Hephaestus woke to a den that felt dark and cold, shivering uncontrollably with it. He felt horrible, like he was going to sick up all over the den, and the need to do so made him quiver still more with the urgency of it as he fought back the feeling. "Mama!" he cried out, in his illness for once not caring how mature he appeared, wanting only to have his mother take care of him, to make this sick feeling in his stomach go away. Tears streamed down his face, already wet with them by the time he had awoken, despite every effort to hold them back. They dripped to the floor and in the darkness seemed black and thick, like blood from a wound. The iron tang of blood seemed to scent the air as well as he stared uncomprehendingly at his own tears of the den floor. "Mama?" Hephaestus whimpered again. Speech

Andromeda had noticed the gradually changing weather, the world around them was growing cooler and cooler and yet as she awoke Andromeda had realised she was perhaps the coldest she had ever been, body trembling with the chill and the start of fits that had already gripped her within her sleep. She felt so exhausted despite having only just awoken, body weaker than it'd ever felt and stomach churning threatening to empty at any moment. She felt awful though she tried to fight away the tears that now began to form though they continued anyway, red streaks marring her golden fur as they trickled down and onto the ground. The smell of blood was growing stronger, though she would realise the state of Hephaestus before noticing her own bloody tears. "Phaes?" She would ask weakly, hardly daring to question the blood so worried for her brother. Glancing away she would look down and notice the drops falling from her own eyes, the blood so clear against the golden paw it'd landed upon. Her worry would only increase and she would whimper once more. "Mamma, what's happening?" She would join in her brother's cries for her mother as fear gripped her.

BUGS. Bugs everywhere! They were on the ground, the walls, their pincers snapping in unison as they crawled towards him. The clicking of their claws echoed around him, the sound swelling and growing until he could hear nothing else. Nemesis kicked one as it got close to him and it struck the wall opposite him and burst into more bugs. Fear clutched at his heart as he swatted more bugs away.They just kept coming. The more he kicked and smashed, the more came after him. The boy turned to run but there was nowhere to go. A sharp pain in one of his paws made the child shriek, his eyes fixing on the giant insect that clung to him. In a panic he shook his foot but the bug remained fix to him and in a desperate attempt to get rid of it, he bit it. The crushed insect exploded, filling his mouth with dozens of its offspring. The bugs crawled up his face and tore into his eyes, causing blood to pour from them. In his mouth, his ears, up his legs, across his back, they crawled, they flew, covering every inch of him until there was nothing to be seen of him, just a swarm of black beetles. Pain came from everywhere, there was no escape from it. The boy collapsed, writhing on the ground as he bit and clawed at his own skin. Nemesis screamed as he was eaten alive. Speech

Hephaestus?s cries send her running. Virgil is a busy woman, but her children come before anything else in her life, even her Empire. Heartbeat races, eyes going wide as she arrives at her den, assessing the situation. Her jaws part in horror as she notes the bloody tears coming from her golden-tinted son?s optics, fiery gaze flickering to Andromeda to discover the same fate. Nemesis, she notes, is twitching and squirming. There is no Gaia here, where is she? ?Quiet my loves, I?m here,? she says, pressing tender kisses to the heads of Andromeda and Hephaestus, before her attention turns to Nemesis. She seeks to place a stern paw upon him, hoping to pin him down and keep him from hurting himself. ?Nemesis it?s me, I?m here. You?re alright. I?m going to make it better,? she tells him, but how? How can she help her child, so afflicted? Why have the gods chosen to test her so? She sends a desperate bark, a cry for assistance. She doesn?t know what to do; her only thought is that she might be able to lull her offspring to unconsciousness, so that they are not in discomfort whilst she tries to find something to help them. She knows nothing of herbs and remedies, and for once she feels utterly helpless. Table by Lu - Image by Poison - Code for Ala Only

Hephaestus' heartbeat pattered faster as his sister came into sight. Blood was dripping from her eyes, staining her beautiful golden fur. Hephaestus lurched toward her in horror. "Andromeda!" he gasped, bathing her face in licks. Had he gotten her sick, was this his fault? "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't mean to get you sick, I'm sorry!" The sick feeling was not gone, merely ignored for the moment as he worried over his sister. But there was little time to worry, as Nemesis awoke and began showing himself to be sick as well - perhaps even more sick than Phaes and Andi. Suddenly a dark shape swooped over, tapping both he and Andi on the head and going away again before he could bring himself to react in any way. His copper eyes tracked the shape as it went over to Nemesis and pinned him down, sending out sharp barking noises of triumph. It was going to eat Nemesis. "Nooooo leave him alone," he roared a puppy roar that was more squeak than anything, his chubby body scrambling forward. He couldn't let it eat his brother while he was sick and helpless. A puppyish snarl as an odd rage filled him and drove him to violence, and the usually-pacifist boy sought to sink his teeth into the paw that pinned Nemesis to the den floor. Speech

