Phoenix Maplewood rome is burning

MANDATORY. keeping things vague for now, since the original thread is still progressing. set shortly after the fire. @Dawn @Sunny @Sebastian @Loir @Pema @Aviana @Radcliffe @Padma @River @Faye @Meadow

all was chaos. the morningsiders had scattered to the winds, grabbing the pups and trying to stay together as best they can. but as aditya stood near the muddy pond, in the heart of the maplewood--the fire, inexplicably, had stopped just short of the forest--his head count came up drastically short. his heart was in his throat as he feared for so many, and he tipped his nose back and let loose a howl, the loudest call he could muster, hoping that it would reach his lost packmates.

he turned to sybella, giving her a fearful glance. then paced almost in circles, waiting for the others to join him. his breath came short and fast; he thought of kitten, who he'd sent running. had she made it to the moraine--would she hear his call? had pema and aviana successfully rounded up all the children?

how could this have happened? well--god, he knew why. it had been dry and hot, and the rains missed them each and every time. one spark had sealed their fate. but on top of everything that had happened to them. . .why this, too? aditya was not one to curse the divine, and he wouldn't now, but he damn well had questions. and he wanted answers.

hariji, yeh kyon hai? ab kyon? hamare kyon?

Sunny's breath was choked and his flesh and fur burnt. Almost all his fur was singed and raw, red, patches of flesh could be seen where the fur was gone completely. In some areas of his body, his skin had small spots of black where the fire had gotten him good. He walked in a daze, eyes staring straight ahead as the sounds of Morningside in full panic echoed inside his mind. 

In so much pain and shock was he, that he barely managed to hear Aditya call to them. Perhaps it was the adrenaline but he raised his muzzle and returned it the best he could, in a raspy and choked off howl that ended with him coughing and hacking. Once his breath was caught he took off, movin as quickly as he was able before he spotted Aditya. He gave a relieved whine and slowed down, uttering a raspy greeting before his legs buckled and he sank to the ground. He was still conscious, but breathing weakly and exhausted to a point of being unable to stand. "Aliac...Dawn..Where's my sister? My mate?" he muttered still panicking inwardly.

The call had come just in time to stave off the male's panic. Hustling @Radcliffe along with him, Fus made his way to their golden leader and stood nearby, feeling a bit at a loss. There were things that needed to be fixed, things that had gone terribly wrong, but Fus did not know how to go about fixing them. Instead he stood and took comfort in Aditya's survival, and in the survival of the cub, and the panicked, sterling male that had come before him. Shale, he thought for a moment, but the male was too young.

"I can go and search for others," he said in response to the male's panic, but his words were directed at Aditya. I am here for you. Use me.

Radcliffe followed the one that had saved him as quickly as his little legs could carry. The smoke had caused his throat to get sore. And he coughed along the way. Till they stopped. Why'd they stop? The heat was coming. Or were they out of reach? Did something happen? He looked around curiously.

Aviana arrived with @Faye, her sides heaving as she placed the pup gently on the ground. Her eyes searched her pack members. There weren't many here. Where are the others? she asked, fear in her eyes. Sunny had told her Seb went to find River, but was he successful. They had probably all scrambled in different directions, and it was still possible everyone was safe, just not in the same spot.

She moved to nuzzle Faye, hoping her daughter wasn't still in shock from everything. The doting mother would be sure to try and comfort her in whatever way Faye would let her. Are you okay, Faye? she asked softly.

too many were missing, still. dawn, pema, shale, sebastian. . . and there were children unaccounted for, too. aditya paced restlessly through the ranks, softening his eyes as he approached sunny, trying to soothe the boy's worries. he gave a nod to fus. "be careful, if you do go," adi said softly. "do not go into the heart of the fire."

they couldn't lose fus. they had likely lost so much already. eventide was milling around, close by, but river and kitten were missing. gone as well were timberlake and meadow--shale had already dropped padma off, before returning to look for his other children. his heart was lodged firmly in his smoke-reddened throat as he began to do a head count, then another. over and over--

coming up short again. and again. and again.

