Shay hadn't yet moved on from Mount Volkan. A pity, as it turned out, since the hurricane that had made landfall in the south some days ago had made it's way up here, striking with a fury that Shay had never seen in a storm before. He had wisely chosen to hole up, but his chosen den had flooded out completely, sending him out into the storm in search of a safer haven.

His trek had brought him perilously close to the top of the mountain, partly out of curiosity. Why did the land beneath him feel so strange, rumbling and trembling? Did it have something to do with the volcano itself? It seemed only logical to investigate the volcano to see if it was likely to become an added danger.

So Shay, his gray fur plastered down with the torrential rains, battered by winds (at least the hail seemed to have stopped for the moment, though no doubt it would return shortly) crept his way up the side of the mountain until he stood at the very top, peering into molten pool there. It did seem more agitated than usual. Quivering, bubbling, and emitting noxious fumes. He wondered what was causing the mountain's distress. Could it possibly be the storm? The two did seem related, but correlation does not imply causation. He would have to do more investigating.

It had been at that minute that the mountain had given a mighty belch. The acrid smoke burned at Shay's eyes, nose, and lungs - deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, he turned to make a hasty retreat. Before he got more than a few steps away, however, the mountain roared, spewing smoke and debris in every direction. Shay was tumbled further down the mountain, singed but miraculously alive considering how close he'd been. His ears were ringing painfully, and little rivulets of blood trickled down the right side of his face where he'd been struck with shards of exploding rock.

Through the shock he was aware of an intense pain in his right ear. He made note of it, reminding himself that the pain would likely be overwhelming once the shock and adrenaline wore off. Likely the eardrum was perforated, either by the shockwave of the explosion or shards of debris like those lodged elsewhere in his face.

Having stumbled his way all the way down the slope, Shay took shelter beneath a fallen tree the earlier tornadoes had tumbled. Laying there, watching the ash cloud rising, feeling the pain starting to overwhelm the shock, he reflected that perhaps it would be wise next time to observe restless volcanoes from a distance.





talk, think

Esperanza trailed toward Mount Volkan, mesmerized by the intensity that the wind gave off as it began to smack against her maw. The ground itself began to rumble vigorously, causing a few trees to topple over onto their sides, little woodland animals scurried away, trying to find safe shelter from the vast storm that seemed to cover miles.

The femme's heart beat accelerated rapidly, adrenaline probably being the cause of it. Before she could have time to think, she saw her body began to shoot off like a rocket. Her emerald orbs shimmered from the lightning that shocked the sky with it's dangerous, yet beautiful light. The landscape became wet and soggy, causing her to slip a couple times and tumble. Thunder roared, causing the ground to shake even more.

She soon saw a small tree that had a nice sized den inside. She walked in and lied down, not using her nose to make sure that it wasn't occupied. She was too happy to be away from the hurricanes harsh winds and rain. The sound of it beating against the bark of the tree kept her awake as she watched the rain fall down in large droplets from the heavens. Her fur was soaked and began to cause the fae to shiver from the icy rain. Large puddles formed from the rain, and she began to feel cold as her body shook.

Shay would be the first to admit he didn't fully have a grasp on social niceties, so when another wolf crowded in on his makeshift den without a word, he merely moved over to make room. His ears were still ringing from the explosive blow so close to him, so he doubted he'd hear even if she had spoke. He let the silence continue for a few moments. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to bring his presence to her attention or not, so he just lay there with his aching head on his paws watching the stranger. The very wet stranger, who was even now beginning to shiver. Finally, Shay broke the silence. Not because he couldn't stand not talking, like some people. Simply put, he spoke because he wanted to test his hearing. "Hello," he said in his flat voice. Well. It seemed he had a little hearing returning after all, though only in the one ear. "Are you cold?" he added, blinking at her. "Speech"

[I][SIZE=7]



Esperanza looked at the brute in shock. She wasn't sure if she was in his den or if he was using it for shelter from the storm. The male wolf appeared to be a bit taller, yet a bit younger than she. Her light green orbs looked into his as kindness reflected off her optics; sensing she was using as much kindness she could show to the male through the storm.



"I apologize for barging into the den," she spoke out, "the storm was getting worse and I didn't realize that it was occupied." The femme bowed her head apologetically as the sound of the rain splatting onto the landscape caught her attention. Lightning flashed again. Her ears perked at the various sounds that occurred during the hurricane.



Tree's leaves were ripping around furiously as she saw one again topple to the ground, as the storm showed off it's magnificent power. She looked back at the male, smiling again. "My name is Esperanza, and yours?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in question. She never saw this male before and wanted to learn more about him, if he'd let her. Her body slid down and landed onto her belly as her legs were sprawled out beneath her. She shivered again as she wrapped her tail around her form to try and keep herself from shivering so much in front of the male who was watching her.

The female seemed surprised to see him there, which probably explained why she hadn't spoken. Shay cocked his head to the side, trying to follow her words through the ringing in his ears. The bleeding, he was pleased to notice as he moved his head, had more or less tapered off. There were still shards of stone in his skin; he could feel them when he moved. "This isn't my den. You have just as much right to it than I do," he told her in what he thought was a reassuring manner. "Nasty weather we're having." Talking about the weather seemed like a good sort of polite thing to say. Interesting - the hearing wasn't coming back to his right ear at all. Oh, wait, she was still talking. He focused his attention on her belatedly. "Hello, Esperanza, I am called Shay Bearkiller." He continued to look at her expectantly for a moment before it occurred to him to add, "You can call me Shay." "Speech"

She looked at the male kindly, her eyes shimmering from the light that the lightning gave off. When the lightning finally settled down, her eyes returned to their emerald color. Her ebony colored pelt was finally dry and she was able to get a little warmer.

"Nice to meet you, Shay," she spoke with a small smile as she placed her head on her paws as she listened to the sounds of the rain pouring down as it echoed in her lobes. She looked back at the male and stood on her haunches, bowing her head in respect to the male wolf before her.

"The storm is pretty bad, but I see that you have some stones in your pelt," she spoke out to the male sympathetically, looking at the parts of his body where the stones had been lodged into. She walked a little closer to the male, not sure if he would let her so she stayed where she was until the male said it was alright for her to help the brute.