”Motif!” Poem cried out into the canopy again, not certain how many times she’d repeated her sister’s name. Her pale form navigated the mangrove roots with difficulty, she wasn’t sued to this kind of terrain. What time wasn’t spent calling out for his sibling was spent making sure she didn’t fall into the mud or water below her. ”Motif!” She called out desperately again, willing the form of her sister to materialize before her. She missed her, and her heart hurt with worry for her.

Edgar clung to her shoulders as she pressed on, tears threatening to overflow onto her cheeks. It had been weeks now that Motif was gone, Poem felt like she hadn’t slept since the night she left. The young Destruction girl couldn’t understand why her sibling hadn’t told her where she was going, her mind returned time and time again to that question. It led her to believe Motif hadn’t left of her own accord. ”Motif!” She called out as loud as she could. Motif had to be out there, she had to hear her.

Poem lowered herself onto her haunches, finding it easy to do so on the thick root beneath her. Dark ears fell to her skull as she looked down at the water, noticing the changing color of the sky in the reflection below. The girl looked up through the canopy, realizing it was getting dark and she was far from home. Her raven wouldn’t be much use sooner rather than later, and neither of them saw the pair of eyes watching from the shadows.

Though Autumn had stripped the mangrove of most of its' life, Dominus still found the density of all the thick trees here suitable to his needs. While other predators often lurked in the shadows here, so did he- and he was usually the biggest out of all of them, so he had sort of made this forest and others like it to be his 'home'. His chosen hunting strategy for the day was to simply use the thick of the tree trunks here in the mangrove to hide the majority of his dire size. Once the titan could hear something rustling through the fallen leaves caught on the floor of the mangrove, he would set his ambushes and catch his snacks.

The teen was merely surviving, spending the day lounging beside a tree and conserving energy while he waited for something to walk by without noticing him. The cries that came from the girl certainly had not been expected as he listened to the forest sounds. A lost girl crying in the woods wasn't going to increase his hunting likeliness to succeed tonight and honestly sounded far more interesting to investigate than it was lazing beneath the trees. The titan teen stretched his stocky frame before he began to take off in a hasty trot toward the one calling out. Someone was lost, whether it was this girl or whether this girl was the searching party was unknown to him, but he wanted to help if he could. He had nothing better to do, and maybe this was some pack princess or something that had access to lots of food. Maybe he'd get a reward. Maybe he'd get his head cut off after being framed for kidnapping. Who knew?!

The teen's large Kingsnake remained coiled securely around his neck, the bulk of its body overlapping each other until most of its' tail could rest down the wolf's spine. It appeared to be a massive reptile, one absolutely visible and unable to be hidden even in the thick of the dire's fluff, at least not entirely. Dominus was certain that hauling the pet around in itself had increased the strength of his neck muscles, but it wasn't intentional. He just enjoyed the snake's company.

As he finally reached the girl that had been crying out for another, he slowed his trotting and kept his ears alert to what was around him. He knew he might not be the only one that had been lured in by the youth's calls, but so far everything seemed quiet.

"Are you alright?" His voice was hushed as he was hopeful of hunting still being a possibility after the helped her, despite how loudly she had been shouting. The dark-colored male knew he could often appear intimidating, though he seemed to hold himself lazily and immediately retired his weight to his haunches to make him seem like even less of a threat. Today he wasn't wanting to challenge or boast to anyone, he simply wanted to relax. Everything that had happened lately made it not even worth the effort to flaunt his pride and risk pissing off the more sensitive wolves.

Although he wanted to discover what her answer to that question was, he did not take the time to hear it out. The glint of a predator's stare coming from nearby shadows cast by the trees made him move past the girl and face the stare. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was low enough that he was not afraid... not for his life, at least. He hoped to avoid getting any serious injuries again, as pain and healing weren't exactly his idea of a good time either. He recognized the eyes as a cat, but the rest of it was still mostly hidden from his sight- it had been staring down the girl, though now that it sensed it had been caught in the act.. it's attention quickly shifted toward Dominus.

