Fooorr.....tuuunee...

Lavender eyes shot open at the sound of her name, too real to be a dream. Assuming someone was coming to fetch her from her nap, Fortune rose quickly and laid her fur back neatly from the tousled mess it had become. With the days disappearing and only giving enough light a few hours per day to see slightly better than what the large, looming moon could provide, her sleep schedule was out of wack. It was hard to keep a good schedule, but she was trying although she often found herself succumbing to the temptation of a nap.

As she readied herself, assuming whoever it was to be waiting outside, she called for them to enter. She was surprised when no one came, but figured perhaps her light voice simply went unheard. After a few finishing touches, Fortune moved to the door of her den and outside only to find that no one was there. Strange. Maybe she had kept them waiting too long. A frown formed on her lips, but her ear twitched at a sound to her side and that caught her attention.

A lone blue firefly buzzed in the distance, hovering as if it were staring back at her. Fortune. She heard the voice whisper again and she was off, chasing after the firefly. She knew that voice. It was her father. Maybe this firefly would take her to her father! White gloved paws carried her quickly over the borders of Habari and to the falls nearby, were many fireflies gathered. The voice had been quiet since the last time she had heard it, and it remained so as her eyes frantically scanned looking for signs of her father.

He wasn't sure where he was, but it didn't matter anymore. His parents were dead, and his pack had been dissolved. The pup had been given the option to tag along with his crimson uncle, and of course, he obliged. He wasn't quite ready to be on his own yet, so while his uncle went to investigate some nearby caverns, Finan decided to check out the falls. They weren't too far from one another, and he was sure his uncle would be along to collect him in a little while.

While he investigated some glowing crystals and peeked at the mushrooms, he was unaware of a handful of fireflies coming to hover over him. "Finan! Finan! This way Finan!" His head shot up, confusion plain on his face as he tried to figure out who was calling to him. The glow of the fireflies over his back caught his attention and he looked up to see them starting to zoom away as soon as he looked at them. "Wai'! Where ye goin'?" He cried out as he gave chase. He swore he heard the voices of his mother and father, but they sounded mixed together.

He chased after them until the stopped above a pool of water, and as he approached, they buzzed around for a moment before disappearing. Huh...strange...then he noticed he wasn't alone. "Tha' didnae happen to be you callin' me, eh?" He asked in a hopeful voice...maybe this stranger somehow knew his name and he wasn't just imagining things...

Nothing.

No one.

Fortune's eyes frantically searched for her father, certain it was his voice that called to her. The fireflies had to be leading her to him, right? This couldn't be a dream, she wasn't even asleep! Fortune frowned as her search concluded, her chin dipping as she stared at the ground. How foolish of her to think that he'd be here, and that these stupid bugs would lead her to him. It was all just another game, another trick the bugs played on her. What did they have against her? Did she do something to them?

Tears were welling in the young girls eyes, but as soon as she heard someone approaching she turned sharply. Maybe this would be her father! Maybe he was just a bit late. Her tail started to wag, but as she figure came into view she was hardly surprised to see someone other than her father. Her tail drooped instantly, her features following in suit as the young boy asked if it was her that had been calling for him. Strange.. She didn't even know this boys name.

"Um.. no... I thought I heard someone calling my name, too, then the fireflies led me here." She said, her voice soft and pained with a slight frown as she looked at the falls beside them. Was it silly of her to believe that it was actually him?

He noticed the girl's reaction to him. She went from excited and hopeful with a wagging tail to dropping it all in an instant. Still, he remained hopeful that she had been the one to call him. Maybe she knew him and he just didn't remember who she was or something. But when she said that it hadn't been her and that she heard someone calling her name and the fireflies, his own hope had faded to be replaced by a puzzled look. Brows knit together with confusion. "I coulda swore that..." He sighed. Maybe he was just missing his mom and dad too much that he had begun to hear their voices in his head or something.

Approaching the girl, he sat a few feet away next to the water and peered into the nearest pool. He saw his reflection, and in that reflection, more fireflies. He looked up to see them dancing over the water again, and he couldn't deny that it unnerved him. They seemed to just appear out of thin air, adding to the already creepy atmosphere of the world. "I thought I heard my mum and dad's voice, but...they're dead." He murmured. "I saw 'em with me own eyes..." So how was it that he heard their voices out here? Had he mistaken their bodies for someone else?

