Sunbeam Lair You give cicadas a bad name

A sort of free for all activity! No rounds or solid posting order (just make sure you don't exceed 3 posts per person when going back and forth). This is to go along with the BWP, and is not at all mandatory. Beware the locusts!
@Noctura @Jolon @Eve @Ezimette @Leo @Sorrel @Lokith @Lunae

In the distance, a soft hum had been heard. She'd thought nothing of it at first, choosing to ignore it and go about the rest of her day as if it'd never been heard. Yet, soon she'd found that it could not be ignored. With each passing minute, the sound grew louder, an uneasy feeling settling into her stomach. The yearling had grown anxious, anticipating that which was coming, but knowing not exactly what she should be preparing for. It felt as if a rock was weighing her down, it's weight increasing constantly and leaving her with hardly any space to breathe. The feeling was unlike any she'd ever felt before, causing panic to rise from beneath her usually docile demeanor. Still, she'd tried to work through it, harvesting some plants here and there and then storing them away for safekeeping, ensuring winds and pest alike could not reach them. It was her normal procedure, wishing not for any unwelcomed guests to steal from their herbal caches. Lingering near to each storage facility grew groupings of pot marigold, regarded highly for it's ability to ward of pests.

Asterr had been extracting leaves from a sapling when the hum had grown especially loud—deafening, almost—and she'd been forced to drop the leaves in favour of investigating. What she'd seen, however, was not something she could have ever prepared for. Not entirely, anyways. For swarming her beloved lair were thousands of locusts, the most hellacious of pests. The threat they posed had been quick to register within her mind, and her head had tilted back as she called out to her tribe. She was summoning them, warning them, insisting that they beware the bugs. It was lucky for them, at least, that their home thrived within a mountain. For while the plant life still attracted the bugs, not as many could manage to successfully infiltrate the lair as they could an open plain. They were not smart enough to target the holes directly, resulting in many ramming into the rocky roof, bouncing off, and either being deterred or dying from the sheer force of the impact. Still, those that did get in wasted no time in beginning their awful work, attacking the plants and causing an all around ruckus.

"Collect as many plants are you can!" she'd called out, words meant for anyone near enough to hear them. "Save the herbs, store them within any openings in the walls that you can find and then cover them!" They needed the plants, all of them. Even if it was only a sample, it would later prove useful when the land could begin thriving once more. They could replant all that was lost, take the time out of their days to live the lives of gardeners and farmers. Asterr was set on doing so, on preserving the life of her home. "Fill any crevices with rocks, dead wood, something..." She needed to take a breath, to settle herself down and then proceed with a rational mind. "We must not allow for these insects to tear us down." The dragoness carried on then, following her own instructions. They would need to find shelter soon, a place where they could all go to wait out the assault. Until then, however, the Draconid would hope that they might salvage enough of species to someday restore that which was bound to be destroyed.

No need to tag me, I`ve signed up for PMs. Might be a good idea for everybody - you know how confusing BWPs can get!

A bushy white tail and two amber orbs seemed for a second to be the only things  to emerge from a cleft in the rock.

"Asterr!" she cried out. "Thanks to the stars. I`ve been harvesting herbs all day in this lovely little cave I found, but the skylight just went dark! And there`s rumbling, is there a stor-" she broke off , her question trailing away like the last remaining light above.

They were everywhere. There were invisible bubbles of space around the two wolves, but the plants were infested. The precious stomach-calming meadowsweet, the carefully cultivated yellow dock root, the discretion-please qualities of motherwort...all gone.

Eve could sob. But there was work to be done. Her mind whirred, and she paced back and forth until...yes!

"Quick! When the whole Pack gathers, we`ll need as much codonopsis as we can get. And the basics, coltsfoot and the like, though I beg the stars we won`t need them. Then we can hide out in that cave, and we should be okay eating the codonopsis for a few days. If the worst happens, we`ll have to send a scout out through the swarm to the underground caches."

Eve was desperate for her new Pack to survive the coming onslaught. The locusts weren`t harming any animals so far, but the prey would be spooked and the herbs...she gulped. She`d just had a morbid thought, and blurted it out through habit.

"Asterr, the swarm is taking the dragon."

What a nice thought.

