Haiku felt like he was dying. He had taken what Syanna offered him and they helped a little. His mind was fuzzy and foggy, he could barely work through the mushrooms and by now his cough was atrocious. The glowing ooze streamed from the base of the mushrooms, and it seemed like everything he tried failed. He hadn’t given up yet though, he couldn’t give up. What still remained of visible eyes looked up to find Bowen as he finished one last try at a cure.

It wasn’t special, but a bit of mead, peppermint, ginseng, and a dash of garlic. It was fresh as he could manage and Prose had chilled it in a stream for them. Haiku hadn’t made much, but he would give the tonic to Bowen if she wanted to try one more thing. Neither of them seemed really in their right mind, Haiku often faded in and out of reality. Thankfully Prose was unaffected, the raven was his seeing eye bird.

The young man looked up to his caramel and cream dream come true. He’d thought he lost her once, and now he was afraid he was going to lose her again to the madness taking over their bodies. By now Haiku wasn’t sure if he was more wolf or mushroom. "One more toast?” He asked her hoarsely as the white raven poured the infused mead into their own bowls.


"Bowen & Haiku"

I have a white raven companion named Prose if she isn't mentioned assume she is nearby

Things had gone downhill quickly. Bowen, who had been so confident before about not caring whether or not she was in close proximity with the infected, was now deathly ill. Though she didn't sprout mushrooms like Haiku or Syanna, she leaked a glowing, almost metallic green fluid from her eyes, nose, mouth ears... It continually trickled like small waterways down her cream and copper coat. Her entire body hurt. It was hard to even move. With so much liquid in her nose, it was hard to breathe. Those were just the physical ailments. The worst, by far, was happening in Bowen's head.

The majority of the time, the woman looked catatonic. Her eyes were wide, the green liquid keeping them moist. Though her eyes were open, she saw nothing. Her mind was running rampant with horrible, negative thoughts. In her mind were gnashing teeth, screams, pain, doubts, her mothers telling her that she wasn't enough. As imaginary teeth bit into her flesh, Bowen visible flinched, a gasp pulling from her as she began to see the present once more. The linens around them were stained with the viscous fluid and more puddled as Bowen moved.

Haiku asked if she wanted more mead and Bowen opened her mouth to speak, but could only cough. Rivers of vibrant green poured out between her pristine, white teeth and she just shook her head no before laying back down, pressing herself tightly against the chocolate man. They were going to die.

"Bowen & Haiku"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

With every day that went by Haiku was beginning to believe that they were going to die together. The world seemed like it was coming to an end, but it was really just their world. Haiku was covered in fungus while Bowen lacked them and spilled similar ooze from her face. The hardest part was seeing her suffer like this. Haiku would have taken all of her pain and suffering on himself, but it was more likely that he had been the one to infect her. All through it his mind wandered in and out of consciousness as his body fought to overcome the infection of mushrooms within.

Bowen coughed when she went to answer his question about his five hundredth attempt at a cure. The last ones never worked, why would this one? He’d save her the pain of it and down his own portion of the potion. It was not pleasant besides the subtle warmth in his belly. Even that was easily whisked away by his own coughing as the spores multiplied in his lungs.

Bowen collapsed beside him, and her certainty of their fate was apparent. "Don’t give up yet.” He whispered and curled tighter around her. The green of the ooze pouring from her features mixed with the glowing blue that fell from the base of the mushrooms on him.


"Bowen & Haiku"

I have a white raven companion named Prose if she isn't mentioned assume she is nearby

The sickness had hit Bowen so quickly that she hadn't eased into it like everyone else. It smashed into her like a tsunami and it had taken the life out of her in the blink of an eye. Her body hurt and her lungs felt as though they were full of sloshing sea water. It was hard to move. Hard to breathe. Hard to do anything but lay on the bed beside her lover and wait for death to take her.

Haiku's voice brought a soft whine from the copper and cream fae and she curled into him again. "I'll try, Hero," she promised softly. Promise or no, there was little hope in the woman. Never had she been so sick in her entire life. In her garbled, clouded thoughts, she imagined that it might be easier to just die. She would hold on for as long as she could for the sake of those that she loved, however.

