Whitestone Monadnock I'm sittin' pretty

It wasn't often that mother left them unattended, at least it hadn't been. In the last week or so she would leave without giving them another adult to watch over them and make sure they didn't wander off. It didn't worry Kára as she always returned, nor did it bother her really as she always had her brother @Odin to entertain her. Today however the fiery girl had settled herself on a new task. As she grew the child came more and more in touch with her senses and had begun pushing the limits about what they could do. Today she had attempted to follow her mother without the older woman being aware. This meant waiting until mother was out of not only eyesight but also until Kára could no longer hear her and then following her smell.

It all seemed simple enough and at first it had been. For just over a quarter of an hour she had happily followed the smelly trail, then a rain drop fell, and another until she could no longer smell her mom. Raising her nose from the ground the puppy blue eyes looked around for the first time in confusion, where exactly had she gotten herself? Oh well, she would just turn around and follow her own smelly trail all the way back to the den. The girl was much too young to realize the rain washed away all scents, not just her mothers.

Leathery nose twitched freely at first, then its speed picked up as panic began to fill her. She couldn't find the scent. Anxious to get home Kára leapt to her paws and bounded back the way she thought she had come. Mud flew behind her as the water ran past her ankles, slowing her down and causing her to slip and slid haphazardly. Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound followed by a rush, the ground only a full minutes trot for an adult wolf began to shift. Jumping back in horror the pup squealed, what was happening?

Hope it's okay that I post Cela in here?

The light pelting of rain which dampened her pale coat wouldn't have normally sent the former princess running for home, but these drops weren't the usual sort. Why was it always a storm? Sighing, the woman continued her beeline towards the safety of the Monadnock, fully aware that the strange whether patterns as of late were bound to catch up with them sometime. Each step closer to the spot where the structure stood seemed to bring with it a heavier downpour until her senses were nearly drowned out by white noise. Blinking through the water hitting her eyes, Celandine quickened her pace in hopes that she would soon be drying off underneath an overhang of sorts.

She was in the homestretch when her bright eyes latched onto a very odd sight. A patch of red against an otherwise brown backdrop, though it was hard to make out through the rain. Halting, Celandine stared for a moment, watching as the Earth began to slide, threatening to pull the odd creature along with it. Shit. It wasn't a funny colored hare about to slip away with the mud. It was one of the cubs. Had there been time, she would have sighed, and contemplated the fact that she was no savior. It wasn't her job, or well, it shouldn't have been, but her paws still shifted towards the helpless thing.

Without any further hesitation, the woman ran for the cub, her pale paws sinking dangerously into the flowing mud. If she got killed trying to save the pathetic cub then surely she would haunt it for the rest of it's undeserving life.

Waking with a jolt the small boy was quick to notice his sisters absence, brows drawing down with worry as he charged forth from the den, small head swinging this way and that looking for one of the bigs that never seemed too far away. "Mmm-Ma!" no answer, and so he tried for the next closest noise he could muster on instinct, "Dudaaa?" expecting the silvery shadow of @Craw to come out from hiding behind one of the boulders or maybe drop from his perch over their den. Oh this was utterly frustrating. Even the large dark 'Waah' wasn't here (still utterly struggling with sounds like 'Wr' and 'Cr' he was doing the best he could). "I go." he spoke to nobody in particular, a determined nod offered to the angry sky. "Go fine Kah."

For a while his sniffer was enough, Ma was this way, as was Kah... Until someone or something started throwing wet things at him. A glance was thrown over one shoulder, and then the other, the small boy turning on the spot to try and find his attacker before glancing at the sky and realising it was coming from above. His angry growl was drowned out by the groan of the earth, vibrating up through his paws and his sisters squeal of terror. "KAH!" he shouted, bounding towards the noise completely oblivious to the danger he charged towards or that one of the bigs already had the situation in hand.

The ground beneath her paws was stable for the time being but the danger was quickly approaching her. The mud sloshed in front of the pup picking up speed, gurgling angrily and eating up the space between them. Again Kára's red paws pushed her backwards, heart thudding uncontrollably in her chest as she began to panic. The earth beneath her paws was growing more slippery with every step, each paw place seemed less stable than the last. Puppy blue eyes looked around wildly as she called out, "Mum! Mu! MU!" Breathing hitched as she realized that her mother might not even be able to see her, or hear her, she was all alone.

Her eyes squeeze shut as she accepted that this was it, the mud would eat her alive like it was eating everything around her. Suddenly her brother's voice broke through against the roar of the mud and the storm around them and her head whipped so search him out. That was when out of the corner of her eye she saw the white flash of one of the bigs rushing towards her, mud sinking to around her ankles. Turning so she could stumble towards her she called, "Sela, I fall. Sela hel-up!" Each step was like the mud didn't want to release her, squelching as she removed her paws. Kára whimpered one foot raised in the air, she didn't want to place it back down and get swept away forever.

The mud sliding around thick, slowing the woman's pace more than she would have liked. What exactly happened to wolves who didn't save cubs? If she didn't make it, would they force her to breath in the wet soil too? Rip her apart like she had done to so many squirrels? None of the outcomes seemed favorable, so she pushed harder, eyes never leaving the terrified youth, who thankfully seemed to be safe for the time being.

Suddenly another voice broke through the noise of shifting Earth, and rain. Celandine's bright gaze drifted towards the boy, charging into danger without any hesitation whatsoever. Shit. Okay, if she could only save one... Well, which did Morganna favor? She considered them both, though her paws continued their original path towards the screaming girl. "Sela hel-up!" Kara then. She seemed to be in the most immidiate danger anyway.

"Don't panic!" It was probably the most moot thing to say at the time, but she felt like she had to. The girl would panic either way, and probably get herself more stuck. Maybe she'd even get taken by the mud before Celandine's jowls could reach down to grab the scruff of her neck.

The moving sludge threatened to sweep even the woman away, though it wasn't deep yet . Nearly losing her balance twice, it was almost a relief to finally reach the red cub, ready to grab her between still-white teeth.

Celandine at least seemed to be coming to her rescue and called out back to her, though the words were moot at this point. As soon as she had seen the white woman coming Kára had started trying her best to struggle her way towards safety. Paws suctioning into deeper mud as she unwittingly walked into a hidden pool, determination written on her small face. O's voice broke her concentration for just a moment and the whites of the puppy blue eyes flashed when she saw his retreating form. His words had been lost in the wind and the girl could only assume he didn't want to see her be swept away forever.

Tears starting streaming down the scarlet face and a new round of sobs racked through her ribs. Leaping out in desperation to follow her brother Kára got only a few steps forward in her manic sprint before stumbling. Mud sloshed around her legs and belly, coming rushing up towards her face as the inevitable face plant occurred. Dirt grit between her teeth and under her eyelids when she didn't close them fast enough, making them water and causing the child to choke.

As suddenly as Kára had almost disappeared completely into the mudslide she was hauled into the air by @Celandine. The earth dripped off every part of her and the girl coughed and sputtered out everything that had entered her lungs. Tears poured from her eyes now in protest and her small body was convulsing with shivers, but at least she was physically safe.