Firefly Glen The Rumble

AW- set at the same time as THIS. Bronco is along the borders near Neverwinter Forest

He'd called out, hoping his voice would be heard over the distant rumbles as debris and boulders continued to tumble down the mountainside in the distance. It sounded somewhat like rolling thunder, every now and again growing to a loud crack when another chunk of stone was forced away from its bed, only to fall end over end down the mountainside. He could see nothing of it, from where he was- only a rising cloud of dust and haze that crept over the Glen, carried by a southern breeze. He had a bad feeling in his gut that the collapse might leave the mountain unrecognizeable. If there was a possibility that that bright light had caused it...Then it would be disasterous. 

Far from the danger, and simply because chance had chosen to take him on a wide patrol, Bronco waited, hoping his packmates might have heard him- and come to rally with him far from the slope of the falling Moonspear so that they could wait together in safety for the haze to pass.

Lane ran.

There were howls echoing in the darkness, punctuated by the groaning and crashing of trees beneath large masses of earth. She knew one of the howls had belonged to Antares, and that was the one she thought she followed northward.

Lane picked up pieces from the different howls. There were some dead, it seemed. Moonspear pack was no more, that much was evident. Lane clutched her medkit between her teeth as she ran. It was all that was left of her stores in Firefly Glen. The roof of the medicine den had caved in, and she had been lucky to escape with anything at all, her life included.

Every now and then the ground rumbled, signaling yet another rockslide or cave-in. Were Ravaryn and Keyni okay? Should Lane turn around to check for injured survivors, or should she keep pushing forward?

Lane slowed, sensing another wolf in the darkness ahead. "Antares..?" she wheezed through the medkit in her jaws. Her sides heaved from exertion.

He waited, and paced. This far from the mountain range, he knew he was safe. Antares would be counting on him to do what he could to salvage whatever was left of their pack, and he felt it was simply best if he stayed where he was, and drew his packmates to him and sway from the unstable, rocky slope in case another landslide or avalanche occurred. Part of him wanted to charge toward the foothills, in case someone needed to be dug out before another landslide occurred...But he knew that Antares was in that area- and that he might be best off rounding up all those in the pack who were not at the scene of the landslide. He was torn between running into a dangerous situation in order to rescue anyone who needed his aid- but had eventually decided that he would likely arrive too late, and would simply put himself in danger too. 

He would be best where he was, calling all uninjured packmates to him, and away from the towering cliffs. 

He caught sight of one wandering in the distance, and he thought he heard her voice. "This way," He called out. He thought he heard her say something like Tares, and assumed she was calling out for their alpha. "It's OK- come this way," He called out to her. Her voice did not sound familiar- and slightly muffled as well. But she was within earshot, and his voice was as comforting as he could make it be. Whoever she was- packmate or not- she would be safer with him than she would be if she sought out Antares. The last time Bronco had heard his voice, it had come from the area near the foothills. 

He howled again- not for the one who was close enough to hear his speaking voice, but for any others who might be in the area. He would need to summon as many of them as he could, to pull them away from the dangers, and let them know that they would be safe so long as they came toward the Northern boundaries of the pack.

Keyni woke up with a start. It was the flash of bright light outside that jolted her awake. Jade eyes wide with alarm, she scrambled out of her den minutes before it could become her tomb. The earth trembled and trees fell. It was chaos all around her when she turned to see the chunks of stone dislodging from the peaks of Moonspear in the distance. Her ears slid back, thoughts turning towards Norah, Kukutux and even the ebony Queen whom she had fought alongside of in slaying the bear. What would become of them now? Who would survive this cruel blow of fate?

Unable to linger in her thoughts for very long, the instinct for her own survival was what propelled Keyni forward through the forest, away from the unstoppable force of nature that was the landslide. Howls of her packmates echoed through the night, voices she recognized. Bronco...Melaine and Antares. But the Ostrega sounded much farther away. She released her own booming howl to keep in contact with any who may hear, letting those who were closer know she was on her way. 
Suddenly she was upon them, crashing through the darkness but managing not to look too panicked. She had found Bronco and Melaine, neither of whom she had seen terribly recently. Lungs burning, she paused to glance around warily. "Is this it? Are either of you hurt?"

Lane followed her packmate's voice, and soon she was face to face with... a stranger. Huh. She thought she'd met damn near everyone here around the time they dispatched the bear. Slowly, her brain registered the healing wounds upon the strangers features: claw marks, no mistaking it. It took one more beat for her to realize this was the cougar victim Antares had mentioned. He had returned just in time for the shit to hit the fan. Again. 

Lane dropped her medkit and joined her voice with her unnamed packmate's. Her lilt was audibly shaking, cutting in and out raggedly as she hadn't quite yet caught her breath. She was terrified for Antares, and Ryn, and Keyni...

"Keyni!" Oh thank fuck. Lane brushed off the woman's question with a quick shake of her head. They were fine. There were more important things to talk about like--

"Where's Ryn?" Lane had missed the memo that the girl was now in the care of her father. She assumed Keyni would have been with the child when the commotion started.

