She walked on numb paws, mind whirling. Surely this must be another dream, but... It was too real. The ash. The explosion that shook the lands behind her. She could still remember looking over her shoulder in the pass heading south to unknown parts of the land, and seeing the plume of black, bursting into the sky, outward, upward, spreading to the heavens. Could still see the far away forest vanishing beneath a roiling pyroclastic slide. Valhalla had gotten out, just in time. Thanks to Glaciem. The northern pack had arrived with warning. Mount Animi was getting ready to erupt. Erani, and the rest of Valhalla had followed quickly in their path, leaving the lands they had called home...


Erani scanned the backs of the pack members, searching. How many had been unable to get out? How many had died? What had become of the other packs? Would there be herbs where they went? She frowned and glanced over her shoulder at the straggling yearlings behind her. She counted these pups with an intensity that had her holding her breath until the count came out as five again. These lives were as precious as a drop of water in a drought. If they died... She ran her eyes over the five yearlings. The children of Cairo and Guinevere. Syrinx, Epiphron, Eos, Preston, Neo. Yes, they were all there. Tired, tails dragging, paws leaving trails in the fresh fallen snow. How had time passed so swiftly? How had this tragedy happened?

Her mind drifted with a chill to the dream, in which Death had approached her and shown her a valley, ripped and torn, blackened and burned, rivers clogged with mud and ash. Had it been a warning? Was that even possible? She stopped in her tracks a moment, turning to gaze out over the desecrated landscape below. Her ears flattened as she gazed out over that land. Home was obliterated. Her den was possibly buried beneath tons of ash. Her supply of herbs gone. Her eyes dropped to the ground beneath her paws. Tremors still vibrated in the earth. They needed to get further away.

She wheeled on her hocks and padded along behind the pups, checking their gaits for any signs of injury. So far, they seemed to be alright, just exhausted from the hard travel. She was tired as well. And worried. Her head rose to look out among the wolves of Valhalla. Cairo was not among them. Were his children now orphaned? Or was he out of sight? But surely he'd be as close to his children as he could possibly get in this turmoil? They were all he had left of his family, barring Collision, Leon and Coeus. Her ears swiveled, trying to pick out his voice among the babble of despairing, anxious voices... His wasn't among those that she could hear.

She shook her head and looked back at his children. For now, she would have to go on faith that he was safe. She couldn't let his children know that she was afraid. For them, and the rest of the pack, she would be strong. She had carried what she could of her herb supply along. It wasn't even close to enough. She wished there had been some way to carry more, but all she'd had were her own jaws. She gave a decisive sweep of her tail. No use wishing for a different method now. They were gone. It was over.

Her eyes rose to the sky, blotted out wish falling ash and snow both. The snow that had fallen was rapidly becoming obscured by black, churned by many paws. It fell upon her back, heavy, disgusting, and she shook herself in an unsuccessful attempt to rid herself of the feel. The wet ash clung steadfast to her coat, and her ears flattened in distaste. Her eyes went back to the pups. Keep them safe. She held onto that thought. and trudged on through the ashen snow.

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They had traveled even further, well into the night. Erani felt the exhaustion that she'd been fighting since they had reached the borders of Alacritis' devastated lands beginning to reach her mind, making her steps mechanical, one paw in front to the other. She didn't truly notice or realize that she and the pups straggled behind further and further, until they were alone, the sounds of the pack distant and then gone. Her ears flicked as she became aware, and her head jerked up, heart beating cold.

She forced the tiredness back as she tried to locate any scents of the pack, but in her lagging perceptions, her path had veered well away from the group. Her head turned to look for the pups. They were all there. All exhausted. She looked about, trying to take in their surroundings. Massive shadows surrounded them. Enormous. The scents were those of... Redwoods. Her heart pulsed heavily. It brought back memories of her birth family... Running through the gigantic trees, always wondering what it would be like to see from the top, where eagles perched, regally disdainful over the land bound four legged creatures below.

She glanced at her tired charges, wondering what they were thinking. She thought a while, then decided to find a place to rest them for the night, then follow their scent trails back to the main group in the morning. Praying to Luna that the ash filled snow wouldn't obliterate the trail. She cast a gentle eye to the yearlings, and spoke softly. "Keep close. We'll seek out a place to rest, then sniff out the pack tomorrow. Keep an eye out for anything that will serve as shelter; if you find a likely spot, tell me, and we'll see if it's safe? Alright?"

