His brother had been successful in his endeavors to create the pack he wanted. Now Cloud felt it was a good time to start gathering information on herds that might be migrating. He had been tracking a herd of elk that had passed by the pack lands, and he'd been on their trail for days. He had forgotten to tell Ty or anyone else where he had gone, but by the time he remembered it was too late and he was too far to simply be able to go back and tell them without losing the herd. Instead, he kept on their trail and followed from behind, not wanting to lose them. He figured knowing where the herds were would be important for the pack. They would know exactly where they were without fear of blindly looking for food and potentially have a hard time during the winter. He was pretty close to the herd now, the monochromatic male following them down into a ravine. So engrossed in his tracking, he hadn't noticed when the sky started to turn dark with clouds. It had been nice and clear the last couple of days, and it would soon get worse. As he carefully clambered down into the ravine, he lifted his head as he suddenly heard the elk moving faster and seemingly calling out in distress. Confused, he didn't realize that he was about to get caught up in the middle of a storm. The further down he went, he noticed the elk growing more panicked as they hurried to get through the ravine. They were at the bottom already, and he was halfway down. Suddenly, the wind picked up and blew him against the side of the rocks he was walking by. He felt the temperature drop in the air and got the feeling something bad was about to happen. Bi-colored gaze turned towards the sky and he noticed the first sign of snowflakes began to fall. And it didn't take long for those first few snowflakes to start turning into a raging blizzard. Cloud tried to make his way down the ravine to find shelter, and through the howling of the wind, he could hear the elk stampeding around and calling out. He feared he would lose them, and he didn't want this whole trip to be for nothing. So instead, he abandoned his search for shelter and tried to quickly make his way to the bottom. Several minutes of being battered by the blizzard went by, however, and he started to hear strange sounds. It almost sounded like the herd was stampeding back up the trail he was on, but it sounded...different. Quite suddenly, something clipped his back which sent him sprawling out on the trail, and before he realized it, branches and other debris were falling past him. He could feel the air from the stuff that was falling tug at his fur, and he suddenly wished he hadn't come down here after all. It seemed that in the blink of an eye, trees and other things were sliding down the ravine, crashing onto the narrow trail he was on and breaking off ledges. Rocks and branches, snow and dirt were showering all around him, and he knew he needed to get out of there. His heart began to race as he turned around, deciding that he should head back up and out of the ravine. He didn't get to go far though before he heard an even louder sound. This time, he knew it wasn't the herd. It was too loud. He looked up only to find that there was an avalanche of snow, trees, and debris coming towards him. Panicked, he tried to outrun it, but when he got to a certain point, there was no way he could go any further without trying to jump. He knew that if he did try, however, that he would most likely lose his footing and fall the rest of the way. He didn't get a chance to think anymore before he got swept up by cascading snow and debris. He felt himself get swept up, tumbling and turning and lost his senses. He couldn't tell which way was up, and which way was down. His world constantly turned from dark to light to dark again, while occasionally getting glimpses of the sky or the ground. He felt no ground beneath him, and he was being thrown around like a ragdoll. He was knocked against debris and rocks, and occasionally the side of the ravine. By the time he was done tumbling around, he had no idea where he was or what was going on. His world was dark, his body cold and numb, and he was sure that he was dead. He was trapped in a coffin of snow and other things, unsure of what would happen next. He tried to move his legs and winced when he felt a sharp pain on his left shoulder. He could smell the metallic scent of blood and knew that somewhere in that mess, he had gotten hurt and was bleeding. He felt battered and bruised, and beyond that felt tired. After tracking the herd nonstop then being tossed around, he felt like his energy had suddenly drained... The world above wherever he was sounded dull to him, and he was unsure if the assault was still going on and he was being buried more, or if it had stopped... Walk, "Talk" Think

