Mountain of Dire Escape from Alcatraz - [MANDATORY - PACK]

An OOC note - Naira is convinced they are getting out, I am not. Whether or not they manage to escape is entirely up to staff. The storm clouds may break forcing them to retreat back into the Pass at any moment. First round ends on the 9th. Anyone who doesn’t reply will be considered to have ‘stayed behind’ and could potentially face being stuck on the mountain, alone for the rest of winter so please reply in a timely manner!

RE: The Sky is Dark with Storm Clouds

Family

• NAIRA AQUILA •

over everything

Only days ago she had thought they may have to move. Days. And now it was too late. As she plowed through the chest deep snow she began to realise just how hopeless this plan may be. She hadn’t even consulted with @Mapplethorpe, but now? They were out of time. Making her way to the western end of the Pass she looked down on the lands below. It would be hard going, maybe even impossible, but it was certainly now or never.

Her thoughts lingered on the youngest members, @Nova, @Aponi, @Mercy and even @Karpos. She had to wonder if Taima would object given @Datura’s absence? But they couldn’t wait forever, and if he managed to survive she was sure he would find them come Spring. This wouldn’t be a forever journey, it was only for the winter, like a flock of birds they would return, just as soon as it was warm again.

Storm clouds hovered ominously overhead as she tipped her muzzle skyward singing for her pack. Her tone brokering no argument - come, or be left to face the winter alone. It was time for the Nomads to do as countless packs had done before, for winters untold. It was time for the Nomads to hit the road.

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Karpos heard the call of Mrs. Naira, and he responded just as he would have if any other wolf had called for him or the entire pack. He ran, well, went as fast as he could with the snow that he was still getting use to. It was deep, really deep, after all. Aponi had been showing him around the territory, he was still trying to memorize it all as he ran towards her mum. "Mrs. Naira." He said politely as he arrived first. "Aponi is on her way, she is almost right behind me!" His voice cracked a little bit. The high altitudes made it a little harder for him to breathe. His eyes scanned around, waiting for the rest of the pack to arrive.

He really wanted to meet this other pup who was taken into Nomad's Pass. Mercy was his name, if Karpos was remembering what Aponi had said correctly. He had no idea what was going on, he had understood her call, they were leaving. But he had no idea to where they were going, so the cuirious pup asked. "Where are we going Mrs. Naira?" His eyes had worry etched into them. Were they going towards his old home? He had no idea, but he was nervous about it all the same. What if one of the wolves who he now called packmates got lost? What if the snow was soo deep in areas that it could swallow wolves? He forced himself to take deep breathes, nothing would happen to any of them. Mrs. Naira would never let it happen.

NOMADS Pass

TEMPLATE © NDA OF RCR & RPG-D

The snow alone ought to have been enough to worry the man, though he tried desperately not to show it. Being calm was his forte, and of course, being panicked only spread panic. So he would remain calm, if only for his pack mates. In the end, it was simply up to Naira, to Mapplethorpe, what their fate would be. Would this snow drive them downward, or would they wait it out? Days passed, and the snow only accumulated as the temperature refused to climb. Even the sun seemed to reject them now, driving home some sort of silent point that they were not welcome here now or their time was running out. The gathering storm clouds, thick and dark, blocked out any last traces of hope that the man had. If they didn't leave, the consequences would be dire. It was a terrible thought, but the winter was coming, threatening them upon their high throne.

But it seemed as though his sister had caught on as well. The man had wasted no time in trying to hunt her down, consult with her on the affairs of the pack, but then she called, and he already knew that he would go. It took him longer than usual to reach her, though he found little trouble navigating through the high snows. His broad chest almost acted as a sort of plow and he struggled mildly only when faced with an unseen rock. Despite this, the man was beaten by a child, although it hadn't been a race. The thought was mildly amusing to him, especially since he didn't recognize the boy. They would be going west, it seemed. Without a word, Chulyin merely continued to exude as calm a demeanor as he could, if only for Naira, and perhaps for this stranger child. <b style="color:#a51919">

...i somehow managed to make way too many unintentional GoT references. not changing them. no regrets.

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention

A sense of dread had been building, a turbulence in the earth and sky that Nova could feel in her skin, her paws, the tip of her nose. Like a summer thunder storm there had been a sense of wonder at first, then foreboding, then finally an awe-struck fear. She had become accustomed to the snow, the now familiar cold-white layer which coated everything did not bother her. The vibrant greens of plant life and the warmth of summer sun would be missed, but cold winter snow and long, long nights were still new, and thus interesting to her. But she could tell something bigger was on the way, and she had holed up in the safety of the den as if waiting for the first crack of thunder. However, unlike thunder, this time she had no idea what it was she was waiting for.

