It had been sometime since he had left Valhalla’s borders, nearly since the beginning of his stay in his new home. He did not mind it, he was happy within the borders but at the not so subtle prompting of the Spirit, Drachen left the plains behind at the sun’s zenith and traveled northward. Enzi traveled with him, his companion rarely ever leaving him be himself and he glanced up at the sky to see the red-tailed hawk circling lazily on the air currents above him. Focusing back on the land in front of him, Drachen did not really have a destination in mind and the brute almost like a leaf caught in a gentle breeze, following whatever whim that flared in his tan chest. The plains grass soon turned into desert sand and he grimaced slightly as the cold sand shifted in between his paw pads but he stubbornly pressed on. By the time the sun started to make its way to the horizon, Drachen realized he was close to the oasis that he had stumbled upon before he joined Valhalla as a temporary hunter a year ago. A soft hum vibrated in his muscular chest as he stopped for a moment to scan his oceanic blue eyes around, trying to remember exactly which direction the oasis was. A sharp hawk’s cry had him turning his dark face to the skies and spotted Enzi changing direction and heading towards the east and he figured his companion knew what he was looking for. With a quick small smile, Drachen changed his northern course and turned east and he followed Enzi with a slight bounce to his trot. Soon he spotted the scattered palm trees he remembered from the last time he had traveled here and the sand soon gave way to harder ground with sporadic foliage that managed to take root and survive due water pool at the center. The sun was now about halfway behind the horizon and darkness was beginning to fall on the sky when he noticed something strange as he neared the pool of water. The black and tan male blinked a few times as he thought maybe his vision was slightly cloudy from the dry desert air but the landscape remained the same. The plants around him gave off a slight bluish-purple glow, reminding him of the wolf he now served. His tan lips thinned as he pressed them together and he stood at the very edge of the oasis, his ears straining on his head as he went on high alert. His companion must have seen his sudden tense frame as she dropped from the sky and landed on his back, near his shoulders, and bristled along with him.  "This was not like this before…"Drachen rumbled in his soft, deep tones and his ear gave the faintest of twitches when Enzi clicked her beak in agreement. Carefully, Drachen moved toward again, carefully placing his paws on hard earth instead of on the strange glowing plants. He had no idea if touching them would cause some sort of reaction or release some sort of poison. But as the Spirit’s informant, Drachen had a duty to continue forward and investigate what was going on here in the neighboring area to Valhalla. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Kiyo had ventured much farther west than she’d ever been before in search of herbs, particularly those for coughs or colds. Winter was in full swing in most of Boreas, meaning snow layered the ground and destroyed most herbal vegetation. However, she knew in most western coasts the weather was much more fair and arid, meaning the cold didn’t reach it quite as harshly. She hoped that she could be able to find some herbs, specifically watercress, that she couldn’t find in her neck of the woods.

Her journeys took her dangerously close to the borders of many packlands that she hadn’t encountered before, turning it into a several day journey, and as she went, the nights seemed to get longer and longer. Her companions and her would cuddle up in the evenings with a well lit fire, staring warily into the darkness that always seemed to have eyes peering back at them. Strange colored fireflies, the likes of which she’d never seen before, dotted the landscape, hovering and darting to and fro. It was mesmerizing, really, but it made her feel unsettled in many ways, sending creepy crawlies tip toeing up her skin.

Kiyo, Yui and Aki were out traveling later than they would have liked, but they’d finally made it along the coast and had been collecting some herbs late at night. In the distance, she’d seen the sheen of light the huge moon had cast on the surface of the small pool of water garnered by the oasis. The trio had happily headed to it, looking for a respite for the evening that carried much needed refreshments. The pool would no doubt be fresh water, which was hard to come by, it seemed, in the area they had come across. As she got closer, she realized that they would have company. He was a large man, though not nearly as large as her son and his brood, and cloaked in a base of ruddy cream. It was overlaid in black, as if a shadow was being cast over him and she had half a mind to look upward to make sure he wasn’t about to be ambushed. She noticed a hawk dip down from the sky to land near him, and his deep voice echoing off of the stone and dunes that surrounded the oasis showed that, perhaps, it was his companion.

