Sunrise Ridge Storms Are Breaking Over Great Escapes

For @Rory. Backdated to May 29th — Thundery outbreaks possible — 77 ° F, 25 ° C.

It was hot and humid and Cottongrass was pretty sure that he was moments away from melting into a sticky, gooey puddle with each step he took. But yet he kept moving. Making himself focus on putting one paw in front of the other even when all he wanted to do was stop and turn around. Because he bet Aytigin knew good ways to stay cool when the weather was like this. Fun ways too, like maybe splashing in rivers or rolling around in shade. But the older wolf was several days east, the exact opposite way Cottongrass was heading.

He tried to convince himself that he was close to Wild Rye Fields. That any moment now the dense forest would lighten and reveal the golden tundra he was looking for. And maybe if he was really lucky he could just traipse past pack borders and nobody would talk to him or ask where he had disappeared to for an entire week. He could just head straight to the little river that cut through the middle of the territory and stay there for an entire night in peace. But he knew that luck was never so kind and he tried his best to not get his hopes up.

Because all he needed to do was focus on not getting lost and/or hurt for another few hours. That he would be in pack territory before he would even know it.

But it was then—and only then, of course!—did the dark grey clouds above him spark. And somewhere on the distant horizon the storm was already brewing as the sky lit up in blinding flashes of electricity that danced and darted. Seconds later the ground rumbled as thunder boomed. Behind him Cottongrass' tail started to wag in the air behind him, nervous as his paws stumbled to a halt just as he reached the edge of one of many clearings.

He looked up into the stormy skies above only for a stray raindrop to hit him clear in the eye.

(This post was last modified: Jun 12, 2017, 03:39 AM by Cottongrass.)

@Cottongrass :D

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thane

She panted as she walked, feeling the heat radiate off her as sun rays seemed to burn a hole in her thinning pelt. If she didn't know any better, she'd guess this was probably the hottest day of the freaking year and it wasn't even summer yet. A deep inhale, an even deeper exhale and she felt the muscles in her legs begin to tremble from exhaustion; where the hell was she? She could no longer tell, and the heat was making it harder to concentrate on anything longer than a few minutes at a time but her feet continued on without missing a beat. She needed shelter, her eyes searched frantically for anything with wide stretching branches that could shield her from the burning heat.

A sound rippled through the sky, a gust of strong wind whipped through her alabaster pelt and then the skies above began to swirl into a dark and angry hue in resemblance of a storm. She sighed, knowing that a storm was even worse than enduring the sun until it lowered for the day, now she would potentially be wet and the angry lights above signaled the approach of dangerous thunder. She hated thunderstorms. She hurried her stride, wanting to seek coverage before the downpour and found herself in the company of another wolf, this one was pale in color like herself but taller and the musk she identified as male. Just great she thought, rolling her eyes while averting her gaze. She didn't have the time for a meet and greet, not with the sky threatening to pummel them with rain.

In her peripheral she noticed that he simply stood there, as if in awe, and the woman couldn't help rolling her eyes once more. This wolf must either enjoyed getting wet or was too stunned to seek shelter,  "A storm is coming." she spoke, giving him a warning over the ever strong gusts of wind that were rocking the land, she could only hope the storm would be a quick one. It was the only words she gave to the male before he was now behind her, left in awe, while she searched for shelter strong enough to block out the storms wrath.

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

@Rory — I'm so sorry for the wait D:

The more time he spent looking up, the more hopeless Cottongrass felt. Because he was pretty sure that his plan of returning to Wild Rye Fields before the day was over dead. That a storm was rolling in with a vengeance and there was no way he was going to survive if he didn't find shelter soon. So when a disembodied voice whispered in his ear he sort of just nodded his head. It made sense. It really did because the rain seemed to fall harder with each passing second and the wind was picking up when he thought about it. Now what he didn't understand was the thudding. That this wasn't his first storm but he never could recall rain sounding quite like that when it hit the ground.

But then he realized that it wasn't rain hitting the ground but instead the drum roll of moving paws heading away from him. It was enough to kick start his slow mind into overdrive. Because—

"Wait!" He barked, alarm flooding his system while his tail gave a panicked wag behind him. If the she-wolf kept walking that would probably mean she would disappear and he would be left alone. Heck no! He wasn't about to weather a storm by himself. And just as he thought that the sky gave a warning spark, lightning flashing in the sky and he braced himself for the thunder. Suddenly he couldn't pivot on the spot fast enough to find the stranger who spoke moments ago.

He didn't relax until his wild yellow eyes settled on a pale backside moving away from him.

