not being mom's favorite has perks, I guess

She'd been lucky...she'd been seeing many creatures infected with various things, from crystals and mushrooms to glowing ooze and other maladies. She didn't know how they got infected or if it was contagious, so any prey she managed to catch, she was careful to avoid eating any part that touched the crystals and mushrooms. It was hard though, and she had begun to lose some weight, so she'd been eating a steady diet of fish these days as they seemed to be the safer option. The woman had returned to the place of her birth in an effort to see how things had changed, and since she knew Ignis no longer controlled the lands, she was free to wander in them without repercussions.

she wasn't alone, however, as she spotted someone ahead of her who seemed to be inspecting a stream of mushrooms. The stranger's back was to her, and the mist did well to muffle scents and sounds, so she hadn't realized he was there until she was a couple of yards away. Fireflies flickered around them, trailing up into the sky as if beckoning her to look at the star-streaked blanket. "Strange, isn't it?"

"Speech"