Firefly Glen the light could become our darkness

From his lookout point among the frozen boughs of the glen, Antares didn't know what he was looking at. First he blinked into the night, just to be sure it was not a sleep-starved brain here to be cruel. A streak of light, and the motion of it across the skies had caught his eye and drawn it in, following it with a flick of curiosity... and then came an entirely new brand of panic in the second something else seemed to click into place. His furs rippled, anxious suddenly, as cold fear speared him down the middle.

He spun on his heels and rushed through the trees, seeking a clearing for the fullest view of the horizon he had always taken for granted--which let him see the mountain best, and before he could stop, the blinding impact. It didn't register at first. He didn't know how to fathom this. Not entirely, but when he choked his next breath, the mountain groaned and the earth began to recoil in return, he felt it deep to his bones; the spire of his family, and the very symbol of their sanctuary, shattering. No.. he murmured on the bitter winter's air, stumbling on his own feet. He couldn't stop there, and like a moth to flame, he still felt pulled towards the tower of stone, even as rock and snow came crumbling down from its heights.

He saw blackness, and white, with grays between them. Dark, light--together. Falling, only gathering strength as they went--the heights collapsing in, and gravity dragging them all back down to earth from their perch upon the night sky. He didn't believe it, didn't want to.

In a desperate attempt, he threw back his head and howled, his voice low, though he tried to throw it far. Antares called for his parents, his siblings, uncle, aunts, pack mates--anyone! Who was here? Who wasn't here? But he had a good feeling he knew right where they were. Right where they were supposed to be. His mind's eye saw his family, his friends, every facet of their precious home... and he wanted to choke. But he couldn't stop, and the mountain was coming to meet him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

concurrent with this, but for any glen-location reactions ♥

This'll just be a cameo. Since Bronco is so far away, and in the interest of not having two very different locations in one thread, he'll be calling out in response to Antares- but will be far away, near the borders closer to Neverwinter Forest. I'll start up an AW thread set for his area. I won't be replying in this one again.

Bronco had been patrolling along the Northern edges of the pack, safely miles away from the shared border between Firefly Glen passing slowly, with little incident, but in truth it felt as though they were simply taking refuge in the eye of a hurricane, waiting for the next wall of storms to pass through them. Bronco was an optimist, though- so he chose to believe that the worst had already happened- and that they would be safe. Perhaps the bears had gone back into hibernation, or perhaps they had found their way to somewhere a bit warmer and more comfortable for them. He didn't care if they froze to death- so long as they did not come back to the Glen again. 

The snow suddenly became brighter- and with a sudden flash, the entire Glen was lit so bright that Bronco had to squeeze his eyes shut for a moment. The beacon of light passed overhead, and he was too snowblind to really see what had happened- but he thought he caught the tail end of seeing something large, low, and very bright as it sank toward the horizon. A moment of darkness, where he stood with a bewildered expression on his face. He'd never seen anything like that- but before he could contemplate, a loud tremor shook the ground- a sound so loud that it resonated within his chest, and the rolling, thundrous sound of the mountain's anguished cry as it was crushed, and began to crumble down the distant slope. Too far away for Bronco to see- but he leapt to the assumption that there had been a landslide. He'd heard one before- but this one sounded so much larger, and therefore more dangerous. 

Bronco couldn't see much- it was too dark, and he was much closer to Neverwinter Forest, so he squinted against the darkness to search for the Moonspear's spire- only to notice a greyish haze in the distance. He heard Antares howl, and fear seized him. Hydra. His heart sank- they couldn't lose Hydra. There was no way Antares could lose both of his brothers and his mother- it was too cruel, too unfair. He called out from his edge of the borders- hoping that any of the Glen wolves might hear him, be warned of the landslide- and come to him, where he was miles away and safe. Unlike a bear or a cougar, a landslide could not be caught or stopped.

He tired his voice quickly trying to howl to the mountain, and in all of his frantic hurry, he knew his latest attempts were drowned out entirely by the terrifying chorus of rock and snow crumbling. He didn't hear Bronco howling then, either. At that point, he devoted fully to the search.. to running, all sorts of conflicted about if it was towards, or away but so much was falling around him, ahead, the weight of his entire world. It was easy to lose track of which was even which.

