Tyrian was unwell. The ache from the crystals that nearly covered his forehead like a horned helmet had settled deep into his bones and he couldn't help but wonder if it meant they were growing downwards as well as up. It was a nagging feeling he couldn't shake and no amount of natural stoicism could have settled his nerves entirely. Still, as alpha of Fireside he carried on. At home he didn't allow a trace of his misgivings to surface. For the good of his people he remained calm and steadfast. There were times, however, such as this one, where he needed a break. After telling Valentine where he was going so someone would know, Tyrian had slipped out of the pack. Crossing the border had been like taking off too-tight armor. He'd felt such a sense of relief it almost made him feel guilty. He paused to rub gently at the small column of crystal over his right eye. It had taken to throbbing suddenly and while he knew touching it would do no good resisting the urge to was like trying not to scratch an itch. Tyrian simply had to do it. He rubbed at the spot gingerly and felt a wetness spread across his toes. Without even looking he knew what had happened. The ooze. The blasted ooze. It had started up again. Fuck. ""

Laith prowled his way through the forest, lips pulled back in a sneer at the damp feeling between his toes as he walked. It was gross, and only partially wet, and somehow reminded him of that one time he accidentally stepped in bird shit and was unable to get rid of it until he found a pond to wash his paws off in. He found it to be quite disgusting, and frankly wanted out of the forest as soon as possible. So lost in his own mind, he did not notice he was alone until he just about walked right into something, and scrambled back with a soft hiss of surprise. The sound faltered in his throat at the sight of a ridiculously large and heavyset wolf, but what really got to him was the crystalline formation on the other's face, and what seemed to be some form of ooze on him. He huffed, ears twisting back as a look of revolt crossed his face, not wanting to get too close in case whatever the other male had was contagious. "What the fuck is on your face?"

The throbbing was really taking center stage now. It felt like a headache drilling in from the outside. Oddly enough it was only coming from one column and not the other. Not that he would complain about the asymmetry. One aching crystal horn he could handle but two? Tyrian hated to bother his equally oozy brother but he'd be awfully tempted to beg him for a concoction if it came to that. "What the fuck is on your face?" Tyrian peeked out from under his paw which was now pressed to his forehead in an effort to shoo the headache away. A little guy, some loner he'd never seen before, was staring up at him as though he'd sprouted hor- oh. Okay yeah fair enough. "Eyes, nose, ears - you know, the works," he snarked back coldly. "I ain't a charity - if you need help with your colors too ask someone else." The world was rife with sick creatures and not even living under a rock would spare you from an encounter with the Ooze which meant this guy was just a dick. ""

If he hadn't been so grossed out and perturbed by the strange growth and icky stuff on the other wolf's face, he might have enjoyed the snarky response he received. But this time he was more interested in figuring out what it was so he could know if he should stay the hell away from anyone else who may have it. "I wasn't talking about your normal facial features you dumbass," he said with a loud scoff and a sneer, knowing that what he was talking about was obvious, and that he was just being toyed with. Didn't make him any less inclined to be a dick about it, though. "You've got like, rocks or whatever growing out of your face, and it looks like it's leaking some weird shit." Laith pulled a disgusted face, resisting the urge to feign dry heaving to really get his point across that, whatever it was, was super gross. While he did not care much about his appearance, it was wildly different to look like a monster a parent would scare their child with to make them behave, and if there was any chance of catching it he was out. "If it's contagious you better stay the fuck away from me man."

