Dead Empress Backwater slamming doors

It wasn't the first time Eros had read the energy around him wrong, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. The rush of his family behind him was felt at his heels, but he didn't anticipate that they were rushing to stop him; the boy thought they were acting with him. It wasn't until his father's voice cut through that he realized something was off, but things had already been set into motion. For Eros, it was seconds too late, but that was enough.

Something clipped his hind legs, drastically shifting his weight and throwing his footing. His momentum did not cease, however, and whoever it was that had managed to catch up to the adrenaline-fueled boy was just short of catching him. Eros continued forward, out of control but unwilling to admit it. His teeth continued to gnash and his growls filled the air. All he needed was one leg, just like the goose...

The elk's head lowered, the height of it's antlers catching Eros at the legs. One moment he was bracing to collide with the beast's bulk, the next he was in the air - nothing touching him at all.

His widened eyes saw only greyish white light, an obscured sun illuminating a dismal sky. For a split second, it was as though time had stopped and he was floating, suspended in a void. Then his ears filled with wind and he squeezed his eyes shut tight before his body hit the snow, feet away from the scuffle he had incited.

Luckily for the young wolf, the snow was deep and relatively soft where he landed. It enveloped him after his body punched through the crisp icy coating, muffling all sound and enveloping him in a cold that did not take long to start seeping past his fur and into his skin. Stunned, he laid without moving, struggling not to think about the pain that finally was starting to register.

(This post was last modified: Dec 13, 2021, 09:43 PM by Chan.)

Archer was right on Eros's heals, he just had a few more steps to go before he could catch him, just a little further. The adults were quick behind them, of course, but Archer didn't stop. He needed to catch him, needed to-

He was just a little too slow. One of his steps caught his brother's heels and knocked him off balance. Archer hadn't even meant to touch him - he was just trying to catch up. But the damage was done and Eros lost control and suddenly he was swept away and into the air. Even as he was registering that his brother was simply gone, pain exploded in Archer's shoulder and he was tossed sideways, tumbling across the ground. He yelped as he was hit, but the sound was cut off when he hit the dirt and the breath was forced from his lungs.

As soon as he was able to breathe again Archer was struggling to his feet. His shoulder hurt. He whined and nearly fell when he tried to put weight on his leg, but managed to catch himself.

Ignoring the commotion going on with the elk and the adults, Archer began frantically searching for his brother. "Eros!" he called, voice cracking as he three-legged hobbled away from the turmoil in the direction he had been thrown. His mind was racing; if he'd been tossed this way the same time Eros disappeared, then his brother must also have been thrown over here. The elder boy just caught the worst of the blow and was thrown further.

Maybe?

His shoulder hurt worse than anything else Archer had experienced, and mixed with the panic he wasn't quite thinking straight. "Eros! Eros!"

(This post was last modified: Dec 14, 2021, 06:17 PM by Archer.)

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Sharlee couldn't believe how badly thus was going in what seemed liked seconds and forever all at the same time if that was even possible. Bodies of her family seemed to be flying all over the place and the bull was still raging. Both Vi and Vasco were doing what they could to protect the boys. She felt there wasn't room for her in the mix, things might only get worse and so much more confusing. That was really the last thing they needed at that moment.

The Valle girl knew she was no match for the bull elk all by herself. Didn't matter. Her family was in danger and needed to be protected. So the only thing she knew for sure they would protect everyone was to distract the Elk from the others. Give Vi and Vasco the chance to get to the boys and get them out of there. Without hesitation she ran straight at the bull barking and trying to grab its nose in her jaws. All the while doing her best to dodge each swipe it made with its antlers.

The question was when would her luck run out.

"GET THEM OUT OF HERE!" She yelled between barks.

He was too slow. He was not going to make it, and the second he realized it Viorel felt a sick twisting deep in his belly. It was like everything was moving in slow motion and also so quickly all at once. Yellow eyes widened in horror as he saw Archer knock Eros off balance, he was only a few feet away from them, a few feet from keeping them safe. Then Eros was flying through the air, and Archer was knocked sideways into a deep drift of snow.

And then he saw nothing at all for a few seconds, except blackness and painfully bright stars flashing across his vision. The elk had charged forward, one of his hooves colliding with Viorel’s side causing a sickening crack to fill the area as a few of his ribs broke under the pressure. He was lucky that was all that happened to him, and adrenaline kept him from feeling just how bad everything was.

Looking up from the snow to see Sharlee still going for the elk, solo, he grit his teeth. Heaving himself back onto his paws despite the protest from his side, he screamed, ”VASCO, GET THE BOYS TO SAFETY!” Blocking everything else out, the leader went for the back legs, grabbing onto whichever he could get his jaws on and tearing as hard as he could. Maybe it was his cousin going for its face, maybe it was the torn tendons in the back leg, but the elk stumbled to the side, and fear finally registered in its eyes. Maybe they could get out of this alive.

