but a strange light in the sky was shining right into my eyes

[singmod]

JANUARY 2024 EVENT

PROMPT ONE — THE AURORA: NASCENCE: Following the strange dream at new year, a three-day Aurora takes place. During which, Interlopers discover a possible ally in the mysterious woman heard in the static and heard in the dream — potentially earning new abilities.

PROMPT TWO — ADUST: The Interlopers find out what happened to the owners of long-destroyed Milton House in the form of hauntings.

PROMPT THREE — THE VISITOR: Interlopers find themselves with an unwelcome visitor — a shadow doppelganger here to make everything absolutely worse.

THE AURORA: NASCENCE

WHEN: January 13th - 15th.
WHERE: Everywhere.
CONTENT WARNINGS: potentially disturbing dreams; dreams of being burned alive; some minor supernatural horror; some minor ‘ghost’ horror/hauntings; death of npcs in various ways including suicide, murder or exposure to elements.


In the middle of the month, it happens. A herald. The noise starts: faint at first, but then growing louder. An ethereal, high-pitched chorus of sounds difficult to place. There’s a kind of electrical buzzing with it all, a low, endless hum punctuated with cracks and pops. The sky is alive with sound, and with it comes the swirling streaking of colour against the inky black of night: The Aurora has come.

Much of what happened previously happens again: Streetlights, illuminating the town’s roads; lights in stores and homes will come alive, buzzing and flickering at times. Previously abandoned cars will turn on, their headlights blaring. Electronics that had previously seemed broken flick on — and whilst there are no broadcasts available on televisions, and the radio waves only drone on in static, both only occasionally blaring standard emergency broadcasts. Any computers and phones will turn on, but will have no internet or reception. Instead, Interlopers may find texts and emails — many of them unsent. The everyday lives of their users stored within, now readable.

There are still some instances of the ‘ghosts’ from the previous Auroras, but they are now only faint outlines, and far fewer in number. However, whilst the Aurora would usually only last until the next morning on sporadic nights over the month — this time it will last for a full three days. The world is plunged into darkness, a seemingly endless night with only the Aurora to light the skies.

On the second night of lights and noise, a voice calls out to you: static-like, and distant — as if someone speaks over a radio. A woman’s voice. It is the same one you’ve been hearing for a few weeks now, but finally it is far stronger than the scant whispers of name and the word ‘help’. She is far clearer now.

“You.” she says. She may whisper your name, too. “I see you.” You’re unable to speak back, the communication is only one way. She sounds upset, but there’s something more… a kind of wonder, perhaps.

”It’s not just a regular aurora borealis, but then you probably worked that out already, haven’t you? It’s so much more than that. Everything is… changing.”

”I don’t know how you can go back. But— but I can help. Maybe. Maybe I can make this place easier, somehow. I need help, but I’m stuck—” There’s frustration in her voice for a moment. ”It took from you. Took you away. It doesn’t always have to take. We can take, too. Sleep. I will help you take back. You will survive this. You will not go into the Dark. This is not the end.”

You have no idea what that means, for the most part. But you might just end up taking the chance and doing as the woman asked, even if it’s difficult with the noise and light with the Aurora. Sleep, and a dream may come to you.

FREE RUNNER: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape. You dream you are a magnificent stag, galloping through the snowy woods with ease. You seem to go on and on, never tiring, never slowing. You feel like the wind, or perhaps the very wind itself carries you. Not once do you stumble or fall, even when the snow is thick and deep, or the ground is shaky and uneven beneath you. You feel free.

When you awaken, you feel the most refreshed you’ve ever felt since you first came here. For the final day of the Aurora, you are bursting with energy and even when the lights in the sky fade — that revitalised feeling within you remains. There’s something within you that understands: you are the Free Runner. The ground will yield beneath you, your energy will not desert you, the wind will carry you.

