Lover's Mangrove had always glowed softly the moment the sun set but these nights it was almost blinding. Everything seemed to glow and the bioluminescent algae lit up entire water ways. In particular there was an increase in the numbers of bioluminescent fungi. Lukina settled in amongst the roots of a large mangrove tree as she watched a long line of mushrooms growing up the tree's trunk. There were several dozen of the small lifeforms, glowing a bright pale blue that made her think a bit of the full moon that still hovered in the sky. Down in the groves the dark branches of the trees cut across the moonlight but did little to slow its looming glow that lit the night sky up to a deep purple.

Lukina picked up a stick in her jaws, shifted her weight to her hind paws and walked her front paws up the tree truck. Carefully she poked one of the mushrooms with the end of a stick.

After their strange encounters with the glowing fish in Auster, Bog had thought it best to return home. A trip south could wait until next winter, for now he wanted to be at home until all of these strange happenings blew over. Bug was brumating in his mud puddle, which left little options for social interaction. Bored and groggy with the unending night, he decided to hunt down his new companion. The pale girl had been doing a good job of fitting in with the rest of the swamp dwellers, and soon he thought he would seek out Mud and ask her guidance about her further induction into the Family. He'd already taken to calling her Hoarfrost, as though she were actually part of the Family already. Nimble paws carried him easily over the familiar roots of the mangrove trees, following the fresh scent trail that meandered through the crisp winter air. Without the sun to warm the ground and stave off the chill of winter, frost had settled on many of the trees and a thin layer of ice tended to cling to the shorelines of the mangrove. It was unusual, and he didn't enjoy the implications of another frigid winter. When the mud hued wolf finally stumbled upon his much larger companion, she was leaning against a tree and poking at the clusters of glowing mushrooms that were climbing its trunk. A choked exclamation caught in his throat, and he found himself picking up his pace. A patch of frost forced him to stumble as he closed the gap between them, and only served to drive his concern into the realm of genuine irritation. "Hoarfrost, be careful!" he warned, bounding onto the roots beside her. "We don't know if they're toxic or not, what if the spores suddenly got int'yer nose or eyes?" as soon as the words escaped, he regretted them. Bog was not her parent, he shouldn't be chiding her or anything of the sort. He sighed softly, ears folding against his head. "Sorry, I shouldn't 'a said that." the healer said quietly, and verdant eyes found themselves falling upon the mysterious fungus instead. Their glow flickered and thrummed like the beating of a heart, the their caps slick with the humid air of the mangroves. "speech" thinking "others"

Lukina was so focused on what she was doing that she hadn't even heard Bog until he yelled out her name. She jumped, dropping the stick and turned to face him with an obvious look of guilt on her face. "S-sorry! I'm just trying to figure out what they are." He apologized and she padded over to him, leaning gently toward him. "What's a spore?" She didn't really know anything about fungi. She'd learned a bit about various plants and she knew fly agaric were poisonous where as morels were good to eat. They were the only two mushrooms she'd ever heard of or seen. These glowing ones were on a whole other level. She watched the pulsing glow of the mushrooms. It didn't seem like they were glowing in sync with anything recognizable at first. They didn't glow in sync with the wind or any other outside disturbance.

