I Will Survive

Aerndis sat in ashes. They coated the land like a strange gray snow that dulled even the brighter fall colors. She'd been on her way from the bay to Legion when the volcano erupted. It sent her scattering out of her den and her companion Rudolph had taken to the sky screeching in fear. She'd been at the redbud nook, she'd seen the lava go pouring down the sides of the mountain and the trees seeming to burst into flame. The dark, throbbing sky twisted and pulsated above her and fear gripped her heart and her mind. She'd fled westward, hoping to get to Legion and now here she was, settled in the range. She was tired, exhausted and slightly singed from her experience. She'd arrived home only to find nothing. There was no one here. Legion was gone.

She sobbed in frustration and exhaustion and fear. For a moment she was a young pup, abandoned by her family once again and that fear gripped her that just like her mother she would never find them again. She didn't even know where to begin looking. They could've fled to almost anywhere. She coughed violently and settled down next to her grandfather's tractor as another tremor raked through the land. Her stomach roared and she flinched at the hunger pangs that throbbed in her abdomen. She'd eaten sparingly on her journey and in the past few days she hadn't had the best of luck in hunting and now thanks to the volcano she wondered if she'd have any luck.

Aerndis got to her feet and began scouting through the range, hoping to find something but she felt like it was a fruitless search. Still she tried, moving to the most western part of the range where there was less ash as she was more likely to find prey though as she hunted she realized most prey had probably fled west. She wondered if perhaps that is where Legion had fled to? It was still a lot of ground to cover but at least it was some place to start and that was really what she needed, some place to start. She moved west and kept on moving, keeping her eyes open for some source of food. Movement caught her eye and at first she thought it was a rabbit but it turned out to be a hawk which took to the sky with a small mouse in its talons. That sight gave her some hope that maybe there was still some prey about.

"Rudy, can you take to the sky and do some searching for me? I think two sets of eyes will be better than one." The bird nodded.

"How's your sense of smell?" She gazed at the eagle and shrugged before shaking her head.

"My throat and my nose still burn. I can smell ok but I think we may need to rely on our eyes. I'll keep trying though." As if to demonstrate she bent her head down and began to smell the earth, seeking an trace of a potential food source. Rudy took to the sky and began flying over the land though she could tell it wasn't pleasant for the bird. There was still ash in the air and she wondered how long it would be there. How long would it take all of this to settle down? This was going to be a bad winter, she could tell. It reminded her of her first winter alone and it wasn't something she wished to repeat. She really hoped she could find her uncle's pack before the worst of winter settled in.

But first food. Aerndis needed to keep her priorities in order. She wouldn't get far without food. It was hard but she tried to focus her mind on the task at hand and she started smelling and searching. Mostly she was focusing on the smell of rabbit as it was about all she felt she could catch. A deer would be possible but she had a feeling they were quick to move out of the area. She couldn't think of many prey animals that would stay but rabbits being smaller were less likely to get far and she personally thought they were a bit stupid. Still… they would need to eat, they'd need to go where food was and so did she.

Hours stretched by and her hunger got worse. She was starting to think she'd never find anything to eat until she heard Rudy call out. She raced to the source of the call and saw the corpse of a young bison, half eaten. There was a coyote there as well as a number of crows and ravens. She didn't hesitate she dove in and began eating. The coyote wasn't pleased with the company and it turned to snap at her just as Rudy dove, his talons digging into the scalp of the coyote. It yelped and shuffled back. Aerndis just kept on eating as Rudy joined her. The coyote eyed them but moved back into the kill. While there was still food to be had the predators ate in an uneasy peace that would soon break as resources became more scarce.



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