SIX FEET UNDER

Thunder scared Irin more than she was willing to admit. It had nothing to do with her wild imagination. It was just a pure (and entirely ridiculous) fear that had her fleeing into hiding once the first distant rumble of thunder appeared on the horizon. Her family had laughed at her a bit for that, but it had been a good natured laugh, and since leaving, she had never had to deal with a thunderstorm around other wolves. But this was the first storm that she had faced as a Glaciem member and Irin had been caught far away from her den. She was on the lookout now, seeking a place to hide from the forking lightning that arched across the sky and the noise that made her want to bury her ears beneath her paws and pretend that this wasn't happening.

When she found a den, Irin made a beeline towards it, diving into the space with her little heart thudding wildly in her chest. It was only when she skidded to a stop that her shaking subsided slightly and she realized that she wasn't alone. There was another that had claimed this small den as their own. Oops. Irin cringed back against the wall, pinning her ears flat against her skull as she lowered herself into a more submissive position. "I-I'm sorry," She forced her maw to work, though she let out a started yip when the next crash of thunder echoed in the air, before forcing herself to continue "I didn't realize this den was occupied." Ducking her head slightly, Irin squished back against the wall, hoping desperately that the female wouldn't send her on her way.

She didn't want to go back into the storm. It was terrifying, in a way that the stories Irin wove for herself were not. She knew they were fake, in her own way, but this? This was so much worse because it was scary without Irin imagining anything. She didn't need to picture anything to be scared.