[Lady of the Night]

MONSTERS OF THE NIGHT
Chapter Two
Caries

This is the thread for the corrupted deer event at Lake Imbrium.

Info about what is happening in Alteron can be found - HERE
(so i don't have to copy + paste the whole thing everytime)

Information about the chapter of this plot, as well as links to other threads can be found - HERE

[Connor]

Now this felt better. This was a set task to complete for the good of Alteron. Investigate the tar and strange happens across the packlands. If Connor was one to emote his tail would have been wagging. No one had come for acceptance recently and the Page found himself floundering with nothing to do but hunt and keep up his patrols.

Connor liked to have a strict purpose and Orcrist had helped remind him of his place. Listen to and then carry out orders.

The small wolf had spent time cleansing himself of any of the tar as per orders. Sitting at the lake's edge helped to fight away the urge to chew at his front legs at the very thought of his correction. Dwelling on it would not help anyone. Connor shook his head for just a moment to clear away the distracting thoughts.

The lake was generally a busy place. Tonight there were maybe a few thousand crickets and cicadas calling but no smaller creatures. Even in the dead of winter Alteron was near sweltering. The canopy opened a little around the lake which allowed some of the humidity to disperse. The moon was hidden behind heavy cloud cover, making it a perfect night for prey animals to creep their way down to drink.

It was the strangled panting that caught Connor's attention first. His ears pricked at the new sound and he crouched quickly into the underbrush. Three doe were stumbling through the brush, long legs splaying and extending beyond what they should. They moved...wrong. Lacking any sort of coordination the three seemed to make their way by leaning heavily on each other. There was no attempt at stealth or grace, only clumsy lunges forward toward the water. Gods above, the smell of them...

Keeping very still Connor watched them struggle. Normally he would simply walk away - three deer were too many to take down himself and he had little need for a broken leg through a deer's strong kick. But that smell...it was similar to the stench of the rot he had been ordered to investigate. More interesting was the dark substance that seemed to drip from their muzzles as they walked.

This could probably be filed into 'strange occurrences'.

[Franziska]

Right then, where did Conrack go?

Condor. Conrad?

... Comrade! He was quiet for the most part, their first meeting being probably the most awkward for the both of them. Other than that, the odd pair had rarely crossed paths and both preferred to keep to themselves. One was dutiful, and the other hedonistic. Franzi would never know it, but both powers of want and need combined may have made quite a powerful duo.

The brawny female stalked through the undergrowth, entirely careless with her footing as her heavy paws stomped abrasively. She was still hungry, worn out, and utterly vexed. That thick-boned man had sent Cojack waddling away, tail between legs, without a single word of defiance from him. This part of him was something that Franziska could never understand. But, that wasn't really her problem. Now her problem was finding him and investigating this fucking ooze, just like Orcrist ordered. She let out a heavy huff and pushed through a clump of low hanging branches.

And there he was, crouching behind a patch of bush, his ears erect and barely peeking over the edges of the leaves. Finally! "ALRIGHT, CARLOS, TIME TO GET MOVIN--" It was then that she caught what he'd been eyeing.

A group of deer, their bodies distorted and eyes sunken in. A shroud of eerie darkness pulsed around them, and Franzi could feel it sending an itch up her spine. It was absolutely revolting, and she was sure she nearly lost her appetite upon spotting and smelling them. At least she didn't have to do much to find exactly what she was looking for.

"Guess we just happened to be at the right place at the right time, eh Calvin?"

Sheesh, what was his name again? Aw shit, did they hear me?