It'd been a long time since Epiphron had been here. So much time had passed... how much, she wasn't completely certain, but it felt like an eternity had passed since she'd walked these lands. Everything since then had been a blissful blur. Reunited with her siblings, her family- from Cairo to her dear brother Syrinx, and even Erani.. and eventually her children, she hadn't found any reason to return to these lands she once called home. So much had changed, she noted, as she drifted above the ground, finally stopping at the edge of this strange oasis. Everything was darker than she remembered, more ominous, but she supposed that was to be expected compared to where she'd been. But it was still beautiful, in a way she hadn't been able to recognize when she's still walked this world in the flesh, despite all its changes... she sighed wistfully as she watched the fireflies dance in the mist, wondering where they were going.

She had run from the pack lands in the throes of a nightmare. Everywhere she looked, there was nothing but darkness. Mist clung to the ground everywhere she walked and she was terrified that she couldn't escape it. Voices in her head wouldn't leave her alone. All she heard was the sad wailing, and as she ran, she left behind a trail of white ooze. She didn't know how far she'd gone or where she was by the time her legs started to give out on her, but between the light of the moon and the erratic glowing of her pelt, she realized she was quite a ways from Valhalla. She crumpled to the ground near the edge of the water of the Oasis, the girl trying desperately to wash the ooze from her face, though it didn't seem to help much. She looked around in the darkness, spotting a figure not far from her, but with her panicked young mind, she didn't realize the figure wasn't quite...well...normal when she called to it. "E-excuse me! Can you help me!?"

She wasn't alone for long, it seemed. Slowly she turned to find the source of the noise- a pretty young girl washing her face at the edge of the Oasis. The strange ooze that pooled from her face was nothing Epiphrom had ever seen, but this world seemed s changed place, and she was beginning to wonder if it would ever return to the normal she remembered.. or maybe this was just the state of things now. It'd be a shame.

"You can see me?" She looked momentarily startled. Perhaps she looked more real thanks to the darkness and the heavy fog, not that she knew how she appeared to anyone here. "I'm afraid I won't be much help. I've been gone from these lands for a long while. What ails you, young wolf

"You can see me?" Tel paused for a moment, confused when the wolf asked that. "Um...sort of...I'm sure I could see better if this stuff wasn't coming out my eyes," She whined, brushing her face with her foreleg again to wipe away some of the goo from her face. She was, however, confused when the woman said she had "been gone from these lands for a long while." What did that mean? "It's okay if you're not from here..." She sniffed, wiping away more of the ooze from her nose. "I'm not sure...Winter started getting dark, and then it just...stayed this way...I keep hearing strange voices, and...I'm afraid of the dark, I guess." She had a mild fear of it before all this, but now? Now it had gotten worse. "Some wolves are growing mushrooms or crystals on them, but I guess I'm a little lucky, I'm just...dripping with this stuff," She shook her head, splattering some of the glowing ooze on the ground and in the water in front of her. She turned to look at the stranger then, "You don't look sick, that's a good thing. This stuff is horrible!"

Epiphron had lived through a plague before; was this similar, she wondered? She couldn't remember ever seeing anything quite like it. This world really had changed. "I'm from here, I just…" Truthfully she wasn't totally sure why she'd found herself back here. Maybe explaining things to this stranger wasn't so important. It seemed like she had more than enough going on; and maybe pretending she was still alive would help remind her how it felt. Everything was so much lighter now where she'd gone, though at the same time she found herself missing life's simple pleasures, all things she could only dream of now. "That all sounds… strange. I'm sure it will pass. Everything does eventually." Only in death had she found true meaning, and clarity. "And I hope it passes soon for you. You're far too lovely to suffer like this."

"I'm from here, I just..." The woman had started but stopped. Tel's leaking ears perked up a bit, but the warmth of the ooze brought them back against her skull. It felt uncomfortable, honestly. She shook her head again just before hearing a buzz in her school. She recoiled in on herself for a moment, wondering if she was about to hear the whispering again. Since she heard those voices the last time, she was afraid of hearing them again. They weren't happy voices...

Luckily, this woman was distracting her from it. "That all sounds… strange. I'm sure it will pass. Everything does eventually." Tel sighed, glancing in her direction for a moment, "I sure hope so..." "And I hope it passes soon for you. You're far too lovely to suffer like this." She couldn't help the small smile that began to show, alien gaze turning to the stranger again as she wiped her face yet again in an effort to see the woman better, but to no avail. This stuff was thick and heavy, and she truly did hope it would stop soon. "That's very nice of you to say! If I could see a little better, I'd say the same to you, but I'm sure you're very pretty regardless!"

Epiphron

You are allowed to temporarily exist again, that in itself should be enough for you...

Tel'Teukiira

The sickness deepens... You feel something gritty in your eye. As you blink, you find the ooze grows thicker and more viscous as it seeps out. You find yourself unable to see for the rest of the day.