She would come to find that daytime and night time had absolutely no meaning. She slept when she was tired and would awaken when she was rested. Gaia had begun to feel more confident in the surrounding territories with her aunt's help. She was amazed to find the woman was just as blind as she. Nothing like the blind leading the blind. However it was good for the girl, she was beginning to really get the feel of her real home and the sense of duty Natalya instilled upon her would only grow. As her siblings slept the she pup would find herself outside the den, not too far away but far enough that while she wasn't paying attention she had not quite heard the voices of her siblings. She would however catch a strong whiff of her mother and the metallic scent of blood. Excitement would race through her at the thought of getting to eat meat again.
Ashen paws would carry her to the den as Hephaestus' squeaks would reach her ears. She felt confused, had mother brought back something alive that was now attacking Nemesis? She would whimper at the entrance of the den, incredibly unsure about entering and completely clueless to the sickness. "Mother? What have you brought for us? Why is it hurting Nem?" her ears had fallen back as she kept herself away from the inside of the den.?






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Helios had to admit, he was impressed. Virgil had managed to recovery from the attack, take over her duties once more and still seemed to find time to spend with her children. With his niece once more on the job the load became a bit easier to bear, not that Helios was slacking mind you but he found it gave him more time to reconnect with his own little family. In fact he had been seeking out Natalya when his niece?s barks reached him. Helios stopped, eyes growing wide with worry and in an instant he was turning back around and racing to answer the call. As he drew closer russet gaze landing upon Virgil?s den and he slowed. Virgil was half in half out of the den, squeaks coming from inside? The man?s gaze fell briefly upon Gaia the blind girl seeming just as confused as he was. ?Virgil?? He called out tentatively as he approached the den. He didn?t enter but as he got close enough to peer inside he began to see a nightmare unfolding before him. Three pups, three of his own great nieces and nephews obviously violently ill, blood seeping from the corners of their eyes and staining their fur red. Gods, what is this? He thought, lurching back slightly. Speech,

Ever the carer of the litter, Hephaestus would quickly show concern as he noticed Andromeda and quickly began to apologise. If it was her brother that started it, she could hardly stay mad at him, for starters she felt too awful to bother with any feelings of anger right now but more importantly was certain that her brother wouldn't have meant it anyway. He'd been fine previously however, it seemed they'd come down with this sickness together. And Nemesis too apparently. Weakly she would turn her head to look over towards her brother he was squealing away in pain and horror and it only made the poor girl feel worse, not for her own symptoms but for helplessness. Was was wrong with Nemesis, with all of them? She was grateful as her mother appeared though wouldn't say anything, merely try lean into the comforting touch. Nemesis needed Virgil's help more however and so soon enough their mother would turn to him, attempting to pin him down as he continued to thrash around on the floor. Their mother's words were surely right, she would make everything better. There had been a brief period of absence from their lives at which point her mother had apparently been in need of care herself but still Andromeda wouldn't doubt the words at all. To her surprise Hephaestus would suddenly launch across the den and attack their mother's paw. Andromeda would gasp in shock. "Phaes, stop it." She pleaded with him. Though she had been comforted by her mothers arrival initially scared by this sudden attack from her Hephaestus and worried by Nemesis's behaviour as well. Suddenly she became aware however that the coldness had left her, replaced instead with an overwhelming warmth. She longed to get outside to the cooler air but after only moving a few steps, her stomach finally gave in as she threw up.

His mother was there. He could see her through the bugs. She moved as if unaffected by their pinches even though the insects swirled around her. A touch of relief broke through the veil of terror. His mother was here in the swarm with him and she was strong, her unwavering presence keeping him from being wholly lost. "Momma," he pleaded, a fresh wave of bloody tears spilling down his cheeks, "Make them stop biting me!" Through the bugs she reached out and placed a paw on him, further anchoring him to reality. The insects scattered, fleeing from her touch. They lingered in the corners of his vision as menacing shapes. He could hear the rasping of their wings and the clicking of their pincers, but none attacked him. Still, he remained far from soothed and tears continued to run down his cheeks. Nemesis was breathing hard, almost to the point of hyperventilating. His breath came in hiccups and gasps and his vision swam, scaring him further. He felt like he was going to be sick. Hephaestus scurried into the boy's line of sight and Nemesis' breath momentarily hitched. "Hephaestus!" Speech