#fox-weave

[wolf-and-fox]

*From the curse to Scarlet freaking out and visiting THE RADIANCE, Fox has had quite the day and is very eepy.*

Wispspark does notice Fox's exhaustion, and scruffs them to let them rest. Apparently this is very easy for Wispspark to do.

…Not again. This time, Fox recognizes where they're at, and inhales. Okay. Great. Cool. The place name is known, but not the layout. The cabinet isn't even safe this time around. They're smart, and they know here's not exactly- great. So the immediate response is to hide first, then find a way out. Y'know what, frick it. No cabinet time. They pivot on their paws, quickly setting themselves to the world's quickest trot, and DIVES under the table, exhaling and then curling up into a ball in real time agony and a discount version of despair. Not agaiiiiin. They don't want to BE near Radiance right now, the last time they came here they bit Radiance twice and then accidentally jumpscared a child and also had at least three back to back meltdowns. They CANNOT be seen here nope nope no no no no NO.

[wolf-and-fox]

Fox doesn't know WHERE she is upon- waking up? Dreaming even?- but the first thing she does is HIDE. They run and run and run and run - are they in a HOUSE? - and they ignore the bees. And then they find the perfect hiding place: a cabinet, scratching at the door of the cabinet long enough to get their snout to wedge in between the door and the actual wall, and squeezes in, shaking and finally letting out the world's most shakiest sob alive. Was it them? Was it the orange- STUPID question Fox, of COURSE it was the orange - they don't even know how to STOP their eyes being ORANGE it SUCKS it SUCKS it SUCKS everything HURTS they JUST WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE- THE BEES!!! ARE BEING!!! A PROBLEM!! They finally unleash a desperate scream of "LEAVE ME ALONE!" directed to the bees IN THE CABINET, curling up even more into a ball. They don't mean to be loud they don't mean to be violent they're hurt they're hurt they're scared they want to go home they want to get out of this cursed nightmare they CANNOT give up they CANNOT no matter how much it hurts. Just a couple miles further and then they can get to the citadel and then they can help solve a war everything hurts. Curling up into a ball always helps, right? They do that, shivering. Stars this felt uncomfortably familiar, doesn't it? The dark, the unfamiliar sounds now, the- cold? Is that cold? They can't tell. They just lie there, shivering and stifling out sobs as best as they can. This curse was a living nightmare everything sucks and they want to be NORMAL again they want to be just Fox with her dreambound gift being the only thing that saved her from countless battles and YET the ONE THING they couldn't do that time was defend herself, in a desperate attempt to not spread the curse any further.

@illuminating-dawn

[wolf-and-fox]

Trinn takes her down a path less traveled, beyond the research rooms, beyond the old Silkfly storage, beyond the Furnace (although it stops to wave encouragingly at the Warden for doing such a good job).

The door, once only accessible by a silk song, opens instead with wood and a knock.

The old room of the old Conductor lies ahead...much changed.

Hardly recognizable as theirs, if you had ever been there before.

@third-sentinel

Fox is a very curious vessel, and follows along as quietly as possible, and opts to focus straight ahead onto Trinn instead of literally anything else. To them, Whiteward was a terrifying place, one that they knew better to avoid at nearly all costs, to get in, get supplies, get out. And admittedly, with Pharloom's constant-changing state of being, they'd love to be less afraid of Whiteward at this point. …This was not that day, unfortunately. They had every intention to at least follow - the curiosity wouldn't leave them be. And the door was where Fox actually started to second-guess. They were too far away from the rest of the group, if they get into a fight here, they're near-certain they couldn't win. Their earlier fight with Trinn - the one that dragged them into the Curse - proved it alone. They were ill-equipped for a fight. But should it come down to it, they'd rather put up a fight against it than simply give up. Steeling nerves and emotionally preparing for a possible nightmare, they finally work up the courage to fully step into the room, quietly angling their head to get an initial look around the room in question.

