By the time the lie had spread so far and wide that everyone believed it to be the truth, it was too late. Somehow from somewhere Chaos had led others to believe that Mirage and Fashir no longer cared about mortals or their feelings. Except that wasn't true at all...but it was after all too late for them to plead their case.

Fashir was curled up in the den he now shared with Mirage, he was gazing into a silver mirror watching some local reserve otters playing a game of soccer. He smiled as the young otters kicked the ball back and forth throwing themselves infront of the goal. Ahh such peaceful sweet moments made his work seem worth doing, important. Then suddenly the mirror crackled and the image was gone. He stood and gasped as his senses suddenly vanished, whatever magic had allowed him to 'see' despite the blindfold around his eyes was gone. He stumbled and tripped over Mirage with a startled grunt.

Mirage had been dozing peacefully, enjoying the feel of Fashir curled around her, watching his sports game. The sudden cracking sound and Fashir moving away, tripping over her brought her fully back to the waking world.
"Fashir what's wro-" She cut off when she realized the hum was gone. The trill of the level of evil in the world that always hummed within her mind was just gone. Her eyes widened and she stood, frowning in fear at her mate.

"Fashir, what's going on?" she asked, her voice shaking a bit as she tried to summon a mirror and it failed her.

He had always been certain, constant, never without his subtle powers and knowledge. Except now he had nothing just darkness and a gaping sensation where his well o knowledge had been. Oh his own personal experience was still there but those glimpses of colored futures had vanished. He had a moment of panic but Mirage's startled voice made him snap back to attention. He promptly sat himself down and slowly reached out a paw to touch Mirage.

"I do not know...something has..." He froze for a moment uncertainly, should he tell Mirage? Yes...yes of course, they weren't enemies he could share this with her. It was an enormous and sudden weakness, but he had to explain. "something appears to have....stripped me of my powers...for the moment." He quickly tacked on the last bit his voice deeply concerned.

"Are you alright?" He asked and tried to turn towards her voice feeling disoriented.

"No, I'm- ..." Mirage began, about to say that she was most certainly not alright. Whatever had taken his powers had taken hers as well, and that shouldn't be alright. But... she was suddenly without the responsibility of balancing the good with the evil in the world. At least for the moment, she had a bit of time to spend with Fashir as things used to be. As just a normal female.

She moved to him and curled against him, shivering a bit.
"Mine are gone, too. Who do you think did this? ... And why?"

"I..." He was at a loss for once, no information was there for him. Unlike Mirage he had never experienced mortality this way he had been goodness incarnate, a guide of souls and fate for the spans of time. Mirage had once been mortal and then taken the power when it had been offered to her. Fashir was used to simply reaching out for an answer, except he couldn't.

"I do not know." He finally bit out his tone...angry, a very rare thing indeed. Fashir was always so accepting and understanding, he took the good and bad with calm or mild annoyance at most. "Whatever it is...it has affected us both..." Which meant that Mirage hadn't done this to him, nor he to her.

"Our powers are gone... That cat, Cheshire has powers, but nothing like this. Chaos?" Mirage asked, looking up at her mate. It suddenly struck her, Fashir saw by use of his powers. And if they were gone, then...

"Fashir, can you see?" she asked, reaching up a paw, stroking it across his cheek, under his blindfold. She had seen his eye before, it was disturbing, but it didn't bother her. She had loved him since she had first met him and nothing had ever changed that, even through all the hurt. She knew he wasn't really blind, he just didn't want to let anyone see it.

"Chaos...perhaps, but...no he has been far from us for too long to be able to work this type of trick." Still his nose quivered a bit as if checking for the unique off scent of the cat. Then he suddenly felt Mirage's paw and heard her words. He jerked back away and stepped back quickly, he hadn't been taken by surprise in a long time.

"No I...I cannot..." He finally admitted unhappily, but he didn't want to remove the blindfold just the same. It made him look...different, he would rather be blind. When others saw they were un-nerved, afraid even and he couldn't bear that.

Mirage's posture flinched and her ears flicked back, her face turning sad when Fashir moved away from her. She let out a soft, sad mew and reached out to him again.
"Don't move away, Fashir... I'm not afraid or unsettled, you should know that by now..." she replied, doing her best not to be hurt or angered by his retreat.

"I-I'm sorry Mirage...it's not you love I just...this is very strange to me...you startled me." He slowly moved back towards her siting down a bit hunched over his head low and his tail tucked tight against his legs. He sighed and then frowned as his nose quivered a bit.

