Things had shifted overnight, and the shadow man watched as the world swayed and buckled from his perch within Insomnia lands. He and Ripper remained in the open, away from the Gorge so as to avoid any potential casualty. Luckily, it seemed the rest of the pack from what he could tell had done the same. He had never experienced a quake before, this being his first. And as the night went on and the moon practically disappeared and the shaking and groaning of the world went on stronger and harder with each passing hour, it finally came to a halt as the sun began to crest the horizon. However...all would be different. The sky had taken on a blood red glow, matching the very color in his own sharp gaze. He watched it with keen interest, the red reflection of the sky in his eyes hardly discernable from his own color. His lip twitched with amusement before glancing at his brother, fur bristling with excitement as opposed to fear.

Piercing gaze saw his sister Rue and a number of others leaving to investigate, his own gaze turning toward the near distance as he spotted something unusual. Something that hadn't been there before, and he'd be damned if he was left out! "The night is dark and full of terrors...wouldn't you say?" He cackled a low, eerie sound as he rose and headed toward the phenomenon. "Let's go see what we can find," With a flick of his tail, he beckoned Ripper to follow and together, the pair headed off toward the Glowshroom Caverns. The spikes grew in size as they drew closer, towering toward the heavens. The breeze howled between the spires, creating dissonance in the air around them. He could hear a cacophony of strange sounds, though it still didn't deter him from his pursuit. "What do you make of this, brother?"

"Speech"

Chaos was all around, the world heaving overnight and creating a sense of chaos, fear, and turmoil throughout the lands. He waited it out in the open with his brother Grim, watching the world go on as it was thrust into something he had never seen before. The moonlight had become obscured at first before disappearing, the sun cresting the horizon was no match in piercing through the red blood sky that took over. Like his brother, his fur bristled in anticipation and excitement. What was going on? Medusa had never mentioned such a thing before, and even the story of the Long Nights didn't compare to this! His ear flicked at his brothers words, and he nodded in agreement. "For the night is dark and full of terror..." He repeated. His own maw cracking with a grin as he returned his brothers enthusiasm. He had not a clue what was happening, but a look to the nearby Caverns showed something had in fact, happened, because he had never before seen the tips of those stones that now towered above the lands.

At Grim's motion, Ripper would get up and follow suit. Following scent trails of those that had gone before them. A mixture of worry. Fear. Panic. Anxiety. A plethora of emotions lingered in the lands, and every scent they came across spoke the same. His heart beat rapidly as they drew closer, the stone spires reaching for the heavens where the sun and moon struggled to break through. And upon arriving to stand at the edge of the field where the spires sat, he eyed them hungrily and with scrutiny. His brother begged the question then. What did he make of them? He sniffed, head tilting this way and that as he observed at first. "Could be dangerous...but we laugh in the face of danger, don't we?"

He cracked a smile again before heading toward a stone spire, circling around it without caution. He saw the carvings, but cared little for why they were there. Pausing for a moment, he dragged a talon across the stone, earning what he swore was a sort of screeching that sounded like a distant echo he had never heard before. "I don't think it liked that...but it's stone..." Strange...

"Speech"

Redrum’s muscles twitched as his gaze darted between the towering spires, his breath uneven. The eerie glow of red cast strange shadows over his face, and he hesitated for a moment, his long ears flicking as he processed the dissonant sounds. He’d been here before with Enyo, but with his brother’s here he held a much greater sense of protectiveness within his crimson hide.

He glanced up at the towering spikes, brow furrowing, “Unnatural— place.” His golden eyes nearly narrowed into slits, unease mixing with intrigue as he stepped forward, claws flexing into the dirt.

He quivered, the tension building in his body, but his grin only widened. “Let’s see— how far we can— push it… or how far it —pushes back.”

""

Red's words cut through the air, earning Grim's attention. His fur bristled and relaxed in succession as his head tilted with his brothers words. "Sounds like a plan," He croaked as he studied the stone. It was a strange sight for him still. Where the fuck did these things come from? Underground? Had someone placed them here? No...that couldn't be possible, right? Not overnight. His lip twitched as crimson gaze caught sight of the strange carvings near its base, the image of terror plastered on it. It made him grin, teeth flashing in a sneer as he tapped on the face. "Grim thinks it is afraid...see?" He gestured to the terrorized face on its surface. But afraid of what? The wolves that had approached? Looking up, his tail lashed as he thought. "What if there is something inside...or at the top?"

