TIME IS A BUTTERFLY, I'M RIPPING OFF WINGS Muscular physique lumbering easily through the unforgiving terrain of the dense undergrowth, he ventured towards the centre of the island. The lake there had proven to become some variety of gathering site, both central and a draw for prey. Manea had summoned them to the island after her loss to the pirate king, and the infernal brute was not one to turn down the opportunity to spend more time with his family. So, he lingered. Hunted where he could, kept an eye on his niece and nephew here and there, and simply fell back into his ole habits. It felt nice, even if the stability was merely a thin veil that would be easily broken if an established pack moved into the area. As the full moon hung in the dark skies for ever lengthening hours of the day, and the sun seemed to lose its control of the skies entirely, new changes in the world around them seemed to crop up with each passing day. With the little ones around, his protective instincts flared dramatically in the presence of these new oddities. Dark nose lowered to the ground, the titan sought out his precious little sister. As far as he was aware, she still lingered in the area. When he did find her, amber eyes softened almost immediately as he caught sight of her, and he hesitated amongst the undergrowth. She was an adult now, but he wondered if he ought to investigate on his own, leave her out of this and keep her safe from whatever risks might be tied to the strange new crystals and fungi. Before he could change his mind, powerful limbs pulled his bulk through the undergrowth and closer to Naraca's side. He grunted wordlessly to acknowledge his presence, and then dipped his head to butt his cheek gently against her shoulder. "I'm headed out to look into the new shit that's been popping up all over the place, thought you might want to join in." he rumbled softly, tipping his head to the side to indicate she could follow if she chose. With that, ashe cloaked legs set off at a steady pace, searching for the odd glow near ground level that tended to signify the appearance of a cluster of mushrooms or crystals sprouting upwards from an unknown source. The little blue fireflies seemed to bob about in even greater numbers, and they refused to acknowledge the attempts of the rising sun to dissipate them. The sky was always dark as a fresh bruise, shifting hues as the golden light of the sun struggled to fight its way beyond the horizon. It had yet to succeed, and this troubled him. He dared not voice his concerns to the rest of the family, lest he frighten the young ones or worry the matriarch further. SPEECH || actions || OTHERS

Ara was staring wearily up at the sky, feeling as if she was losing track of night and day. Her sleeping habits were a mess. Who could decide what the time of day was with the days so short and gloomy, and the moon’s presence unforgiving?

Shaking her head, she turned her eyes downwards again, and caught sight of movement just as her brother pulled himself from the undergrowth and grunted at her. She mimicked the noise with exaggeration, and flicked his ear with her tooth as she rubbed his head against her cheek. “Hey, trouble” she said in fond greeting.

“Hell, yes. Finally. Give me answers” she said with enthusiasm. She followed after her brother. After a short while she became aware of a strange light, drawing her attention upwards - towards Poe’s head. “uhh… new fashion?” she asked cautiously, pointing at his horns.

"Naráca Mendacium"

TIME IS A BUTTERFLY, I'M RIPPING OFF WINGS The soft nick of a fang against his ear didn't bother the titan, though he did press more of his weight against his sister in response. A fond grumbling sound bubbled in the depths of his broad chest, a grating purr of affection. She joined him with more enthusiasm than he could muster for much of anything, the pair wandering deeper into the undergrowth and headed for the outskirts of the island. They didn't make it far, amber eyes trained on the ground beneath his massive paws and nostrils flaring in search of some unfamiliar scent that might lead to some answers. Ara spoke up, hesitation plain in her voice as the moon was in the sky above. “uhh… new fashion?” she asked quietly, lifting one dainty paw to draw his attention upward. As his heavy skull swung upwards, the topmost range of his vision caught on the faint trail of light that seemed to track with the movement. It wasn't the moon making those arcs of blue light streak across his vision. Was this some prank she was playing? Ash cloaked hackles bristling with newfound tension, black lips peeled away from pale fangs. He swung his head down and to the side, trying to catch a better glimpse of whatever was gleaming cerulean against the dark keratin of his horns. "What? Naráca what the fuck is this?" he snarled, trying to cover the fear that bubbled up in his voice with the fire of his familiar temper. SPEECH || actions || OTHERS

Ara huffed in response to his anger, not in the least bit phased by it. The past had always told her that Poe was a wolf she could trust, and a little bit of anger wasn’t going to have her jumping. She watched for a moment as he swung his head side to side in a frantic effort to see what was going on above him. “Hold still, you goof” she said, grabbing at his paw with a slender limb.

Knocking her paw against his, she tried to steer him towards a puddle of water, so he could look down and see his reflection without breaking his idiot neck. “Look, see?” she said, showing him the crystals growing on his head. “Bend down and i’ll try and pick them off” she suggested.


