A throbbing pain radiated within her upper jaw as Banshee moved through the wilderness. Large paws carried the almost yearling towards one of the smaller lakes that formed the paw shaped lake they lived around. At first the pain just felt like maybe a tooth ache or some sort of head ache. Perhaps something had cut her gums or lodged between her teeth. But, with time it got worse and it was almost at the point in which she couldn't even sleep. It was a similar pain to getting a new tooth, but how could that be happening when she already had all her teeth? Rather quickly the young gal made her way to Luce's den. She moved with ease through the lands she called home. Ashen's territories had become her personal stomping grounds and she knew the paths like the back of her front paws. As Banshee approached she lifted her feminine yet youthful tones into the air. "Luce?" Was her aunt sleeping? The babe truly hoped not, but if she was she'd have to resort to herb hunting by herself. ""

Lucretia was enjoying spending some time in her den reorganizing her personal stores. They would need to be topped up before winter, but with the arrival of two litters, she had hardly had time to leave the immediate area. Hopefully within the next few weeks she would be able to gather everything she'd need to keep those very younglings happy and healthy through the cold. As she rearranged her dried marigold, her ear perked at the sound of Banshee's voice. "yes, banshee?" she replied amiably, poking her head out from the stock room. Her and Deathbelle had suffering their own soreness from the results of their "prizes," but she hadn't checked with everyone who had attended the festival yet. Surely more than a few wolves had been tempted by the booth's ridiculous promises... particularly impressionable young puppies. "what can I do for you?" "lucretia mutters..."

It wasn't long before Luce mad herself known. The older black and white femme came froth from her herbal smelling den with ease. The supple yet feminine tones of her aunt filled the air and Banshee aimed to lock eyes with her. A little shrug could be seen as those beaming baby blues seemed to soar with irritation. "Ever since the festival my upper jaw and gums have been hurting a lot." Was it dumb of her to choose the strange magic nonsense as a prize? Was this the consequence? After a moment Banshee sighed softly, "Sometimes I can taste blood too." It was only when she ate or spoke too much. But, at times her spit would have a swirl of deep red. The thoughts of such caused her to shake her head, "I just need to know what's wrong with me." ""

Oh no. Another victim from the festival's mysterious rigor ritual booth. Perhaps Banshee could take comfort in the fact that both her aunts had fallen for the same farce and were suffering similar fates... but she didn't want to give the sassy pup too much satisfaction. The last thing she wanted was Banshee thinking her or Deathbelle were somehow unintelligent. How could she take the high road? "ah, the festival..." she said wisely, stalling for a moment to come up with something. "that certainly was fun, wasn't it?" The only way to come out on top in Banshee's eyes was to play as if she knew it would come true all along. "did you win any wonderful prizes? the Empress and I were both gifted with unique, transformative attributes." She had heard of some wolves being "blessed" with fangs or tusks at the festival, laughing it off as a farce. Lucretia surely hoped it wasn't tusks. "lucretia mutters..."

Banshee absently ran her tongue over her upper teeth as she watched her aunt with beaming blue eyes. The babe seemed to be almost skeptical of the odd lady as she began speaking. She wrinkled her nose in response as thoughts lulled over the festival. I did meet some nice Wolves like Iroh and Heloise. But, that was not why Banshee was seeking out assistance. "Yes, the time of my life." Her voice was flat as a board and her eyes hung heavy with irritation. If I wanted small talk I'd go find that yappy slave, Zeyadayada or whatever her name was.. After a moment the girl took in a long breath. As Luce finished speaking a nod could be seen from the nearly one year old femme. "Yes, I was too promised some sort of transformation but i never imagined pain in my upper jaw being a symptom." Banshee took a moment to think over what could be happening to her. An image of Sirius flashed into her mind and her eyes went wide. "Do you think.. something is growing from my gums?" The babe immediately opened her jaws and tilted her head up for Luce to take a peek. ""

"well," she replied, pricking her ears forward. "weren't you told what prize you won? By midwinter I should have some lovely horns sprouting from my skull... and I can certainly feel them growing," she said dryly. Her head was aching almost nonstop, but it made sense if her body was truly working hard on forming new bone. It was almost like a growth spurt - except it would certainly be bloody when they finally broke through the skin. Trying to ignore the gory thoughts that invaded her brain, she fixed Banshee with a look. "it's very possible. Although it may be painful, I would suggest finding some larger bones to gnaw on. It will massage your gums and encourage whatever is brewing in your bones to break through. Soon it will be winter, and there will be plenty of snow and bits of ice to suck on," Luce added, smiling encouragingly. Ashen was growing strong. Their ranks had grown with the addition of the new litters, and although she was a sour little thing, Banshee was growing into a fine young female. The pack was something to be proud of. "lucretia mutters..."