There wasn't a response but a sympathetic glance from Aditya that made a sick feeling grow in Sunny's stomach. He looked around as a male he hadn't met brought Radcliffe with him and offered to go back and look. He remained almost Catatonic as Aviana arrived carrying Faye safely which brought a certain level of relief that he hadn't failed in his duty to Sebastian. Even so when Aditya sent Fus back with a warning to be careful, his heart lurched and beat rapidly. He groaned and shoved himself up skin still feeling like the flames were brushing against it as he gave a sweeping glance around him and began to pace. He knew he couldn't bolt off and play hero anymore, he'd die but god did he want to. Aliac was out there somewhere and so was Dawn and Shale, kitten and Eventide too.

His family was still missing and in danger and he was helpless to do anything but pace with aching burned paws and a body stripped of fur for the most part. Finally he paused and gave Aditya a look, eyes glazed with agony both physical and emotional "I can't lose anyone else. Mom, Dad, Keoni, Krypton, Easy, Dauntless." he seemed like he wanted to say more but he trailed off, coughing and giving a raspy whimper. For so long he seemed to be changed, different, but once again he felt like a lost and helpless pup and hoped at the least he didn't look like one too.

Radcliffe still could not feel what all the sadness was for. Sitting alone there, silent as ever. Just looking from one face to ther other, trying to put it all together. Trying to figure out what exactly was going on, and where everyone was. For not everyone was here.

Her lungs burned – the smoke that clung to her pelt would have caused her nose to wrinkle, had even her nose lost its ability to truly decipher anything.
 
She did not know where she stumble – where she ran. Pema had urged her to go – she recalled her mother’s gentle touch before they fled. She had run after her – and now, now she was alone. Pivoting in a small circle, the girl released a low whimper, her eyes stinging from the smoke. She heard voices not far – but she could feel her paws becoming weaker. Stopping for only a moment, the girl gave in to her body and emptied the contents of her stomach in one heave – blearily considering that the ash and black of what came out was abnormal.
 
She trudged closer to the voices, swaying as the hint of the group came to her view. That was when the world went as black as the ash and smoke, swirling before her and claiming her as she fainted.

She had been moving with Meadow through the smoke and ash. Her eyes burned as she tried to keep them open and keep track of where Meadow was. Meadow was the only thing she could see. She navigated by steering away from the heat. The smoke became thicker and thicker, catching in her throat as she attempted to clear her throat numerous times. A gust of wind from a fallen tree flew straight into her eyes. Her eyes burned and she clenched them shut, her bodied natural defense. Her eyes were only closed for a few moments but when she opened them again Meadow was out of sight.

She attempted to call out to her little girl but could only muster coughs from her smoke-filled lungs. She stood there in a panic trying to look around and call out to her with no result. She prayed that she had continued on the path they had set out of the territory.

The faint sound of others speaking and calling out caught her attention and she began to move in that direction. She kept her eyes open slightly, just enough to make sure she wasn't tripping over anything. Through all the smoke and limited visibility she had, she began to see a small brown blur a little ways in front of her. A small ounce of joy came over her as she neared the figure and came to the realization that it was her darling Meadow. Only she was laying down. She rushed to her and saw that she was still faintly breathing, but unresponsive to her touches.

She grabbed the girl by her scruff and continued to trudge through the smoke and ash until she cleared the woods. The air was clearer here and she was able to see the rest of the group. She stumbled to the group and set Meadow down before exhaustedly collapsing on the ground herself. They had avoided the flame but had been engulfed by the smoke. 

She had just enough energy to turn her head and look around to see Padma and Radcliffe and smile at the sight of them. Shaken and coughing but alive. She silently beckoned for them to come to her side. But where was Shale and Timberlake she thought, unable to verbally ask as she worked to clear the smoke from her lungs. "Wher...whe... Sh... Sha... Ti... Timb..."