Oh, to be free, there was nothing like it! Since being released from the run-down barn where he spent his early weeks, Acacius had made a point to explore as far from it during his waking 'daylight' hours. Of course, there was no daylight - which made exploring much harder by darkness - so Acacius made do by the light of the full moon. The Range was beautiful as far as the boy was concerned, peppered with clusters of fungus and crystal and dancing fireflies. The livestock Fireside raised were cool, but nothing could compete with the way the world glowed beneath the moon.

Acacius pranced on over to the nearest mushroom cluster, placed both oversized paws atop the caps and with all his weight came down upon them. They broke open beneath his paws which was disappointing, as he'd hoped if they could hold his full weight that he could bounce across their caps all across the Range. Oh well.

Restless paws carried the gawky form of the toddling youngster through dew covered grass, constantly bouncing from one end of his home territories to the other with no apparent pattern. It was only when he caught an odd sound on the wind that he shifted directions, prancing gait pulling him towards his much larger brother. By the time the breeze brought Acacius' scent to his sensitive nose, the other boy was well within earshot. Sightless gaze pointed towards something just past his brother's shoulder, he tipped his head to one side curiously. "What are you doing, Cay?" he questioned, furtive paws gently patting the surrounding grass in search of the source of the soft chunk, thump sounds he'd heard just moments before. One dark pad brushed against the crumbled cap of a mushroom, spongy and soft to the touch. He lowered his head towards it, delicate cranium tipping to one side, birdlike, as though inspecting it with one eye. Instead, his long, sensitive whiskers were skirting over the jagged edges and getting a better idea of what was happening. "Is this one of the glowy ones, or just a regular mushroom?" he asked as he lifted his crown once more, reedy vocals oddly empty of any concern for the potential danger that might come from breaking the creepy fungi into a million pieces. "I still haven't figured out how to tell them apart." he admitted with a small frown. ""

The inquisitive pup was quickly joined by his brother, who for reasons beyond Acacius' understanding could not see anything. He frowned in sympathy as the other boy asked what he was doing, glancing back at the beautiful glowing mushroom and wishing he could describe it properly so Raven could 'see' it in his head. "I'm playing on the mushroom caps." He explained, smiling and hoping the sound came through his voice. "It's a glowing one, it stops glowing when it's broken open though. I wonder why."

Raven mentioned being unable to tell them apart and Acacius frowned once more. "Sometimes if I focus really hard when I touch one, I feel it change my heart somehow." he offered, hoping the knowledge could assist his brother.

A subtle tingling at the base of his whiskers registered belatedly in the boy's head as he listened to his brother, a subtle version of pins and needles along the end of his snout. Acacius admitted to messing with the mushrooms, and there was a jovial edge in his voice that made the gawky youngster wag his tail lightly. These were, in fact, the variety that he were acclaimed to glow faintly. When his larger brother explained that the one that he had just broken wasn't glowing anymore, a curious hum sounded in the dark child's chest. "Maybe it's cause they're dead." he offered with a small shrug of his delicate shoulders, and gently lowered his paw on the spot where he knew the remains of the cap had scattered. The spongy texture was pleasing under his paw, and he lightly pressed on it just to feel the small pieces spring back each time. When Acacius mentioned that touching them sometimes made his heart change somehow, mocha tipped auds perked instantly. His striped banner waved excitedly against his heels, and he tipped his head curiously to one side. "Can I try? Are there any left that are still glowing?" he questioned, using the same paw that had been idly squishing the remains of the mushrooms to feel around for more of the short stalks that sprouted up from the tussocks of dewy grass all around them. ""

It was an interesting thought, that perhaps the mushroom had stopped glowing because it had been killed. Acacius glanced down at the remains with the ghost of a frown upon his face, lifting a paw and poking the broken mushroom cap lightly with a claw. Would this count as his first kill now? Acacius was so distracted by the thought that when his brother spoke once more, he'd almost forgotten the blind boy was there. "Oh, uh." Raven wanted an intact one that glowed to test the hypothesis on and Acacius reluctantly peeled away from the ones he'd destroyed. Coming up on another glowing cluster, he lifted his paw to point to it before remembering that the gesture would be lost on Raven. "Over here, these ones." He called out. "Follow my voice, brother."

