[Sincate]

The air was frigid, getting colder by the day. The snow threatened as it crawled down the mountains little by little. Soon the entire forest would be white and Sincate was concerned for the weaker portions of Saboro. They had come from a place where it was naturally warm and humid. Winter wasn't hardly cold at all, just wet with rain and flooding. Now, they were in the mountains in the cold with winter encroaching rapidly. They needed to prepare.

The cold wasn't Sincate's only worry, they occasionally found specks of odd liquid sprawled across the territory. Nights were hard to sleep through at times. Screaming and agonizing wails filled the valley. They waned when the moon was half-full or half-empty, only to start again when the moon was full or no where to be seen. Often times the Sabora sat in their den, skin crawling with gooseflesh and a tempting itch to seek out a den with another body in it. They weren't like Gray with a mate to share warmth and comfort with.

Alone in the dark is where they resided.

The morning came after a restless night, the red Queen crunching past the icy dew and down toward the blue lake. Movement made it easier to warm up, but there was also the curiosity of what they'd find within the territory.

Nothing good, they assumed.

And Sincate was right as they stood above a shallow hill, elevated by a boulder in wrinkled moss. Their eyes narrowed as a black-inky liquid splotched the foliage below. Taking in a breath of sharp-cold air, the smell was wretched. Even rot from a body wasn't this putrid, causing the Sabora to back off the rock and onto the ground away from the mess. "What could have done this?" they asked quietly, eyes glancing back to the scene before being distracted by someone else approaching.

"Don't go near... It's foul."

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[Perseus.]

Profile | Speaking

A shiver rolled down his spine, warm breath puffing in front of a pink nose. Calmly trekking through the brisk air, following an instinct that was unexplainable. Tugging on an invisible chain that dug around his thin neck, starburst pupils diluted and large in this moment.

Suddenly, feet stopped short in the presence of another. Where the Oracle boy saw lights and signs, there were pits of blackness recently. Speckles of darkness that Perseus fixated on, now his head titled as he gazed down at the spots. The pit of his stomach clenching hard with nausea.

He felt repulsed, slowly gazing up to Sincate with an blank expression. Feeling the tingles that came with visions in the back of his neck and skull, stars shooting behind Sincate's head. The oozing light dripping from his eyes and mouth like drool, like a heartbeat. Of course, only he envisioned these sensations.

"S-s..Something... coming." Whispered, backing away obediently as the order was given. He would hope their Sabora would step away as well. "Uns-sa-afe, Sabora." He felt like he was choking.

[Andromeda]

He felt it coming.

In dreams, strange ones he’d been having for a few nights and in the pit of his stomach he was being sent warnings of something. He was still new to these revelations, these signs; learning with each new symbol, each new message. Andy had hoped that the first few would be good ones, blessings; things he could gallivant around Saboro in praise and prosperity.

That day he’d woken up with a shiver down his spine and it wasn’t the chill that caused it. The adolescent’s first thought was his young adopted kin who possessed similar oracle feelings as he. Raising to his feet, he snapped awake in a mere second as if it were rehearsed and rushed out of his den. It was cool, unlike the warmer climate most of the older Saborans were used to, but he managed to bypass the chill as he kept mottled blue eyes peeled for a purple patch within dull, cold forests.

He felt a connection and a tug toward the direction to where Perseus was, a momentary sigh of relief that he took him little to no time to find the youth. But he wasn’t alone, beside him was the Sabora as they both looked upon a smear of inky solution against foliage. Andy approached his quivering brother’s side and offered a gentle nudge; a distracted, almost distant sounding voice spilled from his lips. “You feel it too…” A quite statement, one that would likely be lost on the Sabora as little figures knew of their strange epiphanies.

"Don't go near... It's foul."

Despite the Sabora’s warning, Andy approached, moving passed the ruddy leader and whispering quietly, as if he feared something might hear them. “I must…” He didn’t look for their approval. He knew the consequences of disobeying the crown, but he would’ve done the same had they not been there; his intentions were good. The smell was putrid, burning sensation hit his nose as he got closer. It was mesmerizing, almost, where others may have easily winced and gagged at the scent he seemed completely unfazed. In a split second of concern, he added. “I offer myself to investigate so you do not have to, your majesty…” Andy nearly threw his quiet, hushed voice now, speaking to someone who felt like they were miles away when they were only a foot. The wind carried it to their ears.

Eyes widened as he lowered his head down toward it, black hair sliding down his feminine features daringly close to touching the substance. He backed away before the silky locks danced into the muck, raising his head up to see the trees filled with birds. They were silent, simply watching the three wolves as they gawked at the sight before them. Andy’s mouth parted, tilting his head to the side.

