She wanted to get away from the sickness. More and more wolves she passed were sicker and sicker. Disturbed and paranoid, the small female tried to avoid contact with anyone who oozed or glowed even the slightest bit. The more time she spent near these mushrooms and crystals, the more they pulled her in. Keeping her own sick companion close to her so that he possibly too wouldn't get sicker, she grew worried. What was so wrong with these lands? Fretting quietly to herself, the horned female ducked beneath weeping willow boughs. Here, in the dark, with her obsidian coat, she shouldn't be seen. Kicking at a few mushrooms so that she could sit herself down, she stared wide-eyed out into the abyss. Whispers came from all over and she wasn't sure where they came from. "Hello?" Celeste called out as a shiver ran down her spine.

Inoki let the sweeping leaves of the low-hanging branches brush along her back as she walked, liking the feeling of it gently tugging at her fur. It was peaceful here, and she would not be surprised if she found herself coming back to this place in the future. So far she had come across a wolf that had this strange sickness going around, and heard there were far more that were also sick. Thankfully it had not infected her yet, but she wondered if maybe the symptoms just hadn't shown up yet. At the sound of another voice she paused, ears flitting around in all directions as she tried to figure out where it came from. The voice sounded feminine, young even, and maybe even a tad afraid. Inoki knew she did not look very scary with her small stature and lithe frame, so either this girl was easily scared, or there was something else around that even she should be afraid of. "Don't be afraid, I won't bite," she called out softly in response, her gaze looking around for any sign of the girl.

The nearby rustling of tree limbs hadn't been her imagination. A feminine scent reached her nostrils as her eyes turned to follow. Pulling her cat closer to her with a paw, Celeste hesitated. Was the other female lying perchance? All wolves could bite. It was whether or not they chose to. She was braver than this though. Having fared a lot worse like losing her memories and washing ashore this damned place. Inhaling a deep breath as her aquamarine eyes closed for a moment, she stood. Stepping from the shadows where she had hidden, Celeste's horned crown poked out from behind the branches. "You're not sick are you?" She asks quietly, eyeing the slightly taller and older wolf. "My poor cat is and I'm worried I might catch it too," Celeste admits as she looks down to her Maine Coone. The large cat steps forward with a pained expression. Covered in the glowing crystals that also grew sporadically throughout, he was not pleased. "It seems like it's getting worse," she ended, her voice trailing off as her gaze lifted back to the girl.

Her head turned at the sight of movement from the corner of her eye, and she watched as a small girl stepped out from where she had hidden amongst the willows, a pair of horns upon her head, and a small black cat by her side. Had the cat not clearly been a pet of some kind Inoki may have considered eating it, just to see what it tasted like. But since the girl would clearly be opposed to that, she would refrain from that impulse. Inoki shook her head at the girls question. "No, I do not have the sickness that so many others seem to have," she said reassuringly. Her gaze drifted back to the cat as it stepped forward, and she could see the crystalline growths covering its body. Well shit, now she felt a little bit bad for thinking about eating it. "I'm sorry about your cat, but I'm not sure how to get rid of the sickness, or if there's anything I can give that would help with the symptoms." She felt bad for the poor creature now as it clearly looked like it was in pain, she gave a quick cursory glance to her surroundings. Perhaps there was a plant around here that could help alleviate some of the pain?

A sigh of relief slips from Celeste's lips as the girl confirms that she doesn't also have the sickness. Smiling briefly, her attention is drawn back to her cat who mews at her. "I know, little one," she murmurs under her breath when she looks back up. "I'm in no way a healer either so I haven't a clue what would help," Celeste's accented voice lilts slightly over the words as she glances around. Maybe there was a plant that could help? "If only he would talk!" Celeste exclaims with a sigh as she sits down. Looking over to a cluster of crystals growing nearby, she reaches out to gently touch it with a paw. It pulsated under her touch and her paw quickly recoiled. The cat beside her walks closer to the stranger, his bright eyes looking up with interest. Mewing loudly as he sits, his tail flicks back and forth.

She pursed her lips slightly, now looking back at the girl. "I know some amount of healing, but my knowledge is mostly about wolves and certain plants. These... crystals are beyond me." No amount of training could have prepared her for this strange sickness going around, and she wasn't even sure if there was a cure to be found. It wouldn't surprise her if the only way to get rid of the crystals and ooze was to either die from it, or slowly overcome the sickness through sheer force of will. Inoki had been distracted by the cat as it moved closer, eyeing it somewhat warily, and so was unable to heed a warning to the girl in time as she touched one of the nearby crystals. It was dangerous to just go touching things randomly, especially if they were related to a plague of sorts. But it definitely was one way to learn to keep all paws and muzzles away from potentially dangerous things. "Perhaps if we were to investigate the crystals... they may help us figure out how help your cat?" It was unlikely to work, but worth a shot.

