Swiftcurrent Creek loyalty, got royalty inside my dna
88 Posts
Ooc — Miryam
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#1
All Welcome 
Takes place directly after this thread a few days ago.

The sudden blast of whatever the heck that was over Dawnlark Plains had grown larger and larger; Timberlake could feel the heat of it well past the border, and see the black clouds billowing across the sky out of the corner of his eye. It was without thought that he ran, almost tumbling over himself in the haste to get away. He barely even noticed the scenery going by, not caring as the plains transitioned to trees, trees to wetlands, and wetlands back to open ground again.

And if the boy was taking no note of his surroundings, he surely didn't care when he sailed across a border--he had never even smelled a border besides Morningside's. He kind of assumed that everywhere just sort of smelled like his family. This didn't--it really didn't--but he would have to sort that out later. For now, he just needed to put as much distance between him and the suffocating heat as possible.

He was doing a bang-up job. At least until he finally tripped over his own comically large paws and tumbled down a rocky decline, splashing butt-first into the creek.

Sputtering, Timberlake shoved his head out of the water, gasping for air. He was too in shock to even scream, and, paddling clumsily, managed to scoot himself close to the bank again, where he latched on to an outcrop of rock hanging over the current. Problem was that while he had enough strength in his front legs to hold tight, his core strength was lacking enough that he couldn't haul the rest of his body up onto the shore again.

"Hey!" he yelled, still-blue eyes wide with fear. He churned his back feet in the water, trying desperately to launch himself out of the stream, like a leaping salmon. "Help!"
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Ooc — Rebel
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#2
The creek was slow-moving, a much gentler current than usual, so Durnehviir relented to @Akavir's request that she show him how to fish. While she did enjoy the taste, the russet Alphess wasn't the most graceful when it came to hunting in the water, but she was his mother. It was her duty to teach her children well in preparation for adulthood, which was just around the corner.

"What you should remember," the crimson Frostfur told her dark-furred son, "is to always respect the river. Observe and listen to the current: if it's fast, stay away." She'd warned them of water's danger many times, and would continue to drill the knowledge into their young minds to prevent any losses.

She trailed along it's edge toward a safer, less ruffed area, but what sounded like the call of an unfamiliar voice distracted her. After exchanging a glance with her son, briefly meeting pale eyes that mirrored her own, she pricked a velvet ear to catch an unmistakable cry for help. At once, Durnehviir went to it.

Chuffing at Akavir in request that he stay back, the dragoness scrambled over the stones to find a pair of tiny black paws gripping the river's edge, desperately peeking over. Her heart skipped an uncomfortable beat and, swiftly, she reached out for the cub's sodden pelt with every intention of gripping the loose hide of his nape and pulling him free of the water.
everything mortal fades away in time, but the spirit remains
88 Posts
Ooc — Miryam
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#3
A ruddy shape materialized suddenly above him, and before he could make sense of it, there was that all-too-familiar feeling of jaws wrapped gently around his scruff and tugging him away from the stream. It made him feel as if Mommy or Daddy had come to save him, and for a moment, contentment bloomed up within him, despite the fact that he was soaked from head to toe.

A glance at the woman, and the foreign territory that surrounded him, was all it took to dispel this temporary comfort.

Timberlake curled up into a sodden ball of dark fur and began to cry, sniffling and coughing at intervals. How far from home had he ran? Would someone go out looking for him, soon? He didn't even know what had happened; all he knew was that it was hot and scary and he had needed to get as far from it as possible. But now he was in another predicament, cold and wet.

And alone. So terribly alone.
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#4
She scruffed the boy with gentle firmness, and felt him sag in her grip. It was then that Durnehviir pulled him from the river and carried him, dripping, away from the edge. Placing him onto the ground near her own son, the russet Alphess lifted her head to exchange a concerned glance with Akavir, before shifting her champagne gaze to linger softly on her newest ward.

A pair of sad eyes stared back at her, but it was not long before the sodden cub was curled in a whimpering ball at her feet. The mother's heart swelled and her chest tightened, and her immediate reaction was to reach out for him. Lowering herself with a strained whine, Durnehviir extended a forelimb to pull his little frame to her breast where she set about sweeping her tongue across his soaked fur in attempt to dry and soothe him - though prepared herself for the strong possibility that he would try and wrestle free.

