Skill: Blabbermouth

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{Thread is backdated to 4/10, shortly after the Mass Dream. All of Elysium welcome; feel free to post if you'd like to acknowledge your character being present!}

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It was unthinkable.

Nevertheless, here she was, thinking about it with feverish desperation as the safe familiarity of home had now taken a deadly turn. Their crystalline lake, once azure and clear as the morning sky, now stood clouded and murky as something foul churned within its depths. It had always been cursed - this much Valeska knew - serving as an impromptu portal from any number of worlds that chose to dump their unwanted denizens into this sprawling land of Mythris, but it had never turned malicious.

Now it was killing them.

As one of the few reliable sources of water close by, this was a major problem. Now the pack was forced to walk far beyond their usual route just for a drink, or else suffer the immediate consequences of daring to take a sip from the lake - but what was worse, they felt pulled toward it, as if they needed it. No matter how the acid burned their mouths and throats, regardless of how many patches of fur were singed away by its acidic effects, they wanted it.

Valeska remembered the Dream Visitor's words and shuddered.

At any rate, it seemed appropriate to call a meeting.

Sending up one of the most garbled, half-choked howls she'd ever managed (owing to the burns in her throat), she waited at the Eye of Houtu for any and all who might gather there.

She cleared her throat, rallied as best she could, and began.

I do not know how many others received this, she rasped painfully, But - a wolf came to me - in a dream. He spoke of a doom long past, and a doom that may return again. Although we are not descendants of those who brought about the first...

What would you even call it?

... Tragedy...

It sounded flat, but her mind was addled and her lips parched. All she could think about was taking another agonizing drink from the poisoned lake.

It seemed we are being punished all the same. The gods are angry with us, and so we must work together to appease their wrath. The dream-wolf spoke of a magic that corrupted the first wolves of this place, this Mythris, and how they fell to its power.

She took a sharp breath and hissed as a searing pain scorched her airway.

He also spoke of something called Runes that we must seek out. Somehow, they are connected in such a way that they will stave off this extinction, should all be found - but we must try.

Valeska felt her chest tighten as the words she dreaded to say were at last forced from her mouth. Fate's Respite had been home for almost as long as she could remember - barring the first year and a half of her life, she had always lived in an iteration of the Respite. It was as intrinsically connected with her as was her own mate; it followed her across worlds, manifested in every realm as faithfully as the sun rose each morning.

It was Elysium's home.

I know it is unsafe here, she said, and her voice wavered as she fought the tears that threatened to spill. Plagues have begun to ravage Mythris, and we... we have fallen to one of them. For the wellbeing of all in Elysium, I encourage you, disperse to our allies. Dawnbreak lies close to the west, and further beyond, the wolves of Northfall, she continued.

Our last interaction with Avon was... difficult, but should you not find the refuge you seek west, they are also close by. Fable did not seem the sort to turn down someone in need, Valeska said.

Now I ask you - all of you -

Her expression turned gravely serious.

Seek out these Runes the Dream Wolf spoke of.

Whatever they were, these mystic objects were their only chance at survival.

I will stay behind - at least for a little while. If the plague worsens, then I, too, shall journey west to our allies, she went on. But as it is now, go with my blessing. We will find a way, and one day, when the waters have cleared and the threat has passed, we shall return home.

Home.

How like Dimas she was in the end, she thought wryly. The Mikaelson's roots went deep, and they were hard-pressed to leave that which they loved.

Nemean was gifted no dream, and for this, he thought himself lucky. Not that it might not have been helpful in the long run, but the brute had enough problems in his life without ancestors that weren't even his own telling him he had to help save this generation of life from something as spiteful as their own magic. Of course, the High Priestess made it their problem, and the Nightshade couldn't not support her.

To be fair, he saw the wisdom in her words, in knowing that fixing the problem would make their families safe again. He just... didn't want to? It was less rude than it seemed, really; Nemean had finally settled down, found love, had a family, found peace in his life that he was trying to share, but here they were, still being flung issues.
Why couldn't he just live out an easy life? His and Fleetwood's wedding was being postponed for this Mythris curse nonsense!

And Valeska thought he would leave her? He recognized why she would want her members to flee or search, but that left her... so alone. Vulnerable. She claimed if things got worse, she would leave, but Nem couldn't have faith in the passionate little she-wolf to not try until she couldn't anymore.

I will stay with you, priestess, and help search the immediate area, he rumbled with a dip of his head, the wheels of his head already turning. Fleetwood, he thought, might want to stay too... but he would still see if she wanted to cart the kids off to an ally, or see if she thought they were old enough to decide that much for themselves.
A soft sigh echoed in the privacy of his own mind.
Why couldn't life just be easy-peasy?

Skill:

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Every day the poison spread.

She could feel it ... the way the water rippled with an intensity that was almost alive. It called to her — to all of them — begging them to indulge in the poison. Inviting them to death.

It was horrible.

Amaranth approached the meeting when called, taking her alloted seat aside her wife as Valeska enlightened the rest of the pack on the damage that was spreading through their sanctuary. The curse. Amaranth's eyes were oddly soft as she turned toward her mate with something that mirrored ... pain. To hear Valeska talk of leaving their home seemed infathomable. To even consider evacuating the Respite sounded like a nightmare.

