Hideaway Strath She lives in red light.

Three days after the landslide, Towhee finally mustered the strength to tunnel to the surface and push the last stone aside. She gasped, gulped in her first breath of fresh air in days and shut her eyes against the glare of the overcast sky, white as a bone. With a noise somewhere between a snarl and a whimper, she hauled herself out of the narrow tunnel, then slid down a meter or so until she collapsed at the foot of the brand new deadlock. The pass was now an impasse.

But Towhee didn't even think about that. She had been trapped beneath the rock pile for days; being confined to the grove was a godsend compared to that. She was injured and weak, not to mention deeply worried about her cohorts. Covered in blood and dust, the Kilonova tried to rise.

He was afraid. With the grove's pass blocked following yet another shift in the earth, how long might it be before any progress could be made in reuniting with his family? What if his mothers came looking for him, only to turn away at the rubble - unaware of their son trapped on the other side.

Sundance lingered near the great pile of rubble since he heard the peaks collapse, silver ears high atop his crown as he listened for sounds of movement beyond. Much to his surprise, however, something seemed to be shifting... within? He blinked, fearful of any tiny movement that could mean another rock slide, and made to veer away out of harm's reach.

Scrabbling, scraping and clattering. He continued to side-step and back off, when the rocks gave way to reveal the gasping figure of a wolf. The young Shakti's breath hitched as he hurried forward again, recognising his guardian instantly despite her rugged and bloodied appearance, and he went to her with soft little whimpers. Tail wagging anxiously at his hocks, he tentatively made to close the distance so he could reach out to her in support.

She made it into a seated position, her forelegs trembling so badly that she knew she shouldn't even bother trying to stand. Towhee drew in a breath and tried to take stock of her condition. She felt exactly as though she'd been clobbered by a pile of rocks. She grimaced when she twisted to assess her sides and back. Not only was she covered in various cuts, she was pretty sure one (or more) of her ribs was broken. Her tail was definitely broken; it was quite crooked and limp. Her bad leg was throbbing dully, her head a bit more sharply. Her chest burned, presumably from the dust kicked up from the landslide, though every breath of fresh air seemed to soothe it a little.

Nonetheless, she coughed, which drew a low moan from her lips. She needed a medic. Towhee immediately wanted Raven, though of course her sister couldn't help her. She was far away, somewhere on the other side of the rock wall that had once been a thoroughfare between Hideaway Strath and the rest of the Teekon Wilds. She'd still only registered it dimly, though part of the Kilonova was acutely aware of the predicament.

Ruenna, she thought next, lifting her bloodshot orange eyes to peer into the strath. Was the Fusor out there? Was she okay? What about the others? Although the thought of howling made her scratchy throat clench, Towhee nonetheless prepared to toss back her head and shout for help. In that last second before she squeezed her eyes shut and sent out the call, a familiar figure materialized and raced toward her.

"Sundance," Towhee croaked, her voice sounding rough as sandpaper. He looked all right, though she couldn't resist nosing him a bit. "Where are the others?" she asked after a beat, her voice now nothing but a harsh whisper.

Towhee turned her attention to him and, tentatively, offered a pitiful little smile. So disconnected from the wolves of Asterism Grove, all this turmoil that fell around them really made him want to reach out, to forge a bond like he once shared with those in Elysium. They were all affected by the earth's trembles - surely there was greater comfort in suffering together?

"I..." what? Didn't know. Sundance closed his mouth, blinking up at the rugged Alphess as his silver ears fell back. "The rocks crumbled, and... there's no way out." And that meant no way in either.

He felt a strange sense of guilt, as though he'd carried all this misfortune and misery along with him from the Hushed Willows.

Rather than answer her question, Sundance succinctly summed up the bad news. Towhee let out a breath, wondering if that was his answer to her question. She felt the fur prickle along her back as she pressed, voice at once gravelly and sharp, "Is no one else on this side?"

Face stricken, Towhee looked toward the trees again. Surely some of their pack mates had been inside the territory during the quake and were stuck here with them. If not, both Towhee and Sundance were doomed.

He breathed a whine, silver ears splayed backward as Towhee pressed for more information. Anxiety tightened his chest and his heart thrummed wildly against his ribcage. He'd avoided the question because he didn't know the answer, not really.

"Yes," he managed, strained, "but I don't know how many are out there." A gesture with his alabaster snout then, as he glanced up at the impenetrable wall between them and the world.

Trepidation swept through her, though pragmatism was hot on its heels. There was no reason to believe every single member of the pack had been outside the territory when the quake had struck. Actually, Towhee knew for a fact that most of them were at home at the time, since she'd been on patrol. Hence her own predicament. Her rapid heartbeat slowed a little.

Sundance said something about those trapped on the outside. Towhee shook her head lightly. She couldn't worry about them. They weren't cut off from the entire rest of the world. They could find help. It was those trapped here in the grove that worried her, the two of them included.

It didn't bode well that nobody else was coming to her aid. Towhee wanted to rush off toward the rendezvous site to make sure her brother and son were okay. But she knew she didn't have the strength, not now. She hoped they would show up soon but, in the meantime, she would just have to take what she could get.

"Sundance, could you come here," she rasped, "and just stay close." Towhee realized she was trembling. She did feel cold, though she had a feeling it was more a matter of shock or something of the like. She was in pretty bad shape, after all. It would probably hurt when Sundance touched her. Nonetheless, she knew she needed him.