He gained his voice back now, a depth to it that sent another chill down his spine.

“They’re.." A pause, unsure; he wasn't positive, still new to this. "...it's coming.”

Turning back now he’d glance at the Sabora and his brother; there was a glaze over his eyes.

[Zanna]

The maroon girl couldn’t quite put her finger on it. There was something ominous lurking about the crisp, cool air of their new mountain territory. The winter was coming fast and furious, but with it came a dark presence. She often saw shadows lurking, fleeting and only seen from the corners of her emerald eyes. She almost always had a chill, but it was different than the kind of chill you get after spending the day in cooler climates – it was right through to her bones, the kind of sensation that leaves your hair on end and your toes tingling.

Zanna would never consider herself a paranoid creature, but the last few days she found herself particularly on edge. Her dreams were plagued with strange images, her head on a constant swivel no matter where she went. The thing she didn’t understand is the fact that this seemed to come from nowhere. Since moving to the mountains, she’d felt safe and content with their new land, but then suddenly, those feelings went out the window.

However, it seemed she was not the only one feeling this way.

She often wondered if these feelings came from her recent encounter with Saturn, the strange boy who seemed overly fascinated by everything Zanna said and did. But deep down, she knew that was silly. He was harmless, and she was sure he was incapable of giving her the feeling of such deep, dark dread.

Wandering the frosty lands, eyes scanning her surrounding areas as she walked, she found herself coming across commotion. A small group of people were grouped together up ahead, all focused on something in particular.

Perking her ears, she studied the figures, recognizing one as her very own Sabora. Her pace quickened, fearing that something might be wrong – why else would these other two strangers be surrounding Sincate?

As she neared, she started to notice the strange black slime that she’d been seeing here and there over the last few days. It was on the ground, the bark of trees, rocks, strung between blades of frozen grass. Zanna had forgotten about this odd slime. Part of her had shaken it off and dismissed it as part of her paranoia, or maybe her imagination. But as she walked up to the small group, she found that they were all staring at a particularly large puddle of this disgusting slime.

She heard the Sabora’s warning to not near the odd substance, and Zanna watched with careful eyes as a cream and pale blue wolf approached despite the Sabora’s order. A low growl rumbled in Zanna’s chest, but considering the strange circumstances, she held back.

Everyone was on edge.

“Sabora,” Zanna said softly, bowing her head. She surprised herself with the level of composition she exuded, seemingly able to table the feeling of dread that swallowed her whole.

“Our Sabora is right – we shouldn’t approach this stuff. We don’t know what it is, and it could be dangerous. I’ve seen it all over… I honestly thought it was part of my imagination.” She spoke to the other two, then turned her gaze back to Sincate. “Have you seen it anywhere else?”

The cream and blue male then spoke, offering to investigate in place of the Sabora – it was important to protect their crown at all costs. Zanna nodded firmly then. She looked between Andromeda and Sincate, offering herself up as well. “I’ll help, of course. The slime has to be coming from something, and whatever that happens to be – it doesn’t belong here.” Her words were stern, serious. Her heart raced in her chest as her eyes flashed back down to the slime on the ground, her mind spinning as she thought of the possibilities of what could be oozing this putrid muck all over Saboro’s lands.

But she was not afraid. She was here to protect – and she’d do exactly that. Perhaps this was her chance to prove herself to her Sabora, to show them that she was capable and ready to serve.

A E S T H E T I C

[Gabriel♞]

  This is what happens when there aren't enough Harpies to go around. Children-- Slabs if they're lucky-- outright ignoring the orders of their Queen. Gabriel bared his teeth, speeding up from the approaching trot to cut off the dreamy boy. "You dare disobey the Sabora?" Don't you know they are all we have?

  Andromeda explained intention, though a moment too late. Gabriel sneered down his muzzle at the boy, and directed attention to Sincate. By your order. Zanna spoke then, and he patiently considers her points with a tilt of his head. He's inclined to imagine this a natural phenomenon of the new territory-- they're unused to it, after all-- but even being raised in Saboro, he's not so accustomed to the smell of rot this doesn't bother him. He'd like it to be fixable. He'd like everything to be.

  At the completion of her proposal, he admits one of his own, "A native creature, perhaps?"

[Sincate]

A small crowd had gathered, the flashes of red and white going through their mind. Gums flapping and lies seething between teeth. Sincate shook their head and blue eyes glanced at the starry-pelted siblings. One could feel the sinister energy, shaking harder than a leaf in the wind.

Something's coming. Unsafe, Sabora.

