Blackfoot Forest Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

the darkness of the trees was nothing compared to what she bore witness to here, on the fringes of the territory. hosannah had returned from her foray in to the wilds - her maw filled with an assortment of herbs, plants, and strangeness which she intended to study. yet when she came upon the edge of the wapun on her way west, she stopped. there was a sound in the air that was unlike any she had ever before heard — and as she raised her head and peered across the landscape, she saw only darkness. a great shadow rose up, swallowing the sky in a slow sweep. she watched it without recognition, until the sounds around her were so great and dire that she felt keenly afraid; her maw opened and the herbs fell, forgotten, and then she scampered over them in pursuit of safety.

as she ran in to the familiar line of trees, she cast her head up and back to call for @Liri and for @Aaron - and anyone else who could hear her - yet as the sound attempted to erupt from her, it too was swallowed by the darkness. the buzzing was so loud that there was nothing else - and she felt them, their thin bodies crackling about, their legs sliding through her thin fur, and she was overwhelmed by the feeling of the locusts upon her. hosannah began to snap at the creatures as they settled, crushing some with her long face or trying to spin them off with chaotic movements of her own. as she ducked through the trees she saw the boughs moving, the trunks alive — they were everywhere.

lord help us - hosannah breathed, a mixture of awe and terror filling her to the brim. she took off running then, no longer waiting for any of the other rose-wolves; it seemed as if nothing but darkness lived here, and there was no escaping it.

Liri was not so far that she couldn't hear Hosannah, concern overshadowing the woman's face as she ran to see what was the matter. She skidded to a stop, head cocking to the side. The dreadful sound filled her with grim anticipation. She knew not what it was only that it would be devastating.

Darkness shrouded the dim forest as the cloud fell towards them like an angry god's omen. Liri cowered, true terror on her features as Hosannah was lost from her sight in the swarm. 

They were insects. Not like any she had ever seen, brightly colored and almost resembling grasshoppers. Liri could scarcely move without them crawling all over her, some threatening to invade her mouth or eyes. She fought them, trying to get the scrabbling bugs off but fell to the ground and gave up when they just kept coming. She flattened her ears and threw her paws over her face as she waited, praying for it to end soon.

her call need not have been made. the oncoming swarm was warning enough, though from a distance it looked to be nothing more than a shadow; the fact it was so dark had alerted hosannah, keen in her fear of it. the creatures came flying at the trees without a care, some bumbling in to one another and forming irregular shapes in the air, while others penetrated the first line of dark woodland, and the buzzing grew intense. hosannah was struck dumb by it. she was rooted to the spot, shocked and enthralled, until a myriad of locusts began pelting at her in their journey. one smacked her with its long body across the snout, another two ricochet off one another and smacked her forehead; she was suddenly scrambling backwards, nearly tripping on her own feet as she turned to run.

the bugs piled across the ground in a hungry frenzy. some landed on her shoulders — hosannah felt them there, and let out an abrupt shriek which tapered in to her sudden shaking to try and free herself of the sensation. then, she ran. she ran as fast as she could through the rising din of noise, tiny bodies, and groping parts. the woman charged with such conviction it was like she knew where to go, what to do - but her eyes were narrowed to slits and she barely witnessed where she ran. eventually she came upon the stranded form of liri, but did not know it. her nimble paws caught upon liri's body and hosannah somersaulted over her, landing in a heap before being consumed by her own heavy layer of locusts.

at this point something snapped in the girl. she began to tear at them even as they landed near her, having clearly lost her mind to the white noise; she snapped at any bug that whizzed close and twisted her body in every direction as she scrambled back to her feet; then, remembering liri next to her, hosannah began to clear the bugs off of the pale woman. liri - hosannah tried to call out through the chaos, - can you hear me? we must run! get up!

it was then that hosannah heard the summons from deeper within the forest; a call from amara, urging a swift escape for all.

Beginning to realize that it was no passing fleet of insects, and that she my very well smother if she stayed there, Liri got to her feet realizing Hosannah was behind her. She turned to the other but did not speak for fear the bugs would invade her mouth. She could scarcely even see Anna in the shady forest that was steadily being devoured.

Liri fled, just barely hearing the summons from deep within the forest where the bugs had yet to appear.