“Mmm, like a cloud” he muttered, eyes still closed. It was another few moments before he realised first that she had spoken, and then that he had replied. With a groan he opened his eyes, yawning wide enough to split his muzzle, and shaking out his head. “Oh, Hey Mal” He said, getting to his feet, and shaking snow from his pelt. If it wasn’t for the thick coat of his feathers against his skin, he would probably be a lot more stiff now then he was. Shivering just a little, he looked up to the brightened sky, and frowned. “I was going to head back… to that clearing. Did you want to come?” he’d intended to do that earlier in the morning, but sleep had overtaken him. He didn’t actually remember passing out in front of her den. "Mortis"

She was amused when he likened sleeping in the snow to sleeping on a cloud. She wasn't so sure. After a while, the ice melted with your body heat, and the only difference between the snow and lying on the ground outright was that you were a lot colder. It did remind her of those impromptu snow dens, though. Maybe later in the winter, if there were big enough snowdrifts, she could make a den within the snow and ice.

Mal stepped back when Mortis pulled himself to his feet. His question gave her pause. She wasn't... frightened, exactly. It just seemed that their adventure had ended yesterday, but... "Yeah, let's do it." She shrugged, grinning lazily as she began to make her way towards the long grass again. A kind of giddy excitement took over, the daylight emboldening.

The girl had to admit she was a little curious about the spot. She'd never encountered it for herself, and though she doubted it... maybe there was something left behind? A clue to their mysterious night?

"Speech"

It was easier to walk the path in the light of day. The grasses were familiar, the only home he had ever known. Nothing ominous, or wrong, about their gentle waving. They were simply… the plains, as they had always been. He couldn’t forget the night however and bolstered by the day only made him more determined. A part of him suspected his sibling had been playing a prank on him. He just didn’t know how. It wasn’t too long of a walk, but there was some back and forth trying to find the same spot. Everything had looked different in the night time. Where had it been? He wearied the spot had never even existed, before he walked right into it. Ground giving way to dirt and sand, and there they were. He froze, unwilling to contaminate the scene with his steps. He leaned forward, sniffing, and examining with his eyes. “See anything?” he asked his friend in a hushed whisper. "Mortis"

The parted the grasses and began their search. Mal skimmed the ground for their own trails from last night, finding them easily... but, aside from Mort's companions, nothing else seemed to cross the earth before them. Hmm. That was strange, but no stranger than last night, she supposed. In the day it seemed less ominous, and more of a curious anomaly.

It took some time before they came across the patch of earth and sand. They stood before it, her tail twitching behind her as she eyed the scene of the crime. Where she'd passed through a ghost, supposedly. A shiver rippled up her spine, but the tease of the wind across the grasses was normal. Natural. Like any other day. The contrast was -- well -- night and day, just how different everything looked, and felt, with the sunlight touching everything.

She raised her eyebrows at Mort, and stepped carefully out into the clearing. Then, looking around, she suddenly plopped to the earth, sending up a cloud of dust. "Yeah...." She craned her neck to look at Mort, green eyes slitted and glinting with mischief. "I don't see anything here." With a playful swipe of her paw, she sent a flurry of dust Mort's way.

"Speech"

He was irritated by his inability to find a logical answer. He had seen the moment Malalia had ‘tackled’ the wolf. When she had moved right through the place it had been standing, only for it to disappear. He had seen the form of it whisper at the edges and turn to mist in a quick puff. An illusion it had to be. He almost startled when she collapsed into the earth, sending up a pile of dust. He jumped forward, hitting a similar spot, and watching the dust rise. Watching it fall. Searching for… anything that could indicate what they had seen had been orchestrated. As the last of the dust fell, he realised this wouldn’t have accounted for the form, or the way it had dissipated. He sneezed at the dust she kicked at him, and he eyed her for a moment, before jumping forward, and landing hard on his belly beside her, sending up a flurry of dust around the both of them, “Nothing” he said in frustration, as he watched this new dust settle. “There's nothing ” "Mortis"

She chuckled amicably as Mortis landed next to her, but as her gaze swiveled around, taking in the whispers of the long grass, the bare earth around them, her laughter died down. She rose to her feet, and let her muzzle hover above the ground as she walked. Malalia took a long couple of minutes to sniff around, to triple-check what she and Mortis already knew. No prints. No whiff of a scent. No stray tuft of fur. Nothing was there to prove that the night they'd had, had really happened.

