Dragoncrest Cliffs birth me from your bones again

Thread 2 of 2. Please reply once as soon as you're able. Once this is archived, I can submit everything. <3 Feel free to have new threads set after this. @Dio @Wildfire @Rebekka @Hush @Portia @Tanja @Chessur @Eske

The further away from the territory they were, the better they can all breathe. She can hear the coughs and groans and she fears she has failed them when they’d chosen the dragon to claim. She’d been foolish to think she could tame the beast and she didn’t heed the first warning it had given her. The majority of them have reconvened in the hollows and they can account for one another. A few are missing but the threat remains high in her mind and, with one final call in desperation to find them in the north. They are all smart and if they had to go another way, they’d eventually come around.

Still, Thuringwethil hangs back as long as she can before she ushers the crowd further north and toward the coast where the air turns from smoke to salt and she’s never been more relieved. With most of everyone in one piece, they finally find refuge in a forest that has become familiar too her. The trees are thick enough to keep the sun from the ground and the wind at bay and she eventually collects everyone once they’ve all straggled in.

She is quiet for a long time, closing her eyes and absorbing the salty air and the familiarity of it brings her comfort. She wonders if it will do the same for Chessur and Tanja whom each had been born with the shore to their backs, just as she had been.

Thuringwethil turns to Wildfire and nudges her cheek, wishing to curl away somewhere and sleep until it was all over but eventually she moves to the front of the group and centers herself somewhere between her mate and Dio. The day feels like an eternity behind them now as night threatens the last of their light and they remain in territory that is large unknown to them. She does not fear a threat of wolves with a number such as she has but she knows the land to be vacant from others and safe enough for them to find refuge.

“We will rest here,” she tells them, her voice tired and hoarse. She clears her throat and begins again, hoping to steel her confidence once more. “We are not all here. In a few days, we will discuss whether or not to send a search party for those that have not found us but if the mountain is not safe, we will not return. They are smart and they know what to do. There is a lake not far from here but please go in pairs,” she says with a nod. Her wolves know what to do when separated and that does not falter now in the face of danger. From there, she relays any other instructions for the night. Those that are up to hunting may but it is something that can wait until the next day when they have had a chance to rest their tired bodies. Thuringwethil turns to Chessur to help assess Portia and anyone else that may have been injured in the travel and Tanja and herself to take first shift in guarding, alternating halfway through the night until morning.

I've been told the following assumptions are safe to make but if I've gotten anything wrong, just tap me and I'll happily revise my post. :)

They gradually regrouped to the north of Sleeping Dragon, some in better shape than others. When a few faces were still missing even after a few hours, Wildfire wanted to turn back and look for them, despite the danger. At the very least, she wanted to attempt to howl for them. But she knew her voice would never carry, especially not after inhaling smoke. Thuringwethil assured her that the others had likely just fled in another direction and would turn up soon. With no other choice but to accept the commander's lead, she followed suit when they filed even further north, then west. She forgot to look back for a final glimpse.

She couldn't be sure whether it was hours or days that passed before the smoky air gave way to the smell of sea salt. Wildfire thought back to a previous foray to these very cliffs. It had been a stormy spring day not long before joining Drageda. She had run into Warbone here. Then sometime later, during the locust swarm, she and Gavriel had sought refuge along another escarpment a little further south. These memories were more muddled than anything, overshadowed by literal or metaphorical storm clouds. But now the air was totally clear and fresh, albeit bitingly cold.

The commander's nudge caught her as she was gazing off across the sea toward the horizon. The Bandrona turned to listen mutely to her mate's announcement to the pack. Her eyes watered, partly due to the frigid sea breeze but also as her emotions began to catch up to her. She couldn't help but worry about the missing faces, chief among them Freyja and the other pups. Wildfire knew it was too dangerous to send anyone back—they couldn't risk losing even more members to the volcano's fury, especially not at winter's doorstep—but she couldn't help but worry that they might be hurt and stuck back there somehow.

