Secret Falls thrum the drums

all welcome. special notice to @Zeta @Eek @Eirian
Random Event: Torrential rain has caused flooding in certain areas.

It had come suddenly and without mercy, the rain. Within minutes the sky had darkened above the silhouette as he prowled over the land, and when the water began to fall it took little more than the same, short amount of time to drench his fur and oversaturate the ground. It did not change his demeanor, strides determined and swift as the distance between the young man and his family was devoured by ravenous black paws. Each step sunk a small increment lower, and the wind picked up around him to bully the trees and slant the rain, but the storm did not matter. Zane had to make it back to Broken Timber Pines.

It seemed the universe did not want him there, however. As he drew closer, a red cedar passing him by here and there, the chaos in the air only grew worse and any other wolf would have saw the necessity to relent to the elements and seek shelter. Being so close, though, how could Zane bring himself to stop now? Even if just for an hour, for however long this swell took to subside, it would be too much, too long. Already he had been apart from his mother and sister longer than he ever should have. A turn of weather would not be enough to keep him from them now.

The ground could take no more and the water rose, flooding the low lying ground he traversed. It was over his paws, then his ankles, and then he was wading through it. More and more the terrain become intimately familiar to him, and at last he was close enough to reach out. His limbs never stopped powering against the tumultuous current as his head raised, a hearty howl bellowing from his chest to spiral up into the angry, roiling clouds above.

I'm coming in.

This leadership thing wasn't half bad. While the rain poured down she was curled cosily just inside the entrance of the communal den. Now that she was on top, it wasn't such a horrible place to sleep. Jaws stretched wide with a yawn, about to lower her head when the hint of a howl caught her attention. Coming in was he? she snorted and sprung to her feet. Not if she had anything to do with it.

The further she moved away from the warm, dry den, and the more soaked she got, the worse her mood became. Had she a tail it would be lashing about behind in in obvious frustration, as it was she could merely feel the phantom limb moving behind her. Pale eyes finally fell on the dark boy, recognising her as @Zeta's missing brother and praying she hadn't heard his call. The girl was doing well, he could only undo all her hard work.

Flinging her smaller frame directly in his path she lifted her head, with no tail to back up the move and stared the younger wolf down. "Your father is dead, your mother is gone and your sister doesn't need you. So why are you here?"

With each step forward that Zeta did not materialize to meet him, Zane's heart banged louder against his ribs. She was still here, wasn't she? The rain diluted the scents laid down by the pack, and he could smell nothing but mud and wet bark, rendering his nose useless. He had been so certain that he would make his way back and things would be the same as he'd left them, that Zeta would be enough to keep the sad excuse for a family together for just this long. Perhaps he had only convinced himself of that for his own sanity, for now that the doubts began to creep in, Zane was starting to lose his breath.

Then that runt of a woman suddenly appeared to block his entry, and confirmed three horrible things.

But the first was a blessing, wasn't it? If Erebos was gone, Zane would no longer have to play nice with the man, and Zeta would have no reason to remain in the Lore. They could go home, and be a real family again, as it always had been with just the three of them. So then why did it twist his gut so violently, why did he want to throw up? That his mother was vanished should have been a harder hit, but somehow it couldn't compare. Zane would learn that sadness would never be able to trump anger within him.

There was a roaring in his ears, but they still managed to catch that final blow. It was his worst nightmare, Zeta no longer needing him in her life, for the brother truly had no other purpose. He reacted with a snapping of his jaws, tail hiking up in the air as he glared back at this woman. Who the hell did she think she was, anyways? Where was Iopah?

"Don't pretend you know a thing about her," Zane hissed, and his paw raised to step past the sinister woman as he bellowed into the rain, "Zeta!"