A shudder rippled up her spine, bristles lighting up like hedgehog needles along her back. The wind blew, and the grass undulated like the ocean, almost mocking in their tranquility. This was beginning to sound like a ghost story all on its own.

"Do you think..." She swallowed, and swung around to face Mortis, her tail twitching. "Do you think maybe... we hallucinated, or something?" Her own instinct was to say no. She'd felt the energy in her veins when she'd passed through the specter. She knew there'd been a presence there.

But she had to ask. It was just hard to know that what they'd seen was real, when the earth itself held no telltale clues. Hell, if they came to anyone else with this story, they'd think they were lying, or at least bonkers.

"Speech"

The winged boy frowned, watching Mal as she moved about the scene once more. He knew she was just as troubled as he was about what they had seen. Both of them wanted to find a reasonable answer. They had told each other ghost stories, and woken up to one in their midst? It didn’t seem believable. He glanced up from the dirt and back to her, hardly having realised his gaze had drifted in the first place. His frown was still in place, and she shook his head. “Hallucinated on what? And would we both have seen exactly the same thing?” he pointed out. He was sure their ‘visions’ had been aligned. They have both looked in the same spots, and reacted to the same things. They had both heard the voice, and watched in the figure vanish. “Azure believes ghosts exist. Maybe he saw something, too, and I just laughed it off.” he had thought Azure silly, or making it up. Served Mortis right, for laughing at his brother, and then this happening. "Mortis"

She shrugged. "I dunno.... something in the mud? The water?" That'd be about the only thing they'd both had contact with that night. Even as she said it, though, her tone was disbelieving. "And there are stories of people experiencing the same visions," she countered, with a flick of her ears. "Mass visions, group hysteria. Maybe it doesn't quite fit, but... I dunno. That sounds more plausible than nothing."

Maybe she was trying too hard to put logic into it. Maybe it was just unexplainable. Or maybe ghosts were real, as Mortis would suggest. "Maybe," she conceded finally, walking back around to plop down beside the winged boy. She pawed at the dust, using a blunt claw to draw swirls around the dirt, as she let her mind wander. There was a part of her that hoped they weren't real. Was there even a kind of heaven, for the spirit they'd seen? Was there a better option for her? She didn't know much about ghosts or the various religions that governed them. Still... what an awful thing it must have been, to be condemned to walk the earth alone.


"Speech"

That was intriguing, he had never heard of mass hallucinations before. He wondered what could cause everyone to see the same thing? No one's mind worked on the same frequency. They had both been up close and personal with the mud lately, and the river water. But still, he frowned. “Here’s a creepy thought - what if the mass hallucinations are just the answer people come up with to explain something they can’t believe?” like what he and Mal had seen. He shuddered at the thought. He watched her draw in the mud, mesmerized by the swirling patterns she idly sketched. “We should re-create the situations, and see if it appears before. For experimentation” he couldn’t let this go easily. Either he had seen a ghost in which case he needed to know more. Or someone had tricked him, and he would figure out who "Mortis"

She cocked her head slightly in answer. That was an interesting theory. Would a whole group of people really deny their senses, if what they saw didn't fit neatly into their reality? She supposed it could be true, in some cases. Some people clung desperately to what they believed to be true. It was definitely a creepy sentiment, though. Imagine if you were the one person who insisted on the truth in such a group. Yikes...

"For experimentation," she repeated. She contemplated it for a moment, and then slammed her paw into the dust, and rose to her feet. Why not? "Let's do it," she grinned. Why not see where it leads? Maybe it would be nothing... But maybe they'd encounter something more.