No...that didn't seem possible. They were gone. Turning to the girl, he looked at her and noted the sadness she seemed to hold as well. "Wha' about you? You said someone called your name? Who was callin'?" Almost as soon as he asked, he heard voices again. Only this time, they were different. All sorts of voices seemed to be trying to talk to him at once, and he wildly looked around as his fur stood on end. It lasted for a couple of heart beats before it suddenly stopped. His heart hammered in his chest as he looked at her again, a mixture of confusion and fear in his eyes.

The boy before her was young, too young to be out alone. She wondered briefly if anyone had came here with him, but assumed not or else they'd be tagging along too or would be shortly. He started to speak then, his voice trailing off in thought as he approached and sat near a pool of water at the base of the falls. She approached as the fireflies began to swarm overhead, appearing in the reflection of himself he saw and catching Fortunes pale lavender eyes. The fireflies were pretty, but she couldn't help but think they had something out for her. After scaring her before and now leading her on with lies, she wasn't sure these fireflies were so neat.

The younger boy then responded with what he had been hearing, bringing a more permanent frown to the yearlings features. Sure, she thought that her dad might be dead, but at least she still had her mother and siblings. She wasn't sure what this boy had left, if anything. It saddened her to think about being orphaned and wondered what this young boy was going through with all those thoughts swirling around in his head.

He asked then who she had thought was calling her name and while her frown remained, she answered solemnly. "My dad, I think. I don't know if he's dead but... it's been a long time since I've seen him. I was hoping he was here." At least she still had hope in finding Magnus, but what did this boy have? Certainly not any hope. Her eyes moved from the reflection of the fireflies in the pond to the younger boy beside her, noticing now that he seemed frightened, as if he'd seen something. Fortune was about to ask if he was okay before a voice started calling her again, but this time it wasn't her father. Who was it, then? Distracted suddenly, Fortune stood to see around her better, scanning the falls for whatever she had heard. They had to be here somewhere.

Things had taken a turn all too quickly for the boy. He lost his home. His parents. Didn't know where his siblings were anymore. He was alone for the most part, though his uncle had promised to keep an eye on him. Being as young as he was, he felt like sticking close to his uncle was the better option. After all, he didn't really know anyone else nor did he know anything else other than what he'd been born into. He was a Praetor, and while he didn't quite know what that meant yet, blood was thicker than water, wasn't it? He had nothing else to hold onto other than those two things. A namesake, and the only real family he knew of. But now with the world thrown into a semi-darkness, he felt more on edge than he ever felt before. It was his first winter, so naturally, he assumed this was all normal...but somehow, the fireflies made it feel otherwise. He didn't know what their purpose was, or if they were friend or foe. The ones he had chased up North had danced and played with him, or at least that's what it seemed like. But these ones? Either they were speaking to him, or his young mind was finally snapping.

"My dad, I think. I don't know if he's ̶͒͌ḋ̶̿e̴̐̈́a̷̓́d̶̈́̒ but... it's been a long time since I've seen him. I was hoping he was here." He looked at her, the confusion and fear he felt still there, but a little more hidden to be replaced with a look of understanding. Part of him hoped that his parents dying was all just some bad dream, but the longer he sat there and the more he thought about it, he knew it had all been very, very real. Silence pressed down on him like a thick, choking fog. And when he was about to ask her another question, she suddenly stood up and looked around. Was she hearing voices again? "Finan..." Almost immediately he stood up, too. There was that voice! Only this time, it was clearer and just a single voice instead of dozens. "It's coming." It stated, though he had no idea what that meant. "What's coming!?" He questioned, pale green gaze looking towards the fireflies, though they seemed to fade away before his very eyes. The whispering he heard had suddenly silenced, the young boy feeling even more on edge. "Ah don't know what's going on, but I don't like it one bit..." He stated both to himself and the girl he was with.

The fireflies would seemingly appear again on the other side of the pool, and as Fin watched them, he couldn't help but feel a strong urge to follow. He looked at her for a brief moment before looking at the fireflies again, "I...I think they wan' me to follow but..." He was hesitant, yes. But the more he tried to ignore them, the stronger the urge to follow became. The fireflies seemed to pulse brighter, beckoning him to follow. Even with the fear he felt, his curiosity got the better of him, and he made his way around the pool to follow.

