It was a few days after Ignit'as accident and she was already restless. She hated sitting somewhere with absolutely nothing to do. She could sketch and doodle and think and that was about it while her head, ribs, and leg healed. The bruises were still very evident, and the pain was still only just manageable under the influence of Wylan's herbs.

She started to feel like the cave walls were closing in on her, her nights were anything but restful due to her mild concussion, and had sometimes asked Wylan for something to help her sleep, or at least make her brain just shut up for an hour. Getting sleeping meds while having a banged head wasn't the greatest idea, apparently. So his sleeping solution wasn't very strong.

The others were sleeping in their rooms. She decided to creep out and at least get a good look at the sky for a while. She tiptoed carefully passed Spider's room, cursing every accidental thunk of her splint, and her heavy breathing. Apparently, a few days after your accident is when the pain is a lot worse.

She had to pause on her way through the hallway to the porch for a few shaky breaths. Right in front of the Warlord's and his wife's room. She just barely spied his behemoth shadow through the doorway. He'd probably get her back to bed with one kick, or he might just scruff the back of her neck like she was a child if he caught her.

She finally crept her way to the darkened porch, she didn't know but it was the same spot Basilisk had been sitting when her accident happened. With a heavy flump, she laid down on the cold stone. Waiting for her head to stop spinning and her breathing to stop aggravating her ribs.

Finally, when she opened her eyes to the sky directly above her she saw a magical sight. Something she had never seen before or known. At first, she froze, scared watching the great colored ribbons above her writhe and sway like a gossamer curtain over the stars. She wondered if her injuries were making her hallucinate, but they didn't go away as she rubbed her eyes.

The lights moved about as if they had a life of their own. Greens and purples weaved through the inky night. She noticed they were between the earth and the stars, directly overhead. She craned her neck back and noted that it seemed to stretch from the north all the way south to the horizon.

She sat up, hoping for someone to pass by and help her identify this strange phenomenon.

"Ignita"

441 / 1500

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

Wylan had barely slept since his mother, and two siblings had trotted off into the sunset. He still got weepy eyed when he thought of them. Warden had been his best friend, and his mother… his mother his whole world. So many nights were spent playing at her paws while she mixed a poultice or tended to her herbs. So many days playing in her herb garden and asking her why, why, why? while she pruned the weeds.

The den was empty with so many less bodies, and even his fathers wings couldn’t comfort him. He found himself drifting out of the den, and trotting along in the Col. Sniffling occasionally, and looking for something to take his mind off their leaving.

What he found was little Ignita out of her den. Sitting on the Warlords porch as she looked up at the skies. His head had been angled mostly down since he got up, so he hadn’t realised that the light wasn’t starlight until that moment. He looked up at the pretty, dancing colours before trotting up the hill to Bas’ den. He didn’t mind that it was the Warlords home. He was family, and he wasn’t scared of the giant wolf.

He came to a stop in front of Ignita, and looked up at the sky again. “Whatcha think it is?” he asked thoughtfully.

WC: 671

"Speech"

When Ignita noticed Wylan coming up in the middle of the night she slunk down as if she could hide. But true to his nature and not to her fears he engaged her thoughtfully. She didn't know what came over her to think he would tease her or tell her off for being up so late, or out of bed at all, but she was very grateful for how eternally kind he seemed to be.

She huffed when he asked her what the swirling ribbons of color were.
"Crawling sand fleas, I was hoping you'd know but at least I'm not seeing things by myself. Have you seen them before?" She asked him, ever hopeful for any inkling of new information.  

wc: 792

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

She spoke differently from everyone else he knew. But maybe that was because all the wolves he knew were related to him, or close enough to it. Crawling sand flies… Is that a curse?” He asked thoughtfully. If it was, it wasn’t one he’d ever heard before. He leaned a little closer, and unfurled a wing so he could drap it lightly over her back. She was so small that he could swallow her whole body beneath the feathers if he wanted to. But he made sure to keep her head and shoulders uncovered, so she could see what was going on around her - including the sky that was clearly interesting to her.

He shook his head at her question, but found himself searching for an answer. Wanting to be able to solve this mystery for her. The only thing he had ever heard about, however, was something he’d never seen before. “My m-mother-” aaaand, it was hard to talk about Halo. He’d almost managed to distract himself for a moment, talking to Ignita, but there it all was. He soldiered on regardless. “Mentioned something about lights in the sky once. She called it the aurora borealis. But I’ve never seen it myself, so I don’t know if this is that.” he admitted a little apologetically.