Though he'd just been insulted Tyrian's first reaction wasn't to get angry. How could it be? The man threw back such a lame attempt at a retort it lacked bite and could only be taken seriously as comedy. The corners of Tyrian's mouth quirked up in a mean-spirited smirk and he chuckled, clearly amused at the stranger's words. Well, the fella had tried. He'd give him a mark for effort even if he couldn't give him anything else. The stranger then went on to describe his face as thought Tyrian was oblivious to his current state. Having fun with the man now, Tyrian feigned shock and gingerly touched a paw to the crystals as though feeling them for a first time...even though he'd literally just had that same paw pressed to his forehead seconds ago. All ham now, he gasped, "There's what on my face?" He bolted for the man suddenly, pretending to be panicked. "Get it off me! Get it off me!" Would he actually touch him if given the chance? Even Tyrian hadn't decided, but the stranger was a dick and if he got infected, well, Tyrian wouldn't lose sleep over it. ""

The other wolf seemed... amused? In any other situation Laith may have been a little dumbfounded that the recipient of his taunting remarks was not getting annoyed or angry at him, but he was a bit preoccupied at the moment. And then this wolf had the fucking audacity to proclaim innocence at the stuff growing out of his maw, which ruffled Laith's fur the wrong way in a big way. He bared his teeth in a silent snarl, ready to hurl back a barrage of insults and profanities, but before he could get anything out the beast of a wolf was suddenly running at him and yelling. A yelp escaped from his maw like something had just stepped on his tail, and he scrabbled backwards frantically to try and get out of the way lest he be squished, or god forbid touched. His paws slipped on the moist forest floor and sent him sprawling onto his back, but he did not curl up like a coward trying to hide. No, he was all flailing legs and snapping jaws, a raucous set of snarls giving the other wolf a neon warning sign not to come any closer. "Fuck off or I'll bite you, asshole!"

F̷̢̢̢̨̨̢̛̛̬̜̩̹͇̝̗̪̜͙͕̝̫̟̥͖̯̱̰̹̗̺̜͈̰͚͎̜̘̩̠̱̱͈̜̭̀̍̇̋͊̉̂̈̑̓̉̄̈́͗̑͗̓̽͋̾̍͛͗͛̏̐̑͐̒̔͋̕͘͘͜͝͠͠͝͠͝ͅͅÍ̷̡̢̞̘͖͙̮̺̝̼͉͈̼̣͕̲̜̤̦̦͚̗̃̊̕͝ͅR̵̨̨̳̭͚̻̱̥̮͓̫̤̺̱͕̹͚̲͕̼̙̯̟̻̠̖͙̘̦̀́̊̒͑͊͋̏́͑̈́̔̌̈́̒́̂̑̃̅͗̅̄͆̍͆̃̓̾̀̾̒̎̾̓̿̅̏͊̕̕͝ͅȨ̸̡̛̤̬͇͍̬̗̙̠͔̓̅̄͊̀̃͐͐̄̏̈̍͗̓̋̏̀̈́̉̐͊́̄̅͘͠F̸̡̡̢̣͔͎̭̳̱̙͖͍̣̳̣͓̰̠̳̜̲̣̠̖̖͉̘̗͙̖̼̜̖̞͙͇̲̫̺̻͙̥͈̬̤̬̩͒ͅͅĻ̸̳̟̘̫̺͓̺̊̋͑̈́͊̇̽̏̒̔̉̊̽̇̉̔̑̉̔͋̈́̈́̃̐̽͘͝͝͝Y̵̡̡̛̛̦͙̬͙̮̘̺̗͕̜̜͙̟͍̺͙̖̫͕̩̆͊̊̈́͛͛̈́̌͊̀̾̿̄̅̏̿̽̑̌͂̇̋̎̐́̑̈́͂͊͒̏̕̚͘͜͝ͅ ̷̨̢̢̢̨̛̣͓̭̘̯̜̗͔͇̜̟͕͙̬̘͖̠̫̫͚̩̠̬̠͍̦̰̯̈́̂̄̂̐̆̀̅́͘͘͜S̷̡̧̡̛̬͕̫̮͖̹̣̖͓̥̹͓̹̹͉̩̠̩̻̠̝͕͐͐̈͒́̈́̄̿́͊̉͊͐̈̆͒̈́̈́̍͊̊́̾̾̄̕̕̚͠ͅͅḨ̵̪͍͓͍̓̎̽͐̐̇͊̈́̊̐̓̎̄̔̋͐̔̏̽͐̿̑̏̏̅͐̆͂̂͒͆̒̄̉̏̈́͌̒̉̎̆͘̕͝͝Ŏ̵̢̧̢̗̬̰̣̹̘̰̥̗̥̦̫̙͈̞̣̘̞̯̟̱̖̀̏͝ͅͅP̵̨͚̟͚͇͎̣̝̞̈́P̶̨̛̛̘̣͍͎̱̙̲͚͚̼̟̈̀̍͆̍̎́͐̈́͐̐̓̆͂̃́̋̍͆͠E̵̢̨̧͍͕͖͍̰̹̦͕̼̺̤̙͉̫̝̠͇̯͙̬̩͉̱͍̔̓̉͋́́̆͐̇̈́̔́̂̓̄͋̈͗͘͝ - Tyrian