Another howl raised a questioning voice, and was answered by Bronco who would continue to respond to any who called out, looking to find a safe haven. Some might be too far away and out of earshot. He thought he heard Antares call out again, so he paused to consider what he might have wanted...He reflected back on the landslide he had experienced when he'd been young, and he remembered the dust cloud that had made it disorienting. There was a chance that Antares didn't know where he was- so Bronco called out again, stating for at least the fifth time that he was along the Northern borders, where it seemed to be safe. 

Two females showed up not far apart. The first was the one he didn't recognize, who had likely joined the pack while he'd been at the Caldera, healing, and the second was the bright-eyed female, Keyni, who was Lunaria's friend. His heart fluttered for a moment; it was reassuring to see her again, after everything that had happened. To Keyni's question, he shook his head. "No. I think we're safe here, though. And that we should stay put, until we can get the pack together again." He stated. It was what he figured Antares might have wanted- as many of their pack members safe and sound as possible, and far away from the danger.

OOC: Keeping the details about Howl's status vague until his joining thread has concluded!

It had been ages since she had seen Bronco last, back when she first arrived at their borders to join the ranks. And since then, it appeared that he had gained some new scars. Hardly one to care for appearances, especially under circumstances such as this, Keyni relaxed only a fraction upon hearing that both he and Melaine were okay. "Good. I'm worried for the others, though." She said, looking out into the blackness. Bronco was right - they would be safe at the fringes of the territory, the farthest away from the damage of the landslide. 

She met Melaine's question about Ravaryn with a shake of her head. "I don't know where she was last, but she is safe with her father, Howl." She exchanged a lingering, level look of assurance with each of them. "She was reunited with him at our borders a few days ago." Her eyes fell some. "But Lunaria...I haven't been able to find her since the attack..." Shifting anxiously from one paw to the other, worried for Antares, Ravaryn and her father, she sent up another, more shrill call. Desperate for a reply, desperate to try and reign in those who still lived.

Okay, good. Wherever Ryn was, at least she had her family looking out for her. 

Lunaria... was that one of the ones Lane had treated? Honestly, the wolves who had been in and out of the medicine den were just a blur of names and faces... and Lane had never been great with either of those things. 

The male, whom Lane assumed was Antares's beta, suggested that the group stay put. Lane's tail flicked, betraying her distaste. Staying put was probably the thing she least liked to do, especially when there might be people out there who were hurt and frightened, waiting for help to arrive. 

On the other paw though, it seemed that this was going to be the temporary rendezvous point for any refugees. It stood to reason that if there was a wolf in the surrounding area who needed care, he or she would probably end up here. 

Okay. Lane would stay put for now at least. She would reassess the situation in the morning. 

This can be the last for Lane, since we have a new thread going now.

Sounds good to me :) Last post for me! Thanks for joining in with my shenanigans!

Keyni wasn't the only one anxious about how the others were, and he could feel some tension coming from Melaine. He didn't want to have to step in and recommend that they stay put, but he couldn't help but feel it was best that they keep clear of the landslide, at least for now. The pack had lost so many members within the past month that he figured their priority, now, should be preserving the few they had left that were safe from the newest disaster. He wouldn't be able to keep Keyni and Melaine cooped up long, he knew- but hopefully, he wouldn't have to. He was grateful that neither of them objected to his plans outright. 

Keyni noted that at least she suspected Ryn was with her father, a wolf named Howl, and he could only hope that the two had managed to avoid being caught up in the landslide. He wasn't sure how well Keyni or Melaine knew the wolves of Moonspear- but he had a number of wolves he was worried about. It took everything he had to keep himself from immediately going to search for them. He wasn't surprised to hear Keyni voice her concern about Lunaria, as he knew them to be friends. He knew he was disappointing both Keyni and Melaine by making the decisions he did, but he would rather disappoint them and keep them safe, rather than telling them to go searching and endanger themselves. 

"We'll reassess in the morning. For now, we need to stay safe. It's...What I think Antares would want." He said heavily. There was no way to know- and he hadn't heard Antares howl for several minutes now. He felt bad trying to guess what the right thing to do would be- but he had to at least have some conviction in his decision, otherwise his packmates would desert him. "We'll get through this," He said quietly, as they settled in for a night of waiting, calling out, and watching- hoping that their packmates would find their way to safety in the last few hours of darkness.

OOC: Last post for me here.

She nodded silently, appreciative of Bronco taking charge in these difficult times. They would wait it out and rest for the night. No one was going anywhere until they could be sure the worst of the danger had passed. There were others who were still separated and missing, but as for Melaine and Keyni, they were just lucky to have found Bronco.

"We will. Together." She echoed his words calmly, hiding whatever true emotions she might feel beneath the surface. Lowering herself to settle down against the cold earth, she kept her head upright. Jade eyes alert and ears pricked, she gazed out into the darkness, sleep eluding her. She would take the first watch on her own, scanning and calling out while the others, if they chose, slept.