Random Mini-Event: Tremor me Timbers

Outside, the sun blares down on the mouth of the mountains. Deep in the caves, many animals slumber undisturbed. The darkness provides respite to those who like to retreat from the brightness and loudness of the outdoors. Slowly, the cave seems to yawn awake with a light rumble. Soon, that grumble turns into a stretch as the caves tremble, then a shake. The rocks begin to dislodge from the walls. Stalactites crumble from the ceiling. A flash of light illuminates the cave from deep within. Bats and bears and other animals flee from the system's many openings and into the harsh light of day.

After several long and laborious moments, the cave stretches, yawns, and goes back into its slumber.

Skill Claim Form

If you complete this thread with at least 3 rounds each, you can claim extra skill points of your choice (posts must be loosely skill focused) for participating in a random event! Only the first three participants are allowed to respond. Please be aware that the following event has a hard deadline of June 30th

Code:

[b]Skill[/b]:
[b]Points claiming[/b]: 15
[b]For what?[/b]: Participated in a random mini-event: Tremor me Timbers
[b]Proof[/b]: <a href="https://www.ardently.org/showthread.php?tid=44685&pid=275422#pid275422">click!</a>

[*code]+15 - <a href="https://www.ardently.org/showthread.php?tid=44685&pid=275422#pid275422">Participated in a random mini-event: Tremor me Timbers</a><br>[*/code]

I can't destroy what isn't there

The Warlord felt sand crunch beneath his paws as he made his way down to the ocean. The Summer heat was still in effect, and the black sand was hot against his fur. A surprisingly large part of him felt a desire to curl up against the dark grains, and soak in the heat. Things had been quiet around the Armada of late, and he was almost inclined to indulge in that feeling.

Bast straightened beside him, standing talls, fur puffing unexpectedly around her frame. He turned to her in surprise, mouth opening to form a word, and then he felt the rumble. He turned to the caves that lined just outside his territory as they began to quake. Sirius burst into sudden motion, tearing across the sand towards the cave, barking out a warning. Were any of his wolves in their depths?

He watched in concern as the cave belched animals from its depths. A cloud of bats ascended to the sky. A bear lumbered from its depths, and the Warlord stopped just outside of his territory. Close to the opening of the cave and growled. Warning the bear to keep moving, but ready to defend his territory if it did now.

"Speech"

Something was shaking the ground. Something big. Dread has no idea what to think, what to expect. Not one to shy away from danger, not one to shy away from anything weird, he took off in the direction he assumed they'd come from. Head high, gaze bright. Tense. Dread is tense... Dread was always tense, at least that's what it felt like. Always on edge. On high alert. Posture upright and alert, he made his way in the direction of what he could only assume was something very, very, very big. It's enough to confuse him, it's enough to intrigue him.

Hackles high along his spine, the boy's father came into view too. He offered a greeting, dipping his head a bit, watching the animals pour from within the cave. Watching the bear as it kept moving, scooting away from the two wolves that wouldn't take shit from anyone-- predators especially. Dread's gaze lingered on the mouth of the cave, the darkness within. "You felt the shaking too?" He questioned the warlord. "It had to be something big, do you think there's trouble?" He'd been bold the last time they'd had to fight off a predator, and this wouldn't be any different... even if it was a lot bigger than last time.

"Dread Fatalis"

He'd been collecting a few ingredients in this cave. A few mushrooms, and a couple of other plants made for good flavor in his stews. He also needed a source of meat, and he preferred to hunt for his own instead of taking it from the pack's stores. He had gone into the cave earlier that morning, though hadn't gone too far inside knowing that were probably other creatures lurking within. Carrying a makeshift lantern he had gotten from a trader, he held it firmly in his jaws as he continued his search for some thyme, he felt something was...off. His ears flicked back as he listened but heard nothing. Finally, after several more minutes, he found a cluster of thyme growing against a far wall of the cave. Approaching, Grim set his lantern down and went to collect some, and that's when everything suddenly changed. It began as a tremble, then before he knew it, a flash from within illuminated everything around him for a moment, and the cave began to stir. The tremble turned into shaking, causing the earthen Ancora to lose his balance and stumble to the ground. The cave began to fall around him, rocks loosening from their perches and falling to the ground. As he lurched to his feet, a rock was launched in his direction, slamming into his hind leg and sending him to the ground once more. He heard the rumble and cacophony of animals that were taking refuge in the cave begin to move as well, and before he knew it, bears and bats and all sorts of things came flying out. Fur bristled in alarm, and with the lantern forgotten, he pulled himself to his feet once more and raced his way back the way he had come, following the other beasts as fast as his injured leg would allow now. The adrenaline coursed through him as he was practically shoulder to shoulder with animals whos species he had fought before, but right now? Everything was trying to get out and survive. The opening of the cave grew closer, a bear pushed him aside with a thunderous roar as it ran to reach the exit first. Bats flew around him as they too, made their escape. Finally, Grim pressed on and raced out, heart hammering against his chest and among the flurry of bodies, he didn't notice two of his packmates at first until he was clear of the cave and turned around to see if maybe it had collapsed, but everything had gone quiet almost as soon as it had begun. Trying to catch his breath and process what had happened, he spotted Sirius and a mini-Sirius. "That...was unexpected..." "Grimoire

I can't destroy what isn't there

As the Warlord stood his ground against the angry and confused bear, Dread came up beside him. Sirius tensed at the presence of his young son - but this wouldn’t be the first bear they had taken on together. So far, the bear looked confused, as if it was still getting its bearings. He watched it wearily. “The earth does that sometimes, it shifts and settles. It’s not very frequent here” He explained to Dread, distracted. Of course his son hadn’t yet felt an earthquake.

