f l a s h .
{ the pack tagged }
-tiny Flash timeskip-
She had looked everywhere. She raced over to Snow's den and searched for the Alpha, but couldn't find her. She ran over to her own den, the Beta den, that she shared with Death, but couldn't find him either. She even looked in the Delta den, in search of Luna, but she was missing too. The winged wolf snarled and cursed in frustration, backtracking multiple times to try and pick up scents, but most of the trails were old and confusing, overlapping with the fresh scents of nature and present pack members. Though she didn't want to live the pack alone, Flash felt she had no choice but to go searching, so she warily raced through the woods and looked in all of the popular places the pack liked to hang out, hoping to find someone. She was still unsuccessful, and she was beginning to panic a littl now, hyperventilating.
How could they all just vanish?! I sent Luna off to find Snow, so wherever they are, they should be together... but Death was in camp the last time I saw him! I didn't tell him to go anywhere! A dark suspicion was creeping into her mind, one she didn't want to accept, but couldn't ignore either. Wh-what if they... What if the humans... She swallowed hard, feeling tears burning the back of her eyes. She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts. It didn't matter now. Whatever had happened, she was the Beta, and now, for the time being, the Alpha. She needed to keep the pack safe, and just trust the others could handle themselves. Sucking in a deep, shaky breath, she leapt into the air and flew back to camp.
Once she returned, she circled overhead, casting her shadow over the gathered wolves to catch their attention. She then glided down to the ground atop a large boulder, one she and Snow used to make announcements. "Iconic Clan!" she called out authoritively. "Listen to me! I have an announcement!" The beta paused, waiting for their attention and for silence to fall before continuing. Her heart pounded quickly in her chest, dreading what she would have to tell them. "I'm certain most of you know about the human sighting in the meadow today, so I'll spare you the details. Yes, the human was killed, but we don't know if it was alone or not. Knowing them, there will be more where that came from, so you know what this means; we've been found, so it is time to move on." Again, she paused, wanting that to sink in. Her confident pose faltered a little with the next part. "I regret to inform you all that... Our dear Alpha Snow cannot be found... Nor can Beta Death or even Delta Luna... I... I don't know what has happened to them, but we cannot afford to waste anymore time looking. Believe me, I've tried, and the longer we stay here, the more danger we're putting ourselves in... Therefore, as your new Alpha for the time being, I am commanding everyone to gather what they wish to take- herbs, stashed prey, whatever- and prepare yourselves to leave." With those as her final words, she stepped down from the rock, her way of silently saying it was over, then proceeded to go into her den, so she could think about where to go, and maybe say goodbye to everything...
w i n t e r .
{ flame, amber, ember, apathmo tagged }
The small pup whimpered softly, feeling Ember's sadness like an arrow through the heart. He hated to see his friend sad, but what else could he do? What could he say? Maybe we won't have to move... Maybe Snow or Flash or someone will tell us it was just one human... That we're safe... The idea didn't even ignite a spark of hope in him; he knew it wasn't true. This scene had played out too many times before... Flattening his ears and bowing his head, he sighed and closed his eyes, starting to feel tired. I just wanna take a nap and wake up when it's all over...
He perked his ears to the sound of heavy paw steps, making him look up at Apathmo. A rabbit had been dropped down and pushed towards the pups, the hunter encouraging them to eat. Winter looked down at the rabbit, willingly himself to eat so he could have a distraction, but he wasn't hungry. He looked at Flame and nudged her with his shoulder, silently asking if she wanted it. Then, suddenly, a shadow passed over them. He squinted up at the sun to be a flying wolf in the sky; Flash, without a doubt. She seemed to be getting their attention, making the pup's stomach tense. Here it is. He thought. He then looked around, puzzled when she landed on the rock with a raised tail and square shoulders. Where was Snow, and Death? Winter pinched his brows together and gazed worriedly at the Beta Female.
At first, the pup's heart and stature fell when she confirmed his fears; yep, they were moving. He wasn't surprised, yet somehow still felt a little disappointed. When she announced that Death, Snow, and Luna couldn't be found, his eyes widened and his heart started pounding. What?! Where did they go?! Are they okay?! A whimper escaped his jaws as he thought about Death, how kind the older male had been to him, and Snow, their greatly admired leader. He didn't know much of Luna, but it didn't matter to him; he loved everyone in the pack like family, and it pained him to think he'd lost three wolves in one day. Tears welded up in his eyes. It got worse when she said they'd be leaving without searching for the others. That's not fair!! He wanted to shout but couldn't find the words. Flash had already stepped off the rock and retreated into the den. Winter couldn't help it. He started crying.
g a l e n .
{ no one tagged }
The healer was taken aback by Flash's announcement, his eyes wide and mind blank. Yes, he knew they'd been leaving, and had even retreated into his den to pick herbs he wanted to take for the journey, but the loss of their Alpha, other Beta, and Delta simply blew him away. It was scary to think they'd almost lost all of their leaders in the blink of an eye. Surely they couldn't be... Dead? Where could they have all gone anyway? I wouldn't know... I wasn't here... Snow hadn't been around when he left, but he knew Luna and Death had been in camp before he went to the meadow. To his knowledge, they hadn't been there when he, Apathmo, and Ember attacked the human... The only one who would know is Flash, but she said she tried to look for them, so if she can't find them... The healer swallowed hard. They must really be missing.
Guilt weighed heavy on his heart. He was the healer, the only healer, in fact. What if they were out there somewhere, not dead, but wounded? What if they needed his help? What if they couldn't get back to camp on their own, and he was just sitting there, doing nothing? He strongly disagreed with leaving them behind. Only Flash had gone looking; surely they would have better luck if the whole pack when looking? Then, however, he glanced at the pups, reminded of their presence because Winter had started to cry. He recalled the incident with the hunter, how it had taken three fully grown adults to take just one down. If there were more... He sighed deeply. Flash was right. They couldn't afford to spend another second in their camp... He still had mixed feelings on the whole thing, but he forced himself to ignore them and start looking through his herbs, readying himself for the journey.