The nights were hard for her as it was, but especially lately. She felt like there was just something ominous going on in the world these days. Noe rose from her slumber and took a few steps to stretch. The night felt heavy, like the sky was closer to the ground tonight. The moon was large and full with an eerie purple-blue glow to it. Certainly, it was all her imagination, though. The pale wolf lapped at some water, then looked at her reflection. To her surprise, all the little bugs flying near the water were glowing various shades of blue and purple. Weren't fireflies usually orange or red?

Noe watched with wide eyes as the fireflies danced across the water, making shapes and designs. There were at least 10 of them, all different shades of eerie purple and blue. Her nostrils flared and her ears flattened from a mixture of wonder, fear, curiosity. Was she dreaming? Surely she was dreaming. A firefly flew close to her and hovered near her nose and she looked at it anxiously. She held her breath and closed her eyes. When she opened, the firefly almost cheekily sped off.

She gasped; at least thirty or forty more little fireflies joined in the dance, and she watched with awe as they mysteriously shook and danced across the water. She had to be dreaming. She just had to be!

Veigar was quiet as a mouse as he crept through the night, wishing it was easier for him to hide in the heavy darkness. His pelt was simply too bright, seemingly reflecting the strange glow of the glowing moon overhead, as well as the fireflies that had suddenly appeared throughout Habari's lands. He lifted a paw to lightly bat at one as he fluttered by his nose though it suddenly faded into nothingness. Strange, he thought quietly to himself as he continued on, trekking through the redbud forest in search of.. well, anything. A feeling of sudden dread had suddenly jolted him awake and he wasn't quite sure what to do with his unease. Instead of trying to go back to sleep he'd set out to wander the packlands, and he'd already encountered more than he bargained for.

After a long while something caught his attention and he froze as he squinted into the distance. A dark silhouette appeared in his peripheral and he swiveled around to try to get a better look at it. The figure looked thin and bony - oh my god, was it a skeleton? Was Veigar still dreaming? He felt a cold shiver wash over him as he took another slow step forward, the luminescent markings along his body beginning to glow as his adrenaline rose - and then he let out a little blood-curdling shriek as he leapt forward in an attempt to tackle the creature to the ground, realizing who it was only when it was too late.

Noelani watched with fear and awe as the little fireflies flickered over the water, making shapes that seemed so intentional, so deliberate. The thin girl was just in awe. Her lips were parted and she exhaled a little "Oooh~" of delight. It had to be a dream - there was no way this was real! Never had she seen anything quite like it. For a moment she thought she ought to wake up her brother, surely he would love to see... love to see... For a time, she'd forgotten where she was, what was going on.

Noelani was transfixed on the scene so when she heard an ungodly shriek she jumped in place. Ears flat against her head, eyes wide... if she had a tail anymore, it would have poofed. Suddenly her heart was beating a million times a second and before she could look around to see what the sound was, a glowing brown and white blur tackled her. She lacked any sort of muscle or mass to defend herself and she collapsed under Veigar like a little bird. She let out her own scream of surprise. Once she was on the ground she took a tiny breath and then realized... is that Veigar? Her heart was exploding out of her chest and her breaths were tiny and fast. She wasn't able to speak even if she wanted to. Gosh, he's heavy...

Veigar didn't know why he felt so spooked but suddenly an inexplicable fear had gripped him and he couldn't shake it. Something was wrong, from the sense of dread hanging heavy in the air, to the deep darkness and the balls of glowing like that seemed to appear and disappear around his head. It only seemed sensible that the figure he saw might be some otherworldly creature, like something from a story - and, half-asleep and even more naive, all he could think to do was vanquish the beast before it threatened the rest of Habari.

Almost immediately he realized it was no skeleton at all. In fact, it was just a wolf - and just a Noelani at that. Oops. He felt his face grow hot with embarrassment as he managed to roll off her and narrowly avoid spilling straight into the water, his eyes narrowed as he tried to get a better look at her features. "I didn't mean to do that," he admitted, in his form of an apology, as he gave his coat a good shake and backed up a bit from her. If he was really sorry though he didn't dwell on it long, instead swiveling around to look at the lake and the colors flitting across the surface as he let his heart slow its beating from the little adrenaline rush he'd just accidentally had. "What's going on tonight, do you think?" Veigar had a feeling it wasn't just him that was getting a weird vibe from all this.

She remained on the ground, panting heavily. Her entire body was sore and she knew she would have bruises to look forward to. She let out a little "Ahhh," while she stretched out, trying to feel correct after the crash landing. "It's okay, I'm fine. It's okay." She assured him. Even though Veigar's apology was barely an apology, she knew the boy could rip her throat out whenever he felt like it, so she accepted it without any sort of argument. Even though Veigar proved himself decent with her, she was still untrusting of everyone in this place. It was in her best interest - a wag of her tail reminded her of that.

The bluish-purple lights in the background were not disturbed by their commotion. They continued to wiggle and dance and exist in happiness. She took a closer look at Veigar; he was huge, the size of a large adult in her eyes, but gods, he was a child. His question was so sweet, so innocent. She followed his gaze to the fireflies. "I don't know... I've never seen anything like it. I thought I was dreaming until you showed up." She remarked quietly.

If he seemed at all bothered by accidentally tackling her he made little sign of it. Empathy was not something he was good at - he was generally motivated by fear of failure and letting others down than anything like innate kindness. That was why he'd originally tried helping her out; he feared one of the older pack members would see her all dirty and bloody get upset at him for being part of the mess. That day wasn't something he thought of now though as Noelani stretched out from his tackle and focused on what he was looking at too.

His eyes widened at the sight. It was explainable - and creepy - but he couldn't shake a slight feeling of deja vu, and he didn't know why. He'd noticed the way sections of his own coat grew brighter with his rapid shifts in mood were unusual, and nothing at all like anyone else in Habari experienced... perhaps these glowing lights were similar in a way. Were they angry? His brow furrowed in concentration as he watched a small group of them float lower toward the lake, and instead of disappearing into the water they simply vanished, though were soon replaced by another group, this time even brighter. "I don't think we're dreaming," he admitted after a moment. He wanted to catch some of them though, and without thinking he went sprinting toward the lake's edge, splashing about in the shallows as he chased after a few small balls of light. "Help me catch some!"

Veigar

You notice the stars streaking faintly across the sky. You also find 4 crystals. Maybe these are worth keeping…

Noelani

You hear a strange whisper on the wind. You also find 2 mushrooms. Maybe these are worth keeping…