Though she had talked with Birna she had still yet to do much within the pack. In fact, despite showing up to the training Nah had decided against staying. Seeing them all just filled her with so much anger… Nah couldn’t stand it. Maybe Birna was right. Maybe she didn’t belong in Ivory Ridge… and it was time to talk to Raba about leaving. It hurt, Gods it hurt. But who did she have to blame other than herself? Her own distance brought this upon her. As much as she wanted to pin the blame on Raba, Qualm, or anyone else… it was all her fault.

Nah hurried along, paws hitting the ground hard the angrier she got. She should have been paying more attention, been treading more carefully, but right now the young female just didn’t care.

…and that lack of control was going to be her last mistake.

Getting ever closer to the perilous top of Fenrir’s maw the female kept pushing harder and harder as if trying to burn out her anger by excising. All it took was one little mis-step…

…and the girl went sliding down off the cliff side. She screamed, a sound that was cut short the moment her body smashed into the snow covered rocks below. It was all over in that instant…

Ooc:: Exit Nah via Death.

It had been a couple days since Nah had gone missing. Qualm knew he was responsible for her and since his recovery he'd felt rather out of sorts. His paws carried him heavily through the mountains - there was so much of the maw that he didn't doubt a young wolf like herself could have gotten lost in it all. She had been a feisty one too so who knew what happened between her and her mentor to make her just stop talking to him. Yet going over to a ledge, what he didn't expect to find was lied out right in front of him. He was filled with confusion and his gut had simply dropped. Nah looked deathly still - even then there were flies all around her. That had to indicate she was at least a few days dead. With the mountains being so complicated no wonder no one had discovered her this deep in the maw. Qualm dropped his jaw and let out a shrieking howl of mourning not even by purpose. He dropped on his paws - he blamed himself for this. Her golden fur thick with the beginning signs of decay and he himself just buried his nose one last time into her fur. ooc: okay rest of the pack is free to join, mostly raba too. "Talk"

Chaos had been napping, having been keeping odd hours for his patrols out of respect for the owls who had adopted him as their friend, when he was startled awake by a strange, wild howl. He sleepily popped out of his den. Outside the narrow cave in the stunted little tree they roasted in, both owls' heads twisted as they too listened. "Something's wrong," he murmured to them, and Heecha bobbed his head with a solemn hoot. He and his larger mate both swooped away silently, and Chaos followed behind in the direction the call had come from. Before he reached the scene though, his keen nose told the gruesome tale.

He stopped beside the healer, and eyed the body. He recognized her - it was the young fighter who'd come to his fight training, though he didn't know much more than that about her. "That's rough, mate," he said aloud, not without sympathy though he kept private the thought that the mountains were just weeding out the unfit. Judging by the smaller male's reaction he had either been close to the dead girl or was particularly sensitive, so in a rare fit of tactfulness Chaos kept that to himself. He studied the body, frowning, the tilted his head back to stare up at the path far above them. She must have been going awfully fast to have fallen the way she did. As a pack guardian he had to consider the possibility that she may have been chased, though that seemed pretty unlikely. It was a lot more likely that she had been chasing something, or just plain running like kids did. He would have to step up his patrols just in case though, and maybe push the pack harder to increase their agility and knowledge of the paths here.

"Sgili, find Raba please," he added out loud, and the orange-eyed owl rose obligingly from her perch on a ledge above them to wing silently off to find the alpha. "We could probably call the pack together to bury her," he offered awkwardly in lieu of any more comforting words. "We could travois her down to the steppe, unless you want we should make a cairn over her here."

Golden eyes focused intently on the pelt before her, she'd cleaned off the rest of the hair and gave it as an offering to the nesting birds leaving a bare hide.  She wasn't sure yet what she was going to use it for but she hoped to create something similar to Peregrine's bag so that she could have something to care trading supplies in.  She paused for a moment in her work as she thought she heard something echoing about the mountain but shrugged and cast aside the thought as the wind.  She had much to do and little time to do it in.  Although… perhaps that wasn't the right word for it.  Everything was as quiet as ever and she couldn't help but wonder if anything would change if she simply just disappeared.