F̷̢̢̢̨̨̢̛̛̬̜̩̹͇̝̗̪̜͙͕̝̫̟̥͖̯̱̰̹̗̺̜͈̰͚͎̜̘̩̠̱̱͈̜̭̀̍̇̋͊̉̂̈̑̓̉̄̈́͗̑͗̓̽͋̾̍͛͗͛̏̐̑͐̒̔͋̕͘͘͜͝͠͠͝͠͝ͅͅÍ̷̡̢̞̘͖͙̮̺̝̼͉͈̼̣͕̲̜̤̦̦͚̗̃̊̕͝ͅR̵̨̨̳̭͚̻̱̥̮͓̫̤̺̱͕̹͚̲͕̼̙̯̟̻̠̖͙̘̦̀́̊̒͑͊͋̏́͑̈́̔̌̈́̒́̂̑̃̅͗̅̄͆̍͆̃̓̾̀̾̒̎̾̓̿̅̏͊̕̕͝ͅȨ̸̡̛̤̬͇͍̬̗̙̠͔̓̅̄͊̀̃͐͐̄̏̈̍͗̓̋̏̀̈́̉̐͊́̄̅͘͠F̸̡̡̢̣͔͎̭̳̱̙͖͍̣̳̣͓̰̠̳̜̲̣̠̖̖͉̘̗͙̖̼̜̖̞͙͇̲̫̺̻͙̥͈̬̤̬̩͒ͅͅĻ̸̳̟̘̫̺͓̺̊̋͑̈́͊̇̽̏̒̔̉̊̽̇̉̔̑̉̔͋̈́̈́̃̐̽͘͝͝͝Y̵̡̡̛̛̦͙̬͙̮̘̺̗͕̜̜͙̟͍̺͙̖̫͕̩̆͊̊̈́͛͛̈́̌͊̀̾̿̄̅̏̿̽̑̌͂̇̋̎̐́̑̈́͂͊͒̏̕̚͘͜͝ͅ ̷̨̢̢̢̨̛̣͓̭̘̯̜̗͔͇̜̟͕͙̬̘͖̠̫̫͚̩̠̬̠͍̦̰̯̈́̂̄̂̐̆̀̅́͘͘͜S̷̡̧̡̛̬͕̫̮͖̹̣̖͓̥̹͓̹̹͉̩̠̩̻̠̝͕͐͐̈͒́̈́̄̿́͊̉͊͐̈̆͒̈́̈́̍͊̊́̾̾̄̕̕̚͠ͅͅḨ̵̪͍͓͍̓̎̽͐̐̇͊̈́̊̐̓̎̄̔̋͐̔̏̽͐̿̑̏̏̅͐̆͂̂͒͆̒̄̉̏̈́͌̒̉̎̆͘̕͝͝Ŏ̵̢̧̢̗̬̰̣̹̘̰̥̗̥̦̫̙͈̞̣̘̞̯̟̱̖̀̏͝ͅͅP̵̨͚̟͚͇͎̣̝̞̈́P̶̨̛̛̘̣͍͎̱̙̲͚͚̼̟̈̀̍͆̍̎́͐̈́͐̐̓̆͂̃́̋̍͆͠E̵̢̨̧͍͕͖͍̰̹̦͕̼̺̤̙͉̫̝̠͇̯͙̬̩͉̱͍̔̓̉͋́́̆͐̇̈́̔́̂̓̄͋̈͗͘͝ - Celeste

A scentless wolf stares at you in the distance before turning and disappearing below the horizon.

You gain:

• Crystals (5x) - Used in Firefly 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:

• Elixir of agility- 3 /
  This bottle of milky blue liquid has a shoe etched onto it… whatever that means.
  
• Glittering Concoction- 2 /
  Glittering Concoction - Smells like mushrooms, glitters like crystals.
  
• Elixir of agility- 3 /
  This bottle of milky blue liquid has a shoe etched onto it… whatever that means.
  