The fire in the hearth was dying down and the shadows were getting deeper. "The fire, Bishop," she whispered through wheezing breaths. The obsidian raven hopped towards the flames and threw what chunks of wood he could lift into the fire. It flared to life and Bowen released a sigh of relief. There were demons in the shadows. She had seen them. She could hear them. She was determined to keep them from getting her and Haiku.

"Bowen & Haiku"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

He didn’t feel any different as the infused liquor trickled down his throat. Maybe his breath would smell a little fresher with the peppermint, but likely that was all that would happen. Nothing had worked so far and he had little hope believing that it would now. The worst part was he knew that it wouldn’t help his Bowen. That was why he had been drugging himself with every herb he had in hopes of finding some kind of relief, but nothing ever did.

Bowen whined softly as he begged her to keep holding on. He’d accepted they were watching the end of the world but he wasn’t going to lay down and die. (Well, at this point he might be, but he was trying to get better.) Haiku held onto Bowen like it might be their last night, which it very well might have been. The young man sighed heavily as he held Bowen, and she asked her raven to stoke the fire that kept the darkness at bay.

Haiku couldn’t even promise to make her well, he was far too sick himself to really take care of her like she deserved. He whined softly as he buried his nose into her fur, certain that death was coming for them. "I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t beat this.” He begged her forgiveness because he took all the blame himself. He should have found a cure, should have tried more potions, he should have done something.

"Bowen & Haiku"

I have a white raven companion named Prose if she isn't mentioned assume she is nearby

Haiku

You begin to cough so hard you can't breathe. You become dizzy to the point of needing to lean on something to stay upright.



You gain:

• Crystals (6x)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  

Bowen choked and shuddered as another thick wad of fluid was coughed up from her aching lungs. She gasped, catching her breath before collapsing against Haiku once again, panting roughly. Gods above... would this never end? She was drowning from the inside and each second seemed to fill her lungs more and more.

Haiku apologized, burying his nose into her coat. "No," she rasped. "It's not your fault. You tried everything. You all tried everything." Bowen pushed her head upwards against Haiku's chin and in doing so, knocked one of the mushrooms free from his face. In some strange, half cocked thought, Bowen snatched it up, tossed it into the bowl of herbal mixture and raised it to her mouth, swallowing it down. Again she coughed and sputtered, curling up against Haiku as her body switched back and forth from hot to cold.