From the way her father has spoken of Boreas she might have been led to assume that it was a verdant paradise of eternal summer, full of frolicking wolves and fairies. Not that it was all sunshine and rainbows of course, no Yale hadn't exactly sugar coated what had happened to him when he had deemed them old enough to know. Still she was surprised to find the continent of her father's stories was so... normal... of course she wasn't sure this was Boreas. She was wandering in the midst of a ravine, autumnal trees dotting the top of the cliff faces she found herself beside. Snow had yet to really build yet, seemingly too warm here for it to stack but it had tried it's best, piling in areas of shade and dusting most everywhere else. She hadn't exactly been here long enough to really meet anyone yet. In fact she had yet to meet another living soul yet, there were scents of prey all around her and a few faint scent trails of wolves but nothing to indicate this area had seen much traffic in recent days. In fact some part of her was worried she'd wandered into some kind of natural trap that the residents were all too smart to find themselves in. She imagined the walls of ravine snapping closed around her like a giant set of jaws. Instead she heard something else, a slow building rumble. Every once and while she heard strange bellows. Medea stopped, frowning and turning towards the sound, her eyes widening as she suddenly saw a herd of elk rushing down the ravine pass towards her. Medea acted before she could even start thinking, turning suddenly to begin racing away from the incoming stampede. She veered hard to the right trying to press herself close to the wall in the hopes the herd wouldn't trample her to death when they inevitably caught up with her. The sheer walls kept her from running off their path though and she felt the ground beneath her paws vibrate with the encroaching hoof beats, gritting her teeth. Then the world gave a great heaving groan and began to shake even more than before. Suddenly she stopped, horror washing over her face. The herd rushed past her, battering her against the stone wall as she struggled to turn around. The world heaved and a great crack sounded and Medea spotted the path she'd taken into the ravine get swallowed, a great wave of earth and snow and trees crashing down towards her. She flinched as a particularly panicked elk lashed out at her, digging a cut into her right foreleg. Then the herd was gone, racing away from the incoming wave of earth. Medea blinked then, with a deliberate movement she turned back around again and began to run this time there was no panic; just a knowledge of what she had to do. The woman clamped her mouth shut, and narrowed her eyes. She moved towards the middle of the narrow path again, not wanting to be slammed into the walls by the incoming wave. Glancing back over her shoulder she could see the avalanche wasn't slowing. Paws flew over the earth and she watched after the retreating herd, she imagined she was chasing them, trying to keep herself calm as she ran. Then she felt it, the wave of earth starting to swallow up. Medea transferred from running to swimming, pumping her legs in an upwards motion as she was swept along by the rolling earth, trying, almost desperately, to keep her head above the snow and dirt and praying she'd be able to last as long as it took for the avalanche to slow as she screwed her eyes shut against the splatter of dust and dirt that was flying around her. "Speech" Think You

Art by Atillur

In spite of the heartfelt oath he had sworn to Philomena, Pegasus returned to the west if for no other purpose than to tell Torin and Frostbite that he would be leaving and to ask Célestin if he would join them. The Deliverance would be formidable even in the face of the monstrous Abraxas legion, and he had no doubt that the pack Philomena brought together would vanquish the Abraxas and avenge their fathers. Which left him standing with the question of what he was going to do when the battle was over. Would he return home and live in the shadow of his cousin after such a grand adventure? Would he abandon the Deliverance after he had gotten what had brought him to Boreas in the first place? Pegasus walked beside the ravine, knowing far better than to fall into it a second time, and watched as a herd of elk raced through the passage beneath him. He would at least tell the alphas of the herd so close to their territory before he left, as a courtesy. He did after all intend to leave and take their other apprentice warrior with him, it was the least he could do. He lifted his head as the snow began to fall heavier and shook the powdery flakes from his coat before he decided to move on. Movement trailing behind the elk caught his attention, a faint black streak coursing after the stampede. He gave a brief smile and silently wished the lone wolf good fortune in his hunt before he carried on. He paused momentarily, his ears swiveling as all sound abandoned the ravine save for the distant thundering of hooves. He focused on a patch of snow just ahead of him as sheets of frost began to slide downward into the crevasse. His heart stopped. He could see the drifts beginning to fall thicker, the ground beneath his paws began to feel incredibly thin as he weighed the potential ramifications of moving too suddenly in what he could tell was the beginning of a landslide. A sudden groan and crash moved him to action as he felt the ground beneath his paws drop suddenly from under him. He ran against the flow of the snow, his powerful legs trying to fight against the pull of gravity as trees and large boulders began to cascade down around him as if they were in the throngs of a rapid river. He could feel his strength begin to abandon him as the pilings of snow became deeper and the debris began to fall more swiftly toward him. He now leapt out of the snow like a salmon coursing upstream, his heart racing as he felt himself be drawn further and further down. In a last ditch effort to avoid being drawn under entirely Pegasus set himself at an angle, hoping to find purchase on ground that had yet to be displaced. His lungs burned with the effort and he could taste blood in his mouth where the cold dry air had cracked his lips, but he continued to fight. In one final burst of strength he shot clear of the avalanche, sailing over the crashing river of snow and soaring like a bird. It would have been a beautiful sight had a downed tree not knocked into his hindlegs and sent him spiraling into the cascading snow beneath him. For a moment everything went dark. He had no concept of how much time had passed since he lost consciousness, only that he had been buried under a level of snow and soil that blocked out all sunlight. He began to panic, shifting his legs to free himself only to have more snow fall in and trap him further. He began to hyperventilate and he cried vainly for help only to hear the call dulled by the unknown level of snow on top of him. Slowly he forced himself to relax his thoughts resting on his mother. His mother who was most likely worried to death, and who would never know what happened to her firstborn son. His mother who would never see him again, and his father who would have lost his son in an avalanche of all things rather than in battle fighting for his honor. Last of all he thought of Célestin the only true friend he had ever known aside from his sisters, Célestin who deserved more but was always served with pain. Célestin who could add his loss to a growing number of damages in his life. His eyes opened slowly in the darkness. “No!” His mind roared. He needed to determine which way was up before he moved further and quickly lapped a chunk of snow into his mouth until it melted. He opened his jaws to let the water trickle from his lips only to let it remain where it was below him. He was right side up. With renewed determination he began to dig, clawing his way upward until his already strained legs began to burn and his muscles began to ache. He dug relentlessly, his mind racing with the faces of those he loved and those he had sworn to, until finally his nose broke the surface and he lifted himself bodily from the wreckage of the avalanche at the bottom of the ravine. He made it. He was alive. He laid on the ground wheezing and panting, tears of joy running from his eyes and onto the snow. The sun had never looked so beautiful to him. He kept his head between his paws, as shivers of overexertion cramped his muscles and made him ache all over. He was alive. Then with a jolt he was on his feet again. There had been another wolf in the ravine when the avalanche started. He wheeled around but saw only the reshaped ravine around him. The ravine went on for miles, and there was no telling where the other wolf was. Desperately he howled into the silence and waited as the forlorn call echoed off the stone walls. Speaking  Thinking    You