You feel an uncontrollable hunger...

You gain:

• Crystals (2x) - Used in Firefly Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  

You blink, and you're face to face with a figure who seems as if it's clipping through d̴̰͚͖̮͙̥̥̙̥̬̬̼̙̟̤͖̘̺̩͓̙̣͙͇̤͓̰͕̺͉̳̰̰̺̠̠̟͓̘̭̘̿̈́͛̈́̇̈͗́́͂͌̓̈͛́̀̿̽̓̈́̈͘͜͝͝į̸̡͔̖͈͕͙̺͈̺͔͇͍̭͖̖̟̙͚̠̯̻̘̼̙͇̮̬̳̹̼̣̻͖͉̪̾̀̆̔̉̽͋̄̇̄͂̈́ͅͅm̶̧̢̱̯̲̻̳̞̦͚͖͎̼̹͙̩̹̟͕̥͉̤̭̠͔͎̜̪̲͈̰̼͙̟̱̺̯̼̐̿͛͑͛̅̍́̇̔̎̀̾̉̒͋̾̒̿͛̀̕͠͠͝è̸̢̡̧̥͓̩͉͉̙̺̫̦͍̮̤͙̩̭̹̬̰̭̮̫̹͉̦͔̘͛̈́̍̓̒͌͊͌̌̍̽̓̏̎͘̚͜͝n̴̢̧̝͕͇͚͉̩̱̫̭͇̬̹͎̈ͅś̷̨̨̡̖̩͚̖̱͇͇͔̪̺͎̮̤̻̹̯͔̺̰̯͉͔̼̗̙͈̯͙̮̳̤̹̳̹̝̝̦̻̃̇̌́͒̊̓͋̌̍̐̕͜͝͝ͅi̸̧̧̨̧̭̳̦̲̣̜̼̙̅͛̓͊͆͌̔̿̋͆̑̍̏̔̏̓̌̕̕̕̕͠͝o̴̧̢̦̗̘͔͕̮̼̣̬̥̠̱͚̱̣̩̭̟̺̲̠͕̹͓̲̜̙̝͇͓̩͚̦̿̇̽ņ̶̧̢̢̛̥̣͎̦̬̫͍̪̣̣̦̜̹̝͖͚̟͕̮̫̣͉̗̘̼͎͕͈͉̇͂̊̒̅͛̄̄̅́͂̍͌̌̀̀͂̎̍̆̉̈́̐͋͂̍̈́̽̌̽͘̕͘͘͘͜͜͠ͅs̸̢̧͚̖̟̞̲̥͔̣̼̰̥͔̲̟̮̟̹̠̱̩̬̹͉̯͇̣̭̦̪̱̣͉̭̖͖͚͊̃͋̐͑͌͋̊̕͝ͅ. In front of him, a small wooden stand, which thankfully looks firmly placed in your dimension. On the table lay three items, with their prices beside them. "Choose if you ḑ̴̛̠̲̰̪͎̮̻͕̝̻͉͇̳̙̗̬̤̖̙͚̰̲̑̆̎͆̉̉̈́̍̂̑͂̽͐̽̔͌̈̈́̓̒̂̅͘͘͜ͅą̵̪͙̦̖̮̮͈͖͇̭̗͈̖̫̲̗̜͍̀̾̾̎͂̈́̓͗̎̎̿͋͛̒̑̅̐́̔́̓̕̚͠ͅŗ̵̧̧̛͉̝̰͉̖̯̘̜͉͍̥̟̖̫̤̪͖̬͇͖͓̪̩̫̊̍͂̄͘͜ę̴̡̢̧̢̳̲̹̬̻̫̦̣̣̠̳̼͍͇̜̓͌́̚͜͝, and if you can a̵̘̜͇̱̽̌̇̅̐̏͗̑̂̽̊͆̏̒͝f̵̨̨̜̭̬̠̞̫̮̲̺̼̝̻̟͖̯̼͚͕̻̤̤͉͉̯̈́̾̈́͐͝f̷̟͓͖͔͕͎̥̖̝̞͈͆́̏̀͐̌̈̀̓̎͒̾̃̊̏͛̍͗͜ơ̷̡͓͙͓͚͙̪̖̻̣̞̹̻̻͇̫͓̟̹̔͌̑̈́͛̀̀̀̑̚͝r̷̢͈̝̝̲̼̦̺̜͔̲̳̀̈́ḑ̵̣̜̤̲̹̠͖̪͖͔̗̫̮͎̼̯͎͕̫̭̣͈̥̏ͅit," the figure says. You can't bring yourself to look away without some effort. You are keenly aware of his gaze. He does not seem like he's in the negotiating mood...


