Sun Mote Copse of grandiose fevers & passion arcane

@Evanora

The Mackenzie was very much a creature of habit. As she demanded her total obedience in prioritizing hunting for herself and the Saints, she spent her days (but mostly nights) skulking about the regions of the Hinterlands after prey. More so led by her olfactory sense than paws of wanderlust, there was nothing too big or small that went uninvestigated by her nose. With a pelage like a dark cloak worn only by members of the midnight society, Zsuzsa largely went unseen in the evening shadows. Not only did she prefer solitude, but night hunting brought a certain kind of exhilaration. She thoroughly enjoyed deploying the element of surprise upon her prey in the most unlikely hour. It gave her a heightened primal sense of control over her environment.

Little did Zsuzsa know, not even an apex predator as she was above the element of surprise.
 
At first, the hare discovered seemed out of place. No tracks, no immediate signs of trauma to the body, but didn’t smell like it had been dead for long. Very fresh, rather. Scavenging was done by the desperate and while she did not have reason to be desperate other than stocking up for Winter, at the same time she couldn’t pass up an easy meal that was perhaps left by a bobcat for whatever reason. Scarfing down the hare and moving onto the next, the Acolyte would proceed to carry on with her consumptions throughout the night.
 
It started with irregular heartbeats. Midnight hunting was a rush but her heart was racing. Then came cramping of her stomach, as if something slugged her hard. She then began panting, feeling parched suddenly. Panting in the middle of Winter was unusual. What was even more unusual (if not mildly alarming to her) was visible particles floating in the air. Looking like fireflies but… they weren’t. It was Winter. It was too cold for fireflies. Sun Mote Copse was known for particles floating around in the sunshine, but pollen season was long since done. And it was the middle of the night.

Shaking her head and blinking rapidly, something suddenly wasn't right.

thank you again for starting!! <3 I really appreciate it inspiration song

Mixing a concoction of different berries, most of which came from the weeping forest where the wolves had granted her to roam freely without worry of them chasing her off. Bittersweet nightshade, juniper, holly with some crushed Morning Glory seeds - a different, tweaked recipe from that she tested on the previous slumbering wolf. It needed to be stronger than before to take effect, this time she applied it differently hoping that the sweet scent of meat mixed in with the alluring aroma of ripe berries would draw in an unsuspecting lupine...

And it did.

Eventually, as the sun fades, the coyote's patience was rewarded as one of the beasts came near and devoured the trap with vigor. Life springs back into the coyote laying in wait in a low branched evergreen. Once the wolf drunkenly wobbled around, the witch slithered out from her hiding place, curling around the prickly branches as she watched in pure indifference to the suffering beast. Tail lovingly caressing the branches as her hips swayed lightly to it, casually waiting for the berries to take full effect. 

She hummed softly to herself an incantation of sorts, eyes staring straight to the blackened wolf, purely focused on it as her song only rose in a slow pitch - to her it was a spell, but perhaps in the wolf's mind, it would only cause further discomfort and confusion as the voice travelled with the soot creature as she slithered from one cover to the next, watching from her hides, chanting, observing...

Ofc! Apologies for the wait, final exams finally wrapped up.

Her gaze transfixed on the particles, attempting to focus on them to determine what cast their visible luminesce-like presence but either her sight or her psyche would not register what they were. Licking her lips, her mouth began to feel cotton-dry but could not stop panting. Her intuition began mentally kicking her for giving in to the temptation of the hare without heeding her initial caution. Zsuzsa should have considered her gut feeling further but it seemed her gut was more concerned devouring the free meal without following her suspicions.
 
Her ears picked up on a darkly croon from the shadows, her head snapping to the direction of where she first picked up the melodies. The humming was fleeting, all around, surrounding her. Her silver gaze strained to catch the source of the tune in the dark, but the coyote blended in the shadows as near perfect as Zsuzsa did. The dancing particles were fading in and out as Zsuzsa attempted to search the foliage. As if her entire immune system couldn’t be any more electric, her hackle rose, and chills broke out against her flesh. The Acolyte would stand her ground but by damn, it was a challenge to do so when hallucinating.
 
Zsuzsa did not even know if the tune was real, real like the glowing particles. She shook her head again. ”What are you trying to do?” Zsuzsa demanded instantly, unsure if she was even speaking to anyone. She knew something was beyond the shadows, whether it was wolf, creature, or even a phantom of the supernatural world…