Hoshor Plains Feral hearts

@Gavriel is with her in the background. LOCUSTS! :)

Although the locusts weren't attempting to devour them—the same could not be said of all the spring greenery—the sheer amount of them frightened Wildfire. The air was choked with them. Because of this, she and Gavriel mutually decided to forego their destination and run north. They hoped to stay abreast of the swarm. This proved an exercise in futility; despite a slight head start, the swarm caught up to them almost immediately. They could run but they could not hide from this phenomenon.

Lungs fit to burst, the pair of wolves slowed down and admitted defeat when they reached an open plain. The air clicked and vibrated as the locusts swirled around them. Her eyes were barely slits as Wildfire guided Gavriel to the nearby river. The insects were slightly less populous along the bank, allowing the wolves to take a much-needed drink. They discussed where to head next. Although they clearly couldn't outrun the locusts, there was still an urgency to their plans. Both of them wanted to get home and see the state of Drageda. But surely the locusts would slow them down, if not make travel impossible.

"Look," Wildfire murmured, gazing over the grassland. In the very sparse patches here and there, she could see that the grass was stripped bare, revealing parched earth. She swallowed, feeling very unsettled as she realized aloud, "They're not just eating the green stuff. They're wiping it out entirely..." Even as she spoke, a wayward bug collided with the side of her head, its wings beating against her cheek, as if to say, Ding, ding, ding!