Dominus was over his curiosities by this point, his face contorting in just a short moment into a full-fledged snarl. The meat of his square muzzle wrinkled together while his eyes narrowed, he hated the idea of cat claws and did his best to set his defenses appropriately for dealing with them. Once he had done so, he launched himself into those shadows without making a sound in an effort to listen. He knew that cat would be quick, it would move maybe too fast for his eyes to keep track of in those shadows.. so he needed his ears to aid him as much as possible, and that meant no growling.

He grabbed onto the lynx's back left limb just as it nearly slipped away from him, much like he would do when trying to catch small deer or goats. He thought it would be a good idea, but did not calculate the flexibility of a cat. Almost mediately, the cat had curled into the teen's face and began piercing the flesh of his cheeks and around his eyes with its claws. He did not want to let go and risk the lynx attacking the smaller girl in his company, but those claws fucking stung. Reactively, the teen let go of the now mangled hind leg of the lynx, the warmth of his own blood spreading down his face as he did.

Edgar didn’t see the boy until he was nearly on top of the pair of them. The piebald raven startled as the tall stranger asked her what was wrong. Dark ears clung to her skull as she looked at her paws. Poem wasn’t nervous around tall wolves, her mother, father, brother.. they were all giants. She looked back up to him to answer the question, but was greeted by the sight of his silent snarl. She couldn’t even do anything as he leapt at her except for put a paw up.

Nothing came but the sound of a furious cat from behind her. Poem forgot her woes and jumped around, her eyes wide as she looked at the giant and the lynx. The cat had its paws around the strangers face, and as it was dropped blood dripped from the claw marks. Poem’s bright eyes widened in surprise as she hesitated no longer and raced after the cat.

Poem made a similar grab at it, with her hackles raised and ivory tail waving behind her in dominance and to help her balance as she danced with the lynx. Her lighter build allowed her to bite at the cat’s hips and retreat in time to avoid retaliation. She was playing a dangerous game though.

The lynx' forepaws were latched deep onto the titan's face, causing his own blood to blur what little vision he had through his narrowed eyes. He wanted to murder this cat, though it was just slightly too heavy for his thrashing to successfully lift the cat off the ground and toss it around like a rag doll- oh but he did try. Dominus' thick neck jerked as he slammed the cat into the ground repeatedly, still holding on to the back leg of the lynx while it lacerated his face.

He felt the stranger's weight disturb the ground around him and the cat and he ceased his thrashing, allowing her to attack how she wished- he was surprised she even came to help him. Her bite to the cat worked immediately, setting Dominus free almost as soon as her fangs made contact with the lynx. Heavy paws shuffled through the dirt as he pulled himself away from the lynx as soon as he could, though thick talons were soon anchored right back in as his toes splayed and he set himself up to run back into the fray.

Jowls unlocked once again, his blue tongue coiled back in his mouth as he bared the thick set of cutlery that he had available to him. With the lynx choosing to face the girl, Dominus was granted a clearer path to the cat's neck. He would attempt to land a bite right on the cat's jugular, but it's awkward flexibility and speed caused the cat to slip just out of his grasp, but Dominus' caught its shoulder. This worked to keep the cat from being able to turn and use it's left front leg against him, but all other legs were already scrambling and scratching down the wolf's neck in an attempt to get him to let go.

The snake that had been coiled around the wolf's neck was now finally instigated enough by the fight to initiate a strike. The serpent had been slowly moving its face back, coiling and readying itself just for this moment. Now that its prey was in the wolf's jaws, its fangs were revealed as it's jaw split and the serpent struck the ribcage of the lynx. Immediately, the rest of its body began to unravel from the wolf and recoil around the back legs of the lynx, forcing them straight as it squeezed tight and kept the lynx from using them any further.

Dominus had stopped moving, simply holding on to the struggling cat while he felt the weight of the snake attached to it. He allowed the snake to finish its goal of restricting the lynx's movements before his teeth released only a slight enough amount of pressure to let the cat slide through them just the couple inches it took to reaffirm themselves down on their initial target. The cat's neck.