They danced around him for a moment before flickering away towards another pool, and another, and then another. Steadily climbing the path that led towards the top of the waterfall. Finan followed, though he wasn't sure where they were leading him, and why.

Fortune

As you scan for the voice's origin, the mist at the base of the waterfall begins to change. It becomes a heavy, thick fog and begins to move towards you, obscuring your vision and making it hard to breathe.

Maybe you shouldn't have done that...

Finan

As you follow the fireflies from pool to pool they suddenly stop and turn on you, flying as a cluster toward you and seemingly through you. Where they disappear into the top of your skull a violent shiver begins and runs down your spine, like the bugs are crawling beneath your skin.

Maybe you shouldn't have done that...

Following after the fireflies, he had taken his eyes off of them for a moment as he watched his footing to make sure he didn't slip into the water. When he looked back up, the fireflies suddenly stopped. He froze, puzzled as to why. Before he knew it, they turned and rush at him. He yelped in surprise as the cluster flew towards him, but instead of flying around him, it felt like they were going through him. He dropped to the ground, covering his face with his paws, but he hadn't been fast enough. The fireflies seemed to disappear into his skull, sending a violent shiver down his back and throughout his body as if they were crawling around inside of him. He gasped in terror. Was he imagining this!?

Firefly Shoppe- Finan

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:

• Grow Potion- 1 /
  This bottle is shaped like an upside down pear and within it swirls a sparkly gold liquid. The label shows a crudely drawn image of two wolves of vastly different sizes, with a green checkmark over the largest one.
  
• Firefly Fone- 1 /
  It’s actually just a bunch of fireflies in the shape of a phone. Use it in any thread (and post in Maintenance) to summon the Firefly Shoppe to your location.
  
• Go fast juice- 1 /
  The liquid in this bottle is thick and dark, and has something that looks surprisingly like muscle
  

Fortune watched the fireflies as the danced across the water before them. Suddenly the boy next to her shouted and her attention was drawn to him with widened eyes. Had he heard the voice again? He admitted a moment later that he didn't know what was going on and Fortune swallowed. This was getting pretty creepy now and she couldn't help but shift around as an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.

As soon as the mist started to change into fog, Fortunes eyes and ears were removed from Finan's words and her focus shifted entirely to the growing mass as it started to move towards her. She gasped as it engulfed her, stealing her breath and making it hard for her to breathe. Her lungs ached at the lack of air that should be filling them and she struggled to cry out. She couldn't see anymore, the fog dark and heavy around her like a thick smoke and as she panicked, it wouldn't be long before she passed out.

Fortune - It Continues...

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

The feeling of the fireflies in his body slowly dissipated, and when all was still, he hesitantly peeked out from beneath his forelegs and noticed there was one firefly floating away from him. He watched it go, though the terror he felt previously wasn't quite gone. Before he knew it, a cloaked figure had appeared with a wooden table and a few items spread upon it. It took the boy a few moments to find his legs, but when he did, he approached with caution and hesitation. The firefly man told him to pick one, but Fin wasn't sure what these things really were and he wasn't sure he could afford anything...what would the firefly man accept from him? He recalled the one measly mushroom he had with him, but would that be worth anything?

If this guy managed to appear out of nowhere, did that mean he was some sort of God? Or something else of power...? He swallowed as he hesitantly sniffed at the items, then looked up at the firefly man. He was shaky, but there was little he felt he could do to quell the fear he had. Swallowing, he decided to speak. "H-hello, sir...Um...I...my family are all gone...my mommy and daddy are dead...I don't know where my siblings are, and everything is scary..." His mouth felt dry as he spoke, and the more he did speak, however, the more he felt like he wanted to cry. "P-please, is there anything you can do to help me? I don't want to be alone...I don't want to feel weak and afraid...but I d-don't know what to do!" He wailed, peering up at the cloaked figure with desperation in his gaze. He didn't have much to offer, but he laid the mushroom he had on the table. "I-I don't have much, but you can take this, sir...please..."

Finan is bargaining for something to potentially help him not be alone or not feel afraid and weak.

Firefly Shoppe- Finan

The pup stammered about being alone and offered a mushroom. He asked for help, and the figure signed if he could do as much. "Look inside yourself, tiny wolf." He said, meaning it nearly literally as Finan's sight clouded over into darkness.


You gain:

• Nothing- Wow!
  

You lose:

• Your sight- 1 OOC week!