She turned, and made her way forward, eyes searching for any darker shadows in the great trunks of the redwoods. She could remember clearly the fallen, hollow log she had been born in. The smells of herbs and her family and pack. Her memories started to travel, and she shook them away. Shadow, yelping as her mother gently prized a splinter from his paw. Shadow, watching them quietly with a strange look in those disturbing blood crimson eyes. Her hackles rose, and fell as she forced her mind away, searching harder for a place to rest the yearlings and herself. There, finally, was a deeper shadow among the base of a massive redwood. She stopped, and gestured with her pale tail for a halt on their part. "This could be a spot. Stay here. I'll check it out."

She stepped forward, listening, sniffing, peering at the shadow. All was calm. After an extensive checking of the hollowed trunk, she deemed it safe. There ere no recent scents of anything but perhaps a fox, and other than that, a squirrel that would never be back. She returned to the pups and led them in, and settled herself in the front, between them and the opening. And there she sat, gazing out at the night, heart heavy as the sodden ash on her back.

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(OoC: Okay. First Post in Alacritis the New Land! I hope nothing is wrong with adding the pups to actions or anything.)

The blast came with little warning. Everything happened suddenly; the Glaciem pack had arrived just in time to warn them of the approaching doom. With little hesitation, and no looking back, young Epiphron took off away from her home, following closely behind her siblings and Erani. They didn?t have the chance to escape the blast completely, despite their best efforts, though they escaped the worst danger that certainly befell the wolves who had not been so lucky. Behind them, a powerful roar echoed over the island as the ancient volcano burst. The eruption sent lava pummeling down the sides of the towering mountain, a vast cloud of smoke rising up over the island and blocking the sun from view. Ash spewed out as if being pushed out from Mother Earth herself. The ash rained down on the landscape, mingling with the snow as it fell, creating a strange gray blanket over the earth. Epiphron showed no signs of fear, though inwardly the she-wolf was alight with panic and confusion. Instead she maintained her docile composure, a picturesque fa?ade of serenity and grace that she strove to uphold. Even the quakes of the earth, rippling far across the land, made her naught but stumble slightly. It was easy to pick herself up, eyes pinned on Erani as though the healer was her only guidance. There was no sign of her father, which made Epiphron?s belly churn and make the yearling direct herself more towards Erani, the female that she had grown so close to following her mother?s death. They were quite the pair, even similar in appearance, which drew the youngster even more to the interesting wolf. They both had pelts the color of snow, and eyes that glimmered like rare sapphires. She was entrancing to Epiphron, full of wisdom and knowledge that she hungered for already. How she would peer over her shoulder, watching everything Erani did, absorbing the information like a sponge. Even now, she looked to her for answers, her brilliant eyes pinned to the elder wolf, asking questions silent that she expected to answers to: did you know the earth was capable of such destruction, Erani? Where is the rest of the pack? Will we ever return to our home? Where is father? But despite her attachment to Erani, her father was even dearer to her, and his absence was unsettling. But still she ran onward, her strong little legs impacting roughly with the ground as the wolves traversed onward and away from the destruction. Left paw followed a red-furred right one, each step noted carefully in her mind. Left, right, left, right? She spoke the words inside her head, eyes pinned straight ahead. The ash continued to fall, and she shook her head, even briefly batting at her face with a paw to remove the soot that struggled to obscure her vision. The simple counting of steps kept her grounded, and kept her mind from wandering to other things; the wolves that had perished, her father?s absence, and the loss of homeland that they certainly had just suffered. The journey went on, a silent march away from everything familiar and into the unknown. Night fell rapidly, partially obscuring the wolves from one another. Knowing she was not seen quite as clearly in the dark of night, Epiphron was able to relax. It was as though a large weight had landed on her shoulders and abruptly had worn her down. Tired paws grew sore, and the she-wolf wasn?t able to hide the slight limp that crept into her step. Luckily, Erani suggested they stop for the night, and Epiphron whined in slight agreement. Rest was needed. She sniffed around a bit herself, shaking the collected soot from her pelt. Tomorrow would surely call for a bath, as the thick ash seemed embedded in her thick white pelt. The female wrinkled her nose gently, though knew this was no time for vanity ? there were far more important matters to attend to. Erani spotted the hollowed out trunk first, and Epiphron eagerly climbed inside. The warmth of her siblings was a godsend, and the female curled against them gratefully. It wasn?t long before the female drifted off into a restless sleep, taunted by nightmares of fire and smoke.

