Saracyn didn't fall asleep when he was supposed to. He just yawned, closed his eyes, and laid still snuggled up against his twin sister when Manea came to put the pups to bed, but the sneaky lad had other things on his mind. When the sun had begun to fade, he thought he'd seen some strange floating lights starting to appear, but Mom and Dad had ushered them into the den for dinner and bed before he could get a good look at them. Despite his pleas and protests, he'd been denied permission to leave the den. So he'd just have to sneak out when no one was paying attention.

After enough time had passed that he'd decided was long enough, Saracyn peeked a single ice blue eye open to scan around the sleeping chamber. Both of their parents were absent, meaning they'd gone out on their own again. Lifting his head from the pile of furs, Sara gave another cursory look around. Everything was dark and quiet save for some bluish silver moonlight spilling in from the den's entrance. He glanced down at his smaller sibling fast asleep, nudging her enthusiastically to wake her back up. "Hey, Ava! Wake up!" he hissed out a whisper under his breath. Once she began to stir, he continued, "C'mon, wake up! There's cool things happening outside!"

Not waiting for his sleepy sister to come back to the waking world, Sara climbed out of the furs and scampered as quickly as he could toward the entrance, making sure to tiptoe past where Irilyth was sleeping until he emerged into the cold night air. The first thing he saw was the giant full moon, larger than he'd ever seen it before, and the boy gasped, breath fogging before his face. The white marking on his left side seemed to glow brighter out in the moonlight, but he didn't notice it, what with the mark being around his eye. "Oh wow!" he whispered to himself, stepping out into the thin layer of snow on the ground. Off around the stone ruins, Saracyn could see hundreds of floating blue and purple lights, seeming to beckon to him, calling him toward them. "Ava, come look at this!"

"Saracyn Mendacium"

Warning: Saracyn is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
Saracyn's designated wolf to protect as a Bodyguard is Avacyn. She may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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Avacyn had just drifted to sleep when she felt her brother nudging her insistently, making her groan and grumble irritably, just opening her ebony eyes enough to glare at him in the darkness, the familiar glow from the mirrored marking around his eye the only real source of light in their home. She didn't know what could possibly be cool enough outside to warrant waking her up, but she was pretty much always willing to at least humor her brother when he wanted to go exploring or investigate something. She sighed and unfurled from the ball she had curled into, giving herself a quick shake. He was already up and running through, hopping out of their bed and running out into the cool blue light of the night.

She climbed down as well, but was a bit slower to rush out into the cold than her headstrong brother was. She was also equally as careful to sneak past Irilyth to make sure they didn't wake their babysitter and then she stepped out into the strangely bright moonlight. She couldn't remember ever seeing the moon look so big and bright and if she squinted past the light of it to see the stars it almost looked like streaks and bands of light instead of pin points of light like she was used to. She tilted her head at the strange occurrence, but her attention was pulled away by her brother as he beckoned her over to look at the ruins. What she noticed first though wasn't the swarms of fireflies - it was what was going on with their matching markings.

"Sara! Your eye marking!" She said as she bounded over to him, examining it curiously. "It's glowing so much brighter now! Is mine doing that too?" She couldn't see her own marking of course, just like he couldn't see his, but their markings always usually got dimmer in the light - not the other way around. She finally glanced toward the ruins that were adjacent to their den and blinked with surprise when she really looked at just how many fireflies were floating and dancing around them. The stones themselves even seemed to have a bit of a glimmer and sheen to them in the strangely bright moonlight. Her dark eyes followed the insects curiously, not taking her eyes off of them but leaning closer to Sara as she asked, "Do you feel like we're supposed to go over there to them?" wondering if he felt the same draw she did.

"Avacyn Mendacium"

Saracyn had been too busy watching the fireflies to notice when his sister had joined him outside. It wasn't until her voice called out to him about his marking did he turn around to look at her. Huh, his marking? Confused blue eyes found Avacyn, and- whoa! Sara's mouth dropped open in awe to see his twin's identical facial marking glowing brighter than ever, looking as if a star had fallen to earth where she stood. "Whoa! Ava, your marking's really bright now too!" he exclaimed, examining her marking the same way she was doing to his. It was so bizarre! Their markings would always glow at night, but when they were in any sort of light, like sun or moonlight, the brightness dimmed, never intensified. This time, in the light of the massive blue full moon, Ava's patterns were as bright as a fragment of the moon itself!

