Living on an island, you'd think that strange things wouldn't be happening like they would be on the mainland. That would be a wrong assumption, as Belladonna has recently found out as things just keep getting worse all over Boreas and Auster. The isle that Fenmyre was settled on wasn't spared any of the strange glowing plants, blue fireflies, or anything. In fact, others kept returning speaking of the strange things they had encountered. Belladonna would be lying if she said she wasn't interested and wanted to check it out for herself.

As she crossed the ferry from the island to Auster, a small swarm of fireflies followed her over. They had been hovering over a small collection of mushrooms, but accompanied her for whatever reason. When she set foot on Auster, immediately the amount of mushrooms littering the beach caught her attention. Sure there were clusters all over the island, but they hardly grew in patches as large as this. It actually seemed like it was trying to create a path, or a road, to something. Curious, Belladonna began to follow the path of mushrooms. Although her legs begged to rest, the curiosity pulled at her until she found herself on a ringlet of sand, surrounding a small pool of ocean water. Around the waters edge, nothing but glowing mushrooms.

He made the journey over into Auster, trekking lands he hadn't seen since he was younger. Things seemed largely the same over here as they did back on Boreas, and he was sure that his God was the one behind it all. After all, what other explanation was there? He walked quietly in the darkness, glacial blue gaze seemingly blending in and matching his surroundings. He spotted a trail of mushrooms as he approached the swallet ring, and of course, he followed. The Fallen God was beckoning him, he was sure. He passed the blue fireflies that floated around, hardly paying them any mind as he stepped onto the beach.

There, he noticed that the mushrooms littered the shore. Surrounding the waters edge in an array of colors. It was almost mesmerizing...except for the fact that someone else was here, too. He huffed, wondering if he could avoid her while he investigated the mushrooms.

Why were there so many mushrooms around the little pond of ocean water? Strange. They were littered everywhere else as well, but it seemed as though the mushrooms had led her here although she couldn't fathom why. Why were they even here suddenly to begin with? Belladonna certainly didn't have an idea of the answer, but it was then that she noticed someone else approaching the little ringlet of sand. Maybe they would know something?

The wolf was strangely colored but not unlike anything she hadn't seen before and so he hardly held her attention for long before her mixed gaze was settled back on the mushrooms before her. The fireflies that danced around were simply ignored, old news compared to the strange fungi. She moved her way down the path a bit, looking for any changes in the mushrooms such as size or overall shape. For the most part, they all looked the same except for some size differences. She didn't know what she was going to do with all these notes she was taking, but it felt good to be doing something else besides looking after a pregnant lady all day.

As she moved her way around the path, she kept stealing little glances at the other wolf that had approached. Having been several moments at this point, she finally decided to speak. "Have you tasted one?" Her question was random, eyes watching the other wolf carefully for an answer.

He couldn't deny that he was interested in the mushrooms here. They seemed to glow and pulse as if they were breathing life of their own. Did plants and fungi do that? He knew very little, if anything, of plants. Even though his mother was experienced with poisons, he couldn't quite remember what all she'd taught him before she passed. The idea did cross his mind though...were these mushrooms poisonous? Could they be used in some way? Some things he knew, were poisonous to the touch while others weren't, and he wondered if any of these vibrantly glowing mushrooms were poisonous in some way, shape, or form.

While the younger she-wolf did her own investigation, he kept his eyes on her in case she tried something funny. He could smell an unknown pack scent on her, and it was definitely not one he'd smelled before. A newer pack, perhaps? He'd be sure to report his findings back to Eligos...along with the other pack he smelled lingering in Auster. He didn't know how long they'd been there either, but both of them were new to him.

Finally, after a few minutes of the pair watching each other and investigating the mushrooms, the yearling girl would speak up and asked him a question. "Have you tasted one?" The question offered to him sounded ridiculous to him! But then again...it was out of the mouth of a mortal. His lip begged to twitch into a sneer at such a silly question, but he decided instead to turn and face her, glittering blue gaze assessing her and her potential intelligence...or lack thereof. "I don't eat strange mushrooms. For all I know, they might be poisonous. What about you?" He shot back.

He snorted as curiosity did start to get the better of him though. He reached a paw out to a glowing green mushroom, but when he tried to touch it, he swore it seemed to lean away from his touch. He pulled back in surprise, blinking a few times. Did...did that just happen?