As soon as lokith heard Asterr's call he sprinted out from his sunning place. He winced at the loud noise but started snuffling at the ground. He walked over to the rim of their home and searched for something there. The golden wolf let out a loud yelp as three locusts flew into his face, one hitting him in the eye. After quickly rubbing his paw over the painful eye, he went back to work but made sure to keep his head low. Soon enough he managed to find some Coltsfoot. He swiftly dug it up and ran to find a crevice. He stuffed the Coltsfoot into a small hole in the wall and covered it with a small rock.

  "This is ridiculous!" He cried over the roaring noise. "How long is this going to go on for?" He called mostly to himself.

It took no time now. She was near when Asterr shouted those words. The young girl dove--literally- straight for her hollow. She climbed into her hole under the stump and gathered her chamomile, sage, burdock, and wild mint before rushing to Asterr and whimpering. She then crawled to the nearest crag and dumped the herbs there. The quick little being then rushed, bounced, and leapt straight for every herb she could find, including a patch of wildflowers, as it was just her nature.

Ezimette limped through the forest towards Asterr's call and arrived in time to see the little red one called sorrel dive into a log to grab herbs, she smiled for a second at the young one's antics, but it quickly faded. She bared her teeth in a grimace at the approaching cicadas-no, locusts. She began to frantically look for plants but was utterly stumped. Eximurra had never taught her about plants, but it could not be too different from hunting, right? Now, she utterly wanted two things, Sorrel's skills, and Jolon's comfort.

Beneath the dark canopy of their subterranean base, the Ryūjin Gamma was not as shrouded by the sudden plague as those on the outside would be. But in no way did this tempt Noctura to remain safe. Not only had Asterr called, but so did life itself — the lives of those around him, his brothers and sisters of Ryūjin, who may not be so lucky with their cover. So Noctura shot off at a swift pace, his great black paws pounding the earth, crushing locusts beneath them as he reached more open areas. This was black magic, and within it the world was hideous, but it would not always be this way. He heard Asterr shouting out. There was much to do — much to save. Noctura's knowledge of herbs was limited, but he knew the pack's medical caches and advanced to the closest one.

In doing so he found @Ezimette, who looked startled and confused. I'm sure Jolon will be here soon, little sister, he reassured her in his deep voice, but there's no time to waste. Come, help me hide away these dock leaves. He gestured with his muzzle to the long green leaves collected by some tree roots, then gathered as many as he could between his jaws, carrying them swiftly to a rocky pile of scree beyond a harsh cloud of locusts.

my laptop is dying

 Lunae had heard the buzzing before the howl, and she had attempted to ignore it; as she noticed that she sometimes heard things others didn't. But it was the howl (and the bugs) that assured her that this was not normal. She quickly followed Asterr's scent, getting hit by numerous bugs. Within earshot of the alpha, she heard the warnings. 

 Her mismatched eyes caught the sight of the red wolf before she turned around to get her stash of herbs. Carefully carrying the most important herbs, then filling a hole near a tree, and finally covering it with a rock; all while snapping at the hideous bugs.

 The critters ruthlessly devoured the plant life before her eyes, in which the shadowy wolf let out a soft whimper. She stayed near Asterr, but attempted to salvage the remains of the herbs, at the same moment.

Jolon was on patrol as always. Yet, today was different. Faint buzzing noises and more than usual sightings of grasshopper like creatures. It took around 10 minutes for him to realize that this weren't normal grasshoppers. Oh, shit... He whispered, watching the swarm of locusts come closer. Then, the howl of Asterr hit him. His home. Ezimette...

Like a thundercloud rushing over the lands, Jolon made his way down from the roof, seeing that the creatures were already feasting on everything green. In a desperate attempt to kill the monsters, one flew almost inside his nostril. It stung like a bee, and he was quick to sneeze it out. You foul creature! He shouted, now picking up the warnings from Asterr. Herbs? His knowledge of herbs were as good as none! Still, he saw that even the small little red wolf was doing her part. There had to be something! Ezi! He began shouting. Ezi, where are you?! He cried out. His painful nose went to the ground, trying to pick up her scent as well as look for anything that looked and smelled like herbs. This was a disaster.

Finally, while he was still trying to kill all the locust, he picked up her scent. His legs were moving like lightning now, finally seeing the pale fur of his girlfriend Ezimette. Ezi! He chipped. Noc! He followed soon after, now seeing the other dark brute as well.

