Gwynevere wondered if the saying that curiosity killed the cat was really true. Even with Blue on her back and Eilwen watching from over head she was still nervous about leaving the castle for any reason, but leaving so she could investigate some mushrooms she had seen from the edge of the starlit plains felt incredibly ridiculous. It was a silly reason for her to gather up her courage to go out, but just the peek of the bioluminescent fungi from where she was standing on the plains had her incredibly curious about what they were and what they could be used for.

She was just about to force herself to go out on her own, putting on the circlet that Ysmir gave her for good luck, when she happened to pass Serenity as she was leaving the castle and took the opportunity to invite the speckled woman along. It was always better to travel in pairs anyway—not just because she was frightened by everything that moved. That was already enough of a pleasant turn of events to make her feel a bit better about going out, but on their way across the plains toward the wildberry grove she got the biggest surprise of all! She just so happened to find Ysmir approaching the borders, making her mood brighten immediately. Now she got to spend the afternoon with her friend and the boy she liked and now there was absolutely no reason to be frightened.

Gwyn walked between Ysmir and Serenity as they made their way into the shade of the grove, but it still wasn't all that dark with the swarms of fireflies that seemed to be absolutely everywhere these days. They were still a bit unnerving as was everything that was going on these days, but their constant presence had actually started to become slightly normal. Her lavender and mint eyes scoured the trees for the mushrooms she had seen before with a thoughtful frown. "I know I had seen them around here somewhere..."

"Gwynevere Carpathius"

Serenity was done her patrol for the day and was on her way to sit up on her perch on the castle walls when she passed Gwynevere who had invited her outside of the castle walls with her. She honestly was just ready to head up and relax but she wasn't one to say no, and with the strange creatures and evenings that lasted forever, she wasn't going to let Gywnevere go out on her own.

As they moved out towards the grove, they came across a young boy who Serenity didn't even flinch a paw to. She saw the way Gywnevere lit up at the sight of him, but even before she noticed that, at least in these days, unfriendly wolves were the least of their worries. They were still close to the castle after all.

Serenity was put off by all of the strange changes the winter brought them. She didn't even want the fireflies near her and her tension was well obvious to see, or maybe at least to those who knew her. Gwynevere had mentioned seeing something around the trees of the grove, and Serenity gave her a tiny tilt in her head, "Are you looking for something specific?" She dropped her nose before taking a few steps forward, ready to help the search even before she knew what Gywnevere had her mind on.

"Serenity"

With Gwyn always on his mind Ysmir didn’t let too much time slip by before he was taking another trip down south to see her, however short his journey was cut when he coincidentally ran into her and another woman from her pack. Ysmir was fully aware of the unprecedented events, and he often found himself staring at the bright almost fireflies in the dim light of day and the light of the forever full moon.

He felt comforted to be at Gwyn’s side as they walked, It felt good to lay his blue and lavender gaze on her with everything being so… off. He was glad to know she had someone with her this far from the castle, Serenity seemed like a genuine woman, who was obviously friends with the dark furred girl he was obviously crushing on.

He followed after and as always his trusty gyrfalcon was in the air, she slowly adapted to flight by moonlight. Her all rang out as Gwyn lamented her plight and Serenity asked her to clarify. He tilted his head and motioned where the bright white bird was luminated in the sky, directing them towards what she saw.

She looked up at Serenity when she came over to help look, questioning what it was she was looking for. "When I was looking for herbs in the starlit plains yesterday I saw some glowing mushrooms around the base of some of the trees out here. They don't seem to be where I thought I saw them though..." Surely mushrooms couldn't have died off that quickly right? And it wasn't like they could move. Although, with the way things were going she wouldn't exactly be surprised if something strange had happened. She turned her gaze to Ysmir as he got her attention, following where he motioned to look up at his gyrfalcon that stood out boldly against the dark sky, seemingly leading them to something she had seen.

