When she awoke that morning, Celeste thought it would be the same as any other day. Snuggled up along the backside of Kuroki's warm fur, she stretched out all four legs with a large yawn. Blinking her aquamarine eyes sleepily, the Mistress lifted her head to peer around the dimly lit room. As her senses came fully awake, something began to feel off. With a gentle lilt of her head and a squint of her eyes, she stood and gave Kuroki a nudge with one of her paws. Exiting the den and glancing down the hallway toward the communal room, everything was quiet. A few skitters of rodents caused an ear to flick sideways, but nothing else seemed out of sorts that would cause her to feel this sort of unsettled feeling. Picking up a slow pace, she made her way toward the communal room and had to pause as she entered. Normally, by this time of the morning, the room would be stuffy and warm. As she stood there, glancing around, she felt a chilly breeze washing over her face. Why all of a sudden was it not hot? Squinting, even more, Celeste made her way up and out of the tunnel that was their main entrance and nearly froze. A crisp wind tousled her fur as her eyes opened wide to see a changed landscape. Yesterday, they had been in the brunt of Summer with sweltering days and freezing nights. What she saw now was the feel of comfortable temperatures, brush the color of auburn, and flowers blooming bright valley colors that should not be blooming yet. Even the nearby palms that surrounded the oasis appeared a bit browner around the leaves than normal. "What the fuck?" She whispered under her breath as she continued to move around the oasis with a curious nose and confused expression. Lifting her chin slightly, Celeste called out to the rest of her small pack to investigate as well. Surely, someone knew what was going on? ooc. this is what I'm imagining the oasis to currently appear as during magical autumn. Attending the thread is not mandatory but encouraged!

Zoey wasn't the only wolf to notice a sudden change in the environment. The young woman had been sleeping peacefully in her den - for once, having had a sleep free of the horrendous nightmares that plagued her subconscious. No, this time it was peaceful, a soft placid array of colors filling her mind instead. Soothing, gentle. When she finally awoke to the rays of light poking through into her underground den, the russet girl squinted, rising and reaching for the goggles she always placed next to her bed of modest pelts she'd sewn together into a quilt. Goggles nestled onto her head, Zoey blinked and caught sight of the strangest colors outside the dens. Trotting through the tunnels and into the open desert, her eyes widened with the greatest childlike joy, a surprised but excited grin curling her lips.

She had yet to understand desert seasons and how the cacti bloomed, and when - but as a fast learner and Cel being a great teacher, she knew the spiky plants weren't supposed to be in bloom until much later into the season. It was a drastic change overnight, and the girl was half-convinced some creature used magic to create the array of autumnal colors that so vividly matched her own warm-colored pelt. Snapping away from the scene, feeling the cooler air tickle the fluff aeound her cheeks, she spotted the mistress as he called out to her pack to investigate. Zoey immediately ran over to the spotted woman, tail wagging up a storm behind her. She wasn't concerned, but should she be? The blooming cacti and various autumnal palettes seemed unexpected but so beautiful! She couldn't wait to study each and every cactus to see what could've caused this sudden event.

"Isn't this just beautiful, Miss Celeste?" She said, her tone higher and conveying an enthusiasm that was a relief to see and feel. She hadn't been this curious about the world in so long. Zoey tilted her head, marveling back at the scene in front of them - this fall magic that blessed their boiling oasis - and added, "I'll certainly study the plants to see how this occurred overnight, but it's so cool!"



Speech

She'd been off exploring, as... well, as pretty much always. The thoughts in her head weren't kind ones, directed most of all in her own direction. A self-imposed bad mood had washed over her lately, though maybe it was the fact they'd bounced from summer in Boreas to summer in Auster. The heat... she'd blame the heat. Hell, Cyanide would blame anything other than herself for her shitty mood and bad attitude. Dragged from a rocky, makeshift den a few miles from home by first light, she figured it was time to head home again. Home... yeah. Right. Something like that. As the morning stiffness wore off, Cyanide found herself settling into a longer stride. There was a strange chill in the air, one that seemed to get even crisper as she neared the border of the Oasis. Confused she stopped, sniffed at the air. How... weird. All of it was weird. Cy ran her tongue across her teeth before continuing on, her head tossing as she did. The wraith would welcome cooler weather, at least. Maybe a coldfront blowing in from the north? Too soon to tell. The colors that filled the world around her, though, those were... those were something else. More than a simple coldfront. Celeste's call from the heart of the packlands pushed Cyanide into a rolling, three-beat lope. It was a gait that would only slow once the alpha, and the yearling by her side, came into view. A walk, allowing her breath to catch. "The hell is going on here?" She shot a look to Celeste, drawing to her side. cyanide he said to be cool but i'm already coolest