"This is so cool!" whispered Saracyn with barely contained glee. A huge grin spread across his face; the adventurous boy loved exploring new mysteries, and this was one for the books! He was so glad he got to share it with his twin sister too; it made this moment feel all the more special. Ava noticed the fireflies when he pointed them out and her query reflected his own draw to the lightning bugs. "Yeah, I think we are." He shot Ava a roguish grin and nudged her with his shoulder. "C'mon, let's go check it out before Mom and Dad get back."

Saracyn led the way over to the faintly glowing ruins where the fireflies seemed to congregate, strobing with their cool-hued lights in a disco in midair. The closer he got, the brighter the lights seemed to get in response to his and Ava's presence. It was so weird yet so cool and Sara was fascinated with the fireflies. As one buzzed by his nose, Sara grinned and tried to snap it up in his jaws, but when he did the bug just dissipated into thin air. Saracyn blinked and furrowed his brow, befuddled by the lack of bug in his mouth, then looked up at the swarm of fireflies seeming to circle and sway lazily around him and Avacyn as if cocooning them in light. Swirls of blue and purple enveloped the pups, and the fireflies seemed to be strobing in time with the shifting glow of their markings.

An awed smile split the pup's face from ear to ear as he watched them, then slowly pushed his way out past them and into the ruins. He giggled as he bounced through the thin layer of snow on the ground and chased another firefly around the ruins, pausing only when he rounded one of the stones and saw their parents sitting snuggled together and staring at the moon. Sara gave a quiet gasp and scampered back behind the rock, peeking out around his cover to spy on them. Mom had pushed Dad onto the ground, and at first Saracyn thought maybe he was going to get to watch his parents spar again! But then Manea climbed over top of Alastor and he didn't try to throw her off, and Saracyn was confused. "Psst, Ava!" he called in a whisper to his sister, waving her over with a paw before going back to his spying. "What're Mom and Dad doing?"

"Saracyn Mendacium"

Warning: Saracyn is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
Saracyn's designated wolf to protect as a Bodyguard is Avacyn. She may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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Avacyn gave a big grin as Saracyn turned toward her and confirmed that her marking was indeed glowing as brightly as his was. She desperately wished they had a pool of water or something reflective near by so they could see themselves since she would have loved to see her own marking for herself, but Sara's was close enough to her own that she could get the idea. She nodded eagerly in agreement when he said how cool the development was. The glow their markings had were just a normal part of their daily lives so even though their parents were constantly saying how special it was it never really caught her off guard. This was different though and she wanted to know what was causing this development so bad.

She grinned and nodded in agreement when her twin mentioned how they should go checkout the fireflies before their parents got back. She followed at Saracyn's shoulder as they moved toward the main part of the ruins where the bulk of the glowing insects had gathered. She was too busy watching them move and dance through the air to notice the result of Sara trying to snap at the floating pinpoints of blue light, but her attention did get pulled back to what was happening around them as the fireflies seemed to swarm in around them and surround them with beautiful blue and purple lights. Ava watched them with a wide, awed smile, giggling as one of them broke apart from the group to come land on her nose, but as soon as it was there it seemed to vanish into thin air. She blinked with confusion for a moment, but her brother moving out of the cloud of fireflies pulled her attention back to him.

Ava stayed in the cloud of beautiful, mysterious fireflies for a little bit longer, but eventually followed Sara's lead into the ruins. By the time she caught up with her twin he was hunkered down behind one of the large rocks and she gave him a curious tilt of her head while she tried to figure out what he was hiding from. When he whispered to her and waved her over with his paw with a mention of their parents doing something she understood and she immediately felt like they should be running back to the den before they got caught. However, as with most things, she let Saracyn be the bad influence and she snuck up beside him to peek around the edge of the rock as well to see what he was seeing.

Her head tilted again and she blinked as she watched their mother on top of their father, moving in a way she had never seen anyone move before. The fireflies seemed interested in them as well, floating and dancing around them while they did whatever it was they were doing. It certainly didn't seem like a spar, but she couldn't figure out why else mom would be on top of dad like that. She watched with wide, curious obsidian eyes for a while, trying to figure it out. They were making all kinds of noises that she hadn't heard them make before and when their mother tipped her head back she saw a big smile on her face. "Well... it seems like they're having fun whatever it is," she whispered quietly back to Sara.