F̷̢̢̢̨̨̢̛̛̬̜̩̹͇̝̗̪̜͙͕̝̫̟̥͖̯̱̰̹̗̺̜͈̰͚͎̜̘̩̠̱̱͈̜̭̀̍̇̋͊̉̂̈̑̓̉̄̈́͗̑͗̓̽͋̾̍͛͗͛̏̐̑͐̒̔͋̕͘͘͜͝͠͠͝͠͝ͅͅÍ̷̡̢̞̘͖͙̮̺̝̼͉͈̼̣͕̲̜̤̦̦͚̗̃̊̕͝ͅR̵̨̨̳̭͚̻̱̥̮͓̫̤̺̱͕̹͚̲͕̼̙̯̟̻̠̖͙̘̦̀́̊̒͑͊͋̏́͑̈́̔̌̈́̒́̂̑̃̅͗̅̄͆̍͆̃̓̾̀̾̒̎̾̓̿̅̏͊̕̕͝ͅȨ̸̡̛̤̬͇͍̬̗̙̠͔̓̅̄͊̀̃͐͐̄̏̈̍͗̓̋̏̀̈́̉̐͊́̄̅͘͠F̸̡̡̢̣͔͎̭̳̱̙͖͍̣̳̣͓̰̠̳̜̲̣̠̖̖͉̘̗͙̖̼̜̖̞͙͇̲̫̺̻͙̥͈̬̤̬̩͒ͅͅĻ̸̳̟̘̫̺͓̺̊̋͑̈́͊̇̽̏̒̔̉̊̽̇̉̔̑̉̔͋̈́̈́̃̐̽͘͝͝͝Y̵̡̡̛̛̦͙̬͙̮̘̺̗͕̜̜͙̟͍̺͙̖̫͕̩̆͊̊̈́͛͛̈́̌͊̀̾̿̄̅̏̿̽̑̌͂̇̋̎̐́̑̈́͂͊͒̏̕̚͘͜͝ͅ ̷̨̢̢̢̨̛̣͓̭̘̯̜̗͔͇̜̟͕͙̬̘͖̠̫̫͚̩̠̬̠͍̦̰̯̈́̂̄̂̐̆̀̅́͘͘͜S̷̡̧̡̛̬͕̫̮͖̹̣̖͓̥̹͓̹̹͉̩̠̩̻̠̝͕͐͐̈͒́̈́̄̿́͊̉͊͐̈̆͒̈́̈́̍͊̊́̾̾̄̕̕̚͠ͅͅḨ̵̪͍͓͍̓̎̽͐̐̇͊̈́̊̐̓̎̄̔̋͐̔̏̽͐̿̑̏̏̅͐̆͂̂͒͆̒̄̉̏̈́͌̒̉̎̆͘̕͝͝Ŏ̵̢̧̢̗̬̰̣̹̘̰̥̗̥̦̫̙͈̞̣̘̞̯̟̱̖̀̏͝ͅͅP̵̨͚̟͚͇͎̣̝̞̈́P̶̨̛̛̘̣͍͎̱̙̲͚͚̼̟̈̀̍͆̍̎́͐̈́͐̐̓̆͂̃́̋̍͆͠E̵̢̨̧͍͕͖͍̰̹̦͕̼̺̤̙͉̫̝̠͇̯͙̬̩͉̱͍̔̓̉͋́́̆͐̇̈́̔́̂̓̄͋̈͗͘͝ - Acacius

You gain:

• Mushroom (1x) - Used in Firefly Shoppe, or perhaps elsewhere...
  

