Levi did not leave his little corner of the north often, but how could he ignore this? Mother was back, almost like a harbinger of bad news. The sky remained a vivid, violent red, dulling out the gold of his coat as he pressed south, running and running till even he started to feel fatigued. He slowed to a walk, ears tilting as he listened to the distant rush of the waves to the east, but his attention narrowed in on the landscape ahead. As if something large had torn its way through, ripped up the ground with wide, impossibly large claw swipes.

And yet when he drew in a breath, nose twitching, he couldn't quite...put his paw on what scents he was drawing in. Strange. Unknown. Something he ought to be concerned about?

Bancha didn't enjoy labeling himself as oblivious. He, actually, was very much aware of what was going on. At least, on the surface of it all. How the sun beat a heavy red, casting shadows of murky reds and pinks across the whole sky. Whenever he looked up, his teal gaze meeting that of something only his dreams could procure, he wondered how it was happening. Storms rolled in and clouds could mask the sky greys and dark blues. When the sun set, the sky could turn purples and oranges and even sometimes the same reds and pinks he looked at now. Could it be what he saw in the sky wasn't truly the sun? Possibly something else?

The wolf's thoughts trail along like that as he wanders down south into the lands of Auster. After some digging around at the spires in Boreas, Bancha parted ways with his new friend, Beat, to go explore more of what others were whispering about. Something between the shore and Fossil Ridge had appeared, also seemingly out of nowhere. It didn't take him quite so long, but he was still rather tired by the time he appeared. Teal gaze sweeping over the carved and winding channels that scored the very earth he walked upon. When he's about to bring his nose down to the dirt for a good sniff, noting how strangely appetizing it smells, the sight of someone else catches his attention.

Instinctually, his tail goes wagging and a smile forms on his dark chocolate lips. "Hi, I'm Bancha!" His ever cheerful voice breaks through the ominous tension that sits heavy in the windless atmosphere. "Find anything interesting?" Bancha looks the male over once, taking a few steps toward him so he wouldn't need to yell, before he starts looking around again at the peculiar channels of dirt.

BANCHA

Really? A child? Okay, objectively he realised they were probably at least a year or so of age, but their size and temperament really rubbed him the wrong way. Was now the time to really be so laid back and chill, Levi really didn't seem to think so as he grimaced, ears flitting to the side in obvious displeasure.

"Interesting?" His gaze scoured the landscape once more. The ground was uneven, raked up in places with ridges carved out like waves. Levi moved slowly and with care, the ground was dry and crumbly, the temptation to dig and see what laid beneath was tempting and yet... "So none of this marks you as odd? The red sky? Massive grooves in the earth?"

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn had no real idea that anything amiss was going on in the Shimmering Shore. The spires were strange enough and as she wandered to and fro it was only a matter of time before her path took her through the space in between the shore and fossil ridge. Well what the heck happened here? Jynn scooted along one of the channels that wound through the earth. She eyed the red sun in the sky, debating how much time she had before she met with Álarr. Ehhh… probably enough. She couldn't leave this new feature unexplored.

Jynn traced the channel until she spied two canines up ahead. "Hey there! You two investigating these channels or just wandering through?" She perched on the edge of the channel before sliding in. There was definitely something going on down there. Without waiting for reply she started digging, he large ears tracking not only the sounds below her but listening for a response from the wolves above.

Bancha could see the displeasure clearly written on his face and yet, his tail still wagged. “I don’t particularly think odd things are always interesting,” he replies, head tilting lightly, his floppy ears doing a slight bounce. “Sometimes when forest fires are thick, their smoke can make sunsets seem really, really red and spooky like right now,” pointing his nose up to the sky and then down toward the channel, ready to give a possibility for the channels when another comes up.

Turning his attention to Jynn, he smiles as his tail goes wagging again. “Investigating! He might be a little scared though,” his lips turn down in a frown as he casts a sideways glance at the other guy. Why else would someone be so grumpy if they weren’t scared?

“I was just about to explain how digging might be a good choice. Mountains came from somewhere, right? Maybe this is the beginning of a new mountain,” Bancha’s brows raise up in question as he looks from the small, cute guy to the long legged lady who seemed really friendly.

Another stranger, long legs and a figure that wasn't nearly as wolf-ish as he'd expected. Whatever. Levi's scowl tightened, ears flattening at the insinuation. He was not afraid, but didn't care enough to argue. He was not entirely sure if they ought to dig and yet... he huffed out a sigh, his front paws moving to start scraping away at the surface level of dirt. Dry and crumbly, easily gave way beneath his paws. He knew of forest fires, how they could paint the sky red if it was intense enough, but there was no stink of smoke. There would have been other signs, fleeing wildlife, even the blazing heat on the wind.

This was something different entirely, likely right beneath their paws. And so he dug at the earth with a bit more force, pushed his way through the surface level to the more compact dirt beneath.

"Be careful."He warned, it'd be their fault if they didn't heed his warning.

Ouch!

Jynn digs and digs, and when the ground finally collapses, they fall down to the winding tunnels below, suffering a sprained paw in the process.

Ouch!

Levi digs and digs, and when the ground finally collapses, they fall down to the winding tunnels below, suffering a sprained paw in the process.

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn giggled as the small male suggested the saber-fanged one might be scared then went on to explain that they believed digging to be a good choice. She nodded as she continued digging. "I figure it can't hurt. There's definitely something going on down there. If its another set of those spire things maybe we can get ahead of-"

The ground collapsed and Jynn felt herself falling. She scrambled to stay upright and landed badly on her front left paw. "Shit!" she felt it roll underneath her and knew at once it was sprained. Coughing, she waited for the dust to clear for a moment before she fully righted herself. Instead of spires, she found herself down in a set of winding tunnels. The other man had fallen down in with her. "Well, crap. Think I sprained my wrist." She looked up toward the surface and debated whether she could make it back up but then she swore she heard movement, her large ears twitching. "Ummm…. are there any large animals that dig big tunnels I should be aware of?"