LIGHT BRINGER: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape. You dream of sitting by a lonely campfire in the mouth of a cave at night, warming your hands. As you sit, a strange feeling comes over you, a desire to reach out to the flames. And so you do, reaching with both hands into the fire — gripping at the white-hot embers. It burns you, and for a moment there is blinding hot pain as the fire suddenly explodes around you, consuming you whole. But the pain soon stops. The fire doesn’t burn you. No, you have become the blaze — your body warmed. You burn bright enough that the darkness around you turns into day.

When you awaken the next morning, you feel warmed and comfortable. As if even the coldest of winters couldn’t reach your bones. The warmth remains even when the Aurora ends, and you are left with the innate understanding:you are the Light Bringer. The power of flame is at your very fingertips. You master the light, life, warmth.

AURORA CALL: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape. You dream you are standing in the very sky itself, at the Aurora’s height. Colour and sound twirls around you, within you — and you feel it curl into your body. Your head fills with noise, a chorus of voices calling out, snippets of conversation echoing within you. A woman’s voice calls to you, it is the same voice that spoke to you before you slept: “Don’t you understand it now? We are all connected. The Aurora connects us.”

And you do, you do understand it.

When you awaken, you feel connected to the world around you. To the very people who live amongst you. You feel less lonely, a kind of kinship with others. You have heard the Aurora’s Call and you have answered it, unlocked a connection with your fellow Interlopers. You will be heard.

NOTHING: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape, but only for a moment. The edges of your vision begin the blur with black, slowly closing in until everything goes dark and you fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. You awaken, and although you feel rested, as if the dreamless darkness has helped you feel a little more ready to take on the day — nothing else about you has changed.

ADUST

WHEN: From mid-month to month end.
WHERE: Milton House.
CONTENT WARNINGS: fire; house fire; death of a child/children; hauntings; ghosts; mental manipulation; illusions of burning/being burned; potential injuries via falling/unstable building collapsing.

There is a reason why it is advised to avoid Milton House other than the simple fact that it’s a miracle the house is still standing. Once one of the largest buildings in the town of Milton, it is now a former shell of what was once a fine and grand house. It has lain in ruin for many years, dilapidated and host to a great deal of fire damage.

While he is in town, Methuselah will not speak of the place, but he often looks sad when it has been brought up in conversation. “A great tragedy.” he will say before falling into a pensive silence. “A blackened mark on the town’s memory.” He does not wish to say much more of what happened: sometimes there are things that are just too painful. He will continue to advise the ruin is left alone, out of respect, and the fact that the place is a danger.

Of course, advice will not stop anyone from attempting to get into the ruins and exploring the house, even if it is in fact highly dangerous.

The sounds of voices and whispers may be enough to pique anyone’s interest. You're sure you heard something, maybe you should go to check it out?

It is true in the fact that the house itself is incredibly dangerous structurally: floors and stairs may give way and you’ll find your foot (and half of you) falling right through the floorboards. Damp and rot that have long since set in, and it will be dangerous to breathe in. But you’ll find that the house itself is pretty ordinary: this was once a family home. Just about the entirety of the house and its contents aren't salvageable, but you’ll be able to find out a little about who once lived here.

There are faded, half-destroyed photos that show a family of five: a father, mother, and three young children all under the age of ten. The father with warm, beaming smiles, the mother has kind eyes, the two oldest boys with toothy grins much like their father, the younger girl looks shy, wanting to hide against her mother. They look happy. Just a typical family. In a world where so many strange things are happening, it feels so strange to look upon these family photos and around this home to realise that they simply lost their home in a house fire.

But as you hold a family picture, or some half-destroyed trinket: a toy, a shoe, a book, a vase, you’ll find the item will suddenly catch alight, bursting into flames in your very hands. The flames do not burn you, and as you discard the item, it will fall to the floor as if nothing had happened.

Then, it comes to you. Here and there. Different sensations that stop and start suddenly: the house groans and creaks around you; the smell of smoke enters your nose; the sound of fire cracking and popping with a roar fills your ears; the sensation of heat against your skin; the clawing and suffocating feeling in your lungs that makes you cough and choke; the sounds of terrified shrieks of children echoing above you. Feelings flood you: fear, panic. When you next turn around, the entire house is aflame around you, and you can’t tell if this is real or if you’re reliving some terrifying memory.

