Our greatest fear realized

Walk | Talk | Think

Peace had claimed the budding family during the night, allowing for restful sleep and pleasant dreams. Within the protective circle of her mate's body, Anais lay curled too around their children, a means of offering them warmth as well as protection. The two girls, so beautiful and amazing, were precious to the new mother, and she wanted to spend every moment with them, waking and otherwise. Her need to protect them, not surprisingly, was just as strong as that of Glacier, so when the call for alarm rang out from Voltage as he raced for the dens, she jumped awake with a similar panic and curled instinctively tighter around the little bodies beside her.

"Glacier?" Her weary voice was a whisper as her mate rose and quickly tread over to the den's entryway, and she waited nervously, ears pinned, while he stepped beyond and out of sight. The little bodies beside her, stirred by the waking of their parents, squirmed restlessly, and she reached down to soothe them as best she could, willing her panic to lessen before they caught it too. "Don't you worry," she assured them, mustering a smile that they could not see in a voice that she forcefully gentled, "Daddy will--"

The second she heard his voice hissing her name, quiet but no less panicked, the promises she had been about to make died on her tongue. Something was wrong. Her gaze lifted, watching the entryway until he returned and, without a word, immediately scooped up their little Seraphiel by the scruff, earning a protesting cry from the pup. She wanted to ask what was wrong, felt a desperate need to know, but trusted her mate's judgment. Gently, Anais rose to her feet and reached to pick up Aurora by the scruff as well, eliciting only a quiet grumble. She met Glacier's pale, silver gaze, her own worried but determined, before she stepped outside of the den.

And froze. The water! It coated the stone interior of the cavern that housed her particular den, glimmering as it shimmered under the moonlight. Oh, if Voltage had not woken them...if they had been left to slumber... Pushing it from her thoughts, she stepped forward, entering the water and proceeding to step deeper into it on her way out of the den. Though she was still safe, she tilted her head back and her muzzle up, raising Aurora well above the waterline and hoping she would be able to keep her there. The water chilled her toes, ankles, legs as it climbed with each step, and she visibly shivered as it touched her underbelly. Goodness, it was already so deep she was wading in it, and they were not even out of it yet!  

She hesitated for a second as the water swirled against her sides, the puppy held aloft in her muzzle squirming its discontent. There was no apparent way around the flood that had entered their den, and with nothing else to do, she waded completely in, struggling a bit to keep Aurora over the water but managing for the most part. The pup's tail dipped below the surface, earning a plaintive whine, but she could not stop and only continued to paddle against the pull of the water as it rose and continued to enter the den, fighting her way out. Anais could spare no thought to Glacier behind her, burdened with Seraphiel, but focused solely on her own swimming as she paddled her way through the large opening of the cavern and realized the beach was almost entirely flooded.

Eyes wide, the shock was immediate, but she was not out of danger yet. Ignoring the cries of the pup still dangling between her teeth as she struggled to keep her above water, Anais glanced both left and right as she tread water, searching for a clear, safe path out of the flood and up onto higher land.