Steals Fire lingered on Mud Bath with one eyebrow raised. "Maybe your beard will look better if it belongs to someone who actually helps bring back any motes at all. We'll see, I suppose."



King did not look at all convinced by Bath's claims of being aligned with the greater good in any capacity. "I don't care much for good or evil as concepts, you know." he said. "The Unseelie are not in the way of doing things considered particularly good or kind. But we do adhere to our rules, our laws, the magic of the swamp."

He stepped a little closer to press his nose to Bath's neck, sniffing him.

"But are you even still a living thing?"

Mud Bath only leaned very slightly back, he couldn't be bothered with a retreat. The sudden not-necessarily-hostile closeness and question surprised him, to say the least. "I've still err, got all my parts. And they function properly. If that's what you were asking. This is a bit of a heel turn from earlier."

Their tribes had never been in conflict persay. They hadn't had been any great loss of life, anyway. As far as Bath was aware, there was even a bit of cautious mingling.

Steals Fire clarified his priorities. "Ooh, an all action and no talk sort. Put up or shut up. No, alright, that's all very butch. I can, you know. Put up. Eventually. I was being sincere earlier. I do think this is a wonderful little endeavour, and I would very much like to see where it leads."

It had been odd when one day the sun had simply failed to raise at what felt to be the normal time. It would take hours longer for odd to give way to worrying. The moon was help, when it was out, but when it wasn't the world was dark. On the Cres was no different, Brother Shark had been splitting his time between Fear's den and Fisheye's, checking on the babies he shared with both kin, checking on the kin themselves, but there wasn't much he could do to help, and that was an awful feeling.

When the motes appeared the buck immediately wanted to follow them. They were new, seemed to come with the dark, and maybe, hopefully, they'd have answer. He'd made is intention known to Fish and Fear both, and the later had joined him before they'd even wandered past the beach grass. Babes, left to the older younger of the tribe.

Now, here, Glowing eyes widened a touch. Unfamiliar, dark kin where addressing them, offering help, and Shark eyed the lot of them thoughtfully before his attention shifted to the others that had no doubt had the same idea as they had.

appeal wrote:

"Then there's something worthwhile in you." Steals Fire says. "I hope you'll forgive my wariness. I am not very trusting of any of the kin who have ... changed." He looked from King to Bath and back again. "There are other agendas at play, it's hard to tell who I'm speaking to."

He bowed his head slightly. "But any help you are able to provide is welcome, I wouldn't say no to assistance in bringing the light back for all of us."

And with that he headed off to speak to some of the other kin in the glimmering grove.



King watched him go with a little bristle. "Changed." he said critically, before resuming his inspection of Bath a little, giving him a few more sniffs, before stepping back.

"It's strange." he said, pronouncing his judgement on how Bath now looked. "Can't say I like it much. Feels sinister."



"Well I think it's handsome." a voice volunteered from nearby, as a sprawled heap of long shining hair and limbs raised its horned head to speak.

"I think the shadow look is much better than the little fragile wings you have going on, four eyes."

King turned to look even more annoyed than he had when Bath showed up.

"It's the pit scavenger." he said. "Disgusting."

Baneful wrote:

"It's Mud Bath," Bath said, "Bath between friends. Mud if you're feeling formal. Both if you like syllables." Mud watched as he went off.

"Rather in a hurry, isn't he." Bath said. "It's a matter of perspective," Bath said. "From my perspective, it saves me a lot of walking. But I think it's a bit, you know, rakish. Mysterious. I rather like it."

Bath perked up considerably at the compliment. "Yes, thank you. I think so. You see?" he said to King with a hint of triumph. "Oh, hello. You're from that lovely bit of tar with all the slimes. I've been meaning to see about taming one. If they're, you know, amenable to that kind of thing."

Prime Evil had woken late in the morning... or so she thought. It certainly had felt like it as she stretched stiff joints and her stomach rumbled. She and Anguish had stayed up late the evening with their mother. Nameless Ghoul had been careful in raising this particular clutch far away from the tar pits and the cults that inhabited them. She hadn't kept them in the dark though and her visits always came with some of the juiciest gossip in the whole swamp. At least to Prime Evil. Their mother's warnings about her mate's zealous worship of the Harbinger flitted through her mind with the seriousness of bedtime stories. At least she'd no interest in the tar pits herself. They stank and her tail dragged so heavily behind her it just gunked up in her scales. She couldn't fathom what it must be like for those kin with more hair than she to live there. No she was quite happy surrounded by sparser forest and dry ground where her coat could catch the sun's light and she could be seen in all her self-perceived glory.

Except this morning the sun hadn't awoken before she did and that was in a word, rude. Nearly blind in the blackness she shared a brief argument with her brother Anguish over whether to stay put or not (Nameless Ghoul had told them to stay and Anguish... was sweetly obedient. Prime liked that about her brother but it did get in the way when it wasn't her he was obeying) before storming off into the darkness alone.