You need to leave, get out of here. For some, it will be what comes naturally. You’ll have to fight through the flames and escape the house before it burns down completely around you. You’ll have to fight your way out, find an exit not already consumed by flames — through a window, perhaps. Crashing out of the house and into the snow, you’ll look back and see Milton House just as you entered it: nothing more than a half-burned ruin.

But for others, there will be another pull. You are drawn upstairs, to the screams of children. You need to get to them, to help them, save them. You will battle through the flames, heading towards the ruins of what was a child’s bedroom, or towards the bathroom. Inside either, you will find a figure cowering, engulfed wholly in flames: one in the bathtub or one in the closet. You recognise them as the two sons from the family pictures.

Mom. They will call you. Or Dad. They weep, terrified of the flames. I’m scared, I’m scared. I want the fire to go away. Help me. Stay here.

The tragedy of Milton House is before you. More than just a fire. What is more tragic than the death of a child? What silences voices? Breaks spirits? Leaves one helpless to act in the wake of such a passing?

There is something to be done here. You are not so powerless. Calm the child. Offer gentle assurances. They will get out. They are safe. You are there for them. You will stay. Embracing them will set you alight. Too hot. Too bright. It will hurt, but you won’t burn. But don’t let go; holding them will eventually calm them down enough for the flames to grow dim, to slowly ease their spirits to rest.

Soon enough, the flames will go out and the child will disappear, leaving you alone in a decaying, dilapidated room.

In the churchyard of Milton, there is a family grave by the name of Barker. Three lie within it: Thomas it reads, and his beloved sons, Patrick and Christopher.

THE VISITOR

WHEN: The month of January.
WHERE: Everywhere.
CONTENT WARNINGS: erything absolutely worse.
THE VISITOR — CONTENT WARNINGS: supernatural beings; dream-related horror/disturbing dreams; doppelgangers; themes of depression; themes of self-harm; themes of isolation; potential themes of suicide.


It seems the dream of the New Year and the Aurora dreams are not the only odd sleep-related instances occurring this month. You first notice that something is off when a strange dream pulls you from sleep. The dream may feel like any particular dream you have, whether it be a usual nightmare or strange concoction your brain has conjured up for you this night. Maybe it’s a dream you’ve had before, maybe it’s a new dream entirely. But no matter the dream, there is one thing that is odd about it. In tiny moments within the dream, you notice that there is something different, something that feels out of place. Something is there that shouldn’t be.

A figure, tall and silent, entirely made of shadow stands lurking in the background. It looks human, but there is not much more that you can really describe further. It is a sad, unsettling presence.

When you awaken, eyes bleary from sleep, and you look about the room, to the bottom of your bed, for a half-moment you see that figure standing there silently. That unsettling sadness permeates the room, and after a few seconds of blinking and sitting up — the figure disappears. Perhaps it was just some trick of the mind, some half-awake illusion.

But the next time you sleep, it appears again. The same figure, the same emotions surrounding it. And when you awaken, it stands at the bottom of your bed once more. Only this time, it lingers, and you find yourself staring down the figure before it disappears once more.

Over the next several days, the presence continues to linger more and more. It stands silently in the corner of the room of your home; it hovers by the window, staring out into the snow; it stands in the middle of the road as you go about your business. More and more, it is there. Always standing, always watching — silent and sad.

No one else seems to notice it, only you. And over time, the shape of it seems to change — the vague, undefined shape of it slowly shifts into something you recognise. The same hair, the same height, the same way it holds itself: it is exactly like you. A perfect doppelganger, a second shadow. And with it, it exudes an oppressive sadness, a particular kind of loneliness. It is suffocating, bleeding into you.