Poem continued her back and forth assault, jumping in and striking but removing herself before the cat could land a blow. She was a decent fighter, nothing incredible but she learned fast. She likely wasn’t as good a fighter as her brother anyway. She had beat her sister Theory in a spar recently, which had been fun and nothing near as adrenaline racing as fighting the cat. Her savior was the real winner though, Blood covered his face and he seemed to sink all of his focus in killing the cat.

The girl was surprised when the snake suddenly struck at their opponent’s body. She was glad she was well out of the way when it happened. Before she could blink though, the cat was completely constricted and yowling in pain. Thankfully Dominus had already grabbed hold of its neck, and the life was quickly drained out of the beast. They were victorious.

Poem felt herself breathe heavily, after all of her running back and forth she had her heart working overtime and her breath came in gasps. She had almost died, but the titan had come to her rescue. She hadn’t even realized the lynx had been there, and that was the scariest part. What if he hadn’t been there to help? Would she and Edgar have been successful in warding it off?

By now the light in the sky was nearly gone, but she felt a little safer with the young man with her. ”Thank you,” she uttered humbly as she was sure the cat was deceased. ”You saved my life. I’m.. I’m Poem Destruction. of Abaven.” Her voice was soft, but it didn’t hide the fear in her. She could have died this night were it not for him.

The lynx's life was probably not something that Dominus had to take, but he did so anyway; it seemed only fair, considering it had been preying on a wolf pup. Even though it was a deserved death, Dominus made the death as quick as possible. The snake had covered most of the lynx's body already, nearly slapping with it's body as Dominus insisted on hanging on to the neck of the lynx. He hated seeing things constricted by the snake, honestly. It was brutal. He snapped the lynx neck to spare it from suffering and then finally let go, allowing the snake to do as it pleased.

He stepped away from the body of the lynx and looked up to Poem. She seemed to begin to thank him for saving his life and it caused confusion to riddle his features, 'brow dots furrowing together as he questioned whether or not the girl would have been able to fight it off by herself. Perhaps not. Had he really just saved a life? It was a weird thought, but he shook his head to dismiss it as he remembered the cries that drew him here in the first place.

"Poem Destruction?" He knew that was the name she had given, but he spoke it again to better affirm it to memory and to reassure her that he was listening, despite the look on his face.

"I am Dominus Praetor, who is Motif?" He did not blame her for getting distracted by the lynx, but he had not forgotten. Blue tongue idly pulled away the blood that was dripping down his face and pooling at the corners of his inky lips while he awaited her answer. Cat claws did much more damage than he thought, but he would remember that the next time he tried to bite one. Perhaps it would be better not to hold on, but to instead focus on avoiding those claws and keep moving. Novice struggles.

It's a bunch of tiny animals!

The lynx wasn't the only animal out of place here. As soon as it was chased away and things settled, other critters started to appear. Where were they going? Rabbits, voles, and other small mammals begin to rustle in the underbrush. A few mice even attempt to slide between the wolves' paws. It's a lot of little prey animals! Watch where you step, these guys are on the move!

He repeated her name cooly, where his expression lacked the interest his voice did. He was quick to introduce himself in return as Dominus Praetor. She tilted her head curiously, wasn’t that Tornadic’s last name? She completely lost that train of thought as he spoke Motif’s name. She had almost forgotten she had been calling desperately for her dearest sibling. Poem’s eyes fell to her paws in shame. Her voice was likely what brought the lynx to begin with. This had all been her fault, she made so many pup like mistakes.

Before she could answer him though, what seemed like a million tiny rodents began to bubble up from the earth. Poem’s eyes widened in surprise as a thousand mice raced past her pretty paws. She wasn’t sure what to do, they didn’t seem inclined to bite. However she might have been. ”What is this?!” She questioned as she lifted a paw and a vole stuck to her toes. Poem didn’t hesitate to shove the panicked creature into her mouth. For the second time, her sister was forgotten.

Dominus watched her carefully as she hung her head, concerned for the well-being of whoever this Motif was. He waited for her to explain, but before she could.. a horde of small animals seemed to run past them. Dominus did his best to move and avoid them running over his large paws, but there were too many. Eventually, he stood still and let them scurry past him as they pleased.