As she neared, she was able to see what he had been speaking of. The plants glowed a strange hue she’d never seen before, aside from on the algae that sometimes washed up on the shores of the Archipelago. Her silver gaze narrowed in suspect and alarm flared through her when she saw the man reaching out toward it, her pace lurching forward to a trot. “I wouldn’t touch that,” she warned, unable to see that he had rested his paw just nearby. “In my experience, things that glow usually do so as a warning to those that may want to harm them,” she expressed. Her long, luxurious tail, which, at present, was tied up neatly in a bow on her rump, gave a twitch and she offered a friendly smile to replace the concern that had previously marred her gentle face. Her companions moved to remove the medical bag that clung to her shoulders, though they eyed the man warily to be sure he wouldn't pose a threat to their lady.

"Speech"

The night was quickly deepening, alarmingly faster than any other night he had experienced in his life, causing his deep blue eyes to look up towards the sky and a concerned frown pulled at his dark lips. The moon was full and appeared larger than normal and for some reason seemed brighter and more ethereal. The stars also seemed to stretched out across the sky as if they were racing past with the accelerated night. The man shook his head and began to wonder if he had inhaled some sort of poisonous gas in the air when the sound of fast approaching paws caught his attention and made him bristle. His dark face swung towards the sound but any flash of fangs or rumbling growl stopped short as he saw the concern on the female's face and her words of warning floated in the air. Drachen glanced back down to the glowing plant beside his black paw that he had been careful not to touch before then back to the woman. "I agree with you." He replied, his voice almost hushed as if he did not want to wake a slumbering beast but still held a confident air. "I have been to this oasis before and this plants did not glow like this then. I was going to investigate closer to pool to see if the water had been changed as well. Careful not to touch them, of course." He continued, his oceanic blue eyes traveled back to the large pool at the center of the oasis, confirming from here that the water was indeed now glowing with what seemed like a light of its own. His body relaxed and the black fur at the top of his muscular shoulder flattened once again when the female gave a friendly wag of her neatly bowed tail. Drachen looked back at the woman and observed her features closer, traveling from her antlers to her silvery pelt that seemed to shimmer like a precious metal, then to the bag that her companions took off her shoulder, then back to her silvery eyes. She was a stunning creature and he would have believed she was some sort of apparition had he not already met Aurielle who glowed like the moon and her son who glowed like embers every time the boy moved. Politely, Drachen moved his eyes to her companion and gave then a nod of greeting before looking back at the woman who he assumed was a healer based on her bag and her comment about the glowing plants. "Do you know what would have caused these plants to glow like this?" he asked her, his tone still soft spoken but friendly as he took a closer look at what appeared to be a normal patch of grass surrounded by moonlight. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

It seemed the man had the same thoughts in mind, agreeing with her statement to not touch them. She gave a nod in approval. He explained that he’d been there before and hadn’t seen them glow as they were and her head tilted to the side, her ghostly silver gaze looking down at the plants with even more curiosity. It really was odd that they would begin to glow out of nowhere. She’d never experienced anything like it, and, it seemed, neither had her company.

He asked her what might have caused them to glow, likely noting her pack and outing her as a healer. Aki and Yui busied themselves making camp, setting up bedding from their own packs and beginning to garner sticks for a fire to stave off any cold that may have threatened to move in. “I’m not sure, to be honest. I don’t believe I’ve heard of a plant suddenly beginning to glow when it had not previously. Perhaps there is something in the dirt, or in the water?” she suggested, suddenly eyeing the oasis’ water warily. After all, the plants had to pull from somewhere. Then, she jolted, suddenly aware she had not yet introduced herself. “My apologies, where are my manners? My name is Hattori Kiyo, though please call me Kiyo,” she said, offering a low bow of her antlered head.