Curious, she followed the bird's trail a short distance away, leading the way with Serenity and Ysmir close by as she passed by a tight cluster of trees that seemed to be absolutely crawling with the blue motes of light of the fireflies that had taken over everything and she she slipped between a couple of the trees she landed in a small clearing. The middle was taken over by a small pond or perhaps just a large puddle, but it made the whole clearing more damp and muddy than usual—but that wasn't what interested her. All around the edge of this puddle were dozens of mushrooms that were glowing with an unusual bioluminescence and she gasped softly at the sight. "There's so many!" she exclaimed, padding closer and dipping her head to take a closer look.

"Gwynevere Carpathius"

Gwyevere mentioned what her interest was in the search though she couldn't say she felt the same. She was completely wary of all the changes that came to them. Serenity watched for a few seconds as the boy's companion took flight and started to lead them in a direction of what she found. The bird was easy to spot along the never ending haunting sunset that the golden trees hadn't even glowed from.

Serenity stayed close to the two but not too close. She was ready to protect her pack mate and even the boy if needed but she wasn't a hawk over their shoulder. It seemed the fireflies were what caught the falcon's attention at first and Serenity shuddered at the sight. She was hesitant in her steps as they grew closer, and even let the two slightly ahead of her though still prepared to jump into action if she needed. But she realized that the falcon wasn't leading them to the fireflies, but in fact what Gwynevere was after. She couldn't deny the sheer beauty of the scenery here, but she still wasn't so sure about bothering with them. "I wouldn't get so close." She warned Gwynevere, though she wasn't sure the dangers or even if the mushrooms were safe.

"Serenity"

While Ysmir couldn’t discuss what he saw and felt the two girls could and the young viking kept close and listened to them speak. He didn’t have any explanation anyway, everything he had seen in the last few weeks had his whole life feeling like it was turned upside down. Blue and silver eyes took in everything around them as they followed Barenziah forward, deeper into the forest.

Gwyn was in her element, spooky forest or not. As soon as she caught sight of the mushrooms she looked like she belonged there. Ysmir followed after, eyes scanning the horizon as Serenity offered a word of caution. The boy stood close to Gwynevere, but made no motion to keep her from doing what she deemed appropriate.

Gwyn glanced back at Serenity as she warned not to get to close and she gave a slight nod. She wasn't as familiar with mushrooms as she was other plants that were used more closely in various healing practices, but she was at least aware of how dangerous some mushrooms could be. She could tell from Serenity's face though that wasn't really the thing she was most concerned about. The strange changes in the world certainly weren't pleasant for her either, but there wasn't much that outweighed her curiosity when it came to finding new or strange flora. "I'll be careful," she promised with a small smile before she turned her attention back to the mushrooms.

She glanced around for a moment, looking for a stick or something she might be able to use to do a bit of investigating with. She was standing beside Ysmir and spotted a stick near the trunk of a tree on the opposite side of him and she looked up at him as she asked, "Could you pass that to me please?" She smiled as he handed over the stick, her face flushing with a shy flick of her ears as her muzzle accidentally brushed his muzzle with hers in the process. She giggled softly and gave him a grateful glance before she turned her attention to the mushroom in question, using the stick to poke at it gently and attempt to carefully pry it off out of the ground.

"Gwynevere Carpathius"

She didn't know the boy at all obviously, but with Gwynevere with them Serenity didn't really pay close attention to his silence. It would have been much different if it was just her and the boy, or maybe if it was a normal day and not one of these spooky ones that seemed to become the regular this season.

She barely noticed as their muzzles touched, but just to Gwynevere's little giggle she couldn't help but smile. Just what she needed to relax a little, but not completely. Serenity was still just slightly back from the pair of wolves, but her nose did reach out towards the mushrooms and sniffed carefully as Gwynevere started poking at one. She couldn't deny being interested, but she couldn't shake the bad feeling because of the changes she had seen in other animals. Would the mushrooms spore and make them crazy? Anxiety was something new to her at least, she was usually very easy going.

