The moment the volcano erupted everything flew into a panic. Fear, true gut wrenching fear, bubbled with Priscilla like she had never known. In her flight she had gotten separated from both Cottontail and Osiris and worry nagged at her mind almost constantly as she wondered if they were alright. She didn't want to assume the worst for them, nor for her family in Lirim. Once the season faded and spring arrived the girl knew what she had to do. Returning to the lands she had been born brought no comfort. Ash upon the ground yet… and no scents of loved ones that must have fled the wrath of the volcano. Here, even here the devastation had reached. Priscilla stood, her bicolored eyes wide, as reality settled on her shoulders more firmly than ever before. Things changed. Loved ones could, and would eventually die. There was no true safety, no true haven in the world. There were threats to the land, those she cared for, and even herself. She had been shown that when her sister had died and now, now that realization settled in her stomach like a heavy stone. All her aimless, happy wanderings with Osiris, her lack of training, what she was seeing now… everything swirled in her mind in a form of sensory and memory overload. Priscilla swallowed back the bile that threatened to rise. She stood there just inside the lands with her tail tucked between her legs. Though she saw reality she struggled to accept it. She hadn't realized it but tears had formed in her eyes and now slipped down her furry cheeks. This was not the valley as she knew it… and ‘cilla wondered just how much had changed. If the volcano had reached them even here… then… had any of her loved ones lost to the effects of it? Was Cel okay? Or was it only a matter of time before even more bad news and heartbreak knocked on the door of her heart? Priscilla shivered as a breeze blew over the land though she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or her troubled thoughts. A boom of thunder shook the land around her yet Priscilla did not move as she continued to stare at her homeland in disbelief. Not even the rain, falling in large, heavy droplets, was enough to move her from that spot. Not yet. ""

Torin silently prayed the rain would  help to wash away the layers of soot and ash that covered the ground and clouded the sky. Maybe even encourage what little life was still desperately clinging on under the layers of grime to start growing again, to start taking back what was theres. But that was simply a hope, a dream. And as the cold continued to hold on with a death grip he doubted the rain would do much more than chill him further. Still Torin couldn't help himself from checking the packlands hopefully. He'd started the long process of trying to make the lands ready for his pack again, but it was slow and tedious work and often felt futile. Today as he plodded through the weather, his fur already sodden the man caught the quiet sounds of sobbing and a vaguely familiar scent though it was masked by the rain. Frowning the man moved towards the noise, squinting through the rain. Finally he'd arrive and Torin was frozen for a moment, shock locking his limbs in place. Then without thinking he was moving forwards, rushing forwards. Barrelling towards his niece and not stopping until he was close enough to wrap his niece in an embrace. Desperately trying to hold onto the shaking girl, his mind only just starting to catch up. He'd been so worried about his niece and nephews, they'd all left before the volcano and with no sign of them anywhere he'd been forced to assume they were alright, holed up somewhere. His sanity needed to assume that, but here, seeing his niece safe in front of him filled him with such momentous relief he felt he'd be toppled over. Talk Think

It didn’t take long for Priscilla to get soaked. The rain fell, striking her form, and still she didn't move. She felt cold sinking into her body… but in a way she was relieved she could feel it. At least she felt something.

But then there was suddenly another. Warmth, a feeling of safety as she was drawn into an embrace. She was pretty much as big as he was, though a bit thicker and more muscled on her part. Kind of funny considering she never had much of a shine for fighting.

For a moment though, despite the fact her mind hadn’t exactly processed how he got there, or why he was there in that moment, Priscilla blocked out everything else. It didn’t matter as he clung to her uncle as well and pressed her head against him, shaking, feeling her emotions cascading over her body like the rain now. She closed her eyes, slowly breathing, convincing herself that this was all real…

But most importantly, the fact Torin was here… it was hope… hope of survival… hope of things being okay. He was there when she needed him most… he hadn’t let her down yet and ‘cilla was positive he never would.

“I’m so glad you’re here…” Priscilla confessed.

“We were going to come visit… I don’t know what happened. We decided to delay a little longer, see if we could swing around and see if we could figure out where Cel had settled… we were sleeping when it erupted…” Priscilla held onto him a bit tighter.

“We got seperated… I don’t know if Osiris or Cottontail are okay… I… I wanted to check here at least… I think he’d know to check here but…” She whimpered.

“Uncle Torin… the rest of the pack… where are they right now? You helped get them out right? Together?” She drew back. It wasn’t that she doubted him -- she knew the pack was somewhere else. It was more of a check on who was there, who wasn't… if anyone had been lost since she had started journeying with the young man she made fast friends with.

His niece melted into his form and Torin could feel his breath hitching in his throat as he struggled to comprehend exactly what was happening. Priscilla was safe, that was at least one of his sister's children he knew was alright. Her brothers were still missing but one of them, a small piece of Jewell and an individual in her own right of course. Priscilla spoke and he gently nosed at her head, trying to calm the distress seeping into her voice. His heart broke for her, so much had been messed up by the volcano. His mind briefly drifting to Holland and he silently prayed the man was safe somewhere. But then his attention was pulled back to his niece. Her questions belying her panic. "They're safe. I took the back further west, to a nearby island. I- I had to protect my kids." Torin couldn't remember if the last time he'd seen Priscilla if she'd been aware he was going to become a father. But she'd never met her cousins and some part of him was excited to get to introduce them to her. They could all use a moment of levity. Talk Think