A flash of light woke Tyrian with a start. He lay there unsure of what was happening for several seconds. And then it came again, a small blue flash of light no bigger than a firefly in front of his face. He jerked upright and watched first in consternation then confusion as the light winked, dimmed, and then went out. The process repeated itself several seconds later further away from him. Bright flash, blink, fade.

He got to his feet and began to follow the light(s?) slowly. There was no scent on the air, no sound of wings, nothing to indicate what caused the light. The glow was too bright at its center for him to see what - if anything - was in there.

Tyrian followed the lights into the Woods. Perhaps it was unwise but he wasn’t getting any premonitions about them and in his haste to satisfy his curiosity he didn’t think to tell anyone where he was going.

The trail of lights stopped suddenly so naturally Tyrian went in for a closer look. He circled the last remaining light, his brow furrowed in thought. No scent, no sound, but that meant there was only one sense for him to investigate. He reached out to touch it as it dimmed, and then snatched his paw back as it broke pattern and flashed brightly with a crackle like mini lightning. And then it was gone and he was left alone in the woods with the light of the never waning moon.

It was dark and yet again the moon shone purple, clouding Hanako's dreams and spoiling her from within. She awoke with a start, panting slightly as panic seared through her veins. The pain was long gone, trapped inside her nightmares but she couldn't find it within herself to fall back asleep, to settle into the safety of Azure's embrace. It was one thing to have one bad night's rest but two in a row? An unwelcome pattern was forming and for the life of her she didn't know why this was happening to her. No one else had complained about it, so she felt safe to assume no one else was suffering from the same affliction. Whatever it was, a curse or a sickness, it was hard to say, or if she even believed in the former.

Wandering out to the Willows, the air was thick with the same floating blue dots she'd found down on Obsidian Beach. She'd gotten a little distracted before but now she couldn't help but wonder what they were, not bugs in nature or sound but when she gently reached out for them, they were quick to skitter out of the way. Or rather...she blinked and they faded from sight. Leaving her alone with dancing shadows, shapes and forms rising and blending together as though figures were approaching. Just out of range of her senses.

"Is someone there?" She asked the darkness.

Tyrian spun in a slow circle in search of more lights, but there were none to be found. Hm. How odd. He wandered around the small thicket; his broad shoulders scraping on the reaching limbs and gnarled weeds as he checked all the nooks and crannies. Not that any lights had been hidden until now. Perhaps he needed to go back the way he'd come. He'd just turned around when a familiar voice reached his ears. It sounded like Hanako was right on the other side of the thicket, but the foliage was too thick for him to see through. Naturally his first instinct was to crouch down. He had too many siblings and older nieces and nephews to instinctively do anything other than scheme jump scares. His tail lashed behind him as he considered his options. In the end he opted for his best bear growl; a low and slow guttural noise hacked up from the pit of his stomach. ""

Hanako didn't know what she'd expected, for the shadows to part and a figure to emerge, all apologetic and sincere for giving her a fright. It would have been nice for sure, but life hardly went to plan and around this time of year the world seemed to get awfully vindictive, like it went out of its way to make Hanako squirm. She pursed her lips into a thin line, regretting coming out here to begin with. Either no one was there and she'd gotten herself all worked up over nothing, or something was out there and it just didn't want to respond.

In the distance blue lights emerged from nothingness, like someone had switched on some fairy lights and coiled them around a tree.

And then she heard it a deep and raspy snarl, close enough to be within charging distance for sure. She took a hesitant step back, only to stumble into something standing behind her. Solid and tall, considerably more so than her leggy form. Had they been there the whole time? Lurking in her shadow, breathing down her neck? She whipped her head around to see, her heart racing in her chest only to-no one and nothing was there. She was alone.

"What-how? There was someone behind me." She stumbled through her words, talking to herself as though to make it more real, grounded, as her ears levelled  flat against her skull. "But I- there's no one there. I mean it. Come out."

The lack of sight was a real letdown. If he couldn't see her face what was the point? She sounded pretty spooked, but his imagination could only fill in so many details. He should have jumped out and scared her, but that was why hindsight was 20/20. Oh well. Time for a new tactic. Tyrian picked his way through the foliage, noting, as he went, the return of the blue lights. Finally his nose broke out the other side of the thicket and he could see Hanako colored blotches through the branches. "Alright, alright, you got me." He had no idea she was talking about someone else. Tyrian hadn't seen or heard another soul. As far as he knew it was just him, her and the blue lights. He wriggled free of the shrubbery and then picked a dried leaf of his shoulder and flicked it at Hanako, who was standing directing in front of him. "Boo," he said casually. God it was mighty chilly here all of a sudden, wasn't it? Weird how big a difference a few feet could make... ""

Naturally in Hanako's mind it felt safe to assume the scary snarly thing had been lurking on her and had managed to creep in close. So when Tyrian emerged, owning up to something, Hanako could only stare wide-eyed and confused. Boo? Okay so...he'd been making the noise but- there was no way he'd be able to sneak up on her without making a sound or leaving a scent trail so.... Nope. Hanako wanted to get out of here and fast.

"No no no. Something was creeping on me. I didn't see it but it was right there behind me." A shiver ran down her spine.  "Can...can you take me home? Not all the way or anything, just out of these woods. Please?"

Hanako

A firefly lazily buzzes past. You also find 4 crystals. Maybe these are worth keeping…

Hanako's fear brought Tyrian back down to earth. "Of course." His normally cavalier demeanor vanished. His eyes swept what little he could see of the woods beyond Hanako for any sign of the thing that had stalked her. "Yeah?" he asked calmly as he motioned her in the direction of Armada. "Why don't you tell me about it while we walk? Why do you think something was behind you?" He ran through his senses as he walked. There was no odd smell, no foot prints, nothing that suggested something had been there. But, and maybe this was just because Hanako had primed him to feel something, Tyrian felt that something was amiss. The logical part of his mind rejected putting that much stock in a gut feeling, but that didn't stop the hair on the back of his neck from rising. "You know what I think?" he asked with forced humor. "I think you just want some more Tyrian time. Didn't get enough of the cowboy king last time, did we?" ""

Tyrian

A breeze seems to blow through you rather than around you. You also find 1 mushroom. Maybe these are worth keeping…