Even as he struggled and fumbled through all of the resulting haze, Antares still couldn't fathom this. Why? How?! Everything felt strange, like static and he wanted to just fucking wake up and this would all be gone--back to exactly where it was meant to be.

He grasped desperately for his bearings in what was a moment of only relative silence. Finally, after what felt like centuries.. but they echoed. Can tomorrow not be such a mess? he thought absently, tiredly, over the hum of new ache but he managed to find himself, and get back up again. Soon, he was running more, and in trying to veer away from the worst of the moving earth still, he raised his voice again. He didn't have the lung to throw it very far this time, and only tried once to call out for anyone from Moonspear, the Glen. Anyone, he would take the heading of any soul at this point if he could just get to it.

Antares stopped to cough and stumble through some gravel-snow, but possessed and terrified by the potential loss he faced, he had to keep going and reaching out somehow.

figured I may as well keep current in both threads since they're simultaneous XD

It would come perhaps a few moments later than expected- but once Antares' frail call was heard, another response would come for Bronco, once he realized that there was a possibility Antares could not see. If he was close enough to the landslide, there would be dust and a cloud of snow. Bronco had seen a landslide once more- and the wave it had created when the shoulder of the mountain fell into the river alongside the Firebirds' territorial claim. So as loudly as he could muster, Bronco howled from a distance- continuing to summon the Glen wolves to the North, where it appeared to be safe.

i love it! ^^ thank you

As he began to try to pick his pace up again, he had to slow back down quickly, wincing, and seething all at once. He tasted blood, smelled it. His. Right, right.. him. But he was determined that he didn't have time to be concerned. His chest was bloodied from the pitch of a fall he barely remembered the detail of already, the rest of him dirtied too--starting to look all the part of his fresh upheaval. He started off slower that time, easing into it, trying to block it all from focus as he looked for a good, easier route close to the Spear from here.

Still very much in flight mode, he didn't want to think about any of it as he looked ahead, and then above to attempt to take this all in. His parents had been on the mountain, he knew that. Vega, his last littermate... Likely all of his younger siblings, too: Mira, Altair, Caelum. Uncle, aunts. Everyone. It was their home, so of course this was where they would be on some unsuspecting winter's night, probably cozy and warm, or stalking along contentedly, and his heart gave a horrible squeeze at the thought. As he continued his search for sign of them, he finally caught wind of Bronco's howl--a tiny sliver of hope, and a light in all this hellscape.

The dark Ostrega skidded to a messy halt to listen and try to catch his breath. Good. Bronco was rallying the others, he guessed, and sounded far off still. Thankfully. He grimaced again, despite this relief. 

Please, I'll... Antares tried to howl back, but feared it might fall short. Even without his message, hearing him may be worth something though so he tried anyway. He really did want to just go to his friend now. It was the best guarantee he had heard yet. Soon. Antares called louder, straight to the point. Since he was already this close, he was going to keep searching more first since, especially comforted by the fact that one: the Blackthorn wasn't dead in all of this, and two: he was calling the survivors out from a distance. They would be in good paws with him until Antares could make his way back as well. Hopefully, if there was anyone for him to find, he could bring them too.

But after he said that much, it would be silence from him for some time. He scoured the wounded earth, and eventually, exhaustion had to have its way.

Last post for me, I think! <3 New threads soooooon!

Bronco couldn't leave the group he had called to gather with him. By the time he heard the faintest trace of Antares' voice again, it sounded faded and short- and by then, he had managed to pull together Keyni and Melaine, and Vallkyrie had come from Neverwinter Forest as well. The small group formulated a plan to stay together, and to avoid searching until the dawn of a new day- so that they could make sure the mountain wasn't simply preparing to fall again. Into the darkess they waited, still calling out intermittantly- but as the hours went on, the replies wouldn't come back for them. If Antares was trying to call out to them- they couldn't hear him anymore.