The creepy events that had been happening at night for the better half of the season didn't seem to be going away any time soon. After seeing the glowing bats and spectral army of ghost wolves with Lillith, as well as the massive ghost wolf with Haiku, Romulus was convinced the land was cursed. Some divide between the land of the living and the realm of the dead must have been breached or overlapped to permit these strange things to happen. As the days went by, the nights began to grow longer and darker. Sunrise and sunset no longer brought warmth with them. The sky was in a perpetual state of twilight, with deep navies and rich purples and indigos coloring the canvas of heavens during the day and heavy, oppressive blackness at night. The stars were no longer stars, but were long streaks of light in the sky, and the moon was getting closer and closer to the earth with every passing day.

Determined to keep his pack and his Lillith safe, Romulus was committed to getting to the bottom of whatever was occurring. Artorias had urged all the Hallows wolves to remain inside the castle walls at night to stay safe, but safety wouldn't give them the answers they needed. So once the sun had fallen below the horizon, Roman decided to do a little bit of exploring. He told Lillith of his plans to slip out after dark during dinner, and together they made the call to go together. Better to have some backup with you in case things got too spooky, right? Although he was hesitant to bring his girlfriend along at first, the Armada wolf conceded, agreeing that it would be better to have her in case he needed help. In his head, however, he had already committed to bringing her back home the second anything started looking dangerous.

"So what do you think's going on with the world?" he asked Lil while he led the way across the empty and silent plains back to the gardens where he had met her half a year ago. It seemed like a suitable place to begin their investigation. The gardens were usually pretty peaceful. Climbing up the hill to the gardens, Romulus noted a faint blue glow coming from the crest. Silver eyes narrowed, but grew wide when he reached the top and saw the gardens. All around the dilapidated and broken walls and ruins, blue luminescent crystals had formed on virtually every rocky surface. Even some idle boulders had the crystals growing on them like tumors! "Whoa..." he muttered, trotting cautiously towards the ruins to inspect the strangely glowing crystals closer.

"Speech"

Lilith was certainly disturbed by the events that were transpiring, and now that it was hardly every daylight she was even more off put. Something deeper was going on and she couldn’t figure it out just by observing. What she could see feel and touch told her nothing about what was happening in the world around her. Lilith had been sleeping more, and seemed to deflate from her normal self. The strangeness effecting her far more than just being creepy. She withdrew herself, out of fear and the concern for everything that was wrong.

Roman wasn’t a stranger to how it was effecting her and it seemed like every time she saw him he was determined to figure out what was wrong with the world. Like there was actually a solution to the problems facing them and that there would be anything they could do to change the trajectory. Not that Lil ever mentioned her doubts or depression that stemmed from the strangeness of the world. She did manage to feel excitement when Roman suggested that they sneak out that night.

Lilith followed after Roman with forced confidence, the last thing she wanted was for him to think she was too scared to come out with him. Watching from the balcony had almost been too much, but she put her faith in his strength and bolstered her own. She leaned against him as he led her towards the gardens, the place where they met nearly six months ago. Everything had changed so much since then, she felt like she had changed since then.

"I don’t know.” Lil whispered, not wanting to admit she thought it was the dead infiltrating their living world. What scared her the most about it all was the strange presence she felt that reminded her so much of her mother and sister. She felt him pause as the glow was suddenly apparent as they crested the hill. Apprehensive, but curious, the pair of them continued into the garden to find an incredible sight. Beautiful blue crystals had grown over the rocks in the garden, the stone and hard surfaces glowed brightly with them. Lilith’s jaw fell as Roman escorted her further into the amazing garden.

She blinked back her surprise and fear and stepped forward as she watched the ebb and flow of unnatural light. "What is all of this?” Lilith whispered, expecting no real answer from the boy at her side.

"Speech"

Romulus muttered a pensive hum while he walked alongside a crystal-studded length of old stone wall, his eyes dancing off of the glowing crystals. They all seemed to be glowing in time with one another, a steady increase and decrease of brightness, as if the stones themselves were breathing. "No clue," he murmured in wonder when Lillith questioned what was going on. There were so many of the little crystals, all varying in sizes from all small as one of his claws to some as big as his paw. All of them were putting out enough light to illuminate the entire garden in their ethereal blue glow, making it feel as if the two wolves had crossed into another realm entirely—like they were the living walking amongst the land of the dead.

Stepping up to the wall, Roman eyed a cluster of the crystals. He watched them pulse with light for a few moments before glancing back to Lillith with a daring expression on his face. He lifted a paw, hovering his pads just above the crystals, and raised a single brow as if silently asking, "Dare me?" Without waiting for her response, he gently placed his paw on top of the crystals. Immediately, their glow shifted and changed, now pulsing to a different rhythm than the rest of them on the wall. It took Roman a moment to realize that they were glowing in time with his steady, strong heartbeat. "Whoa..." he murmured again, removing his paw from them and watching them fall in sync with the rest of the crystals again. Placing his paw upon the crystals caused them to match his heartbeat once more. How fascinating...

