Larkcall Lowlands thunderstorms kill

How had Urokh found herself in such a situation? She was in the middle of open tundra, and there was a thunderstorm raging overhead. Not only did she have no shelter from the cold and wet, but she also had no shelter from the lightning that lit up the sky every now and then. The only thing she could do was pull her body as close to the ground as possible. Lightning wanted to make its way to the ground and it found the tallest object it could to strike into to reach its destination, dispersing itself throughout the object until it fizzled out into the Earth. It could destroy trees — and kill animals.

Urokh had her ears pinned to her head in fear. Fear was not weakness. Fear was what kept one alive. Panic killed. It made wolves do stupid things. But fear was healthy. The large, bulky, black wolf crawled along the ground at a snail’s pace, searching for somewhere — anywhere — to hide herself. A burrow would do nicely, but so far she wasn’t finding any that were big enough. Plenty of little ones, but no big ones. Nothing she could dig into and make large enough to fit herself. For lack of anything else to do, she simply continued crawling, her ears pinned down, her tail wrapped around one of her back legs, belly so low it slid almost snake-like across the ground.

Hi. :)

The sky was alive, and therefore so was the forest. Merys’ ears were pricked forward as he loped across the lowlands, sharp with intensity. It had been so long since he was subject to the fierceness of Mother Nature quite like this. He wasn’t sure why he had ventured back up to the Lowlands, as he had spent more than enough time as a lone wolf up here. The expansiveness of nothing was the most impressive part of these lands. In fact, there probably wasn’t a worse place to be in a lightning storm than these godforsaken lands. There was little shelter, and what shelter there was – tall trees or banks of watering holes -- was typically a magnet for the electricity.


The thundering bellows from the clouds had sent Merys into a jog, as shelter would be something he would need to find soon. The sharp, hardy grasses pricked his paws as he ran, his eyes scanning his surroundings for somewhere to wait out the storm. A deafening crack let go above his head, and his tail tucked as he sprinted in surprise, then laughed wildly at himself. The fear-induced adrenaline lit inside him made him feel alive, and he had a mad feeling as the rain pelted his eyes and his legs covered ground quickly. Had it not been for her stark colour against the tundra’s, he might have missed her from his squinting. The large black form was off to his right as he ran, but he had not registered that it was a wolf until he saw that it was moving as well. What the..? What was she doing out there like this? Was she frozen with fear? They needed to get out of here! “Hey!” he barked out, slowing his run only slightly and moving closer to her. “Come on! We need to get out of here, you can’t stay here!” he called, though he couldn’t be sure that she could hear him against the wind and thunder. Their senses were overstimulated with all that Mother Nature was lashing out with. No, they couldn't stay here, but as Merys looked around quickly, he was not sure where else they would go; but they had to find something.

(This post was last modified: May 09, 2016, 04:42 PM by Merys.)

founding member | 2016

Urokh was still crawling along like a snail when she heard the sound a voice nearby — though it was nearly drowned out by the sounds the sky was making. She turned her head this way and that, squinting in the rain to try and pinpoint where the voice had come from. She could not rely on sense of smell in this weather. All she could smell was rain and the sharp tang of lightning and her own wet fur. Nothing beyond that. Finally, her amber-brown eyes landed on the male who had shouted at her. He was sopping wet like she was, and did not exude anything threatening.

Instinct told her to maintain her distance, as she did not know this wolf and now was not a good time to be making introductions. But her brain told her that maybe he knew where shelter was. Ignoring her instincts for now, she crawled her way over him and yelled over the wind, “Must find shelter! You know where there’s any?” A loud rumble of thunder boomed overhead and she flinched at the noise, more a natural response than out of fear. She looked around herself once more, attempting to spot somewhere they could wait out the storm.

Words: 207 @Merys -- hello!

Thankfully the black wolf heard him through the whipping wind and didn't seem too skittish as she called back. He pulled himself back from his run when he got closer to her, though she still hugged the ground. The thunder clapped overhead, insisting that they get out of the storm's path sooner than later. He looked at her on the ground, realizing the size of her now that he was closer. She was a mammoth of a female.. like wow. He closed his eyes against the thought -- and rain -- and turned his gaze away. Perhaps they could hash out demographics later. He looked at the vastness that they had found themselves. Well, he knew there was nothing from the direction he came, he could rule out that much at least. It was difficult to focus against the needle-like raindrops, but he thought he saw the land give way to more hills to the south.. maybe? It was hard to say, but it seemed like their only option right now. The rest was flat and barren tundra; nothing that boded shelter.

