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When morning comes, it isn’t right. The light that Cian would have blinked against is lacking; not gone, but not as bright as it would be, tinged with red. Despite the loss of the typical routine, she blinks still, half-sure it’s just a dream. The other half of her, though, is sure it’s not; or at least, she’s sure it’s not a typical dream. Everything in her body screams at her not to go, but she pushes herself onto sleep-numb legs anyways, stumbling to stand just outside.

Immediately, a paw comes to rest on the rock, unmoving, sure it would protect her. But….there’s nothing out there that it can protect her from. Not unless she counted the moon, still high in the sky and a shade of red she’s never seen before. It’s a shade of red she thinks shouldn’t be possible; at least not that she’s ever seen. For a moment longer, she watches it, breath caught in her throat, expecting….Cian’s not sure what she’s expecting, really. But when she removes her paw from the rock, slowly, hesitantly, she wastes no time in getting back inside.

As soon as she’s back in the relative safety of the den, she heads for the closest family member. Her attempt to nudge them awake probably comes off more as a violent shove, potentially disturbing anyone else, but she’s quick to draw back.

Wake up. She half-hisses, half-mutters, voice low like her discovery will overhear her if she’s too loud. In a way, she’s kind of worried it will. Somethin’s wrong with the moon.