It would not be long until Zoey raced over to her. Tail wagging and bright eyes all the more curious, Celeste couldn't help but smile at the child-like enthusiasm that always brightened her day. Still concerned about the drastic change, Celeste lifted her head to glance over Zoey quickly to make sure the youth wasn't harmed. She wasn't sure what to expect as she turned her eyes back toward the changing scenery around them. Appreciative of the cooler breeze that swirled over the surface of the Oasis, Celeste let out a quiet hum and a nod of her head. "Beautiful is one way to put it, but surely it has come earlier than expected," her expression scrunches as she takes a few steps toward the Oasis. Dipping a toe in, she pulls it back quickly when she notices how much cooler the water is than normal. Another hum vibrates in her throat as she gives Zoey one more glance. "Have you noticed anything else on your way over to me?" Celeste's question would be left hanging as the lope of another's approach catches her attention. Both ears flick forward as she lets her head tilt to the side. The ever-elusive Cyanide's barking question had a hesitant shrug lifting her shoulders. "Welcome home, Cy, did you notice anything else strange on your way back in?" She ignored Cy's question at first because she really didn't have an answer. "What you see is about all I know," Celeste says as she lifts a paw to sweep around the area in front of them. "Woke up and this is how it was," her lips purse as she shifts her gaze between Cy and Zoey. If they didn't know and she didn't know, then who would?

Zoey’s enthusiasm and curiosity of the sudden change in season was nkt unnoticed by Celeste. Her leader gave a nod and hummed in acknowledgement of her comments, glancing out to the strange yet colorful array of blooming cacti in front of them. A true desert autumn, it appeared. Zoey had never experienced anything like this. Or..had she? The faintest memories of her being born under the everlasting moon of the Long Night and its sudden changes as well threatened to tie a knot in her stomach, but she brushed it off. This was much different, and much prettier than those nasty crystals and mushrooms. No, this had to be a good sign. A wonderful sign!

Cel mentioned that it was beautiful, but it had come a bit earlier than expected. Zoey poked at a smaller sprouting of auburn and magenta cacti flowers in front of her, of course, being so easily distracted as she was. Watching as Cel dipped her toes into the cooler oasis water, Zoey tilted her head to digest the woman’s words, trying to take a closer look at her surroundings. ”Now that you mention it, it was a bit cooler this morning,” She said, the cogs in her head turning as she hummed in thought. ”Aside from the cacti, the air was a bit..biting, I suppose.” It had a nip to it, not at all like the hot, dry breezes that typically blew their way. As she thought about more strange sights she’d observed, she smiled at the other wolf who approached - a brooding dark she-wolf the girl had yet to meet. Cel asked her the same question, if she had seen anything odd as well. It seemed they all had the same experience then, right?

Speech

Welcome home, Cyanide tries not to bristle. Home, what a thought. What a concept. She tries to push it out of her head, though-- Celeste was doing her best. There was a bitterness in Cyanide that couldn't really be put aside, but she'd at least try. She was trying. She was doing her best, even if it wasn't quite good enough. The yearling spoke her piece, and the wraith's gaze tracked across what she could see of the Oasis. It was really something, this weird and unseasonable fall. How strange. The yearling spoke, and Cyanide tried her best to process it. Other than a distinct chill in the air, there was nothing really out of place. That seemed true, as well. Celeste's question draws her attention back, thinking about what she'd experienced this morning so far. "No, it's just around the reaches of the Oasis." She cocked her head to the side, thinking it over. "I spent the night in the Basin, nothing out of the ordinary there. The Sand River looked normal, it's just... just here." The wraith shrugs, unsure of exactly what to make of it all. cyanide he said to be cool but i'm already coolest