfully at his belly, a constant reminder of everything he'd lost. At least at night he was less likely to be noticed. At least as his sight faded his other senses grew stronger. Few sounds escaped him as he crept out of his den and across the plains, taking a route he knew to be generally free from obstacles. His head was low to the ground as he navigated through the rippling grass, nose twitching and ears swiveling as he kept on high alert. If he was lucky, maybe he'd find an actual meal, but how he'd successfully track it down and kill it... especially with the way his markings ebbed and glowed in the pitch black night... the mere thought made them brighten with annoyance, and he shoved back a snarl that threatened to leave his throat.

Few things escaped here these days now that she had three pairs of eyes. But this particular thing had in fact, escaped them all. There was a handful of former Habari wolves she hadn't seen since she took over, so she was surprised, to say the least when she detected an unfamiliar scent in the area. It was vaguely unfamiliar...though something told her it was someone from before Insomnia. A stranger to her, of course, and Seymour would come to her with the description of a thin earthen creature with glowing markings. She frowned as she tried to think of who it might be but to no avail. Who was this mystery wolf? She just had to know who was walking around her lands. She hoped for their sake, it wasn't a spy. Because if it was, they probably wouldn't be seeing home anytime soon. She made her way through the plains, eyes peeled for these glowing markings Seymour had mentioned. And it wasn't long before she picked out a faint glow in the near distance. The wolf wasn't familiar, really. But as she drew closer, she could see how painfully thin he was. It reminded her of...well...her back in the day. And although she was still scraggly, she wasn't emaciated or starving anymore. "Who are you?" She questioned as she approached, head tilting as she tried to remember who he might be. "Medusa"

As enraging as the darkness of his new world was, it was comforting in its own right, too. At least the company of his own thoughts were familiar to him, no matter how turbulent they might be. The outside world was feeling increasingly more and more alien to him these days. It felt even more jarring being caught off-guard. He hadn't heard anyone coming, nor had he smelled them. An instinctive snarl began to build in his throat but he choked it back quickly, unsure who this stranger was. Their scent was as unfamiliar as the rest of the wolves that inhabited Insomnia. It was distinctly female though. Adult. The luminescent markings on his coat lit up as she spoke, the glow impossible to miss against the gradually fading light of the evening. "Name's Veigar," he answered plainly. His voice lacked aggression though was devoid of any friendliness too. "Who're you?" Veigar had been living in his head and avoiding others so long that he didn't know much of anything, other than that the few wolves he cared for seemingly had abandoned him when he needed it most.

Veigar. The name vaguely sounded familiar, and the guy looked sorta familiar but she couldn't remember exactly who he was. There had been so many wolves in Habari that she hadn't met face to face, probably had seen in passing or briefly at meetings, but this guy was probably one she hadn't seen much of. When he questioned who she was, her usual grin slipped on, "Medusa, alpha of the pack Insomnia that Veigar seems to be in, you were in Habari?" She questioned with a tilt of her head. Silly her for not recognizing him, but alas, she had been too focused on getting out before she fought for the pack. She took a few steps closer, curiosity about his glowing pelt drawing her in, and as her gaze moved over his face, she sorta noticed his eyes didn't look too focused. She wasn't familiar with blind wolves, but she had seen quite a number of elderly prey animals that had that look before she took them down. But Veigar wasn't old. He looked young. "Veigar can't see, can he? Medusa has seen that look before." Her voice dropped to that of a more curious and observant tone as she peered around to get a better look. "Was Veigar blind in Habari, too?" "Medusa"