"Where are you going?" Cottongrass called, stomping after the she-wolf with fear evident in his everything. But if anybody were to ask if he was scared of storms, he was more than prepared to deny everything and shift the blame.

It's no biggie! @Cottongrass

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thane

She didn't have much time to react, ducking from the intensity of the lightening and thunder that fought so violently above them. She thought for a moment that she heard the voice of someone requesting her attention, but her focus remained on finding shelter and she couldn't concentrate on the male who brought up the rear longer then a few minutes. It wasn't until she felt his presence come closer that she turned toward him, yellow eyes fixated on him with concern--the storm clearly had him spooked. "I'm going to find shelter, you should do the same." she called back to him, continuing on.

 Her warning was not a clear welcome to join her in the quest to find something to ward off the elements, but it also wasn't a dismissal of his company. Given the strange turn of events she assumed that he would be sticking by her side until the storm subsided. She didn't mind him as long as he didn't get in her way. Once the storm began to pick up in speed she hunched her shoulders to situate her head in a position similar to someone ducking to avoid an on slaughter of objects--careful to mind her surroundings and the company that she had most likely acquired.

In what seemed like awkward minutes, she finally turned toward the male who had seemed so eager to know where she was going just moments prior and cocked her head. Perhaps he could be of more use to her than she previously thought. "I hate this weather. her voice was flat, an obvious scowl on her usually youthful face.

Storms put her in a funk, she didn't like the way the rain made her fur stick together, or the cold sensation that traveled up her spine once the rain began to dry, and she especially didn't enjoy not knowing exactly when the storm would be over. She also didn't like the fact that she had no idea where she was going,  "You have any idea where the nearest shelter could be?" although she had asked him for help she was not one to beg and half expected the male to relinquish this information without much convincing, evident in the slow and strange way her single eyebrow lifted in wait for his answer.

(This post was last modified: Jul 10, 2017, 11:48 PM by Rory. Edit Reason: made a small tweak in her speech )

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

Cottongrass was still trying to convince himself that he wasn't scared of anything while the stranger started to talk. Because when he was younger he had faced off with muskox and the qalupalik without getting fatally injured. He couldn't say he had come out unscathed either of those times but the experience still had to count for something. A part of him was almost banking on it.

So when the sky above flickered and the ground rumbled all while the atmosphere itself screamed he only flinched a little. Not enough to send himself tumbling or shrieking away in fear but enough to be noticeable. Every tense movement and twitch was totally unrelated to the storm going on around them and he was almost convincing himself of the lie. He let his teeth clench and he took a few waddling steps closer to the she-wolf now at his side. To keep her safe or some other lame excuse even when everybody knew that Cottongrass wasn't very brave. He focused on nodding his head whenever it seemed fitting to their one-sided conversation.

Somewhere behind him his tail lashed back and forth in a mess of nervous energy but he would never admit that. Not even when the whites of his eyes flashed when the sky did its horrible thing again. His ears rolled back against his head and it took him a few painful seconds to realize she asked him something. That he should probably respond before she left him in the dust.

"Uh." Cottongrass blurted out while he struggled to make sense of his own messy thoughts. The storm made his mind even more of a scattered maze than it usually was and he could physically feel himself straining to make sense. "Maybe under the, uh, the trees?" Came his hopeless reply moments later. And he never was too good in these kind of situations.

But he kept quiet as he tried to cower without actually cowering. The girl had an intense gaze and an eyebrow that meant business. Could you blame him for being so nervous? He wondered if she would hunt him down if he took off running towards Wild Rye Fields which couldn't have been too far. It was a tempting thought but he was pretty sure the sky would smite him down if he moved too quickly. He stayed close to her.

(This post was last modified: Jul 11, 2017, 10:57 PM by Cottongrass.)

I apologize for the wait @Cottongrass, hopefully you're still interested in continuing!!!!

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thane

An obvious roll of her eyes was her only response, thin legs propelled her from him in a few strides but she didn't go far before lightening stopped her in her tracks long enough to sense that the male was perhaps more afraid of the storm then what he put on. He fidgeted at each crack of thunder and the lightening that followed had him spooked despite his efforts to disguise the fear that fell over his face. Judging from his reaction alone, Rory would have guessed that this male had been sheltered.

She couldn't quite control the feeling of annoyance that followed his response but she chalked it up to him being nervous and didn't totally blame him for his blatant honesty. Her eyebrow remained arched as she spoke once more. "Thank you" she didn't completely believe her response and she was sure the male didn't either but it was all she could muster before continuing onward, intent on finding the outline of trees without his help.

