Moonspear Bitter

Open to anyone! <3

Winds that chilled one to the bone howled forebodingly. For any observer, they would find their vision nearly useless. Heavy snowflakes rained down in an un-relenting sheet of white, obscuring normally visible landmarks. Even here, in the far reaches of the Spear itself, Saviguk's world had been reduced to white fog and ice.

Wisely huddled just inside the entrance of his den, he stared outside with wide sea glass eyes. He had seen snow before, but never anything quite like this. Kukutux didn't want him nor Sialuk going beyond the mountain. And he wouldn't. Not in such treacherous weather. But he was bored. Noting that the snow was growing deep and accumulating just a little too much around the mouth of the den, he decided to be prudent. Inching his way outside, he set to work in digging the frosty powder away. It was hard work, with the snow piling back up again at a ridiculous rate. By the time he had made satisfactory progress, his poor little toes were chilled raw.

Death had shaken Moonspear and Firefly Glen. The names came in rapid succession, and Sialuk tasted the hurt that came with each death for the first time in her life. Desdemona and Toad Amelia, both wolves that Sialuk knew, were no more. They had gone to the dancing lights, and their names would not be spoken again. Not only that, but they could not even mourn as a pack. Instead, they were forced into the ulaq because of the harsh wind and snow; a cruel fate for those who needed one another to process such an event.

At least Sialuk had her anaa and tataa, but she worried for those who might be alone. She was curled nose to tail in the comfort of the ulaq, resting as well as she could, but the sound of Saviguk digging away at snow eventually roused her from her restless slumber.

Saviguk? What are you doing? she said. She blinked at the white opening that went outside, noting that neither mother or father was here, presumably out to get food or other supplies. They had grown apart as they had grown up, but her brother was still family.

The devastation had changed Hydra, though whether or not this was for the better or for the worst would surely be determined in time. In the timeline of grief, it was unknown even where the matriarch stood. Too many had been lost. And the ache of it was almost too much to bear. Still, Hydra knew she must go on. Nature was a fearsome and terrible thing, and Moonspear for the first time in some time were at the receiving end of it. The quakes had not done much to devastate them, and they had come out of the famine on the better end of it. Even Hydra knew that their good fortune could not last long by the hand of Her, the only thing that no wolf could hope to be the better of. A thing that was indiscriminate, nature was as beautiful as it was merciless. Hydra could not see the beauty, then. 

Limping some, Hydra kept near to the borders so as to ascertain the status of things then. Scents fading struck her, and she steeled herself as she noted two others scents fading fast. It could be that they had visited Mahler, but the scent of one daughter was still present... not outside the realm of possibility, at least, and so for the moment Hydra could only cling to hope that they would soon return. Winter was upon them, and the scent of a blizzard was on the wind. 

Swallowing some emotion that threatened to rise, Hydra turned from the borders to make her way toward the den of her brother and her sister brought to her by him. She wondered how @Kukutux fared, bearing witness to the grizzly scene, and she wondered if there might be some poltice that could be applied to her hindleg that would help the healing along.

First she saw Saviguk, and then Sialuk. Hydra was glad to see them in one piece, but wondered how they fared. Moving toward them, hind leg smarting but not beyond repair, the bruised matriarch licked her chops as she made way to them.

Thud. Thud. Thud. The sound of his oversized paws pounded on something solid. With the majority of the snow cleared away, Saviguk was met with one final obstacle. One which, if left un-attended to, could prove hazardous. A moderately thick layer of ice, froze solid over the earth. But it was nothing he couldn't handle. A few well-placed thrusts of his paws and body weight, and it should crack.

Sialuk's voice snapped him out of his task. He paused for a moment, teal eyes fixing on her. While there was no less sibling love in them, there was also a sense of maturity. Of something more serious. Day by day, as each grew colder, Saviguk felt his sense of duty deepening. "Clearing the snow from den. I have to get it and this ice out of the way. I don't want any of us getting snowed in, or worse, slipping." He would go to any lengths to protect his family, even if it were such a small but significant task such as this.

Dark ears pivoting back, he heard the approach of Hydra. He had learned to recognize her footsteps well. But something about them, something in her gait was off. He could almost hear the imperfection. Oblivious to the slaughter that had occurred in the Glen, amongst his family, he turned to hurry towards the Queen. Inadvertently, he cleared a path for them with his body alone, while plowing forth in the snow. How convenient. Circling her once for a quick sniff, concern took him. "Something's happened. Please, tell us?"