"This...this thing that keeping us from our powers...it's...it's as if the very air is shimmering with it." He was going to say, like spirits, except he wasn't sure and he had never been unsure of things. He was used to saying things because they were so or would be so, not because he...supposed.

Mirage moved against him again, letting out a slow sigh.
"It's okay... I know you are... touchy about it," she replied and her ears pricked when he sniffed the air. She caught his comment and nodded, narrowing her eyes on the shadows dancing around her walls. She thought they were cast by the embers glowing softly in a pit near them, but some...

"Fashir... the shadows look... odd." The words were barely out of her mouth when the cave burst into laughter and shimmering lights. The shadows fled the walls and flew about them for a moment before fleeing out into the outside pausing some ways away to dance mockingly at them, some of the things even making somewhat rude gestures.

"I think we can follow them..."

"It could be a trap...if we follow them the could lead us into serious danger...especially without our powers." Except of course what choice did they really have? If they didn't follow all they could do was sit there and hope their powers came back. He trusted in Mirage and slowly he stood to press against her as a guide.

"Lead the way...or well follow the shadows..." Where would they lead them? It was frustrating to have so many questions and no way to simply reach out for answers.

Mirage knew he was right, it very well could be a trap. But she also knew they didn't have much else they could do. And while she had relied on her powers for all these years, she could still fight... sort of. So she let him lean against her and together they followed the shadows out into the dying light.

It was almost dark when they came to a fire-lit cave, the shadows fleeing inside gleefully. Mirage glanced at Fashir once before heading in, finding no one within.
"It's empty, Fashir..." Just a fire in the center with a cauldron hung above it, steam rising from within, and the strange decorations around the walls and baskets and such.

Fashir followed her with only a few minor stumbles and near trips, this was incredibly difficult. His mood was hardly improving but he had to remember not lash out at Mirage, it wasn't her fault. "Empty...but..." He sniffed again and slowly lowered his head sniffing about for a moment and following the scents around the fire and then giving the cauldron a sniff. He yelped as she moved to close to a flame as it licked him. Quickly he backstepped and frowned sitting down.

"A spell was cast here...but...I'm not sure what kind, I believe it was spiritual, a trick from beyond..." He murmured and mumbled unhappily his poor muzzle mildly burned.

Mirage had been focusing on the cave, so she had missed when Fashir got too close to the fire. She snapped to attention when he yelped, turning to see that he had burned himself. Her ears flicked back in apology as she ran to his side.
"I'm sorry, I should have been watching," she mewed, giving his muzzle a lick, trying to soothe it.

"Whoever decided to play this joke isn't funny," she growled a bit.

"Da' woul' be meh," a voice said from the mouth of the cave and a lanky wolf walked in. She looked through narrowed eyes from one to the other, a frown on her face. Oya Tiyana walked with several shadows around her, all trained on the two embodiments.
"Ah heard yeh were lawdin' it ovah us mortals. So de spirits an' Ah decided yeh need teh be reminded wha' i'dis teh 'ave pull o'er de rest o' us," she explained, walking around the opposite side of the cave from them, not seeming at all threatened. And she wasn't.


Fashir softly nuzzled her trying to reassure her he would be alright but the sting of fire was something painfully new to him. He jerked up suddenly at the voice his ears and head turning, but he couldn't see her so it was pointless.
"Who are you?" Well that question was completely unfamiliar to his tongue.
"Why have you done this? We do not lord over mortals!" Infact it felt more like the mortals lorded over them, with one unexpected twist, one flare of emotion they could often tip the scales.


Mirage hissed at the she-wolf who had taken their powers, mostly because of Fashir. She was fine being without her powers, at least on the short-term. For her this was a break. But for Fashir, he couldn't see, he'd never been mortal, to her knowledge. This was a new and likely disconcerting experience for him. And when he wasn't happy, she wasn't, unless she was the one gleefully causing his annoyance.

"What are you talking about?" she growled, just as confused at the wolf's words as Fashir.

Oya's orange eyes flared and the spirits made angry faces.
"All in de spiritual worl' 'as 'eard o' de 'bodymen's an' wha' dey be doin'. Mortals ain't yer playt'ings. Yer no beddah den us, an' de spirits an' Ah tink yeh shoul' be reminded o' dat," she growled back, moving to one of the baskets against the wall. A large black snake, Nuit, slid out of the basket and curled around the wolf, yellow eyes watching the other two predators curiously.

((TBC...))