Paradise Falls you'll probably do it next week

AW! This is Finley's halloween RE: The night is extraordinarily dark and spooky sounds can be heard outside your den. Hope you're not afraid.
A couple hours before sunrise, Scattered clouds, 15F/-9C

The agouti woman awoke with a start. Blinking for a minute she glanced around, heart pounding in her chest and not entirely sure why. Her dream had been perfectly pleasant and after a quick look she realized she was alone in the den, @Atara and @Jethro nowhere to be seen. Finley had been about to chalk it up to just being one of those things where your mind plays tricks on you when she heard a sound outside of the entrance.

Freezing, trying to assess the situation, the mother’s nose twitched furiously as she searched for further information. Nothing she could smell would explain the sound of the blood curdling screech that was happening at random intervals and more concerningly in random locations. It seemed like it was moving quickly and erratically. Sometimes it would be ten or fifteen minutes between screams, and other times it was only seconds.

Green eyes widened until the whites were showing, Finley released a slow breath, steam curling around her nostrils in the cold air. She turned her muzzle to try to peer at the outside world and despite it only being a couple of hours before the sun should be coming up it was alarmingly dark. Calling out gently, ”Jet?” Maybe he was nearby already taking care of it, and then more firmly she called, ”Atara!” Oh god what if something had her daughter. The mother scrambled to her paws, looking around frantically.

He had awakened not long ago to find his throat dry and parched. As quietly as he could, Jet had stepped out for a short while to venture down to the creek for a drink. Though he’d been only half awake, he’d taken note of Atara’s absence, but hadn’t thought too much of it. The child was old enough now that she did not spend every moment with her parents.

Maybe she was staying the night with her age mates. He’d never known her to just disappear, so he hadn’t been worried. Meanwhile, Finley had been fast asleep.

So the last thing he’d anticipated seeing upon his return was her very awake and very distressed. He had to do a double take, blink a few times, and then give his head a shake to clear his mind and be sure of what he was seeing. ”Finley, wha…? Is somethin’ wrong?”

The Lennox woman had been frozen in fear at the entrance of the den when Jethro seemed to appear out of the darkness. He seemed confused and Finley opened her mouth to try to explain, before closing it and just moving forward to press against him. Her muscles still trembled with fright, but she felt much calmer with him. In fact, she was beginning to think that maybe it had been a dream after all, because things were silent now and he had seemed baffled by why she was so upset.

The woman was getting ready to laugh it off and explain sheepishly her her embarrassing mix up. Then it happened again. Just a single screech this time, but long and loud and unlike anything that Finley had ever heard before. Shrinking against the man’s side, the terror was quick to return just as it had been about to subside.

Ears pressed back against her skull, ”Have you seen Atara?” Her words were barely over a whisper as if she was afraid to call attention to them. Green eyes swept the area around them wildly, but it was so dark it was hard for her to see even with her wolfish senses.

He couldn’t help but feel alarmed at the sight of something atypical. What could’ve so badly spooked Finley that it would have her out here shaking, pressing into him, when she should have been still asleep? Jet afforded himself a moment to scan the area, but tonight seemed especially dark, making it impossible to spot anything.

Similarly, there were no out-of-place scents or sounds to be had in the immediate area. Until that one. A drawn out, shrill screech, loud. So loud it almost seemed to hurt his head and ears. Suddenly it all made sense.

”The hell was that?!” The exclamation left him before he could stop it, as Jet instinctively stepped forth to try to shield his mate, even though he hadn’t any idea what that noise was or where it was coming from. Or if it was even a threat at all.

Finley’s whispered inquiry brought his attention to her from scanning the their as he gave a single, worried shake of his head. ”No...” He had hoped she was with the other kids. She had to be. The thought of her, or anyone, being alone out there with some unknown threat was horrifying.

For just a split second when Jethro stepped in front of her protectively, Finley forgot her fear and felt her heart flutter a little. She had waited so long in her life to have someone look out for her rather than her having to take care of everyone all the time. And then, she came back to reality that now was not the time to go goo goo gaga and that they may be in real danger.

He answered that he hadn’t seen Atara but the mother could only hope that she was spending the night with Micaden and Addison as she had been doing lately. The mother held her breath, waiting for another scream to split the air but this time it didn’t come. It felt like minutes ticked by before she slowly let the air out of her nose. Finally she murmured, ”Should we try to find what it is?” It felt like the right thing to do.

Trying to put on a brave face she shook the tension out of her agouti pelt. They had work to do. Stepping forward Finley tried to look for some kind of clue that might lead them in the right direction or give them some kind of clue.

(This post was last modified: Nov 14, 2023, 01:32 AM by Finley.)

Seconds went by as they waited almost breathlessly for some other noise. Seconds turned into minutes, though, and there was still nothing. Still, only the tiniest bit of tension left the dark one’s body, for though the silence was in a way comforting, he also hadn’t heard any sounds of movement. No steps, no rustling of trees or foliage as.. whatever that was retreated.

Meaning whatever had made that noise was probably still out there. Finley’s question brought his focus back to her, and then to the den just beyond. For the first time since becoming a leader, Jethro honestly considered dismissing it and suggesting they just go back to sleep. Something about this whole thing felt off in a way he couldn’t quite comprehend.

He wanted to forget it, say that maybe it was just an owl or something. Though no owl he’d ever heard had sounded like that.

His mate didn’t wait for an answer before moving forth though, effectively quashing that temptation. ”Yeah. Let’s take a look,” he murmured, taking a breath to ward off the initial fright before moving forth in roughly the direction he thought he’d heard the noise from. This was their home, after all. They couldn’t cede that to anyone because of a few weird noises.  

The mother felt the cold cut into her side where Jethro had been just a moment before. She had been putting on a brave face but part of her had been hoping that Jethro would insist everything was fine and could curl up together and go back to sleep. It might even be nice to have some alone time, but then her mind wandered back to the reason they would be alone. Because Atara wasn’t accounted for, which meant she could be out there with whatever was making that sound.

All thoughts of a cozy night with her mate were gone. She didn’t even know where to start because it had been silent for so long and Finley was not even sure what they were looking for. She fell in step beside Jethro and murmured, ”Or we could always just go find Atara and the other kids and make sure they’re safe.” She looked at him sheepishly, a little embarrassed to be so frightened, but also had a deep pit in her stomach at the thought of finding whatever was making that sound.

Then it screeched again, loud and long and it made her come to a complete stop and the hair on her neck stand up. Instinctively she pressed her ears back against her skull, trying to block it out.