Usually Lillith was asleep by now, but the weird light of the moon had disturbed her slumber and the silvery girl made her way out onto the balcony off of her room. The scent of the ocean filled her nose as her body was illuminated by the blue light of the moon above. The atmosphere of the night had her on edge as garnet eyes looked to the sky. She almost felt out of place under the light as her gaze swept the horizon and she saw the blue mists at the edges of the castle. Tonight was unlike anything she had ever experienced in her short life, like nothing she had ever heard or expected.

The girl walked carefully to the edge of th balcony, leaning over the edge as she peered down towards the gardens. Blue fog, lit by the moon and tiny blue lightning bugs. A small gasp left her, surprise filling her as much as unease.


"Speech"

Romulus had suffered from insomnia almost all his life. The only time he ever slept soundly through the night was when he was snuggled up with Lillith, her presence like a sedative that relaxed him and eased him off into the most restful slumber he'd ever known. Perhaps that was why he hadn't initially felt Lillith stirring or rising from the bed as she went to check out the strange blue moonlight. He did, however, begin to stir when he heard the balcony door open and the unseasonably cool air begin to waft into the bedroom. Giving a soft sound of grogginess, Roman lifted his head and peered around the dark bedroom with bleary eyes, noting the warm hollow next to him where Lil had been lying. He saw the balcony door open and furrowed his brow, dazed and confused while he rose and slid out of bed to investigate.

Stepping past the threshold, Roman found the gorgeous silver and snow fae gazing out over the night-clad lands. A bluish fog had settled like a blanket over the rolling plains, and overhead, a blue-hued full moon hung fat and heavy in the heavens, larger than Romulus had ever seen in his days. When she peered over the edge down to the gardens below, the Armada man stepped up beside her, the click of his claws on the stone balcony announcing his presence to her. "Can't sleep?" he asked, then gave her a rakish smirk. "Or did you just want to make sure the moon hadn't become more beautiful than you?" He made a show of leaning closer to scrutinize Lil's face, then glanced up at the moon and said, "Nope, still not more beautiful than you."

"Speech"

There weren’t too many nights that Lillith spent alone anymore, she knew about Roman’s insomnia he suffered from. She knew the balm as well, and couldn’t deny the peace her own heart was granted when they curled up to sleep cuddled together on her bed. She almost always slept through the night, so being awake right now was an odd occurrence, but then again she was always very sensitive. The supernatural outside her balcony doors was enough to bring her from slumber.

She never meant for Romulus to wake up, he’d seemed deep in slumber when her dainty paws carried her out here. The sound of his claws against stone made her slate tipped ears flick back but her eyes were glued to the strange mists and lights below. His voice brought her garnet gaze up to meet him as he questioned her lightly. A grin and blush grew on her features at his follow up question, she always felt beautiful and special in Roman’s presence but he didn’t resist laying it on thick. The young girl loved every word, it distracted her from the unsettling surroundings and focused on her boy hero.

"You’re too sweet to me.” She returned softly, wanting to return to the warm bed with him. Everything going on out here really had made it hard for her to sleep. "Something feels… off.” Lil admitted as she leaned into Roman’s side, grateful for his warmth with the chill in the air. "I guess the feeling woke me up. Now all of this is keeping me awake.” She gestured again to the fog, the lights, and the unnatural moon. She couldn’t help but think if it weren’t so scary it would almost be romantic being out here with him under a giant moon.

"Speech"

A low chuckle rumbled in Roman's chest while he nuzzled into the soft fur of Lillith's neck, happily breathing in the sweet perfume of her scent. "Lies. I could never be too sweet to you." Steely silver eyes followed her gaze out across the moonlit world bathed in unnatural blue, watching the way the mist swirled over the earth like phantoms waltzing in the dark. He looked up at the enormous moon, virtually able to see every crater on its pocked surface. That was when he noticed the strangeness of the stars as well. They moved like streaks across the inky black sky rather than hovering specks of light. It was like the stars themselves were physically moving around them. He didn't call Lillith's attention to them when she mentioned how the world felt off, not wanting to disturb her further.

"Things are definitely... weird," he agreed with a tip of his head. The sea of fireflies that seemed to swarm over the plains blinked in and out of existence, their presence only noticed by their queer blue and purple glows. Roman pursed his lips while he watched them. Thanks to the earlier bedtime routine he'd developed with Lil, he hadn't spent much time outside at night lately. How long had this been going on? The Armada wolf lifted a thickly-corded foreleg to drape across the slender fae's side when she leaned into him, soaking in her presence and warmth along with the cold world around them. "Have to admit it is kinda pretty though..." He leaned down to plant a kiss atop her head between her ears, brushing his lips across the edge of one of her delicate ears. "Romantic, even..."

