Ankyra Sound you got good looking friends, you're a sharp-dressed man

"What the fuck is that?!" Raleska started, nearly leaping out of her skin as another rumble shuddered the Grotto. Around her the wares carefully collected by Cadeau and Caiaphas became undone from their keeps; dry branches, desiccated leaves, and old furs toppled to the hardened stone.

Raleska was too unnerved to linger in the Grotto for long. Somewhere, in some deep tunnel of the Grotto's hearth, Raleska heard something akin to a troubled heart-beat, or a muffled war-drum; it was ominous and foretelling, and she only wished to get away.

Breaking into the upper world, Raleska cast a glance about her -- where was the rest of the pack, and had they felt that?!

agitation. it prickled along her spine like lines of ants, kept her awake at night and made the sound of waves on the shore sound like whispered warnings. there were fewer people in the grotto than she remembered, and it was changed, now. dangerous. 

it's raleska's voice that draws the girl near, she at least, is familiar. "the ocean's wrong." she tells her, firm and confident, though her ears are glued to her skull and her tail curled. she peers down at the grotto the woman's just left, adding in a reverent whisper, "it wants to hurt us." 

At her shoulder came a small but assured voice; Raleska peered down, surprised by Clementine's sudden appearance. Her brow furrowed -- what did the girl mean, 'the ocean was wrong'?

Even more ominous than that, 'it wants to hurt us'?

The pragmatist in Raleska wanted to caution the girl that the ocean was always capable of hurting them, but then she looked to the shore and she saw what Clementine meant. She heard it too; the throaty grind of stormy shore against sand and stone -- just as ominous as the earthen voice she had heard deep in the Grotto's depths.

"Where is everyone?" Raleska blurted, instinctively standing in front of Clementine as if by shielding her from the ocean she could somehow protect her; belatedly she was aware of how ridiculous that was, but Raleska didn't care. Her fur was at ends with alarm, and she suddenly didn't know who she could turn to.

her own fur begins to stick on end as Raleska present with shared alarm, but the fear only serves to focus her attention on the woman, on the instincts that tell her the ocean is wrong and the physical signs that show it, too. "I don't know," she answers, peering at the water around the dark form of the woman but remaining where she is. she swallows thickly as she considers the question, gaze flicking to any dark shapes, bits of motion on the waves. 

"maybe the ocean hurt them." the sea has not yet dealt the kind of damage that larger quakes would ensure, but the thought comes to mind all the same. it had swept her away, once, only to return her to the coast it what might have been an act of kindness or luck—clem didn't know entirely what she believed.

Raleska did not care at all for the suggestion the sea had hurt them. She shook her head, as if chasing away the very foreboding thought -- no, they were probably fine, but who knows where they were? She felt her skin crawl as an unusual wind picked its way up to them -- she noticed with alarm it was different than a storm's usual downburst; this one seemed turbulent, and strangely scattered.

She attempted to nudge Clementine, as if herding her. "We need to find them. They're probably okay, I hope." Raleska threw back her head in a howl that barely climbed above the jagged wind; where was @Erzulie, or Rosalyn? What about @Derg and @Aningan, were they safe? And of @Scarab, @Reyes or @Fletcher?

Raleska did not wait for an answer; making sure Clementine was following her, she pushed towards Monolith Forest with a shudder climbing down her spine.

The world was ending - that was his takeaway, his twisting gut and frazzled fur giving so much away as he coursed across the sand. The crashing of angry waves made even the familiar sea feel antagonistic. The boy ran and ran, only stopping because the soil gave out and he had to spin and catch himself; and when he righted his posture he saw canid shapes, towards which he flew.

For days the air just wasn’t quite right. There was something amiss, although he could not place exactly what it was—only that is unnerved him for reasons unknown. The uppik’s feathers were often ruffled with unease, as was his pelt, yet she spoke of naught. What was this feeling and why had it chosen to land upon him now? "Kappianattuk,” she would mutter whenever he inquired about the sensation but never would she elaborate. His stomach twisted and turned with uncertainty, troubled by forces that he could neither see nor name.

Up until the earth shook underfoot, the world around him rumbling and breaking the former, eerie silence with its discontentment. The uppik abandoned her usual post upon his shoulders and took off for somewhere safer, urging him to follow—but he could not. He was not the only one there and, as he had learned several weeks ago, it was his responsibility to ensure the safety of the others.