Well, not total darkness at least. Little flecks of light seemed to float along a breeze she couldn't feel as they drifted lazily through the swamp. She followed, curiosity leading her along a path shared with multiple kin towards the comparatively bright clearing. Now here was why she didn't want to stay put like the little goody goody her brother was! Here she found what almost appeared to be a festival of sorts with bright lights, food, fire, and drink being shared.

"Well this looks Fun."

The sun disappearing was not something someone prepares for, and so Fisheye was left without a plan for once. Time without the sun wouldn't lead to ruin immediately but how long before the effects were noticeable? A week? A month? Autumn was beginning now so what happened if the growing season was cut off prematurely? Would they have enough food stockpiled already to make it through winter? If they made it through winter, what would they do in spring? Did fish need the sun? This was not something she'd ever tested but if they ate plants then... it didn't bode well.

She didn't have the answers she needed, and she had a tribe to think of. She needed to find answers, she needed to speak with as many kin from across the region to see if they were also suffering from the same problem. She left instructions with the tribe, but she knew they would take care of each other until her return.

She made the journey with Brother Shark, thankful for his tested abilities traversing through the region. Unfortunately, the whole region seemed to be consumed by the darkness. It was not the answer she wanted, but it did widen the possibility of someone else knowing something.

Upon arrival, Fisheye felt hopeful. A gathering of kin was a gathering of information which could lead to finding out more about what was happening.

"Brother Shark," she said, rolling up beside the seafoam green buck. "Did you hear that? It appears that this group may have information, a lead, or potentially a solution. I believe this has some ground for us to work with. Of course, I'd like to hear more first but it feels promising."

Beejoux wrote:

Shrine didn't often leave the confines of their little clan but the lack of sun was quite nice on her eyes. She listened to the kin around her as they spoke about bringing back the light. She scoffed slightly with a grin, it was interesting to know how many relied upon it's bright and warm glow. She was used to the darkness and could manage just fine in the shadows. Still, she was curious about their little ritual to bring it back. She wondered if Vessel, Sigil, or Death Trap would make their way here. Flicking her tail behind her she moved slowly through the mingling crowd and remained silent for the time being.


Veil of Death and Once Pleasant Dreams arrived together and listened as there was a task they all could do. "What do you think? Should we listen a little more and then try and collect some of these lights?" Turning glowing gaze towards her father she nodded. "I wouldn't mind, tracking them down sounds sort of exciting. Though I'm not too keen on this darkness...." Moving closer to her sire she looked at all the other kins that had arrived at the gathering. "Perhaps your siblings will show up, I'm sure they don't all find the darkness as keen as some." Looking about the silver marked male tried to see if there was anyone else they might recognize here. Though in the darkness it wasn't that easy to tell.

Doing a happy little dance with her hooves she looked about in the darkness at the faces illuminated by soft glows of light from the nearby fires. She was very content, though she didn't always see particularly well. To her this was the most curious thing because there seemed to be a number of kins that have showed up with markings that illuminated the surroundings slightly around them. She was sure her own eyes were quite bright in this darkness, but as they were attached to her head she wasn't privy to that sight. "Bring back the light huh?" She could be on board for this, though she was just curious about the other kins mostly for the time being.

Ah yes. Darkness. Taste of Darkness was happy with the current state of things. The lack of light was delightful and he had a semi sinister smile upon his mug. He wondered if any of the others from his clan were present but it didn't seem like it, at least not from what he could see. Which wasn't much. There was just enough light to see where you were going, but not much else.

Steals Fire gave Sleepy Time a rather fond look, seemingly unphased by his lapsing in and out of waking. "Indeed, it is dark. Too much dark, I would agree. That's something to be uncertain about. Uncertainty can be a source of fear, not knowing where the future will lead you." He inclined his head.

"But I think that at this point, I would argue there's not much we could do to make it worse than absolute darkness. Anything is up from the dark. If the stories I've been told are true, the motes will lead us to a way to restore the balance back to how it was."

kuropeco wrote: ↑Sun Oct 01, 2023 7:29 pm

"Yes." Dominant said, with about as much enthusiasm as he was capable of. "The slimes. They do sometimes follow people home, I've seen it. But they have to leave something behind in the process."




King shook his head, backing away from Dominant. "That place is unnatural." he said. "It shouldn't exist. It ensnares people and kills them, it chews up the land and devours it, poisoning the air and poisoning everything it touches." He lashed his tail from side to side like an irate cat.

"The slimes themselves are also unnatural, I've seen what they can do."

"And salamanders aren't?" Dominant asked.

"It's not the same." King protested. "They are singular, they make sense, their fire burns as it should, they are elemental."

Dominant snorted. "You just think everything you understand is natural and everything you don't, isnt."

"I wouldn't expect a backstabbing cannibal to understand."

Dominant rolled his eyes. "I eat whatever dies. I don't backstab them, they walk into the tar all on their own, usually after something they probably shouldn't have been so greedy to go after."