OOC: [ this can be removed ]

He had woken in the destruction, alarming voices all around, others rushing to grab their lovers, youth, and friends doing their best to stay together. In the Chaos more than a single entity had been lost, too many that just called out to him fell beneath the surfaces. His heart ached watching what was one day to be his crumble. The prince realized that his domain, his haven, after so much promises he would be safe there, was failing to provide. First his mother? Now, he could barely clutch to the heals of Erani as she came for them, urging his siblings out. Epiphron, Chrysanthe, and Eos, they were all there. Neo and Preston, while he had a hard view of them, he wanted them safe, they had become family, his father coming to teach him it was not by blood, but by truth you were family. They were older though, they were able to assist Erani...where was dad?

Time and time again the young prince had asked the questions. Where was his dad? Where were they going? Where they going to live? He was tired, his young body showing signs of just giving up, the muscles were so taught and tired. On top of his fatigued muscles, it was close to the dead of winter, snow would begin to fall, and the winds would freeze his achy muscles, making him numb and seemingly emotionless. Still...where was his father? Did he not realize how painstakingly his family needed him? No..he didn't and that was perhaps what ached the most.

The prince would trail slowly after Erani, his heart yearning to just end this journey...Valhalla was lost...would it ever come back? The young lord would look to Erani upon her daring proclomation, "Will Valhalla survive this, 'Rani?" He questioned, the young boy hoping that she would answer him with what he wanted hear, but knowing that she would, he only prayed it was the truth, and not her lying to guard his heart. Erani was perhaps the closest thing to a family friend they had...her and Cairo had a bond that while not maybe anything surpassing friendship, was as strong as anything anyone had seen. She was loyal beyond comparison of anyone he had met.

He would follow her into the shelter his young body tired he would waste no time in laying down, and comforting himself. His body would slide beside Epiphron, his sister, limbs clambering beside her to draw her near and his head would lay over a paw. Though, slumber would not befall him as easy as it had her...no, he was going to remain stuck, remain waiting for his father to come. He would come. He had to.

"Speech!".

She could feel the children's questions whirling around her as she sat. When Syrinx had voiced his own query, she had looked at the young male, growing so swiftly, and pondered her answer a moment, before giving a gentle reply, honest and clear. "I cannot say yes for sure. But I know your father, and Collision, and they would never let Valhalla fragment or die out." Her blue eyes had held those of the firstborn, calm and soft, before she had continued, searching for a place.


Now, she sat in the entrance of the hollow redwood, questions of her own whirling through her mind, flitting in and out like snow flakes passing through rays of moonlight. Her cerulean eyes searched through the black snow that fell, as she listened to the sleeping breathing of the pups. Nearly all of them. The breathing of Syrinx was that of a restless, waking mind, sleep not wanting to come. She rose, turned, and went to the firstborn son of Cairo, the future Alpha of Valhalla, should it survive the upheaval of home and comfort.


Settling beside him, she bent, and made to softly groom the ash from his brow, as best as she could, sending as much of a sense of calmness to him. She knew he wondered where his father was in all of this. He and his siblings had voiced the questions on the whole trip, and she had only been able to answer with a soft, I don't know.


"He'll come. If I know him, and I think I do, he's charging through the land in a temper, ready to fight anything, climb anything, and barge through any challenge to find his family." She could imagine that very scene. How many times had she seen Cairo charging into the scene of an attack, hackles up, teeth bared and flashing, eyes blazing sapphire? He had always been there to rescue her, like a hero from the Elder's stories when she was but a pup.


She pulled away, and gazed at the children. They had grown so swiftly. It should have been Guinevere here, in her own place. Not Erani herself. Erani sighed and looked out to the falling ash snow. Guinevere should have lived to see her children grow into the wonderful minds and graceful wolves they were becoming. Instead, her body lay buried beneath earth, and now ash and debris.


Quietly, she turned and returned to her post at the entrance. Listening and waiting. Hoping and knowing, that he would come.