He swore he could hear her smile when she spoke, sounding friendly enough but Veigar wasn't so sure. For some reason her tone just agitated him further, though right now he was pretty sure nothing would sit quite right with him. She introduced herself as Medusa, leader of Insomnia, and he nodded in understanding. So she was the one that had taken over. Hadn't she bee "Yes. Habari," he answered plainly. Everything from back then felt so far away now - even though it felt like he'd been barely subsisting ever since then. And then she said something that caught him off guard. He visibly flinched when she spoke, calling out his blindness relatively quickly. His instinct was to deflect, to deny, but she sounded convinced, like it wasn't just a hunch. She didn't really give him room to deny it, so for a long moment he paused as he weighed his options on how to proceed. His head tilted slightly down, attempted to avert his eyes away from her, at least as best as he could manage given he couldn't tell exactly where she was in proximity to him. "Yes. Only partially, but it's gotten worse." And by worse, he meant he could see nothing, not even the small hints of light he'd been able to see for so long. So... now what? Would he be declared useless, left to fend for himself? That was basically what he'd been doing up until now anyway, completely unwilling to let anyone in on what he'd been going through for so long. Somehow he'd successfully hid his disability but it seemed now he could hide no longer. He wondered how his packmates would look at him now, not that he'd really been close to any of them, but, at least they were something familiar in this world that felt entirely unfamiliar and alien to him now.

He confirmed he had been one of Habari's, but clearly not one of the mean ones or she would have definitely remembered his face. She remembered everyone that she came across. Especially the ones that had wished her ill, done her harm, or straight up treated her like she was garbage. Veigar wasn't one of them. Maybe he was someone like her. Maybe not. He wasn't a recluse child, that much was certain. He didn't look like her nor smell like her. She had plenty of time to think about this, of course, while he took his time answering about his blindness. She kept her gaze pretty close to him, but when he averted his eyes, she took it as a cue to stop staring so much. She pulled back a bit, head tilting the other way as she continued to observe him. "Yes. Only partially, but it's gotten worse." "Hmm..." She hummed in thought. Of course, she couldn't tell if someone was fully blind or partially blind, she didn't always have an eye for detail, and she also wasn't about to force him to look at her again. "Has Veigar always been blind?" She asked softly. Curiously. Wondering if it was something he was born with and had always dealt with, or if it was a new thing. "Medusa"

Maybe it was sheer luck that he hadn't become 'one of the bad ones', so to speak; it wasn't like some streak of undeniable cruelty didn't run deep through his veins. But his sight being stolen from him had altered the course of things, essentially stealing his youth from him. Sometimes he wondered who he would've become had the Long Night not affected him so deeply, but dwelling on it for long wouldn't go him any good. "No," he answered plainly after a moment of careful thought. "Only since the Long Night." Surely she'd know what he was referencing, if she'd been around all this time, and he was pretty sure she had been. He didn't know how widespread the darkness had been, but he could only imagine it had reached further than anyone knew. "The sickness - it stole my sight from me." That was the only explanation he had, even if he hadn't been able to fully wrap his head around the logistics of what had happened, only that it had.

She listened quietly, head cocked to the side as he briefly explained that he had not in fact, been born blind. But that the Long Night had stolen his sight from him. She frowned, a quiet "hmm" slipping as she studied him. Well, she didn't know what it was like to be blind...to not be able to see the world the way you used to be able to see it. But she knew what it was like to be underestimated because of perceived shortcomings. In her case, others seemed to think she might be intellectually challenged because of the way she spoke, her mannerisms, and the way she often acted...not her age. In his case? Perhaps his lack of sight. "Medusa remembers the Long Night. She saw...and heard...many ghosts..."Ghosts from her past had crept up. Threatened to overtake her. But she had overcome them. Though she had to admit, it was nice finally knowing her who father was! He had been advising her in her dreams since then, whether for good or bad or worse, she didn't know. That's what her companions were for, however. "Medusa is sorry the Long Night took what is precious to you. But...she is here for Veigar, if he wants. Veigar never hurt Medusa, so he is always welcome to seek help from Medusa, or not. He is also always welcome to...go...if he wants to." She didn't know if he was happy here, although she couldn't imagine that he was. Not because of her, but because of his lack of sight. She had no ill will toward him, and she made that much clear. He was always welcome to call Insomnia home, or maybe somewhere else if he so chose. Regardless, she would support the male. "Medusa is curious. What Veigar wants to do. Of course, he doesn't have to decide now, but Medusa just wants Veigar to know that she will help if he wants it." She offered a smile, even though he couldn't see it. She had seen him in action when it came to fighting, and had a feeling that despite his disability, he was still a formidable opponent. Whatever he needed to do to get his frustrations out, too...she was always willing to go head to head with him. Who knows, maybe it would help 'em both. "Medusa"