Shocked from her investigation by his voice, the stick tumbled from her jaws and clacked against the roots of the tree before splashing into the murky waters below. The critters in the water seemed to be feeling more alive lately, glowing more brightly with each passing day under the strange moon and unsettling streaks in the sky. "S-sorry! I'm just trying to figure out what they are." she said, features pitiful and tone contrite. He frowned lightly, and shook his head at his own foolishness. "Nah, yer fine. Jus' scared me, is all. Y'ain't got everythin' in the swamp figured out yet, and I don't want ya getting sick from somethin' as silly as a mushroom." he explained, his expression mirroring her own as he gently bumped his head against her much taller shoulder. "What's a spore?" she asked next, and he glanced up with a soft smile. Well, there was no time like the present. It was always better to learn things in the moment, as they came up. He could demonstrate things better on whatever they stumbled upon, instead of trying to work with theories. "It's how the mushrooms make baby mushrooms, usually." he replied, stretching his shorter limbs up the trunk of the tree. The rough bark was easier to grip on to, even when it was damp from the humid air and whatever the mushrooms might be secreting into the surrounding bark. "I'll take ya out with me one a' these days, puffball mushrooms make it easier to show ya what I mean. With these kinds, yer usually safe as long as ya don't touch 'em. They need to see some rain, and then the little bits- the spores- get washed away somewhere new to make baby mushrooms." emerald eyes were only level with the smallest of the trail that climbed the bark, or more accurately, climbed down the bark. Spores were probably travelling through channels in the rough bark, and sprouting new ones as they made their way down. "Did anyone ever teach ya how to test if plants are safe to use? It's usually the same for mushrooms," he tipped a head over his shoulder to look back at the young fae that was still very much at eye level while he stood on his hind legs. There was that ever present urge to be stupid and simply eat the strange, glowing fungus. Something about the way it glowed in those gentle, rhythmic pulses in his peripheral vision was inciting the instinctive desire to at the very least give it a little lick. The caps were collecting little pools of water, all but begging to be tasted. However.. it wouldn't set the best example for his new protégé... "speech" thinking "others"

Lukina settled down to listen as Bog gently bumped his shoulder and explained he just didn't want her getting sick. She was glad he wasn't terribly mad at her. Rœkia would've whooped her if she perceived Lukina had done something wrong. Her ears perked up as Bog described spores and how mushrooms used them to make baby mushrooms. He asked if anyone had ever thought her how to tell what plants were safe to use.

She shook her head. "Not really. My cousin kept most of that knowledge to herself though Magnolia told me that with some plants you can rub it on your paw pad. See if you react. If not move to the inner elbow, then to the face, eventually the tongue." It wasn't perfect by any means but it was all she had. She was eager for any new knowledge.

With a shake of her pale head, his companion admitted she wasn't entirely familiar with testing the safety of unfamiliar plant life. "Not really. My cousin kept most of that knowledge to herself though Magnolia told me that with some plants you can rub it on your paw pad. See if you react. If not move to the inner elbow, then to the face, eventually the tongue." her offhanded recitation of what was almost exactly the procedure he knew, a grin formed on his lips. Stubby tail wiggling happily, he bobbed his head in agreement. "That's exactly it, actually." he admitted warmly, and reached up with his right paw to gently tap the top of the odd, glowing mushroom that was closest to his eye level. The hollow thwack that resounded from the body of the fungus, bouncing from the craggy bark of the tree and into his ears, was promising. "I always use my right paw to test first, so if I have a reaction I can still my more important paw while it's healin'." he explained with a backward glance over his shoulder. "Since I'm older, I'm gonna be our test subject. Mama would kill me if I let ya get sick or die." he said with a chuckle, dropping his forepaws back onto the roots they balanced upon. Then, he dropped lazily onto his haunches, shaking some moisture from his ruff. "Do ya think I'll get any magic powers from touchin' it?" he asked Hoarfrost, emerald eyes twinkling with mirth. Despite the gloomy conditions, he was trying to keep his spirits up and get through it. The loss of familiar constellations through the eerie streaking of stars across the ever-dark sky had been a tough situation, leaving the young swamp dweller unable to keep an eye on the passing of the season or navigate the surrounding territories with relative ease by night. "speech" thinking "others"

Lukina

As Bog's question makes you look back at the mushroom, it seems to pulse brighter for a moment as if puffing itself up to convince you of it's magical properties. Something about this reminds you of a dream you can't remember, you try to grasp the threads of that thought but they slip through your grasp.

Bog

You give the mushroom a good hearty smack and in the moment before you retract your paw you swear you feel it pull away from you. It's a small feeling, more like a reactionary twitch than anything else but it still feels... Deliberate. Conscious. Uh... It's probably nothing...

Maybe you shouldn't have done that...

Lukina stared closely at the mushroom, watching it pulse brighter though she had no idea why. What was particularly strange was the mushroom reminded her of a dream she'd once had though as she tried to recall the dream it just wouldn't arise. She couldn't even tell if the dream was a joyous or frightening one. "I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I almost feel like I've seen one of these things before. Maybe I'm just imagining things. Is there a safe way to pick one of these or should we just leave it alone?" She resisted the urge to poke it with one of her claws. She'd heard of some mushrooms glowing in the dark to attract bugs, maybe it was looking for bugs..

