Asmodeus' mind was unravelling more and more as the days went on. Things were just so confusing! First the Nightingale sign, then his blessing of crystalline quills, then he and his family fell into sickness. Was it somehow his fault, for requesting the blessing from Abraxas? Or was it Riva's, for not believing in the God in the first place? The overwhelming paranoia meant that Deus spent each and every night sleeping outside her den, his two puppies flanking him on either side (though, more often then not they napped rather then guarded with their owner.) Riva was spending time with Pyrrhic tonight, so Deus could - for the first time in what felt like forever - seek out someone else for company. Anyone would do, but his sights were set upon an abraxas believer who he could ask advice from regarding how his mother fit into the current permanently-darkened world. "Speech"

Proserpina Her nights had been restless ever since she had seen that vision. Her belly had steadily grown bigger as well, but that wasn't the only thing. Mushrooms had grown on her body, weighing her down and sticking out like a sore thumb. They were larger than she ever thought a mushroom could grow, and in their wake, she had begun to feel quite sick. She felt weak and often out of breath, though she was sure it had to do with the weight of the mushrooms and the spores they were producing. She was hungry, and for some reason she was craving carrion...or something already decaying...the thought of it made her want to vomit, but she wasn't sure how else to satisfy this strange craving. She wasn't sure what to do, so she began to head out towards the borders, but on her way spotted Asmodeus. She hadn't had a proper or formal meeting with the boy yet, though perhaps that was more common than she thought. She was extremely embarrassed about the way she looked right now, but there was no avoiding the fact that she was likely to run into someone else and she didn't like the idea of confining herself to her den. She was hungry, after all. Starving even, and her path just so happened to cross with his. Still, how would she approach him? What would he think about her with all the mushrooms growing from her body, her ears, her eye, and the ooze that spilled from them? She felt like shit, and so she opted to try to keep out of sight by attempting to go around him, and hopefully, stay out of his sight.

Asmodeus caught sight of his 'cousin' sneaking around him, trying to remain undetected. Had he not been sick, Deus might have taken it to mean she wasn't in the mood for talking and left it be, but Deus' paranoia and fears drove him forward to chase her down, calling out after her. "Ina! Wait up!" The Abraxas youth called, trotting over to her and coughing softly as some ooze spilled down his sinuses. "Mushrooms?" So far Deus had only seen wolves sick like him and his mother, none that grew fungus from their ears. "Is this another of Abraxas' touch, I wonder." He frowned sympathetically at her and sighed. "How did you catch your sickness?" Perhaps Ina had merely ate too many mushrooms and somehow seeded herself with them - that would explain her bulging belly - and that it wasn't Riva's fault at all this time. "Speech"

Proserpina "Ina! Wait up!" She froze in her tracks when she heard him call. A defeated sigh slipped past her lips, followed shortly by a heavy cough. Her ears tried to flatten a bit at the word "mushrooms", but she couldn't quite get the action done when her ears were quite literally, filled with mushrooms. "Is this another of Abraxas' touch, I wonder." She wanted to assume it was. Assume that what she'd seen was something the Abraxas god had shown her the day she had ended up going batshit crazy for a little bit. She looked at the ground, the normally proud Abraxas woman looking pitiful as she struggled to answer. When he asked her how she caught her sickness, she looked at him through ooze streaming eyes. "I went to a pirate party and drank a mushroom brew that the pirate king, Sparrow, made...I wasn't the only one that drank the brews...so I don't know if anyone else got sick from them, but I imagine that had something to do with...this..." She swallowed, heart hammering as she thought about the aftermath since that night. It still hadn't occurred to her that she was pregnant, and she wanted to desperately believe that the vision she'd seen was just a nightmare, and not something actually a part of her future. "You're not as sick, which is good...at least our God hasn't forsaken you," She said softly. Unlike me...

Deus listened as she explained her sickness and that she had caught it at some pirate party, drinking foreign alcohols made out of mushrooms. That was odd, it didn't sound Abraxas-related at all. She continued to explain that because he seemed healthier, Abraxas must not have forsaken him. Deus turned his blistered body away from her and with one paw pointed to the crystaline quills that ran along his back. "Abraxas blessed me with these, just before all this started. Before everyone got sick." He explained. The paranoia within him began to grow and he began to pace in small circles as he spoke. "We saw a messenger, a ghost canine right before I was blessed. Mother yelled at it, and now she's going crazy." Deus sighed heavily, a bubble of ooze popping in his nostrils as he did so. "I worry she brought this upon us." "Speech"

Asmodeus

You begin to ooze so much that it feels like your life force is draining from you. Your legs become weak and you find yourself unable to stand.



You gain:

• Crystals (5x)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  

Proserpina "Abraxas blessed me with these, just before all this started. Before everyone got sick." She peered through the mushrooms and ooze she was afflicted with, noticing for the first time that he had crystalline quills along his back. She couldn't say she was jealous, though she wished Abraxas had blessed her instead of cursing her...despite having drunk the mushroom brew, she felt that what was happening to her was her punishment for straying and indulging in something she normally wouldn't have...for sleeping with a stranger...for even questioning her faith. And now? She couldn't get the vision out of her head. Her body was heavy with both mushrooms and pups, but she was unaware of her pregnant status. She assumed it was all part of the mushroom sickness... Her cousin began to pace in small circles, and she watched him tiredly as she tried to wrap her head around things. "We saw a messenger, a g̵͌̈́ĥ̵̑ơ̷͒s̷͋̕t̷͌́ canine right before I was blessed. Mother yelled at it, and now she's going crazy." Her ears perked painfully as she listened, head tilting slightly as he continued. "I worry she brought this upon us." Her eyes narrowed slightly. Had Riva angered the Fallen God in such a way that he saw it fit to punish some of them for not keeping her in line? Had she insulted him so bad that the Fallen God blamed them for allowing a mortal into their fold? A mortal that dared question and insult him? Yes...that had to be the only explanation there was...why else would he curse some of his most loyal and devout followers? All her life she had committed to him, and now she was cursed because of Riva! Her lip lifted in a quiet snarl, the ooze on her teeth dripping to the ground. "I believe your mother is to blame. I'm sorry, Asmodeus. But there is no other explanation...she is a mortal compared to us. She is not of our blood...Pyrrhic chose someone clearly unworthy, and now the Fallen God punishes us for our neglect and oversight. We allowed a non-believer to insult our God...and now we pay the price!" She hissed. She had never really had conversations with Riva...her misgivings about the woman deterred her, and evidently, her misgivings had been right about the woman. And mortals in general. If her vision came true...then she believed wholeheartedly that Riva would be the one to blame for it.

Proserpina

You begin to cough so hard you can't breathe. You become dizzy to the point of needing to lean on something to stay upright.



You gain:

• Mushrooms (7x)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...