Ever since their little renegade trip away from the castle for Syanna to try and collect a glowing flower to study he had been a lot more firm about her staying within the castle walls at night. Seeing that ghostly saber cat was a little too much for him and had really unsettled him. Whenever he needed to go out later in the day for any reason he made sure he had his armor on now. He didn't like getting caught without it when he and Syanna could have been in danger and he always made sure Canis stayed with Syanna while he handled his other duties. He had already decided that when he left for Fenmyre in a few days he'd have the dog stay with her while he was gone just for a little peace of mind. Of course he had to be sent away while all this was going on...

He walked around the border of the back along the edge of the plains with Eska, getting one last patrol in before they turned in for the night. It had just started getting dark about half way through their patrol and he was perhaps a bit too eager to get it over with and get back inside. The encounter with the saber cat's ghost shook him a bit more than it should have, but considering the state the large cat had put him in last time he tangled with one of them and now with all this creepy stuff going on he wasn't going to take any chances. "I sure will be glad when all this finally goes away..." he muttered as he watched one of the weird, blue fireflies drifted past his nose.

Ezra Adravendi

Things had been strange of late and, just like Ezra, Eska would be glad when it was over with as well. If it was ever over with. Perhaps this was the world that they lived in now. Part of the brindled fae wondered if the creatures of the land had some something to upset some higher force. How else could one describe glowing, ethereal beings and disappearing lights? The fox that had followed her and Ulric was definitely an intelligent entity. It knew exactly what it was doing. She hadn't felt animosity from the fox, but it still hadn't been friendly.

Walking with the large boy, Eska's golden gaze narrowed slightly as the blue glowing 'firefly' drifted past his nose then past her own. The woman was instantly on alert. The fireflies tended to be harbingers of other things to come, from what she'd experienced and heard from others. "A bit faster, shall we?" Eska threw her weight into her paws and moved into a distance eating lope. The sooner they were back to the castle and away from the strangeness of the world, the better.

"Eska"

"No complaints from me," he replied when Eska suggested that they start moving a bit faster. The sooner they got back home the better. He picked up into a lope as well, trotting alongside Eska with long strides as they made their way around the plains to loop back up toward the castle. Somehow it felt like even though they were moving faster it felt a bit like they weren't making that much more progress as the blue-hued fog began to gather more thickly, obscuring the grasses around them. It made the fur on the back of his neck stand up and he glanced around them uneasily. The fireflies were everywhere, but that wasn't really new. That was slightly concerning was a taller, glowing figure that he spotted a short ways off. "What is that...?" he muttered, watching it as they moved quickly across the plains. Eventually he made out the shape of the buck that was moving toward them, the same odd glow as everything else all over its fur, eyes, and antlers.

Ezra Adravendi

The pair loped across the plains, both happy to be quickly away from the blue glow. However, it seemed that they wouldn't be able to outrun it. A thick fog rolled in and out of that fog, a luminescent stag stepped forth right in their path. It continued to move towards them and Eska slowed, placing herself in front of Ezra. It didn't matter that he was larger and almost a wolf grown, he was younger than she was. The child of her mate. Thus, she would protect him.

A low growl of warning pulled from the silvered fae as she drew to a stop. She didn't move into an attack position, merely stood tall, her gaze on the ungulate. The buck shook its shimmering antlers and pawed the ground with one hoof, but made no move to come closer to them. It seemed to respect the protective nature of the wolf. Sensing the lack of animosity, Eska slowly began to move forward again. Their path home would cross this deer and she wouldn't allow it to hamper their progress.

"Eska"

They stared down the large, glowing stag as they both stopped once it stepped into their path, but it didn't advance on them any more than that and wasn't threatening them with its large rack of antlers like he had seen bucks do before. Once Eska started moving again he did as well, following beside her as they started taking a path around the deer, keeping a warry eye on it as they went. Once they were past the stag as if it was some kind of check point they had to over come be started loping forward again, glancing back over his shoulder occasionally just to make sure the deer wasn't trying to follow them. He did see it turn to watch them go, it's eyes on them until the mist obscured it from view and it was gone. Once they actually reached the castle walls he slowed a bit with a sigh, taking on a bit more of a relaxed trot as they passed through the courtyard. "No more late afternoon patrols until all this is cleared up, huh?" he commented as he pulled open the castle door and held it open for her, glancing back out to the plains around the castle at the thick fog that had gathered out past the walls. Whatever this all was, whether it was actually threatening or not, he didn't like it.

Ezra Adravendi

The buck stood still, watching them as they passed by it. Eska saw it move, but as it did so, the specter made no sound. No clomp of hooves or rustle of grass. It was as though the creature wasn't there. A ghost, but nothing more. Eska had placed herself between Ezra and the deer just in case it were to act aggressively towards her. Once they had cleared it, the wolves moved back into their lope. Just like the boy did, Eska occasionally glanced behind them, eyeing the deer as it stood watching them.

Coming up to the castle, Ezra held the big wooden door open for her and Eska slipped inside. His words brought a soft huff from the fae. "I don't think that it meant us any harm. This one felt a little different than the fox that followed your father and I." The fox had been intent upon them. The deer just watched them go. She could agree to patrols earlier in the day rather than later, however. It was all too uncanny. Too uncomfortable.


"Eska"

Ezra

A small cluster of frilly mushrooms bobs slightly in the breeze, releasing faint glowing spores to settle on the ground beneath it. You also find 2 mushrooms. Maybe these are worth keeping…

Eska

You see a tight cluster of fireflies up ahead. You also find 4 crystals. Maybe these are worth keeping…