Balthier had been spending more time away from Azzurra with the way he was feeling. Not emotionally about their relationship, but the constant paranoia he was having that seemed related to the illness that came with the goo. He couldn't be too careful with her after she had been sick most of her life, but even then he wasn't the best company.

He found it hard to sleep though maybe the moon had something to do with that. He patrolled where they had camped out, he still hunted for her but she was starting to learn her own. It was just better for him to be away right now.

His paws found his way to the Firefly Lake, pacing along the banks while he looked down at his reflection, fireflies of different colors tapping over the water and rippling everything that reflected off the surface. He certainly didn't seem himself.

"Balthier"

Poem wasn’t sure where her mind should be anymore there was so much going on, so much she didn’t want to think about, and more she was forced to. The most pressing being the dark glowing curse that overtook the world Everything was dark and dangerous and more than ever the woman wished that her mother was here to see her through the pack’s trials. She was just reminded of the events around the volcano erupting, how they had once thought they were witnessing the end of the world.

This was another world ending disaster she wasn’t certain she or her family would make it through. That uncertainty didn’t mean she had given up, Poem searched for a cure for the glowing disease, she stupid what she could on the strange new grows on land and animal, but she didn’t feel like she was any closer to her answer than when she started. The Destruction woman was out now, gathering plants and clues while she could.

All of it had her missing the way things used to be. She tried not to as the sudden scent of Balthier caught her attention. She knew he’d recently gone his own way from Abaven, so seeing him now would be counted in her blessings. ”Balth?” She asked softly after him as she approached slowly.

When Poem's voice reached out to him, his hole body jolted aggressively from the surprise. His thoughts were lost in the lake's reflection, he looked almost rabid the way he paced along the banks.

He stopped where he stood though, immediately recognized Poem even while his mind was churning in some other jumbled thoughts. "Allegro." He stated before turning back to the water and walking swiftly along the bank. "Have you seen him? I know he's here." His paws stopped abruptly as he coughed harshly, the goo running from his nose and mouth into the dark grasses below him. But he didn't stop to stand around after. He moved forward again, "He won't leave me alone." His voice was almost upset and distressed, but really Balthier had gone completely delusional. There was no ghost of Allegro, or voices. It was all in his head. Just paranoia he had about his growing relationship with Azzie. Maybe the moon was really pulling the tricks, but all in all, Balthier was completely insane.

"Balthier"

Poem didn’t expect to startle Balthier so thoroughly but as he looked at her the woman was startled herself. The dripping glowing blood that fell from his eyes and mouth shook her to her core. He didn’t greet her at all, and she could see the crazy look in his eye. This was not the Balthier that she knew. He said his father’s name, and seemed like he was searching for him. Poem had never been close to Allegro, she wasn’t even truly aware of what had befallen him, but she knew she had not seen him in a long time.

”I haven’t,” she offered him softly. Allegro was gone, there was absolutely no sign of him here but Balthier was convinced his father was haunting him. ”He isn’t here now.” She added, taking a tentative step closer to the young man.

He shook his head as if he was trying to determine the difference between dreams and reality. He thought everything was real... Allegro's ghost, his own real dreams felt like reality. But it must have just been lucid dreaming. He didn't look back towards Poem, as she moved closer he didn't lash out or anything of the sort. He wasn't an aggressive man, just was being run mad by the illness. "He doesn't like what me and Azzie have done." Just then he heard hissing through his ears, causing him to look up to the blackened sky away from the waning moon. As if there were bees buzzing around his head, his eyes searched around the air for the whispers that Poem couldn't hear, and words he couldn't even make out himself. He let out a huff of frustration as his chin pulled into his chest with a clenched jaw.

"Balthier"

Firefly Shoppe- Balthier

The sickness deepens... You get the runs. It glows.