"Serenity"

Ysmir didn’t blame Serenity for showing her concern over Gwynevere. He couldn’t deny he felt very similar feelings. He’d been there when the girl was victimized by that man claiming to be her brother, Ysmir didn’t want her to have to face any pain or sorrow anymore. That included any potential side effects from Mushrooms like these. However, she was the expert and he very much wasn’t. He was comforted by her words as Gwyn promised Serenity that she would be careful.

The boy nodded when she requested the sturdy stick to the side of him and Ysmir happily passed the not glowing branch to Gwyn with a smile. He felt warmth blossom in his chest as their muzzles brushed at the trade off. Another protective surge went through him. Gwyn carefully proceeded, poking against the fungus with her tool. Ysmir had no idea what to expect and watched curiously.

Gwynevere

As your stick reaches out to touch it, you feel a zap of electrical energy course through the wood and into your paw. It's so sudden and painful that it causes you to drop your stick, which now has scorch marks climbing up it's thin bark. That's weird, do sticks usually conduct electricity?

Maybe you shouldn't have done that...

Serenity

You watch with your muzzle nearing the fungi as it's poked, but find yourself becoming sleepier the longer you stare. Before Gwynevere's stick even touches it's cap, you've collapsed onto the ground into a deep sleep. You did try to warn them..

Maybe you shouldn't have done that...

Ysmir

You watch entranced as Gwyn gives the mushroom a poke of the stick, suddenly reminded of a dream you had not long past. The full memory of your dream eludes you, but you're left with the feeling that you're missing something important.

As her nose reached out to examine the mushrooms from afar, she started to feel dozy. But, did the mushrooms spore and she just didn't see it? Did Gwynevere even touch the mushroom? It all started to become a blur. Maybe the glowing of the mushroom had somehow hypnotized her though maybe she would never know. It seemed to not effect the other two who were with her. She gently and wobbly laid down onto the ground, much more as if she were drugged rather than an abrupt plop. And everything went dark before she could even see what happened with Gwynevere and the electric mushroom.

"Serenity"

Gwynevere's stick poked at the mushroom and almost immediately a sharp pain hit her paw and ran up her leg, making her gasp and flinch back, dropping the stick and stumbling back to fall onto her haunches. Panting lightly from the surge of adrenaline, she looked down at her paw, blinking as she turned it this way and that to check for any wounds. Her lavender and mint eyes looked down to the stick she had been holding and her eyes widened with shock when she saw the burned, scorched markings running down the length of the stick. "But how...?" she questioned mostly to herself, looking at the mushroom with confusion. How could a mushroom generate electricity like that? And how could it transfer to her through a stick? She flexed her paw a few times and bent her leg back and forth, grateful that it didn't seem to really do her much harm even though it had hurt quite badly. She gave a shake of her head and glanced over to Serenity to see how she was getting on and to warn her about the seemingly electric mushrooms which is when she saw Serenity laying on the ground. Gwen gasped again and hopped to her paws, running over to where her pack mate was laying. "Serenity! Are you okay?" she questioned, gently lifting Serenity's head to make sure she was still breathing. Looking to Ysmir, she said, "Ysmir, help me move her away from the mushrooms." Whatever these things were they weren't good news.

"Gwynevere Carpathius"

Ysmir couldn’t look away as Gwyn leaned forward and gently touched the end of the stick to the mushroom. Her yelp of fright had the boy shifting immediately, and he went to catch her as she fell back. His ears fell to his skull as he tried to shake the feeling of deja vu. Like he had dreamed this… no the memory was different but familiar and with his foggy mind he didn’t even notice that Serenity had laid down until Gwynevere turned towards the woman. She was out cold. What in the world had just happened?

He was alarmed, but remained calm as Gwyn sought his help in trying to get her friend away from the spores and fungi. He furrowed his brow, helping but feeling like he was missing something. Barenziah called out from a tree above, leading them away from the mushrooms as she had led them here.