It makes you withdraw from the world around you, from the people around you. Perhaps you stop spending time with others, retreating into solitude. You hide from others, keep to yourself. You find yourself not sleeping at all or perhaps sleeping too much. Perhaps what little you already eat becomes nothing. The shadowy doppelganger draws ever closer to you, close enough to touch you - ever hovering at your shoulder. Its presence bores down on you, making you feel small and more and more alone even with its ‘company’. No one else can seem to see it but you, mentioning it to others will earn odd looks, or even concern. It seems you and your double are alone together.

Hopefully, those around you will notice the change in you. How you stopped reaching out, how you’ve stopped taking care of yourself. Hopefully they will see something isn’t right and reach out. You are doomed to the doppelganger's company otherwise.

However, those around you can push the shadowy double away, and can break its influence and hold over you. Genuine care and concern for you will have it shrinking back. Perhaps it is a kind word, perhaps it is the gentle but insisting coaxing to eat. Perhaps it is an attentive ear to listen to your thoughts, to how the presence has made you feel. Maybe it is even the simplest of touches, an embrace or the holding of a hand, the grip of a shoulder. Continued connection with you will slowly have the visitor’s power diminish.

And hopefully it is done before it is too late, or it may be all too easy to fade into the Long Dark.

FAQs

THE AURORA: NASCENCE

1. Aurora Feats are now unlocked! Please see the following page for more information. Aurora Feats are completely optional.

2. Interlopers will only receive ONE Aurora Event. The only time this is available is this month. After January, players will have to wait for the next Feat round for another chance at an Aurora Feat.

3. This Aurora will last a full three days. It will be a period of only night.

4. For more information on the ghostly loops seen during the Aurora, see this previous event, under 'The Aurora: Aftershocks' prompt.

5. For new players who would like a little extra context regarding the woman can look at December's Tales From The Northern Territories, under the 'New Happenings in December' section.

ADUST

1. Characters will not be physically burned in the fire, but only feel as if they have been. The effects of this illusion will last a short time after they're out the house before they will fade.

2. The only real injuries characters can sustain will be from fall damage, or if the floor gives way and their feet go through, etc. whilst in the house.

3. The children cannot leave the house. They will be too scared to leave. In addition, they are tethered to the house, given that this is where they died. Simply being calmed/comforted is the best way to help them and they will disappear after that.

THE VISITOR

1. An Interloper's Visitor can't be seen by anyone but the Interloper themselves.

2. The Visitor can be spoken to, but it will not speak back. It cannot be interacted with and is intangible.

PLOTTING POST

Comments

[bigbaddy]

[ At least there's truly no turn this can take anymore at this point that's still surprising. The other's behaviour is completely unpredictable - even to Bigby, who has way too much experience with unpredictable and unhinged situations, so that's saying something. Even with the shitton of things he's witnessed, things that are completely out of this world, he still has no clue what Konstantin is doing.

.. is he a vampire? Is that it? Some sort of reluctantass vampire? It's the only thing Bigby can think of here. Why else would the other get distressed about blood, yet somehow also force it down his throat in the most desperate display Bigby has ever witnessed?

Even as he's thinking about it, he's still acting. It doesn't feel great to just stand there all frozen up, given the severity of the situation.

So Bigby raises his hands in the air, as if to show that alright, alright, he isn't going to do a thing to the other man-- and then he takes a step or two back, like maybe putting some distance between them might help Konstantin too.

Hell, not like he knows what'll help when the other is hardly using his words.

He lets the other have a moment or two to lick up that blood, but then Bigby does speak up again: ]

Y'know, if you have a chance to use your words [ because he can at least kind of see that.. not being able to say much is mostly out of Konstantin's own control right now, judging by what the other looks like.. ] and could explain what's wrong, maybe I could help.

[ A very reasonable offer from a guy who is also still definitely covered in blood. ]

[sputnik]

[ The taste and feel of it never stops being unpleasant, sharp and metallic and so disgustingly warm, a horrific reminder that not so long ago it was pumping life through something's veins. Konstantin forces whatever he can get down his throat, swallowing hard; it likely won't be enough to satiate the creature's hunger levels, but as long as he can keep it from emerging right now.... then he can feed it more when he returns to Vasiliy's.