Aningan abandoned the forest and headed towards the grotto, scanning his surroundings as he went for any signs of movement—signs that he discovered in the ocean, whose surface rolled with what he could only describe as a sickness. He skidded to a halt as his legs locked up, every inch of his body urging him to flee in the opposite direction; instincts intended to drive him away from the shoreline and as far inland as he could go. But the young Inuk was not willing to leave his new family behind—he couldn’t. He forced his legs to move towards the coast and kept his eyes from drifting towards the waves, nose towards the ground and working intently on picking up the scents of his pack mates.

And then there was a howl, followed shortly after by a familiar face. Seeing Raleska, he broke into a run to close the distance between himself and her—he noticed Clementine and Reyes shortly thereafter—and greeted the female with a worried once-over. “What happened? What was that?” he asked almost immediately. “Is everyone alright? Are you guys alright?” There were only two with her but, he hoped, maybe she had seen the others, too.

The man was trying to heal. Getting used to his reduced vision, mainly because of the swelling around his eye. It hurt to express and much more to eat, but he did. He had to, to live.
The wound bled often but was scabbing over in a large ugly patch of roughness.
The ocean stung, but it kept it clean, and the herbs helped some.
He just wished he had poppy seeds.

A tremble shuddered the ground beneath him. He lept up from his resting, pain flashing through his body at the sudden movement. 
What the fuck?
A howl reached his ears and he promptly started towards the source. He suspected danger, but of what sort to make the earth tremble in anger?
He happened across his packmates, giving them all questioning looks as he listened. He didn't have much to contribute.

Tags are just for reference <3

Although only a child and inexperienced with the ways of the world, when said world trembled underfoot with an almighty rumble, Fletcher knew something was terribly wrong. It had never done this before, and the ocean had never looked like that before. He stared out at the churning, heaving sea, his own breathing becoming as troubled and frantic as the waves. A piercing cry sounded above as a flock of gulls took flight into the tumultuous winds, a sign that it was time for the wolves, too, to flee.

And that is exactly what Fletcher did, abandoning the shell he had been inspecting and taking off towards the forest that bordered the grotto. Raleska's howl was barely heard as he sent his own shrill voice into the wind. "AMMY!" He had left his sister, @Amora, earlier to go explore on his own, but now was desperate to get back to her. Desperate for some familiar face in a world turned suddenly chaotic and scary.

The boy was just about to yell out again — this time for either @Dalia or @Velen — before he spotted the lean, brown-coated man at a distance and began following him on bumbling, gangly legs. The stranger led him to a gathering of fellow pack mates, where Fletcher drew up silently, chest heaving and eyes wide in panic. He searched the small crowd but saw neither his sister nor his parents. Where were they?

she allowed herself to be gentle herded, then followed Raleska as the woman moved towards the wood. others arrived — first reyes, who flew towards them like a rabbit hunted, aningan, who she'd come to learn was the current alpha (though as often as that seemed to change, she didn't pay the rank much mind) and finally, one of the other pups. moving to reyes, she asked hurriedly, "where's mama? scarab?" 

<3

A pitiful assembly followed. Raleska and Clementine were first met by Reyes and Aningan; Raleska's tail swayed in a friendly manner, but her posture was terse. The rumbles beneath her rattled her to her very core -- she did not like what was happening.

And the ocean -- Clementine was right; it was swollen and furious, dark and dangerous.. she did not trust it, anymore than she might trust the wily eyes of a crow. She was about to speak when Derg and his little shadow Fletcher followed -- it was not much of a group, but it was the bulk of their pack.. Where was Rosalyn, Erzulie? "I .. don't know. But look at the water -- " She motioned to the stormy coast, which looked positively malevolent as it folded in on itself in white-capped thrashes. "I think we should find everyone.." She glanced to Aningan uncertainly, for she had no experience with earthquakes.

As soon as he rejoined the group, flitting between the familiar faces and dragging his nose or his shoulder through fur as a greeting to each, Reyes heard the dark woman Raleska make her pronouncement. He couldn't fathom leaving the coast for good; he was afraid that if they did, those they lost would never be found. Reyes shot the woman a look that was briefly affected by his tumultuous emotions (surprise, loathing, dread, forgiveness --) and glanced to the pale wolf beside her, who he knew by name as Aningan but not much else. He had not clued in that it was Aningan leading the pack these days, not Raleska. Either way, they were closer to strangers for the boy and so he remained silent, sullen, pressing close to his siblings.

Enough of their members had gathered — Raleska flinched as a crack of thunder howled overhead, sending wind screaming through the sequoias. That was it — she had enough. Let’s go!

The girl motioned for all to follow — they would flee the sound and run until it was safe, until the sea was far behind them, and the waves no longer able to be heard.