She hadn't quite had the balls to go to Fireside, where she knew her father, and full brother Ares were located. Why, she couldn't say. Hesitancy due to the illness? She couldn't quite pinpoint it, mostly because it was absolutely unlike her. Curiosity, chaos - ha! - and an independent streak is what ruled her life, and she liked it like that. She didn't recognize the alpha's scent - was that it? It was familiar and not. Which meant - likely family, truthfully. The entire pack was mostly her family but she felt iffy about being constrained by a pack, and was honestly quite surprised her father remained as no longer an alpha.

Perhaps it was the morphing of whatever the fuck was happening again. Permanent nighttime. That wasn't something Lyra ever expected to experience, let alone in spring, and she wasn't sure if the fact that it seemed like winter never ended made it worse or better. She knew at this point, the flowers should be blooming and the trees gaining leaves, and yet they weren't. The snow was melted - thanks to temperature, not the sun - but nothing was growing because nothing was able to. These blue fireflies, the moon, whatever else was reflecting off the creepy mists weren't enough to cause the plants to really grow. Some were, but not much. Guess really only the plants that didn't need a lot of sunlight. She wasn't a healer. She didn't know how plants grew or why.

But ugh. Even though somehow she had so far escaped the majority of the infection, she couldn't help the whispers of paranoia and fear creeping into her heart. She hated it. Why was this happening? What was going on? What had happened to her father? Her brother? ....oh. So that was why she was avoiding Fireside. She was afraid for them, of them, and wasn't ready to face what would happen if either of them were severely infected. Oof. She didn't want to think about that right now. She also didn't want to think about her grumbling stomach, because with the increase of infected wolves... so did the amount of infected prey, and she wasn't willing to eat that... yet.

Just. Ugh.

Tyrfing had quickly found that sleeping anywhere near Chaos and his newest children's section of the barn was a loud, painful nightmare. He truly wanted to remain nearby, to help his family to navigate this new obstacle of puppies, but without knowledge of whether or not his affliction was infectious, staying away was simply the most responsible thing to do. It would have been the most logical to simply find a vacant den to hole out in within territory, but something drew Fin further - toward the river that ran along the Orchard. Water, he needed water.. but he couldn't determine why. Limping across the Orchard was exceedingly painful and Tyrfing's faithful hummingbird followed along diligently, weaving in and out of his forelegs as he walked and occasionally giving a protruding crystal a tentative tap. The sickness didn't seem to be improving and in fact the crystals seemed to grow larger by the day. It had stumped every healer he'd seen, including his wise companion. "You should stay away from the water." The hummingbird counselled, for the hundredth time that day. "The crystals don't sound hollow, what if you sink? I sure as fuck can't pull you up." Tyrfing gave a pained shrug and batted the small bird away. He'd barely made it half way in his slorg across the land when he came across the form of another, squinting across the grass at her with the one eye that was not sealed against the growth of a crystal. "Who's there?" The yearling tried to sound commanding and authoritative, though the weakness in his body did not allow his voice to raise above normal volume. The hummingbird fluttered nervously above his head, both wanting to stay and keep his master safe and wanting to flee to find assistance within Fireside. "Speech" table art by nightauctor

Lyra heard the wolf before she could smell him. The fog seemed to... change the way things smelled. And how she could smell. It distorted the senses, and it was rather annoying. Once she heard, though, her head whipped around and she fluffed defensively and instinctively, staring at the creature that had approached her. It was one who was heavily, very heavily infected with the crystal disease. Crystals... large, protruding, and especially from his eyes. ... gross. This disease was not a very nice one, and she cringed almost unknowingly away from the sight. Still, something made her pause and she squinted at the figure. He was.. familiar looking. He was Fireside, she already gathered that from his scent - that once she saw him she was suddenly able to smell - but it was more than that. She was certain she had never seen him in her life because he was quite too young.

Her eyes traced his form, pausing on his paws. What? Large, larger than hers, but still undoubtedly feline in nature. Her eyes snapped up to where his would be, and she squinted furiously. It was only then that she realized she had been standing quiet for too long. "Lyra Saxe. And you are...?" she let the question trail off as she casually took a single step forward, to see him better. What was it about it? Damnit, this fog! The shifting of it made it hard to see, and the lack of sun made the colors on coats difficult. It washed it all out. She could only see deep slate colors. which didn't necessarily mean anything at all. However, she had her suspicions and she was wondering if they would be confirmed. She wasn't at all affected by the attempted authoritative tone; quite frankly, she just didn't care. But more than that - she didn't want to engage in an infected individual in a fight, because she didn't want the risk of infection herself, and quite frankly this wolf didn't look to be in the best of shape.

