The crack in my foundation

They peeled out of the Hallows without a backwards glance. They set a decent pace, neither one willing to linger and waste time if Zee was in trouble. As they moved, the Warlord couldn’t chase away the growing unease in his chest. It wouldn't abate until Zee was in his arms. They skirted around Fireside, and he gave the packs borders a dark look. He, like Tam, looked for any scent of his Wife near the pack. His tracker found nothing, and he trusted in her abilities.

It was growing late in the afternoon when Tamsyn spoke out, questioning how far he wished to go into the evening. He looked at the path ahead of him, and then back to the still-injured wolf he called friend. A pained expression crossed his face, and he contemplated ordering her to rest while he scouted just a little further ahead.

Not that Tam would have let that fly.

Before he could voice anything, he caught the fading blur of fog rising into the sky. He stiffened, his body pointing in the direction of what could only be fire. Fear shot through his veins like a bullet, and he took off without a second thought.

Rushing in the direction of the smoke at a breakneck pace. He tore through the undergrowth, and found the spot that Zee and Azure must have camped at. The earth was blackened with soot and ash, and just to the side of the great patch of burnt earth lay two bodies. bodies being a misleading term. There was a hint of charred flesh still clinging to the bones, but it was clear the fire had run hot and fast before dying out. He howled. One long, pained gasp of a noise, loud enough to rend through the air

He threw himself towards the bodies, hissing at the heat that emanated from them. His paws burned in the hot ground as he threw himself to the side of the smaller wolf. Singed horns lingering upon the body.

No.

No, no, no, no.

“Zee” he moaned. He couldn’t feel his paws, he couldn’t feel the pain. He tried to grasp the wolf, to pull her onto his lap, and the last lingering pieces of flesh disintegrated. She was, quite literally, falling apart about his paws.

"Speech"