"Speech"

He circled the spire, attention drawn then as his brothers familiar red figure arrived to join them. He grinned at Red, his tail wagging as he looked up at the spire, his ears twitching at the words of both of his brothers. "Ripper couldn't have said it better himself! C'mon boys, let's see what these things are hiding!" He cackled as he inspected it further. He noticed the webbed structure. The way it looked like a smaller creature might be able to get in there...was there treasure buried within its center? Throwing caution to the wind, he shoved his head through one of the somewhat larger openings, but quickly realized the rest of him definitely wasn't getting through. Growling, he pushed against the stone with his limbs as he twisted his head this way and that to free himself. It definitely took some effort, but he managed to pop himself out and land on his ass, neck throbbing where it had gotten stuck. "Grr...that didn't work!" He snarled. Looking up again, and then at his talons, an idea struck. "What if Ripper climbs it?" Without waiting for an answer, he got up and started to slowly climb, using his talons to hook into the edges of each opening. He wanted to know if there would be answers at the top!

"Speech"

Redrum’s gaze flicked to Grim, the feral gleam in his eyes softening with a glint of curiosity. His attention lingered on the carved, twisted face etched into the stone, his breaths shallow as he traced its jagged contours with renewed interest. "Afraid… or in—agony." he murmured, voice barely more than a rasp. The thought gnawed at him, a new possibility slithering through his mind like a swarm of insects. What could have done this? And what were they stepping into by daring to investigate? His blood seemed to pound in tune with the odd buzz in the air.

A feverish grin broke across Redrum’s face as his gaze traveled upward along the monolith's spiraling height. He considered Grim's question, the challenge of it sparking something reckless within him. “Then we—give it a—warm welcome.” he said, the words coming slowly, almost savoring the weight of the unknown and the danger. His eyes sharpened, catching the red glow that clung to the stone’s surface like some phantom residue.

The words hung in the air, a dare as much as a call to arms. He couldn’t fully say whether it was pure bravado or the protective urge stirred by his brothers that pushed him forward, but with Ripper and Grim's excitement mirroring his own, he felt that familiar urge intensify. The air around them nearly vibrated with anticipation.

A laugh escaped him as he watched Ripper’s determined, half-comical struggle. The sight of his brother’s head jammed in one of the spire's crevices earned a low, breathy chuckle. His amusement, however, quickly twisted into something more inquisitive as his gaze followed Ripper’s deliberate, clawed ascent.

With his golden eyes narrowed to slits, Redrum leaned back, letting his frame rest momentarily against a pillar as he surveyed their surroundings, each shadow and curve etched into his mind in case they needed to retreat. He called up to Ripper, his voice rumbling low, laced with a grin. “Don’t—get impaled.” Of course he was just going to watch though. No sense in them all going climbing on a what if.



"Murder"

His ears twitched at Red's words. Agony, eh? Well that was something he hadn't considered. The face of terror. The face of agony...surely they could both look the same, no? He circled around the spire, crimson gaze turning skyward as he studied the crimson sky, head tilting as questions swirled in his mind. Whatever was happening, he had to admit, he rather liked this new change of scenery! His gaze shifted to Ripper then as his brother had gotten his head stuck, tugging laughter from the shadowy beast. "Need to be smaller, dummy!" He exclaimed before watching Ripper begin to climb. While his brother went up, Grim went down. The dirt shifted beneath Ripper's feet just as he jumped up to start climbing, and that drew his own interest.

Grim started to dig a bit, the earth shifting easily beneath his paws before he started going at it with more intensity. Crimson gaze flicked briefly toward the agonized face, and it seemed to almost stare into his soul as he dug. Whatever was down (or up), must be worth investigating! The breeze howled through the openings in the stone that towered above him, screaming in his ears with its piercing sound, yet it didn't deter him. He paused his digging for a moment as Red told Ripper not to get impaled, and so he looked up, watching as Ripper climbed haphazardly toward the crimson sky. "What he said! Grim doesn't want to explain to mother how Ripper died up there!" That would be so inconvenient!

"Speech"