"Speech" "You"

art by gunhorse

The stranger took a very long time to respond and as she stepped forward examining him, Tyrfing mirrored her movements backwards. His already squinted eye narrowed further in suspicion, and then she spoke her name - his name - and Fin wasn't sure what to think. "If you're a Saxe, why don't I know you?" The yearling's headache was hard to think straight through, though looking upon her he could see some familiarity in color and marking, at least. "I'm Tyrfing Saxe, Chaos and Valkyrie's son." She had offered her name so Tyrfing thought it only fair he reciprocate, though his hummingbird thought otherwise and gave the boy a few stern pecks of it's beak upon his nose before continuing it's anxious circling. The water continued to call to him and Tyrfing spared a glance into the fog west, where he new the river lay. The draw was inexplicable and confusing - was this a part of the sickness? It dawned on him then that the stranger appeared healthy, and his gaze fell upon her once more. "Are you sick?" He asked bluntly, taking another step backwards from her. From what Fin had been told there was a mental version of the sickness, one that made wolves crazy and unpredictable. Was this wolf a carrier of that strain? "Speech" table art by nightauctor

She huffed slightly when he stepped backwards. That was irritating. But understandable, considering he could barely see, didn't know her, and was sick. She saw how some of the wolves had been affected in the mind, causing them to do strange things. His words, however, caused her ears to twitch, and she didn't respond right away. She examined him again. He was definitely younger, and while likely a relati- oh, yep, he's a Saxe and... her... brother... the fuck. She blinked. Okay, really, she wasn't that surprised. Her dad was Chaos, after all. Their dad. Add in the feline paws, and it made sense. After all, she had them. It also answered his question... ah, somewhat. "Because I'm six years old and you're barely old enough to know you have a pair of balls," she answered bluntly, crudely, and quite efficiently. "I've been gone for a few years, only checking in briefly with my dad. Who, by the way, is also Chaos. Sooo we're half-siblings. My mom was someone colorful like me who also hated us and gave us to Dad at like... 2 months old. If that. Nice to meet ya, brother." After all, what else could she do but react like that?

This boy was family, and that was that. She may be flighty, explorative, not entirely reliable, but damnit she was loyal to her family. If her dad made more babies and gave her siblings, well, she would welcome them to the family. Hopefully there weren't too many of them though, she thought. Oh, how little she knew. How surprised she would be when she got the nerves to go home and call for her father, instead of lurking at the borders of the pack. But in the meantime, she guessed, she could get to know her very sick, almost weak looking... brother. Oh man, that was weird. That was gonna take a minute.

His question, combined with his step backward, made her blink. Eh? It was obvious she wasn't sick, wasn't it? Oh, wait. Right. The mental thing. But the mental one she thought was also accompanied by oozing in the eyes, ears and mouth. and nose. Ew. "No. Not yet, at least, and I hope to keep it that way. With how things are progressing, though, I'm not sure that's possible." Was that too honest? Too much in general? She wasn't certain anymore.

"Speech" "You"

art by gunhorse

A child with significantly less family then Fin had might question the stranger-Saxe further, but the young viking was up to his neck in family and finding another one he'd yet to meet was nothing short of ordinary. "Oh. Well, it's nice to meet you too, I guess." He gave back, lifting a paw to gingerly rub away the gathering fluid from around his eye socket where from where the crystal jutted. "Come back to see your new siblings then?" He asked after his eye was more or less cleared, flicking his paw (and the ooze) away from both himself and his sister. "They're loud and.. well, potatoes, really. Not much to see yet, might be best to come back when whatever sickness is spreading passes and they're a bit more interesting." It was the only logical explanation that made sense to him - this long-lost and much-older sibling of his must have heard that Chaos had more children and had come to reunite with the family, how sweet.   Lyra rejected the notion that she could be sick - for now, at least - and Tyrfing grimaced, both jealous and thankful that so much of his family had come away unaffected. What was it that made him and Dagrun susceptible, but not the half-dozen other wolves who shared their name and pack? It was... infuriating, mostly, and Fin suddenly felt self-conscious. "Good for you." He managed, turning his head slightly from her so she might not see the envy in his eyes. "Speech" table art by nightauctor

She smirked, though his lack of reaction to finding a mysterious sibling made her wonder. Just how busy had her father been, while she was gone? Aaaand then she froze, blinking at his next statement. "New siblings?" she questioned, a mild strain to her tone that she wasn't even aware of was there. She winced a tad as he cleaned out and flung out purple goo, thankfully away from her, though she learned back a bit all the same. She... quite frankly didn't want to touch that. Thank goodness he seemed to understand that it might overall be infectious and, y'know, didn't decide to fling the goo on her as well. He could have, if he wanted to. He continued talking after that, and she blinked rapidly again. "Potatoes?" What? Oh dear. How old was her dad now? 9? She couldn't remember, but oh man would that be old for him to be... successfully siring litters.

