Duck Lake now that i'm old, i sing for it

AW but also tagging @Laurel @Xan @Reigi @Blondine (i know you're injured) in case they want to hop in. 1st part of post is set today, but the rest is set 2/5/18 (major storm warning in the park)

the storm that growled along the eastern rim of the horizon grew in its fury as the day lengthened. a cheerless smoke-grey pall shrouded the woods and the world became silent. indra noticed the change in the forest's activity quite quickly, but by the time she realized it was dangerous to be afoot it was too late for her to make it home. fear grappled her heart as she realized her folly - she had underestimated the strength of the storm while overestimating her own stamina. it had only been a month since ithrik had attacked her, and while the infection had abated and she was largely mobile, she was still weak. it was too late now to do anything but hide -- she would be snowbound until the storm broke.

in quiet panic the girl sought shelter beneath the collasped span of a fallen douglas. the trunk was flat against the ground with its boughs upright while its pines were weighed down by snow. she scrabbled underneath the fanning pines and looked up at the roiling sky as white snow fell in a soundless fury.

***

the storm did not abate, and the snow piled for hours around her. wind came in shrieking gusts and the snowdrifts encroached upon her small enclosure. she beat the snow back and it quickly consumed her huddled form, swathing the entire length of the fallen tree in a muted blanket of white snow. she was left with no soul for miles and the hours slowly trickled into days before the snowfall cleared and indra's hollowed tunnel became illuminated by muted blue light. indra tentatively shouldered through the snow until she broke the surface and re-emerged in the realm of nothing but blinding white. the girl winced as the brilliance of the freshly  fallen snow met her eyes, which took time to adjust to the snow-glare.

indra thought her prospects bleak. the snow was well beyond her hips and she knew she could not afford much more energy be spent. she had not eaten for days and her injury presented great hardship - enough that leaping through heavy snow was out of the question. a feeling of sinking desperation filled her stomach as she weighed what seemed to be the ever ominous choices she faced.

Where there had been concern, there grew worry; it was from the latter which panic stemmed. Blondine hadn't seen Indra in a couple of days, which, by itself, probably wouldn't have bothered her. It was the fact that the snowstorm had hit so recently and since then, Indra's scent trails had begun to go stale. On the second day of the flame's disappearance, Blondine rose early with the sun and decided to take a look. 

The first thing she did was let out a call for her, hoping that her voice might be heard. Where are you? it asked, but more urgently, Are you safe? Whether or not she heard a response (and oh, how she prayed she would), Blondine made up her mind right then that she would find her.

she was still nestled in the confines of her snowbound prison when a howl shook the silence of the quiet forest. indra's ears collected excitedly atop her skull as she wrestled to the surface once more. she was certain she knew that howl -- was it blondine's? had she noticed her friend's absence?

a low whine sounded in her throat as she struggled to the surface once more. she clawed her way through the snow but made little progress before exhaustion stalled her steps. she looked back at the hollowed hole in the snow - still so close and bearclaw valley so far. she worked her throat and threw back her head and a howl broke through the glade with surprising temerity -- she hoped blondine would hear it, but would she also find the snow nearly impassable?

he’s still a ways off. tweety, feel free to pp him joining blondine in your post, if she’s not too far off from the valley

The clouds that had gathered overhead days ago had foretold a coming storm—a storm he believed he had faced once already, a long time ago. But the moment the snow started to fall in place of rain, he knew that it was not the same forces at work but something different—not new, he’d experienced snowfall before, but different and greater than ever before. He spent much of the storm cooped up with Reigi, lending her his warmth and ensuring she was safe. And though he’d made several failed attempts at braving the weather, Indra’s absence had gone unnoticed until after the blizzard subsided.

Though as soon as he’d caught on, her fiery pelt nowhere to be seen and her scent notably stale, he felt instant regret; perhaps there was something he could have done to aid her, had he not been so distracted. Alexander didn’t linger on what could have been for long as he hastily made his way through the valley and towards the exit—a foolish move, as his rash decision and wild motions made maneuvering through the snow far more difficult than it could have been. But he did not give up—grew frustrated, yes, but did not give up. And he was eventually able to rid himself of the powdery snow and found what he considered stable grounds to stand on, continuing onward across the crisp snow, hardened by fine layers of ice.

Howls reached his ears and drew him forth but he remained a fair distance from either of them; there were patches where the snow had yet to harden that he continuously sunk down into, his steps uneasy as he proceeded partially blinded by the glare. Two howls, both voices familiar, meant two of his packmates were out there—he couldn’t leave either of them to fend for themselves, he had to find them.

The storm swooped up all around but Laurel didn't want to stop looking. She kept shouting her sister's name but there was nothing but the heavy noise of wind all around her. A worried expression filled her face as she kept searching. Trees creaked but the worry of landing underneath one didn't even occur to Laurel; not until one actually landed right behind her and she managed to run away just in time. Only then did she decide to find shelter, for now, and look further later on.

*

When Laurel woke up after days of worry and searching and calling effortlessly it was a nearby howl that caught her ears. A call for Indra. Eyes popped open and she was wide awake suddenly. Laurel crawled from the shallow den underneath a tree she'd been sleeping in and just at that moment she heard a faraway answer. The first sign of life she had heard in days of her sister. It sounded like it wasn't within the valley; no wonder Indra hadn't heard any of her previous calls, blocked by storm and snow and distance all bound together.

Laurel was quick on her feet but was stopped by the thick layer of snow as she fell smack-dab face-in-snow. She hadn't realised that it had snowed that heavily up until now. She moved difficultly through the snow to the entrance of Bearclaw Valley, even more difficultly because she kept falling over and wanted to go too fast rather than slowing down.