He looked back to Mud Bath.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Toshiful wrote: ↑Sun Oct 01, 2023 7:34 pm

Steals Fire paused before Prime Evil to theatrically bow before her. "Welcome." he said. "All are welcome here, every set of hooves the swamp can spare will help us make light work of this Light Work!"

"And I do hope that you find it entertaining in the process, the fastest work is that which is enjoyable."

Dizzy_Kat wrote: ↑Sun Oct 01, 2023 7:37 pm

It was a rare treat when Wildflower Breeze got to hang around in one place for a while. The different callings of both his hobby as a historian and storyteller, and his work reinforcing the numbers of the Swamp's residents directly through granting expecting parents Her blessing, constantly pulled him this way and that, often in directions that were at odds with one another. In fact, it wasn't until he'd swapped his priorities entirely that his life had finally settled into something of a manageable rhythm. On the one leaf, it meant that he could not guarantee his appearances in advance, which put the runners of some regularly scheduled events in a very foul mood with him indeed. On another, though, it led him to discovering many more gatherings that he had not previously been part of, hearing a wider variety of tales and histories and songs from a more diverse collection of throats, sometimes stretching back into time uncounted. He had been doing a lot more listening than speaking recently, and he did not mind at all.

Recently, he had gotten to indulge himself with a respite from travel - he had found his son, Motes In Moonlight, and seeing as they had met in an area of bountiful fruits and game, they had decided to rest together for a time before heading their separate was as had lately been their habit. While the two of them did greatly enjoy each others' company, it was hard for a young man to become his own person while constantly overshadowed by his father's accomplishments - doubly so after said father had woken up different one day, glowing with power and secrets of days long gone. Motes was also a storyteller, brought up in the trade by his father, but where Breeze focused on remembering as many variations and possible truths as he could learn, Motes focused on each tale's performance. He found that each group of kin had their own unique quirk in the telling of even the most foundational of tales - he much enjoyed the trend of large Acha groups including a choral accompaniment to their stories, for instance, their singing bringing a stronger emotional impact when applied just so.

And so the two of them had been comparing notes for a few days, over easy meals and easy company. When one morning the sky remained dark, Breeze reassured his son that sometimes strange weather could make the sky dark for long stretches at a time. However, by what they reckoned was the morning of the third day, they both finally acknowledged that this was no regular darkness. Thus, led by the father's brilliant eyes lighting their way, the two set out to find other kin - and eventually, other lights, gathering slowly together in one central place. They greeted the Acha in charge of the gathering, a fellow who seemed to have bottomless energy, and both father and son wished to talk to him and the other Helpers about their stories of the past great darkness. Unfortunately, they would have to wait along with everyone else who was gathering to hear the details.

---

Of course, such gatherings also drew much less sociable kin to them as well. Take, for instance, the frail and battered kimeti doe, shimmeringly pale despite the low light. Between her white coat and her sour demeanor, one might mistake her for a portent of death, were she not often exasperatedly telling others that no, she was, in fact, a real, living kin, much the same as any other fool in this grove. She was obviously uncomfortable around this many kin, but when asked why she'd bothered to come at all, she would stare at the questioner incredulously with her one pale, blue eye, and explain to them slowly that she would rather be barely able to see among an obnoxious crowd than be left completely alone in the absolute darkness to possibly starve. Here, at least, she could get a bite to eat on the regular without having to stumble around hunting it up herself. It seemed to bother her to admit to needing the aid of others, but these were desperate times. On occasion, she had learned, it was necessary to set aside one's pride.

---

There were other kin as well in the darkness, some strangers stranger than others. Moving through the crowds with sinuous movements was one acha doe with large, colorful rings rippling across her hide and scales. She carried no light with her, unlike the few fortunate kimeti and the very lucky zikwa, so she lingered near fires and clusters of motes and other glowing lifeforms.

Sometimes, she would imitate the movements of the familiars she could see wandering the clearing. Right now, she was waving her head gently, following the rippling movements of a large, floating slug of some kind. Her tail seemed to have caught the knack for matching the gentle waving of its mantle as it drifted through the air.

Shark's ears perked, listening to the various snippets of conversation. He did hear someone talking about the motes, so that was indeed promising, but he could also here bickering. About...slime? "Mmm..." he hummed dubiously, long tail flicking around his ankles as he looked towards the acha witht he glowing sides and fiery eyes. "Some of them, at least."

He clicked his sharp teeth together and started further into the clearing, pasuing only long enough to make sure Fisheye was with him. It wouldn't do to be separated in the crowd. That was enough of a headache when there was light to see by. "Who do you think we should talk to?"

appeal wrote:

"Oh! And you're funny even better." She grinned and returned his bow. "This is a pretty dramatic set up just to throw a party. I'm impressed."

Baneful wrote: ↑Sun Oct 01, 2023 8:23 pm