Hideaway Strath BWP: time makes you bolder

Happy Landslide Day! The passage connecting the Strath to the outside world is now closed until further notice. Anyone on either side of the passage feel free to respond! I'll jump in with Rue once a few people get responses up.

It was midmorning when the subterranean beast finally stirred from its slumber, and the earth churned with the creature as it rolled and shifted and stretched. The above-ground inhabitants of the Strath would feel the rippling effects of its agitated movements as a dull, ominous rumbling that had grown all too commonplace in the last moon or so. 

The beast thrashed in annoyance. The burrow had always been somewhat cramped, but lately it had become too constricting and dark, and the air was stale enough to choke upon. The more the beast moved, the tighter the ground squeezed, and the creature was reduced to wild flailing and bucking. The surface roiled, and the rumbling turned to a deep, guttural roar.  

The beast arched its mountainous spine, and the Strath heaved in response. Boulders and debris rained down from the peak in waves, gathering enough force in the tumble to beat down all but the mightiest of trees and bury anything which remained. Finally satisfied, the underground monster settled, and an eerie silence stretched out over the transformed landscape.

The sudden movement of the underground leviathan scared the female to the gut. Her expression turned blank as her icy gaze watched helplessly as the world around her collapsed. Boulders fell from the sky; the air was no longer breathable, she almost choked while trying to breath.

This was the end, the same phrase played in her mind, over and over again. aneira din not cry, she could not. Whatever happens, she will not let a single drop fall from her azure eyes. The ghost rushed to the entrance of the strath, hoping it would be fine, it had to be fine. She needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

The horror scene unfolded in front of her as the beast’s movements stoped. The entry she used not long ago.. was no more. Escape.. was no longer possible. She was trapped inside, like a dog in a cage. Her jaw dropped, eyes widened; her heart pounded in her chest.

What beautiful landscape she had seen the day of her arrival, was no more. They were trapped, she was trapped. It almost made her scream in frustration; anger; sadness. Her once unreadable expression turned into frown, mind still processing what had just happened.

As much as she loved to care only about herself, aneira worried about ruenna and even pippin with whom she had quite the ‘disagrement‘ on her first day. Of course, she would not let them know that; and she proceeded to search for them.

Disbelief devoured Ryes senses, clouding them as he stood outside the border, near the entrance to his home. He was much more prepared this time, his claws dug into the ground and his body hunched down. He was stready, although wobbly, he stayed that way until he heard fierce cracks behind him. Rocks, dirt, trees were scumming to the earths tantrum. Fear, and a little awe, froze the male in place but then he felt a harsh kick to his hip, painful and nearly debilitating; it was enough to get Rye running. He ran, looking back to see who or what hit him. A rock, the size of a few month old pup was the culprit behind the hip attack. Yet Rye ran until he could not anymore, the painful throbbing of his leg began to be too much to ignore. Thus, he stopped where he fell.

After the pain reduced enough, his thoughts gathered and they directly went to Effie. He wondered if she was okay, if she was hurt or worse, killed. Then his mind jumped to how lucky he was, catching the slide before it was too late. Rye hefted himself up, and howled for @Effie, hoping to earn a response. 

@Effie, gonna make a second thread thats set directly after this one, tomorrow 

Towhee was seated in the middle of the pass, X hanging out on her shoulder, when the hawk's talons suddenly dug into the meat of her shoulder, wrenching a startled cry from the wolf's mouth. X's wings beat against the side of her head as the raptor abruptly took to the air, causing Towhee to glare after her, then arch her neck to peer at the shallow cuts on her shoulder. "The fuck," she muttered under her breath, right as the rumbling began.

Black ears swept backward as Towhee instinctively crouched, waiting to ride out this latest earthquake like all the rest. She quickly realized this one was much stronger. She slung herself even closer to the ground and then, feeling a little panicked, began to scuttle like a crab toward the trees. Towhee then stopped, partially because the earth was moving too much and also because she sensed danger in the woods. This quake was so strong, she could easily see it knocking down some trees. Even as she fretted over her pack mates, she decided she didn't want to (and honestly couldn't) go any deeper into the strath.

It was just her luck that her current position proved the most dangerous of all. Towhee didn't hear the telltale thunder as the mountains began to collapse overhead and thus didn't even think to glance back in that direction. She never even saw it coming as tons of rocks came barreling down into the pass, pouring into the gap until it vanished and left nothing behind but a towering impasse and, quite likely, the world's vastest tombstone.

