Dahozhoni Meadow sidhe

event prompt - your character discovers fairy circles in an unlikely place.

He arrived at the desert's fringes by sundown, the last rays of the summer sun making his shadow long and distorted across the sandscape that lay in front of him. Watching it was almost amusing and made him feel bigger than he knew he really was. A rustle from a nearby bush sent a prickle down his spine and his hackles raised instinctively. It was just a mouse. What would've been a beautiful meadow in daylight had turned spiky and unsettling come the evening - the pale boy held his mouth in a tight-lipped grimace as humour slipped away.

Butterfly had always been superstitious. And so when the rough grasses gave way to an almost perfect circle of bare ground, he had almost stopped in his tracks. It was a few wolf-lengths across, with grass and tiny colourful flowers lining the edges and red sand in the centre. He'd heard stories of these - fáinne sí as his mother had called them.

"They are fickle folk. Do not offend them or they will put thorns in your nest and bugs in your ears." she had said. Whether he believed her all these moons later or not, some residual fear kept his paws dancing on the edge of the ring as he made to investigate.

S'ari was back in the meadow, far from the Ravine. She had slept here most of the day, waiting for nighttime and cooler temperatures to begin the trek back. So far, she had met nothing of interest on her journey, but this did not surprise her. The desert was mostly an empty place, with the only ones there being those who were strong enough to survive.

However, as she sat up to watch the sunset, the wind changed direction and she caught the scent of Wolf. No... Coywolf. Though the wolf scent was stronger. Curiously, she followed the scent, and found herself in a new part of the meadow she had not yet seen. And there was the... well, he looked a lot more like a wolf than a coyote, but the smell was still there. He was both. And he was standing in front of...

Ah, S'ari said, coming toward him, but eyeing the circle on the ground carefully. Do not step inside that. The fae are fickle creatures. One never knows how they will react to being disturbed...

S'ari grew up with tales of all sorts of creatures and fairies and stuff, so this feels fortuitous lol

was hoping to catch a s'ari!

"Ah."

Ears pricked, the boy swivelled round to see a figure strolling towards him. She was tiny, with fur as golden as the sand at his paws - as if the very desert itself had taken on a shape of flesh and bone. A narrow muzzle gave way to two beady brown eyes. Coyote. Butterfly caught her gaze briefly before he too returned to stare at the ring.

Although unaware of his coyote heritage, the boy was no stranger to their kind. Often they had joined Caraceol in their nights of song and shared prey beneath the stars. 

But what she spoke next made his fur prickle. So she knew of them too. They were real. 

"I've heard many things - none of which are particularly pleasant." Settling uncomfortably on his haunches, he turned to face the stranger with a tight-lipped smile. "Though I always thought they were some kinda story made up to scare the kids, you know? Never thought I'd actually meet them."

S'ari grinned a coyote grin at the boy. Not all believe in the fair folk. And those who do tell different tales depending on where they are from. Here, in the desert, one finds mainly Djinn, although there is some debate about whether Djinn are Fae at all. She came closer and studied the fairy circle some more, walking slowly around its perimeter. Although... Djinn do not normally create these circles. She glanced around. We are in the meadow, which is close to the mountain pass, yes? Perhaps some woodland fairy wandered out of the forest and came a bit too far south.

Djinn. Butterfly had never heard the term before but, then again, nor had he explored the deserts either. Like most legends, the presence of Fae Folk was tightly woven into many cultures. Each had their stories of stunningly beautiful creatures who, if not treated with the right respect, could also be terrible and hideous.

Following just behind as she pulled away to investigate further, he listened as the coyote expressed her confusion. "Yes, these types of rings are usually the dwellings of Aos Sí, or woodland fairy as you called them," he confirmed, "It's certainly weird they've appeared in the desert." Perhaps something had usurped them from their previous location? Something that had driven them south? Or, like she suggested, perhaps they had just become incredibly lost. "Where I'm from they prefer uh - greener pastures." That was one way to put it.

"Usually my mom would leave them offerings, like a token of appreciation. Though perhaps the same idea could be used to help guide them back to the mountain pass?"

Offerings, S'ari repeated, musing. The Fae tend to like sweet things. Fruit. However... She glanced around. One would be hard-pressed to find good fruit in the desert. She pulled her eyes closer to home, and looked around the meadow now, as opposed to the sandy wastes surrounding it. We are in a meadow, yes? And it is summer, berry season. Perhaps... if we found some edible berries and... left a trail. Mm. That could take hours.

She grimaced, thinking of the work, but she had learned from a young age not to piss off the fairies. Even so. Does this one have any better ideas? she asked, hoping the boy could think of a way to make this easier.

Butterfly followed her gaze into the desert as she mused, listening intently as she spoke of berries. He was not accustomed to the fruits that the sand-bushes produced, but the boy was certainly familiar with these kinds of gifts. The coyote was right, a trail would take too long. Despite the coolness of oncoming night, he was afraid by day the berries would shrivel and be too dry for the Fae Folk to use, unless...

"You seem to know the desert better than me," he turned to her, eyes glinting. "Let's find some berries, I think I have an idea." 

Granted, it was just a guess - he'd run it by her once their pigment was secured.

sorry for the wait. i suck.

S'ari nodded to the boy. This one must be careful. Not all berries are good for eating, no? You must look for... And she went on to explain the shape and color of the berries they were looking for to avoid poisoning themselves on accident.

After a few minutes of scouring the meadow, S'ari finally found what she was looking for. Nice, edible berries that they wouldn't have to worry about. Ah, here we are. So, what was this one thinking, hmm? Do you want to paint the desert in berry juice, perhaps? That could work... S'ari got a weirdly serious look on her face as she thought about what to do, strange because she was smiling about ninety-nine percent of the time. Her facial muscles didn't seem to know what to do with a thoughtful frown.

It's too early in the morning to be googling "poisonous berries" so just use ur imagination on what the berries look like lmao

you're good!

It was certainly a risk in the desert as well as the forest to avoid accidentally ingesting something harmful. Although he was accustomed to the fruits of various deciduous trees and coniferous bushes, he let her take the lead until they found what they were looking for - plump, midnight coloured berries. Taking one in his jaw, he chewed momentarily before licking the juices onto his forepaw, pleased to see it stained the white fur a deep purple colour.

At the thought of painting the desert he couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "You're not entirely wrong. You should consider yourself a seer of sorts," he jested, "though perhaps I'm kinda easy to read." 

Her face contorted into a thoughtful expression as Butterfly began gathering mouthfuls of berries and depositing them onto a flat rock nearby. "One gust of wind and all our hard work would be gone, if we painted the sand directly. Instead," he nosed the rock, "we could use these." Perhaps some sort of rune of symbol would work. "Do you know of any way to communicate with the Fae Folk in, uh, writing?"