He leaned down closer to her so that she might hear him better, his soaked maw dripping off his lips as he did so. "Maybe we can find some rocks to the south," he explained, pointing with his nose towards the area that looked to have a valley in the distance. "But we're going to have to move a little faster than snail's speed. Can you run?" Perhaps she was crouched because she had injured herself -- perhaps she was frozen in fear. Both options could be a considerable cunctator, and this weather was miserable. While it made the male feel alive, he would also like to stay alive, and he anticipated it would be some time before the storm passed over them. He caught the female's wide amber gaze, and looked at her expectantly.

founding member | 2016

Urokh was grateful when the male came closer to her, the better to hear him over the sound of the thunder and the pouring rain. He seemed to be scanning the horizon, and she looked around some more, too. All she succeeded in doing, however, was getting rain in her eyes, and she blinked hard to try and clear them as the male beside her yelled over the rain again. He told her that they could maybe find shelter to the south. Rocks. Good. Rocks could be very large and possibly have overhangs they could hide beneath, or perhaps dens dug out at their bases.

She nodded, before realizing that he probably didn’t see such a gesture what with the storm going on. She then heard him yell that they needed to move quickly, and could she run? “Speed is not my strong point,” she shouted with a voice like gravel. “But I can run, and for a long time if needed. Just guide me. I will follow.” Urokh prepared herself for the journey, however long it would take. She took but a moment to stretch her limbs, and then obediently faced the male, waiting for him to move so that she could follow him.

Little did she know that this male was a member of the White Fir Notch pack, and that some time after this meeting in a rainstorm, she would come across one of the leaders of said pack — a wolf by the name of Gent. For now, though, packs were the least of her concern. She just wanted to be dry and warm again.

Words: 268 @Merys -- To keep the continuity of Urokh's timeline, can we avoid too much talk of White Fir Notch if packs come up in-character? Cos I have a thread going with Gent right now, so I'm not sure how that'll turn out in regards to what Urokh does and doesn't know so far. <3

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

I noticed, no problem! It'll be funny for them to recognize each other later on in another pack thread! :P Sorry for the long post, let me know if you want me to change anything! <3 Just trying to hurry the 'search' along.

Merys was grateful to learn that crawling wasn't the only movement the mammoth female had in her repertoire of actions. She spoke so dutifully, something that, perhaps another circumstance, he would have taken more time to humour at, but the violence of the storm was picking up, and they were going to have to move. As she stood to her full height next to him, he turned his squinted gaze back to her, taking a moment to appreciate the fact that she was larger than he was. "Jesus, were you raised with giants?" He asked, but mid-sentence a flash of lightning blinded them in the vastness, and he braced for the heavy crack of thunder that soon followed, indicating the closeness of the storm to them. His jab was quickly forgotten as the thundering dissipated and a gust of wind pushed the sharp rain into his eyes, more frivolent than before. This was just getting unnecessary. What was the point of a storm such as this, Mother Nature?

"Okay, follow me," he said. He did not doubt that speed was not her strong suit, but running against this wind would be slow their gate anyway; it would be their muscles pushing them forward. Hopefully his guess at the Lowland's geography proved fruitful. He had spent weeks up here as a loner, so he knew the rocks existed, but it was difficult to tell through his blurred vision. Nevertheless, the closer south they went, the better off they would be. He took off at a run he knew the female-@Gent would be able to handle. 

The wind was relentless, catching their large frames and pushing them backwards, sometimes feeling like his gallop had only moved him forward a few centimeters. Almost as if the storm did not want them moving forward. His muscles began to burn from the resistance, as well from the added weight of his sopping pelt. But they had to keep moving. Eventually he had to keep his head down in an attempt to shield his eyes from the wind and rain, only occasionally glancing up when he thought they might be getting closer. The thing about the Lowlands, and he remembered all too well, they felt like they went on forever. While eventually they made it to a couple dips, they were no rocks yet. The sky had darkened considerably, the purple and grey clouds giving off an eldritch appearance. They've got to be around here somewhere, who knows how long this storm is going to last.. he thought desperately, I know there is, I saw them everywhere.. I just can't see far right now.. He hoped they did not go past any from their impaired vision. They would just have to keep moving forward.