Had Elfie known, what would happen a week after him joining Asterism Grove, he would have stayed home. Had fate played it's cards differently something or someone would have delayed him at the copse and he would be horrified to hear the news and feel relieved that he was not among the trapped wolves. But he had been in a rush to leave Firebirds behind and felt so elated by everything new that Towhee's pack had to offer. Every day had been an adventure and even as the earthquake shook and trembled, Elfie though scared out of his wits, did not realized the full extent of the tragedy until later. 

When the beast had stopped moving, he had left his hiding place and headed to the exit of the Hideaway strath, knowing that here he would find Towhee and she would be the best person to tell him, what had happened. You can easily imagine his surprise and disappointment, when he could not find that path that led outside. There was rocks, earth and broken trees and as far as his gaze could reach, steep walls of solid rocks around the valley. He would lose all of his hopes few hours or days later, when someone would tell him that - no - there was no other way out of this place. But the full extent of, what entrappment truly meant, he would realize later.

Keyni had been on the opposite side of the strath when the tremors began. As much as the earthquakes unsettled her, she had grown accustomed to their frequent rumbling. Each day she prayed that they would subside, that things would get better. But she was too well educated...too in tune with nature and the earth to fool herself. It was about to get so much worse.

Just beyond the exit of the strath, she had excused herself to go in search of some of the last remaining medicinal herbs of the season, before winter and its chill killed them all. In the event of a crisis, the Asterism Grove would need to be well stocked. Later in the day, she had high hopes of meeting with @Ruenna again to expand her knowledge and forge a friendship with the woman. But as the soil rolled beneath her feet, those plans were snuffed out. She stumbled, buckling to her knees with a startled cry as the earth shook more violently than ever beneath her feet. It was with saucer wide jade eyes, as she glanced over her shoulder, back towards the strath, that panic settled in her chest. And anyone who knew Keyni, knew she never panicked.

A tidal wave of soil, trees and rocks was rushing towards her with a thunderous roar. Pebbles and silt like dirt rained from the heavens, pelting her body. In a heartbeat, she was running full out like an Olympic sprinter, ears pinned back, fear gripping her chest. She didn't stop, not until she saw @Rye, who had coincidentally been nearby. She hadn't witnessed his tumble, but looked him over with concern in her eyes. Silently she came to stand at his side, craning her head back to call for anyone else who might hear them.

Keeping vague/more of a reaction post just because not sure where everyone is positioned exactly, etc..

The reverberations of the grounds movement matched the hammering of the Ostrega’s heart. There was no quirky grin or blasé comeback from the tawny wolf as he rushed toward the sound, despite instinct that told him to flee from it.

The debris elicited a heaving cough from the male, and his eyes watered as he tried to see past it. It was with mute horror that he realized what happened—the quakes that had disturbed the lands for weeks now had caused the opening of the pass to slide—and their ability to leave the home they had mistakenly shrouded themselves into.

I’m editing this post to write in an injury to explain Rue’s absence/demotion. Sorry for being MIA, everyone!

This quake was stronger than the others, certainly-- but what concerned Rue most was the distant, thundering roar. The Fusor picked herself up from the ground once the violent heaving subsided. A dusty haze hung in the air around the Strath, and the forest was ominously silent. 

Rue began to trot in the direction of the roaring she had heard; northward, toward the Strath's only opening. As she arrived, it took a long moment to register what she was-- or wasn't-- seeing. Nothing looked the same; it was if the Strath's exit passage had been swallowed by a wave of rocks, dirt and broken trees. 

Someone had been on watch, Ruenna realized. Someone was always on watch at the entryway. Who was it? Shocked and numb, it took the Fusor's brain some time to arrive at the answer. Towhee. It was nearly always Towhee. 

"Towhee!" The strangled word tore from Ruenna's throat, and she charged forward... But there was nothing she could do. She darted back and forth across the closed passageway like a caged animal, barking and whining in grief and horror. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the presence of Aneira, Pippin, and Elfie registered, but she was hardly capable of addressing any of them in this moment.

As if it could hear her calling out, the beast beneath the surface groaned in response. The earth shifted once more, and the debris piled directly above Ruenna began to tumble. Everything in Rue’s world went dark as a falling rock struck Rue on the back of the skull. She slumped to the ground, and a hail of stones and dirt rained down upon her still form.