Blacktail Deer Plateau I will remember your face

Malachi stole after the older man and followed in the path he forged. Once out of the trees, the air cleared of the fire's thick plumes and the sundry man sucked in the welcome relief of oxygen to his heart. Another flash of light lit the land, and he counted the seconds that passed before thunder pealed in reply. Four. And when they neared the shelter of Blue Willow and Lasher, five. The storm was moving away, and Malachi squinted to face the sunless sky. The clouds remained a dark blanket above, but no longer held streams of fire. The humid air broke, heaviness lifted, and rain fell to purge the land.

With a compulsive start, Malachi rent forth a howl, both to quicken the rain, and to call for Lasher and Blue Willow and the children they reared. Though they had come near enough they could have beckoned the Betas with gentler words, the churning of the storm wrought him thick with tension and Malachi's voice escaped him before he could give himself a second thought.

@Lasher, @Blue Willow, @Eilidh, @Casmir