[html] This is set directly in the area where they would've come out of Bleeding Souls. Open for all future members of Twilight Vale. They could discuss sticking together and thus decide to become a pack. :]
The journey hadn't at all been a short one but they were now away from the flames and smoke. The air was clear here, cool and refreshing. It wasn't home though, not yet. The moon had taken over the sky completely now, leaving only faint shimmers of stars in the sky, which were masked by thick clouds of dark smoke if one looked far enough back. Everything that he had ever known was burning to the ground behind him and there wasn't anything he could do about it. It was the weakest that he'd ever felt in his life so far, aside from not being able to protect his mother from his father, even though he and Naniko had made it out alive.
Sighing, the red hybrid turned away from the new lands, back toward the path that had lead them from over the mountains and away from the fire. He seated himself then, certain that they were safe from the fire at this point. Conri coughed harshly, still finding that the smoke had yet to clear from his lungs, and cleared his throat. He turned toward the path then, jade eyes wandering, waiting to see who would come down next. He'd stay there for a while, most likely, to see if anyone else that wasn't traveling with them made it through.
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you calm the storms, and you give me rest... [ooc] [bic] ...you hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
She had gotten a little burnt in the process...but it had been worth it. Naniko came to a stop as soon as she caught sight of her love, collapsing down to her knees. She couldn't run any more. She just couldn't. It had been miles and miles ago that she had stopped feeling her legs...but still she had driven on. The two newborns lay in her arms, squeaking in protest to the sudden jolt that she'd given them when her knees had hit the ground. She coughed once, twice, three times before she could breathe again, and she tried to speak. "Conri--" Her voice came out as a croak. She couldn't believe all that had happened in the last hour, finding Dierdre, the pups being born, losing Dierdre. It all seemed so surreal.
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They were okay, the little family. Deuce, the two boys, and their father, lucifer. All of them okay. Just up ahead,t here was a fl;ash of white? Dierdre? The mother's heart leapt. Her daughter was okay! Her step quickened. She carried littled Taliesin in her mouth. Lucifer had the other boy. She froze when it wasn't Dierdre, but Naniko.
Naniko held two squirming puppies, but the mother couldn't make out any scents, except fire. They were all singed, covered in soot and ashes. She sat down not too far and set Taliesin down, panting. Her body ached from shifting too quickly, and from the minor burn. Fur on her tail was missing, as were patches on her body.
She whined soflty, cleaning taliesin absently, and glancing behind her for lucifer and their other son.
[html] I suppose we could just go on without any set posting order to make it easier to get through the thread and to make more sense? Also, if anyone else is interested they can just jump on in.
She said that she would find him, meet him there. She wanted an hour though, which concerned the hybrid to some extent. Would the fire eat away at the lands in less than an hour? Would she make it out alive? He had lingered back with her for quite some time before finally continuing his way through Clouded Tears to alert the rest of them. He had to trust her, he had to understand her wish to help them, and so he'd left. He'd been there for quite some time, long enough for him to shift and remove himself from the uncomfortable feeling of being on three legs. It was only shortly after he had shifted and situated himself on the ground that the flash of white appeared upon the path. Immediately he stood, rising to the very tips of his toes to watch her come down to him. "Naniko!" He called out to her, only to have his voice draw to a solemn hush. Puppies.
He was at her side in an instant, dropping to his knees to lean in to her, to support her weight. Deuce came then, carrying a child of her own, and she seemed to be looking for someone else. Lucifer, he imagined. He could only cast her a faint glance before his attention was back on his mate, reaching out a hand to lay across the side of her face. He could've cried then and there, out of building fear and sudden happiness, but he didn't let himself. "Do you know whose they are?" He asked then, voice hushed as he reached his hand out to gently touch one of the squirming children. Had they been abandoned? Separated from their parents perhaps?
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you calm the storms, and you give me rest... [ooc] [bic] ...you hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
Everything on her hurt, now. Her arms were locked around the young ones, making sure that they didn't fall. She had thought about putting them into the backpack, where she could be certain she wouldn't drop them, but had decided against it. There probably wasn't a very good air flow, and they were very, very young. She was surprised that they were even still alive right now; the pups were damp with afterbirth. That was probably what had saved them. She could almost feel the flames licking at her heels, even though she knew that she was sitting on safe ground. Deuce joined the group and Naniko tried to call out to her, but her voice wouldn't work right. It was scratchy from all of the smoke...she had inhaled an awful lot of it while she'd been scouting. She coughed once more, spitting on the ground, then clearing her throat. "Deuce! I...I got them"Even that much was almost too much. When Conri approached she loosened her grips on the small ones, showing him. "They were born...just as the fire was taking over a piece of Jaded Shadows. I found Dierdre--she was very badly burnt--and I tried to help her. But when we got far enough away she started going into labor. There was nothing I could do but help her, and then look for a safe way out. I--" She paused for a moment, coughing, "I came back, and she was gone. The fire was all around...and I didn't know what to do. These two were there, right next to my backpack. So I took them and ran" Would he be angry with her for not staying and looking for Dierdre more? She hadn't thought that the female was strong enough to go anywhere...but somehow she had wandered away. Would Deuce hate her for losing her daughter? "But...she did tell me their names. The one that you just touched, Conri, is Apollo Haddon. The fire-colored is Sirius Revlis" She held her hands out, offering the little ones to Deuce. "Deuce..I can't...I don't have anything to feed them" She said weakly.
