Limping on paws that had been torn and burned in his race against the volcano-sparked wildfire and coughing painfully from the smoke, Chaos made his way to the spot he'd warned his pack to meet him, at the border between the orchard and the river. He hadn't met up with every pack member, but hoped that they'd passed the message on as well to anyone who hadn't heard his earlier call. Just in case, and to gather together the pack that was undoubtedly scattered along that border, he lifted his head to give a decidedly ragged howl to give his location, then dropped on his haunches beside the river. He blinked back at the flames that rose from his pack's land with eyes that burned from the smoke, but couldn't summon the energy to feel anything over the loss of the lands he'd grown up in. Glancing up he saw a sky devoid of moon or stars, and realized dully a moment later that what he'd thought was snow drifting down was ash. The land was still shaking beneath him, something that would have been almost frightening with its frequency if he hadn't just escaped a wildfire. It was clear to him though, that river or not they would not be safe here either, even if they crossed the river to escape the fires. Trying to straighten despite the weariness that blanketed him as gray as the ash that covered his coat, he waited for his pack to join him.

OOC: this one's mandatory for Legion members. Deadline is the 22nd

Rhythm somehow managed to escape the fires in the knolls with relatively little wear on her old body. She was sore from being forced to move so quickly, and her fur was only a little singed in places. Her paw pads were spared though, and besides heavy breathing she wasn’t done yet. The drive to live and survive put a spark back into her heart that had been missing. She still had life left to be lived, and there were things she needed to do before crossing over. Rhythm had been aware of the fast, but hadn’t been able to grasp it before.

She didn’t sit, if she did she wouldn’t stand back up. The old woman panted heavily and sightless eyes looked to Chaos and his decision. She worried for Valentine, and hoped his stubborn ass hadn’t refused to leave. They struggled through their differences, but Rhythm still loved the old man. Dark ears perked on her head as she listened for the sound of Legion’s young. She was the one who needed help, and couldn’t offer much more than a supportive presence for the almost yearlings now.

Valdís stumbled as the earth shook violently beneath her paws. She'd been out on her midnight patrol when the earth shifted and she stumbled forward. When she lifted her head she saw the orange glow on the horizon and a massive column of smoke bursting into the sky, glowing like the maw of some dark beast. She quickly hurried to the meeting spot to answer Chaos' call. As she did flames raced down the mountain side and ash began to fall. It was clear they'd have to leave. She kept her eyes peeled for Ásvor, hoping her lover hadn't been searching for herbs near the mountain. She quickly nodded to Chaos and Rhythm and settled down to hear what the alpha had to say.

Álarr groggily came to. He thought he was still dreaming as he felt the earth shake around him. As it grew worse and Afi stuck his claws into his leg, Álarr jumped to his feet and screamed. "Earthquake!" He raced out of the den. "Daddy! Dad!" He looked to the sky in horror as he saw plumes of smoke and ash streaming into the sky and the dangerous glow of fire not far off.

"C'mon we have to go!" Afi bumped against him and took off. Álarr, still confused and disoriented, stumbled after his companion. Brynhildr wasn't far behind, flying low over the pair as they arrived at the meeting.

Whatever was happening, it wasn't good - and Legion needed to get the hell out of here. Already she could feel the smoke beginning to assault her lungs, making running difficult. It took a considerable amount of effort to scramble after Chaos, trying to keep herself steady as she went, wondering what was a bigger threat at the moment - the wildfires that raged through their lands, or the tremors that suddenly shook the world? Either way, both seemed like things that needed to be avoided. It was hard to not feel panicked about everything, uncharacteristically so for her, to the point where even hearing Chaos's howl - though it was something she'd been expecting - caught her off guard and earned a slight flinch, though she quickly recovered from the surprise and continued toward his call. The night had never struck her as particularly eerie, especially in these lands she'd grown familiar with, but something was different off tonight. The thick ash that hung heavily in the sky obscured any light the moon or stars might bring, and bits of the same ash drifted down from the sky like snow. But her attention was on her immediate surroundings, rather than whatever was happening in the distance. Valdis was her main concern. And luckily for her, she'd arrived before her. Almost instantly she felt a heavy weight slide off her chest, a sigh of near relief falling from her lips as she drew toward the small group and pressed herself instantly into Valdis's side. They'd never been overly affectionate in the presence of others (though never because she was ashamed - public affection simply wasn't her favorite) but in that moment she didn't care; all that mattered was that her love was safe and sound, and together she knew they'd find a way out of this mess.