"Bowen & Haiku"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

F̷̢̢̢̨̨̢̛̛̬̜̩̹͇̝̗̪̜͙͕̝̫̟̥͖̯̱̰̹̗̺̜͈̰͚͎̜̘̩̠̱̱͈̜̭̀̍̇̋͊̉̂̈̑̓̉̄̈́͗̑͗̓̽͋̾̍͛͗͛̏̐̑͐̒̔͋̕͘͘͜͝͠͠͝͠͝ͅͅÍ̷̡̢̞̘͖͙̮̺̝̼͉͈̼̣͕̲̜̤̦̦͚̗̃̊̕͝ͅR̵̨̨̳̭͚̻̱̥̮͓̫̤̺̱͕̹͚̲͕̼̙̯̟̻̠̖͙̘̦̀́̊̒͑͊͋̏́͑̈́̔̌̈́̒́̂̑̃̅͗̅̄͆̍͆̃̓̾̀̾̒̎̾̓̿̅̏͊̕̕͝ͅȨ̸̡̛̤̬͇͍̬̗̙̠͔̓̅̄͊̀̃͐͐̄̏̈̍͗̓̋̏̀̈́̉̐͊́̄̅͘͠F̸̡̡̢̣͔͎̭̳̱̙͖͍̣̳̣͓̰̠̳̜̲̣̠̖̖͉̘̗͙̖̼̜̖̞͙͇̲̫̺̻͙̥͈̬̤̬̩͒ͅͅĻ̸̳̟̘̫̺͓̺̊̋͑̈́͊̇̽̏̒̔̉̊̽̇̉̔̑̉̔͋̈́̈́̃̐̽͘͝͝͝Y̵̡̡̛̛̦͙̬͙̮̘̺̗͕̜̜͙̟͍̺͙̖̫͕̩̆͊̊̈́͛͛̈́̌͊̀̾̿̄̅̏̿̽̑̌͂̇̋̎̐́̑̈́͂͊͒̏̕̚͘͜͝ͅ ̷̨̢̢̢̨̛̣͓̭̘̯̜̗͔͇̜̟͕͙̬̘͖̠̫̫͚̩̠̬̠͍̦̰̯̈́̂̄̂̐̆̀̅́͘͘͜S̷̡̧̡̛̬͕̫̮͖̹̣̖͓̥̹͓̹̹͉̩̠̩̻̠̝͕͐͐̈͒́̈́̄̿́͊̉͊͐̈̆͒̈́̈́̍͊̊́̾̾̄̕̕̚͠ͅͅḨ̵̪͍͓͍̓̎̽͐̐̇͊̈́̊̐̓̎̄̔̋͐̔̏̽͐̿̑̏̏̅͐̆͂̂͒͆̒̄̉̏̈́͌̒̉̎̆͘̕͝͝Ŏ̵̢̧̢̗̬̰̣̹̘̰̥̗̥̦̫̙͈̞̣̘̞̯̟̱̖̀̏͝ͅͅP̵̨͚̟͚͇͎̣̝̞̈́P̶̨̛̛̘̣͍͎̱̙̲͚͚̼̟̈̀̍͆̍̎́͐̈́͐̐̓̆͂̃́̋̍͆͠E̵̢̨̧͍͕͖͍̰̹̦͕̼̺̤̙͉̫̝̠͇̯͙̬̩͉̱͍̔̓̉͋́́̆͐̇̈́̔́̂̓̄͋̈͗͘͝ - Bowen

You feel something gritty in your eye. As you blink, something falls out. You find yourself unable to see for the rest of the day.

You gain:

• Crystals (3x)- Used in Firefly Shoppe, and 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:

• 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!
  
• Racing Shoes- 1 /
  Some nice kicks that make you feel like you can just do it!
  
• Small unfleshed thought- 2 /
  This bottle contains whispers of what has passed, what is passing, and what has yet to pass. It looks kinda like a firefly….
  

Haiku didn't have a chance to respond before Bowen's vision was gone. Just completely gone. She gasped, a paw reaching out before her in shock as she tried to ground herself and get oriented. Losing ones sight was terrifying. Add it to the sickness and the general malaise and Bowen wasn't sure how much more she could take.

As she reached out, the copper and cream fae's paw touched a wooden table. There had been no table there before and the blind girl's paw jerked back for a moment before hesitantly creeping forward again. Soft pink pads slid over the smooth glass of a bottle. A bottle that also hadn't been there before. Grasping the bottle in her paw, Bowen pulled it back against her chest and sat still, unseeing eyes wide and unblinking. She truly didn't know what to do, but she was now in the possession of a Small Unfleshed Thought.

Bowen took that little bottle, turned it over in her paw a few times, then gently uncorked it. What else would one do with a thought other than press it against the place where thoughts were formed? The copper and cream fae upended the little bottle right atop her forehead, the liquid running down between her emerald eyes. Then... she waited.

"Bowen"

Firefly Shoppe- Bowen

The deal was made, and the currency and item exchanged. The strange bottle was handed to Bowen, the glimmering light within it beginning to stir- and suddenly the world was reverted back to normal again, leaving Bowen with her item.


You gain:

• Small Unfleshed Thought- This bottle contains whispers of what has passed, what is passing, and what has yet to pass. It looks kinda like a firefly….
  

You lose:

• Currency (x2)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  
  

What is a Thought

if not unfleshed?

You pour the item over your head and it feels like sand. Loamy soil surrounds you and clouds your eyes. You find after one tense moment that you can still breathe. You move freely beneath the earth, in the safe confines of the soft silt. It is warmer than the home was, and you flourish here. Above, you can hear the potter patter of rain and the clawing, scratching of an animal above. You dig deeper. Your friends are here and you are home.

You blink and you find, almost uncomfortably, that you are actually a wolf.

... What a weird and unfleshed thought...