RETURN OF THE MIST

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A large wave crashed against the shoreline, breaking away from the ocean as it collided with the sand and reached up greedily towards any awaiting sets of toes across the sand. The faint sounds of seabirds could be heard out across the distance, signaling the day’s arrival and rousing the world from its slumber — though as quickly as they had seemed to come, they could then be seen flocking inland, almost as if something had coaxed them away from the water. it was inconspicuous, howeber, and a minor detail that could easily got unnoticed if one was not paying close enough attention.

But then it came.

Like a rolling cloud, the mist appeared from across the horizon, sweeping across the rocking waves of dark blues in an effort to consume all in its path. it, too, would crash against the shoreline, making impact as it sought to occupy the breadth of the beach, spreading as far as mortal eyes could see and veiling the once oceanside views. it was there that the anomaly would settle, stilling abruptly and knowing that now, all it needed to do was wait. wait and see who would come.

pixel credit to strobelast

+5 Study the weather or an astronomical phenomena | +20 Notify a pride leader of incoming danger

Evangeline had been on patrol, skirting the outer reaches of Caladan Cove.
Her attention had been seaward when the birds swept back towards land. A minor detail but the way they moved rather frantically was easily caught by the curly 'ess. A chill ran the length of her spine as clouds fell from the heavens and raced to the shoreline.

Evangeline ran back a distance to find a perch in which to get a better view. But there were no views. Nothing to be seen from where she stood on high. Where this mist touched everything vanished.

Evangeline tilted her head back towards Caladan Cove and called out for @Úlla. The Sigrun knew the sea better than she did. Was this just normal or.. something else entirely...

The mist creeped along, slowly consuming the darkened beach until it was far as the eye could see. Brigid couldn't see the mist, but she could feel it and while it was peculiar it was nothing to really cause the blind woman concern. She continued to stroll across the blackened beach, her pace considerably slow given her injured leg, unknowingly being consumed even further by the mist until she was completely swallowed whole. At first she paused because of the eerie silence that surrounded her. But then she continued forward, unbothered by the silence. It was only when she was stopped by an invisible force that she glanced around her, ears flicking. "What the hell is this?" She murmured to herself. At this point she was completely lost to the void, her tracks that were previously left in the sand all but consumed.

*Brigid has been kidnapped by the mist oh no c:

@Calhoun @Evangeline (tagging just in case she witnesses Brigid being taken)

A dream. It had only been a dream. And yet…what a dream it had been! So…so real she could feel it still on her pelt. Like sunlight. Like dripping sunshine. But it had left her cold. Giselle rolled onto her belly and onto her wobbly legs, letting the sand fall like tiny flakes of snow from her mane and pelt. The days since her arrival had begun to mesh together, to slowly liquify, becoming this sort of sap that stretched and distorted in her mind. But she was at peace. This beach that she had found, it was lovely. Her sort of safe haven. Except she had to share it with all the birds. Something which, of course, our Giselle didn’t mind. “Mmmm!” The lioness stretched, kicking her delicate back legs behind her in a most canine of fashions, ears pressed upon her golden head. “Morning, Perry,” Giselle murmured as she licked her lips, her head still half-dreaming. But there was no response… She looked left. She looked right. No sign of Perry. Not a single feather! It was then that Giselle noticed the large wall of mist making its way towards her Slinking, like a hungry cat, closer and closer to the blackened sands. The cries of the gulls were growing fainter and fainter, but none of them her dear Perry’s memorable squawk. He’s just got one of those voices, you know. Born for stardom! She walked down the coastline, her cheeks cold from the wind, and spotted another figure taking their daily beachy stroll. “Hey, Miss! Have you seen a-” But as soon as she’d opened her mouth, the lioness was gone. Just…gone. As if she’d never existed. Was she still dreaming, still asleep? Was the girl perched up there, looking out at the sea (well, what used to be the sea) just a figment of her imagination too? Well, there was only one way to find out! "Hey! Hey lady!" The golden lioness made her way to the other's perch. Oh, just the mere thought of the word perch made her think of Perry. "Are you real?" @Evangeline "Speech!" I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss

Don't ask why Jai was here. He didn't like coming out to the open world without either of his parents but he was trying to be brave. He wanted to explore the world but terrified that his night.ares would become reality and his life would end. That he would be abandoned again. There was a part of him that knew neither @Roan nor @Faelyn would do that. He was happy as Jai Hodari and not be knowing as a curse to another. His wounds were healed but forever scarred on his body as a constant reminder of where he had came from. Granted, in time Jai would forget all about it but not right now. Not while it was so fresh.

Paws carried the albino towards the black shoreline where he stopped. Taking note of the waves, of the lionesses that were there and the mist. Red jewels stayed on the mist, he got an odd feeling from it and even moved closer towards it only for it to move closer to him. Fear struck his body and panic as it got closer and closer. Finally he turned but it was to late, MAMA!! PAPA!!! He would shout as the mist engulfed him and he was lostI.


Exit via disappearance into mistSpeech.

