just like the ones I used to know -- mysterious phenomenon

[Verdigris]

  [font=trebuchet ms]The wind, raging and biting throughout the weeks prior, had calmed at last.

  The landscape was lightly dusted with a thin layer of fluffy snow, blanketing the precious seeds of what would become lively vegetation come spring. The trees were almost bare, a few leaves left clinging to life. In time, sure, they would wither away and die. But once winter went on its way, newfound warmth would revive the greenery. A birth, a death, and another birth; such was the cycle of life.

  One might expect, if they stepped out into the snow, to be completely alone. An astute observer might realize quickly that that was not the case- their eyes might catch a soft puff of cool air, clouding up in the chilly atmosphere, with no apparent source. Every few seconds, the breath rose out of thin air, like wisps of cirrus.

  The same observer might approach the strange puff of air, only to see another cloud of air appear a few feet away- as if beckoning to follow. They might pursue, and follow the breaths as they descended deeper into the territory. Or they might not; the source of the breaths was simply curious.

  /this is a part of the winter plot!
  /basically there's a strange spirit watching Elysium; their intent is unclear, but following the breaths might shed some more light on the subject c;
  /the same spirit could appear in other threads, too, so keep an eye out

[Honey]

[align=center]

And so I tell myself that I'll be strong -
❁ tags-powers❁

It was mighty cold for such a small pup. Being a creature made for the extreme heat of Africa, the cold winter of the mountains was far from ideal for the thin child. Her frame lacked the extra meat and layers that many of the Elysites possesses. Whenever a cold gust came about, her slender frame was chilled to the bone.

Small paws would push into the snow, sinking slightly under the weight of her. She wasn’t sure why, but she had thought it would be a good idea to look for herbs. But as she trekked further, it became clear that very few herbs would even be alive right now and Honey lacked the knowledge to find the remaining few.

Eyes were kept on the floor so she was sure where her paws would be placed. Every once in a while she would look up to make sure her surroundings were okay. Evidently the Pitt had been taken over by good guys and while she never had any interaction with the infamous group... one couldn’t be too safe.

Quietly she would go, not saying a word. The only sound in the dead quiet would be the noise of her pushing through the snow. Still rather small, it was far from easy but going back now would give her a sense of defeat.

Then her large ears would flap as a wind touched them. It was more like a breath as it flattened the fur on her head. She nearly froze in pure terror, certain it was some boogeyman come to snatch her up. Trembling from not only the cold but now fear, she would look up and see nothing. Odd. She was certain she had felt someone’s breath... seen it cloud. But as children did, she was quick to move on and dismiss it. She kept going, now looking more briefly around in slight unease.

Then there was a puff right in front of her... Honey perked her ears, sonars listening for any noise. There was none, but the small cloud would disappear only to reappear a yard or two away. It seemed like it was going somewhere. The painted dog would tilt her head in analysis, she no longer felt scared, this was interesting.

She watched until it was a little far away. Then something kicked in, the need to chase. As fast as she could the pup would bound and hop and scrabble to see the breath up close.

“H-h-hey! S-slow d-d-d-down!” she called out to no one.

[sub][W]isker[/sub]

[Verdigris]

  [font=trebuchet ms]A creature chose to follow- a painted wolf pup, timid yet curious. Courageous, one might venture to call her. The source of the phenomenon certainly would.

  As she pursued, the puffs of air marked a path deeper into the forest, past the mountain. The breaths kept pace with the pup, remaining at roughly the same distance apart as the chase went on. After all, this was not an escape- this was a test, of sorts. The pup actually was familiar, thinking about it; she had also retrieved one of the gifts. Elysium's representative was intuitive enough to only take one, more than could be said for the other groups.

  Perhaps more would show up to accompany the pup, perhaps not.

  Emerging from the forest and coming upon the vast fjord, the puffs of air forged a path down a shallow slope, leading deeper into the valley. The slope was gentle enough that the pup could traverse it without risk of falling and injuring herself, but the breaths nonetheless advanced forward at a slower pace.

  At the bottom of the slope, on the fjord's shore, the source of the wispy clouds remained in place. Until the pup caught up, the breaths would make no further progress down the shore.

[candorosa]

[align=center][div style="width:70%; text-align: justify; padding: 1px; font-family: helvetica;"]Lemy heard the call before he spotted the puffs of air. The tom paused, blue eyes searching for the source of the voice. He recognized the owner of it, the young pup that had asked for assistance in learning herbs. He listened as he waited for a response from whoever she was pleading to slow down.

Nothing.

The stillness was unnerving. Lemy found that his body had begun to trek after the sounds of footsteps without his input. He wasn't quite sure what compelled him to chase after the child but the entire situation felt off. Frankly, if it weren't for the weird quietness that had settled in the area, he would have just left. Under normal circumstances, he would have labeled it none of his business.

Finally, he caught up to Honey, opening his mouth to say something when his words died in his throat. Lemy stared at the white puffs of air, odd smile decorating his features. Breaths.

Lemy recalled a distant memory, of how he would hold competitions with his father to see who could puff out the biggest breath in the cold air. His father would always win and tease Lemy for being so small. 'Wait until you're bigger,' he would say. And Lemy, young, incompetent and naive as he was, would try to practice outside of their little cottage until he caught a cold.

Those recollections were useless, only aiding him in recognizing the puffs of air. But, if they were breaths, where was the body? Lemy couldn't smell or hear anyone; so they couldn't have been invisible. They left no markings in the snow. He jolted out of his thoughts when he noticed the movement of the wisps, moving in an almost beckoning motion.

This time, Lemy's face twisted in an ugly scowl, so different from the silly grins he usually gave others. Whatever it was, there was no way it was benevolent. The alien feeling his chest disappeared, replaced by an emotion he knew well. Lemy started after the puffs of air and then halted when he realized the pup could see him. He replaced the scowl with a polite smile and tilted his head at her. "Hey, stay close, okay? We don't know if this thing's dangerous," he said with a sigh, lifeless blue eyes trailing after the white wisps.

With that said, he pivoted on his paws and began chasing after it, not caring of where it led him to. It was...waiting. Lemy fought to keep another sour expression off his face as he quickened his pace.

[Honey]

[align=center]

And so I tell myself that I'll be strong -
❁ tags-powers❁

It kept pace with her and she was thankful. Unlike other children, Honey didn’t wrestle, chase, or play anymore. She used to do that with her siblings but they were all gone and there wasn’t many kids her age in Elysium.

It led her out of the woods and just as she saw the water she Lemy would appear. She didn’t really know him but he seemed nice. Immediately the air changed, he brought tension and she frowned when he told her to stay close.

She would listen though but not without saying what she believed.

“But it would’ve hurt me by now...”, she said timidly. Luckily they kept heading towards it

[sub][W]isker[/sub]