Flash Flood!

Woken from a deep slumber by a set of tiny fangs and not-so-tiny claws puncturing the thin skin of his face and belly respectively, the dun behemoth jolted to his paws with an indignant cry. "The fuc-" he started to shout at his companions, but the rumbling beneath his paws shut him up immediately. Not only under him, but all around. He was in his den, very close to ground level compared to many others in the Warrens. It didn't take long for his sire's rallying cry filled in the rest of the gaps- a flood. The water was rushing their way, and that was why the entire mountain seemed to quake with terror. "Pea, get over here." he snapped, scooping the pangolin up with one huge paw and carefully lodging the trundling beast between his teeth. Legs dangling from his maw, and a tiny bat clinging to the thick fur of his ruff, he followed the instructions that echoed down the corridors. Rushed his companions up the mountainside as fast as he could, they were small and ill-suited to swimming in a torrent of floodwater. There were very few wolves in the Training den already, most were probably doing the same as him- wrangling companions, mates, children- children. Where were his siblings? His nieces, nephews, cousins?

He carefully set the pangolin onto the slippery stone floor, feeling the sodden bat slip free of his rain-slick fur and flutter awkwardly to the ground. "Stay." he commanded, shooting them a stern look. "Keep an eye out for anyone coming in, keep them away from the cave mouth until I come back." the young wolf added, before he tore off back down the mountain. Already the murky waters had begun to sweep through the valley, and a few furry heads were bobbing against the tide in a struggle to keep afloat. He could see Kite- but before he reached her, there was Goss to haul her and one of his little nieces out of the water. Charlie too, his doppleganger was rescuing the winged pup from his eldest brother's litter from the torrent. That was two littermates and two pups accounted for, plus one older sister. Where was Andy? Crux? It was pouring rain, he couldn't just sniff them out.

Time to brave the floodwaters and pray for mother nature's lenience. Without much thought Stratum launched himself off a slippery ledge and into the water, back towards the tunnel that led towards half of the litter's dens. It was so much closer to the ground, and had been the first to start flooding. Already the entrance was barely visible above the waterline. Heart in his throat, the whites of his eyes rolling with panic as he searched for any sign of him. "Stra-" a hoarse cough punctuated an undeniable call of his name. He looked to the rocky mountainside, found a small feline silhouette amidst the pelting rain and frothy sea foam. "Stratum!" the slender leopard called out again, tugging at a thick rope between her jaws. He didn't stop to question it, he just moved. Thick cords of muscle strained against the violent currents, pushing him to the far edge of the valley and up against the rough rocks of the mountainside. Hooking one sturdy limb around the rope, he sucked in a deep breath and let the water swallow him. He knew he'd reached the edge of the tunnel's mouth when his paws stopped connecting with frigid stone. So he braced himself against the wall and pushed against it as hard as he could.

The burly yearling could feel the ache in his lungs already, holding his breath was hardly a regular occurrence. Especially not while (unbeknownst to him) hauling two other wolves on the end of a rope through a flooded cavern. One of Stratum's strongest qualities was his "no thoughts, only love" approach to most of his life. So he wasn't concerned with the way his entire skeleton seemed to groan in protest against the strain of the crushing tidal wave, the rushing currents, or the way he struggled against the unwieldy burden being freed from the cave as he pulled on the rope with tightly interlocked forelegs and massive jaws. It was nothing but unbridled love for his brother motivating him, regardless of the consequences. He couldn't see a damned thing, but he could feel a waterlogged freight train collide with his shoulder when the other end of the rope seemingly ran out. There was Crux- it had to be. He traded his grip on the rope for a tight bear hug around the slender frame of the wolf who had been attached to the other end (two wolves, but who's counting?). The goliath kicked off the wall and swam as quick as he could for the surface, his chest burning and head feeling fuzzy.

He broke the surface with a shuddering gasp, and like an elephant seal he hauled out onto the nearest flat surface he could find. Riya was already dragging him by the scruff to help the process along, and when his back paws were on not-very-dry land he pushed the exhaustion aside and got up. Quivering from head to toe, he rolled his brother onto his side. There was another furry bundle in his arms, a mystery to the gilded Fatalis boy. He pried the small wolf from Crux's grasp and pressed an ear to his chest. Over the din of water pounding against stone from every angle, he could catch the faintest heartbeat. Stratum hefted one of those absurdly large paws and thumped his brother's back once, twice, three times. Waited for the water to be spluttered from his lungs, for a gasp of some kind. Everything would be fine, right? He lifted his paw to smack the water out of is brother, only to finally hear the retching cough he was looking for. "Crux? Crux! You're gonna be okay!" it was as much a reassurance to his brother as it was to himself, that it was alright now. "Riya, will you help him now? I have to make sure the puppies are all accounted for." his voice was hoarse, he hadn't even realized how raw his throat felt until he'd spoken. Half frozen and soaked to the bone, the shivering that wracked his body was equal parts terror and hypothermia by now. The indian leopard wordlessly moved to assist the injured wolves, and Stratum leaned down to smooth his tongue over Crux's cheek before he left. The saltwater on his tongue was reassuring, knowing his brother was out of harm's way for now.

Back into the frigid saltwater, fuelled by adrenaline and stupidity. Aris had pups, he knew this. She must be needing help wrangling them all, right? Her den and workshop were on the other end of the Col, right in the path of the tidal wave. The mechanical motion of swimming, mindless pushing of limbs against the forceful motion of the currents that pressed into the Col, warmed his body just enough to survive the impossibly long swim from one wide of the valley to the other. By the time he could see the entrance to the tunnels that held the workshop his elder sister occupied, water had already been rushing in for some time. Yet again, no time for thoughts about danger or personal safety. Just a headlong rush, half running and half swimming through the tunnel as water rushed past and into the caves within.