Sun Mote Copse Broken

Dating this for the 15th. With Honey running, that drops the numbers down to <4 adults, and the Malkaria will have to disband. @Ragna @Bastian @Anatha @Elohim

 

Gone, gone, gone. Asherah had opened her eyes to find the communal den she had painstakingly carved out empty. At first she was not concerned, assuming Honey had gone out for a moment. She had risen to go collect Giana's young to nurse them and it was then that she discovered they were all gone. Her heart had flared into panic and she had raced from the den into the snow. It had been positively savage outside lately, and she couldn't imagine why Honey would take any of the children into the weather. It was reckless, foolish and while Carnation was her own daughter, the other two were not. She had no right to risk their lives. 

She raced along the trail, confused, noting that one of the pups had toddled beside the woman, while she seemed to juggle carrying the others somehow. It was only when she reached the edge of the territory, and the steps went blindly on that she felt the first archs of anger surge through her. She understood now, and cursed Honey. Asherah should have known better than to trust her with Giana's children after she had left with no reason before. Eshamun had allowed her back in, and Asherah realized that this had damned them further. 

She released a rage filled howl into the loner lands, screaming at Honey and Eshamun both. How selfish, and cowardly for the woman to run and leave the pack with low numbers, to damn them in the Winter. How selfish of Eshamun to leave them for her sinful and even more selfish love of Ar-Khalba. The brute had abandoned his own children, and Asherah's vision flamed with red. She spun on her heel and marched back to her den. She lifted her head to call for the pack that Eshamun had formed and cast away, knowing it was for the last time.

She wasn't sure what they would do, or how they would manage, but she wanted those she had called packmates to know that if Honey returned she was to be dragged before the shrine to Molech and sacrificed. Asherah would deliver the killing blow, and the woman would rot before the shrine for her sins.

She curled her tail around her feet, knowing her children slumbered in the den behind her. Could they survive alone, or would she need to seek refuge? She needed to speak with Bastian and Ragna first.

The freeze had disturbed him, taken him by surprise, but the German adapted as best he could. He kept mostly to himself, not concerned with the machinations of the pack. Eshamun had disappeared, taking Ar-Khalba with her. That had surprised him, but he shrugged and accepted it. But the gradual shrinking of their numbers did not go unnoticed. Bastian had to take note eventually. And with Asherah's raged-tinged howl, he did. He stole towards the new leader, careful not to slip on the ice, seeing the woman curled, near where her children lay. Guten tag, Frau Asherah, He smiled, sitting near the woman, waiting for the one others.

They were alone once more. The girl felt much more at ease without the invaders, and slept soundly. Her mother's disappearance went unnoticed, and still she slept, until a distant anguished howl had her wake quickly and rather ungracefully, lurching up ungainly, ears pricked and eyes darting around the den. She was still, heart hammering a few moments, until movement before the den some time later and a howl she identified as her mother's rung out once more. 

She moved toward her mother quickly, pressing against her side, and eyeing the male that had approached with uncertainty. Softly, she questioned, "ma?", her optics flicking from her mother to the male, wondering what the angry sound had been and why there was another here. There was a cold in the air that seemed to cut through her thin puppy fur and creep down her spine, and with a shiver she pressed further against the woman's side.

Bastian was the first to arrive, and she smiled gratefully at him, though it was admittedly a bit strained. It of course had nothing to do with Bastian himself. "Greetings, Doctor. I apologize for bringing you out of your home and into the cold but this is an important matter, I fear." Her voice bubbled with an undercurrent of anger, though it was clear enough this also wasn't meant for Bastian. She looked to him a moment, studying him. If only he had come to the pack sooner. He would have seen it in its prime, before the sins of others poisoned all the blessings they'd be given. She had no fault with Molech, of course, even the bitter wind that was sent angrily around them made sense. She too would be angry over Eshamun's betrayal if she had been so benevolent.

She felt a touch at her side and glanced down. Her heart instantly softened, and a smile covered her face. "Anatha, my sweet, it's cold out here, shouldn't you be in the warmth with your brother?" She reached down to nuzzle her daughter, thinking at least that she had been allowed her children. Even if Ar-Khalba had been proven selfish and sinful, he had provided her with seed for the children. Seeing that her daughter was cold, and worried, she nudged the girl and lifted a foreleg, wanting her to cuddle into her belly where her fur was thicker. "You need not worry, darling. Molech watches us, the light touches and blesses all those who are true and pure." Her eyes flickered briefly for a moment, but she did not speak about what Molech would do to those who were not. To those who would wish death on her children and herself, on the pack.

It wasn't his mother's howl that woke him, but his sister's start. He jerked up with her, blinking wide eyed at her in panic. He glanced around the den, wondering what had caused her panic, shifting closer to her. He saw no one in the new den, not Mama, not Huhy or the smaller ones. He was confused, but sat silently huddled with his sister. The movement outside and the howl drew Anatha, much to his disapproval. He stared after her but finally rose to his feet, hesitantly following.

At the entrance he paused, shivering at the cold and wincing at the brightness of the snow and light outside. "'Nahta, 'Nahta!" He called for his sister, his voice quickly snatched by the wind. When he was able to open his eyes more, he could see his mother a short distance before the entrance. Little snow lay here, and for that he was thankful. He didn't like being cold. He would much rather his sister come back inside so they could play. He moved out though, barreling towards his mother and the heat he knew she held. He reached her side just as she offered Anatha the warmth of her belly and he eagerly shoved at his sister, attempting to push her in so he could go in too. "Mama, mama. Brr." He said to his mother, having learned that "brr" was the word for outside and the cold.