Your attention blurs and refocuses. It feels as if you are in a dream as you find yourself alone in the mist. Fireflies gather and light the way to a table with a figure waiting behind it. On the table lay three items, with their prices beside them. "Choose w̶̢̧͉̥̻̟͈͙̽̉̆̿̈͒͋̓̇̍͌̇̎͠͝ì̵̢̝̄͐́͆̓̚ṣ̶̛͙̟͎̤̞̤͎̹̙̭̪͔̓̐̾̂͆̄͆͌̈̈́̏̚͜͝͠ȩ̴͔̱̗̜̾̉̀̓̀͆͛̊̂̍̕̚̚̚ͅl̵̢̦̲̼̠̖̜̺̮̜̺͋̈́y̴̧̨̧̪̗̥̘͇̾͑͗͜͠, and only choose o̷͕̭̊̃̌̊̏̀ņ̸̼͚͉͔̒͐̊e̵̮̯͛̔̀̑͜," the figure says, looming over the table as his eyes seem to peer into your soul. Are they... moving? "If you can afford it, that is. Beware, however, for there are many d̷̡̯͉̎̊̈́͐͠á̴̬̪̣̝̞̅̀̈́̄ṉ̸̢̠̤̹̥̙̜͋͆̚g̷̛͍̹̣̬̙͖̝̘̃̈e̷͓͕̖͓̝̤̿͐͐͜͠ŗ̵̤͚͔̟̹̳̽̒͝ş̸̛͓͔̩̥̦͛̊̈̾̐̒̓ ̴̺͔̃̇̆ahead." He does not seem like he's in the negotiating mood...


I̵̜̖͎͓͒̑̕n̸͓̗̘̫͉̗̻͐̔̿̊͆̋͝v̵̦̹̠͉̖̼̮̎̌͆ȩ̸͕̦͔̳̩̈́͜n̶͍̝̙̯̣̹̫̩͋t̶̟͈̟̲̜̙̣̋̿̓̆̅͊͝͝ŏ̶̼͊r̶̖͎̙͔̥͎͙͈̊̍͝͠y̴̧͔̭͒͆̉̕͝:

• Equalizer- 3 /
  A small bag in which you can see two sickeningly green cookies, on the bag is a small tag with instructions: “Afore the eve of war, when the outcome is yet to be drawn eat one biscuit and leave the other for your opponent and all battlefields shall be made equal.”
  
• Shrink Potion- 1 /
  This bottle is shaped like a pear and within it swirls a sparkly gold liquid. The label shows a crudely drawn image of two wolves of vastly different sizes, with a green checkmark over the smallest one.
  
• Opaque Sack of Mushrooms/Crystals- 1 /
  Running out of event currency and not sure what else to spend it on? Gamble on this mysterious pouch and potentially find more mushrooms/crystals within it! Or perhaps something else!
  

Balthier's eyes opened again to look to Poem, but instead of Poem being here with him, there was a strange, tall creature before him. If he wasn't already crazy, he probably would have run the other way. But instead of turning to run for the hills, Balthier noticed the items laid out on a table between them. This was some sort of shop.

The creature spoke, telling him he could only take one. Pulling out what he had collected over the last few weeks, he put one mushroom out on the table in place of the opaque sack.  As he took the sack, he pulled it opened to see what was inside, though he supposed he couldn't return it now.

"Balthier"

Poem knew Balthier well enough to realize quite quickly that he wasn’t in his right mind. She didn’t know what he could see, reality or dream, but he wasn’t right. Much like the rest of the world around them. Forever night, endless deceptions where one couldn’t even trust their own mind. He spoke up, though how Balthier could know what his father did or didn’t like she wasn’t sure. The boy said he wasn’t here… so they weren’t being visited by his ghost.

”Why wouldn’t he like it?” Poem asked softly, unsure if Balthier even knew what he was talking about as his eyes watched ghosts in front of his eyes. Already she wondered if she might bring him back to Abaven, to help him through this awful illness.

Opaque Sack of ̸̾͌m̴͑̋û̸́s̵̀͒h̸̏̒r̶̍͒o̷̢͊o̷͊̀ṁ̴̃s/̶̿͘c̶͌̕r̴̔̉y̷̅͋š̵̾tals

Gems!