Another crackle of thunder and lightening and the woman paused just long enough to glance backward, concerned for the male despite her annoyance toward him. He didn't deserve to be out alone in this weather even if he was a strange one. "Come on, we'll find something out this way, stay close." she said, warning him not to wander too far in case they were separated.

It didn't take her long, perhaps a few minutes of wandering, before she saw what she had been looking for all this time and her feet quickened to propel her beneath the protective leaves of a drooping tree. She didn't check to see if Cotton had followed her, having become to occupied with cleaning herself dry instead and listened to the soft backdrop of falling droplets as she set and re-evaluated her options. This temporary shelter would do good for now.

(This post was last modified: Aug 03, 2017, 04:30 AM by Rory.)

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

Definitely still interested in continuing :D

An awkward thanks and an awkward suggestion. Both were responded with nothing more than a mute nod. And he almost didn't know what to do with himself as he shuffled after her quick pace. But obedience came easily. Especially when there was anyone but himself at the helm. The storm might have tripped him up. It roared into his ears and shook the ground under his paws. But his fear of being alone in a storm outweighed his fear of the storm itself and he made sure to stick close.

Even when she decided to bolt forward into the trees he gave a panicked shuffle after her. Behind him his tail continued its frenzied wag and his ears rolled back against his head. He risked a glance backwards as he blindly followed the she-wolf. And when the sky flashed he flinched and gave one last bustle into shelter.

His first realization was that it was cramped. A little too small and usually he didn't have trouble with personal space but he felt like this was pushing it. But like hell was he going to risk being by himself so he kept quiet. With an awkward waddle he picked a corner under the branches and sat in it. Yellow eyes swiveled from the fading light at the shelter's entrance to the girl that busied herself before him.

"Never did like storms." He mumbled like it wasn't already painfully obvious with the tension in his body and his earlier reactions. And with that he looked away and continued to settle into the comfort of their temporary shelter. He didn't bother drying himself. Would probably just end up getting all soggy and muddy again anyway.

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

Awesome! 

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thane

Cottongrass wasn't far behind her, having entered just after the burst of lightning and thunder that rocked the skies. She paused in her cleaning just long enough to watch him grow accustomed to the cramped space before she returned to her grooming, lifting her leg ever so slightly to reach her belly. Like her counterpart, she hated being caught in storms for the simple fact that her fur would feel sticky and gross and she'd have to spend hours cleaning it therefore when he mentioned his dislike of it she volunteered her own comment.  "I feel so gross."

Rory wasn't the most clean or anal of wolves, in fact being a loner kept her quite dusty and dirty, but she hated the combination that came with being wet even with shaking her pelt a million times in an attempt to dry it. Once she felt content enough to leave her pelt be she looked at Cottongrass, fully acknowledging him and taking him in. He was a average sized wolf, his coat was as pale as snow and his eyes were the color of the sun; handsome was the best fitting word. "Were you going anywhere in particular?" she asked, making small talk in hopes that it would divert her attention. She needed to keep her attention on anything but his good looks, in after inhaling deeply she caught whiff of the scent of his pack, it reminded her of someone.

"Do you know Askan?" he was, after all, the only wolf she'd met so far from the same pack he smelled of.

(This post was last modified: Aug 10, 2017, 05:08 AM by Rory.)

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

Oh my god, I love Rory <3

She was staring at him.

It somehow made the already cramped shelter even smaller and he didn't even bother to try and understand how that worked. Because the storm continued to rage on outside. Rain dripped from the branches overhead and the wind battered against the old tree until even its roots trembled beneath the dirt. There was lightning. There was thunder. And you know, being uncomfortable was a very small price to pay when compared to dying in a storm.

He shuffled on the spot. Raised one of his back legs to awkwardly scratch at his shoulder even though it wasn't itchy. It was only then did the she-wolf finally break the silence.

"Huh?" He blurted out before his mind caught up to the present. "Oh. I was trying to head back to pack territory. Before the storm hit, you know?" It was probably obvious by now that his plan wasn't a success. Not when he was stuck in a temporary shelter while the sky shrieked and the ground shook. He gave one last wiggle before settling back down in his little corner.

And when the conversation took a sudden turn in topic — he only gave a bewildered blink before going along with it.

"Yeah." Course he knew Askan. It would probably be a better question to ask who didn't know the Selwyn male at this point. A part of him wondered how the man managed to live such a double life without anyone knowing. Behind him his tail wagged and he perked up. "He's my friend." One of his best friends.

(This post was last modified: Aug 10, 2017, 05:58 AM by Cottongrass.)