The rain was like no other before it, drops became spears of water being cast down from the heavens with such a force that it could fell a small elk. The wind was a living being, winding through each stone hill like a massive snake, constricting slowly into the valleys with a terrible noise that deafened one to all but itself. And the clouds...the clouds were like the apocalypse. Their thickness was absolute, it was shortly past midday, but their mass blocked out all signs of light, of the sun. It was the artificial twilight brought on by the wrath of the gods themselves. Each passing moment grew more intense, the stones themselves shaking in awe of the power sent into their foundations.

Siscarm watched passively as one of the ancient trees in the valley was felled by the shrieking arrivial of lightning. From his vantage point, he watched several humans scramble to retrieve their
logging equipment. They were filthy beasts. He would prefer if the tree had stayed and one of them had fallen.

"Siscarm. Get away from there. You'll be hurt by the storm."

Siscarm stirred slightly from his standing, taking the world back into focus. The spray of water sprinkled against his face, the wind flattened his ears back against his head. He squinted as lightning struck again, this time being attracted to a rather large object being held by one of the scrambling people. It fell to the ground and it's friends fled from the scene. He smirked and turned back to his patient mate, who was at the moment resting a few feet behind him, at the back of the shallow cave. She was tired, and her dirty brown fur was in disarray from previous travels. Small stone chips and a gracious amount of dirt was caught in her bristly pelt pervasively, and her belly was beginning to form a slight bit of a bump. Siscarm knew why, she thought that he didn't. Her eyes, violet as a flower, were fondly regarding her partner, though she was showing some difficulty in keeping her head up.

At the moment, Siscarm couldn't think of anything more beautiful in the world.

"It is really quite amazing Aiettia...It is as if Anikira himself is trying to reclaim the lost land, chasing off the invaders."

A second flash of lightening illuminated the small space, causing them both to wince. Though he was tempted to go to her, Siscarm continued looking out into the wilderness. This was not just for him to watch, the pack that used to inhabit this land had been invaded by some sort of new species of canine, standing much taller and with strange pelts. The old inhabitants had become reclusive, preparing to kill any trespassers. The new were prepared to kill any squatters. And so, Siscarm watched calmly, if not attentively. Besides, the oak that had rooted itself above them sheltered him from the rain, and the brute stated these points and more.

"Fine then. I'll come over there."

There was a third flash, but the sound was instantaneous, in unison to the massive sensory input. There was second noise that followed suit, a lot less loud, considerably more lethal. The cracking of wood; of Oak. Aiettia was already standing, halfway to his position. The roots trembled, the entrance began to collapse under the kinetic energy, regardless of whether there was someone there to feel it or not. Time seemed to slow drastically, adrenaline shot from his heart in an instant. He didn't even think about anything even remotely about his own safety. All he wanted was to save his mate, his children.

Siscarm yelled, throwing his body forward with no coordination other than basic aim. He struck Aiettia with a very basic force, sending her skidding back across the wet stone, Siscarm taking her place near the entrance. The cracking climaxed, the tree's upper branches took a more downward approach. It tipped inwards, thicker pieces of wood entering the tiny cave. This was an oak tree, hardwood. The spiraled arms would be sharp and brittle, wholly capable of impaling skin and crushing bone. It closed onto his position, and Siscarm backed against Aiettia, protecting her shaken form. It was truly unfortunate that he would never see his pups. Or his mate. Or the sun rise, or the tide come in, or the trees wave in the wind. The things that seemed so mundane would be the things that he would miss most.

Truly unfortunate.

"IJA



Siscarm woke up in a start. The light shone through a thin mist that seemed to have followed him from the river, coating everything and everyone once more. The world around him was completely silent, only his own laboured breaths and the gently tapping of dripping water disturbed the peace. His head drifted from side to side, surveying the area. It was empty, he was alone, the only place that was not of an uninteresting stone shade was where he was directly laying down. Where he was the stone had been stained a deep crimson, though it was barely visible through the accumulated dirt. There had once been blood here. It had pooled in the slight depression that his head currently rested in. This he knew for a fact.

The elder exited the cave. Oh yeah. That was why he didn't like this place.

Siscarm stared down into the valley. Where there had once stood a mighty forest filled with a massive verity of trees and plants was now a mockery of what it used to be. Where there had been loggers there was now a lone wolf. Actually was rather odd and somewhat interesting, compared to the monotony of loggers all that time ago. Shoring up his curiosity was the fact that this wolf was smaller than most, as well as having a natural colour to him, which meant he was not an inhabitant, rather an interloper.

Hm. That looked like the headstrong one; Kadhi. Most interesting.

Siscarm took a few steps downward, keeping his eye on the Arabian. These were not the towering peaks of the Kinath, many of the mountains were only half the size of the smallest in that range, but the small on was present nonetheless. Perhaps he had gotten lost on a scouting mission, returning to the wrong range by mistake. Either way, it was worth investigating. As he spoke, the elder's voice was carried down the remaining mountain face with ease. Even a deaf wolf should be able to hear it.

"Hail, Coistrel Kadhi, emissary of the pack Aldgar! Might I ask why one such as yourself is wandering a land such as this?"

Siscarm peered at the wolf, about ten vertical feet between them, twenty if he walked. He looked fatigued beyond relief, hungry from continued movement. It was plainly a forced march from wherever he had originated from, but from where and for what reason was yet to be known.