"Speech"

Drachen’s dark ears fell slightly when the woman reported that she knew nothing that would cause the plants to glow in such a way suddenly. He had hoped that it was just some natural occurrence that he had missed at his last visit. He scanned the terrain again and noticed a path through the glowing vegetation, probably from all the paws that came to the oasis to drink, pounding down on the ground and preventing plant growth. The woman’s gasp caught his attention again and he looked at her as she apologized for not introducing herself earlier and he shook his head. "No please excuse my bad manners. " He rumbled before turning to face her fully, careful still of where he placed his paws. "It’s a pleasure to meet you Kiyo. My name is Drachen Vaekhal and my companion is Enzi. We come from Valhalla, a pack south of here " He replied with a respectful dip of his head. He had caught the scent of a pack on her but he was still too new to Boreas to know all the packs. He hoped that Kiyo would be open enough to tell him what pack she belonged to so he could memorize the scent of her pack. As part of the Shadow Circle he needed to familiarize himself with the surrounding packs for diplomatic reasons. But if it made her uncomfortable to tell him, he wouldn’t press for the information. So he stepped to the side to allow her space to travel on the non glowing path as he offered "I’m going to investigate the water, would you like to come with? There’s a path here that leads closer to the oasis" He gave a friendly way of his dark tail then started down the earthen path illuminated by the surrounding glowing plants. Enzi flew off his shoulder and landed on a branch that wasn’t glowing, though her golden eyes still eyed the bark suspiciously. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

He introduced himself as a man named Drachen, a name she hadn’t come across yet, and labeled himself as coming from a pack called Valhalla. She tried to remember if her son or daughter-in-law had told her about the pack in question, but she drew a blank. She assumed they were neutral, because she certainly knew the names of packs that they had conflict with or were allied with. She gave a nod in acknowledgement and, by the look in his gaze, she could tell he wanted her to elaborate on Ashen. “Valhalla,” she mimicked, testing the name on her tongue but likely failing. English was not her native language, as was evident by the accent that laid itself upon her words, and names outside of either Japanese or English alluded her entirely. “I come from the Ashen Empire, to the East,” she replied, allowing him that knowledge.

He got to his paws, asking if she would like to inspect the water with him and she thought on it for a moment before getting to her own dainty paws. Surely it wouldn’t hurt, and she could potentially collect a sample while she was at it to test it on the herbs back in the Empire to see if they would produce the same glowing effect.

"Speech"

KIYO

You feel the presence of someone else here. You also find 2 mushrooms. Maybe these are worth keeping…

DRACHEN

A small cluster of frilly mushrooms bobs slightly in the breeze, releasing faint glowing sporęͣ͞s to settle on the ground beneath it. You also find 4 crystals. Maybe these are worth keeping…

The Mist made his way carefully towards the water's edge, the large pool of water was nearly glass like and reflected the larger than normal full moon and between the brightness of it and the multitude of glowing plants surrounding it, the oasis was bright enough to almost be mistaken for day time if the sun had suddenly changed from yellow to blue. Drachen did not look back to see if Kiyo followed him but the sounds of paw steps growing closer told him that she had, so he made room for the silver woman on a sandy patch of bare ground. He stayed silent for several breaths, just listening to the world around him and besides his and his companions breathing, the world was eerily silent. "It's as if the world is holding its breath..." he murmured, causing his black hackles to rise as something deep inside him told him something was coming. Good or bad, he had no idea. A gentle breeze suddenly caressed his pelt, dancing in each hair on his body, causing the plants around them so sway softly. He turned his head to the right, as if some invisible force, soft as butterfly wings, pushed his muzzle and his oceanic eyes landed on a small cluster of mushrooms he did not remember seeing a moment ago. The group of fungi bobbed slightly in the soft breezing causing small glowing spores to fall from their caps like falling stars. He blinked and saw four crystals resting in the sand where he could have sworn where not there before. He glanced at Kiyo to see her reaction before he made his way to the crystals, all a deep fiery red. Enzi landed next to him and her golden eyes peered suspiciously at the crystals and finally he sighed a breath and poked the group of red crystals with a dark paw. He paused and waited for something to happen but only silence met him. Drachen chuckled at his silliness and shook his head slightly. "All this strange moon and blue fireflies have seemed to have fried my nerves." he rumbled in his hushed tones and looked over his muscular shoulder at the Ashen woman, who's pack scent and name he burned into his memory in case he had encountered more Ashen wolves in the future. What the Mist didn't fail to notice however, was that the earlier stillness of the world seemed to have begun moving again after these gifts appeared. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think