He looked up to Poem as she pulled her paw up with a vole attached, questioning what was going on. Dominus wasn't used to being asked to figure out situations, so at first.. he didn't even register that she was asking him to explain what was happening. After a moment, he shook his head and continued to watch the animals.

"I think they are fleeing, they are not attacking us. We should run with them." He wasn't sure what it was they were running from, but if it was enough to have this many creatures fleeing their homes in the middle of the night, something bad had to be approaching. He remembered when the lava poured from Volkan on the day his sister died and how the birds had fled before the fires started. He prayed that was not what was in store for them on this night.

"Come on, let's go." He would carry her if he had to, but he wasn't going to leave her behind just in case there was danger. Especially not if someone else had already gone missing.

Poem continued to watch the tiny creatures rush by, bright blue and lavender eyes racing with them. When Dominus finally answered the girl felt the unease in his voice, and as he continued she had to agree with him. Something was going on, and they were not safe. A flashback of the many creatures running from the thicket fire replayed and she felt her heart leap. ”Lets go.” She looked back up at the larger boy’s features and nodded determinedly. She was already saved by him once, she was going to hold her own this time.

Ivory paws carried her forward as the last of the tiny animals rushed forward, she raced to keep up with them. Now that she was running she could almost feel the disturbance in the earth. Something bad was going to happen. ”Motif is my sister.” She told him, suddenly remembering the question as she ran from potential disaster. Losing Motif had been a disaster in itself. ”I.. I’m searching for her.” That she went missing went without saying. Her fear and anxiety that gathered for her sister was obvious in her voice despite how Poem aimed to hide it.

She didn’t want to look weak in Dominus eyes, not that she knew why. Maybe it was his impressive display against the lynx and potentially saving her life. With her dark ears pressed to her ears as her pale paws continued her forward she felt the adrenaline in her veins as her heart slammed heavily against her chest.

Dual-tone blue eyes gleamed as they flashed to her for just a second when she started to speak. She answered about Motif and he gave a flick of his ear in response, but nothing more. His eyes returned to face forward, watching the rodents as he continued to run. He could easily outrun her, but he did not. He kept in league with her own pace and carefully surveyed the area around them.

He wanted to get to higher ground, to see what was going on in the distance. He wasn't exactly built for climbing, but a sideways grown tree would have to do. He turned toward the tree, accidentally stepping on a rat in the process but he did not stop. Talons gripped the bark of the tree as well as possible as he kept his momentum, legs quickly excelling him forward hopefully before his weight sent him back to the start of the tree.

Once he made it up to where it was mostly horizontal, he could finally stop. The tree swayed under the weight of the behemoth and he nervously stood still as he wondered if it would break- so far, it did not. Once the swaying settled down, he moved up the trunk of the tree, his nose pushing through leaves until he found an opening big enough to see in the direction he suspected the problem.

Smoke.

It filled the air and partially obstructed his view of the moon, though still remained far in the distance.. from the mountains that birthed him. His eyes narrowed as he remembered it's fit last year, though judging from how far they were and the animals were still running? He hoped it wasn't any worse than last year, but he was concerned.

He looked for the girl in his company now, the muscles in his limbs burning from his awkward weight distribution on the trunk of the tree. It worried him that she didn't know where her sister was, but he wanted to get this lost girl home.

"I am sorry to hear about your sister, but you should not be out here alone. I promise to look for her, but you must let me take you back to your family." Preferrably before they came looking for her then caught the two of them together and assumed the worst.

Dominus sighed as he tried to carefully get himself back down from the trunk of the tree. Getting down was nowhere near as easy as getting up had been, and once he got to the base where the tree started to curve more, he started to slide. Though his talons would attempt to grip the bark, they were not built for such a thing- all four on both front paws began to splinter, a few bleeding before he was finally low enough where he could leap back to the earth.

A fucked up face and now frayed claws? This night was proving to be a pain in his ass. As much as he wanted to find somewhere to rest, the volcano and the lost girl kept him motivated to remain with her until she was home, safe.