Valentine was at Rhythm’s side in an instant. His eyes swept the small gathering in search of his youngest litter and the grand kids who were more or less their age. He stood poised, his gaze never settling in one place as he searched, ready to leap back into the fire should any of the children dawdle and pique his anxiety.  

His spared a glance to Rhythm once but her place at the meeting suggested she was more or less well and not in immediate need of his fawning.

Of the youths, Alarr arrived first. Valentine watched his progress with relief. He motioned the boy to him and then turned his attention back to the distance where he hoped to soon see more pups.

Tyrian limped into the meeting. He stank of grass smoke and was caked in ash, but he was more or less in one piece. All of the important parts were there, at least. He...had just had an adventure to say the least.

He paused once to cough and spit grey stuff into the grass and then carried on his way, somehow managing to keep his head high. Tyrian might not have thought much of Sparrow’s claims about being a pirate, but he could appreciate the swagger they were supposed to have coming down from a hair raising ordeal. They’d had an ordeal so it seemed only fitting he act the part. And he absolutely had to outdo his niece.

Singed fur stank. Her injuries she could more or less ignore. They weren't crazy enough for her to break down in front of Tyr. Her lungs hurt and her eyes watered as she tried to see as she followed her uncle into the meeting. She came in a little less poised, with tufts of fur sticking if strange directions and covered in soot. She couldn't quit sneezing and at this point it was kind of painful.

But if Tyr wasn't complaining, she wasn't gonna either. She trailed in behind him and settled on a smug smile. they had survived the fire. They could do it again if they wanted to. And why shouldn't they have escaped? They were pirates... well... she was. Tyr she was still working on. With a little training, she was sure he'd make a great pirate- not the king of the pirates, but a good pirate still.

He had been sleeping in his den when chaos struck. The violent shaking of the earth was what woke him, followed by a thick cloud of smoke streaming into his den. Jerking awake, he immediately coughed and sputtered as the smoke enveloped him. He stumbled blindly to the entrance, the sound of crackling dangerously close. When he managed to open his eyes, he was alarmed to find that fire was almost right on his doorstep and the male bolted away. he could feel the heat on his skin, the flames singing his fur as he ran through. He heard his fathers call, and despite his usual bravado, he felt terrified. Paws carried him quickly across the territory until he spotted a small group of others by the river. Relieved somewhat, he slowed and came to a stop among them, chest heaving as he panted hard with the effort of just escaping the blaze. His already dark coat smelled heavily of smoke and ash was raining on him. He took a seat to try and hide the trembling of his legs, wondering where his sister was...

"Speech"

Ashmedai had been on the other side of the borders. He trusted the pack to care for the kids on his short excursions, but when the all hell broke out, Ash headed straight towards the pack. Not long after, Chaos called. Ashmedai made his way to the group and sought out his children. He saw Sparrow, charred and a little singed, but more or less alright. Ashmedai ran up to her and pressed his nose to her. She swatted him away sheepishly and Ash turned to survey the crowd. Talon wasn't in sight. He turned to Chaos, then to Sparrow, "Where's Talon? Where's your brother?"

