Slowly but surely she was getting settled into the island with Alastor and their children. The invitation was open to her cousins to join them as well, but there was no obligation to do so - at least not until the pack was formed in earnest. At the very least she had a feeling that Poe and Ara would stick close. They were fairly closely related to her and had grown up in close proximity to each other so she was much closer to them than she was some others. There was still no sign of her other relatives just yet, but she was a patient woman when it came to these things and was willing to wait however long it took to reform their family once more.

She had chosen a large cave that branched into the sloping hills near the base of one of the mountains, not far from the large lake that took up the middle of the island. It was in a central point of the island on the side of the lake closest to the land bridge and would make for a good location for getting fresh water from the lake, for fishing, and for hunting as time went on. They hadn't fully finished setting up the various spaces within the cave that she wanted to have just yet, but they at least had the copious furs that she and Alastor had collected in their hunts laid out for beds and that was enough to make it comfortable and to begin making it feel like home.

Manea started making her way down toward the edge of the lake as night descended upon them and the cool light of the moon started to give everything the unusual blue-hued glow that had been happening for the last little bit. It seemed like everywhere she turned there were more of the fireflies she had seen with Alastor a few night ago and they were even here on the island. They seemed to congregate the most around the lake so as they went to make a little nightly trip out of the cave together she grinned and watched her son jump and chase after some of the blue-hued glowing bugs. It hadn't slipped past her how his and Avacyn's markings had seemed to glow all the more brightly lately as well, making him match the fireflies he was attacking with such vigor.

Manea | Temno | Ciemny

Ara was pretty happy to take on Manea’s invitation. Of course, if Poe skedaddled she would likely follow on after him (again) but in the meanwhile it was rather nice to catch up with her cousin and her family. It was late, and Ara found herself restless. Moving about the lovely island Manea had taken her to. The scents of her cousin, and the kids strong about the island. Like they were making it there home.

For some reason finding a smile on her maw, she walked through the late evening, and found the bright purple figure of Manea. Making her way to her cousins side, she leaned against the other woman and watched the boy jump about after fireflies. “he just about glows as much as they do.” She commented. “Any idea what makes the fireflies on Boreas so different from home? I wouldn’t have thought such colourful bugs existed before coming here.”

"Speech"

Saracyn's mind was a singular focus on one thing and one thing alone: catch the fireflies. After seeing them with Avacyn back on the mainland, he had become obsessed with the blue-hued bugs. Every time he tried to catch one, however, it would simply dematerialize right before his eyes. It was a frustrating but amusing game to him. Over the past few nights he'd tried everything he could think of to trap one of the bugs just to study it and see why it glowed like he and his sibling did, but so far to no avail. The pup was nothing if not determined, however. This evening, just as he had done the past ones, he ran down to the lake his mother had taken him to in order to find those fireflies again. Sure enough, as soon as the gigantic moon began to crest the horizon, the fireflies appeared once more, and the marking on his eye seemed to shine brighter than ever before.

"Hey, come back here!" he called to the lightning bugs when he ran at a cluster of them only for them to disperse out of reach. He huffed at the bugs floating lazily about in the air, then turned and ran for another cluster. Like before, these ones floated just out of reach of his tiny grabbing paws and snapping jaws. He harrumphed, then giggled when a few of the bugs floated down to dance and tickle across his snout before disappearing before his eyes once more. Saracyn was grinning from ear to ear, running through the thinly-forming mist to try and catch them, his facial marking glowing and illuminating him almost in perfect time with the fireflies around them. He glanced back to his mother and spotted Manea and Naraca side by side.

"Hi Auntie Naraca!" Saracyn called out to her and gave a vigorous wave of his white-dipped paw. Then, without missing a beat, the boy gave a wicked giggle and chased off after the glowing blue bugs once more. This time he would get one for sure!