When Bigby steps back from him, it does help, a little. It removes some of the scent of blood from being all up on him, at least what the other man's freshly covered in, a constant reminder inhaled again and again. It helps Konstantin catch his breath a little bit, and he's standing there after sucking blood from his fingers, looking up at the other, at a complete loss for words. How does he explain any of this....? He still doesn't even know what the hell is going on with this wolfish man (if only he knew that assessment was even closer to the truth than he realised....) ]

....I have a medical condition, [ the spaceman finally says, leaning over a little as he keeps one hand pressed to his abdomen, panting quietly. Technically it isn't a lie, though he's aware it doesn't explain much... But there's a sudden sharp hitch of pain and discomfort as the alien inside of his stomach starts reacting to the bit of blood it's been given, its wet body enthusiastically squirming against the walls of the organ as it feeds. ]

Ah—! [ Konstantin hisses through his teeth, wiping his mouth with the back of his other arm, eyes closing tightly for a moment before he opens them again, dulled with pain. ] My body— there's something very wrong with it.

[ His eyes move to the bloody carcass, recalling the way the other man had been.... so gruesomely feeding from its heart. He swallows thickly, unsure, trying to keep some modicum of composure (it's... probably too late for that, Konstantin.) ]

I didn't mean to intrude on you..... eating.

[bigbaddy]

[ A medical condition, huh.

Bigby isn't so sure about that part, especially when he's got enough experience to know that usually when you see a weird thing, it probably is a weird thing.. But somewhere between how miserable and pained the other looks right now and his disastrous past experience with Louis, Bigby knows better than to bring it up. Maybe it's easier for now to just file the other in the back of his head as someone who also has something going on with him, even if Bigby has no idea why. The blood drinking would make one imagine vampire, but vampires don't look so pained about it, in Bigby's experience. ]

's fine.

[ So he's instead saying that. You know, real casual. Sure, he was just eating here. ]

I think we instead have to make sure to get you back to town. [ Even though Bigby casts a glance over his shoulder at his only partially eaten deer carcass.. He really wants to have the rest of it, especially since he does still feel hungry in this moment..

But he's learned, right? He's got to put things ahead of his hunger. That's how he shows he's changed. ]

You think I can get closer to you again without it getting worse?

[sputnik]

[ All of this is strange, from top to bottom. He'd followed the carcasses of small animals into the woods to discover a man feeding from something's heart like a wild animal, only to have an extremely bad reaction to the sight as his own internal beast awoke. And now they're standing in the middle of this clearing, staring at each other, blood against both of their mouths, still fresh and glinting in the flickers of sunlight.

There are a million questions — probably both ways — but Konstantin is still tense with the threat of the alien poking its head up again, demanding more blood, coming out of him. So when Bigby says what he does next, that he needs to get back to town, it's a sweep of relief. Konstantin's nodding immediately, giving some more quiet, breathless gasps and a few soft grunts of pain as he watches the other man with a bizarre mix of wariness, confusion, and relief. ]

I think so.

[ He knows he needs help to get back, the way he often does. He's weak, ill, and everything still hurts. He isn't used to that sort of helplessness, to his body being such a cage for him now, but this isn't the time to challenge it. He needs to get back to Vasiliy as soon as possible, give the alien more blood. It'll need more. He can only hope that it stays patient enough to keep inside of him on the trek back.

He looks over at Bigby, cautious, unsure, but he won't flinch away from the other man's touch if he can help support him. What... is he? He's acting like being caught eating this way is no big deal, certainly not freaking out about it the way Konstantin was... The cosmonaut swallows, still tasting the sharp tang of blood at the back of his throat. ]

I'll be all right if I can just get back and... lie down. I shouldn't have come out here, but I thought... someone might be in trouble.