Fate will move as it will and I would rather you live boldly, I would rather you explore and live like a warrior than hide in your den like a timid mouse  

Her mothers words came sifting through her mind.  The words from the strangest dream in a realm between.  Well, she was trying wasn't she?  Though, lately she supposed she'd been keeping to herself or rather left alone.

Satisfied with the hide she slipped into the caverns and was swallowed by the dark soundlessness and unaware of the tragedy taking place farther up the mountain.  Deeper and deeper she journeyed until she'd found the deposits of a rich red silt.  Carefully scooping some up in a scrap of hide she gingerly walked toward the opening.

Karabela… are you happy?"

Karabela frowned as she stepped back out into the light, blinking away the shadows that clung to her vision.  As she stooped to set down the silt she caught site of a large owl heading her way.  Odd…. what was an owl doing out in daylight.  A moment later she recognized the owl as Sgili, one of Chaos' companions.  She immediately knew that something was wrong. "Lead the way, Sgili!"

She raced up the mountain, long limbs caring her swift and true.  She knew this mountain inside and out and navigated it as if she were water flowing over the twists and turns.  The scent of blood filled her nostrils as she came upon Qualm and Chaos. "What happened!"  She didn't need to wait for an answer as she came upon the smashed body of Nah.  Karabela's stomach turned and she looked away for a moment, falling quiet.  "Oh Qualm… I'm so sorry."  She turned to face the man and regret boiled suddenly hot in her stomach.  What the hell had she been thinking creating a pack in such treacherous territory?  Thinking that she was simply making her members stronger?  Foolish!  

Though… there was a part of her, a darker part, a more practical part that insisted much of it was the girls own fault.  What had she done to engage her other members?  What had she done to learn about the territory in which she'd lived? Her willful ignorance lead to her death but Karabela could not fully remove blame.  It was her folly that lead to a pack living here in the first place.  Would not Qualm and Nah have done better in a gentler terrain?  Would Nia have disappeared if the living here wasn't so harsh?  What of Dominik?  If Tonrar found his sister would he dare to risk her life in this place?  She could feel the pack slipping through her fingers and saw the battered, bloody body as an omen.  It made her blood run cold.

Taking a deep breath she gathered her thoughts.  "We can't leave her like this.  Qualm, you were the closest thing here she had to family.  I'll let you decide what you want done with her.  I'll call the rest of the pack."  She tipped back her head and howled, knowing that it probably wasn't necessary.  The others would've heard Qualm but just in case.  She wished Birna was here but the woman was out of the area, escorting Dagmær on another hunting escapade.  She wasn't sure what the older woman would think, probably nothing but cold, calculating practicality.  Wolves died, if she wasn't strong enough she wasn't strong enough and it was the mountains right to claim her but it still didn't seem fair.

Karabela… are you happy?"

""

While Qualm was upset, he knew perfectly well that this was how life intended it. Nah just made a mistake and in the wild here it was a dog eat dog world. Or wolf eat wolf. He himself knew how lucky he had been in his youth. The male had nearly been eaten by a large bird of prey - carefully he came to his senses and took in a deep breath. As Chaos arrived he gave his best condolences. Qualm was thankful for the pack he had but he knew as well as any wolf that there wasn't much time to be spent on sadness. Qualm dipped his head falling silent as he himself on the inside was processing things. It did not take long for Raba to get here, and the male would keep his tail tucked slightly. "It just means that it wasn't meant to be. A wolf who cannot survive the maw is no wolf of ivory ridge." Qualm would answer as his ears flicked. He knew he wasn't very spiritual but he certainly hoped that Nah was in a better place now. "I think I'll mourn her tonight, keep vigil and in the morning I shall bury her in the ground near my den. Any of the pack is welcome to join me it doesn't matter." he shook his head. Knowing that he had to be strong about this, but he smiled to Raba. Whispering a small thank you to her out of all this. "Talk"