"Speech"

Thankfully Roman didn’t press her when she admitted to not knowing what was before them, and as they approached the glowing crystals he didn’t have any idea either. They were a lot like fungus, growing their flowering bodies as crystals. They certainly weren’t mushrooms though. The alarming rate at which they had to grow made her just as uneasy as the apparition she had seen with Romulus. They were incredible, lighting up the ground at their feet. If she wasn’t so off put by their light it would have been beautiful.

She stayed by Roman’s side, trying not to get to close to the strange things. What if she touched it and started to become crystal as well? Lilith felt worried, scared of the unknown. Roman looked back towards her then, and even though she spoke, he continued. "Roman, don’t!” But it was too late and he pressed his paw against a crystal. Lilith froze and watched with wide garnet eyes.

The glowed in an ebb and flow in echo of his heartbeat. Lilith couldn’t bring herself to reach forward, afraid of these unexplained growths. "Does it hurt?” She asked quietly, still keeping her distance.

"Speech"

Much to his amusement, Lillith freaked out the moment he went to touch the crystals, only to settle back down a moment later when he hadn't been struck dead by some unseen force. She seemed equally as entranced by the glowing, thrumming crystals as he was, though he had been bold (or brash) enough to actually touch them. Lil asked if they hurt and Roman just shook his head. "No, they don't really feel like anything weird. Just like a normal crystal." He looked back to Lillith, a little smirk on his lips. "I think they glow in time with my heartbeat when I touch them," he said, not sure if she had picked up on how they began to glow differently when he touched them.

Silver eyes reflected the blue glow of the gems almost perfectly while he gazed down at them. "I wonder how they got here, or why they're only on the rocks." Pursing his lips, Roman got a bit of an idea, then turned to smirk at Lillith with a roguish expression. "Hey, Lil, come give me a kiss while I'm touching them. I wanna see if changing my heart rate does anything to them, so really try to make my heart go crazy." Was this an experiment? Yes. Was this also a thinly veiled attempt to get Lillith to kiss on him just because he liked it? Also yes. Romulus was shameless in his infatuation for Lillith, but he also thought maybe giving the silver and ivory girl something to focus on besides the creepy world would do her some good.

"Speech"

She didn’t argue after he’d already touched the crystals, but she had endured a mini heart attack. Lillith was obviously on edge with all of the strange goings on, and the thought that something would happen to this reckless boy she loved scared her to death. Roman swiftly assured her that there was no pain in touching them, they seemed like a normal crystal however much they didn’t appear so. Lil hadn’t ever seen anything like this, though everything glowed right now these crystals weren’t natural.

Romulus was the picture of confidence as he glanced back at her, and his calm demeanor helped to soothe the worried girl. He was the perfect fit, and proved it more every day. A smirk played over his features before he mentioned the way they became attuned to his heartbeat. She nodded lightly as both of them found their attention monopolized by the strange things.

"I’ve heard of growing rocks, but nothing like this.” Roman paused, his features shifting before he looked back up to her and offered his mischievous plan. Kiss him, really good, to see if his change in heart rate shifted the pulse of the glow. "Roman,” She chastised him softly, a grin on her features, as she didn’t hesitate to do exactly as he wished. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, allowing that small appreciation for the beauty of the unknown to sweep her into the easy passion with him.

"Speech"

Romulus

The moment Lillith's kiss touches you you feel a jolt go through you, as if the crystal is showing you displeasure with the display, so startled by the sudden shock you slip and cut your paw a little... You look at your paw dumbfounded... Is your blood glowing? Wait... You blink, nevermind.

Maybe you shouldn't have done that...

Lillith

Even wrapped up in the moment of passion you feel your eyes drawn to the crystal. As you stare, Romulus flinches in your grasp and at the same moment you feel as if there's a buzzing coming from inside your head. You shake it but it does not dissipate.

To Lillith's gentle chiding, Romulus simply gave the silver and snow fae a rolling shrug of his shoulders and a "what did you expect?" expression. He was a young adult male, of course he had one thing on his mind, especially when it came to his beautiful girlfriend. Fortunately for him, despite her exasperation at him, Lillith still grinned and stepped up to him. Silver eyes held shimmering rubies while her forelegs slipped up to wind around his neck, making his heart skip a beat and in turn so did the crystals' glow. The moment her lips touched his, Roman felt his heart speed up as it usually did whenever they kissed. He murred and kissed her deeply back, feeling a jolt of electricity spark through his body. It made him twitch, but he resisted pulling away, blissfully unaware of how bright and angry the crystals' glow had turned.