[bigbaddy]

[ Sorry, Konstantin.. Eating animals like this is pretty normal to Bigby. It was normal to him far before this hunger started to feel like it was consuming him.. Granted, it was mostly normal to him back when he wasn't in human form like this, but Bigby is wolf-brained enough that he isn't fully thinking about how strange this might look to regular humans when they don't bring up how strange is it in the first place.

Besides, he's got bigger priorities now. The quicker he gets the other man back to town, the safer Konstantin will be, and the quicker Bigby can return to his meal before anyone gets the faintest idea of trying to steal it from him.

It's a win-win situation, and so he doesn't hesitate to do what he does best: moving to action. First he uses his arm to try and wipe off some of the blood around his mouth and in his beard, since otherwise he sure will make an Impression if he gets too close to town, and then he's already moving over to Konstantin. Bigby looks at him for a moment, like he's considering the other's state, but then decides that Konstantin probably could use some help helping.

So he just.. grabs the other's arm, putting it over Bigby's shoulders, like he's silently telling the other to just lean on him as they walk to prevent Konstantin from dropping over into the snow. ]

Fine like this?

[ At least he's trying to confirm it first instead of starting to plainly head off right away. ]

If there is someone in trouble, I'll get 'em on my way back.

[sputnik]

[ Konstantin gives no fuss when the other coaxes ("coaxes") his arm over his shoulders, internalising all of the discomfort associated with the act. Admittedly, not all of it is because of the man he'd just seen brutally eating an animal (did he also kill it? a belated thought, sitting oddly within Konstantin) getting so close to him, but also the fact he needs help at all. He isn't used to that, to being so... again, helpless. He's a Hero of the Soviet Union, a Commander, a cosmonaut, a model to others. Rarely has he ever had to lean on another (figuratively or literally...) and yet here he is, requiring it so often. How many times has Vasiliy had to help pick him up again? Or the constable with the wolf companion? Both younger men than Konstantin is; he should be helping them.

But he shoves all of that aside, knowing it's imperative he just get back, offers a quick nod. ]

Yes — thank you.

[ He allows himself to tilt into the other man a bit, relying on his strength, but not fully (still a little stubborn about it.... trying to walk on his own as much as possible... and Bigby might feel Konstantin at times tensing against him, not to get away from him, but just in attempt to stay upright on his own if he can...) Though the words give him pause, and he hesitates a moment or two before responding— ]

I have to admit, I thought someone might have been in trouble because of the... animals.

[ He thought the trouble was because of you, Bigby.... When he was stepping through the woods, he had no idea what it was he imagined might be at the end of that trail, but it couldn't have been anything good.

Konstantin swallows as he moves slowly, wincing slightly against the sharp pangs of pain racking his stomach. His body reacts so badly to its unnatural occupant from the stars. Every piece of him wants the alien out. ]

Did you... eat all of them...?

[bigbaddy]

[ It's not exactly the easiest way to get back, walking like this.. Especially when Konstantin is half-cooperating, half-making it harder because he seems so stubborn about making sure to walk by himself as well. But Bigby is just silently enduring it. Somewhere between him just really wanting to get back to his meal - he's still so hungry - and not wanting to make this even harder, he figures it's just better to leave Konstantin to what he wants to do on his end to help this out, and to just focus on walking ahead while supporting the other.

.. and on answering that question, once it comes. ]

Yeah.

[ He doesn't even think about lying, despite knowing fully well what it looks like. Despite knowing the sort of reputation it got him back home.

Bigby can only imagine what the Fables would say if they had seen this. That he hasn't changed. That they were right. ]

I was hungry.

[ It is his explanation for the scene, and it's also the true explanation. No matter what that might have looked like just now. No matter that it sounds like far too simple of an explanation for.. well, all of that. ]

I had to eat.

[sputnik]

[ The answer is so simple that it's almost shocking. But that seems to be the theme, here — Bigby has remained painfully nonchalant about the greater part of all of this. Konstantin truly doesn't know what to make of it, falling quiet for a few long moments as he tries to think against the relentless stabs of ache in his belly and the slow trudges of his own footsteps through the snow.

