Riva had put out their ritualistic candles and assured Deus that the effects of the herb would quickly fade, now all they had to do was wait. As time passed he did begin to feel better physically, though he still could not shake the vision he'd had or the glowing nightingale that seemed to herald very bad things for his mother. Being that it was the middle of the night he'd decided to return to his den to absorb the new information and sleep off the remainder of the side effects, and Deus' attentive mother accompanied him for the walk - likely to make sure he was entirely well before taking her eyes off him. His hand-dug den was nearly in sight and while Deus no longer was wildly hallucinating, he was feeling uncharacteristically exhausted. He lifted a paw and rubbed at his eye, glad the odd vibrant glow had vanished from his paws as effects wore down. When his paw was removed and his eyes reopened, there was something new before them. Deus froze, fur standing on end as he stared down at the creature. "Mom?" He directed to her the unspoken question, wondering if somehow his hallucinations had returned. "Speech"

Riva wasn’t entirely happy about her son's sleeping arrangements. She would much rather take him to her little house beside the apothecary, and tuck him in beside her. But he was two now, and big enough to decide for himself where to sleep. So, despite her silent objections, she walked him towards his bed. Her sleepy boy staggering a little from drowsiness. When he stopped, she thought it was a biological reason, and turned to see if he was going to puke - and found him staring. The eyes of the little tiny healer followed his gaze, and found the ghostly creature standing in the woods and watching them. Riva, tiny, easily frightened, but a momma bear when it came to her patients and kids, growled. Her fur stood on end as she placed herself in front of Deus. she barely covered his lower chest from view, but she stood there all the same. ""

Deus stared into the unyielding gaze of the ghostly creature, still under the assumption that this was an extension of Abraxas' vision and trying desperately to unravel it's meaning. It wasn't until his mother's form surpassed him, fur on end and ready to defend her son did the realization hit Deus that this was something she too, could see. For as long as the realization took was about how long he remained standing behind her, too, for even if he wasn't a warrior-in-training there was no way the Abraxas youth would allow his mother to be harmed. He crouched and pushed off the ground, springing up and over her much smaller form - with the assumption that going around her would merely get him a vicious headbutt - toward the ghostly presence. It's canine-like jaws parted slightly and it hissed out a growl, though within those depths behind the creature's 'teeth' he saw only darkness. As it's one paw came up to shift stances, a cluster of blue glowing fireflies converged upon and then hid the beast from view. Asmodeus barreled toward it anyways, anticipating his massive frame to take a heavy hit where the creature once stood but instead, the fireflies scattered before him to reveal nothing but faint smoke. The direwolf did not anticipate the vanishing act and skidded on his paws, rolling slightly upon the ground as he turned and tracked the firefly movements through the air, above Riva, and back in a tight cluster behind her back. Panic shot through him and he yelled out a warning, stumbling back to his feet. "Behind you!" He ran once more, but before he was even a stride toward her the fireflies dissipated to reveal the ghostly coyote once more. "Speech"

Riva gasped in surprise as her towering sun leaped over her. Bringing home once and for all how old and big he had come. Despite the moment, a part of her was bewildered that this beautiful, giant creature had come from her. “Deus!” she cried in fear as her boy raced towards the beast and fireflies. Her heart just about in her throat. She wasn’t a fighter, but she could not bear standing idly by while her son went into conflict. In the past, she had understood well that she would get in the way in battle, and was better off setting up her healer station and sorting out supplies. This however was different, this was her son. Her attention was on Deus as he scrambled through the fireflies, and she did not realise the danger behind her until he shouted out. She whirled, the little healer. Gasping at the sight of the ghostly coyote before her. He was almost bigger than she was. [i] “What do you want from us?” [i] She whispered. “What are you?” she added, staring the creature down. She was always a wolf (so long as her son wasn’t in immediate danger) to speak first. ""

Deus ran with all his might toward his small mother who was absolutely not attempting to maul or maim the ethereal creature that threatened her. He heard her speak to it, questioning it's intentions, but for the most part ignored the brewing conversation to instead come up alongside and ram her with a shoulder, hopefully shoving his beloved mother away from the beast. His lips pulled back in a snarl as he positioned himself before her, this time not willing to cross the distance towards it when it had already shown abilities to poof from one place and appear in another. His sole priority was to keep Riva protected, and so by her side he remained. He postured against the coyote, teeth on full display, thick fur puffed up for battle, and his tail flagged high behind him. The fear would not relinquish his grip on his chest, but he could for the moment ignore it and focus on the rage. "Get lost!" Deus snarled. The creature feinted forward toward the side, then rushed directly toward them. He braced himself for the impact, but where he should have felt weight, teeth and claw, he felt only the touch of cold chill as the specter morphed into smoke, passed through them, and climbed up toward the sky on the wind. He spun with it, covering Riva as best as he could while it floated higher and higher, and eventually out of sight. The glowing fireflies eventually returned to the terrain surrounding them, though their glow was more muted then it had been while they assisted the ghost. "What is wrong with you?" Comforted that the danger had passed, turning toward his mother with tears in his eyes. "When something comes to hurt you to bite, or scratch, or run away, you don't talk it down!" The more he yelled the more his voice broke, overcome with fear. "I told you what my vision showed - a nightingale! A warning! You need to be more careful!" It felt so, so wrong to yell at his mother, but Deus could not stand watching another loved one die in his place. "Speech"

She stared down the ghostly coyote, but it did not answer her questions. And then Deus was there, shoving her roughly to the side. His large frame managed the task all too easily, knocking her to the side. The small healer stumbled, startled, and found her feet again. Standing cautiously a step behind Deus as she tried to peer over his great big form to see the thread. She saw only the last bit of the creature's charge, and gasped as it vanished, shivering at the feel of cold that raced through her, and then it was gone. Whatever ghostly creature that had been. It threatened her idea of the natural order of the world. It left her confused, and questioning everything. Then her boy was turning to her, his voice with emotion and angry. Lecturing her with his words. “Deus, Deus.” she said gently. “I don’t know how to fight. My best weapons are my words, and my knowledge of healing. I will utilize them, however I can” she said, her voice soft and sad as she reached out for him with a paw. ”I… I didn't understand your warning, His, warning.” she added, hesitantly. Her belief still shaken. ""

Riva

A stealthy rabbit tries to sneak past, a small bundle of brͣ̚̚ightly colored flowers in it’s jaws. Whenever it hops, an odd sprinkling of blue dust breaks off from the flower petals. You also find 4 mushrooms. Maybe these are worth keeping…

Asmodeus

Something feels off. You also find 4 mushrooms. Maybe these are worth keeping…