Just as the stranger was suggesting they investigate the crystals, a swarm of fog and fireflies wrapped around her. The willows, her cat, the girl were all gone. In the distance, a large being barely in sight stared at her. She couldn't sense if it were real or not but the strange wolf stared at her. Stared longer than made her feel comfortable. Shivering, Celeste stared back until it turned and disappeared. Believing it to be a trick of her mind, Celeste blinked hard. When her eyes opened back up, a mysterious figure in a cloak loomed over her with a table full of objects. He shifted in and out of reality as if he wasn't actually there. More confusion overwhelmed her as his voice lurched into her head. His beady and glowing stare is ominous and frightening all at the same time. Would she dare purchase one of the items before her? Two were the same and only one was different. That would be her choice. "This one please," she speaks in her native language of Japanese, somehow forgetting she could speak a common tongue. Looking up at the figure with her wide aquamarine eyes, she pushed two of the crystals that had conjured before her toward him. Carefully grabbing the concoction that glittering tantalizing toward her, she swallowed quietly before backing away a few steps.

She had waited for a response from the horned girl, but it was as if the girl's mind had suddenly gone elsewhere. Inoki watched the girl curiously, part of her worried that this was a symptom of the sickness throughout the lands, but at the same time she wasn't sure if this was just something more of a... personal issue? She wasn't quite sure how to define it, but there was definitely a strangeness to the air where she stood. The girl then spoke in what sounded like a foreign language and pushed forward two smaller crystals. Inoki blinked, squinting really hard at the crystals that she swore had not been there earlier, unless the girl had somehow broken off some of the crystals in the cluster she had just been touching prior without Inoki seeing. Her gaze shifted momentarily to the cat, as if about to ask it what was happening, and she she looked back at the girl she could spot something glittery clutched in a paw. Had Inoki believed in a religious figure she would think this was a sign from the heavens above, but as she had no such beliefs, she was just very, very confused.

Firefly Shoppe- Celeste

The woman asked for an item in a different language than was common. The figure understood, and offered the item in exchange for her currency, "It is yours," he says in her native tongue. She stepped away and the figure bowed before disappearing.


You gain:

• Glittering Concoction- Smells like mushrooms, glitters like crystals.
  

You lose:

• Currency (x2)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  
  

The figure came and went as if he were a mere illusion. His confirmation that the potion was her's did not settle the uneasy feeling in her stomach. Who was he and why did he appear? What was this thing meant to do anyway? Looking down at the concoction by her paws as the fog disappeared, Celeste grew worried. Should she trust it? Why not? The cloaked figure appeared friendly, in a way. Harmless, right? Unsure of her decision, she glanced over to Inoki for a moment and noticed the girl's confused expression. That Celeste wasn't surprised. This surely was an odd event. Hesitating, her eyes wandered over to her cat. Maybe she should experiment on him first? Wouldn't that be smart? If something happened to him, she could find a new pet. Oh, but that was awful to think. Then she thought back to Luta and how their potions seemed really similar. Nothing bad had happened to her. Taking the chance, Celeste grabbed the potion in her paw. "Well, here goes nothing," she murmured under her breath before downing the potion in one gulp.

The girl finally looked her way, the strange glittery and seemingly liquid-y object clutched tightly in her grasp, and for a few moments all Inoki could think was drink it now, see what happens. She was a curious wolf by nature, and while she was highly confused, she was also curious as to what it would do. But there was a small part of her that thought maybe it was dangerous. Before she could even say anything, the girl mumbled something to herself and drank whatever it was in one big gulp. Inoki watched with rapt attention, moving closer a few steps to get a better view, wanting to see exactly what happened. If the girl keeled over and died well, there would be nothing she could do, but maybe something wonderful would happen. "Do you feel any different?" She asked with wide eyes, excitement evident on her face, washing away majority of the confusion she had felt before.

Glittering Concoction

So glittery...

You drink the concoction and fall into a deep, deep sleep. As you begin to dream, you find yourself walking down an easy and clear path... the road diverges, and three new paths open up before you- one filled with sharp, glimmering crystals, another shrouded with eerie mist and dancing fireflies, and one filled with large, glowing mushrooms... which path do you choose? Or do you decide to remain down the path you're headed? Choose wisely!

You gain:

• ???- You're not sure yet...
  

You lose:

• Glittering Concoction- Smells like mushrooms, glitters like crystals.
  

Inoki's faint question if she felt any different faded as her eyes grew heavy. Not a few moments after the liquid had hit her stomach, her body careened toward the ground and Celeste found herself in a deep slumber. Her eyes blinked open a few times as she felt herself dreaming. What she saw was nothing she'd ever dreamed of before. Three distinct paths open up before her. One with crystals, one with mushrooms, and one with floating fireliess. All three appeared suspicious to her and she wasn't sure she wanted any of them. Though, something urged her to choose. Was she really dreaming after all? Giving her head a light shake, the small wolf decides it's better not to risk any of it. She hadn't contracted the sickness yet and she wasn't ready to risk it now. Her paws take her down the path she's already going; away from the mystery of the other three. Celeste chooses to remain on the path.