A tawny shape came out of the cave then - and he recognised it as Grimoire, one of his wolves. As he came up behind the bear, the creature finally shook the rattling from its ears. It let out a growl, turned - and realised it had a wolf behind it as well as two in front. Seeing the danger, the Warlord leaped forward, unsheathing his claws as he scrapped it down the bears back before it could attack Grimoire - the wolf blocking its escape.


"Speech"

Dread's forehead wrinkled in the middle, thinking about his father's words. It's normal for the earth to shift, to settle. While uncommon in the north, he didn't seem entirely surprised. Dread had difficulty containing the surprise of his own, but that was... well, that was Dread. As long as it was alright, and everyone was safe, right? Safe-- shit. The yearling's eyes fell on the wolf at the mouth of the cave, one of his packmates. A man he didn't know well, but that didn't matter. Just a heartbeat behind Sirius, he leaps into action.

Mini-Sirius launches a similar assault to his father. Lacking cat claws of his own, Dread instead lashes out with his teeth. They gleam and shine in the afternoon sunlight, and he moves for the side of the predator's neck. Animated in the art of a fight, he clings to the creature's flesh. Growling deeply, the yearling is brassy in his show of aggression. He would help his father take the bear down, he would keep everyone safe. That's his job... right?

"Dread Fatalis"

It took him quite a bit to really get his bearings (pun intended). What with the sudden shock from the tremor and bursting into the light after being in the dark for...well, he wasn't sure how long he was in there for now, but probably a while judging by how harsh the light felt on his eyes. Squinting, he realized the bear was in full-on anger mode, and it didn't take long before Sirius and Co went into attack mode. The bear turned to look at him, black beady eyes locked on him before it was distracted and roaring in pain as his packmates launched their assault. Shaking his head to try and reorient himself, Grim finally is able to focus enough to assist. The earthen male launches too, horns down and claws unsheathed as he aims to stab the bear's shoulder with his horns. He's proficient at using them, and had lots of practice skewering things in his short life. The beast tries to throw off its attackers, turning every which way to reach them before rearing on its hind legs and shaking him off. He had been in this situation a number of times on his own, but now there were others involved. He had to do what he could to keep everyone safe and return home without serious injury, or worse. "Grimoire

I can't destroy what isn't there

The powerful Warlord’s first and main concern was to keep the bear’s attention on him, and off his son and Grim. To that effect, he worked on maximising his damage. Diggin in his feline-like claws, and aiming his elongated teeth at joints and weak points. The bear was very much distracted as Mini Sirius and Grim joined the assault.

As the bear realised its biggest threat was the old Warlord, it swung its giant paw at him. Its wicked long claws scored a hit on his shoulder as he attempted to duck out of the way. Using his purchase in the bear's coat to pull himself to the side. The attack only clipped him, but he couldn’t help the angry growl that slipped from his lips. Dread was zoning in on its neck however, so Sirius couldn’t pause. “Go for a killing blow!” he directed his son as he slashed his fangs across the back of the bears knee.


"Speech"

The bear held its focus on the Warlord, and his son could feel the pressure mounting. Dad was tough, but he was also old. He couldn't let anything bad happen to his old man, he couldn't let anything bad happen to Grim. That, and the bear was dangerously close to the Armada. With that, mini-Sirius bore down hard on his assault, not missing a beat. Doing as much damage as he could, exacting as much force as he could. Heart pounding in his chest as he set to work, dealing his damage with intention and precision.

Go for the killing blow. dad's instructions came. Without another thought to it, Dread sunk his teeth into where he could approximate the jugular vein to be. Into the neck, sinking in as fiercely as he possibly could. Snarling, a sound that resonated deep in his throat, deep in his chest. It's with great effort, and he could feel the blood and the gore as it began to coat his face and neck. He was doing all he could. A bruiser, a defender.

"Dread Fatalis"

With three large wolves on it, the bear was no match. The assault on all sides was proving too difficult for it to handle, and it would soon prove fatal for the bear. It was unfortunate that it had stumbled into this after the tremors in the cave, but Grimoire couldn't say that he felt any sympathy for bears. One had driven him from the cave he had called home before he came into the Armada, so any empathy for the beast was pretty much not there where Grim was concerned. He backed off a bit, horns unsticking from the bears flesh as Sirius hits it over and over, and he heard him call to mini-Sirius to go for the killing blow. Amber gaze quickly snaps to the yearling as he sinks his teeth into the beasts jugular. With one final effort, Grimoire launches himself one more time, this time, onto the bears back as it sinks to the ground. His claws sink into the back of the bears neck before his teeth reach for the same mark. Together, the trio of Armadans were able to bring down the beast. It wasn't a pretty sight, of course. Blood splattered across his earthen frame, his horns had bits of flesh and blood on them, and he could taste the warm gush on his tongue as it finally falls into the last throes of death. It lay still then, the wolves victorious against the threat. "Grimoire