Couldn't resist

It had come as no surprise to Eirian as he watched the shifting of the female ranks unfold, his tailless partner in crime rising to claim the top spot on the hierarchy ladder beside him while the former queen succumbed to her senses and stepped down becoming just another subordinate in the pack like her returned mate. The pale coated female was in no state to lead properly for some weeks and the copper male knew it was only a matter of time before she realized what he already knew. When the inevitable finally happened it was merely another check box on his lift of things to accomplish being filled in. Now that both Reiniers' had majority of their power stripped away the real work could begin.

Warm and dry inside the communal den tucked within his own personal nook it was the faint tune of a howl not asking but telling that whomever it was was coming in and the combined motion of Eek swiftly bolting from the den that caused the lightly sleeping man to arise himself and throw himself at the mercy of the pouring rain outside. Light tinted fur soon grew darker as each stride following the path @Eek had taken to intercept the call caked his legs in mud and splattered the white hairs coating his under belly in a thinner layer, citrus eyes soon spotting the set of double dark figures standing off as the mud soon turned into a steadily growing wading pool with the gradual rising of the water from the torrential rain. The words the new matriarch spoke into the rain did not fall on death ears, though, as the fiery male put two and two together while steadily approaching. So the long lost brother of Zeta had returned and Eek was hell bent on refusing him admittance so easily. A devilish smirk adorned Eirian's face.

"Confronting an alpha on her own territory, tsk tsk." While his partner may not be able to fully display her new found power, it was another story for the copper male. Stepping out from the shadows with teeth bared and drenched tail lifted high the larger male saddled up beside the woman to further block Zane's path, daring the fool to take another step. "She can't hear you and why would she?" His voice spoke, aggression slowly beginning to seep into his words. Unlike those under his rule Eirian didn't have to play nice to this boy anymore, for once his true colors could finally show. @Zane was no longer his subordinate just another lone wolf and a deserter. "For some time now we've been here with her, looking out for her, but where were you hm?" A single brow quirked upward, not giving him a chance to response yet. "Oh that's right you deserted her your own flesh and blood." He chuckled in a not so humorous manor, gaze locked on the dark coated boy. "So why should we let the likes of you waltz right back in?"

(This post was last modified: Aug 01, 2016, 07:09 PM by Eirian.)

Let me know if you would like me to request a roll for Eek's lunge Cade <3

Slender legs splayed in the mud, hackles struggling to rise beneath the torrential downpour but the threat was there none the less. As the boy spat his senseless words, lips drew back from pale teeth that clicked together with a snort to warn him he was getting on her last nerve. He might have been larger than her, and outweighed her significantly even after his absent months - but she knew how to take a beating and take it well, and now she had a pack to back her up.

As if answering her unspoken thoughts, a familiar voice cut through the air between the dark wolves, correcting the foolish boy for his brash actions and moving to stand at her side. In her aggitated state she almost turned on the tawny wolf for standing so close - history warning her of an ambush in the making. Orange eyes turned blue right in front of her very face and white flecks washed away with the rain. So tightly wound she couldn't hold her composure much longer. The scent wasn't right but it wouldn't be after all these years would it? Yet there he was standing in front of her as if he had the right to take what had always been hers.

Her mind finally snapped, and she lunged. Not this time.

Before he could get anywhere someone else was in his way. Eirian stepped onto the scene to intercept Zane, and the young man's ears airplaned out toward the sides of his skull in annoyance. The tawny man was far more intimidating than the woman he was striving to support, but not enough so to coerce Zane into submission. It did not matter what stood before him, law or wolf; he would not be kept from his sister any longer. His tail jumped a few inches higher and writhed with agitation. Whigmaleerie he considering dodging around this one too, perhaps he could outrun them both. After all, if Zeta was home she would have heard him. She had to be on her way to him now, right?

Alpha. Zane's pumpkin eyes searched the man's amber pools as if seeking confirmation of the veracity of this claim. How could something as petite and unthreatening as Eek topple @Iopah? Had something happened to the staunch alphess? His questions only compounded as an acidic tone he had not before heard from the man dripped from his dark tongue. What exactly was their problem, why not even a question as to what had kept him away? Why were they determined to reduce him to nothing and keep him from his twin?