This tumbling about eventually got Laurel to the entrance of the Valley and she tumbled on from there until she caught sight of Xan. "Xan, wait up!" she called out to him and Laurel further tried to speed up her pace (resulting in being even slower). By the time she reached him Laurel felt wet, cold and exasperated but she wasn't about to give up her quest to save her sister and best friend. "Let's go find her," Laurel said by the time she reached Xan to make sure that he understood there wasn't gonna be any time for standing still and chit-chatting or whatever right now. Indra was the main goal.

same!

It wasn't much, but it was something. The howl echoed through Blondine's ears, and though she had no real direction, she had a pull. There were voices not too far off, so she made her way toward them, soon finding Xan and a femme who she hadn't met yet; they could deal with introductions later. For now, they had a mission, just as had been said: Let's find her. 

The snow was tall and thick, making walking take much more energy than Blondine had to give. Although her body protested with each step, she knew that it would be worth it once they'd found Indra. She's safe, Blondine thought to herself, She has to be. 

Which way?

best rescue party

she sat stunned be the enormity of her mistake after the last howl faded. she was here of her own accord, her own folly -- her ignorance had almost cost her her life (and would it?) and now, her stupidity put her packmates at risk. a chill sunk in her heart as she thought of them, snowbound like her, struggling through the snow looking for her. what if they got lost too? she would never live it down.

with newfound determination she burst from the makeshift shelter and tried anew, promptly sinking several feet into the snow with only her nose breaching the surface. she gasped and tried again, struggling against the impassable powder. each effort caused pain to rifle down her spine, and each landing concussed her with a great wince. she had only gone several feet before her efforts claimed all of her energy. panting and deep in snow she issued another short howl so that they might have new markers in which to find her.

Leaving this open for Blondine or Laurel to be the one to find her ♥

The crunch of snow underfoot, followed by the sound of his own name, prompted the male to stop and look back over his shoulder. Laurel was easy to spot against the snow, her colouration standing out whilst her words left him waiting; he recognised one of the earlier voices as belonging to Indra and was sure she felt just as obligated to locate her, or perhaps even more so considering they were sisters. He waited for her to catch up before nodding and then continuing forward, eager to locate his missing packmate; he didn’t like that he’d not noticed her absence sooner and moved as quickly as he could through the quilts of snow in some poor attempt at making up for those lost days.

Moments later and the duo became a trio as their rescue party gained a new member—who he was happy to see, her skills as a medic welcomed, though he hoped unnecessary. But she arrived with a question on her tongue that he could not answer. He slowed to a stop and looked around, nose tilted up to greet the incoming breeze as he picked through it for a familiar scent. The season was a terrible one, though, the air too frigid and the snow great, all scents having been eliminated beneath the deep covers of winter. Yet, just when he was about to say I don’t know, a blessing came in the form of a howl. His ears swiveled atop his crown, pinpointing the location of origin before swinging his head in the missing wolf’s direction and heading towards her.

Alexander was quick at first, the snow compact and shielded by layers of ice, but his momentum was short-lived as the sturdy snow gave way to pure powder. It was then that he started to struggle, casting glances towards his companions to ensure they were fine whilst battling his way through nature; between his efforts he loosed a howl of his own, long and loud, assuring their wayward companion that we will find you.

blondine can do the finding :D

Soon another wolf joined them, though it was one that Laurel didn't know overly well and she wasn't too sure why she was here at all. Presently, however, Laurel had more important things on her mind and she kept moving forward through the snow with her brows knit into a frown. It took a lot of effort to navigate through the snow but they managed, mostly due to Indra's short-lived howls. Laurel called back to her occasionally to let her know that they were still on their way and that they were closing in on Indra — they'd be there soon.

They came closer to a fallen tree where Indra's howls were becoming more and more apparently. Laurel stopped to sniff the air and said, "She must be close. Indra? In!" She raised her voice to a shout and then listened with bated breath, hoping that Indra'd let them know something.

While Xan went one way and the tan femme another, Blondine followed straight ahead in the direction of the howl, calling out shortlived yelps and chirps to help Indra keep track of where she was. The snow made a quick transition from hardened and icy to blanketed powder, swallowing Blondine up to her shoulders with no time for her to prepare. It was a minor setback, she thought; they were close.

It took a few moments of paddles and jumps for her to find her footing once more. The earth fell silent for a moment before Blondine sounded another call. Where are you? it asked. Rather than waiting for a response, she began digging through the snow. 

Frustration was beginning to build, and as if by divine persuasion, Blondine's head whipped up to scan the land around her. It didn't take long before she was able to spot the russet of her frame in the distance, her howl sounding soon after. Indra!

between ragged pants indra thought she heard laurel -- and then blondine. she cocked her head to the side and listened as the silence settled around her heavy and thick as the snow. until laurel's voice raked the woods -- followed shortly by blondine's chirping calls.

she threw up her head again in a hoarse call and once more rallied, breaking through snow with laborous gasps. it was exhausting work and fatigue settled in her limbs, but she was rejuvenated in her efforts as blondine's ears and head crested through the snow -- followed by laurel and xan.

"hey! over here!" she cried, trying to crest another thick wave of snow. "laurel! blondine! xan!" she was overjoyed to see them, for she had truly thought she would see nothing but snow for the rest of her short-lived days.

they saw her -- and, joyfully reconvening with abundant whines and gleeful wags of their tails, made for home. one bounding in front of the other, step by step. a band of friends. a pack. a family.