Sincate nodded. That much was obvious, but just how unsafe was their situation. The red Sabora was one of reason, one of logic. Magic couldn't possibly happen on this plane of existence... Could it? Certainly not, not in the eyes of science. Explanation was the foundation of reason.

How foolish.

The thoughts of logical explanation was snuffed out like a candlelight against a gust of wind as several things happened. Andromeda had volunteered to get closer, to smell and examine the remains splattered against the rock and foliage. Sincate stood quietly, impressed that someone could wade through the stench. The odor curdled the insides, left suds ready to overflow and foam between paws. Swallowing the instinct to hurl yesterday's catch, the Sabora observed the boy get closer, close enough to touch the sludge before some figure cutting off the other.

Sincate sighed. "It's fine. Leave them be." they said. A casual order, but an order nonetheless. Attention shifted to Zanna then, the air of reason finally coming back in. It was warm and comforting. "I haven't. Where else have you seen it?" How far was it extending past their borders? Was it something within this land that they had disturbed since moving here? A creature unknown? Logic and reason pointed to a hellion of some kind.

But that odor...

"Perhaps." they muttered to Gabriel, then finally moved to the substance once more, holding breath. Blacker than black. Darker than the shadow of a cave or a hovel that some lived in under the cotton sky of day or velvet blue of night. Sincate stepped away a second time, shaking their head as they exhaled the air held into their lungs. "Whatever the hell it is, it's bad news." A twinge of fear, but a leader could not show fear. The red queen glanced to each individual here, wondering what sort of plan they needed to conjure up.

"Before I proceed into the depths of a plan, I'd like to know what your names are and your rank. I need us to work together." Sincate was almost lost without the Sabor by their side, to give input, but there was no time for that. They needed to come up with something, and soon.

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[Saturn]

#6b658e

"Saturn, slab." He called out to the group, large body stepping forward through the brush to finally join them. Having spent a great deal of time trying to look for his two siblings under the orders of another, bushy head would be facing them as his tongue lollied from his mouth. "I was looking for my brothers." The youth said a certain jadedness to his tone.

It was actually the smell of rot and decay was what brought him near, it reminded him of his rabbit heads or his little possum feet, his ever growing collection of rotting trinkets, and all the smells he delighted in. Such odd smells, strange smells. Every time it made his mouth water and Saturn was never sure as to why, licking his lips as they'd begin to part. "Hi Andi, Percy." Would come his simple greeting as he came to stand by their side.

"Percy are you cold? You're shaking. You can sit by me if you want." He mumbled softly to the tiny form of his youngest brother, though Saturn was facing the completely wrong person and actually looked like he was saying all of this to Andromeda instead. "Whatever left that smell, maybe we can eat it." He licked his chops again.

[Ezra]

He was not built for the cold, that much was certain. His winter coat was coming in, patchy at first, but Ezra was not sure it would be enough. Knowing nothing else to do to warm his body up, the Goshawk took to doing a familiar habit, going for a jog. The heat generated from his exercise was enough to keep him comfortable until he stopped moving for the chill to set in again. He sighed and smacked his lips, shaking his curly locks from his face before starting on another run. If nothing else it would keep him nice and fit through the winter months (unfortunately it meant he had less fat to insulate him and he required more food for the energy expended). As the snow worked itself down in the valley, he felt a sense of dread. What if he was not strong enough to tolerate this winter?

He didn’t really know why he was here or where he would be if he wasn’t. Ezra wanted a home and a family, this Saboro seemed to be it. At least for now. He’d jumped right in to try and make the best of it and gained a training rank. The young boy had tried to practice or think of things to do to make it show he wanted to be useful. Ez had tried to help at the border and the green boy had tried to make friends. There weren’t many here to make friends with and some of them were almost frightening. Or completely frightening. The Kestrel to be had heard many things in whispers about the old Saboro and he wondered what sort of hellish place these people had migrated away from.

Of course it could just be rumors. How would he know any better?

He was deep in thought when the most abhorrent smell hit his nostrils. Ezra jumped back from the putrid scent and was about to walk away when he heard the talking of many voices. Despite his body screaming to run, the young male pushes forward to the crowd. Some were frightened, some barking orders or growling, the Sabora was there, standing calmly. The wretched smell was coming from some black sticky goop, everyone seemed unsettled and uneasy. Ezra would simply approach cautiously, nearing the redbone woman. ”Sabora?” The Kestrel in training wasn’t sure if he should be afraid or not but the chills that ran down his spine were noticeable.

”Ezra... Goshawk, Kestrel in Training...” eyes would shift to the one suggesting to eat it. ”I uh. Perhaps not..”