"I, uh, didn't quite realize they existed," she said dryly with an ear twitch. "I came back because I got bored being away and felt like giving Dad an update that I was still alive. Unfortunately, I came back to... this... near the beginning. After it had already begun, I arrived when the nights were long and the days short, and it was only a week or so before the days disappeared completely and only leaving the horizon colored. And now, of course, there's not even that." It wasn't quite the welcome home she expected, especially considering she still had yet to actually talk to her father or Ares. For reasons she had begun to realize but quite frankly didn't want to think further on.

She caught sight of the grimace at the answer to her question, and she felt a brief pang of... what? Pity? Sorrow? She felt bad for making him be aware of his own sickness, she guessed. It wouldn't feel good to be sick and then your very own half-sister be totally okay. "Luck, mostly," she responded quietly. "Wolves were already sick when I came, and growing crystals or mushrooms. Despite the allure they had, that kept me away. I've been avoiding hunting sick animals, mostly avoiding sick wolves, and overall isolating myself and not interacting with them. And then it appears sheer luck I haven't gotten whatever the strain is that doesn't cause growth, but causes weird thoughts and crazy actions. Not sure how I've avoided it so far, and not sure how much longer I can do so." It was a truth she didn't really like admitting, especially right now.

"Speech" "You"

art by gunhorse

F̷̢̢̢̨̨̢̛̛̬̜̩̹͇̝̗̪̜͙͕̝̫̟̥͖̯̱̰̹̗̺̜͈̰͚͎̜̘̩̠̱̱͈̜̭̀̍̇̋͊̉̂̈̑̓̉̄̈́͗̑͗̓̽͋̾̍͛͗͛̏̐̑͐̒̔͋̕͘͘͜͝͠͠͝͠͝ͅͅÍ̷̡̢̞̘͖͙̮̺̝̼͉͈̼̣͕̲̜̤̦̦͚̗̃̊̕͝ͅR̵̨̨̳̭͚̻̱̥̮͓̫̤̺̱͕̹͚̲͕̼̙̯̟̻̠̖͙̘̦̀́̊̒͑͊͋̏́͑̈́̔̌̈́̒́̂̑̃̅͗̅̄͆̍͆̃̓̾̀̾̒̎̾̓̿̅̏͊̕̕͝ͅȨ̸̡̛̤̬͇͍̬̗̙̠͔̓̅̄͊̀̃͐͐̄̏̈̍͗̓̋̏̀̈́̉̐͊́̄̅͘͠F̸̡̡̢̣͔͎̭̳̱̙͖͍̣̳̣͓̰̠̳̜̲̣̠̖̖͉̘̗͙̖̼̜̖̞͙͇̲̫̺̻͙̥͈̬̤̬̩͒ͅͅĻ̸̳̟̘̫̺͓̺̊̋͑̈́͊̇̽̏̒̔̉̊̽̇̉̔̑̉̔͋̈́̈́̃̐̽͘͝͝͝Y̵̡̡̛̛̦͙̬͙̮̘̺̗͕̜̜͙̟͍̺͙̖̫͕̩̆͊̊̈́͛͛̈́̌͊̀̾̿̄̅̏̿̽̑̌͂̇̋̎̐́̑̈́͂͊͒̏̕̚͘͜͝ͅ ̷̨̢̢̢̨̛̣͓̭̘̯̜̗͔͇̜̟͕͙̬̘͖̠̫̫͚̩̠̬̠͍̦̰̯̈́̂̄̂̐̆̀̅́͘͘͜S̷̡̧̡̛̬͕̫̮͖̹̣̖͓̥̹͓̹̹͉̩̠̩̻̠̝͕͐͐̈͒́̈́̄̿́͊̉͊͐̈̆͒̈́̈́̍͊̊́̾̾̄̕̕̚͠ͅͅḨ̵̪͍͓͍̓̎̽͐̐̇͊̈́̊̐̓̎̄̔̋͐̔̏̽͐̿̑̏̏̅͐̆͂̂͒͆̒̄̉̏̈́͌̒̉̎̆͘̕͝͝Ŏ̵̢̧̢̗̬̰̣̹̘̰̥̗̥̦̫̙͈̞̣̘̞̯̟̱̖̀̏͝ͅͅP̵̨͚̟͚͇͎̣̝̞̈́P̶̨̛̛̘̣͍͎̱̙̲͚͚̼̟̈̀̍͆̍̎́͐̈́͐̐̓̆͂̃́̋̍͆͠E̵̢̨̧͍͕͖͍̰̹̦͕̼̺̤̙͉̫̝̠͇̯͙̬̩͉̱͍̔̓̉͋́́̆͐̇̈́̔́̂̓̄͋̈͗͘͝- Lyra