Į̴̧̘̹͙̘̲̤͖̔́͑͌̅̾̊͐̍͋̀̓̅̉̇̑̍͠͠ń̶̯͉̫̤̳͚̣̖̳̯͍̤͓̟͉̥̩̀͋̌ͅv̵̡̧̳̠̬̰̺͔̖̠̳̥͉͉̜͕̗͕̋̈͘ͅę̸̧̢̢̯̠̜̟̘̺̳̟̃̑͌̀̉̓͋͊̃̍̑̂̐̇̓̌͆̈́́͗̓͘͠n̵̡͙̲̞̰̭͖̠̮̺͊̉̑́͒̓͌̈́͐̅̚͝ţ̶̢̛̠̮̼͙͙̗̣̘͇̘͓͈͈̱̮̩̲̩̱̠͎͌̽̈́̒̍̎̀̋͗̇̔͊̇̀̀̋̈́͋̉́͌͜͝͠ơ̸̢̨̨̱̟̹̘̩̤̠͈͕̠̪̥̥̙̓͋̎͛̌͐̓̈́̐̌̂͂͑̋͘̚͜͝͠ȑ̴̠̬̫̻̠̘͔͖̦̰̩̖͎̜̞͉̘̭̙̮̰̹̙͔̳̬̱̆̎̍̿̌̇́̍̒͆͗̀͒͐͋̄̓͆́̕͘͠͝y̴̧͎̟̦̘̝̠̣̮̻̥̰͆͆͋͐͂̈́͊͛̈͋͆̊̇̄̾̈́̔̓̽͂̋̽̚͘:

• Crystal Bath Bomb- 2 /
  It looks like a bunch of crystals, glitter, and plants rolled into some mud. The seller assures you it’s good for styling your coat texture exactly how you’ve always wanted it.
  
• Racing Shoes- 1 /
  Some nice kicks that make you feel like you can just do it!
  
• Xtra shrink potion- 2 /
  It comes in an extra tiny bottle. There’s barely even one drop!
  

Laithe

You feel a shiver run down your spine.