Food is scarce around here, and Bigby's been in this place longer than he has. It's feasible that maybe he hasn't had enough to eat....? That maybe he's been going hungry, and it's reduced him to something animalistic. (...Almost too animalistic. Those eyes......)

It also says something that if the man truly has half-lost his mind with hunger so severe that he'd eat wild animals like that, he's still capable of helping Konstantin get back to town... and carrying on a conversation pretty damn calmly. The pieces to this just don't add up. ....There has to be something else going on. This man has to be... unnatural, in some way. Like him. It would make the most sense with the rest of his theory that this is just another cage and they're all just lab rats. ]

Have you always had an appetite for raw, wild animals?

[ He tries to say it light-hearted, not accusatory, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. But he figures it might reveal something about Bigby's situation; surely he's been fucked up in some way too, right....? (No, Kostya, some people were just Born Like This.) ]

[bigbaddy]

[ Darn, Kostya, for some of us running around in the forest on all fours and eating wild animals raw is just a way of life, dude..!!

And while usually Bigby is pretty casual at this point about revealing his secret, since enough people already know.. It feels a little bit more problematic in the face of what's going on here. He has been trying to brand himself as anything but the being he used to be, after all. He's no longer the Big Bad Wolf, no longer the creature that ate everything it came across, terrifying the population.

It means he's quiet for a moment as they walk, hoping terribly that the other guy will just interpret it as Bigby being a little busy with supporting him for that moment as he's quiet. ]

I'm a werewolf.

[ Not.. really. Bigby knows what mundies think a werewolf is, after all, and it's definitely not uncontrollable for him.

But considering the other had seemed so terribly mundy when they spoke about what's going on here, Bigby figures this explanation will at least go over better than saying he's a legend from fairytales.. ]

So-- yeah, that is kind of what I eat. [ An awkward pause, and then, as if in the world's most awkward attempt to still humanize himself a little bit here: ] I don't even know how to cook.

[ H-Haha, yes, relatable, clearly!!! ]

[sputnik]

[ Whatever explanation Konstantin might have been anticipating, this...... is not that.

Not anywhere close.

He doesn't stop his slow, shuffling movements forward, but something in him seems to pause, a tension, head turning slightly to the side to look at his companion. He controls his expression well enough, not letting his bewilderment take over his features, but he's definitely taken aback, here.

He knows about werewolves, of course — he's not much of a horror movie guy, but who doesn't know about all the classic monsters? And.... there isn't really a universe in which the cosmonaut would believe such things could actually exist. Aliens? That's a different story, and not just because he was recently infected with one, but.... it's very feasible that the vast, vast universe would contain undiscovered species.

But werewolves? No, this guy must be a little bit.... off his rocker, as they say. Whatever the hell was going on with his eyes, it's just... it has to be explained, somehow.

But he's not so stupid as to challenge this, when he just witnessed the guy tearing into a raw animal, and now he's extremely close to him... Oh yeah, Konstantin is in no position to potentially upset the very well-muscled man who thinks he's a werewolf to such a degree that he eats raw animals out in the woods. ]

.....That sounds like a difficult life, from what I know of werewolves. [ A soft, breathless sound of exertion, palm pushing against his belly, but he keeps talking. ] Do people try to... hurt you?

[bigbaddy]

[ To the other's credit, Bigby doesn't really catch on to just how little Konstantin believes his claim. The surprise isn't too weird, after all. Wouldn't any mundy, even one with some weird disease, be surprised to hear that werewolves are actually a real thing? That seems like part of a pretty normal reaction to Bigby, and so he just wanders on, continuing to support the other.

If there's anything strange about Konstantin's reaction at all, it's that weird bit of.. something akin to sympathy at the beginning, if you could call it that. Out of all reactions Bigby has received to this news in this place, this is a new one. ]

That depends on whether you're asking about the place I come from or this place.

