Things in the world, it seemed, were only getting stranger by the day. The sun pretty much no longer rose into the sky, now seeming to rest barely above the horizon for a few short hours before returning to it’s hiding place. Not that it bothered her much, after all, she was raised to be more nocturnal than anything. The darkness didn’t bother her like it might have others, but what did bother her was the weirdness of it all. She wanted it to stop as quickly as possible.

She’d ventured north because, even though she was annoyed by the strangeness, she was curious about it as well. There wasn’t a whole lot of difference it seemed from territory to territory, but maybe something would be different in the north? It was certainly colder, that was for sure. The girl meandered along the base of the mountain for a while, aimlessly, before coming upon an abandoned mine shaft. From within, she could see a light blue glow. Her brows rose above her bi-colored gaze and she turned without a second thought inward, and beforelong she came across a vast array of glowing blue crystals growing from the stone walls. She’d seen crystals of all kinds before in the caves of the volcano, but none of them had glowed quite like that. They also reminded her of the sugar crystals she’d come across while on her trip in Auster. She wondered if they were the same, but surely not...she wanted to try, but would that really be the smartest idea?

"Kali Klein"

Raure's journey alone through the world, leaving his home in the northern parts of Boreas after his parents died and the pack had fallen, only to be fought over by two women who he didn't stick around long enough to check out. He couldn't stay there anymore, and so leaving was easy for him. At least the thought of it was, anyway.

The winter was cold and he sure wished he'd packed something warm to wear and cover up with at night. It was growing increasingly difficult to find covered shelter at night to prevent a cold blanket of snow or a predator finding such a young pup. When he had come across some mines, however, he nearly jumped for joy at the thought of a safe place to rest. He wasn't even tired, how perfect was that!?

Strolling inside, despite all the strange happenings with the never ending darkness and the fireflies that weren't actually fireflies, Raure was still confident that nothing could go wrong. What were the odds? As he approached the mines, he noticed a strange blue glow from within and although it flashed him back to the night he left, he paused only for a moment before heading inside. The scent of another seemed fresh, and being the young boy that he was, he wondered if they could help him. Maybe find him a snack or something.

The glow that garnered his attention from outside of the ruins was quickly discovered by the boy to be coming from some crystals that grew in each and every direction on the caves walls. Being the same, bright blue as his eyes, Raure's widened in amazement as he slowly walked down the path making sure he was looking at everything, hardly paying any attention to where he was going. As his eyes glanced everywhere else around the cave, he didn't notice the wolf in front of him that was also dazed by the beauty and wonder of the crystals beautiful glow. Running into her from behind*, Raure let out a surprised yelp! and backed up quickly, eyes frantically searching for the woman's face since he stood behind her. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going, again." He frowned, pausing only briefly. "These glowy rocks are pretty!"

* pp approved by kristen

Kali was so enraptured by the sight before her that she didn’t even hear the tiny patter of pawsteps coming up from behind her. But, suddenly, a form was running into her from behind and she let out a yelp in chorus with the other’s, her lithe body whirling around with her lips raised in a snarl, fully prepared to defend herself. But, the sight before her surely didn’t seem like she was in any danger. A young pup, seemingly only half a year old, stood before her, his bright blue eyes so similar in color to the crystals wide in fright. He didn’t seem to have any bad intentions, just a bit air-headed, so she decided to let it slide.

The scent that came from him was curious. Or rather, it was the lack of scents that made her curious. The scent of pack was incredibly faint on the boy, as if he didn’t belong to one, and the scents of anyone else were equally as dull. He seemed to be alone, and for a pup to be so young and so alone in the current environment they were in...well that didn’t sit right, even to the cold-hearted Kali. Oh, don’t get her wrong, she didn’t feel sympathy for him. Rather, he felt like an interesting puzzle to her, a messenger bird to get information out of. And there was other information she was looking for, too. At his mention of the pretty rocks, her bi-colored gaze looked from them to him and back. An idea formed in her brain.

She put on a kind smile, “It’s okay, mistakes happen,” she said, her voice as sisterly as she could make it. Despite being an actual sister, she had never been particularly nice and affectionate toward her own siblings. “You’re right, they are pretty! And you know, they look just like some crystals I found when I went down south. They were sugar crystals, actually, and they were sooo sweet and tasty!” she said, her eyes getting big and dreamy in memory. But, then her brows twisted in thought. “But...then again...they also look like they could be himalayan salt crystals. Those are salty, not sweet at all,” she added, sticking her tongue out in a ‘bleh’ expression. “I really don’t like salty things, so I’m kind of scared to try…” her auds were pulled back now, a frown marring her pretty face. Her cherry pink and sky blue gaze looked at the crystals, trying her best to look longing. Hopefully, this kid had some sense of chivalry.

"Kali Klein"

Ears flattening as the girl snarled at him briefly, he quickly recovered and wagged his tail as she accepted his apology. She was bigger than him and with the little experience he had for his age, he hardly knew what to do to defend himself. He was thankful he wouldn't have to though, and as the conversation turned to the crystals, he listened closely as she spoke of some sweet, yummy sounding crystals and then some yucky salty crystals. "Sugar crystals? Him..uh..himalayan? salt crystals? What kind of crystals are these?!" He asked, excited and tail wagging again.

As he thought longer about what she had said for a moment, he too wondered what they tasted like. He wondered what the were, but being the curious young boy that he was, he also wondered what they tasted like. He was hungry after all, but it didn't look like something he could eat. Weren't they just shiny rocks?