After what seemed a miserable amount of time he slowed his gate in a minor dip, looking around to the black female, then back at the landscape. The dip was nearly negligible in protecting them from the wind and rain. He realized he was out of breath, and his face felt colder than he remembered. He fought off the feeling of doubt, unsure if they were going to find anything. The storm wasn't passing, it was just beginning. The lightning and thunder were on top of them, urging them to frighten. The wind and rain urging them not to try and move. Yet here the were, defying them all. He hung his head, trying to use his body to shield his eyes so that he might see. He did not want to seem hopeless in fear of losing the trust of the random girl he had offered to help.. but they weren't finding anything. He glanced at her, then away again, blinking tightly to squeeze the water from the fur. When he opened them again and refocused, they came into view. He glanced at the black-pelted female again, this time with an expression of 'Are you seeing those too?' They were not the heavy overhang large rocks they'd been hoping for, but at a time like this, they were all they would need. A smile crept onto his maw, still being forced to squint awkwardly, but he hoped the she understood. Their difficult journey had been successful, and they were going to get out of this godforsaken storm.

founding member | 2016

Urokh had nothing to say to the male’s comment about whether she was raised with giants. Her Dam and Sire had always made comments about how, with her physique and attitude, she should have been born a male. Those comments had never bothered her. Half the time she even agreed with them. Still, despite her gruff mentality, she retained the female instinct to have pups and to be nurturing to them. She didn’t often get the chance to show such feminine actions, but she’d babysat a lot as a yearling, watching her younger litter-mates while her parents went out hunting. Should the opportunity arise, she wouldn’t hesitate to have pups of her own. But that side of her was buried deep down beneath her male-like exterior — the one who preferred hunting and fighting and protecting her pack to things like collecting plants for medicine or counseling younger members —

She shook herself out of her thoughts and began to run with the male, following him closely and breathing evenly so that she would not tire out. This is what she was good at — running steadily over long periods. Sprinting was rather out of her league, but most often she did not need to sprint, not even for hunting. Hunting most often required the stamina to keep up with an animal until it became exhausted. Then it was easy to kill. Besides, in a storm like this there was no point to speed. One cannot outrun a storm. One can only endure it as best they know how.

Eventually, Urokh and the male wolf came upon some rocks. They were not overly large and didn’t really look to provide much shelter, but at this point it didn’t really matter anyways. They couldn’t get any wetter. Urokh grunted in response to her running partner’s gesture, and loped the last few hundred feet to the nearest rock, which she pressed her body against and hunched down next to. She looked over her shoulder at the male, as if to ask him what he was going to do now that they were here.

Words: 350 @Merys

@Urokh

Merys stepped off after the female moved for the rocks. The closer they got, the smaller they seemed. He realized that the two large wolves would not fit comfortably underneath. There was not much overhang either, not for someone his size.. and definitely not for someone her size. She shimmied herself under, not seeming to care about how wet she got anymore. Merys gave his pelt a hearty shake before looking for a similar rock to fit under. He attempted to go in head first, digging at the tough tundra ground with his forepaws, but did not get far before he realized it would not be worth his effort. He turned tail and backed himself in near his company; having to curl himself tightly to fit. Their heads were covered enough to obviate getting soaked again, but it did little to dampen the sound of the storm's howls. At least his eyes weren't getting pelted by the rain anymore, he thought with a bitter gratefulness. 

With the quieter surroundings around them, Merys' thoughts returned to his company, momentarily forgetting her presence. Not sure how you could forget something of that size.. but anyway.. She turned her large snout and looked over her large shoulder to him, almost expectantly. He heaved a big sigh and rewrapped his tail around his haunches, "Yes, well. Not good, but not bad either, I suppose. Bout as good as we'll get up here in the Lowlands anyway, I imagine," he said thoughtfully, eying the rock ceiling. His muscles were happy for rest, pushing against the wind for so long. 

founding member | 2016

Urokh watched with a steady and rather uncaring gaze as her fellow wolf got himself comfortable nearby, adjusting her body so that she was facing him properly. This took a bit of maneuvering, and she had to step outside of her shelter for a moment, getting pelted with more rain, but she didn’t mind. She didn’t mind most things, actually. She was not a hard wolf to please as long as others did as they were told. The only things that really got to her were when subordinates did not follow their Alpha’s laws, or when innocent wolves or pups were injured for no reason.

Once they were both settled, she was content to sit and wait out the storm in companionable silence. The male spoke for a moment or two, and she grunted in acknowledgement. Words were not really her… forte. The rain continued to pelt down around them, and Urokh shivered a little as it soaked down past her fur into her skin. Her fur was plastered to her body, making her look smaller than she normally did, though still huge. Muscles rippled in her shoulders and legs as she shook herself, trying to get the water off of her now that she was settled.

Yes, she definitely should have been born a male.

Words: 216 @Merys -- sorry for the delay! I've been studying for finals for days!