This entire otherworldly event had asked of the yearling every ounce of Jigsaw's self-restraint, very swiftly allowing him to bury the grief over losing his father. In one way it was healthy that he was now beginning to leave his den in search of knowledge and understanding where the glow and fireflies were concerned, though dangerous in another way as he was this close to giving a glowing mushroom a very firm poke of his paw, slice of his claw, or worse yet, a lick. Surely his brother had suffered enough being equally as orphaned as Jigsaw was, and so he knew he owed it at least to Askell to remain strong and look, don't touch. His brother had brought to him a coyote to try an oddly glowing herb on, though they'd quickly discovered the damn thing's tail glowed, too. A glowing subject was not a suitable one to experiment on - who knew if it's body had grown some freaky adaptation to the blue glow effect, and that while a nibble wouldn't harm a glowing canine it might kill a normal one? So Jigsaw set off west, moving from territory to territory in search of more answers and perhaps an easier prey. He was not an adept hunter himself, so while first finding a suitably sized and not-glowy or strange mammal was hard, catching and subduing it would be that much more difficult. After losing the sixth squirrel between his unsteady paws, Jigsaw gave up with a huff and threw himself to the foggy forest floor. Why did science have to be so hard? "Speech"

Aoife had been enchanted by the changes in the world lately. Growing up with her mother and her brother it wasn't as shocking to see living things growing, except that she wasn't an idiot and knew it wasn't normal. What it was, was unusual and it sparked a sense of anticipation in Aoife. Whatever was happening, it was going to be a Big Important Event, and she was going to record every bit of it in songs. Ballads were great for big specific events, but she already felt a little instrumental song tingling in her paws waiting to come out. It was the fireflies that sparked it, the way they seemed to lead travelers onward like something out of an ancient folktale. She was content to follow them, curious if they actually were leading her somewhere instead of just random movements.

The sight of a slender form flopped down caught her eye and she paused, blinking at him. He looked vaguely familiar, and she let the familiarity wash over her until it sparked a memory. Oh, this was one of the boys her mother had brought her and her siblings to meet when they were little pups. Her friend Harbringer or something, his kids. She couldn't remember if she'd heard his name or not. "Hey," she called out softly to him. "Are you all right?"

It was surprising to hear a stranger's voice this deep into one of Boreas' creepiest forests and Jigsaw's ears perked, first suspicious, then curious as the very spikey girl approached him. Her voice was kind and so he offered her a sad smile, though he diverted his eyes away from her mohawk quickly to try and resist requesting a touch of it. There was familiarity there, though Jigsaw could not quite put a time or place or even name to the feeling. Whatever it was, she felt like a friend, which was enough for Jigsaw to know better then lie. "No." He admitted, lifting his paw and swiping it across the damp soil in annoyance. "I came here to figure out why things glow - my plants and herbs at home, that is - but I'm not any closer to answers. I can't catch a test subject, it's so hard to see in this fog." In the back of his mind was that gently prodding encouragement of, maybe if you touch it, Jigsaw, you'll figure out what the glow means. Shutting down the urge was getting harder and harder each time he watched a bit of fungus bloom with color, then fade once more. "Speech"

The somewhat-stranger seemed sad, and Aoife moved closer to throw a paw around his shoulder fully intending to drag the thin boy against her in a side hug without a thought about whether he wanted to be touched or not. "Hey, it's ok. That's why I'm here too. I can help you! I don't know if you remember me or not - it's ok if you don't - I'm Aoife Adravendi. We met when we were pups." She pulled back just enough to show him her other forepaw with its dexterous toes and their kittenish claws. "Look, I can climb trees, see? Squirrels never expect someone to be able to follow them. We'll get you one so we can find out what's going on. Are you a healer then, that you use plants and stuff?" She looked around as she chattered, watching for a squirrel to make its way back down a tree as they inevitably did. "So we catch a squirrel and feed it some of your plants? Sounds solid to me."

Jigsaw gave a surprised snort of air from his nostrils as the bold girl wandered up to his side and grabbed him in a side hug. Apparently they'd met before, and Jigsaw had to really think on it to recall what she was referring to. Then it hit him. "Oh! You're the one with the brother that glows when you touch him!" The excitement reached the yearling's eyes, recalling how fantastic that oddly long and mutated fur was to pet. It was no wonder he'd not remembered her mohawk, as cool as it would be to poke and prod at, Ardyn was the main event of that memory. "I'm Jigsaw Klein." He (re?) introduced himself with a smile. Her claws flexed out, showing more very wicked mutations she had hidden. It took a moment for him to get past all the instincts to poke and examine her oddities, but when he did clue in his attention was firmly diverted. "Oh, you'd help me?" The yearling's tail beat in slow happy thumps upon the ground. "Yes, please! I need a squirrel that does not glow, though, to ensure his genetic makeup is not altered by whatever this -" His paws gestured to the damp forest floor, where fungi glowed and fireflies floated "- is. Then we feed it a plant, yup!" Aoife was turning out to be a very fast friend indeed, and Jigsaw would never turn down an assistant in his science experiments.   "Speech"

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Aoife laughed out loud at her new friend's description of Ardyn. "Yeah that's my brother," she said fondly. She was glad to see that the distraction was making Jigsaw feel better, and gladder still when he accepted her offer. "Of course I'll help you! One non-gloeing, absolutely ordinary squirrel plant tester, coming right up!" With a final squeeze around his shoulder Aoife released Jigsaw and went on the hunt, eeling through the brush to get as close to a non-glowing squirrel as possible. It took a while, but she finally was set up for a good one. Of course, as soon as he spotted her that squirrel headed for the trees, but Aoife was right behind him and snatched him up with his slender squirrel ribcage firmly but carefully caught between Aoife's fangs and the corners of her mouth. Skipping back with her prize, she pinned it next to the boy healer so it couldn't get away. "Ok, what first?"

Jigsaw

A nightingale sings sweetly in a tree nearby. His feathers seem to glow softly. You also find 4 crystals. Maybe these are worth keeping…

Aoife

A stealthy rabbit tries to sneak past, a small bundle of brightly 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 crystals. Maybe these are worth keeping…