Recruits Run-Through

Karatavuk spread his own blackened wings and gave them a thrust into the air as Aeria hung from her scruff in his jaws. He followed Kamea with his own steady beat of wings. He had no power over the currents...not anymore. He tried to bend them to get them moving a little faster, but with no success. Whatever was coming for them, it planned on taking everything. It had started already with their abilities.

His ears pinned as another wail echoed through the land, and his golden gaze could just barely pick up the faint stirrings of the currents around them. They were getting closer, and their scent began to slowly waft toward them. They were gaining, and quickly. Their intent was sure to cause doom to The Order.

How many of us are going to live? He thought as he soared through the air.

( I don't think they've come yet, and only two have taken to the air. Everyone else is still with you on the ground. )

Something evil hung in the air. Whatever it was made her hair stand on end. As she lifted her eyes skyward, she could see winged ones taking to the air. There was something worth fleeing from. The dark shadows of dreamed things, she thought wildly. This was no time to panic, but a time to act.

Always remember: The surface of the water when pierced or struck ripples and restores itself. It takes force used against it and dissipates it, and yet when the torrents strike they devastate and completely overwhelm. A great warrior is like the sea, immense in its power and fluid in its defense.

She was no warrior, but the old teachings stuck with her. She herself was in the tree line, and if the attack came from above she would be relatively safe here. But, where the winged ones took flight, there were perhaps others. And, if this were the case, they would be in danger.

A river holds more danger than a stream, even though they are of the same composition. It takes many droplets to form a storm. Against her better judgement, Dobharchu broke from cover and entered the open plain. The razored edges of the grass nipped at her flanks, but her gait was fluid and swift, even in spite of her weariness from travel. A river runs miles without rest, and so would she.

She keened her focus not on the sky above, but to where the wolves would be, if they remained. Still, she made sure to stay low enough to the ground so that she could drop to her belly if danger came from above. In her haste, she failed to consider the consequences of approaching a strange pack, particularly one that was on the defensive. However, a life of service to a pack was a mentality difficult to break, so with a gritting of teeth she moved forward.

There! A small band of mismatched creatures, some older, some young, remained gathered in this place. The feeling of impending danger chilled her through, despite the heat of such a sprint over the plain. She finally had a chance to look skyward, but briefly, before turning her attention to the wolves gathered. Grimy and thin, her appearance seemed mismatched to her agitated and unafraid stance. Her eyes flickered between elders, and briefly landed on a pup, not one of her own, but one for whom she felt a pang of sympathy, and for whose preservation she suddenly felt somewhat responsible. Eyes narrowed, she focused on one of the larger of the wolves. No fear in her voice despite her impertinence, something that under less dire circumstance she would have felt remorse over.

"Please." She said simply. There was urging in her tone, a tint of uncertainty, perhaps even fear. Her breath ragged in her throat, and she swallowed the saliva that flooded her dry mouth.

"Let me help."

A simple request, foolish in its audacity, but sincere. What she could do, or how she could serve, theses were unknown to her. Perhaps out of a need for self-preservation, or for more altruistic reasons, she meant it more than she'd ever meant anything before. "Lead and I will follow." No more courtesies would be needed, no flowery greetings or exchanges of name and rank. Her loyalty was laid out for them, and acceptance in such times of urgency would be almost certain.

The details could be worked out at a more opportune time.

The golden wolf's ears fell to sit tightly against her scalp at her sister's words, fearing whatever danger may be looming. She gave a curt nod though, not one to be found disobeying orders as she was instructed to take the young Terram to safety. Stepping lightly forward, she watched as the others too to the sky or began the long trek towards the Margins where it would - should - be safe. With a small shake of her pelt to rid it of some of the dirt that had collected in her fur, she dipped her head as if to pick up the youngster, but a voice gave her reason to pause.

"Please. Let me help." A simple request, foolish in its audacity, but sincere. "Lead and I will follow."

Misae gave the female a once over as she assessed and felt the sincerity within her words, though for some reason her ability to sense other's emotions seemed dulled. Unaware that it was the approaching danger causing her skills to be dimmed, she merely shrugged it off as she offered a warm smile to the stranger with her natural trusting nature. "Of course. We are heading that way to the Margins. I'll fly low so that you may follow." She gave a flick of her tail to indicate the direction before again lowering her head to Aphrodite. She caught the pup's scruff in a soft but firm grip and without further hesitation stepped back and unsheathed her wings, the feathered appendiges glittering in the sunlight.

With a small jump and a few downward thrusts she took to the air, watching the pup carefully from the corner of her eye to be sure she wouldn't try and jump - after all, she couldn't imagine a Terram being comfortable with flying. Hovering for a moment to quickly assess those who were left, she stretched her wings to the limits to catch the breeze and soar a small distance over their heads before propelling herself towards the Margins with a few powerful thrusts of her wings, ensuring not to gain too much ground on those below to ensure that they could follow.

One by one, the others turned and headed to this place, the Margins. A winged one offered to lead the way, and hung low in the sky as she flew with the small one in her jaws. She had been kind, or perhaps in need of another body in this time of urgency. The sheer number of cubs would be a daunting brood to protect for this small pack. While she herself lacked in maternal instinct, she'd worked closely with pups in the past, as a stern teacher rather than a nanny.