The chilly wind picked up then, whistling past his ears as if ruffled silver and steel blue fur. The screeching of disturbed bats suddenly broke the silence of the night, and from the nearby woods, a colony of bats came bursting out across the plains, each winged creature glowing a ghostly pale blue. Roman watched them with curious eyes as they came towards the castle—aiming straight for the two wolves on the balcony. The bats swooped past the castle, coming within feet of the wolves as they veered around the walls of the structure, moving so fast they appeared like blue glowing streaks of light in the air. Roman pulled Lillith closer to his side, using his larger frame to shield her some in case the bats decided to try anything. As soon as they'd moved on, Romulus looked back out over the plains—and froze when he saw the mist beginning to take on shapes of wolves, glowing in the ethereal light with piercing blue eyes turned in the direction of the two young wolves.

"Speech"

Leaning against him lilith felt safe from the uneasy occurrences that were going on all around them this night. He chuckled at her statement, calling her liar and reminding her that he really could not be too sweet for her. Lillith grinned up at him as they both looked out over the balcony. She shivered lightly but he held onto her, steadying her and keeping her grounded when the unnatural was rearing all around them. She wasn’t very often a night creature so she couldn’t say if this was the first night this happened. This was the first night that she was awoken by the goings on.

She leaned into Roman, for his warmth and his protection from the unnerving surroundings. The weird blue fog and the blinking, twinkling lights that seemed to fade in and out of existence. Roman’s voice returned her attention to his features as he mentioned how pretty it was out here. If it wasn’t so weird it really would be beautiful, and as Romulus mentioned the massive moon in the sky really was romantic…

A shiver raced up her spine as his muzzle brushed against her ear, her heart fluttered and her belly flip flopped. However, the chill of the wind seemed to exacerbate her shivers and she couldn’t focus on his sweet kisses. Lilith clung to Roman as chaos erupted and she watched the glowing bats emerge from the ground. She whimpered softly and pressed herself against him as the creepy bats flew over their heads and the Adravendi boy put himself between her and the airborne threat.

Lillith followed Roman’s gaze out over the plains, shivering again as her garnet gaze fell on the mists that seemed to summon two ghostly figures. "Roman?” Her voice shook as she squeezed him tighter, half hoping this was all actually a bad dream.

"Speech"

Despite Lillith calling his name, Romulus didn't dare take his eyes off of the apparitions down on the plains below. What had begun as two ghostly figures soon became four, then ten, until it looked like an entire pack of specters had formed out on the plains, ready to siege the castle. Roman's breathing hitched in alarm, blinking his eyes rapidly as if doing so would dissolve the nightmare world coming to life around them. What had begun as a romantic milieu had transformed into something sinister. His foreleg wrapped around her side squeezed her tighter to his body, refusing to let Lillith go while he analyzed the situation unfolding before his eyes.

The ghosts on the plains did nothing. They didn't move, they didn't blink, they didn't even breathe as they stared down the two wolves from miles away. Roman didn't dare look away either, afraid that the moment he did, something more horrible would happen. The world stood still for what felt like hours, neither party—living nor dead—making the first move. The ghosts weren't coming closer to the castle. Why? Was there something here keeping them at bay? What the fuck was going on?! Then, one of the wolves raised its head to the sky in a howl, yet no sound came from the creature. One by one, the rest of the ghost pack joined in on the silent howl. And then, with a whip of the wind, the ghosts vanished into mist.

Romulus didn't move for a long while after they were gone. He simply stared out at the plains, scouring them for any signs of danger. He wasn't superstitious by any stretch of the imagination, so seeing ghosts had always been out of the realm of possibility for him. But this... this he could not explain away. Breathing a sigh of relief, Roman let his tense shoulders slump and relax, turning his softening gaze back to the girl in his arms. He met her terrified gaze and felt his heart wrench at the sight. Every fiber in his being yearned to protect her and make everything right for her. But how did you fix an army of the dead showing up on your doorstep at midnight?! "C'mon, let's go back to bed," he whispered, planting a soft kiss on the bridge of her nose before ushering her back into the bedroom with one last glance out to the plains. "If you want, I'll kiss you until this is all just a bad memory."

Roman shut the door behind them once they were both inside, locking the horrors of the night outside. Following Lil's lead back to bed, the young Armada man hoisted himself back up to the soft mattress and pillows, slipping back into the blanket hollow they'd left behind and waiting for Lil to snuggle up with him before he wrapped himself around her to shield her through the night. If Lillith wanted, he'd kiss her all night until dawn to make her feel safe.

"Speech"

Romulus

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 1 mushroom. Maybe these are worth keeping…