Minutes went by. Though it felt like hours. Cloud's head pounded, ears throbbing with the pounding of his heart. He groaned with the pain he felt, but couldn't quite find the energy right now to do anything. He was wrapped up in a cocoon of snow and mud. Bi-colored gaze blinked open for a few seconds, unfocused as he drifted in and out of consciousness. For a moment, he couldn't quite remember where he was or what he was doing before he ended up here. Wherever here was...But as the cold started to settle into his bones and the pain started to feel more real, he remembered. Eyes fluttered open as he struggled to focus on what was in front of him, but all he could see was...darkness. He shivered. The energy and will to do anything wasn't in him right now. He had been a fool to take off and track that elk herd without a word to anyone. Nobody would know where he had gone. Where he was. What happened to him. His brother would probably think he left him. Perhaps even think that Cloud left his brother the way that Ty had left him. Even if that were true, Cloud didn't have that kind of pettiness in him to do that to Tyranis. And Cloud decided then, that he needed to get out so that Ty wouldn't think he left him alone. With great effort, he struggled to pull his forelegs up and began to feebly claw at the snow in front of him. The wound on his shoulder stung and ached fiercely as he stretched his muscles. But he refused to sit here and wait for death to take him. His brother needed to know that he wasn't abandoning him, and Cloud would make sure the words came from his mouth, even if he had to drag himself all the way back to Ty. He tried to focus enough for the task ahead, but it felt like he simply didn't have the strength to do this. He growled and he whined as his limbs weakened. Chest heaving as panic slowly began to set in. Where was all that strength and adrenaline that plagued him when his mind wasn't right? Of course you only come out when you want to destroy! Why can't you help me for once! He screamed in his head. For once in his life...he hoped that whatever plagued his mind would show itself and give him the strength he needed to get out of this. But it didn't. He tried again. But he couldn't do more than a few pawfuls of snow and mud before his injured shoulder gave out. This was it. He was going to die here. And Ty would think he abandoned him. That thought caused Cloud's chest and throat to tighten. This...couldn't be the end...could it? It wouldn't be. Not today. Ears twitched when the muffled sound of a howl echoed somewhere above him. And he strained his ears to try and hear it better. There...there was someone out there? He wasn't sure if it was desperation in his mind or if it was real, but the mere thought of someone out there to save him gave him some form of hope. He sucked in a deep breath, and let loose the loudest and longest howl he could manage. His voice echoed around him, and he hoped to whatever higher powers existed that someone would find him... Walk, "Talk" Think