She hadn't really considered what the mushrooms would taste like until she had asked the man. She was never really one to find much interest in food items beyond meat, but was familiar with other wolves doing it and as weird as she thought it was, she couldn't help but wonder what these mushrooms taste like. Not other mushrooms. Just these mushrooms.

The man answered her, though his response wasn't hardly anything other than what she expected. While she knew of wolves that ate weird things, this wolf apparently wasn't one of them. Darn. How else was she going to know what it tasted like? Well, if he didn't know that she hadn't tried one, but she knew that he hadn't, maybe she could convince him into trying? A little experiment would be nice, especially before she decided on bringing any of these shrooms back to Fenmyre.

"Oh yeah! They're pretty good, if you like food that isn't meat anyway. You should try one!" She tried to sound enthusiastic about it without sounding fake, though she was young and perhaps her acting skills wouldn't sell the man. If not, she had a plan. Swiping her paw out quickly, she grabbed one of the shrooms and pulled it free from it's place in the sand. Had she been paying enough attention, she would have noticed the fungi lean away from her paw initially, but her motions were quick in order to trick the man. Reaching down, she gave a big lick to it's top before looking back at him. "See? They taste good!" Famous last words, right?

He waited for an answer from the girl, but he didn't have to wait long for a response. "Oh yeah! They're pretty good if you like food that isn't meat anyway. You should try one!" He lifted a brow in question, wondering if she was telling the truth or lying to him to try and get him to eat one first. Was this a trick of some sort? Were the mortals aware of the Abraxas and what they were and just trying to get rid of them? Ha! Silly mortals, didn't they know that tricks were for kids? Zagan was hardly one to be fooled, and as he scrutinized the girl and her words, he scoffed. He'd be an idiot to fall for her trickery, or anyone's for that matter, but then she did something he didn't expect.

She quickly grabbed a mushroom and gave it a real good lick. He almost looked stunned that she had done that, wondering just what in the world would prompt her to try and eat these mysterious glowing mushrooms! "Do you have a death wish!" He exclaimed in disbelief. She tried to claim they were tasty, but then he got the bright idea to try and trick her right back. "Now that I think about it...I think I recall one of my packmates saying some of these were poisonous if they were ingested, but...it's a gamble as to which ones." He said in a matter-of-fact voice. He tapped the top of the mushroom he had tried to touch earlier, staring at it as if daring it to try and move again, and it did. Holding back another wave of shock, he frowned as he quickly grabbed it and yanked it from the ground before turning around and showing it to her. "Like this one...might be poisonous, might not be. And the one you have, same thing. Worst case scenario, you'll slowly die from that one little lick. Best case? You get the shits." He stated in a flat tone, a grin starting to appear.

Belladonna

Your tongue swipes across the mushroom cap and the effect is instantaneous. You feel suddenly fuller then you've ever felt before, almost uncomfortably so. Did you just cure world hunger?

Maybe you shouldn't have done that...

Zagan

You grab the mushroom from the ground and with that pull, release hundreds of tiny blue spores from it's cap. They feel like tiny razors all across your paw, and as you look down you can see that where there is pain you are also ... bleeding blue? And Belladonna licked one??

Maybe you shouldn't have done that...

As soon as her tongue hit the mushroom, she suddenly felt very, very full. She couldn't help but let a sigh of relief leave her lungs as she looked smugly over towards the older man. Poisonous? Ha! He was pulling her leg, and as a Klein she was smarter than the average wolf. Perhaps this man wasn't much different, but he certainly wasn't any Klein that she knew of. Regardless, he was clearly trying to do to her what she had done to him... Trying to fool her with her own tricks was silly, and she smirked at the thought.

"See? All it does it make you really full! You don't even need to eat with these around, just one lick and you're stuffed!" She stood up tall, puffing her chest out some. "Told you, just try one!" Although she was still trying to see if something else would happen to her victim, she was curious to see if they actually made you full. If so, then she'd need to get back to Fenmyre as soon as possible with the great news! They'd cherish her for her discovery, possibly even promoting her out of her silly handmaiden role!

Firefly Shoppe - Belladonna

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:

• Glittering Concoction- 2 /
  Smells like mushrooms, glitters like crystals.
  
• Racing Shoes- 1 /
  Some nice kicks that make you feel like you can just do it!
  
• Creepy Contact Lenses- 3 /
  The fireflies help you to equip this item that once applied cannot be removed or traded. Can look however you like. May not change color, rotate, or otherwise alter once in the eye.
  