"Naráca Mendacium"

TIME IS A BUTTERFLY, I'M RIPPING OFF WINGS Trust his little sister to chide him for being rightfully upset by the eerie glow coming from his head that he, of course, couldn't fucking see. When he felt the firm pressure of her wrist slipping around his forelimb, he stilled somewhat. Unable to fully stop himself from wriggling his skull to and fro in an attempt to better see what was going on up there, naturally, but he mostly quite thrashing about. He lumbered along towards the puddle, the incredibly shallow water within still rippling with the shockwaves of his short lived tantrum. Whiskey gold gaze dropping down to the water at his feet, he felt his stomach sink as they landed on the delicate points of a few miniscule crystals clustered over the thickest points of his horns. A ragged breath in, digesting the sight. “Bend down and I’ll try and pick them off” his sister said quietly, to which he growled low in his chest. That familiar flare of his temper, ready to lash out at the world for daring to infect him with the same afflictions as the inanimate stone and metal that littered the island. "Fine." he grunted, flopping heavily onto his belly without moving from where he stood. Forepaws splashing carelessly into the little puddle, he dropped his head onto his front legs and tucked his ears against his head. He most certainly was not pouting. A proud Mendacium man like himself would never do that. "If my horns fall off I'll be taking this up with the Ancients themselves," he growled under his breath, fixing a steely glare on a cluster of faintly glowing mushrooms at the base of a nearby tree. If he stayed angry, he could ignore the swelling panic that was beginning to settle itself in the space between his lungs, gradually filling the space until there was little room for him to breathe. Forepaws flexing idly in the muddied water of the little puddle, the beast found himself regretting ever coming to these stupid continents in the first place. "When you're done with that, I'll check yours just to be safe." he grumbled the offer as though it pained him to do so, though that was mostly just the result of his thoroughly soured mood. If he didn't check her horns he wouldn't sleep tonight. SPEECH || actions || OTHERS

Poe

Feels... Cold.... Almost as if the moment the crystals were pointed out to you they started to resist the idea of being removed from their perch you feel a chill spread through your head, like brain freeze but deep in the bone, it spreads across the whole of the crown of your skull.

Maybe you shouldn't have done that...

Poe obligingly lowered his head until the smaller wolf could reach it. Having scrambled in the grass for a nice pointy stick, she was prepared when his head came within range of her small being. “I’ll trust you do just that” she agreed, wearily casting a glance up at her own horns. Hopefully they were untouched by whatever was going on with Poes!

With that in mind, she grabbed her stick, and began to poke and prod at his crystals, doing her best to dislodge them from his horns. Trying to pry the stick underneath to unlodge them. How did crystals grow on him anyway?? What was the world coming to.

Naráca

The moment your stick of choice touches the crystals on your brother's horns you feel something thrum through the stick, like a surge of energy. It feels... Warm. The inside of your mouth suddenly uncomfortably dry and you feel the heat, growing warmer with each second, spreading through your face until your whole head feels like it's burning.

She felt the thrum of energy burn up the stick like static. Only, instead of shocking her, it was warmth that greeted her. She felt it pool in her mouth. At first, the inside of her mouth simply felt dry and warm. She continued to push the stick against her brother's horns, determined to do as she had promised him. A little heat wouldn’t keep her from helping her brother!

But after only a few seconds had passed the warmth grew until it was almost unbearable. Her head was so hot! She gasped in sudden pain, dropping the stick with a yelp of surprise.

"Naráca Mendacium"

It Continues for Naráca...

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

TIME IS A BUTTERFLY, I'M RIPPING OFF WINGS Before his sister could even set to work, a tingling sensation spread across his scalp. Sinking into his bones from the roots of his horns, like the creeping edges of frost along the shores of a pond. As Naraca plucked up the stick she was going to use to try and lever the crystals from the smooth keratin of his horns, the sensation only intensified. A steady tingling, like the pins and needles sensation of a paw falling asleep, became an aching thrum that seemed to intensify with each beat of his heart. From the moment that the sharp edge of the branch was pressed up against the base of a small gem, a dagger of sharp pain lanced through his skull and into his brain. His jaw instinctively clenched tightly against the pain, and he sucked a sharp breath in between his teeth. This was already far worse than the time he'd had quills pulled from his face after an unfortunate run in with a porcupine in his youth. When Ara gasped suddenly, his eyes flew open. Her sharp cry of pain forced him to his paws with a flurry of heavy, uncoordinated legs. Poe hadn't even realized that he'd been squeezing his eyes shut, but the sudden loss of pressure from Ara's attempts with the fallen branch came with a swift loss of the worst of the pain. He swung his heavy skull to the side, and saw that she was wide eyed with shock. "What's wrong, Ara?" he demanded, a little louder than intended. A rush of adrenaline forced the pain in his head to a dull throb, and he closed the space between them quickly. "What happened?" the beast rumbled, lowering his snout to the fur of her cheek and inhaling deeply. The sharp tang of panic lingered, barely perceptible- a flash of fear was gone just as quick as it had started. Amber eyes lifted to focus on the crown of her skull, tracing the gentle whorls of her horns in search of the same blue glow that had marked the growth of crystals upon his own. He didn't notice anything.. SPEECH || actions || OTHERS

Firefly Shoppe - Poe

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:

• Cursed Litter Pass- 2 /
  This looks like it might cause something really weird to happen. The label says, “do not use if you are breastfeeding, pregnant, or plan to become pregnant,” but you can’t read… it’s probably dangerous, or really cool.
  
• Xtra Shrink Potion- 2 /
  Xtra shrink potion - It comes in an extra tiny bottle. There’s barely even one drop!
  
• 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...