The sky had lightened, just like that. Everyone that had been glowing wasn’t anymore (and of course she never got to glow), and Modesty’s itchy paws returned. She hadn’t spent much time in the North, so she thought she had best check it out while they were all still wandering. It wasn’t a pleasant smell that wafted from the cave entrance, but it intrigued her all the same. So with little thought for impending danger, she stepped forward, into the dark mouth of the cave and began her descent down, down, into the sulphurous hungry mouth of the earth, towards a distantly glowing red light and a radiating heat unlike any other she had felt before.

“Speech.”

We are the jack-o-lanterns in July setting fire to the sky

When Toxicity came to her senses, she found herself far away from home. Her dreams had been plagued with thoughts of her family, past and present, as well as where they might have ended up during this troubling time. She was drawn to the warmth of the lava river and went to it readily, as if called upon it. The thick red glow stunned her vision and bounced warmth into her dark fur, bringing back memories from when the large volcano had erupted and all that had followed. She looked up to see that her own daughter stood by the glowing river. Her motherly urge was to jerk the young woman away from its dangers and coddle her safely away forever, but at this point, she wasn’t even sure she could trust her own vision. “Modesty?" Toxicity called, biding back the overwhelming feelings of seeing her daughter again after what felt like an eternity.

The voice that came to her pulled at her heart as she squinted against the fiery river trying to make out just where it was coming from. It wasn’t just the heat and sulphur that was making her eyes water. She hadn’t known where her mother or siblings had gone in all the craziness of the world going dark. “M-Mum?” she managed to choke out as her eyes finally fell on the familiar form of the most important constant in her life. She raced to close the gap, throwing caution to the wind despite the strange goings on of late, burying her face in the fur of her mother’s chest. “Where have you been?!”

“Speech.”

We are the jack-o-lanterns in July setting fire to the sky

Her pup came and clung to her and Tox showed much of the same, knowing one- even if it was the only one- of her children were safe. The lava river bubbled slowly, threateningly at their side, and Tox led them away from the heated sulfuric air a little ways before she could speak again. "I am unsure of where I have been and where I have not," she admitted. "Before the darkness, I sought to find a place like the shrine which Abraxas could inhabit since none of his kind reside in Ashen any longer." She looked at her daughter, mismatched eyes seeking understanding. "Then the darkness came, and I was never sure if I was on this plane or the next. I saw many things and many people from both the past and present. Until now, I still was unsure whether I was a spirit trapped on this plane."

Toxicity looked her daughter over for harm again. "Are you well? Have you seen your siblings?"

It sounded like a really terrible time. Modesty had managed to avoid the worse of it, if what she had been hearing was true. “Gil was with me in the beginning, but I lost track of him too. I just kept moving, managed to not upset anyone or anything too much, I think. At least, I didn’t start glowing like everyone else...” Although she still wasn’t quite sure if she was happy about that or not. “I was careful not to squash any fireflies and stayed as clear as I could of the mushrooms and crystals, but I lost track of Pont and Faith. I didn’t think they’d go far from the swamp though.” At least it was a starting point. “I was going to start heading back that way, now that things seem to be getting back to normal.”

“Speech.”

We are the jack-o-lanterns in July setting fire to the sky

The girl recounted her time in the darkness and Toxicity wanted nothing more than to pull the girl close and keep her there forever. She had met "Gil" once and was glad to hear that Modesty had someone to rely on in this world. Modesty also said she had lost track of her two other siblings and that she was going to go to the swamp next to look for them. Toxicity nodded, "I think that's a very good idea, I intended to find my way back there as well, though I needed to relocate myself first." She pulled away and smiled at her daughter almost tearfully. "Would you like to go together?"