Light up the world

"Okay, Auntie Ara!" Saracyn replied with a flash of wickedly sharp puppy teeth. Then, in a bolt of crimson lightning, the newest Mendacium took off after the fireflies once more. He couldn't care less about what the adults were talking about when there were these weird fireflies to catch—and dammit, he would catch one! But just as the bugs had continued to do from the first night he and Ava had seen them, the little bugs were proving hard to pin down. Every time he would lunge for one, certain of his victory, it would just disappear as if it had never existed. The others would then buzz around his head, bounding off his nose like they were booping his snout, and then the game would repeat. While it might have been frustrating for some, for Saracyn it was just another opportunity to run down the bugs. And who didn't love running down their prey?

All the running around and leaping and chasing was quickly burning down the young pup's stamina, however. His lunges began to slowly wane in strength, and his breathing had become a heavy panting. Somehow, the fireflies never seemed to tire. In fact, more and more of them just seemed to show up as twilight moved on toward dusk. Thankfully they were right beside the large lake on the island, so with a final playful huff at the swarm of fireflies, Saracyn wobbled his way over to the edge of the water on tired legs. He dipped his muzzle down to the water, getting a good, long drink to slake his thirst and cool himself down. Partway through his drink, Sara opened his eyes and spotted something in his reflection looming right behind him.

Saracyn gasped and spun around to face—nothing. There was nothing behind him except open space. Tiny brows furrowing in confusion, Sara looked up at the fireflies circling around him in much the same way they had that first night. Turning back to the water to finish his drink, Sara froze when he saw the thing behind him once more, existing in the space between him and the strange fireflies. It looked like a tall creature made of shadow wearing a tattered robe. Its piercing yellow eyes glowed back at Saracyn, as if it was staring at him straight through the surface of the water. Sara turned to look behind him again, once more seeing nothing.

Cocking his head in bewilderment, Sara flopped back onto his haunches, looking back into the water and leaning in a little closer. The figure was still there, just staring at him. The marking on his face began to glow brighter still while the two held each other's gazes through the thin barrier of water. Ever curious and oblivious to any danger, Saracyn raised a slow paw and brought it down toward the water, tapping the creature in his reflection and watching as the ripples distorted its imagine. Yet still it remained, ever present behind him, watching him, and yet not there at the same time. "Moooom!" Saracyn called out while staring at the water like he was hypnotized, "There's something in the water."

"Saracyn Mendacium"