"Akavir," she paused just enough to request: "go and find your father. Tell him I need him at once."
everything mortal fades away in time, but the spirit remains
88 Posts
Ooc — Miryam
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#5
If he squeezed his eyes shut, real tight, he could pretend it was Pema. His mother's embrace, her tongue, sliding over his soaked fur to dry him. The notion of this soothed him slightly, even though the nagging voice at the back of his head screaming THIS IS NOT NORMAL!!! still raged on. He kept pushing reality further and further back, trying to relax under her ministrations.

"H-h-hot," Timberlake stammered, not knowing quite how to tell her the story of how exactly he'd come to be here. "B-big and hot, b-back at home. I r-ran away." He had no concept for fire, flames, or any of it. He could only hope that the woman would grasp onto his words and know what he was talking about; perhaps the smoke billowing over the horizon would lend her better context.
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Ooc — Rachel
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#6
Akavir had come – his oversized paws for hid puppy figure overcome with bumbling urgency and when he barked that his mother needed him, Constantine felt his chest constrict. Durnehviir never sent the children to fetch him, and with a quick skim of his nose to the boys head in reassurance to his rushed words about a puppy at the borders, the Mayfair made his way to his mate, his pace a quick jog.
 
The acrid scent of smoke and burnt fur lingered in the air, and it caused the Alpha’s lips to curl back in worry and distaste. His eyes fell on his flame-pelted mate, relieved no harm had come to her, but noting the sobbing boy within her grasp. His muzzle swung back, his eyes sharp on Akavir as his posture made aware the boy should remain back. Finally, he eased forward, his fiery eyes falling upon Durnehviir. “What’s happening?”
all you have is your fire
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#7
Akavir obeyed, turning away at once and darting away through the foliage in search of his father without a moment's hesitation. The russet Alpha followed him with her gaze until he was out of sight, before she blinked back down at the babe who she nestled close to her chest.

"Shhh," she cooed to him as he stammered, clearly distressed, and reached down to tenderly touch the tip of her snout to his dark crown. "It's alright. You're safe now." Durnehviir licked at him again, her tongue sweeping across his damp head and cleaning at his ears in a desperate attempt to show him that she would take care of him. Upon lifting her muzzle again to look around for any sign of her mate and son, her champagne eyes settled on the plume of blackened smoke that billowed over the trees to the North, and she felt her heart sink.

Fire had driven the child from his home, and Durnehviir thought of Wallflower's solemn tale when she'd arrived at Ravensblood Forest. Soon, Constantine and Akavir had arrived on the scene, and the crimson Frostfur was quick to explain: "the river brought him. He was forced to run." She touched her nose to the pup's small shoulders reassuringly then gestured to the dark, distant cloud.
everything mortal fades away in time, but the spirit remains
88 Posts
Ooc — Miryam
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#8
A big dark man appeared, inquiring as to the strange situation this family found them in, but Timberlake couldn't have cared less. He was being lulled into a stupor by the woman's comforting touch and words, his eyelids fluttering. It had been a long day--the longest of his life--and he was exhausted. His paws stretched out, reaching for something--

Pad or Rad, or Meadow? Mommy and Daddy? Where were they? Why hadn't they come for him?

Their faces painted his imagination as it began to run wild, the small, burly body drifting off into a deep sleep.
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Ooc — Rachel
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#9
He studied the boy with quiet hesitancy. Somehow, they seemed to be collecting pups from outside of their pack at an uncomfortable rate. Durnehviir wrapped herself around him with the protective air of a mother bear and he knew she would be taking the boy in without even asking.

His bright eyes swept over the youth, feeling a surge of pity as the scent of smoke, fire and devastation clung to his fur.

"We should see if we can find his family." Surely, the boy wouldn't have gotten far without his pack -- and he was interested to know where the fire had transpired.
all you have is your fire
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Ooc — Rebel
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#10
Exhausted from his ordeal, the sable youth drifted into slumber. Durnehviir frowned down solemnly at the tiny cub nestled in her arms, and exhaled a breath as she lifted her muzzle in search of Constantine's fiery gaze. He spoke at once of seeking the child's pack, to which she bobbed her crown.

"Yes," she agreed, "but first, let him rest." The dragoness gently reached out for the boy, gripping him between her jaws as she carefully gathered to her paws. Making to exchange a glance with Akavir who continued to look on with concern, Durnehviir padded toward their family's den to settle her newest charge.
everything mortal fades away in time, but the spirit remains