A nod from the stoic brute made her hesitate in following the winged one. Was he the one who led her here with his call. He turned silently to go his own way, although she assumed it would be to this designated meeting place as well. Torn between galloping after the one in the air or loping after the male on the ground she hesitated. One had spoken kindness, but the other seemed easier to track. With a slight grimace of final uncertainty, she turned and followed the male.

Something about that final nod, the silhouette of his disappearing form. He had the look of the dream wolf, one she had sought since the visions first began. The avatar of the Deep. A brute whose communion with the water was much deeper than her own, who smelled of the sea and the richness of saturated soil. If he were not the one, then perhaps he was the closest she would find. To not follow him now would be folly.

In her hesitation she'd lost sight of him, but tracked his scent. There was a sternness to him, perhaps a sadness, and the smell of moving water, of the energy of the living streams. Like one dying of thirst seeking the fabled oasis, she would follow him until he was found or she was lost entirely. At the river's edge, she stopped. He was gone.

But the feeling deep within her belly told her the truth of it. He was in the river, as much a part of it as any fish or plant. A shiver ran through her, like a hunger, and a weakness took her at the knees. Like a lost child relieved at finally reuniting with her mother, the sight of the moving stream filled her with a certain sense of relief.

She'd done it once - could she do it again? Or had freak circumstance helped her become one with the waters and move through them as naturally as her kin moved across the land. She slipped into the water, a tingle running up her spine as the water lapped her her legs and belly, and into the current. At first, she kept her head above the water, and paddled like her terrestrial kin, but finally she broke the surface and dove.

She could see clearly in the water, and her fur held bubbles of water as it repelled the water away from her warm skin. The grime of travel washed away, and the verdant marsh plants on her back seemed to swell as they drank the fresh water that washed over them. She felt as though much of her weariness washed away as well, and again, she was herself. She no longer paddled clumsily with her feet, but using minimal movements of her feet and tail wriggled through the water as quickly as any semiaquatic beast. When she thought she would have to surface to breathe, her body took over for her, the gills that lay on the sides of her neck expanding and contracting to bring in the oxygen she would need. As the sun dappled the water above, she broke the surface again, turning her eyes skyward.

There.

The female above was a dot of gold in the sky, and her path seemed to align with the river. Diving again, the wolfess made swift distance through the water, as though uneffected by any current. Her dark pelt gave her good cover in the water, and she seemed to disappear altogether into the river.

To the margins.

Audric's large head dipped in a nod and he sent a warning to his trees to be on alert, but right now they were silent. Which scared him more than anything. Looking back at the sky once more, it seemed to be empty for a moment, but appearances could be wrong. Audric started out at a trot heading for where the others had gone, but shortly his large body was flying over the ground, it did not take long for the Terram wolf to catch up to Eramus, before he passed even him. He wanted to make sure his new pup would make it there ok, strange how he had become os protective, so quickly.

With that thought in mind, he kept running.

(So Lame)

The silent female walked into a large field, it seemed that grass was growing over her head. The Terra felt it threading around he muzzle and parting at her shoulders. Se walked with confidence and knew that wolves had just been near. She strode towards their scent, her pace quickening with every breath until she halted by a large cloud of scents.

She could smell something else as well. Other elements? Yes, a mix of them. Earth, Water, Air and the faint scent of flames. Clouded eyes scanned the tall plants around her, unseeing though holding in ever detail. The bleached fae tilted her head to the sky and took a deep breath. Her eyes shot open and her fur stood up with excitement.

Charmed Ones.

The femme picked up her pace again, trotting briskly towards the scent until she knew she had reached the end of the meadow. This is it, don't mess up, she told herself as she walked to the Margin.

~Guess where she be goin' ~

(I don't really know if this is how I should enter or not. But hey, I'll give it a shot. Please correct me if I've messed up somehow.)

Heavy, blocky paws engulfed in flickering flames crushed the vibrant green grass and budding blooms unfortunate enough to be in way. The life beneath the Ignis' paws wilted and turned to ash in her wrath. As the bulky female halted, lifting her snout skyward to pick up the scents of the other wolves she sought, the plant life under her sparked and spontaneously caught fire. Smoke curled and danced at Sear's blunt muzzle, twisting then fading away gracefully. It was too bad that everywhere the lone wolf stepped she ended up killing. She couldn't seamlessly dance away from her destruction, then effortlessly vanish and never need to worry about her effect on things again, like the smoke.

Scarlet eyes swept over the gorgeous landscape. The swaying green meadow looked incredibly peaceful. Glancing over her broad shoulders, Sear studied the trail of fire and ash she had left behind. For a moment the fiery wolf doubted whether or not she should go on. Shuffling her gently whispering paws uneasily, the dark loner reconsidered her actions. Should she approach these other wolves? After pacing -- and setting a few more meters of greens on fire -- for several minutes, Sear built up the will to continue.

The Ignis had not encountered another wolf in months. It was time for her to break that record.

Setting off slowly and deliberately, listening to the perpetual crackle in her ears, Sear resumed her painful journey, following the fresh scent of fellow wolves.

(To The Margins, I suppose.)