You open the sack and begin to pour out the contents. They just start coming and they don't stop coming. They fall and they hit the ground running rolling. By the end of it, you have a large pile of gems... wonder what those are for...?

You gain:

• Gems (x460)- Used OOC in the shops! Will go to your Gem Credits.
  

Poem

It comes for us all... but you are safe... for now.

Balthier's gaze felt like it shined over as he transitioned from one world to another, his eyes hesitantly finding Poem in front of him. He had a moment of confusion, but he hadn't forgotten what he had already said to her.

He pulled into himself slightly, had he already said too much? His eyes closed as he sighed quietly, like working up the courage was more difficult than he would have thought. "You mean a lot to me, Poem." It probably wasn't much of a shocker, or at least to him. It wasn't the confession he was holding back and that may have been obvious by how easily it came off his tongue. The next words were harder to get out, "Me and Azzie had sex." his teeth grit slightly to the thought, though the thought that he had enjoyed the time with his sister. Their kisses prior, and even before then, their cuddles. It was certainly a slow burning love and passion, they hadn't jumped into anything. But maybe the abandonment and the trauma is what led them to how they were today.

He really didn't know for sure that what they were doing was incest and wrong, but just seeing those around him made him feel like it wasn't right. Poem and Sparhawk were not siblings, Rhyme and Samara weren't. There was no one in his life that he saw have the same relationship and love that he had with Azzurra; even Solo and Psalm, and even he and Psalm. "I only feel like I can tell you this because you are like a mother to me."

"Balthier"

Poem didn’t really know how much of what was being said or happening was real in Balthier’s mind. He looked up to her with clear eyes as he spoke next, despite the illness this was the boy she’d watched grow up. ”You mean a lot to me, Balthier.” She returned softly as he steeled himself and went on. Bluntly he would confess what he and his sister had done. Slate ears fell to her skull. Personally, the thought of being with Noir or one of her younger brothers was abhorrent. However, she had seen her parents, who were too closely related, be so absolutely in love that she would cast no judgement. She was quiet for a moment as it sunk in and Balthier went on to mention why he thought he could tell her. Because he thought of her as a mom.

Tears stung her eyes but Poem smiled softly at the young man. ”Do you really love her?” She questioned with a small tilt of her head. ”You know.. My mom wasn’t Samara.” Poem went on, ”Her name was Shaye, she ruled Abaven and brought us to prosperity, but she and my dad were cousins so… I don’t know, I guess, I kind of know where you’re coming from.” Poem tried to explain, though she had felt an admonishing gaze for who her parents were. "It's not a proud fact, even if it was wrong I saw how much they loved each other and how hard that was for them."

Balthier hadn't really seen a sense of approval from Poem, but at least the sense of understanding. He almost felt like he could breathe again. It had been only him and Azzie since they left Abaevn, and even then there was not a single soul he would have told about them. Not until he was here in front of Poem.

She had spoke of her own lineage, and it had given him at least some sort of clarification that him being with Azzie wasn't necessarily right or natural, though when he was with her it didn't feel that way at all. Poem had asked if he had really loved her, and his answer wasn't even one he had to think of. "I do, really love her." It was full truth, but it was not all he had to say. "I love Psalm too, but not like this." He did have the comparison, but he could only admit to himself that he felt guilty for the differences in his sisters. After Allegro left, Balthier had to become Azzurra's sole caretaker and provider. He helped her regain her strength from her young illness. He may have even done more than what Allegro had done for her. And still, he did everything for her. Cared for her, left Abaven for her, but he felt like he needed her just as much as she needed him if only in other ways.

"It's hurt her." He confessed again, understanding her own turmoil from his but not knowing how to help it. "I can't tell her how I feel, but I also don't want to feel this way. I've never really felt like how we felt about each other was right, but I don't want to hurt her and I don't want to live without her."

"Balthier"