I figured that’s life and returned to my meatballs

Harbringr had worked his way back to Ashen's former territories and he was pleased to find it reasonably inhabitable. If they wanted the could move back into their old homelands if Deathbelle did not seek to move them somewhere else. Harbringr wasn't attached to any lands in particular, so he was fine with whatever his queen decided to do. In the mean time he would continue his exploring. He hoped to see just how far he could push towards the volcano before it became almost unbearable to go any further.

He'd pushed into the Soulless Forest which was so dark it seemed almost to be be night despite the sun still being up. Ash still blocked the sky and smoke continued to billow up from the forest. Harbringr could feel his eyes stinging and his throat burning as he pushed farther into the forest. A dull glow could be seen on the horizon. Was the forest still burning? Most of the trees where he was at were charred husks, covered in hanging, burnt articles of what he didn't even want to know. At first he thought there was a fog or mist slinking through the forest and perhaps there was but when he stepped upon the ground it would stir the ash into the air. A thick layer of ash coated everything and he found himself coughing lightly. Yes, this was not good. He better not linger her for too long. What was once a thick, gnarled forest had been left a burning, smoking husk.

Harbringr came to a stand still as he replayed his steps in his mind to try and figure out where he was and how best to get back. Without the usual signs in the sky to guide him, he had to work primarily from memory. Just as he was thinking all this over the ground shifted violently beneath him. The tremor shook and tore at the land and Harbringr stumbled, his tail waving wildly as he struggled to keep his balance, eventually falling down onto his side. Ari gently grabbed his shoulders and helped him to his feet as the tremor slowly subsided.  "I think we've seen enough Harbringr. Let's get going." Harbringr nodded. "Sounds like a plan." They'd left Costanza back near the Knolls. In truth Harbringr didn't want to risk her life as he traveled into more dangerous territory but it was also daylight when they'd left and the owl needed her sleep.

His gaze turned to the volcano which he could just make out through the burnt husks of the trees. It stood dark and foreboding in the distance with mountains of smoke and ash still bursting forth from its great mouth. He shuddered but even so he was hesitant to leave just yet, though he wasn't sure why. He supposed he had just been hoping for better signs but there was little to be found here. Anything living had likely been killed. Plant life was all but extinguished and there were no promising signs of prey.  

Suddenly the ground began to shake again and Harbringr swore. A large, charred tree trunk began to sway before falling right in front of him. "Harbringr, I think its definitely time to go."  Ari scrambled over the fallen tree trunk and gestured to his wolven friend. "Aye, I think you're right. This is just a mess. I wonder how long, if ever it is going to take this region to recover." He leapt over the tree trunk and made a dash for it as the tremor slowly began to still. He'd survived a couple of close calls already and he wasn't terribly eager to suffer another one. At least as far as he could tell the lava floes had come to a halt though it might be a different story closer to the mountain. All things considered though he wouldn't get any closer to the mountain today.

Thye worked carefully through the charred forest but both attempted to go as quickly as they could.  Neither wanting to risk going through another earthquake and potentially suffering some worse fate. "Well, at least Ashen's former lands are in reasonable condition. Can't say I've ever cared to get this close to Mount Volkan anyway."

Ari nodded. "I wonder if this will be the last time it blows or if it is still active. Either way, now we know what happens when the volcano lets loose its fury." Harbringr nodded, he was glad he wasn't in one of the packs that was at the base of the volcano. He wondered if any packs had fallen victim to the volcano or if everyone had been able to evacuate alright. Not that he was terribly concerned. If some of the packs were snuffed out then it was just less competition for Ashen. However, if most had evacuated there was a good chance that a number of them had evacuated closer to Ashen and he wasn't keen on more company. Tense borders were not how he wanted to start out his spring.