Clouds thickened in the sky above him as Álarr worked his way down the Rio Grande. A cold wind was blowing down from the north and night fell quickly, eerily quickly. He thought he'd have hours left yet to travel but instead he was walking beneath a dark, starless sky and a land lit up only by the full moon whose light managed to pierce through the clouds. But there was something off about the glow, something distorted. Álarr felt ill at ease but he had no intention of sheltering in this land, he would at least try to make it to the Orchard. The river continued on its way, deep and cold, lined with the bare skeletons of brush and trees that had been stripped of their leaves with the coming of winter.

She was content to travel alone for the most part, but these endless nights that had lately plagued Boreas had her yearning for company of some sort. The world seemed to move differently beneath the large, silent moon. Its light was generous but... eerie. Almost too bright. Siobhan found herself sticking the slim shadows cast by the midwinter trees that stretched across the Rio Grande. She dipped in and out of the moonlight, each time feeling strange and exposed when the glow illuminated her body. A whine escaped her lips. Maybe it would be for the best if she sought cover soon. Just when she had made the decision to find a place to hole up for the night, a specter appeared. "Ah!" she yelped, but immediately felt foolish - it wasn't a ghost at all, just a pure white male. Who was huge. And had horns. She felt her legs quake and begin to weaken. It had been so long since she'd had an attack of catatonia that it caught her by surprise. With her eyes wide and her jaw slack, Siobhan's legs crumpled beneath her and she fell to her side beneath a beam of that strange moonlight.

Brynhildr, his white raven, took to the sky and glided down the river to scout ahead. Álarr continued plodding along, keeping his same pace and direction so that it'd be easy for Bryn to find him on her way back. His ears flicked back as he heard a whine. Álarr stopped and turned to see a small gray woman headed toward him. She looked up and yelped. He flinched, thinking it was his mutation that had drawn the reaction. He'd nearly forgotten how strange he might look to the average wolf. There were so many more outlandish and colorful canines in Boreas he didn't think of himself as standing out. The woman fell. "Hey, are you ok?" He bounded over to where she had crumpled on the ground. At first he thought she'd fainted but as he checked her vitals it didn't quite fit. "M'am?"

Unfortunately, her condition rendered her completely mute and limp. Siobhan merely blinked as he handled her body gingerly to check her pulse and breath. It was such a strange, sinking feeling to be rendered completely helpless. The moon's glare beat down on the two of them. Moments passed before she was able to move her mouth in small increments. Siobhan opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to speak, until finally she managed: "Ma'am?" Siobhan coughed lightly, wiggling her paws. Feeling was slowly beginning to return to her extremities. "Am I ma'am old now? I was hoping I'd still pass for a miss," she rasped. The shaft of moonlight seemed to waver around the pair of them. She blinked. Did the light seem... blue? "Are you seeing that?" she whispered. Another moment and she could be back on her paws. Any moment now... Finally Siobhan rolled on to her paws and shakily stood. The light was blue. The stranger's stark white fur was illuminated by pale, blue light.

Álarr watched as her eyes blinked and his heart rate increased. This was clearly something neurological but he was at a loss as to what it could be. He'd heard of some seizures happening only in the brain that could render someone in such a condition, as well as various strokes. He continued to monitor her condition until movement returned to her and started to speak. Álarr released a sigh then cleared his throat. "Sorry, I uh, it just slipped out. You're feeling fine now? I wasn't quite sure what was going on. Are you prone to certain types of seizures?" He was very curious as to her condition. However, that mystery might need to wait for the woman directed his attention to the moonlight. He blinked at the strangely blue light the moon seemed to be giving off. "Yea, yea I do… this whole night seems… off."

Siobhan laughed but it came out more like a croak as her throat finally relaxed. "Y-yes, I have a condition. It was worse when I was younger, but I usually manage fine now. I think I was just caught off guard," she admitted, flattening her ears sheepishly. The blue light of the moon picked up on the striations of her fur colors. Wherever her fur was a lighter grey, the blue moonlight seemed to sparkle and reflect. Álarr, who was white nearly all over, shone like a blue beacon in the light. Sio blinked to make sure she was seeing it correctly. "And I suppose I am kind of a ma'am now. It's easy to lose track of time when you travel alone," she murmured. When he agreed that the light was strange, Siobhan nodded a few times in quick succession. "Why don't we find some shelter from this moonlight? I don't like anything about it." She left the offer open, not wanting to intrude. He smelled like a pack wolf and they often had other duties to tend to aside from keeping wayward travelers company. Siobhan slowly began to pad towards the copses of stripling trees that lined the Rio Grande. Perhaps she could make a nest alone among the roots and wait for the night to pass if he didn't join her.

Alarr

Out of the corner of your eye, you see a chipmunk scampering by. Wait - is it glowing? You also find 1 crystal. Maybe these are worth keeping…

Siobhan

You hear a strange whisper on the wind. You also find 3 mushrooms. Maybe these are worth keeping…