No more than a moment later, another more powerful jolt zapped through his nerves. This time in was painful enough to make Romulus recoil sharply with a gasp, accidentally dragging his soft paw pad across the sharp edges of the crystals. He winced and sucked in a breath, bringing his paw to his mouth to press his tongue to the wound in an effort to soothe some of the pain. "Ow!" he remarked, peering down at the small laceration on his pad. He stared at the blood seeping from the wound, and... wait. Was his blood glowing as well?! Turning his paw to inspect it, and, nope! Just catching the light off the crystals in its glossy texture. Still, that hurt like a bitch! "Well, I guess the crystals don't like any PDA, huh?" he remarked with a snarky smirk, still licking away the blood. "Are you okay? Did it shock you too?"

"Speech"

The girl did not expect much else from the boy she was falling for, even in a place like this with the unknown facing them he still found the perfect excuse to give her a smooch. Or ask for one and Lillith would deliver. The pair of them had found a sweet little romantic place to enjoy each other’s company. The glow of the crystals and the light of the massive moon. Lilith wasn’t even nervous about seeing the specters again. Despite the strange unnatural glow and the brilliant spooky atmosphere, she had Roman in her arms and nothing could touch her.

Their lips met, and she closed her eyes and for along moment it was a perfect kiss. Then suddenly Roman was pulling away and suddenly her head was vibrating. Roman pulled away and Lillith tried to shake her head clear of the almost but not quite headache that was forming. She pulled an ivory paw to her head as Roman spoke softly, mentioning the crystals did not enjoy their display in the presence of magic.

"No, no shock. My head.. Is buzzing. Not my ears but my brain.” She closed her eyes and shook her head again as if the next time would actually work to release the pressure.


"Speech"

Silver eyes narrowed in concern when Lillith said what she was experiencing. It was a different sort of effect than the one he'd received from the crystals, but arguably Lillith's reaction was worse. Whereas Romulus had gotten a small cut and a shock, she looked like she was starting to suffer from the beginnings of a migraine. Lil explained what she was feeling—a buzzing in her head—and then went to rub her temple with an ivory paw. Oh fuck, what had those crystals done to her? Feeling a sudden surge of guilt for having convinced her to kiss him in the first place, Roman hurried to close the gap between them and brought large navy-dipped paws to carefully caress her head. "Okay, let's get you settled and back in sorts," he murmured and gently urged Lillith to sit just in case she lost her balance and collapsed.

Roman peered into Lillith's eyes, studying her pupil dilation and her reactivity. Issues with the head and brain were no light matter and he took them very seriously. "Can you tell me more? Is it painful? Does your head feel fuzzy, unclear, scrambled...?" Taking a moment to withdraw and peer around the gardens, Romulus started to sniff about the grounds. "Stay here," he told his girlfriend and began too earth around for some valerian root for her headache. He found a plant a few minutes later and ripped it up without any hesitation, bringing the bright red flowers and earthy roots over to her. "Here," he said while offering the herb to her. He didn't need to explain what to do with it; Lillith was arguably a more studious healer than he was.

"Speech"

It Continues for Lillith...

Huh? It doesn't seem like anything happened... Well, maybe that's for the best...

Firefly Shoppe- Romulus

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...
  
• Serious Steriods- 1 /
  The cloaked figure assures you it’s not really steroids but he does say it’ll make your body more resilient, he won’t tell you what’s in them though.
  
• Firefly’s Favor- 1 /
  A firefly in a bottle. Might come in handy if you let him go at just the right time.
  

As he gave the valerian root to Lillith, Romulus noticed a small blue firefly buzz past his face, taking his attention away from his girlfriend momentarily to follow its path over to a small makeshift shop stall with an ominous robed figure manning it. Immediately he became defensive, more so over protecting Lillith. He knew how fragile she still was, and he wasn't going to let her get harmed in any way, shape or form. Approaching the entity with trepidation, Roman noticed that the stall had three items laid out on its surface: a mushroom, a package of something labeled as steroids, and a firefly in a bottle. Each one was appropriately labeled with a price.

The entity bid him choose one item, and Roman shifted his silver eyes back and forth between the entity and its wares. Each of them seemed peculiar, but some seemed far sketchier than others. Ultimately, Roman produced one of the strange mushrooms he'd been collecting from seemingly nowhere and placed it on the stall, then took the small bottle holding the firefly. "Um... thanks... sir?" Did strange glowing entities have genders? Dammit, the lad was trying to be polite! He looked down at the firefly in the bottle, passing it back and forth between his paws a few times. "Uh, do I... need to feed it, or anything? Can it breathe in there?" He raised a curious brow and looked up to the tall entity, wondering if this was some sort of pet he'd just adopted or if it was something more.

"Speech"

Firefly Shoppe- Romulus

The man picked an item and began to ask questions. This, of course, was all very justified. However, the figure simply shrugged as he disappeared. So much for customer service...


You gain:

• Firefly’s Favor- A firefly in a bottle. Might come in handy if you let him go at just the right time.
  

You lose:

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