Firefly Shoppe- Gwynevere

A firefly draws your attention nearby to reveal a cloaked figure with a small wooden table in front of him. On the table lay three items, with their prices beside them. "Choose wisely, and only choose one," the figure says. "If you can afford it, that is." Perhaps he accepts cŕ̷̕y̵̍͊stals and mushrö̸́̀ō̴̉ms... or perhaps its worth bargaining for something greater...


Inventory:

• Fun Shroom- 1 /
  An ordinary everyday mushroom that just has a little handwritten tag on it that reads “eat me”. It seems pretty risky, but it might pay off in the end. Maybe...
  
• 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!
  
• Elixir of Agility- 3 /
  This bottle of milky blue liquid has a shoe etched onto it… whatever that means.
  

It Continues for Serenity...

Huh? It doesn't seem like anything happened... Well, maybe that's for the best...

It Continues for Ysmir...

Huh? It doesn't seem like anything happened... Well, maybe that's for the best...

One second Gwyn was with Ysmir helping pull Serenity away from the mushrooms while Ysmir's bird flew overhead and the next she was alone. She turned around to tell Ysmir something and he was gone—as was Serenity. Both of her companions were gone as well. Her ears folded back against her head as her marbled eyes went wide with shock and panic. "Y-Ysmir? Ysmir!" she called out, looking around at the forest that suddenly seemed so dark. A firefly suddenly appeared in front of her and she jumped, absolutely everything feeling terrifying in that moment, her circlet slipping slightly off center on her head as she jumped back from the blue mote of light. She watched as it seemed to lead her through the trees and despite her better judgement she followed it, finding herself in another clearing with a strange figure standing behind a table.

"Choose wisely, and only choose one," it told her as she approached the table and she nervously glanced down at the items in front of her. A gleam beside her made her glance down at the ground beside her and she blinked with surprise at the pile of crystals that were suddenly there and once the took a closer look at the tags beside the items she began to understand why. They were each marked with a different sum of crystals or mushrooms she she assumed this pile of crystals was meant to be her currency. Looking at the items she struggled to see why she would want any of them. She didn't want the mushroom—it had seemingly gotten her into this situation to begin with. The mystery bag of items made her nervous and she didn't know why but the bottle of blue liquid on the end didn't really feel like it would do her any good.

She looked up at this strange, cloaked figure with eyes made of fireflies and it hit her again how deeply afraid she was now that she was alone. She didn't always used to feel like this. She was never the adventurous one of her family, but she didn't used to be afraid of every shadow. She didn't used to feel so dependent on her siblings and companions for any feeling of safety and she didn't want to bring her fear into this relationship she was trying to build with Ysmir. She didn't want to feel like she was a burden on him. She wanted to feel like she could go to his pack and see him too instead of always having to wait for him to be able to come see her in Auster.

With a frown and her ears folded back, she picked up the crystals beside her, setting them on the table. All told there was eight of them that she placed on the table. Considering the most expensive item he presented her with was worth three crystals she felt like that had to at least get his attention. "I... I want a way to protect myself and feel safe," she requested, trying desperately to keep any shake out of her voice. "All of my siblings are fighters or brave and I'm..." She didn't know what to even say about herself or why she needed help or what to even ask for. She knew some wolves were naturally born with stuff that they could defend themselves with. Artorias' girlfriend had sharp antlers, some wolves like Art were just bigger and tougher in general. Maybe if she was just more physically capable, maybe she would feel less powerless...

OOC: Gwyn has offered 8 crystals to firefly guy for something to defend herself with and boost her bravery.

"Gwynevere Carpathius"

Smarter not Harder

The woman offered 8 currency for some way to become stronger. Wolves always wanted to become stronger. She basically shirked away from even her own statements. With a snap, the shop and the currency were gone. "It is not all brawn and muscle, young wolf. Learn to fight smarter, not harder." He considered doing more, looking at the other wolf that accompanied her for a long moment. He decided against it, for now, vanishing into nothing before the woman's gaze.


You Lose:

• Currency (x8)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  
• 20 Int Points- You probably should have thought that one through...