"Speech"

He watched his friend, tail brushing the ground behind him in short, weary flicks. There was a determination to him, he almost buzzed with it. He wanted answers, he didn’t like leaving a riddle unanswered. He watched as her paw hit the ground, and her answer came free. He rewarded her with a brilliant grin, muzzle parting with it as he shook his coat, and looked about the space once more. “Alright, should we start with rolling in the mud first, or telling stories around the campfire?” he enquired. Just how much of the day should they repeat to see if they could garner the same occurrence? He glanced back at the dusty earth with a furrowing of his brows. He would find an answer, dammit. No ghost would live in his pack lands without him knowing about it! "Mortis"

She grinned in kind, her tail sweeping out behind her. This was actually kind of exciting... how curious, how cool would it be if the ghost stories of her childhood came to life? Oof, how dead would we be? If they did find any spirits lurking around the territory, who's to say they weren't dangerous? Bent on revenge? The apparition hadn't harmed them last night, but that didn't mean it wouldn't. Hell, maybe going around, poking and prodding for it, was enough to invoke its wrath...

Oh well.

Malalia chuckled at his suggestion. "Maybe the campfire? Then if it happens again, at least we know there wasn't something in the mud." She twitched her ears. "You don't mean right now, though, do you? We should probably wait until it's dark again..." Or maybe the time didn't matter all that much. She didn't know how ghosts worked.


"Speech"

The winged boy shook his head, pulling a face as he did so. “No, not right now. Dark works just fine” he said, glancing upwards at the morning sky. It was still early yet, with most of the day set out before them. “I’ve got to get through some jobs first, bring back some hunting prey, ect” he explained. Not to mention he was set to walk the patrols nearer midday. On top of all that, he wanted to get in some fighting practice. He still had so much left to learn, and Mal was still two up on kicking his ass. Even without the jobs that filled his day, Mortis just didn’t think it would create the right atmosphere, or opportunity, if they tried it during the day. The atmosphere of the witching hour added so much more to the moment. And throughout it all, not once did the young would consider that they might be meddling with forces better left alone. "Mortis"

She nodded simply in acknowledgement, and began to move away from the barren patch of dust. It was settled then. The dup were going to actively look for a ghost.... in several hours. Mal had her own duties to attend to, after all. Ghost hunting could wait a little while. "Alrighty. I'll meet you later tonight." The girl would be fresh off of her own training regimen, once she was done with her day. She laughed at herself; Mal doubted that one could fight a ghost anymore than they could fight the wind, or clouds. But hey, it was better to be prepared, right?

--- time skip to night ---

Her muscles ached as she made the slow journey back from the coast to the grasses. Still, she was proud of the work she'd done. Mal had made some progress fighting with claws, as well as working in tandem with Pachou. The wolverine wasn't quite full grown, but he was bigger and older and picking up quickly on their sessions together. It made her happy to see his little growl of victory when he nailed a move. They parted ways, and as the night wound on and she caught her breath, the experiment with Mortis came back to her.

A kind of giddy energy ran through her, and she picked up her pace. The girl could still hardly believe what they'd seen. It was easy to happily conjecture about in the daytime, but when the world was dark and the mother moon was your only source of light? A shiver rippled down her spine, raising her hackles before she forced them to lay flat. There was nothing to worry about... but wasn't that what she'd told herself before they saw it?

Rolling to a halt before the campfire, Mal opened her jaws to scent the air. Her ears flicked, and she cast her eyes around. "Mortis?"


"Speech"

With serious expressions, the two parted ways. They were both busy creatures in the Armada, and the wheels of the pack were always in motion. He got to his jobs with a steady frown to his face. Flipping through the encounter in his mind every time he had thought left to spare for it. Making his way through his patrol, and remembering the vivid outline of the ghost. Punching air in battle routines, and remembering the subtle movement of the grass, the whisper of a voice. Night began to fill in, shadows grew, and the wind blew colder. He jogged the length of the beach, inviting warmth back into his body as he waited for darkness to fully descend. When it did, he knew it was time. He raced back to the campfire, seeing it already lit, with lingering scents of Io by the flame. His Aunt often ensured a steady blaze was going. He walked around the flame a few beats after she said his name, and offered her a welcoming smile. “Hey Mal, get through everything?” he asked, knowing she had a few jobs to get through during the day, as he had. As he often did, he passed her scent here and there, and saw a few glimpses of her as he completed his patrols. The territory was big, but both busy bodies moved through it with frequency. "Mortis"