He was too slow, too damn slow! Even with their shorter legs, the boys outran him easily, as pain began stabbing violently through his lungs. Gasping madly, Vasco watched the younger wolves storm the Elk, even Viorel’s attempted rescue failing, as first Eros and then Archer collided with the beast’s lowered antlers. Had he had any air left, their grandfather would have screamed as the boys were flung aside and then the Elk charged Viorel too, kicking him in the chest with a horrible, crunching sound.   Sharlee maintained momentum, going straight at the beast’s face and, despite what must have been terribly painful injuries, Vi was quick to his feet as well, steering for the unprotected rear of their target. Meanwhile, Vasco was already heading for where Archer was stumbling to his feet, the father’s command echoing behind him. He felt horrible, leaving the fight to the two younger wolves, but he knew he wouldn’t have been much help anyway, and someone needed to wrangle these boys!   Vasco caught up with Archer, nosing his nape reassuringly as he said: “It’s okay, you’ll be okay! We just gotta get you to your mom, both of you!” Then he trotted the few steps ahead to where Eros had landed, silently praying: Please be alright, please be alright! He called out shakily, trying to ignore the noise of the fight still raging behind them; “Eros? Eros!” Ducking his head into the hole, he started digging carefully at the sides, hoping to make it easier for the boy to get back up, all the time speaking hurriedly: “What hurts? Can you stand?” He worried about getting them anywhere if he had to carry either boy, although he would certainly try! . Thoughts ”Speech”

Lakela @DA

It hurt, more than anything had ever made him hurt before. It built, small slices of pain crossing here and there across his skin until they formed a web and then it all just burned. He went to gasp, but snow fell into his opened mouth and pressed against his nostrils. Everyone was shouting and he could both hear and feel each and every time a heavy hoof hit the ground, but it was all still muffled, unintelligible. His breathing became more rapid, frantically sucking air in through the gaps between the crystals of ice.

Vasco's paws punched through, pulling the snow away from his face. Realizing that he wasn't as completely enveloped as his panicked mind had convinced him he was, Eros forced his aching and stiff limbs to extend. He struggled through the loose snow, doing everything he could to pull himself free and join the man and his brother. He was too shocked to even cry.

eros has superficial scrapes/cuts and big, painful bruises all over different parts of his body - he's clearly hurting but otherwise appears alright.

(This post was last modified: Jan 24, 2022, 03:02 AM by Eros.)

Archer Valle

The adults' voices crashed over him, but Archer was oblivious to whatever they were saying. He wandered across the snowy drifts, crying for Eros and trying not to put any weight on his front leg. His shoulder hurt, it hurt so very very much. But he was more worried about Eros, who had vanished from right in front of him. He couldn't hear his brother, couldn't see him, didn't know where he was, what if the elk had sent him into the sky forever-

One of the grown-ups was nudging at his neck and Archer stumbled, yelping as he instinctively caught himself and pain shot through his injured shoulder. And then he was digging in the snow and- "Eros!" Archer hobbled forward to sniff his brother over, searching for any sign of blood or broken bones, not that he'd know what to do if he found either. "You're okay," he said, more to try to convince both of them of that fact than an observation. Eros was definitely not okay, but Archer had to make sure his brother felt better.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Viorel had blocked out what was going on behind him the best that he could, trusting that Vasco would get his sons out of harm's way. He wanted to look back, see what had happened to the boys, but that would only stand to get him hurt worse. His own jaws were clamped onto the back ankle of the beast, and yellow eyes searched wildly to catch sight of his cousin who had gone after it’s face.

Despite gripping as hard as he could, the elk managed to tear it away, leaving a bloody mess in its wake. The creature stumbled, eyes wide in fear now as it realized just what was happening. Viorel launched himself forward again, jumping to snap as close to its haunches as he could, hoping to scare it off. Time went on slowly as he jumped and snapped, and then repeated the motion, before finally the hellish thing started to move.

Quickly it started to gain momentum as fast as it could go with a torn back ankle and also wounds on its face. Viorel wanted to go after it, finish the job and show the elk exactly what pack it had messed with. But, as his adrenaline began to subside, the broken ribs to his side began screaming at him, taking his breath away and causing the world to swim a bit around him as black spots threatened his vision.

Calling out gently to Sharlee he sighed, ”Thank you cousin. Now let’s get everyone taken care of before anything worse happens.” At least now if it came back, the elk would be substantially wounded and an easier task to take down. Waiting for Sharlee to join him, Viorel was in as much of a rush as he could be, he wanted to get eyes on his sons.

FADE