And both those present and those who had yet to arrive were all homeless now, a realization that kept hitting her over and over like a baseball bat to the head. It was hard to fathom that they'd lost literally everything but a handful of warm bodies overnight. Wildfire wanted to collapse beneath the weight of it all, especially considering the unexpected journey which had taken a toll on her especially after the tense days leading up to it. But there was no way she was going to sleep anytime soon, especially not in some strange place so far from the one cave she had actually grown to love.

Feeling paralyzed by loss and frozen down to the marrow of her bones, Wildfire could only turn back to gaze over the sea again. She remained motionless otherwise, ears cupped slightly backward to catch any snatches of conversation or other important goings-on behind her as the ocean filled her eyes and formed icicles on her cheeks.

if anything is inconsistant/needs changed (mostly with when she finds them) please give me a poke and i'll gladly change it! <3

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Once she was safe from the awaken and hungry dragon Eske had waited behind for a few hours for her siblings, letting Drageda get ahead of her. She had not fled with them but she stuck to the trail that Heda and the others had left behind. Freyja and Hvitserk never showed and knowing that if she would have waited for much longer she would lose Heda's trail. For all she knew, though, for all she had seen of them lately (which was to say hardly at all) they could have left long before the Dragon had erupted and she would have been none the wiser. It was not safe to go back and search for them and ...she wasn't even sure there would be anything left of them to search for had they not made it out. The warrior princess turned her back to the Dragon and followed the trail left by those who had escaped with Heda.

As she neared their scents drew stronger, and though she was tired, hungry and worried she felt nothing but relief when she finally caught up to them. For a moment, she was afraid the intensity of her relief might bring her to her knees but the warrior princess held resolute; like iron. She smelled of ash and smoke, it clung to her coat and filled her black, leathery nostrils so that she barely registered the slightly familiar, tangy scent of salt upon the air. It was only familiar to her because she'd recently taken a trip to Ankyra Sound to explore the coast, to see what had lain beyond her beloved slumbering dragon. It was ruin now, surely. She trudged towards Drageda, her head low as she joined those that had gathered.

“I stayed back for Freyja and Hvitserk when I cleared the danger,” She spoke in the common tongue, unsure if she was addressing Heda or the group. She was weary and horribly homesick for the place she could never return to; and her life had been little more than a ride from hell as of late. Still, she was alive. She was strong. She was forged of iron and she would not break. “I stayed as long as I could without losing your trail.” Her voice was apologetic, and for a moment her eyes flashed as violent as the churning sea as she thought that she should have went back to search for them but ...not at the cost of her life. As for the outsider that Freyja had shacked up with Eske didn't really care what had befallen him either way (she's rude like that). She did not add that they never showed for it was obvious enough as she had shown up alone. “but Hvitserk had been spending a lot of time out of the territory and Freyja is smart.” Whether she was trying to convince them or herself Eske couldn't say. She didn't really feel better, even believing that they got out to safety: but if they had why had they not joined the others? Went north? Found her?

There was nothing she could do now, she knew. First, she needed to rest and fill her stomach and then if Drageda decided on a search party volunteer to go with them.

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assumption that hush and dio brought her back and that chaser will tend to her wounds. let me know if anything isn't okay, i assumed it's fine since these are 1 reply threads.

it was a relief when Hush had come, and even more so when Dio came. she'd let them know it was her shoulder, and that it was just dislocated, but there was no way she could go on her own. the two carried her along, and when the tremors stopped she leaned on Dio for support the rest of the way, moving on her three good legs. it was weird, being injured. she'd never been injured before and though she knew she could talk Dio or Hush through the process of popping it back into place, Chessur was a healer and she could help properly. she could wait, the damage would not be too terrible if she waited.

she was a bit shaken up now, even though they were safe now. her fur remained fluffed up, her ears lowered and her tail tucked between her legs-- even as she laid down. it was sort of pitiful, but for a while she feared she'd be trapped under something and lose the pack, and even when Hush had arrived it wasn't until she saw the ivory pelt of Dio that she stopped sobbing. 

she waited for Chessur, leg sprawled out awkwardly and somewhat painfully. the ground didn't move here, so it didn't hurt as badly as before, but it certainly wasn't a spoonful of sugar. she didn't know where they were, but it was flat and covered-- she felt safer here than she did in the open space in the mountains, though she missed her den. when her wounds had been dressed (mostly scratches, and the popping back in of that damn shoulder) she waited for Dio to finish any leadership duties he had, and asked him to join her to sleep. regardless of his presence, she was restless, taking ages to fall asleep. when she finally did it was short and she woke up every half hour or so, mostly from pain or lingering fear.