Slowly, ever so slowly the wave Medea was just barely managing to ride crept to a stop, the girl panting as she stared wide-eyed around her. Her left foreleg was completely buried in the mud and snow, up to her shoulder and while her right foreleg had managed to escape more or less unscathed she had nearly been totally covered, her head just barely free; mud and dirt pressed dangerously high up her neck. Medea closed her eyes, silently praying that it was over, that no more waves would be crashing down on them; as she was now she wouldn't have the energy to keep herself above another avalanche; even if she managed to pull herself free in time. A loud crash of another tree from the ridge tearing free made Madea jump and slowly the adrenaline started to wane, her muscles starting to ache from her desperate swim and she started the arduous task of pulling herself free. It was an agonizingly long process, first, she struggled to liberate her left foreleg. There was much slow rocking on her free leg, grunting and finally after what felt like an eternity she managed to wiggle free, from there it was easier to pull the rest of her free, hefting herself out of the dirt and snow. She shook herself out, dislodging any of the loose dirt in her pelt but she'd need to spend some time really making sure she got clean... but first, she needed to get out of here. Medea glanced around the canyon, trying to figure out how she was going to get out. Then a voice reached her, a howl echoing off the ravine's wall. Medea froze, she'd spent the majority of her life listening to that voice; she'd have known it anywhere and she couldn't stop the tremor of fear that hearing it sent through her. Medea swung her head wildly searching for her brother; she started off on a shaky run, her limbs protesting and she winced but grit her teeth. If her brother was trapped under the mud and snow she had to find him! The echoes of his call made it hard to pinpoint where the howl had come from, but she started to clamber her way up the mudslide. "Pegasus?" Medea called, her voice hoarse and she coughed, her throat must have been coated with dirt and snow but she couldn't stop looking for him. "Peg?" Then there was another howl, muffled but distinct and Medea stopped, it wasn't her brother's voice and she wondered if she'd maybe been mistaken. "Hello?" She called, worry for whoever was calling for her washing over her... she needed to help whoever it was. "Speech" Think You

Art by Atillur

He thought he heard his name on the wind. Worse the tug of familiarity on the voice gripped his heart and for one horrendous instant his mind flashed to an image of Celéstin, crumpled and twisted from the landslide. He raced forward his heart pounding wildly as he saw a figure outlined by the empty expanse. Faster and faster his aching limbs drew him closer in a hobbled gaint. He persisted as the adrenaline faded from his limbs and the full brunt of his injuries replaced them “Ce-“ He barked desperately, then froze as the figure came into view. ”Medea?!” He breathed, mouth agape as he stared at his sister. Was this a trick? Had he gone mad? Cautiously he stepped closer to his sister than all but collapsed falling toward her body as exhaustion and pain consumed him. He held onto consciousness, fighting shock as best as he could, his lungs heaving and wind leaving him in whistling whimpers. “Medea.” He spoke again, his eyes searching desperately for her as they threatened to roll back into his skull. speaking Thinking   You

Desperation began to claw at him from the inside out. He was starting to feel claustrophobic, the weight of the snow and mud around him felt crushing. He felt closed in. Trapped. If he didn't get out soon, then he would probably start to hyperventilate as he thought about this being his coffin. His final resting place. No! He thought desperately. Fear would start to grip him as he tried to paw at the snow again, but he could only manage a few swipes before his shoulder screamed with pain. He started panting, heart pounding against his chest and roaring in his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried vainly to calm himself down, but he was having an incredibly hard time trying to do that. "TY!" He screamed, though he knew his brother wouldn't hear him. He didn't know how long he sat buried. But it was starting to feel like forever. The minutes slowly ticked by, and the realization that he might be stuck here for good hit him like a brick.

I'm sorry, Ty...I'm sorry Mom... He grit his teeth and rested his head against the cold mud and snow. Tears began to sting at his eyes as the thought of never seeing them again washed over him. He laid there to accept his fate.

"Hello?" For a moment, he thought it was a figment of his imagination. Thought that maybe he was already starting to get delirious. But then after a few seconds, eyelids flew wide open when it hit. That was an actual voice, wasn't it? Raising his head again, he searched the snow above him. "Hey! Help me! I'm down here!" He cried out. Feeling hopeful now, he started to bark as loud as he could, and he would continue to do so until he was sure that whoever was out there could find him.

"SPEAK"

art by Risketch

Medea felt her stomach twist as she heard her name echo on the air, her gaze swinging wildly in search of her brother. She spotted a figure in the distance; she picked up her pace, aching legs feeling like lead but she moved as fast as they'd allowed. Pegasus collapsed, practically at her paws and Medea nearly joined him on the ground, feeling relief at discovering her brother alive, a little rough maybe but alive. "Peg!" She pushed her face into his shoulder, the feeling of guilt, of loss, washing over her. So many emotions she'd nursed since her brother's disappearance, mad stronger after she herself had left. "Are you alright?" She had so many questions for her brother. But they'd have to wait, another voice, muffled but desperate reached her. Ears perking Medea lifted her head, trying to pinpoint where the cry for help had come from. She glanced at her brother, wondering if he would be capable of getting up. She certainly didn't want to leave him by himself, not like this, especially if there was a chance another slide could start up. But she wasn't about to abandon anyone who needed her help. "Stay here." She told her brother, spurring her stiff limbs once more into action. She tried to find the spot the voice had come from, her claws scaping at mud and snow and ice. Then she stopped. "I'm coming to help you! Where are you?" She yelled, listening intently. "Speech" Think You

Art by Atillur