CODE © SKELLE 2021
"Speech!"


Life in Fenmyre was... interesting. She couldn't say it was much better than her life in Ashen, or maybe even better than her life when she had been kidnapped. She felt like she was working for them, and less like a member although she struggled with any courage to say something to her mother. She had asked to be here, after all. At least she had some freedom, though, and even though the woman she was working for was heavily pregnant, she managed to find some time to get away and back onto the smaller chunk of land south to the mainland. She never spent any time on Auster before, but lately she had been making little trips to get away from the human structure she worked lived in. It was strange living in a place like that, but she would find a way to make it work. At least it came with a few extras, but with the pregnant women around and almost everyone being higher up than her, she found herself with little more than what she already had. That was fine she supposed, but that was part of the reason she had left the isle.

Although, she hadn't expecting the night to be different than the others she had remembered. Even as she crossed the little ferry over to Auster, she could see the strange blue glow. The moon was hanging heavier in the sky and also seemed to be mimicking a blue aura that illuminated the sky in a strange way that certainly wasn't normal. She was hesitant to leave the ferry, but did so anyway with as much confidence as she could muster.

Curiosity soon got the better of the young Klein though and she was quick to dive in to this mystery. She had heard whisperings of strange fireflies and things around, but never really paid much attention. She did live around a bunch of fine ladies, after all. The talk of strange bugs didn't seem to worry her until now. A swarm of the fireflies she assumed to be all the talk as of late appeared before her, giving her pale coat it's own type of glow as they surrounded her. She froze in fear, her eyes wide as they moved around her in the way that bugs do. Were they harmless bugs? Maybe she should have listened.

hey, miss murder,

Sota had never seen anything quite like this before. His homelands had been plentiful with fireflies - he remembered as a youth watching the from above, marveling at how they flickered bright as soon as the sun began to set. More than one of his companions had made a game of capturing them but Sota had always been content to simple observe them. These were no mere fireflies though. Their colors just didn't match up, and he wasn't sure they were bugs at all. He'd made an attempt to sneak up on a group of them and they suddenly disappeared before he could get to close. Even squinting against the bright moonlight hadn't showed him any signs of there being bugs, though it didn't make much sense to him otherwise... Ah well, only time and careful observation could tell him anything further about what was going on. That was why Sota set off, further away from The Hallows than he typically went. The night was bright and the skies clear, making the perfect environment for exploring. Somewhere in the distance he swore he could smell a water source - maybe stopping for a quick drink would be idea before he continued on - but he caught someone's smell on the breeze. Diverting slightly from his path, he headed toward the stranger's scent, more than once ducking to avoid a few of those clusters of glowing lights. Something about that unnerved him deeply and though he was curious, he wanted to keep his distance more than anything else. "Ah - hello!" The tiny man called out from a distance once he caught sight of the stranger's silhouette in the distance. "I don't mean to be a bother, but... do you have any idea what's going on tonight?" Well, it wasn't just tonight. These oddities had been occurring more and more often lately, and Sota wasn't totally sure what to make of it. He hoped someone else might have some insight.

CODE © SKELLE 2021
"Speech!"


Fireflies had never done this to her before. They were usually quick to leave, fearing for their life in case they were attacked by whatever they buzzed too close to. In this case, however, these strange bugs didn't seem to be afraid of her. Or anything, really. They buzzed around her, although failed to actually touch her and instead seemingly move right through her instead. It left her feeling strange and when a voice suddenly spoke out to her, she scrambled and moved quickly to get away from the bugs and face whom had spoken to her. Her attention wasn't on him for long, however, as she was quick to put her focus back on the bugs... that had disappeared.

Strange.

"You saw that, right?" She asked between heavy breaths, panting as her heart rate slowed. She hadn't even heard what they had said in her frantic motions, but had a feeling it was about whatever was going on.

hey, miss murder,

Sota was always tended to be more cautious than most wolves he came across, but tonight he was downright uneasy. Something was wrong, though he hoped it was just his imagination running wild on him. Such a thing seemed easy to him these days, with the nights growing longer and longer as winter settled in. At least running into someone helped comfort his slightly frazzled nerves, if only for a moment. As he approached he gave an apologetic grin, accompanied by a nervous chuckle. He was pretty sure he had seen them disappear and it wasn't a sight he'd quickly forget. "I.... I was hoping my eyes were playing tricks on me," he admitted somewhat bashfully. "I've never seen anything quite like this before. It's not... a normal thing for this time of year, is it?" He knew it wasn't but he hoped she might assure him otherwise. This season in Auster was generally mild, barring the previous one, and he was fairly certain the time of year wasn't the cause. "I'm Sota by the way; forgive my rudeness. My mind is elsewhere."

CODE © SKELLE 2021
"Speech!"


The other wolf spoke, admitting that he had in fact seen whatever had just happened, and Belladonna sighed. At least she wasn't seeing things, but what had she gotten herself into moving down here? None of these strange things were happening before when she lived in Ashen! Briefly she wondered what Malachai was doing in Ashen and how he and Panic were taking it if it was happening up there as well. If not, well, she certainly regretted living down here.

Regardless, they were gone now and she was starting to settle. It was unfortunate to hear that they also didn't seem to be familiar with the strange happenings. "I'm not from around here... I've just recently joined a pack here. This isn't normal, then?" She agreed hesitantly through a question, understanding that this was in fact not normal. She sighed another, deep breath in relief that she hadn't moved in to a living nightmare staged as a dream. He introduced himself then, in the middle of her thoughts, and pulled her back to whatever this was. "Belladonna, and don't worry about it. Do you know anything else about these.... strange bugs?" She didn't know what else to call them. Bugs didn't just disappear, but what else were they. Illusions?

hey, miss murder,

Sota had changed considerably in the last few years, and it seemed the world was too. Perhaps change and the unexplained were just parts of life, parts that he'd never really noticed before until somewhat recently. Perhaps these changes weren't completely new to these lands - maybe there were natural cycles besides the seasons that came and went after so many years. He still felt uneasy though; he couldn't remember nights ever being so long before, even in the peak of winter. "No, I don't think so," he answered Belladonna quickly. "I'm from just a short trip northwest of here. I'm from The Hallows," he explained with a toothy grin. Perhaps she'd heard of them, but maybe not if she was new to Auster. Unfortunately she seemed to have as much insight into recent happenings as he did, which was... almost nothing at all. He felt the fur on the back of his neck stand up. If they weren't bugs - and he wasn't sure they were - why did he feel like they were watching him? He blinked hard a few times as some zoomed in and out of his vision, some floating lazily while others whisked past like they were on a mission somewhere. "I'm not so sure they're bugs. But.. no, I don't. They keep disappearing when I try to see where they're going," Sota admitted, sounding a bit sheepish at how little he knew.

Belladonna

You notice a nearby plant reflecting the purple glow of the moon. You also find 1 mushroom. Maybe these̴͗͠ are worth keeping…

Sota

Out of the corner of your eye, you see a chipmunk scampering by. Wait - is it glowing? You also find 1 crystal. Maybe these are worth keeping…