Firefly Shoppe- Lukina

A firefly draws your attention nearby to reveal a cloaked figure with a small wooden table in front of him. On the table lay three items, with their prices beside them. "Choose wisely, and only choose one," the figure says. "If you can afford it, that is." Perhaps he accepts cŕ̷̕y̵̍͊stals and mushrö̸́̀ō̴̉ms... or perhaps its worth bargaining for something greater...


Inventory:

• Fun shroom- 1 /
  An ordinary everyday mushroom that just has a little handwritten tag on it that reads “eat me”. It seems pretty risky, but it might pay off in the end. Maybe...
  
• Mushroom Based Acid- 2 /
  A small vial with a convenient handle that almost makes it seem throwable. Upon the label is a skull and crossbones symbol beside a shattered shield.
  
• Fun shroom- 1 /
  An ordinary everyday mushroom that just has a little handwritten tag on it that reads “eat me”. It seems pretty risky, but it might pay off in the end. Maybe... yes, again. The two mushrooms look identical, but are they really? Who knows.
  

He hadn't noticed it right away, but the odd jump of cool flesh beneath his curious paw was registering in his brain as his paw seemed to tingle with the residual effects of touching it. Bog hadn't expected the mushroom to be chilly beneath his pad, and he certainly hadn't expected it to move. Turning over the offending paw to examine the pad, there was a faint glow that was already disappearing. Perhaps it had been a trick of the light, and he was being silly. Lifting his emerald gaze to Hoarfrost's face, he noticed the way her expression was pinched in thought. "I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I almost feel like I've seen one of these things before. Maybe I'm just imagining things. Is there a safe way to pick one of these or should we just leave it alone?" she asked, and he glanced up at the tight cluster of fungi climbing the trunk of the mangrove tree. Pivoting carefully on the gnarled roots, he lifted himself to brace his forepaws on the trunk again. "I don't think they like being messed with, Hoarfrost. I swear this little guy felt it when I gave 'im a little tap- but if you wanna take one home I'm sure we can figure somethin' out." he replied, tipping his snout to one side so he could crane his neck and examine the gills on the underside of the cap. Oh, no gills on these guys, but pores. Were they all the same kinds, but cropping up in different spots? Perhaps he should have examined them more closely lately. "Sorry for the love tap, little friend. I was makin' sure you weren't rottin' up here in the cold." he whispered, more to himself than anything else. His mama would be furious if she ever found out that he was out here beating up the spirits of the swamp. A whispery buzz in his ear caused it to flick irritably, the drone increasing until he turned to see where the stupid bug was. Oh, it was one of the strange blue fireflies. They hadn't been making too much noise before this, why was this one making a fuss? As the gently pulsing blue orb danced away, his gaze followed, until he noticed a strange figure on the shore. "Hoarfrost...?" he murmured, ears tipping back. "Ya think maybe our visitor over there knows somethin'?" he asked cautiously, looking to the larger wolf. Perhaps she was intimidating enough to keep him safe from the ominous, cloaked figure hovering near a little table. The spectral blue lights hovered around the figure en masse, ebbing and flowing in and out of the gently floating cloak like the breath from his own lungs. "speech" thinking "others"

Lukina gazed at the mushroom for awhile longer and shook her head. "Naw, that's ok. We can leave them be. I bet there are some growing back home by now." Lukina was soon distracted from the mushroom by the buzzing of fireflies. Oh it was the pretty blue ones! She bounded off after then and found herself in front of a spooky figure that seemed to be made of blue fireflies underneath a cloak. Stranger of all it spoke to her. Uh oh… was she hallucinating? Maybe poking that mushroom had been dumb after all.

She looked to Bog and blinked in surprise. Oh wow, he could see it too! Wait, could they hallucinate the same thing? "Maybe we should ask?"