"Avacyn Mendacium"

Saracyn shuffled a little out of the way when Avacyn came up to peek past the rock at the weird things their parents were doing right now. Like his sister, he cocked his head while he watched the way their mother moved on top of their father, almost like she was constantly bouncing up and down on his stomach. Saracyn cringed a bit; surely that couldn't feel good to have someone bouncing on top of you like that. But then again, both Manea and Alastor were grinning and their violet-coated mother tipped her head back with her eyes closed in bliss, so surely something had to be pretty fun about what they were doing! Sara cocked a curious brow, especially interested when he heard his father growl in delight and wrap his large black paws around Manea to pull her body harder to his, the fireflies spinning around them seeming to grow more active the longer the two adults went on. The sounds they were both making were ones he'd never heard his parents make before, but despite how unpleasant it all seemed, his parents looked like they were having the time of their lives.

Unable to figure out what the heck they were doing together or why it was so much fun, Saracyn just rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "Sure looks like it," he murmured in agreement to Avacyn's observations. "Maybe it's a game they haven't taught us yet." A roguish grin split the boy's face ear-to-ear, nudging his littler twin's shoulder. "Maybe we should try playing it and see if we can figure out why it's so fun." After all, why should the adults get to play special games and leave them out? They could play too, and he'd bet he'd be the best ever at whatever game this was! They just needed to figure out how to play first. It did make the pup curious about what other fun things their parents might be keeping from them.

Saracyn watched his parents with Ava for a little while longer, listening to the changes in their noises the longer they played. Then, out of nowhere, a bright blue light flashed before his eyes. Sara blinked in surprise, then settled when he realizing it was just a firefly only an inch from his face. Then there was another. Then another, and another. All of a sudden, the swarm of fireflies they'd been surrounded by had found the glowing twins once more and was beginning to bathe them in the bright lights. While this had been cool the first time, there was no doubt the mass of glowing insects would give away their hiding position. Flinching in panic, Sara nudged Ava and motioned back to the den. "C'mon, let's get outta here before Mom and Dad see us!"

Turning and pushing his way back out of the firefly swarm, Sara scampered back toward the den, some of the glowing bugs in hot pursuit of the luminescent pup as he made for the den. Saracyn would wait for Ava to catch up to him, not leaving his sister behind, and the moment they made it back inside, the fireflies dispersed and vanished into thin air. Grinning a mischievous grin, the crimson pup gave his violet sister a playful nudge and snuck quietly back into bed, snuggling up close to his twin when she joined him while still replaying what he'd seen tonight between the mysterious fireflies and his parents' strange activities in his mind.

"Saracyn Mendacium"

Warning: Saracyn is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
Saracyn's designated wolf to protect as a Bodyguard is Avacyn. She may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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SARACYN

You notice the full moon is brighter than you've ever seen before. You also find 1 crystal. Maybe these are worth keeping…

Avacyn gave a soft hum when Sara mentioned that it might be a game they hadn't been taught yet, curious ebony eyes watching their parents completely unknowing in what she was watching. She turned her gaze toward her twin as he nudged her shoulder, grinning at the suggestion that they play this game themselves to figure out what it was that they were enjoying so much. Ava gave an enthusiastic nod, never wanting to be left out of the fun. She wondered if their parents would teach them the game if they asked what it was all about, but then again they would be giving themselves away if they did that and she didn't want to get them in trouble for sneaking out. No, she'd keep their secret and they could simply experiment and figure it out on their own! Whatever it was, it sounded like mom and dad were having a really, really good time doing it!

Suddenly the fireflies they had from escaped before found them and she blinked at the bright lights that were suddenly filling her vision. She took a couple steps back form where she had been peeking around the rock, blinking and shaking her head since the bright, swarming fireflies made her eyes go all weird and blinded her with their light. Her ears perked at her brother's whispered insistence that they retreat and she gave a little nod, turning to follow him as they made a hasty retreat back to the den. She definitely didn't want them getting caught and these fireflies were going to make hiding very difficult!

Once they were back in the den the glowing bugs chasing them dissipated and she glanced back over her shoulder just to make sure they weren't caught. Sure enough there was no one behind them and when she peeked into the alcove where Irilyth was sleeping it looked like their babysitter was none the wiser. She looked back to Sara and returned his grin as he nudged her and then followed him back to bed, climbing in beside him and cuddling up with her head tucked into his fur. She didn't know where all those fireflies came from or what made their markings glow so brightly or what kind of game their parents were playing, but it all made for a very interesting night that she wouldn't be forgetting for a very long time!

"Avacyn Mendacium"

AVACYN

Overhead you see a bird soaring past. Wait - it seems to be glowing. Strange... You also find 4 crystals. Maybe these are worth keeping…