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Deuce nosed them gently, after making sure taliesin wouldn't wander off. Her grandchildren. Her daughter was gone, too. Lost to the fire. "But...she did tell me their names. The one that you just touched, Conri, is Apollo Haddon. The fire-colored is Sirius Revlis.....Deuce..I can't...I don't have anything to feed them..' Deuce nodded understanding, taking both Sirus and Apollo, and setting them next to her swollen teats. She nosed Taliesin closer to them. She would raise her grandchildren and her own children together. She had no choice now.
She ached at the thought of losing Dierdre. The two had been getting close. She didn't speak...she was too tired. She looked behind for Lucifer, feeling anxious. Where was he and their other son?
Lucifer held Noah for dear life, both of his sons would make it, The black male placed the silver male down upon the ground near his brother, keeping that fatherly watchful eye upon the two of them while going over to his mate, offering a respectful head nod to the other mates. He was glad that Naniko had made it though the fire, but he was more stressed over Deuce, she was with two pups, two that wasn't there's. He didn't mind that she was taking the role of wet nurse, but the male cock his head to the side looking at the two as he gave a cough still fighting at getting his breath back from running and the smoke.
"Will our childern still have food?"
Lucifer was really quit stupid about the whole milk and feeding, Deuce was really going to have to teach him a few things at this rate.
[html] The whole thing was a lot to take in. Those pups had been lucky that Naniko had found their mother, Deuce's daughter, but what of Dierdre? Brows furrowed just a bit at the thought, looking between both of the white females a moment. A darker coat caught his eyes, which wandered to gaze across the form just a bit more. He settled some once he realized who exactly and returned his attention to the two newly born children. "It would be dangerous to take them to far." He commented, letting his eyes wander away from the children and back to Naniko.
It seemed like the pups would be fine with Deuce to care for them and provide them food, but they needed to get to a place with fresh water if Deuce was to keep herself in condition to care for them. He stood after a moment of silence, taking a few steps forward to gave out across the lands from the base of the mountain. "We should stick together for now." He turned back to glance at the small group. "Find a place with fresh water and shelter so that everyone can recover and rest."
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Deuce relaxed as Lucifer came into view. Her mate hadn't been to far behind faterall. She licked the top of Noah's head, then lightly licked the other three, watching all four nurse. They would be a little hungry until her body adjusted to feeding four instead of two. It was a good thing they were only 10 days apart.
An ear swiveled to catch what Conri was saying. She nodded agreement, the returned her attention to her mate, nuzzling him worriedly. They will be fine. They'll be a little hungry for a few days, until my body adjusts, but they will survive. She returned her attention to Apollo and Sirius, clening off the afterbrith tenderly.
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you calm the storms, and you give me rest... [ooc] [bic] ...you hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
She was so glad to see all of them there. There were a few others that she was really worried about--Selene, Kansas, Ana...but she would have to find out about them later on. It hurt to think that any of them might not have made it through the fire. The smoke had been choking, and she could see how one could get caught up in it, get confused, and end up surrounded by the blaze. Now to the matters on hand. How would they be able to transport all of the pups, while still letting the little ones nurse? She didn't want to disrupt them now that they had started; all four of them would need all the nutrients that they could get. She did agree with Conri, though, that they needed to regroup in a safer place, one with a steady water source. Naniko took her backpack off, dumping the contents onto the ground. Herbs were important, yes, but she could always find new herbs later on, once they got situated. She turned the pack sideways, ripping a long, narrow tear into the back of it, between the linings. While the others spoke she picked up a needle and some tough thread from the spilled contents on the ground, threading the needle and beginning a quick stitching on the bag. With any luck, it would hold long enough for all of them to get to the new lands. "If you wear it across your stomach, instead of on your back...you can fit the pups right into here. Then they can nurse while we walk. If that's okay with you, anyway. But if you need to stop. Or--well, it goes for any of you. If you feel like you need a rest, we'll all stop together to rest as a group"
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we launch ourselves into the bright::in character
Nocht was more than a little weary and slightly singed around the edges as she finally wandered onto the others, having shifted back to her were form at some point, bow held in her hand. Her vision swam from exhaustion, but a relieved smile touched her lips never-the-less. She'd made it out and she wasn't alone, even if her leg screamed in protest at every new step she took. It had been a long, long night. Her chest felt congested and every deep breath she took, even here in the clean, sweet air, produced a fresh fit of coughing and a pain in her chest, so that she kept her breathing purposefully shallow.
Conri was here, again, and puppies too, with others she didn't know. It almost felt like a sign. Staggering nearer, she collapsed to the ground in a seated position and watched them talk for a moment, keeping silent and as out of the way as she could. She almost felt like she was trespassing on something she'd no right to see. She leaned nearer at Conri's suggestion to stay together, find somewhere to rest up and recover, leaning her head on her knees and warpping her arms around her legs, still holding her bow in a loose grip, the only thing she'd managed to salvage. She nodded a little in agreement, unsure if anyone had even seen her.
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