Lukina's fur stood straight on end as she approached the table. She'd never hallucinated before but all of this seemed awfully real. Maybe she should go ahead and buy something and maybe if she still had it when her senses returned she'd know this was really weird. Before she could ask her question the creature offered her some items on the table. She swallowed and looked at Bog before shrugging. It seemed rude to decline the offer.

"Um, ok, sure. I'll take uhhhhhhhh…." She stared at the first mushroom then bounced over to the third and then back again to the first, before eyeing the concoction in the middle "uhhhhhhhh..... the mushroom based acid please." She glanced back up at the creature, eyes wide and staring at its face. "Excuse me sir, do you know what's going on with the mushrooms and moon and crystals and stuff?"

Firefly Shoppe- Bog

A firefly draws your attention nearby to reveal a cloaked figure with a small wooden table in front of him. On the table lay three items, with their prices beside them. "Choose wisely, and only choose one," the figure says. "If you can afford it, that is." Perhaps he accepts cŕ̷̕y̵̍͊stals and mushrö̸́̀ō̴̉ms... or perhaps its worth bargaining for something greater...


Inventory:

• Firefly’s Favor- 1 /
  A firefly in a bottle. Might come in handy if you let him go at just the right time.
  
• Coupon- 1 /
  Looks like a regular voucher but it glows. Apparently it’s good for one bonus purchase next time the Firefly Shoppe is nearby.
  
• Racing Shoes- 1 /
  Some nice kicks that make you feel like you can just do it!
  

There wasn't a doubt in his mind that the young fae was a thousand times braver than he, because while her fur stood on end and her ears flickered nervously, she approached the strange figure and its table of wares. Following close behind her with his head down, the smaller wolf found himself swallowing a lump of anxiety in his throat. When the strange cloaked figure spoke, it was with the buzzing undercurrent of myriad insect wings. He shared a silent look with Hoarfrost, who continued to prove her own strength by accepting the invitation to barter with the mass of spectral fireflies. He watched her with the unease of a parent doing their best to let their growing youngster try making her own decisions, emerald eyes furtively flicking between her and the blue orbs that seemed to serve as eyes for the cloaked figure. Once again, that ephemeral buzzing near his ear. Flicking the nuisance insect away with that lichen hued aud proved futile, and the incessant drone forced his attention away from his pale companion. Was that... a second firefly merchant? The bluish firefly frantically bobbed and danced between the two, as though beckoning him closer. Cautious steps pulled him away from Hoarfrost, though he offered a wary backwards glance to ensure she was still there, still safe. By the time his nose was mere inches from the top of the table, that same buzzing voice made him an identical offer. Only one... Verdant gaze traipsed over the unfamiliar assortment- one of the spectral fireflies, trapped in a glass bottle. Well, he could certainly use the bottle if he let the firefly go in the future. A little ticket, glowing in the same cool hues as the rest of the strange phenomena that followed the moon. And then.. Oh. He needed those. A flare of excitement in his chest when his eyes fell on the little quartet of shoes that looked like they were exactly the right size for his paws. "I have some of the little mushrooms in my den, can I trade you one of 'em for those shoes?" he questioned, craning his neck to look up, up, up at the tall, hovering figure and its glowing blue eyes. "speech" thinking "others"

Firefly Shoppe- Lukina

The pale woman offered an exchange, and asked if he knew anything of the mushrooms and crystals. He nodded slowly, "In fact I do, young wolf, and soon you will too." His words trailed off as he vanished, leaving the acid where he once stood.


You gain:

• ̸̾͌m̴͑̋û̸́s̵̀͒h̸̏̒r̶̍͒o̷̢͊o̷͊̀ṁ̴̃ Based Acid- A small vial with a convenient handle that almost makes it seem throwable. Upon the label is a skull and crossbones symbol beside a shattered shield.
  

You lose:

• Currency (x2)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  
  

Firefly Shoppe- Bog

The wolf asked about exchanging currency for the shoes and the figure nodded in response, "That is how this shop works, young wolf." As the transaction was made, the figure vanished, leaving behind the shoes, already laced up on Bog's paws.


You gain:

• Racing Shoes- Some nice kicks that make you feel like you can just do it!
  

You lose:

• Currency (x1)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...