The accusation of deserting his sister earned a snarl from the Argyris, but the sound was stolen from his throat along with the rest of the air in his chest as Eek's body suddenly collided with his. Reactively his jaws part and turned upward, snapping at whatever they could while he slithered furiously backwards, attempting to throw her off of him. The rising waters sloshed around him and dragged against his limbs. If her counterpart joined in, and it felt certain that Eirian would, Zane would very much be in trouble. Yet still running was not an option within his mind.

They could draw all the blood they liked, he would cut his way through them to get to Zeta if he must.

(This post was last modified: Aug 21, 2016, 09:29 PM by Zane.)

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

OOC: Eirian is more so spectating than participating aside from small snaps here and there.

Like an unstoppable train wreck the situation grew hostile in the blink of an eye. While; as expected by Eirian, Zane remained silent after the copper coated patriarch had asked a question, Eek had transformed before their very eyes from a once meek presence to a very real threat. Ebony fur became one with the night around them as the rain continued to bead down their pelts and steadily rise the water levels higher and higher around their paws until it felt like they stood within the center of a small creek rather than the once dry land it had been previously.

A hostile flicker of aggression ignited within the fiery man's being watching his partner descend upon the Argyris boy like a bat out of hell, the sound of snapping jaws suppressed by the torrential rainfall. Oh how Eirian wished to sink his own teeth into that thick fur and give him a piece of his own mind, but alas this was to be Eeks fight after drawing first blood, but that wouldn't stop the Pines leader from voicing who's side he was on. Guttural growls and barks resonated from the back of his throat while his once creamy limbs now caked in soppy mud danced around the tangoing wolves, jaws snapping at Zane's pelt wherever and whenever he felt so inclined do. Not enough to steal Eeks thunder, but enough to remind the boy he was outnumbered here.

@Zane took some liberty with the rolls, I figured since he got a crit hit he should get a good hold of her ;) Let me know if you would like me to edit anything.

The dark woman was flooded with elation as teeth closed around the thick wet fur on Zane's shoulder, her satisfied growl sounding far too soon as the younger wolf retaliated. The flash of white teeth was all but missed through her squinted eyes, but the burn of teeth dragging over her temple and finding purchase in the thick fur over her neck was impossible to ignore as he began to back up, tugging her along in the process. She had no choice but to let up her hold as she tried to adjust her footing in the cascading water, toes straining to find purchase in the mud but it was no good, she only had one option left.

She went with the younger wolf, lowering her head as best she could to push forward and take him by surprise. She would try to get under his feet to trip him up, failing that well she was almost out of options. Hopefully, it would be just enough to shake the younger wolf off (even if she did end up with a face full of mud in the process). She wasn't about to give up what she had so easily, and now, @Zeta was hers now.

(This post was last modified: Sep 01, 2016, 12:03 AM by Eek.)

decided i def want zane to get some scars so feel free to tear him up

The currents of water already made it difficult to hold his ground much less try to press forward and get around the black wasp at his throat. Given the vast disparity between their sizes, this frustrated him greatly, his father's temper quick to come out and rear its ugly head. His fangs dug in, and were he not intent on holding his grip to throw her out of his way, Zane's current mindset was malicious enough for him to have shredded through her flesh. When she surprised him but changing up her momentum so swiftly, it all added together to give her success.

The shifting earth failed him as he tried to dig in and hold his stance. Staggering, he knew that he would have to relinquish his grip or be lost to the rising waters and possibly never rise past the surface again. Unwilling to let go without doing some damage, he attempted to close his jaws completely at the last moment to tear his fangs through her skin. He stumbled and then purposefully pedaled backwards, but @Eirian was suddenly there was well, vicious and snapping and the boy wheeled around to threaten back at the alpha. What the hell had happened while he was gone to have created this duo?

He all but roared as he lunged again, trying to break the ring the two had created and charge into the territory, shouting his sister's name once more into storm.

Why wasn't she coming?