You gain:

• Crystals (2x)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  

Though he was practically giddy now Tyrian did his best to keep his feelings off his face as he sought to loom over the now prone dickish stranger. This was simply too good, too delicious, to ruin with an untamed snigger. Honestly it was exactly the sort of pick-me-up he needed. How long had it been since he'd had this much fun? Since before the moon had become a permanent fixture in the sky, certainly. As the stranger flailed at him Tyrian made half-hearted attempts to break through his defenses with reaching paws. All the while, in a small, strangled voice as he tried to keep it in check, Tyrian murmured, "Help, help, help..." His claws were sheathed for now as he poked, but that was subject to change if he got bitten and this stopped being entertaining. Though it broke character, Tyrian couldn't resist pointing out the obvious: "If you bite me you'll catch it." He lit up as though thinking of a grand idea and then added saucily, "Then you'll have crystal horns too. Now doesn't that sound like fun?" ""

Laith was like a rabid animal, snapping his jaws dangerously close every time the brute tried to poke at him with a paw, feeling more and more pissed off with every passing second. How dare he be treated in this way, as if he was a squeaky toy for a pup that had no manners. It was downright infuriating. He could not hear the murmured words over the sound of his own teeth clashing together and the snarls that erupted from his maw, but he could tell this wolf was enjoying himself way too fucking much. He managed to hear enough of what the wolf tauntingly said next, and swiftly clamped his jaws shut in response, glaring with all his might up at the towering frame of the stranger. Well fuck, this asshole wasn't wrong, but his mouth was his only proper defensive and offensive weapon. How was he supposed to protect himself from this beast now? "No it fucking doesn't!" He said petulantly through clenched jaws, all four legs at the ready to start kicking and scratching should the other wolf start advancing on him again. "Just back off and I'll go, you won't have to see me again." Normally he wasn't so cowardly and would have gladly scuffled with this brute, but the thought of getting infected with those weird crystals was enough to send him running in the opposite direction.

Tyrian casually reached up to scratch the base of one of his 'horns' while Laith spoke and oop oh dear, did some loose bits of crystal possibly rain down on his victim? Whoopsie. It would be quite the shame if those little flakes landed on him, now wouldn't it? He leaned back and made a show of considering what the man had said, even going so far as to lift a paw to his chin and stroke at it thoughtfully. "I suppose I could do that, eh? It would be nice not to see your ugly mug again, but, oh, there is the matter of your insult, isn't there?" Tyrian peeked down at Laith with glittering, mischievous eyes. He would let the man up, sure. Eventually. But first if he got his way some atonement was necessary. Just a little. A smidgen of atonement, if you will. "I suppose, if you apologize nicely, I could be persuaded to let you go." He tipped his head to the side, feigning seriousness. "Of course if you don't, well then, I guess I'll just have to smear this stuff all over you to make us even, won't I?" ""

He watched as the stranger scratched at the crystals, doing his best to wiggle out of the way of any falling pieces. Laith had no idea how contagious it was, or how it was even passed on, but he wasn't taking any fucking chances. A scowl appeared on his face at the words the other wolf spoke, but he offered up no extra insults, not wanting to antagonise too much given the fact that he was currently laying on his back. Laith's scowl turned into a sneer. Apologise? And nicely at that? Absolutely fucking not! He had nothing to apologise for either, as he'd simply just commented on the strange growths on the strangers face. In his mind the other wolf should be apologising to him for forcing him into such a vulnerable position. "What insult? I'm not gonna apologise for speaking my mind," he spat out indignantly. It was likely this wolf was telling the truth in that he would try and rub the crystals over him, but first Laith would need to be caught, and he figured if he was sly and quick enough he could scramble to his paws and make a mad dash far far away. His frame was much smaller, and no doubt he was faster than this lumbering beast. His ears pulled back against his skull as he bared his teeth in a silent snarl, disliking this other wolf more and more with each passing second. "Don't even fucking try it, there's nothing to get even over. Go find some other poor bastard to infect."