But ... in order for them to survive ... would they need to?

I've yet to find any clues, but I have heard the voices, the golden woman would add, once Valeska had finished saying her piece. Amaranth would flick her tail, coiling it up as she rested it neatly atop her paws. There is something here I must find ... but then ... her voice drifted, eyes becoming distant as she looked to a moment toward the sky.

Then what?

She would find what she was looking for.

And then, Amaranth knew that she would stay with Valeska, even if it meant dying next to her. But she could not make the others of Elysium succumb to that same fate.

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No one could have seen this coming. It was a disaster to be sure. Cyrus didn't see the dreams or hear the voices. But he did not need to, in order to find out just how horrible things were getting. The Windseeker took off like an eagle, fleeing as fast as he could towards the call of Valeska. In the first year that he had lived amongst them, becoming one of her pack, Cyrus had finally felt like he found somewhere to belong.

And now he grew angry at the thought of losing it again. Soon the figures of both Valeska and Amaranth came into view, both holding stone cold expressions upon their faces. How could anyone blame them? What was happening to their home, his home, was unthinkable. And something must be done. Blue eyes searched his leaders for a sign of approval, feeling in his heart and soul what he must do.

I shall go and seek out the runes, and to give anyone who wishes to disperse safe passage to our allies. I shall head west to Dawnbreak and Northfall. And along the way, I will see what I can do to mend our struggling ties with Avon. I have not met Fable or her pack, but I'm sure that I can reason with them.

Cyrus was steadfast in his belief, head and tail high with a strong sense of purpose. If anyone wishes to go with me, please let me know swiftly without hesitation. I promise you safety and guidance. Valeska and Amaranth, I won't let you or our pack down. Cyrus spoke with a strong conviction then. He would not fail them.

Skill:

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He was hiding when he heard it... That choked howl that rang above calling forth the members of Elysium... He was not one to ignore a summons...

Hopping quickly to his feet the blue boy raced as fast as his little legs could carry him, apparently it wasn't fast enough because he arrived after the others had. He recognized Ama and had smelled the one who called on her so he chalked it up to her companion of sorts and nodded to them as he stood behind to others to listen. He noted a cream male and a darker male as well, though he wondered where the others were, and sniffed in their directions to pick up their scents for later.

Soon the one on the rise spoke, mentioning a dream wolf and of doom...

At the mention of doom the boy shuddered, he was no stranger to doom and gloom and sighed as it seemed to follow him wherever he went, sighing he hung his head and stared at his paws... Was this his fault? Had he brought this chaos with him from the river?

His ears twitched towards the silver female as she continued on to mention the gods were angry with them... What was a god?

Something was angry with them and Glitch flattened his ears. Something was always mad at him...

The silver one spoke of runes and plagues and leaving... Leaving?

Glitch perked himself up and looked over to Ama, she spoke and he listened carefully, though her words didn't make much sense to him at the time he would soon learn of the voices and plagues. He pulled himself up, his body curled into itself as the boy came to sit beside Amaranth, his eyes trailing slowly from her feet to her eyes and he blinked, ears still flattened against his head tightly.

I will stay with you... He promised her, his eyes locked onto her own as he tried to force a smile, though it came out distorted and concerned rather than unafraid and calm.

Glitch flicked his eyes to the silver one and nodded as if solidifying his words. I will help you find them... He promised the leader as he curled his tail tightly around his haunches for comfort...

If they were leaving though he'd need to grab Skully...

skill: seer

She was among the first that gathered when the High Priestess called; her face wrinkled with worry, as everyone who walked near her dripped with the same fearful and dampening auras. It was like walking among shadows dotted with intense oranges.

It was not only her mothers who had received the dream. The Daystar simmered among the darkness, the tufts of her ears flicking as she listened to the interpretation of the plaguing dream that some others had. Aelia remembers her previous night's dream as an all-encompassing feeling of darkness and dread — a vision of a dark cloud festering over the Respite while shadows burst from the ground, their whispy arms tainting whatever they touched —

Confusion and turmoil clamored together within her, mixing like a bad case of food poisoning at the mention of Fate's Respite being unsafe. It was something bubbling underneath the surface, something they could all feel and start to see the symptoms of — but for finally someone to say it became all too real.

'Seek out these Runes the Dream Wolf spoke of.' The vivid scene of the wolf, their voice panicked and hurried, time slipping away with the fading of their form; her mother's voice had painted the scene for those who the visitor did not get through to.

The thought of leaving home — and going to Dawnbreak? Northfall? The festering, bone-chilling, traumatizing North? The thought of it makes her shiver, her teeth clench, and mind wander... She can't go to Dawnbreak. She can't think about him. She can't see his sisters. And Northfall, 'oh the cold', she remembered her violet-eyed mother speaking of it not so fondly due to the chill.

Her eyes shift to those who respond to Valeska, and catch long on Cyrus as he offers the expanse of his long legs and gifted knack for going the distance. I'll stay with you all for now, search for Runes nearby, she returned her gaze to her mothers, and be sure to usher you both out if the time comes to leave. Worried visions of them dying in the Respite, the shadowy plague skimming over their rotting bones — No. She wouldn't let that happen.

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post to get her back in the running, otherwise, she's been off in the background, ask for more deets if needed <3