The world had been plunged into chaos, or at least some semblance of it. While some of Valhalla was sick, not everyone was, and Caelia was fortunate enough that the sickness hadn't yet gripped her. That didn't mean it wouldn't, though. She knew she was hardly invincible, especially when it came to a sickness that seemed determined to take down everything in its path. The least she could do was avoid that seemed like the source of the sickness, though that was proving increasingly difficult as the darkness drew and strange crystals and mushrooms sprouted up everywhere. Sometimes it was hard to walk without finding something below your paws, and when you thought you were in the clear came those pesky fireflies, swarming around your head even when you tried to shoo them away. At least here the lands seemed.. barren enough to not support much of these strange growths. At least that was what Caelia hoped. She breathed a slow sigh as she continued on, one careful pawstep at a time as she trekked up one of the smaller of the hills and looked out across the lands, or at least what she could see in the steady darkness that threatened to consume everything.

His daughters death had pushed a rift between him and reality. Due to the sickness that plagued them he had lost what was most important to him. Joyful, intelligent, so full of life had Vipera been. When the mushrooms began to grow he had been arrogantly confident in his healing skills to help her. In the end it was her own spirit in the mist that had told him to continue on. However, to make the acid concoction that he so desired it would take forever. He trekked through the hills in dismay. Somber even as the lack of his emotions was clear. When he first spotted the wolf he had hesitated below in the hills. She was a good two wolf lengths from him, but in the dark it was hard for him to even make out such things. In his state he was unsure if he even wanted to interact with someone of his own species. As an individual with already social anxiety he knew isolation from a single wolf was a sign he was not doing well.

"Hello? Do you need any help." The young ancora male tilted his head. Green eyes searching curiously as his tail flicked at the tip. He looked tired but didnt they all. In these trying time and in his grief he also wasnt even sure if he would slip up or not.

The world had morphed into something strange, something Caelia barely recognized. At least these odd occurrences made her own growing self criticism seem suddenly quite pointless... it felt strange to be hard on herself with so much change going on. All she wanted to do was for things to go back to normal, even if it felt like she wasn't living up to her mother's expectations. The sound of another approaching seemed to jerk her out of her somber thoughts, and she spun around slowly and tried to make out their figure in the dim light. At least the light from the moon and the stars wasn't as stifled up on these hills, with no trees to obscure their pale light. "Ah... no, I'm fine. Just trying to find somewhere untouched by all of this..." She swept a paw around her. "Strangeness. I've never seen the world quite like this before. I'm Caelia, by the way," she explained softly. Though she wasn't generally a very social woman, not around wolves she didn't know well, she needed some company right now - no matter who it might be.

It was funny really. He wasnt all too social of a wolf either, not that he could tell what this wolfs habits were. He only knew of himself, pheonix wanted nothing more than to spill his sorrows but everyone had lost something or someone. He wasnt the only one to grieve. She introduced herself explaining that she had been trying to find a place away from all the chaos that had been enveloping the world around them. His mother? Perhaps she had passed in this wreckage as well. He hadnt heard from her in some seasons though he knew she was getting up there in years.

"I havent either." He responded to how she had said that she never experienced the world quiet like this. "I wasnt even born in boreas and its strange.... appalling." His ears twitched hopefully Pheonix didnt say anything offending. "Well Caelia Im pheonix." He smiled gently although he was far too good at pretending he was fine on the inside his heart hurt. No parent should outlive their pups and he had outlived both his son and daughter. Though Vipera had so much life ahead of her, potential as a poison master. He was thinking too much of what could have been. Carefully he closed the distance but kept a respectful space between them as he took a seat. "A gew days ago.... i buried my daughter because she grew too weak from the mushrooms. " if he sought company he might as well be honest. Besides he was happy to listen to her as well.

Caelia nodded slowly. A shiver crept up her spine- she was sure it wasn't only the cold causing it. "It's.... yeah. Something," Caelia breathed quietly. Appalling was one word for it, not one she'd use but if she was the least bit offended by it she made no sign of it. "It's nice to meet you, Pheonix. Have you been here long? Before all of this started?" He might have a different view of this place if he'd been here longer, but if he was new here... she couldn't blame him much for what he thought. Grief was something she had some experience with, but when he admitted he'd had to bury his daughter... she felt her chest clench with sympathy. She wasn't normally sympathetic, but she thought of her mother - and how she would've felt had she succumbed to such an illness. Losing a child was no doubt more painful. His assessment of this world made even more sense to her now. "I'm.. sorry to hear that. Truly." What more could be said besides that? She breathed a low sigh as she too settled down, glad they'd found a patch that seemed untainted by the strange crystals and mushrooms. "Do you think it'll just go away? Or things will just be like this forever?"

Pheonix hadnt meant to make things awkward, but he soon tried to get over that feeling. He gave her a somber smile. "I moved a few seasons ago. My mother Charm Ancora was born here. I came with my daughter. Next season wouldve been her first birthday." He shook his head. "Time will heal the wound. She wouldnt want me dwelling on her soul for too long." The gods would care for her he knew that much. Pheonix believed in new birth, while the circumstances of her death were horrible she was no longer sick. Caelia went on to ask if he thought it would last forever or go away on its own.

"Maybe when the sun rises, itll kill off the rest?" He tilted his head. "I managed to kill one of the plants with some acid i made but... such a thing takes time and ingredients to make." It wasnt as if he could douse all of boreas and auester in it. "Only time will tell but no one can lose hope." He hoped the wolves of these lands would continue as they always did. Like in the stories his mother told him. "What about you, what do you think?" Pheonix tilted his head while he looked at her.

Caelia

It comes for us all... but you are safe... for now.