With a wheeze Armando hauled himself up onto a rickety metal skeleton and then stretched out flat on his stomach. Still wheezing he began to flip snow up onto his back and head. That damned dog was at it again. Armando had thought he'd lost him after the challenge until the big blue bastard had cropped up seemingly out of thin air. It was all he could do to get away and hide. So here he was doing his best to cover himself with snow and smooth out all signs that he'd come up here. Hopefully the dog couldn't climb and hopefully from a distance what was visible of the messed up snow would be buried in shadow.

There was a sudden blush of blue visible even through his closed eyelids. Armando peeked one eye open and was alarmed to find a small cloud of fireflies hovering in front of his face. "Shoo," he whispered. When they didn't move he started to blow at them. One puff, two...no movement. He peeked around and then gently waved a paw at them. "Go on, you're gonna give me away." They were like a beacon pinpointing his exact location. They needed t- YES. His fur stood on end. That...that wasn't from the fireflies, was it?

It felt distinctly like the raccoon - no, the world - was taunting him. The stupid reddish critter had shown himself seemingly everywhere Artisan looked, and each time he went further to investigate all he'd find was a cluster of happy fireflies or a long-faded scent. The newest bead upon his wrist was a permanent reminder of his origin story, and Artisan broke off from the pack challenge to head south in search of a witch who might have the skills to pour his hate and suffering directly into his bead for him. Voodoo wasn't something he was super familiar with, and he assumed there'd be great cost associated to the request, but why would a pirate have any fear of a witch?

There it fucking was again - that flash of orange, precious fedora, then gone with the breeze. Artisan leaped through the snow after it, huffing and puffing the cold winter air until he'd come across a large metal structure. Upon it's top was a cloud of fireflies, and he could hear a hushed "shoo" followed by a very not-so-hushed reply. "Hah!" He called up the skeleton. "Now you've pissed off the wrong creature, raccoon! I hear the fireflies even can take away your eyesight, or make you shit yourself uncontrollably!"

Artisan took a seat at the base of the structure, a mad grin upon his maw as he watched the fireflies dance (in a way Artisan was sure was menacing and violent) around the lump of snow that contained his arch nemesis. All he'd need to do is wait, eventually they'd spook and/or shove the critter off his perch and right into Artisan's lap for vengeance.

He tensed, a voice whispering in his ear, and his smile faltered. "Haha," Artisan forced a laugh. "No, uh, that's the bad guy, up there." His head ducked between his shoulders and he flailed one decorated limb up around the critter's direction.

"Speech"

For a second Armando's mind stuttered to a halt as he stared up at the fireflies. Then footsteps below unfroze him. One of fireflies in front of his face began to blink faster and brighter as though directing his enemy to him and without thinking Armando clapped his paws around it. Too late. The infernal dog knew he was there. Raccoon, again? His annoyance overrode his fear. He popped up out of the snow, the firefly still cupped in his paws. "I'm not a raccoon you idiot!" Both paws, still cupped but the bug forgotten, gestured emphatically at Artisan. "Perhaps if you knew that you'd have more jewelry!"

That voice continued in his ear and Artisan's every strand of fur stood on end. He could see Armando gesturing to him, yelling back some ridiculous raccoon retort but all he could hear was the threat the ethereal voice spoke deep into his soul. Artisan was not exceptionally familiar with witchcraft, ghosts, or any paranormal mumbo jumbo really, but he could not deny the demand was very real and not at all a figment of his imagination.

"Uh, buddy?" He called up hesitantly to the critter. "The angry voice wants you to let go of the fireflies, I think?" The colorful man flinched to his side, as if moving away from the voice's origin would lower it's intensity. In reality the words were not so clear, though Artisan thought the voice got it's point across quite clearly. He cocked his head, listening a bit harder.

"Speech"

"What?" Armando squinted suspiciously down at the dog. For a moment he was still so hung up on the latest utterance of 'raccoon' that it was all he could think about. He scowled at Artisan until it finally clicked. Armando looked at his paws. "...oh." Now that he thought about it he could feel the little guy moving around in there. Whoops. He opened his paws. Did he apologize? Well, a creepy voice had spoken to both him and his nemesis soooo...

"S-Sorry fella. This dog, see," he jerked his head in Artisan's direction and continued to speak to the bug as though they were good pals just in case that earned him some brownie points with the bug-cloud. Which sounded absolutely 100% patently absurd. But he was a red panda living happily in a wolf world so what sense did anything make? "Has me all out of sorts. He's been chasing me all over creation yelling about murder so you can see why I might not be thinking straight, right?"

Armando

As you open your paws the firefly darts out angrily, bashing itself against you in what you can only assume is rage. Wherever it's tiny body hits you, a searing pain felt deep within your bones.

Maybe you shouldn't have done that...

Artisan watched hopefully as Armando released the firefly, and then explained that it was all Artisan's fault. No! His jaw dropped and his ears craned forward to listen, then Art ran forward to the base of the skeleton and scratched angrily at it wishing he could climb. "Don't believe him, bugs! This stupid bastard started this whole thing, he's a liar and a thief and he can't even be honest about his own damn species!" The voice whispered again in his ear, and the sound was so startling that he swatted a paw out at it, accidentally slapping a firefly in the process. Realizing his mistake, Artisan sat and frowned up at the bug. "I'm sorry, buddy, that's his fault, too. He brings out the worst in me, and it seems even the worst of your friends." His head gestured to the firefly that was released and began to beat upon Armando's pelt.  

"Speech"

Artisan

As you finish your apology, you feel your breath leave your lungs before you exhale. Maybe you shouldn't have done that...

What was happening to his lungs was the oddest feeling Artisan had ever felt. His chest moved to breath, but his breath came out of it's own accord and earlier then his lungs had deflated to release it. His fur stood on end and his eyes widened, shock visible in his every muscle. Artisan's gaze slowly moved up from the firefly to his arch-nemesis, where he met the raccoon's gaze with an almost pleading expression.

"I think, I think you just took my breath away." He accused, sounding as shocked as he looked. "I thought that was just an expression but no, no, it happened." One decorated paw lifted and beat against his chest hard, and he gave a few inhales and exhales to test to see if it would happen again. Nope. "What. The. Fuck. What did you make them do to me!?"

"Speech"

It Continues for Artisan...

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

"W-What? Ow, OW!" he yelped as the firefly began to pummel him. Clearly his negotiation skills failed here. He stuttered, trying to try again, but the searing pain of the 'stings' kept throwing him off and Armando found himself anticipating strikes and flinching away rather than formulating a reply. The only thing that came to mind was some variant of 'but wait, I'm the victim' and he didn't think that would fly all by itself.

Vaguely he was aware of what Artisan was saying and amid scampering away from the mad firefly he cried, "Me!? I told -OW! - them the - OW! - truth! How they use that is up to -OW! - them!" Oh he couldn't take this anymore. In a last ditch effort Armando flung himself off the metal skeleton. He hadn't meant to throw himself onto Artisan, but if the wolf didn't move he was going to get a red panda to the face. And maybe a firefly too if it chose to follow him.

Armando - It Continues...

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