Broken Ring

Chrysanthos had finally regained most of his strength as he settled into Ashen. He wasn't sure how long he would need to stay with the pack before his debt would be repaid but he had decided that he would help Ashen get their stores in line for the winter. Then when late fall had arrived in Boreas he would pack up some supplies and then head back home to where he hoped his mother and siblings had returned. Even if they hadn't he planned to stay in his homeland. This land, Boreas, this land had brought him nothing but tragedy. It mauled and crushed his father, now it had split his family apart and he didn't even know if his brothers and sisters were alive. He prayed that they were and if they were he hoped they'd head home or send some sort of word, but he was done walking all over creation hoping to find them. That method just wasn't working.

Chrys had some freedom to venture where he would. At least, he assumed he did. No one told him he couldn't and of course he planned to head back. He saw himself as an honorable wolf and he would of course pay back his debt within reason. He entered a terrain that was somewhat familiar but his mouth fell open at the destruction. The eruption had brutally decimated the plant life in the area that housed the hot springs. He remembered the Hot Springs well. It was the territory he'd been exploring when he first realized something was wrong. Hindsight was so clear. Looking back it should've been obvious that something was going wrong with the volcano. He remembered the hot spring pools were boiling and the ground trembling every now and then. He moved forward and frowned at the remnants of the hot springs. A few had burst open, the water they once held had spilled upon the ground and likely evaporated as there was no evidence of them being pools anymore.

However, there were some pools still in tact. The water in them was still boiling and casting large swaths of steam into the air. They were much more shallow than before but he wasn't aware enough of the internal mechanisms that led to the hot springs to know what the reason was. It could be the eruption had shifted things internally and thus limited the amount of water that could get to the surface. It could also be that the eruption had disturbed the weather patterns enough that there hadn't been enough precipitation to keep the pools full.

He padded closer to take a look but still kept a respectful distance. He didn't want to get a face full of hot, boiling water. He did remember Eris, the girl who'd burned her nose when investigating the hot springs awhile ago. He felt movement on his back and turned his head as Bolla gently crawled out of the backpack and settled on his shoulders. She gazed about with her big golden eyes and sighed sadly. Chrys looked backed at her and nodded. "Yea, it's a real mess."

Chrys didn't know what was going to happen to Bolla. They had talked about his ultimate plans but she had said she wished to remain in her homeland and not journey back with him to his. The thought alone hurt him. She'd really been his closest friend apart from his siblings and in a short time they'd have to bid goodbye and part ways. He hated to think about it and so he pushed the thoughts from his mind and focused on the land about him. He worked his way around the pools, his paws stepping through ash. There was still a good few inches of ash coating the land and even now he could still see some fallen from the sky. Chrys wrinkled his nose. The air stank. It was smokey and there was the slightest tint of chemical smell.

He coughed as the air scratched at his throat and he began to wonder if there were chemicals in this air that was detrimental to his lungs. Chrysanthos glanced about for another moment then turned around and started to head back. The territory was depressing now as was much of Boreas. Yet, he’d seen this land before in all its beauty and some how that made it worse to see it beat down, broken, and covered in ash. Chrysanthos wondered how long it would take for the land to rebound. Would it ever fully recover? For that matter, would he? He felt almost as if the land he was looking at was also what he was feeling like. He’d been so hopeful and so happy when he’d found his brother and his brothers pack. Now there was nothing left but scarred earth and ash.