Night has its hold over all of Auster and the warmth of spring can be felt even as the moon stands high in the heavens and the stars twinkle in the firmament. Most wolves have gone to bed long ago but the young Haydée’s bed lays empty this night as thoughts and worries have driven a restful slumber from her grasp once again. As the new alpha of Ethne, the girl has to think not only about herself but what the future holds for them all. Small paws carry her from the familiar pack lands that she knows so well and out to the sandy beach that lays just next door.

It is nearing midnight by the time she finds herself on the out on the shoreline, chaotic thoughts tumbling mercilessly through her mind when something causes her to pause. Haydée tilts her head curiously as she tries to figure out what is off since her mind is singing alarm but her eyes see nothing. Green eyes scan the beach, finding that there are no predators nearby and all the air is filled with is the smell of the salty brine of sea water. Yet her body continues to tenses as the alarm does not fade and dread beings to well in her small chest.

Frustrated, Hay scans the area once more and finds, again, that the beach is free from predators and any threat. All that her emerald gazes finds is the dead and dying kelp that has thrown up onto the shoreline from the ocean’s depths that mark the area of high tide. Just as her gaze sweeps over the olive and brown kelp once more, the elusive puzzle piece that her mind has been trying to supply to her, finally slips into place.

For a long moment, all she can do is stare dumbfounded at the place where the waves break against the sand. Only, right now, there is no water there and Haydée suddenly realizes that the sound that usually accompanies the water as it crushes restlessly against the beach are also absent. Eyes turn toward the horizon and she sees the glow of the bright blue algae but it is far off in the distance. Her mind whirls as she attempts to calculate just how far out the normally high tide is.

The only thing that the numbers do tell her is that something is not right. Anxiety begins to build as continues to look out over the dry beach and tries to piece together what this means.



WC: 423
Total WC: 423 / 1500


"Haydée Kedieo"

Things had been tumultuous lately, to say the least. Things in Dread’s head were… not so good. Very, very not so good. He’s been more anxious, more prone to acting out. Something has shifted and changed. Is it something within him, or something outside? Was it something he could control, or something that was going to slip through his fingers… just like everything else. Why did he feel like this? Like a deep sense of foreboding had spread through him. Was it the anxiety? Was it back and worse than before? Or was it something else. Dread didn’t want to live up to his name, not like this. Certainly not like this.

Fuck, how long had he been walking? He’d been trying to get back to the Armada, but he should have noticed a chill in the air by now. He should have noticed a chill in the air, a stiff breeze taking over. It should have been enough to grip him and rattle his bones. Instead, he’s drawn to something strange on the shore. Something strange off on the far distance… was that shimmering? How had he screwed up this badly, how had he been led this far astray?

It’s the strange lights in the sky, they’d tricked him. The way they seemed to flicker and change, they’d betrayed him. Something Dread thought was the sunset, something else that he’d been led to believe was the north star. They had pulled off some sort of nasty trick, and instead of going north east, Dread had been pulled to the south west. The opposite direction from the one he needed to go. Then again, there’s been some other strange things going on, too. The last time he’d passed through the shimmering shore, the tide had been out… but this was something else entirely. It’s too far out. A bit of dread spread over the boy’s system. Maybe it wasn’t anxiety, maybe it was intuition.

Down the beach, Dread catches some movement. It’s another wolf, and he could only hope it was someone friendly. A wary eye on the seat before him, he begins to make his way down the sand. It’s drier than it should be, as if the tide had been pulled this far out for a bit. He doesn’t like the way it shifts beneath his feet, and Dread is unable to tell if it’s the sand or something far below. Something far beneath. Another prickle in his system, realizing more and more that there’s something wrong out here.

As the figure comes into focus, the boy is relieved. It’s Haydée, from Ethne. A friendly face in the midst of… whatever this was. He offers a soft woof to alert her that he’s coming to greet, expression somewhere between friendly and nervous. “What do you make of it?” The words were spoken with some weight. Dread has picked up that something was off, but exactly what? That, he hasn’t quite figured out yet. He’s not sure he likes it, whatever it happens to be.

"Dread Fatalis"

928/1500

Something bad is on the horizon and it causes all of Haydée’s fur to stand on end. Yet, it is intangible, a mere feeling of something nefarious happening behind some thick curtain tickles her as she stares out at glimmer of the water that is so far away. It should be high tide and the water should be lapping at her toes, yet the sand is dry as a bone and that means that something is wrong. Exactly what that something is, the young Leader cannot say but, it feels as if there is a dark cloud hanging over the whole world, waiting to unleash some terrible calamity upon its face.

A soft woof pulls her attention from where the water has fled to and over to where the tall, dark form of Dread is approaching. Her brows have been knit together with worry and she has been chewing the inside of her without realizing it but, as she spies him, a smile slowly blooms across her pale lips. It is gentle and friendly and her tail gives a slow wag as he questions what she thinks. The smile’s progress is halted and it falters before giving way to a grave expression.

Haydée feels so unprepared for anything that has been happening lately, from the loss of her father to taking over Ethne, but this… this is something that even she cannot control. Emerald eyes turn back out to where the water line is only a faint glow on the horizon and that sense of something looming over her builds once more. Her mouth suddenly goes dry and the girl is forced to swallow down the fear that tastes like bitter bile in the back of her throat. Softly, she whispers, “I don’t know. But I’m scared, Dread.”

Green gaze snaps up to his face as she realizes she has just admitted a weakness to the boy and she rushes to quickly explain, “Ethne lands are not that far from the coast line. If the water comes back and floods the shore… we could be in trouble. I should warn the pack.” A million things fill her mind and Hay’s eyes become unfocused as she tries to order thoughts as they come. Her gaze slowly drifts back out over to the horizon, trying and failing to understand why this is happening. If Ethne is forced to flee their lands, the girl has no idea where they will go.

Worry knots her stomach, making her feel lighted headed and nauseous all at the same time. A pause stretches thin between the pair as Haydée tries to comprehend the far-reaching consequences this could have for her pack. Suddenly, the girl’s voice breaks the silence as she asks, “Do you think the statues are coming back?” There had been unnatural occurrences before the arrive of those strange beings and their appearance was only make more ominous by their sudden and unceremonious departure. Hay darts a glance at the boy, attempting to gauge his thoughts by simply reading his facial features.

A sigh rolls out onto the night air as her features pinch together, the telltale deep throb of a headache blossoming behind her eyes. “Why do you think this is happening Dread? Is anything weird happening near your home?” Bellamy had told her that the Armada’s lands lay in the far reaches of the North so it may be possible that they are safe from whatever is happening with the water. The girl silently makes plans to be sure that the pack is ready to move if something happens while she listens to what Dread has to say.


"Haydée Kedieo"

WC: 603
Total WC: 1531 / 1500