He seemed to be taking the bait just fine, the poor guy. Really, she was probably a bad wolf for doing this to one so young, but their world required their youth to be smart and distrusting from a young age. Very few wolves meant good, she was no exception, and besides, he probably wouldn’t die from licking one little crystal...she was pretty sure.

“Hmm...I’m not quite sure. But, I have an idea. I’ll feel a lot braver if we try them together, how does that sound?” she asked, schooling her expression into one that was hopeful. She quickly moved to a section of crystal before he could respond, breaking off two pieces which glowed extra bright then returned to normal as she did. She placed one in front of him and one in front of her, giving herself an exaggerated wiggle in mock excitement. Then, she leaned down her head hovering over the crystal as she looked over at him. “Ready?” she asked. Should he agree, all he would see was what looked to be her licking the crystal, her head angled in a way that just showed the top of her muzzle and her head moving back and forth in a manner that mimicked licking. But, she wouldn’t actually. She wasn’t that stupid.

"Kali Klein"

Kali

As you carefully break off the pieces from the crystal outcropping you notice it feels wet to the touch, but, as you pull your paws away from the two chunks now on the floor of the mine... Your paw comes away dry. Maybe it was just your imagination?

Maybe you shouldn't have done that...

Raure liked the idea she had as she offered to taste the crystal together. Fortunately for his new friend, he was still naive at times for his age and he truly believed that she would also be tasting the crystal with him. He took the piece of the crystal from her that she broke off, his paws hesitant and uncertain still. Part of him wondered why exactly she was going around tasting rocks, but it didn't stop him from positioning the crystal between his paws as he sat and cast his matching gaze downwards at it.

She would ask then if he was ready, and he wasn't sure that he was honestly. He still wanted some time to think, was tasting the crystal safe? It was new, after all, and new things weren't always good even if they were pretty. With a deep breath, Raure finally settled his thoughts and focused briefly on the girl before him before looking back down to the crystal. "Ready." He said with a final nod, reaching down towards the glowing crystal to give it just the tiniest taste.

As Kali had set the crystals down, she’d noticed an odd sensation on her pawpads. It almost...felt as though she’d set the bottom of her paws down on the surface of a pond? She fought to keep her expression schooled in one of an excited girl, rather than the confused one she felt herself to be. When Ruare bent his head to lick the cystal, much to her pleasure, she quickly flipped over a paw to find it was bone dry. How weird, it must have just been the cold. She settled her gaze on the boy, tail flickering behind her slim frame before she asked “So, how does it taste?” and more importantly, how did he feel?

"Kali Klein"

Raure

Your tongue touches the crystal and almost immediately small flecks break off and fall into your open mouth. They're... crunchy, but not in a good way. Somehow it feels as if they're burrowing deeper into the tissues in your mouth the longer they remain there.

Maybe you shouldn't have done that...

It Continues for Kali...

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

Unaware that the lady had not held up her end of the deal, Raure took a quick lick of the crystal. Her words came as soon as he felt small pieces of the crystal on his tongue. He held his tongue out awkwardly, going cross-eyed trying to look down at the pieces. She asked how the crystal tasted and as he was about to answer, it felt as if the small bits of crystal on his tongue began to burrow into the tissue of his mouth. Frantically he began trying to spit the pieces out, realizing only once it was too late that it seemed to be doing more harm than good. With the burning pain sensation all over his mouth now, Raure whined and pawed at his mouth.

"Tastes like nothing, but it broke and now I have splinters!" He cried, his words accented with a lisp due to his current situation. "What about yours?" He asked, wondering if she was feeling the same pain he felt.

Firefly Shoppe - Raure

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:

• 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.
  
• Ghost Bath Bomb- 2 /
  It’s a see-through orb. The seller assures you it’s good for styling your ears or tail exactly how you’ve always wanted.
  
• 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.
  

A moment after he asked the girl in front of him questions about her experience licking the crystal, Raure noticed a firefly and his matching blue eyes followed it away. As his eyes focused, he noticed a cloaked figure standing with a table, and atop it were a few things that he didn't understand. Little cards said something he couldn't read and two of the items were the same. Based on the little cards, he assumed the figure wanted the mushrooms and crystals he'd been keeping on hand since he found them some days before. Strange, though...

Raure smiled up at the man, flashing his matching firefly-guy-blue eyes up at the being. He was pleased to see that not only were the wares the being offered interesting, two being the same for half the cost each of the pretty orb that sat beside them. "I have two crystals and two mushrooms, could I take everything please?" Raure didn't understand a deal or how to make one when it came to money, or even what money was to be honest. Frankly, Raure was just pleased to see that he had enough of the items the being wanted in exchange for the items he had to offer.

"Speech."

Firefly Shoppe- Eager Eager...

The wolf immediately tried to buy everything. It was young. It was eager.

It wasn't listening to his words.

But it was still a pup.

The figure let out a sigh, if such was possible for the being. "I said choose one. And also wisely. In your haste, I believe you forgot both of those, young wolf." He leaned in to the small pup, "But I shall let you have both of these for two of your mushrooms, dear child. But next time, do be more careful."

His words ended and he vanished just as quickly, leaving Raure with the two coupons.


You gain:

• Coupons (x2)- Looks like a regular voucher but it glows. Apparently it’s good for one bonus purchase next time the Firefly Shoppe is nearby.
  

You lose:

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