That`s everyone `cept @Leo so I`mma get into the free-for-all spirit! :P

Eve was horrified. Around her, her new home was being methodically destroyed, and the cries of her Packmates filled the air.

Eve saw Jolon reach the cave and bounded towards him.

"Ezimette`s fine!" she shouted over the din. Her ears resonated with the awful sound, and she shook. "Jolon, the locusts won`t touch you unless you`re near a plant, but we need to save the herbs - get Ezimette and the others to gather codonopsis!" They`re, um, light purple, they look like bluebells, but with petals. Get little Sorrel to help you - we can eat the roots when we find a safe place!" she added over her shoulder, bushy tail whipping a path through the swarm as she ran to the she-wolf with strange eyes.

The medicine patch was stripped nearly bare, but Eve literally snapped up the last goldenrod shoots before stuffing them in the hole the other had filled.

"Well done," she murmured breathlessly to her new partner, digging a new hole and burying the old in the excess dirt.

What would be left of this natural apothecary when it was safe again?

Even the distant sound of buzzing had frightened him. Never before had he heard such sounds and he found new things to be terrifying. Leo stayed rooted to the ground, ears perked and all attention focused on the buzz.

When the sound became louder and a Asterr's howl arose he was truly terrified. His body shook like a leaf and the voices told him run. Take cover. The boy ran as fast as he could, bound to arrive late still. His eyes widened fearfully as loads of bugs came through, with even more outside.

The boy stood there, trembling. He didn't know what he could do. He was to afraid to move. Were these things going to kill them? "I'm scared," he whimpered to himself.

Leo rushed to a den, where Jolon and Eve happened to be. "What's happening?" he shouted over the loud roar.

Sorry for the short post X3

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The golden wolf sprinted in and out of their home gather anything he could find. His knowledge of herbs was nothing to brag about. He was just collecting anything and everything. With one eye closed he stuffed the herbs into any hole and crevice he could.

Sorrel breathlessly ran across the territory, grabbing every flower, sapling, and herb in sight. She bounded like a rabbit, bouncing high in the air when she came across Leo. "Don't be scared Leo! Help me bring these herbs to the cache!" She barked, nuzzling him comfortingly before bolting for the crags, hoping that her crush would follow along.The little [size=small]ember[/size] snapped at every silly-looking bug in her way, but allowed some on her fur, I mean, why kill all of them...right?

Ezimette plucked the dock with her teeth and glanced at Noctura to make sure she was doing all right, before hearing the relieving and wonderful sound of Jolon's voice. She leapt towards him and pressed against him one way, ending at his tail and circling back around. "Dock Jolon, dock! The little ember looks like she is doing a lot of work, you could see what to do there as well!" She licked his nose and continued to limp forwards tenderly, snapping at both cicada's--No Ezimette, locusts--and herbs. She flashed a glance at Noctura, asking if the golden flowers(chamomile) before her were good for the tribe.

Noctura nodded as Ezimette looked to him for guidance, but truly he was no healer or botanist — there was only so much instruction he could give beyond what Asterr had already spoken. But he knew dock leaves to be of help, and he recognised the chamomile from an earlier cache. So, with Jolon and Ezimette, he continued without hesitation, even as the swarm lashed and flurried and seem to persist as if it had some huge, dire purpose...

Sorry for the short post <3

Jolon nodded at Eve. Purple. He could do that, right? But then came the words of Ezimette. Dock, codono flipsiflaps? What was he supposed to do?! Jezus Christ, women, make up your minds! He panicked, running around now to find the purple things he had already forgotten the name of. It didn't take him awfully long, not even with the irritating bugs jumping on him on a regular basis, to find something purple. Just normal flowers, but it resembled Eve's description. He would later find out he had find the codonopsis. Damn, what a name.

He picked the flowers, as much as he could fit in his mouth, and ran to where the little ember seemed to hide them. He found a hole in the wall and pushed the herbs inside, covering it with a stone that magically seemed to fit. He panted, his feet hurting, his ears sensitive to the buzzing noises. Right, dock... What in the name of Glaux was that? Ezi! He called out above the humming. Describe dock please, if you wouldn't mind! He followed, his voice shaking.