"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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Manea smiled while she watched Saracyn play and enjoy the mysterious fireflies that buzzed and danced around him, always seemingly able to stay just out of his reach. It was curious to her how they almost seemed to play with him, floating closer and ticking his nose before darting away again. Surely insects couldn't be that cognizant to know that they were playing with the young prince... right? While she was pondering this, her ear swiveled to listen to paws approaching her and she glanced back over her shoulder to see her red and black speckled cousin approaching her.

She grinned at Naraca and leaned affectionately back into her side as well, the two Mendacium women observing her son while he played, looking like a larger ball of glowing light in among the fireflies. Maybe that was why the fireflies liked him so much - because he glowed like they did. She chuckled at Ara's observation of Saracyn's glow, echoing her thoughts and making her smile proudly at her handsome boy. He and Avacyn truly were her greatest accomplishments in this life and if she was killed tomorrow she could at least rest easy knowing that she had at least been able to bless this world with these perfect twins. She gave a little shake of her head when Ara questioned the strange fireflies, replying, No idea. They aren't always like this. It was only in the last few weeks or so that they changed to this blue color and started showing up anywhere and everywhere... At least from what I've seen and I've explored over most of Boreas at this point."

Manea | Temno | Ciemny

Saracyn seemed to be having the time of his life, chasing after the bugs. Hiding a laugh herself, she shook her head at the younger wolf. Ara herself was of course far too old and dignified to chase circles around bugs that vanished before they were caught.

“Hello yourself, Sara. Save me one of those bugs too, won't you?” she called out. Turning to Manea with a smile as she felt the weight of the other wolf add to her. She rested her head on Manea’s shoulder. Enjoying the company of her cousin. “So they aren’t native? That’s so strange…” She commented curiously, eyeing them a little more closely now that she knew they weren’t a native bug.

"Speech"

"Okay, Auntie Ara!" Saracyn replied with a flash of wickedly sharp puppy teeth. Then, in a bolt of crimson lightning, the newest Mendacium took off after the fireflies once more. He couldn't care less about what the adults were talking about when there were these weird fireflies to catch—and dammit, he would catch one! But just as the bugs had continued to do from the first night he and Ava had seen them, the little bugs were proving hard to pin down. Every time he would lunge for one, certain of his victory, it would just disappear as if it had never existed. The others would then buzz around his head, bounding off his nose like they were booping his snout, and then the game would repeat. While it might have been frustrating for some, for Saracyn it was just another opportunity to run down the bugs. And who didn't love running down their prey?

All the running around and leaping and chasing was quickly burning down the young pup's stamina, however. His lunges began to slowly wane in strength, and his breathing had become a heavy panting. Somehow, the fireflies never seemed to tire. In fact, more and more of them just seemed to show up as twilight moved on toward dusk. Thankfully they were right beside the large lake on the island, so with a final playful huff at the swarm of fireflies, Saracyn wobbled his way over to the edge of the water on tired legs. He dipped his muzzle down to the water, getting a good, long drink to slake his thirst and cool himself down. Partway through his drink, Sara opened his eyes and spotted something in his reflection looming right behind him.

Saracyn gasped and spun around to face—nothing. There was nothing behind him except open space. Tiny brows furrowing in confusion, Sara looked up at the fireflies circling around him in much the same way they had that first night. Turning back to the water to finish his drink, Sara froze when he saw the thing behind him once more, existing in the space between him and the strange fireflies. It looked like a tall creature made of shadow wearing a tattered robe. Its piercing yellow eyes glowed back at Saracyn, as if it was staring at him straight through the surface of the water. Sara turned to look behind him again, once more seeing nothing.

Cocking his head in bewilderment, Sara flopped back onto his haunches, looking back into the water and leaning in a little closer. The figure was still there, just staring at him. The marking on his face began to glow brighter still while the two held each other's gazes through the thin barrier of water. Ever curious and oblivious to any danger, Saracyn raised a slow paw and brought it down toward the water, tapping the creature in his reflection and watching as the ripples distorted its imagine. Yet still it remained, ever present behind him, watching him, and yet not there at the same time. "Moooom!" Saracyn called out while staring at the water like he was hypnotized, "There's something in the water."

