ORIGIN - on a dark night

i need someone to look into my eyes and tell me

The lights crackled overhead, and then fell dim.

Vivilene adjusted her grip on the satchel around her upper torso. It was about now that she was starting to regret the decision to enable Asteri's Exploring and Cool Herbs Quest, especially after their father had told them, explicitly, to be careful. Vivilene, up until half a second ago, had no intentions of being that careful.

She doubted Asteri did, too.

Moonlit eyes flitted (bleat) to the leopard leading the way. He seemed a lot more (bleat) confident than she ever could be. Was he even afraid (bleat) of the dark? She knew he liked fire, maybe it (bleat) stopped him from being scared. Maybe it stopped him from (bleat) being scared all the time?

Maybe it wasn't so bad, but she could feel the anxiety starting to rise as she fell silent again. Her small hooves weren't exactly made for wandering through swamps, and she didn't like the way the wet mud felt against her legs. Whatever Cool Herbs there were here, she hoped they found them soon.

She looked around, and then back to Asteri. Asking would be a good idea, she decided-- but when she tried to settle and reach for her magicka, she felt a jolt going up her gut instead of the familiar, almost comforting jangle. In response to this she gagged; an abrupt sound compared to her quiet, gentle bleating.

The cervitaur shook herself out and then leapt after Asteri to keep following him, fingers itching against the leathery strap of the satchel.

"girl you know you gotta watch your health"

@Astéri

Astéri
seek what sets your soul on fire
The swamp is well—muddy.

And spooky. Especially down low; Astéri thinks that Attikias would be able to see through the twisting, creeping mist, but as it stands even his little sis is taller than him.

Not bigger, though—he takes pride in that.

He likes being big. Protectors are big and strong because they shield people, and he wants to be a protector.

His ears swivel backwards to listen for Vivi's gentle bleating. Even though he's excited about this new, eerie room—shown by the gentle flicking of his tail and the bounce in his step as the two of them part the fog—that protective part of him is worried about his sister getting lost in here. It would be so easy, with the veritable wall of white that is the mist…

He practically jumps when Vivi's soft sounds give way to an abrupt gagging noise, slowing his pace and turning to glance over his shoulder, firelight eyes holding vigil as he watches her draw closer from the fog.

"Are you okay?" he asks, the faintest note of worry entering his voice. Did she accidentally get mud in her throat or something? Astéri wouldn't be surprised; this mud seems to get everywhere, and although he doesn't mind it on his pelt, the thought of the sticky stuff getting in his throat is nasty.

He keeps a careful ear on the sound of her footsteps sloshing through the mud, trying to spot any sign of pastel flower-color through the encompassing fog.

Man, this stuff is everywhere—he wonders if they've passed by some cool plants already and just didn't realize because of the mist.

...he wonders if he can fix that. He does have cool fire-breath.

It takes all of three steps before he commits to the idea, fur puffing around his gem as he inhales and calls up his magic, angling his head slightly upwards as he tries to blow away the fog for a moment so he can catch a glimpse of any potential Cool Herbs™.

Heat begins to boil up out of his chest and into his throat in that ever-so-familiar sensation, and Astéri holds it just long enough for it to begin singing the inside of his mouth before letting it go, blowing back the fog like a small, furry dragon.

Without the fire.

Already, the mist is creeping back in in tendrils, but Astéri can't help but feel proud of himself and his magic.

"Speaking!" Thinking.

@Vivilene

i need someone to look into my eyes and tell me

Vivilene jumped when Asteri did. Anything he was afraid of she didn't even want to go near, never mind that he was startled at her own alarming noises. Hesitantly, however, she nodded in response. Vivilene was okay if Asteri was okay.

She took a little step forward as the mist cleared, tail flicking behind her. She sniffed, looked around, and then looked down towards Asteri. She made another attempt to cast-- a far more successful one, this time, and took a long breath before long fingers of arcane laced the leopard's skull. "It's fine," she said quietly.

It should be noted she did not entirely feel like it was fine. Her hoof sank into the ground and she stumbled a little before correcting herself, shaking herself out like a dog before she continued after her elder brother. "Do you think there are... monsters here?" she asked a little tentatively.

Despite Vivilene's anxiety being fairly well-known among her family, it didn't stop her from being self-conscious about it. Anxious about her anxiety, one could say. She wanted to seem much braver than she actually was; she wanted to seem like someone who could talk but chooses not to for Very Smart but Mysterious reasons, and not because the mere thought of someone hearing her voice made her throat seize up as if it were full of cotton and bile.

Another little shake. Monsters scared her regardless, and they probably didn't scare Asteri. He'd be fine if something spawned out of the swamp; Vivilene wasn't sure if she would be. Better change the subject, she thought, and consequently started scrambling.

"What kind of flowers do you think they'll have here? Do you think they'll be pretty?" This much she actually doubted-- everything seemed a little muted and ugly here, or maybe that was just the mist. Maybe a flower would lighten up if it were in Eridanus, but they'd have to plant them and wait for them to grow first.

Vivilene bleated under her breath as she continued wading through the marsh.

"girl you know you gotta watch your health"

@Astéri