Chaos' eyes still stung from smoke, but he watched the arrival of his pack with weary concern. They straggled in slowly, and many never appeared at all. Among the missing were pups, and his heart dropped before he steeled himself. "All right," his said to gain their attention, his voice a hoarse croak. "It seems the volcano is having a bit of a tantrum tonight." The forced lightness of his words was at odds with the tired slouch and smoke-reddened eyes, but he forced a grim smile nonetheless. "I don't know how long this is going to last, or when our lands will be safe to inhabit again, but I can tell you we are not going to be able to stay there now. We need to get a headcount, see who was outside of pack lands tonight and who was home but is missing now. Then we'll have to decide where to go until things here are safe again." What Chaos desperately wanted to do was turn around and run back into the pack lands to search for the missing - but if they had been caught in the wildfire there was nothing he could do for them, and those who had made it here needed him to lead them. He cleared his throat, wincing at the roughness, before continuing. "I need a group to come with me now to look for..." his tongue tripped over the word survivors so he settled for "to look for anyone who got lost on the way here. I'd like everyone else to stay here until we get back, and we will all get to safety. If anyone has any ideas where we should hole up?" He glanced around expectantly. "Personally I think we might be better off taking the pups on a tour of Boreas for a while rather than trying to lay claim to temporary lands that everyone else is going to want too, but I'm open to suggestions." He shook himself, forcing himself to his paws despite his weariness, and looked around at them all. "Valentine, I need you to stay here," he said, with faint gentleness in his tone. "As Alula you're the next highest ranking wolf here, and your boys need you." Torrent hadn't shown up with the rest, and Valentine was too old to go off on a rescue mission. Chaos wasn't willing to risk him, not after losing his mother. "Rhythm, Asvor, I know you don't have much to work with but please see what you can do about any injuries. Anyone else, volunteers for rescue come with me. Adult volunteers," he added belatedly, for the benefit of his young brothers and his niece.

She had been sleeping, like most of the other wolves of Legion when the disaster had struck. The ground tremors was the first thing she felt, and she tossed and turned uneasily until they suddenly increased in their intensity, and dirt started raining on her inside her dug den. Awake then, her eyes widening in alarm, she quickly threw herself out of the den, uncertain if it was collapsing on her, or what on earth was happening.

Outside was no better. The stars were obscurring, the ground tossing and turning and trembling and shaking, Within moments, she could start smelling the smoke, and her first thought was fire - but she could see no fire. That is... a bright light erupted to her north, and she spun around to see fire reaching into the heavens for as high as she could see, and clouds of ash and smoke billowing.... and those clouds were spreading fast, and heading towards them.

With the smoke burning in her throat, and panic threatning to take over her mind, she took a quick, slow breath and scanned the area. Pack - family - first. Who could she see? The first figure she saw was a familiar shaggy one, and she quickly loped over to the dog who stood taller than some wolves. "Bjorn," she barked roughly, her tone much more harsh than it would be otherwise. "Come with me." She didn't stick around to see if he listened, but instead took off, nose working as she tried to figure out where the hell her family went. The smoke was getting bad already, even moments after the explosion - she knew she had to get out, and away from the ball of fire in the sky. The ball of fire that was getting decidedly closer, and had lit numerous other things on fire, like the one that was progressing towards her even as she tried to find some direction.

She was running out of time, though. She swung around to face Bjorn, and she jerked her head at the fire. "Run," she spoke hoarsely, nodding at the opposite direction. "Try to stay with me if you can, but do what you need to to stay alive. You can find us afterwards if you get separated." Could he try to escape? Yeah. Could she do anything about it? Nope, not right now.

With those last words, she was off, bolting as fast as she could in the opposite direction. She saw no one, heard no one, but knew she had to run. Hot wind hit her back and smoke was filling her lungs. It hurt to see, it hurt to run - she couldn't see where she was going, only that she let her nose lead her away from the fire as best she could.

Time passed - she wasn't sure how much. Only that she kept running until her lungs burned, her paws ached and bled, and her muscles trembled with the exertion of simply standing. She was near the river, she knew that much, and while she wasn't sure where her family and pack were, she figured they... hopefully got out, and would be around the same area. She couldn't smell anything, not anymore. Her throat burned from the smoke, and her nose did too. Her chest hurt, her ears were filled with the sounds of fleeing animals, and she could barely concentrate at all.

Thankfully, within moments - maybe longer than that, she couldn't tell - a distinctive warble of a howl rose above everything else, and her head whipped to her right. She knew that voice; that was her father. She had to move then - take steps, and get there. It thankfully wasn't too far, and it didn't take too long even with her exhausted body pushing itself to the limits, and she blinked rapidly as she squinted through the smoke to see who all was there. It was... a disappointing amount. But she could see her father, her grandfather... her brother. Her eyes closed as some of the tension she carried left her body, and she padded quietly over to her brother to give him an affectionate nudge on the shoulder, a display of affection she didn't do all too often. The tension was still there, as there were pups among the missing and many others gone, but... her brother and father were thankfully safe. She didn't linger long, though, approaching her father quietly and offering the same, before stepping back. "What can I do?" she rasped quietly.