The Tangle marche funèbre d'une marionnette

By the end of the first week after her dispersal, the nightmares were ancient history, only to be replaced by persistent headaches. At first, Haunt figured it was from overcompensating. She slept so much now, she often felt foggy. Her face was usually puffy and it ached. At least Haunt could actually get restful sleep now, even if the more she got, the drowsier she seemed to feel. She worried about it, a little, but she figured it was sort of like a hangover from those nightmarish weeks.

Anyhow, she could usually shake it off by hunting, which she did nearly all day, every day. She often dropped her kills off at Sapphique's borders, keeping her promise. She thought about calling for someone but never did. She came and went like a benevolent ghost, leaving her offering for whoever might find it.

Since she was on her own, she rarely spoke. If she had, she would've noticed a slur, but she remained oblivious. What she could not ignore were the bouts of double vision that began to plague her into the second week, especially because they severely impacted her ability to hunt. By now, Haunt was really beginning to worry. Headaches and lethargy were everyday, minor afflictions. This was something else.

This realization came too late. Haunt made plans to visit Sapphique again within a day or two and this time, she would call for @Erzulie. But before she could make that happen, the entire right side of her body began tingling. Within a matter of hours, she lost feeling entirely. Especially with her left foreleg missing, Haunt could not walk. She could barely drag herself.

Driven by primal panic, she did that just: she dragged her drooping body through Larksong Grotto toward The Tangle. She was a complete mess by the time she grew too tired to continue. It took her several minutes but she finally managed to get her mouth to cooperate to send up a wavering cry for help.

she had descended nova peak after realizing that to settle there alone was suicide. winter would be even colder at that altitude; why she had not thought of that before climbing halfway up the mountain she would never fully understand. she blamed it mainly on her wanderlust; nova peak was, after all, breathtakingly beautiful. but it was also breathtakingly cold.

the path of her descent was different from that of her climb, and at the base of the peak she had found herself in the midst a beautiful grotto. it was here that she decided she would stay the winter... unless she was carried off on a different, unforeseen whim. 

she had spent the previous several days in Larksong Grotto, mainly hunting. prey was plentiful here. hollis had not eaten half as well in many months, and with nourishment came strength, and brighter spirits. the glaring reality of her solitude barely touched her consciousness until a weak-sounding howl cut through predictable ambiance of the grotto, bringing her ears to sudden attention. She swiveled her position, and then paused, hesitant. it was possible that this call would bring trouble to her - interrupt the peace she had only just found. however, the desperate, strained tone of the wolf's song played on her sense of sympathy, and she knew she could not ignore it.

it did not take long for her to find the she-wolf, sprawled on the rocky earth of The Tangle. the ghostly-pale sylph had the look and smell of the ill, something innately known by most canines. only when hollis stood beside her did she realize that this woman was also missing appendages, an ear and a paw. her jaws parted at the sight of this poor creature, who, with her striking yellow eyes, was otherwise beautiful.

"Oh, my - will you let me help you, miss?" hollis spoke, rose eyes large and glimmering a combination of horror and  concern.

A whimper escaped her when the black she-wolf with yellow eyes appeared. But instead of cryptic warnings, she offered her help.

Haunt tried to speak, yet her tongue felt heavy, just like the deadened half of her body. She made some sounds, yet none of them really resembled words. She whined her terror.

It came back to her now, in a sudden rush: she'd taken a hit during the hunt with Avicus and Erzulie. And the nightmares had begun that same night.

But despite everything, she felt incredibly lucid now. With some difficulty, Haunt's gaze lifted to the woman's face and she realized her eyes weren't the right color. Was this not Raleska's revenant?

"H...h...el...me," Haunt managed, stretching out her stumped foreleg toward the stranger. She wanted to tell her to fetch someone from Sapphique.

But a terrible dread stiffened the functional half of her body. What could anyone possibly do for her? Haunt knew very little about medicine but some part of her sensed there was no coming back from this.

Hope you don’t mind if I jump in!

The Tangle was a frequent hunting ground of Sapphique – especially for Haunt and the herd she watched over. Well, it used to be, anyways. Fruitless in his search, Njord turned back towards Dragoncrest with a defeated huff. Where had their white wolf gone? What was happening to his friend? A shutter of dread made him shiver as a memory of Merlin’s odd behavior washed over Njord. He had been acting strange, as well, before washing up on their shores dead.

Suddenly, a commotion cut through the silent forest. Njord hurried with a tightened chest and found Haunt struggling on the ground with a black wolf besides her.

“Haunt!” he shouted. Blue eyes shot the stranger a leering glare as if to give her fleeting moment to explain herself. Was she the reason Haunt laid incapacitated?

Since Hollis & Haunt are inactive, I'm going to wrap this up in a post. Feel free to reach out to un-archive and restart! Happy to do that if wanted

Not long after Njord found Haunt, @Erzulie arrived. In the chaos the dark stranger melted into the treeline, but the seafarer hardly noticed for he was too preoccupied. With great effort, the queen and her Emerald managed to haul their friend back into the heart of Sapphique. Could she be saved? Njord could only pray the white yearling would be alright.