[ Because there's a big difference.. Ironically enough, because Bigby feels like people back home should know even better to not mess with him than anyone in this place. ]

Back home it practically happens on the daily. Over here it hasn't happened at all yet. Not by the people who are stuck here in this place like us, at least. [ And the other things that have attacked him here have been attacking everyone, so Bigby knows that's nothing personally against him. Unlike what happens back home.. All the time.. ]

[sputnik]

[ ...Huh. The other man answers as easily as anything (again, like he truly believes it, like it's fact.)

Happens... on the daily? Is he that open about his "condition" (hypothetically, let's say that Bigby is telling the truth, here!) that people know about it so much? That they try to hurt him on the daily because of it? That's... ]

You mean.... you've told people here about it? And they haven't tried to retaliate?

[ Again, let's assume this is truth, and this man is an entire werewolf. In Konstantin's world, if such a thing were to be discovered.... he'd be captured. Kept in captivity. Studied, like a lab rat. (Like he was.) ]

Are you sure you should be telling people about it? Here or back in your world? Where I'm from, people aren't so forgiving of..... oddities.

[ Monsters is the word he can't say. He doesn't want to think of himself like that, either. ]

They'd put you in a laboratory. Do tests, study you.

[bigbaddy]

I'm not telling people back home. The people I was talking about who make that shit happen on the daily where I come from are like me.

[ It's hard to tell what 'like me' means exactly in this context.. Though, given what he just told Konstantin, the most likely assumption is that he means they're also werewolves, even if that definitely isn't what Bigby means.

Sorry that this is the way you have to learn about weird-being-on-weird-being violence, bud. It happens. ]

Here, it's..

[ He pauses for a moment, thinking as they still slowly hobble in the direction of town.

When Bigby speaks up again, his tone sounds a little more complicated. Like this part isn't as straightforward, or like he has a whole lot of thoughts on it, even though he only really speaks up about one of them. ]

.. it's different. Here me being more than a human might mean something when it comes to defending this town. If people knowing about it helps me to help keep them safe, then it's worth it.

[sputnik]

[ Like him.... He does assume that to mean werewolves in this case, which is..... a difficult pill to swallow, and not one he's sure he can just yet. But he continues to mask any incredulous reactions, instead just focusing on what the other man says as he continues to shuffle with him back through the woods. It's not much longer until they'll be out of the line of trees and close to where his and Vasiliy's cabin is on the outskirts of town.

Bigby's next words give Konstantin an odd pause, however, and he's giving a soft exhale of breath, released as a puff of fog in the chilly air. He's had the thought for.... a while now, that he should tell people. It's been predominately with the idea that it would keep people safer, if they knew what was wrong with him and what to watch out for, knowing when to keep away, but.... What if it meant he could help people, too? The way Bigby's talking about?

Before this place, the alien made him... stronger. Its symbiotic relationship with his body meant that it had effects on him, that it... fortified him, perhaps to keep itself as safe as possible. It made him hardier than an average human, faster, stronger — nothing crazy there, but he was at the peak of physical condition. But the most significant thing was that it could heal him, unnaturally quickly.

This place seems to be... affecting the alien, making it weaker, and it hasn't seemed capable of healing him like that here. But what if he could somehow access it again? What if it just needs more time to adjust to this place, to adapt? What if it could make him stronger again? He could help. He could... go out, explore, find a way out of here, and it would heal him from any injuries. He could do something for the people here. ]

...I can understand that. It makes sense. [ He nods, and the gesture hurts, makes him wince a little — it's frustrating, these limitations. But again, what if they aren't permanent....? He's had the thought to try and work on his condition, to regain his strength, retrain. Maybe someday.... ]

It sounds like the people of this town are lucky to have you, in that case.

[ Yeah, maybe this guy who eats raw animals out in the woods is crazy or delusional or something, that's still a possibility..... But the fact he wants to help, so much? It says something. And.... those words are going to stick with Konstantin for a long time. ]

My cabin's not far from here — just up ahead.