Mortis woke with the deep seated knowledge that it was samhain, and they were coming for his mother. He could almost feel the icy tendrils of death sliding through the air. They were coming for her. To claim Zee as their own. He shot to his paws and raced blindly through the woods. The territory looked wrong to him. He was looking for the tall grasses of his childhood. Not these strange, twisted trees.


The boy raced on, raising his head and howling out for Zee. “Mum! Mum!” He called, frantic as the woods opened up to a mountain pass. He raced ahead, through the two mountains. To the strange, and unfamiliar world that opened up between them.


A wolf stepped into his path. A white wolf, with fatalis marks across their eyes. But a stranger to him. A wolf that would stand in his way while his mother was slaughtered. “Move, wolf!” He snarled, aiming to shove his shoulder into theirs. Calling all the while. “Mum!!”

Ollie was looking over the samples. Scratching his head to figure out how they were causing the sickness. None of the wolves were eating it, and they didn't have any dust particles to spread it. by breathing in... It had to be the nervous system, something was affecting their nerves and minds- A familiar howl split the sky. Dad? What was he howling about? It sounded panicked... oh no. He must be hallucinating badly!

He bolted out of the clinic, His paws pounding along the cavern corridor to peer outside, who was he calling?
Fuck! He crossed the woodland border! No! Ollie hit the ground running at breakneck speed and stopped before the towering winged form of his father.

"You have to go back!"Mum? But mum was gone! His mum? Zee?
"Dad!" He tried to call through the haze of his father's disease. But the dark form of his father couldn't see him and the way those teal eyes were bearing down threateningly and wildly into Oleander's made his stomach flip flop and sink.

"Move, wolf!” Suddenly his shoulder clashed with his father's but Ollie was so blown aback by it all that his father broke through easily.

Winded, and wild eye Ollie looked up as Mort continued his rampage, and urged his own white paws to move in his way again.
"Dad! Mort? Mortis!" He had to get his father back across the line in the woods. He can't contaminate the entire Col! Where was Hikaru?
Ollie shoved his chest against his father urging him back, "Someone help!" He called out.

"Speech"

Hikaru woke groggily as Mortis suddenly left his side and the den site in the middle of the night. He blinked open his eyes in confusion and hesitantly followed after the winged man he loved. They were supposed to be in quarantine here so he felt a bit worried as Mortis started heading straight for the border. Then his voice was in his ears, a howl seeking out his mother. Hika only had a vague understanding of what happened to Mort’s mother, but even so the realization that he was hallucinating took only a moment to sink in. Mortis was sick with the blight disease.

He rushed forward but not fast enough to prevent the confrontation between father and son. Mortis didn’t recognize the healer at all, so he doubted that he would recognize him. Still, between the two of them they should be able to calm him or at least bind Mortis so he didn’t get everyone in the Col sick.

The koi marked wolf rushed forward to stand in his way beside Oleander. "Mortis, please, stop. She’s not this way.” He tried to play in to the hallucination instead of trying to break him out of it. At least they could get him turned around he hoped.

"Speech"

Another wolf appeared, this one was as unfamiliar to him as the first. He bared his teeth at the both of them. Understanding them for what they were. Obstacles in his way. If they planned to keep him from his mother, he’d go through them. Just the thought of Zee sent a pang through him. Stress, worry, pain. He missed her, he missed her so much. But she was just up ahead, if he could get past these wolves, he’d find her.

The dotted stranger spoke, and Mortis turned to him, seeing him properly for a moment. Through still through a haze. Still seeing a past lost to him. This wolf looked… vaguely familiar. “Where, then?” He growled, not willing to trust them yet, but not willing to let go of any information he might have.


"Mortis""Hika"

His father's new... old? Past? Partner appeared and Ollie was filled with relief seeing the smaller but older male. Mortis still didn't recognize either of them but Hikaru seemed to have a better idea at handling this than Ollie did. He needed to think quicker on his feet, but he had to admit his mind had been growing sluggish.

"He's right! She only went into the woods for a little while. She'll be right back. Let Hikaru lead you back to the den, I'm sure she'll come to see you soon." Was he going to need to restrain his father? He could feel the heat radiate off him in waves, the fever was high.

"Ohh my, she'll be so worried about you being out of bed! You must not be feeling so well." Ollie suggested, glancing at Hikaru, hoping to get some kind of validation. Was this the way? Please let it work. "We can get you something nice to drink." He knew that sometimes when someone's fever was this high they felt chilled to the bone or felt themself hot to the touch. He didn't know if he would break the spell if he offered a hot or a cold drink. He can't think about how having contact with his father puts him at risk.

"Speech"

Hikaru barely knew what to do as Mortis succumbed to the terrible hallucinations. To the terrors of years past. Neither he or his son existed in the illusion he was currently living within. Somehow, Hika’s ill thought out words were enough to make Mort give pause. At the very least they could perhaps steer him back into the quarantine zone.

Oleander took Hika’s prompt and ran with it. He visibly winced at how much he leaned into it. Being vague might not be as convincing, but it was more believable. Hopefully he didn’t say anything irreversible and Mortis would forget what was said here. "Yes, lets gets you back into bed.” He mentioned after, that was the main goal. Get him back into the quarantine area and back into bed to hopefully forget all of the hallucinations here.

"Speech"