You blink, and you're face to face with a figure who seems as if it's clipping through d̴̰͚͖̮͙̥̥̙̥̬̬̼̙̟̤͖̘̺̩͓̙̣͙͇̤͓̰͕̺͉̳̰̰̺̠̠̟͓̘̭̘̿̈́͛̈́̇̈͗́́͂͌̓̈͛́̀̿̽̓̈́̈͘͜͝͝į̸̡͔̖͈͕͙̺͈̺͔͇͍̭͖̖̟̙͚̠̯̻̘̼̙͇̮̬̳̹̼̣̻͖͉̪̾̀̆̔̉̽͋̄̇̄͂̈́ͅͅm̶̧̢̱̯̲̻̳̞̦͚͖͎̼̹͙̩̹̟͕̥͉̤̭̠͔͎̜̪̲͈̰̼͙̟̱̺̯̼̐̿͛͑͛̅̍́̇̔̎̀̾̉̒͋̾̒̿͛̀̕͠͠͝è̸̢̡̧̥͓̩͉͉̙̺̫̦͍̮̤͙̩̭̹̬̰̭̮̫̹͉̦͔̘͛̈́̍̓̒͌͊͌̌̍̽̓̏̎͘̚͜͝n̴̢̧̝͕͇͚͉̩̱̫̭͇̬̹͎̈ͅś̷̨̨̡̖̩͚̖̱͇͇͔̪̺͎̮̤̻̹̯͔̺̰̯͉͔̼̗̙͈̯͙̮̳̤̹̳̹̝̝̦̻̃̇̌́͒̊̓͋̌̍̐̕͜͝͝ͅi̸̧̧̨̧̭̳̦̲̣̜̼̙̅͛̓͊͆͌̔̿̋͆̑̍̏̔̏̓̌̕̕̕̕͠͝o̴̧̢̦̗̘͔͕̮̼̣̬̥̠̱͚̱̣̩̭̟̺̲̠͕̹͓̲̜̙̝͇͓̩͚̦̿̇̽ņ̶̧̢̢̛̥̣͎̦̬̫͍̪̣̣̦̜̹̝͖͚̟͕̮̫̣͉̗̘̼͎͕͈͉̇͂̊̒̅͛̄̄̅́͂̍͌̌̀̀͂̎̍̆̉̈́̐͋͂̍̈́̽̌̽͘̕͘͘͘͜͜͠ͅs̸̢̧͚̖̟̞̲̥͔̣̼̰̥͔̲̟̮̟̹̠̱̩̬̹͉̯͇̣̭̦̪̱̣͉̭̖͖͚͊̃͋̐͑͌͋̊̕͝ͅ. In front of him, a small wooden stand, which thankfully looks firmly placed in your dimension. On the table lay three items, with their prices beside them. "Choose if you ḑ̴̛̠̲̰̪͎̮̻͕̝̻͉͇̳̙̗̬̤̖̙͚̰̲̑̆̎͆̉̉̈́̍̂̑͂̽͐̽̔͌̈̈́̓̒̂̅͘͘͜ͅą̵̪͙̦̖̮̮͈͖͇̭̗͈̖̫̲̗̜͍̀̾̾̎͂̈́̓͗̎̎̿͋͛̒̑̅̐́̔́̓̕̚͠ͅŗ̵̧̧̛͉̝̰͉̖̯̘̜͉͍̥̟̖̫̤̪͖̬͇͖͓̪̩̫̊̍͂̄͘͜ę̴̡̢̧̢̳̲̹̬̻̫̦̣̣̠̳̼͍͇̜̓͌́̚͜͝, and if you can a̵̘̜͇̱̽̌̇̅̐̏͗̑̂̽̊͆̏̒͝f̵̨̨̜̭̬̠̞̫̮̲̺̼̝̻̟͖̯̼͚͕̻̤̤͉͉̯̈́̾̈́͐͝f̷̟͓͖͔͕͎̥̖̝̞͈͆́̏̀͐̌̈̀̓̎͒̾̃̊̏͛̍͗͜ơ̷̡͓͙͓͚͙̪̖̻̣̞̹̻̻͇̫͓̟̹̔͌̑̈́͛̀̀̀̑̚͝r̷̢͈̝̝̲̼̦̺̜͔̲̳̀̈́ḑ̵̣̜̤̲̹̠͖̪͖͔̗̫̮͎̼̯͎͕̫̭̣͈̥̏ͅit," the figure says. You can't bring yourself to look away without some effort. You are keenly aware of his gaze. He does not seem like he's in the negotiating mood...