WC: 1016

"Speech"

Ignita giggled weakly, through her painful ribs, and tried to hide it with her paw when he commented on her euphemism, "Oh! Yes, it's actually fleas, not flies. We knew a flash flood was coming or a bad rainstorm when someone started scratching from the fleas that would rise up with the water. They started using it especially when things didn't go their way." She used the all-encompassing "they" term to denote the pack of her past.

She softly closed her eyes at the gentle warmth from his strange feathered wing. She really wanted to know how a wolf could be born with feathers, but this land held so many surprises for her she didn't think she'd get around to finding that answer. She twitched her ear as she caught the catch in his voice when he mentioned his mother. Oh no, she had never asked about his family, frankly, she didn't know if that was allowed either. But the pain in his voice was evident even though he tried to hide it. She didn't comment on it, he was probably not wanting to share it with her just yet.

"Aur-roar-rah Boor-ree- yaL-Lis? Interesting! I wonder if that's the Aura Booris I heard someone talk about a long time ago. Some north folk that had come through when I was a kid! They said it was magic in the stars! Do you think it's some sort of omen?" She didn't put a lot of weight in omens, other than the sand fleas. Those were an omen scientifically with proof, they ran ahead of the waters. What could this be a sign of?

WC: 1288

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

He flinched a little when she mentioned flash floods. He couldn’t help it. He wasn’t as traumatised as some of his siblings, but the memories were still there. And they weren’t pleasant ones. The cold water, the dark. His head going under. He knew he would have died if his Uncle Charlie hadn’t pulled him out. It was the only time he’d knowingly come close to death. It was also why his mother had left, and to hear it so casually was almost shocking to him. His family felt like they were tiptoeing around it a little, though he knew his father would talk about it if he broached the subject. He wasn’t one to flinch easily, or hold onto worries. But this one sort of stuck. “I wish we’d known about the fleas.” He said softly. Maybe than they wouldn’t have lost two wolves, and half his family wouldn’t have left.

“Maybe, but I think it’s supposed to be further North…” he said thoughtfully, the memory shaking free at her mention of north folk. Though he really didn’t know enough on the subject. “I hope it's not an omen, I feel like we’ve had enough of those.” He hadn’t lived through the Long Night, but almost everyone knew about it.


WC: 1507

"Speech"

Ignita couldn't help but feel the flinch ripple through his feathers draped over her back as she mentioned floods. She glanced sidelong at him as she was close enough to hear him say something softly about the fleas and his whole demeanor turned sad.

She didn't know what happened, but it must have been something about a flood. She reached out cautiously with her paw and gently placed it over his.

"I don't know if I can ask, but if you want to share what's going on, I'm not too tired yet. I can listen for a while." She said quietly, looking up at him, then up at the swirling colors in the night. Maybe it was a good omen. She was starting to feel the sleepiness start to creep in but she didn't want to leave Wylan alone with difficult memories. It was hard seeing his usually bright self looking so down.

Wylan sighed softly, his wings sagging as he looked up at the sky, as if that could distract him. “I don’t want to start crying again.” He muttered, but then continued on regardless.

“I don’t know if you heard, but there was a flood in the pack. A great big one that washed through the Col. Me and some of my siblings got caught up in it and almost drowned. It affected some more than others. One of my sisters especially struggled afterwards. My mum decided taking her away from the Col - from the Armada - for a little while would help her. So my mum, one of my sisters, and one of my brothers went away recently.” He explained, closing his eyes. He wasn’t going to cry again. He wasn’t. He didn’t but it was a near thing.


"Speech"

Concern shadowed over her golden and ginger face, the poor boy must have felt like he was losing bits of his family. She didn't quite know how that felt, but she knew others were intensely stricken by their love of their families. It was a change and the flood seemed to be the catalyst.
"Oh Wylan, that's awful. I can't even imagine how that must be affecting you." She expressed, her golden eyes watching his face, the lights reflecting a little over the white parts of her fur. She leaned into his side warmly, wishing she had a set of her own wings to wrap around him.

"Speech"

Wylan pulled a face at her words, it was meant to be teasing but it ended up looking just a little too sad. He shook his head, clearing his expression. “It’s fine. Me and Ollie moved in together, and that's helped” He admitted. It was a bit of freedom, but there was also family just there, and his home den was right under the treehouse. So he was never far from his siblings or dad.

“So, how are you feeling anyway? Any issues with recovery?” Wylan asked, turning the conversation back around to her. He did glance over at her with a hint of concern, too. She wasn’t out here late at night because she was in pain, was she?


"Speech"