Longish post ahead, aha. And a sneak peak at one of the internal territories, ehehe.

It was a disaster.

The swarm only seemed to be growing, feeding upon their home and leaving behind nothing more than twigs and bare branches. They were killing the lair, the little gluttons that they were, gorging themselves to the point in which it became a surprise that they could even continue to move. The tribe had responded, thankfully, and seemed to be doing their part in salvaging that which could be saved. Through all of the chaos, though, there came a voice. It was loud enough to be heard, as were many others, but the statement it'd produced was what had allowed it to steal her attention away from the task at hand. For there was Eve, claiming their home was being stolen away, resulting in a response from the chieftess that wasn't at all like her—she'd growled. Neither playfully nor affectionately, but out of sheer anger and frustration. The statement had been a bold one in her mind, and not at all how anyone living within the lair should respond during their current predicament. "If you believe a swarm of insects can steal from me—from us—this home of ours, then perhaps you do not belong here," she'd stated, the fact that she was disappointed in the other being made clear by her tone. The land itself was not a dragon, but it did serve as the home to several of the great beasts, and because of that it could never truly be taken away from them.

Not for a moment longer did she allow herself to be distracted by the seemingly traitorous phrase, head turning to face the others to ensure they were doing as instructed. It pleased her to see everyone, even those unfamiliar with plants, assisting in the saving of their herbs. While most would end up being dried out in the days to come and then stored away, those that could provide nutrition were also being collected. Asterr, too, assisting in the harvesting of the plants, snapping at and, in some cases, eating any of the locust that dared to threaten a plant her gaze had locked onto. It had continued like that, too, but for how long she would never be certain. Her mind was alive and senses in overdrive, adrenaline having shot through her system for the first time in ages. Nothing else matter, only the safety of her home's flora. She would store them away, whether they be already dead or in the process of dying, and then await the moment in which life could once again flourish within their home. In the end, they would win the battle forced upon them, and not a single bug would be able to change that.

With the swarm thickening, Asterr had needed to make a final call. To allow her subordinates to carry on with the task requested of them, or to get everyone into a sheltered location where they might wait out the storm in. Of course, she'd ended up choosing the latter, her new demand being issued after a sharp bark flew past her lips. "Everyone, it is time we seek shelter," she'd announced, hopefully having acquired everyone's attention beforehand. "These pests will stop at nothing, but we will not allow them to win. Come, we will wait this out and questions will be answered, and once everything has settled, our home will need our assistance in mending all that has been broken." With that, she'd started moving, motioning for those who'd heard her to follow. It was to her personal storage facility that she would lead them, her direction set for the farthest reach the lair had to offer. Against the wall that touched the mountain, southwest of the only known entrance into the territory. There, in the wall, there was a chamber that she'd happened across once upon a time, and it was through a narrow entrance into it that she would grant her followers entry.

Inside the small cavern was where she often stored her herbs, for away from any disturbances it was. Along the ceiling there were only small slivers to allow light to shine down through to the floor, the spaces seeming too small to be of any interest for the locust (still, a few got through every now and again). Once within the safety of its walls, she would draw herself closest to the back, wishing not to take up more room than necessary. It was bound to be a snug fit, but she was determined to make sure no one was left out with the bugs. Thus, to the back she would sit, awaiting for the rest of the tribe to file in, and dreading any questions that might arise.

No other replies, nope nope? M'kay, me again~ ^__^

Time passed with a kind of dreamlike swiftness, but it was all the while slow and chugging. Every minute spent quickly transporting a new bundle of herbs to a place of safety was another minute that felt like a year of chaotic blackness. It was curious, said blackness. The locusts in their great clouds felt like that to Noctura, who associated darkness with the night's sky, something very close to his heart. But there was no light or beauty in this dark blanket; merely chaos and fear, and Noctura didn't cower from it but his heart did.

After one hour or one bleak decade, Asterr called for an urgent summoning, and Noctura moved obediently, glancing first for Ezimette and Jolon, who had been working with him. They fled for cover in a cavern that would be handsome if it weren't for the sickening little wings that battered it, and the huge Gamma waited outside for as many wolves as possible before he followed them in and settled his muscled form hard against the wall. He said nothing. And, for what it was worth, he tried to think nothing too. Silence (and each other) was their only escape from what was out there.