Į̴̧̘̹͙̘̲̤͖̔́͑͌̅̾̊͐̍͋̀̓̅̉̇̑̍͠͠ń̶̯͉̫̤̳͚̣̖̳̯͍̤͓̟͉̥̩̀͋̌ͅv̵̡̧̳̠̬̰̺͔̖̠̳̥͉͉̜͕̗͕̋̈͘ͅę̸̧̢̢̯̠̜̟̘̺̳̟̃̑͌̀̉̓͋͊̃̍̑̂̐̇̓̌͆̈́́͗̓͘͠n̵̡͙̲̞̰̭͖̠̮̺͊̉̑́͒̓͌̈́͐̅̚͝ţ̶̢̛̠̮̼͙͙̗̣̘͇̘͓͈͈̱̮̩̲̩̱̠͎͌̽̈́̒̍̎̀̋͗̇̔͊̇̀̀̋̈́͋̉́͌͜͝͠ơ̸̢̨̨̱̟̹̘̩̤̠͈͕̠̪̥̥̙̓͋̎͛̌͐̓̈́̐̌̂͂͑̋͘̚͜͝͠ȑ̴̠̬̫̻̠̘͔͖̦̰̩̖͎̜̞͉̘̭̙̮̰̹̙͔̳̬̱̆̎̍̿̌̇́̍̒͆͗̀͒͐͋̄̓͆́̕͘͠͝y̴̧͎̟̦̘̝̠̣̮̻̥̰͆͆͋͐͂̈́͊͛̈͋͆̊̇̄̾̈́̔̓̽͂̋̽̚͘:

• 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.”
  
• Mushroom Based Acid- 2 /
  A small vial with a convenient handle that almost makes it seem throwable. Upon the label is a skull and crossbones symbol beside a shattered shield.
  
• Grow Potion- 1 /
  Grow Potion - This bottle is shaped like an upside down 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 largest one.
  

A floating figure emerged on the Range and everything else faded away, including his brother. Acacius blinked in confusion, spending many moments staring blankly at the figure as well as his shop. There were three items on the table and Acacius wanted all of them, but it was clear from the singular floating crystal in the air that he only had enough for one. The pup frowned and for a moment considered stealing everything off the table, but he pushed the idea aside as too risky. "Excuse me, Sir." He bowed his head in polite greeting, then waved a shakey paw toward the Grow Potion. "I'd like that, please and thank you." Finishing off his request with a beaming smile, Acacius waited with open paws to receive his purchase.

He could hear the quiet sounds of hesitation that came from his brother, the gentle rustle of downy fur as his head moved in short, swift motions and the gentle click of teeth as he sought the right words. Patience was his strong suit, thankfully, and he was quite used to having a moment or two of silence before anyone remembered to use their words rather than gestures. The grasses parted, quietly shifting around the heavy paws of a young wolf as Acacius moved away from where they'd been standing. Raven waited, tilting his skull to tune his ears towards the sounds of his larger brother's movements. After a few moments, the gentle thudding of young paws came to a halt, and he pivoted his forepaws until he was facing the direction he'd last heard Acacius' movements. Then the other boy's voice rang out, beckoning him closer. Oversized paws carried him over the remains of the mushroom cluster, the ends of his claws brushing lightly over the soft stems that still sprouted from the ground. His long, sensitive whiskers caught on the edges of Acacius' form before he could bump into his brother, and the boy stopped short. One questing forepaw extended, searching for the aforementioned fungi that were supposedly there. It didn't take long for his toes to bump lightly against the sturdy caps, and he pressed his pad more firmly against the broad top of one of the mushrooms. He felt a tingling against the tough, leathery skin of his pawpad. Then, his heart seemed to stutter in his chest, catching him off guard. It settled into a quick rhythm, a staccato beat that spelled excitement and exhilaration despite him being stood so casually in the fields. He pulled his paw away, letting out a soft breath of astonishment. "That's so weird!" he giggled in his high, singsong voice. His heart was already slowing to a normal pace, but he could still hear the rush of blood in his ears. ""

Firefly Shoppe- Acacius

The potion was handed swiftly to the young boy, the cloaked figure offering a slow bow in return. With that he sweeps up the rest of his item and disappears, leaving the two boys alone once again.


You gain:

• Grow Potion- This bottle is shaped like an upside down 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 largest one.
  

You lose:

• Currency (x1)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  
  

Raven

You feel a heartbeat in your chest that is notably not your own.


You gain:

• Mushroom (1x)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...