It's a flash flood!

The air seems to cool by the minute. At first, it's not noticeable, but then it really starts dropping. The air becomes cool and the wind starts to pick up. The sky clouds over alarmingly fast. Within mere minutes, water pours from the sky and the ground begins to cover the ground, rising by the second. It's a flash flood! Better find some shelter or higher ground... maybe both!

Banshee listened to Luce with alert ears and throbbing pain in her gum. Every now and again she'd wince slightly as a sharp pain would surge through her upper jaw. But, overall the pain was tolerable. Sometimes she'd have to stop speaking for a bit but other then that she could manage. "I must have missed that part.. They never told me about what I'd get." Maybe she wasn't listening. - With a shrug Banshee thought over some of the herbs she could use to ease the pain. Knowing that nothing was horribly wrong with her sort of relieved some of the mental disturbance she had been feeling. As the girl lulled over what her aunt said a few rain drops fell upon her shoulders. Banshee tilted her head up and those beaming blue eyes captured the sight of dark grey and black rain clouds. The babe shot a look of worry to her aunt as the wind picked up a bit. The thick tendrils of her earth toned pelt danced within the strong tropical gusts. "I didn't notice the weather was getting so bad." On her way to Lucerita's den it had been dry and rather nice out. Perhaps it was a fast moving thunderstorm. But, as the girl looked back up an extreme amount of rain poured down on her. Massive droplets of water quickly soaked through her fur and her eyes went wide. Within a moment the dirt below her paws was soaked in by the rain causing quite a bit of mud. "This isn't good at all. We should get to high ground." Banshee assumed her aunt would say the same thing. As she stood awaiting Luce's reaction to the quickly building rain the babe seemed to forget the pain in her gums. ""

Banshee admitted that they had never told her what she had received, or what that she had missed it all together. If it was pain in her gums, it could be anything from tusks to fangs to... well, what else could grow out of a mouth? Horrible mutations came to mind and she tried to put them out of her head. If Belle had been graced with claws and Luce with a pair of pointed horns, what was the worst they could curse Banshee with? All at once, rain came pouring from the sky. Lucretia cursed aloud, turning and staring into her den with alarm. Her stores were threatened. If the den flooded, Ashen were be bereft of herbs for the winter. She would have to go begging from other packs like a commoner. The rain came in sheets, falling with such a weight that she was surprised Banshee was able to stay on her paws. "quick, before we head to high ground, help me sort the herbs into safer storage. we must have a healthy stock for the winter!" Luce darted back into the den and quickly began shuffling herbs out of the lowest compartments and placing them as high up as she could into the shadowy recesses near the ceiling of the den. With Banshee helping, hopefully they could make quick work of it. "lucretia mutters..."

Banshee's heart fluttered as the muddy water now covered the tops of her paws. As Luce spoke the babe nodded firmly. What was once a quick doctors visit was now a complete disaster. Banshee could hear her heart in her ears as she darted into the den to quickly move the herbs that were being stored lower to the ground to the higher shelves. She moved without hardly noticing as her body worked on adrenaline. As the last few herbs her stashed semi-safely the let forth a quick breath to regain her thoughts. After only a moment Banshee moved out of the den and looked around. The rain was unrelenting and she could hardly see even a few tail lengths in front of her. The babe looked quickly towards her mentor, "There are a few boulders west of here we can climb!" It was all the babe could thing of. Staying in the den may result in a swim but finding a good high spot to stand until they found a better solution would work. Thus, she darted off in the direction of the boulders with long powerful strides. ""

Even if she was putting up a front, Banshee was calm and collected as she helped Lucretia move the herbs with precision. If her den flooded, at least they would still have a good base of herbs to work with as the seasons began to change again. As they worked in the den she could hear the rain thunder down overhead. This was no ordinary storm. They wrapped up their work and Luce gave a sharp nod towards Banshee, appreciating her quick thinking.

Together they surged out into the rain. It was freezing and coming down in heavy sheets. After the storm calmed, they would have to find some way to dry off and get some warmth back into their chilled bones. She followed Ban through the driving rain, spotting the boulders she spoke of in the distance. Luce approached them at a clip and scrabbled up on to the small one then scaled the larger with a bit of difficulty. The rock was nearly sheer and incredibly slippery. "I've got you," she shouted over the din of the rain, in case Banshee needed assistance hauling herself up the rock.