You feel a heartbeat in your chest that is notably not your own.

You gain:

• Mushrooms (x1)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  

You blink, and you're face to face with a figure who seems as if it's clipping through d̴̰͚͖̮͙̥̥̙̥̬̬̼̙̟̤͖̘̺̩͓̙̣͙͇̤͓̰͕̺͉̳̰̰̺̠̠̟͓̘̭̘̿̈́͛̈́̇̈͗́́͂͌̓̈͛́̀̿̽̓̈́̈͘͜͝͝į̸̡͔̖͈͕͙̺͈̺͔͇͍̭͖̖̟̙͚̠̯̻̘̼̙͇̮̬̳̹̼̣̻͖͉̪̾̀̆̔̉̽͋̄̇̄͂̈́ͅͅm̶̧̢̱̯̲̻̳̞̦͚͖͎̼̹͙̩̹̟͕̥͉̤̭̠͔͎̜̪̲͈̰̼͙̟̱̺̯̼̐̿͛͑͛̅̍́̇̔̎̀̾̉̒͋̾̒̿͛̀̕͠͠͝è̸̢̡̧̥͓̩͉͉̙̺̫̦͍̮̤͙̩̭̹̬̰̭̮̫̹͉̦͔̘͛̈́̍̓̒͌͊͌̌̍̽̓̏̎͘̚͜͝n̴̢̧̝͕͇͚͉̩̱̫̭͇̬̹͎̈ͅś̷̨̨̡̖̩͚̖̱͇͇͔̪̺͎̮̤̻̹̯͔̺̰̯͉͔̼̗̙͈̯͙̮̳̤̹̳̹̝̝̦̻̃̇̌́͒̊̓͋̌̍̐̕͜͝͝ͅi̸̧̧̨̧̭̳̦̲̣̜̼̙̅͛̓͊͆͌̔̿̋͆̑̍̏̔̏̓̌̕̕̕̕͠͝o̴̧̢̦̗̘͔͕̮̼̣̬̥̠̱͚̱̣̩̭̟̺̲̠͕̹͓̲̜̙̝͇͓̩͚̦̿̇̽ņ̶̧̢̢̛̥̣͎̦̬̫͍̪̣̣̦̜̹̝͖͚̟͕̮̫̣͉̗̘̼͎͕͈͉̇͂̊̒̅͛̄̄̅́͂̍͌̌̀̀͂̎̍̆̉̈́̐͋͂̍̈́̽̌̽͘̕͘͘͘͜͜͠ͅs̸̢̧͚̖̟̞̲̥͔̣̼̰̥͔̲̟̮̟̹̠̱̩̬̹͉̯͇̣̭̦̪̱̣͉̭̖͖͚͊̃͋̐͑͌͋̊̕͝ͅ. In front of him, a small wooden stand, which thankfully looks firmly placed in your dimension. On the table lay three items, with their prices beside them. "Choose if you ḑ̴̛̠̲̰̪͎̮̻͕̝̻͉͇̳̙̗̬̤̖̙͚̰̲̑̆̎͆̉̉̈́̍̂̑͂̽͐̽̔͌̈̈́̓̒̂̅͘͘͜ͅą̵̪͙̦̖̮̮͈͖͇̭̗͈̖̫̲̗̜͍̀̾̾̎͂̈́̓͗̎̎̿͋͛̒̑̅̐́̔́̓̕̚͠ͅŗ̵̧̧̛͉̝̰͉̖̯̘̜͉͍̥̟̖̫̤̪͖̬͇͖͓̪̩̫̊̍͂̄͘͜ę̴̡̢̧̢̳̲̹̬̻̫̦̣̣̠̳̼͍͇̜̓͌́̚͜͝, and if you can a̵̘̜͇̱̽̌̇̅̐̏͗̑̂̽̊͆̏̒͝f̵̨̨̜̭̬̠̞̫̮̲̺̼̝̻̟͖̯̼͚͕̻̤̤͉͉̯̈́̾̈́͐͝f̷̟͓͖͔͕͎̥̖̝̞͈͆́̏̀͐̌̈̀̓̎͒̾̃̊̏͛̍͗͜ơ̷̡͓͙͓͚͙̪̖̻̣̞̹̻̻͇̫͓̟̹̔͌̑̈́͛̀̀̀̑̚͝r̷̢͈̝̝̲̼̦̺̜͔̲̳̀̈́ḑ̵̣̜̤̲̹̠͖̪͖͔̗̫̮͎̼̯͎͕̫̭̣͈̥̏ͅit," the figure says. You can't bring yourself to look away without some effort. You are keenly aware of his gaze. He does not seem like he's in the negotiating mood...