Table & Ref by Amanda | Background | Lineart

She'd let him explore as he wished, and even let him think he was alone, but he wasn't, not really. While Faelyn was all for fostering independence in the boy, he was still her son, her baby boy, and she wouldn't let anything happen to him while she had a say in it.

Or so she thought anyway.

It got harder to see him all of a sudden, and she was already frowning and moving closer when she heard him call out in a panic. Faelyn broke out into a sprint immediately. "I'm here! I'm here Jai!" she called, but when she reached the spot where she'd last seen him... he wasn't there.

"My son, where is my son!? Have you seen him?" she called out to the women she could see. How had he just disappeared?

Since Caligula's warning, Roan had been on edge. Time was not on their side to get everyone informed of what could be coming, if it was coming at all. That split second of deliberation as to whether or not he should expect the worse was lost in the blink of an eye as it wasn't long after that the Hodari would witness the anomaly himself. The mist was back, but it was different this time. Faint at first, as it was when it had finally begun to recede at their arrival, yet this was only just the beginning. The mauve man found himself wandering the lands, following this lingering cloud of fog as it slowly crept through Amaryllis once more. Was this what happened before the refugees had first arrived? Was this what the natives saw? Should they be preparing for another influx of lions again?

As he wandered, the trail of mist took the Hodari towards the shore. He was yet to cross paths with the scents of his wife and son, perhaps dulled by the moisture in the air. All Roan could focus on for the moment was the mist as he played witness to the rolling arrival of the denser fog upon the shore. Only then did he pick out the white coats of his family among the dark sands. And @Jai... he looked too close to the mist. "Jai! Get awa--" But it was too late. The king's yell would not be heard before the prince seemed to disappear right into the fog itself. His white coat wouldn't help anything either as the boy's calls were lost to the strange force. Roan raced across the sands just as @Faelyn had seemed to witness the same thing from her position. "Fae!" The king called, panic seeping into his voice as he ran to her side. "Fae! Stay back," he cautioned, trying to keep her from getting any closer to the mist. "It's just as Caligula said." Not that it made him feel any better to even slightly know what was going on. "Jai!" The father called into the void. "Jai! Can you hear us?!" Roan would let Fae be the one to ask the strangers for help. He could do nothing more but pray to hear his son's voice.

Table & Ref by Amanda | Background | Base

As she waited for some type of response from the Cove, Evangeline caught sight of another down on the shore. She watched with steadily growing ease. And when that lioness was swallowed up it served to solidify whatever fears had been growing.

Evangeline nearly jumped out of her skin when another called for her. She blinked as she tried to process what was just asked of her. What kind of question was that? Of course. She said flatly, eyes nervously wandering back to the mist as it rolled ever closer inland. Get up here. She then ordered the other woman. If she was a loon so be it but Evangeline wouldn't just stand around and watch her get devoured as well. I don't know what's happening but that thing is - She was cut off as yet another began screaming. Raving about having seen her son.
With ears slicked back Evangeline again called for her Pride Leader. Ulla was the only one who knew more about the sea. She had heard her talk several times about a Vellen. Evangeline didn't much believe in Gods but something terrible and out of their control was now in Amaryllis.

Her head tilted as the newly arrived male said something about a Caligula. Just as they had said? Do you know someone who's seen this before? She called to what she assumed to be the father of thos lost Jai.

@Giselle @Faelyn @Roan

Of course! Isn’t that exactly what a dream person would say, if asked whether they were real or not? Giselle processed for a bit, squinting up at the dream in question, and then shrugged. Oh well, better than being a mist monster’s breakfast! She bounded up at the other’s behest, ears swiveling forward as the small grey lioness continued to speak to her. But before the other could finish her sentence, a pale woman was calling out them. My son, where is my son… It impacted her, obviously, like a gigantic boulder had all of a sudden been thrust against her chest. And the air kicked out of both her lungs. They had to help her, they had to help this woman find her son. The lioness beside her, the one who was perhaps a bit too real or not at all (oh, please let this not be real), was calling someone. Good, good, that was very good. Maybe they or this Caligula person that the male was mentioning (when had he popped up?) could help them find the boy. Find out what was happening. OH GEEZ WHAT WAS HAPPENING?! Giselle dropped from her perch and headed over to the grieving mother, hoping to comfort her. No, she couldn’t call her grieving, she couldn’t even think of her as grieving. That would mean the battle was already lost. “It’s ok, we’ll find him! Can you tell me what he looks like?” It’s just a little bit of fog. Right? @Evangeline @Faelyn "Speech!" I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss

She wanted to cry, but this wasn't the time for such hysterics. She had to find her son. Caligula had warned them, and she'd been there to hear his warning, but she still hadn't thought... This was her fault. She should have kept a better eye on him, been closer.

She noticed that Roan was there too, so at least she didn't have to tell him that she'd lost their son, but still... "I'm so sorry," she said even as she dutifully backed away from the fog as he'd said.

One of the women asked if they knew someone who had seen this before, but Faelyn was more preoccupied with the one who came over and offered to help. "Yes, but not like this," she said to the first, even as she kept looking around. "He's about this tall, and white like me. And he has sort of... I don't know, ritual scars on him," she explained, holding a paw off the ground to show how big he was.