Nova would have been content enough to sit huddled in the den, watching the snow pile up flake by flake outside the entrance. She wondered if it would snow enough to block out the doorway, given no one disturbed it. However it seemed this would be something Nova would never find out, hearing the tone of her mother's call resonate down the cliffsides right into the sattelite-dishes of Nova's ears.

Her big snow-shoe paws held her over the snow if only some of the time. Every unsteady step sent her flying chin-first into the powder, fortunately soft enough to break her frequent falls. Eventually, she caught up with the broken wake in the snow created by her mother, gratefully using each of her mother's huge foot-prints as stepping stones. As soon as her mom's tawny coat could be spotted against the stark whiteness of the snow, she rushed to Naira's side in a flurry of kicked up snow. She pressed up against her, an uncertain whine as she buried her cold nose in mom's warm pelt. She pulled away just enough to look uncertainly at the unknown dark-furred boy. Strange times indeed.

"Mamma, what's goin' on? Are we going on a hunting trip?" Nova asked uncertainly, turning away from the boy to redirect her gaze up to Naira. She actually hoped they were doing anything but hunting. Normally the girl liked the chance to go out with the pack, for any purpose, but this time she would much rather sit in the safety of the den.

Crowe heard the cry and set a course for the sound. His large frame sunk excessively in the snow making the going harder in very deep spots, but otherwise his sheer size and mass almost allowed him to "snowplow" everything in his path using his powerful chest and shoulders. Still it was not quite as easy as he made it look. Crowe tired quickly and was only able to push on when he found alternate paths for his den lay far away from the pack's. Teeth gritted the white wolf finally broke open ground and headed towards Naira. Her outline still commanded him to obey as it had before, But this time was different he felt like a subordinate obeying his alpha instead of an overly excited pup just trying for a right answer.

"Naira, my lady, have you seen Mercy?" He gave a low bow to Naira as he spoke. Not caring if she could see the worried glimmer in his yellow eyes as they scanned the landscape searching for his little friend. Instead his eyes only found other young he did not recognize, but in turn they each were given a nod. Another male older than he, and knowing his current rank probably higher than he too. A simple greeting nothing more and nothing less, there was no desire to corrupt. Crowe only wanted to find his little shadow that loved to follow him so that they may travel together and Sagacity's intelligence and quick tongue would provide entertainment along the way. Crowe waited on baited breath to hear if Naira knew of the child's whereabouts.

(This post was last modified: Dec 02, 2013, 11:16 AM by Crowe.)

Look Out!

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the snow. Hunt Opportunity

taima lyall

fear is for the winter

Taima had been watching Mapplethorpe from afar. The past few days had been bleak and disheartening by the hour; observing her mentor and superior as the weather worsened had only implanted the seeds of doubt and concern deeper into her very core. Now, with each side of the Pass thoroughly blocked by a thick wall of ice and snow, the young Lyall found that she desperately hoped the adults had an idea of what to do. With the mountainside wrought with frost, her attempts at hunting and scavenging had been in vain and soon enough there was much too little to do outside of territory lines when things were becoming dire from the inside out in light of winter's arrival.

Though rabbit trails had been freshly made around her from where she stood on a rock shelf overlooking the pack den, she carefully made her way down at the sound of Naira's call. Mapplethorpe, she knew, would be right behind her and the pursuit of the rabbits would not have been worth the effort. She leapt down from her perch, falling paws and head first into the deep snow. As best as she could, she careened forward with a couple of hasty jumps, utilizing her chest and paws to make her own path towards the trails the adults had already made and remade in the virgin snow over the past few days.

Falling into step where the rest of the pack had traveled through the snow, she trudged forward, vigilant golden eyes falling on each of her pack mates before resting on Nova and Naira and hoping that she had not missed much upon her arrival. Standing beside Chulyin she eyed the way she had come, anticipating the patriarch's arrival. It had been obvious in the way he had been pacing during the day that something was not right... that he (and Naira) had known something that she did not. Tearing her eyes away from the path she took a cautious step towards the Lady Aquila and bumped her nose to her superior's chin with a whimper. Sagacity and Mercy were missing, as well as Aponi and Mapplethorpe, and the rogue Faol whom she had only ever scented along the borders and heard of whenever her mentor managed a scent-count along territory lines.

