Redtail Rise All the way up

There were good days and there were bad. Reek struggled with both the highs and the lows equally -- both the fits of nervous mania and the deep trenches of depression. This nagging lull that had taken hold, however, refused to release its grip over Reek's increasingly fragile psyche. The depression was unrelenting, no matter how much his friends and peers tried to pull him from its wake. The task was nearly impossible, he felt, because once again, he had lost everything he had. The swarm had taken all the plant life of the grotto: Reek's empire lie in destitute ruin. What was once an oasis of green against a rugged, rocky backdrop was now nothing more than a lifeless dustbowl.

He feared for the longevity of his pack. Their survival was tantamount -- but oddly, today, Reek's pack did not weigh heavy on his mind. Instead, his thoughts drifted to Tavi. She must have gotten caught in the swarm as well. The tribulation she had to have faced must have been trying, especially heavy with Reek's litter. If she had remained within the grotto, among her own wolves, Reek could have done his best to shelter her -- to keep her safe (as had always been his intention), but now, he could not. It was all the more reason to find her in Reek's mind.

Setting out from his cave, Reek left his wolves to remain in his shelter. He left the territory alone and trudged through the lingering cloud of locusts as fallen carcasses cracked beneath his paws. Traveling east, Reek would gather his bearing on the peak of the Rise and howl for Tavi once more in the hopes that she would somehow hear his desperate plea. It was a naive hope that she would ever return, but Reek still held it close to his hear.

Though his limp had become less pronounced, his ascent of the Rise was slow.  As he returned to his old, charred homeland, the cloud of bugs dissipated and no longer did he walk on a crunchy carpet. Without the buzzing of wings, Reek was able to finally gather his senses. He took in a deep breath and caught nothing in particular (since the scent of Sleeping Dragon would have dissipated from both Wildfire and Gavriel by now). When he reached the peak, Reek noticed a glint of familiar red against the charred black terrain. He inched forward, "Wildfire?" he asked, unsure. His eyes, however, quickly settled on the form of Gavriel near by. Having seen him with Thuringwethil when she came to the grotto, he was undeniably a dragon.

The blood of Reek's children was on their their hands. Thuringwethil's victory howl had made Reek's blood run cold as soon as he had heard. It broke him -- driving him to suicide.

Strong emotion welled inside Reek's gut. His lips pulled back in a nasty snarl and his hackles lifted.