"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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Mena was nodding in agreement to Ara's statement of how strange they were when she noticed Saracyn down by the edge of the water, her brows pulling together as she watched him jump and look behind him and then back at the water again a couple of times. She was about to call over to him and ask what was wrong when he yelled for her, saying that something was in the water. She frowned and hopped up to trot over to where he was standing. Any other time she might have assumed it was just a fish or a strange reflection, but with these strange fireflies and the glow that overtook everything it made her slightly more on edge than usual. She hadn't missed the way the fireflies were attracted to her children and how their markings glowed even brighter these days. She had no idea what connection was there, but she wasn't going to take any chances with her little prince and princess.

When she stopped behind him she looked down at the water that he was fixated on and tipped her head a bit when she saw that nothing was there. She glanced back at Naraca with a questioning glance, wondering if maybe she saw something that she couldn't, but when she looked back at the water again she still couldn't figure out what Saracyn was so fixated on. She wrapped one of her large paws around him, pulling him back from the edge of the water and nudging him back toward the cave. "Come on, Sara, it's time to go inside." She looked to Ara, adding, "You'll stay with us tonight, won't you?" She wasn't sure if Ara had set up her own place on the island yet or not and she didn't really enjoy the thought of her cousin traveling alone at night with these strange things going on. Family was few and far between these days and even more precious.

Manea | Temno | Ciemny

Manea

A nearby hedgehog is spooked and curls into a tight ball. The tips of it’s spines seem as if they’ve been dipped in a faintly glowing substance. You also find 2 crystals. Maybe these are worth keeping…

Ara stood up straight, taking her weight off Manea as her cousin's kiddo seemed to study the water and the space behind him. Puzzled at something - though Ara herself couldn’t fathom what. At the boy's words, she started forward. Moving a few steps behind Manea, uncertain if this was a game on Sara’s part or another strange occurrence like the fireflies.

Manea took the first look, and glanced back at Ara. The fiery wolf saw the question in the purple woman's eyes and stepped closer herself. Glancing down at the water with a puzzled frown. She shook her head at Manea - no, she saw nothing. A chill tingled up her spine however, giving her the feeling that someone was watching them. “Oh yeah, of course” Ara readily agreed, thinking her cousin wanted an extra pair of fangs around if things got any weirder.


"Speech"

Saracyn continued to hold the strange figure's glowing gaze with a confused tilt of his head. The fireflies continued to circle around him, cocooning him in cool-hued light, seeming to follow the leering gaze of the cloaked creature in the water. Sara could swear he heard a deep voice whispering somewhere in his ears, but try as he might, he couldn't look away from the reflection. The figure raised a glowing hand out towards the crimson and black pup, stretching its orange-hued fingers out towards him, beckoning Sara into the water. Without even thinking about it, Saracyn raised a snowy paw and began to reach in towards the figure. His paw was less than an inch from the surface of the water when Manea came up behind him, pulling him away from the edge of the water with a large paw.

The Mendacium prince gave a soft gasp of surprise, realizing he'd been unconsciously holding his breath given how his lungs were suddenly aching for air. Blue eyes blinked rapidly, gazing up at his mother while she peered into the water with a confused look. Naraca came up then and looked in the water with an equally confused look. Manea ushered him towards the den, but Sara wasn't ready to go yet. He scampered back to the edge of the water to find the weird creature again—but saw only his reflection there. The glowing figure was gone. Even the fireflies around the lake seemed to have dispersed as well. Frustrated and confused, Saracyn huffed when Manea nudged him away and back to the cave. "All right, all right, I'm going!" he whinged, trudging up through the grass and snow back in the direction of bed. He glanced back at the lake as he went though, wondering who that strange figure in the water was, and why he felt strangely familiar...

"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.
____________________

Naráca

You notice a cluster of faintly glowing fungi up ahead. You also find 2 mushrooms. Maybe these are worth keeping…

Saracyn

A nearby hedgehog is spooked and curls into a tight ball. The tips of it’s spines seem as if they’ve been dipped in a faintly glowing substance. You also find 4 crystals. Maybe these are worth keeping…