Ah, there he was. "All done," she confirmed. She bumped his shoulder in greeting, and perhaps a bit of comfort. The fire was roaring, bright and warm, but elsewhere the plains were enveloped in darkness, the sea of grass waving mysterious, foreboding in the distance. Nothing out of the ordinary, though... not yet. Parting from the boy, she settled down beside the flames, grateful for the warmth that seeped into her fur. Winter had long since settled in. The nights were bone-achingly cold, and she might not've agreed to the excursion had there not been a campfire around.

But there was, and so here they were, where the fire crackled lowly, and the wind whispered through the grass.

She flicked her ears, let her head drop into her paws. "So what do we do now? Tell the ghost stories again?" Did it matter who went first, or if they were the same stories? Did it matter if they said anything at all? Perhaps their presence alone would draw out... whatever they had seen.


"Speech"

He smiled at his friend, tail wagging gently behind him as he glanced from her, to the fireplace, and the pack lands beyond. The two of them were slipping into the roles of investigators, and he was sure they would find an answer. Tonight, hopefully. He turned back to Malalia, to see her settling by the fire. That seemed like a good idea. Even with his extra feather-layering he still felt the chill of the night. He settled down near her, his side exposed to the heat of the flames. He let out a soft sigh, leaning into the warmth. It was good to stop, and relax, after a day of training and working. Not that this was a break, exactly. He perked up at her words, glancing back to the ominous grass beyond. He had never considered it malicious before, but it definitely felt a little more… forbidding these days. He considered her words for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his muzzle. “Hmmm..” he raised his head, and his voice, calling out. “Anya? Corn Ghosts? Whoever you are?” he let his voice echo and fall silent, waiting to see if something in the night stirred "Mortis"

Her ears twitched as Mortis called out to the ghosts, and a little yawn slipped from her maw -- fatigued, to be sure, but anxious too. Her ears twitched, and she listened. And listened. And listened some more. And nothing came of it, thus far. Her brows furrowed, and she lifted her head to cast her gaze around the plains. The grasses billowed with the moving air, but nothing came from it. Not a flicker of movement, not a flash of light. That was.... curious, and mundane all at once, especially after the things they'd seen. Not a trace, not even an echo of last night's misadventure was left for them.

She was past the point of doubting what they'd seen, for certain, but it was strange how it was all gone, in the blink of an eye. "Do you think... maybe they just moved on?" It seemed like a "logical" answer. Perhaps spirits weren't as tethered as she assumed them to be.

"Speech"

He frowned, ears still facing the grasses. Malalia offered an explanation, an easy release from their challenge. He couldn’t discount it, either. It was a strong possibility. Whatever phenomenon they had seen… maybe it had moved on. Maybe it was a one-shot kind of deal. He let out a slow, thoughtful breath. “After you said you were sorry to it last night, the feeling of a presence vanished. Maybe that's all it wanted from this pack, this place. Not that I could ever assume what a ghost wants” He was quick to add. A far-away look to his eyes as he went over the encounter from the previous night in his head. As he remembered the sense of being watched, the voice. Seeing it on the sand, then the return of normality after it had vanished. “Well. Lets just enjoy the night, if something happens, we’ll keep an eye out” he said. “Have you eaten yet?” "Mortis"

"Oh." That was an interesting theory. Had the apology really been enough to calm the spirit? "I guess I hadn't meant for it to happen like that? I just... I just said what I felt." She'd certainly want someone to empathize with her, if she ever experienced what Anya had gone through. Perhaps that was enough, in the end. Simply acknowledging her pain.

But hey, she didn't know how ghosts worked either. She only knew that they probably wouldn't encounter any more spirits, at least anytime soon. With that, she looked back into the flames, crawling a bit closer and outstretching her paws to warm her pads. Enjoying the night sounded like a good idea. No ghost stories this time around though. Her ears perked at Mortis's inquiry, and she shook her head silently. "No, I don't eat until after my patrol, usually."


"Speech"