[wolf-and-fox]

We just made it to the Marrow. No one has slept, really - granted I don't think they need it as much. It's…. hm. I can't say it's hot, can I. Wolf looks uncomfortable with the heat, at least, and I actually can't blame them. I have no clue how Fox had hunted around here once. Maybe further up? They just showed how the.. platform, I guess? works, and while Elm's intrigued, I am not. I'm actually- wait hold on what's that in the distance. Hold on one second. What the- Fox? Fox there's a person. Oh you're right. Wait that's a skarr. Wait. WHAT? Down here? Why? Okay hold on I can-

Crimson raises their voice from across the lava, starting with their own designated warble-call - confirmation of who they are. EY! Are you lost? Don't- don't go to Moss Grotto, it's not doing too well!

@shimering-crystals-scarlet-shell

[wolf-and-fox]

Back again. But on purpose, this time. The outside world was just a little bit too loud, a little bit too dangerous, and they wanted safety quiet like.. now. So, with a short waypoint back to at the very least Wispspark, they dozed off and.. back to her house. Look it was the first place they thought of, no they don't know WHY. And so was, once again, under the table. Same usual spot, dead center, before curling up into a vague approximation of a ball. The only downside of actively seeking out a quiet spot was that the evil brain thoughts sometimes came back to torment specifically them - and this time, they were much much MUCH louder about the most recent situation, which was Scarlet getting bit by their own blunder. Should have been faster. Should have SEEN the metal, should have pinpointed exactly where the cries were coming from before it was too late. Should have been more of a threat than they were. They were supposed to be a guardian and a hunter, stars! They should have been all of those and more! …Granted, those were all personal expectations - no one else really put those goals on them. But still. STILL. They just bury their face in their paws, feigning any sense of calm left. It is… a shambling disguise of peace, and one that is probably INCREDIBLY fragile, but one that maybe they themselves can believe for now.

@illuminating-dawn

[wolf-and-fox]

…It did still kind of haunt the group, for the most part. Fox had been rarely willing to let anyone get too close - and it had really only gotten worse since the Curse. That one day. That one day was the first she'd ever trust herself to not bite on complete accident. The Dreambound Group was effectively near-silent for a majority of the trip, save for the identity-calls that started back up every time Fox went off to go hunting to stave off that horrible evil no-good Curse that made them so scared. The fertids were especially a favorite of theirs on hunting in Far Fields, and there was at least three separate occasions where Fox would bring back extra for the rest of the group.

…And then there's Greymoor. Wolf pauses on a set number of steps, ears tilting - followed up by Fox. A shared memory. "Who lost?" Wolf shakes it off. That was months ago. Fox seems to follow suit, shaking off rain before chirping - follow, safe soon. Water SUCKED to swim through, and Crimson was immediately the one to take the easier route of just teleporting. Fox and Wispspark chose to swim through regardless of how much coaxing Wolf and Crimson tried to tell them (mostly Wolf), both of them shaking off more water, sopping wet further. The end goal of this horrible trek through rain and wind was Halfway Home, where upon Wispspark is just happy to have somewhere to rest, even if it was outside. Fox and Wolf respectively drop their own dreambound forms entirely. Oh thank stars bench. Wait here, I'm gonna check first. Fox angles their head slightly, exhaling before stepping into the inn first.

@junior-and-dew

[wolf-and-fox]

*Fox's eyes hurt. She closed her eyes in some attempt to help, but that did not help as the spectral blobs they saw lit up as she did so.*

*She could see the others with them closed, all of her friends painted an orange and sickly hue.*

*When Fox opened her eyes, unbeknownst to her . . . They were the same bright orange.*

…Fox you're orange. Thanks.

[wolf-and-fox]

Fox jolts awake, ears angling back and quickly scanning the area. Okay good waking world- WAIT. Mom, get up. I- I need to tell Scarlet- Crimson's head snaps up from their own nap. Fox what happened- First off! I think Radiance tried to get me to take a nap after I bit her out of anger. But that's not important right now I need to find- where's Wolf? Oh apparently Wolf and your dad nearly died by apparently Lurien, but- come on let's get out of the corner come on- Fox quickly sprints after Crimson, with Wispspark trotting close behind, and the second they get to near the medical tent they ERUPT into loud calls - apparently an attention and a roll call, since Wolf came sprinting back almost within minutes, and Fox wasted zero time asking questions. Where's Scarlet? Fox sounds.. panicked. Like something they know is about to go very, very wrong.

@junior-and-dew