Like the Nova and Karpos before her, she looked at Naira with flattened ears as the anxiety lingering in the air finally got to her. She tensed her muscles, sniffing twice before whining, "W-Where are you taking us?" She quickly bit her tongue, pinning it between her teeth before the rest of her queries could be voiced. Mapplethorpe is coming right? We can't leave him here...

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Sagacity wasn't going to leave without Mercy.

The boy had left the communal den in the morning and his tracks had been covered over by blowing snow. Sagacity hadn't been worried about him- until Naira called out for them to rally together. The oncoming storm was something Sagacity could feel in her bones, and she felt that change was on its way. The mountain was impossible- it was uninhabitable. Sage had feared for this, and now her fears had been realized- the winter had come faster and stronger than she ever could have imagined, and now there was a real threat to the survival of the wolves of Nomad's Pass.

Under normal circumstances, she would have let Mercy show up on his own- but this time, she knew she couldn't simply leave him to show up on his own. She needed to make sure he went- so she went searching for him, skidding along the mountainside as the ran as quickly as she could, searching for hi dark form against the snow. His scent was faint, but she followed it until she could see him badgering his way up the mountainside, huffing and puffing. She wanted to discipline him for going wherever he'd been- he should've been more closeby, with the storm coming- but now was not the time. They had to reach Naira.

Her son was tired but she pushed him without relenting at all. When he slipped her shoulder was quick to slide beneath his to shove him back onto his feet again as they made their way against the wind toward where Naira's howl had come from. She was relieved to see that the group which had already gathered was decent in size- though she noticed very quickly that both Faol and Mapplethorpe were missing, as was Aponi- but she hadn't been around much anyway, having left the communal den.

She moved swiftly to Naira's side and gave her friend a reassuring nudge while she sought to catch her breath. She looked over the small group and sat down, preparing to save her energy for whatever came at them next.

Avatars by Arla!

Of course he'd be pretty much as far away as possible, without leaving the pack, when Naira called for them to join together. The boy gritted his teeth and began to run back up the mountainside, growling when his paws sank through the snow and the altitude and slope worked against him. He slipped and slid, sank through the snow and struggled against it. Wouldn't his mother be pleased when he showed up late, huffing and puffing like a steam engine. At least he was trying to get there on time, and wasn't lally-gagging. He'd fully expected for his mother simply to expect him to show up on his own- but instead she appeared further up the slope, working her way down toward him. She'd come to find him.

He felt ashamed of having been so far away and for being so tired, but she didn't say anything and he appreciated it. Together they struggled up the slope, and more than once his mother had to catch him before he fell and shove him back onto his feet. His legs burned and lungs felt as though they were breathing in pure ice as he forced himself to keep pace with his more agile, nimble mother. He splayed his toes to try and keep from sinking in, but he'd put on weight before the winter, and it was beginning to bog him down.

He was nearly ready to pass out by the time they reached the group. He was slightly dazed from the exhaustion of fighting against the snow and wind, but managed to stagger alongside his mother. She went to Naira and he went to Nova, who was close by. He flopped down onto his stomach to catch his breath by his friend's side, and as soon as he regained some of his composure, he looked- and found Crowe. Good- he was there. He scanned the small group to see who they had, and who was still missing, and looked to Nova with a questioning gaze. Where were Mapplethorpe and Aponi?

Aponi had been showing Karpos around, to all of her favourite places and the crevice she had been sleeping in since she had started feuding with her mother. The going had been slow as she was smaller than any of the other pups and the snow came almost to her chin and she had been ready to suggest returning to the den when the call came. Things between them were still tense but now that Karp had come to her most things were forgiven, Aponi just didn't know how to say so. When Naira's call had reached them the princess had urged her friend ahead, as she found it easier to navigate in the path he made anyways. Even with a quasi path made for her the silvery fae found it hard to make her way to the others, often slipping and sliding in loose patches of snow. Gritting her teeth together the princess forced herself through another snow pile, shivering as clumps of flakes made their way to her skin. Finally though the group ahead of her came into view and Aponi heaved a sigh of relief, using a burst of energy to clear the last few yards. Entering the circle with her head held proudly she approached her mother, apology present in her eyes even if not in her words. Licking at Naira's chin the girl whimpered slightly, more out of respect than of fear. The girl was proud, and her pride made her foolish sometimes, instead of feeling fear about the storm the girl felt a challenge and she was sure she would win. Retreating backwards the princess found her spot beside Karpos, leaning against his side she waited.