Į̴̧̘̹͙̘̲̤͖̔́͑͌̅̾̊͐̍͋̀̓̅̉̇̑̍͠͠ń̶̯͉̫̤̳͚̣̖̳̯͍̤͓̟͉̥̩̀͋̌ͅv̵̡̧̳̠̬̰̺͔̖̠̳̥͉͉̜͕̗͕̋̈͘ͅę̸̧̢̢̯̠̜̟̘̺̳̟̃̑͌̀̉̓͋͊̃̍̑̂̐̇̓̌͆̈́́͗̓͘͠n̵̡͙̲̞̰̭͖̠̮̺͊̉̑́͒̓͌̈́͐̅̚͝ţ̶̢̛̠̮̼͙͙̗̣̘͇̘͓͈͈̱̮̩̲̩̱̠͎͌̽̈́̒̍̎̀̋͗̇̔͊̇̀̀̋̈́͋̉́͌͜͝͠ơ̸̢̨̨̱̟̹̘̩̤̠͈͕̠̪̥̥̙̓͋̎͛̌͐̓̈́̐̌̂͂͑̋͘̚͜͝͠ȑ̴̠̬̫̻̠̘͔͖̦̰̩̖͎̜̞͉̘̭̙̮̰̹̙͔̳̬̱̆̎̍̿̌̇́̍̒͆͗̀͒͐͋̄̓͆́̕͘͠͝y̴̧͎̟̦̘̝̠̣̮̻̥̰͆͆͋͐͂̈́͊͛̈͋͆̊̇̄̾̈́̔̓̽͂̋̽̚͘:

• Xtra shrink potion- 2 /
  It comes in an extra tiny bottle. There’s barely even one drop!
  
• Cursed Litter Pass- 2 /
  This looks like it might cause something really weird to happen. The label says, “do not use if you are breastfeeding, pregnant, or plan to become pregnant,” but you can’t read… it’s probably dangerous, or really cool.
  
• 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.
  

Tyrfing

Your vision blurs for an hour and you are unable to see clearly.



You gain:

• Mushrooms (8x)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  

Badump. The sound, feeling, whatever it was startled her. It came... from inside of her. Inside of her chest. Her eyes widened from the shock as it came again, and what the fuck? It sounded like a heartbeat. It felt like a heartbeat. A heartbeat out of sync, yet was inside of her body. Why? What? Taking a deep, steadying breaht, she closed her eyes briefly. What was inside of her? What suddenly invaded her body? But as suddenly as it had come, it was gone, and her eyes flashed open.

... And in front of her was a blurry, staticky figure mere feet away from her. Immediately, her fur fluffed, her lips lifted in a snarl, and her claws unsheathed. Then the figure spoke, and her snarl faltered, fading as her eyes flickered to the... table? in front her her. She squinted back towards the figure? Was this a trick? And yet, somehow, next to her, a mushroom unlike the rest sat near her feet, and he seemed to consider this a... method of payment. There was only one thing she could afford, and it made her hesitate. Should she get it? What was this figure? What else would this... mushroom be used for? Feeling the weight of the creature's gaze, she hurriedly pushed the thing towards it, nodding to the.... shaped fireflies. "I'll take that."

Purchasing firefly phone.

"Speech" "You"

art by gunhorse

Firefly Shoppe- Lyra

You gain:

• Firefly Fone-- 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.
  

You lose:

• Currency (x1)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...