No Escape

OOC: Set during phase 4 of the Halloween event

The world was ending. There could be no other way to perceive the worsening of the strange and otherworldly qualities that had taken over the world and smothered it in shadow, darkness, and nightmares. The nights were filled with terrifying screeched and screams of paranormal cryptids and creatures, and the days no longer existed. The sun hadn't risen over Auster in weeks. Moonlight became their only source of visibility anymore, save for the glow from the pods of mushrooms or clusters of crystals. The world was sick and dying—just as many of her friends and pack mates were.

Syanna had stood valiantly with Gwynevere against the encroaching darkness and disease that continued to plague their home. When the first wolf fell ill, they did all they could think of. Quarantine, treatments, experimental mixtures of herbs and medicines, but nothing seemed to work. Then the second wolf got sick. Then a third... a fourth... and after some time, almost all of the Hallows had succumbed to the pestilence of crystals and mushrooms. Even Syanna herself had fallen to the mushroom infection, most likely due to her experimentation with the glowing lily she and Ezra had harvested at the onset of the plague. Fortunately for her, the mushrooms had all fallen from her face and ears, and the small contusions they'd left behind had scabbed over or healed by now as her body's immune system kicked into gear. The others though...

Syanna flinched away from the shattering of glass in the great hall as she meandered down the stairs of the castle, hearing the maddened cries and snarls of Artorias from down the corridor. She had no intention of crossing her alpha right now, and even though she knew he would never harm her of his own volition, many of the Hallowed wolves were not themselves. That made everyone dangerous and unpredictable. Swallowing back her nerves, Syanna slipped silently out of the castle and wandered through the mushroom infested gardens out to the plains. Artorias had ordered all Hallowed wolves to remain inside the castle walls until the sickness had passed, but he was too busy having an episode currently, and Syanna needed to try and find a safe place from the Ooze.

Though she had no rational reason for thinking this, Syanna headed down to the Shimmering Shore, hoping that perhaps the salty and sandy terrain would make for an inhospitable environment for the fungi, as it did for all other types of fungi. If she could find a place safe from infection, perhaps she and Gwyn could set up a makeshift triage center to treat the infected at until they recovered. For a short time, Syanna's hopes actually grew, as the closer she got to the shore the lesser the presence of the glowing mushrooms seemed to be! Her heart lifted a touch, and dainty cream paws carried her swiftly down the familiar dirt path to the shore. But when she arrived, the hope that had dared to grow in her heart was shattered immediately. The sands of the shore continued to shimmer beneath the haunted moonlight, but the beach was also covered in patches of glowing mushrooms and algae, forming glowing pools across the otherwise dark sands.

So it's all for naught... There's no escaping it... The fatalist lament echoed about in Syanna's head while she loped across the beach, squishing soft sand between her toes while she gazed in abject dejection and loathing at the clusters of mushrooms growing where they had no right being. If these fungi could grow here, where no others could, then how could they hope to overcome the lingering diseases? This was it... This was the end of the world; the apocalypse... Syanna had never really given much thought to how the world would end, but in a swarm of mushrooms wouldn't have been high on her list of guesses.

With nothing left to do and wanting nothing more than to escape the horrors of the castle that had become her home, Syanna collapsed to the beach. She was so tired, so physically and mentally fatigued by the stress of caring for her sick pack and not being able to do jack shit for them. Tears streaked down her face as she let the frustration vent out of her, feeling so overwhelmed and useless. Green eyes stared blankly out across the inky black sea, listening to the rhythmic rolling of the waves while she sobbed quietly to herself. She wished none of this was happening. She wished there were no crystals or mushrooms or sickness. She wished Ezra was here. The vixen-furred fae wanted nothing more than to wrap herself up in her boyfriend's comforting embrace and forget everything that was going on. But he was across the continent in another pack, with no way to see him and no way to get in touch. The tears flowed in greater volume down her cheeks. What if he had gotten sick too? Would anyone in Fenmyre be able to treat him? Was Ezra even still alive? The thought of having to endure this world without him...

It was too much. Too much for poor Syanna to take right now. She hated everything. She hated the world and the mushrooms and the sickness she couldn't cure and herself. All she wanted was for the world to go back to normal—back to the way it was when her life was finally starting to turn good. Covering her face with her paws, Syanna laid out on the beach for the entirety of that night, sobbing to herself and letting all those overbearing emotions come spilling forth until she passed out, exhausted from the stress and sickness.

WC: 949

"Syanna Alluráin"