When he grabbed the mushroom from the ground and pulled, the mushroom had released hundreds, if not thousands of tiny blue spores. Zagan leaned back and narrowed his eyes, feeling a weird sensation on his paw as if it were being cut up. "What the fuck..?" He briefly ignored the yearling girl as he focused on what he felt, and soon enough realized the spores...or the mushroom? Had cut up his paw. Not only that, but it hurt as if he'd just stuck his paw into stinging nettles and his blood was blue! He was baffled and wasn't quite sure what he was seeing. Looking at the kid with a smirk then, "Yeah if those things did this to my paw just now, imagine what it's doing to your insides." He retorted. Silly, stupid girl. He was smarter than she thought, and no way he was falling for that after his paw just got razored by one of those mushrooms...

Firefly Shoppe- Zagan

Your attention blurs and refocuses. It feels as if you are in a dream as you find yourself alone in the mist. Fireflies gather and light the way to a table with a figure waiting behind it. On the table lay three items, with their prices beside them. "Choose w̶̢̧͉̥̻̟͈͙̽̉̆̿̈͒͋̓̇̍͌̇̎͠͝ì̵̢̝̄͐́͆̓̚ṣ̶̛͙̟͎̤̞̤͎̹̙̭̪͔̓̐̾̂͆̄͆͌̈̈́̏̚͜͝͠ȩ̴͔̱̗̜̾̉̀̓̀͆͛̊̂̍̕̚̚̚ͅl̵̢̦̲̼̠̖̜̺̮̜̺͋̈́y̴̧̨̧̪̗̥̘͇̾͑͗͜͠, and only choose o̷͕̭̊̃̌̊̏̀ņ̸̼͚͉͔̒͐̊e̵̮̯͛̔̀̑͜," the figure says, looming over the table as his eyes seem to peer into your soul. Are they... moving? "If you can afford it, that is. Beware, however, for there are many d̷̡̯͉̎̊̈́͐͠á̴̬̪̣̝̞̅̀̈́̄ṉ̸̢̠̤̹̥̙̜͋͆̚g̷̛͍̹̣̬̙͖̝̘̃̈e̷͓͕̖͓̝̤̿͐͐͜͠ŗ̵̤͚͔̟̹̳̽̒͝ş̸̛͓͔̩̥̦͛̊̈̾̐̒̓ ̴̺͔̃̇̆ahead." He does not seem like he's in the negotiating mood...


I̵̜̖͎͓͒̑̕n̸͓̗̘̫͉̗̻͐̔̿̊͆̋͝v̵̦̹̠͉̖̼̮̎̌͆ȩ̸͕̦͔̳̩̈́͜n̶͍̝̙̯̣̹̫̩͋t̶̟͈̟̲̜̙̣̋̿̓̆̅͊͝͝ŏ̶̼͊r̶̖͎̙͔̥͎͙͈̊̍͝͠y̴̧͔̭͒͆̉̕͝:

• Opaque Sack of Mushrooms/Crystals- PRICE /
  Running out of event currency and not sure what else to spend it on? Gamble on this mysterious pouch and potentially find more mushrooms/crystals within it! Or perhaps something else!
  
• 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.
  
• Coat Hanger- 3 /
  It’s just an everyday coat hanger, but you are a wolf, and you do not know that.
  

His attention blurred and refocused, the world around him seemed more like a dream than reality. The girl he had been with was gone, replaced by a cloud of fireflies as they lit the way to a hooded figure and a table. His ears flicked as the figure spoke to him, and though Zagan was suspicious of the strange being, he figured it was okay...after all, it wasn't outright trying to attack him or anything. Hesitant, however, Zagan looked at the wares on the table and eyed a sack of...something. He didn't have anything to offer though, but maybe the figure would let him have it. "Can I take this? I don't have much to offer except for the feathers I have..."

*Chooses coat hanger, offers feather accessory

Firefly Shoppe- Zagan

The wolf offered up something interesting, and the cloaked figure looked intrigued - at least, as intrigued as a bunch of fireflies in a cloak could look. "Very well then. This seems like a fine trade indeed." Offering the Coat Hanger to the wolf he snatches up Zagan's feather in exchange, and disappears soon after.


You gain:

• Coat Hanger- It’s just an everyday coat hanger, but you are a wolf, and you do not know that.
  

You lose:

• Black Feathers Accessory- Now it's here, now it's gone.