In a whirlwind of events, the smoking Dragon faded behind them and soon seasalt started to clear his sinuses and throat -- and it's never been more a welcome scent. A while spent watching the commander guide their path and a steady, affirmed understanding creeps on him. This was why she'd gone, and where she'd traveled to. He didn't have all of the pieces to put together before, but now, it's far more clear to him.

The wocha usually traveled with Portia, helping her keep the weight off her injury however he can. Occasionally in the brief moments he does part immediately from her and leaves her with Hush, he fans out to scope their defense along the way. Most of all, he just wants to see them covering ground quickly so they can reach a new sanctuary, wherever that may be exactly. Here in some of the longest nights of the entire year, the last thing they need is unnecessarily extended homelessness. Their strength is nothing to question, it's not that which worried him. They are missing a handful and he knows they all deserve far better than vagabonding right now.

Eventually when they reach a woodlot, he can feel a bit better, or maybe by now it's fatigue having stacked. Either way, he makes quick work of an initial survey, touches brief base with Heda, frets over Portia while Chessur tended her, and finds he had to adjust to the sea's nearness again. There's a creeping deja vu he has to pointedly ignore, too. It's just something else to deal with after some rest.. if he can manage any at all.

He settled in beside Portia, attempting to doze until he'd trade out for his first round of guard. A few blinks were all he realistically hoped for.

Tanja thought it impossible to understand what his packmates were going through, he had not been there as long as them and couldn't comprehend what it was like to leave the dragon behind. But he did, he knew all too well what it was like to leave behind a home in utter chaos. He knew the hardships of watching everything they worked so hard to build burn to ashes before him. It brought back painful memories, ones he did not wish to remember but they forced their way into his mind anyway. Now he had not only lost one home, but another as well and this time by the very earth they lived on. 

He had been slower than the rest when leaving the mountain, and had remained behind until he was certain he had done all he could. But as a result Tanja was left in a coughing fit. His lungs hurt with a terrible burning sensation while his eyes grew irritated and red. It was difficult for him to breathe, and even after he had cleared away from the smoke it was still difficult for him to stop coughing. Even during fights and long distance travels he had never felt this out of breath before, but this, this felt like he couldn't breathe at all. 

He had to stop several times just to make sure he wouldn't pass out but even then it felt like someone was pouring hot tar down his throat. Tired and weak from travel, Tanja collapsed the second Heda said they could rest. His wheezing was nowhere close to letting up and he had now be forced to deal with a headache while everything else continued to pound at him. But Tanja was a stubborn fool and refused to not go down without a fight. After allowing his legs to rest for a bit, the man stood and prepared to scope out the territory they would settle in for tonight. He might not have been able to do any more for those left on the mountain, but he was determined to make sure those that had made it here were safe from any harm.

Hush didn't fancy being a crutch, given how small he was compared to the others, but he bore his burden (was Portia a burden?) well, making sure that she was moving as quickly as they could without hurting her. It was a difficult task; the chaos of the moment, the thought that he, they, could never return to Sleeping Dragon ever again, the knowledge that not all of them were there. He tried his best to focus on the task ahead, making sure Portia moved quickly and safely, not lagging from the rest.

He and Dio switched, one leaving Portia to scout out the land around them as the pack regrouped and began to move westward. Eventually they stopped, and he finally had the chance to look and count how many there were. Hush frowned; not enough. He looked to Heda for her instructions, ears perking at the sound of coughing. He nosed Tanja, the source, then out to where he thought the lake was. He needed a drink. They all did. Perhaps they could go to the lake and bring soaked moss for them all.