↭𝚀𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗↭ - Started, Not Accepting

[baby tantor]

. ✧|K E N A I|✧ 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙏𝙒𝙄𝙉 .─────────────────────────────────────────────
--- [ male ] - [ 1yr 7m ] - [ kappa ] - [ muscle mutation ] - [ mentions: laurel ] -
-─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

kenai focused on his breathing and his chest rose and fell with each breath. he could feel his heart beat pounding and no matter how hard he tried to relax, it did not seem to change. his mind raced, thinking of all of the members of the pack. he was only with totem when the fire started - he had no idea where everyone else was, if they were even alive. the thought of totem shot a pain through his heart. just because totem had gone back towards the fire, doesn’t mean he is officially gone. he could be on the opposite side of the territory with other wolves in the pack just as nervous and afraid. kenai tried to not lose hope.

the ground beneath him began to vibrate. kenai lifted his head and perked his ears as he frantically looked around the area. he heard someone call out his name, but it was hard to see with the rain falling in front of him. with squinted eyes, he walked towards the wolf. “oh god, laurel!” he said as soon as he recognized the wolf. he breathed a slow sigh of relief when he realized this meant he wasn’t the only one who had survived the flames. it gave him a glimmer of light that there were others as well.

“this is just… awful. where is everyone? have you found anyone else? how did this happen?” kenai seemed to be talking faster than he could process what was happening. laurel was always a wolf that kenai could turn to for guidance and help. he was thankful that out of all of the wolves in the pack, she was the first to find him. kenai didn’t know where to even begin to describe what he had experienced.

[Rae'tia]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx▓
Amarok xxxxxxxxxxxxxx▓
2y&10m ∙ Male ∙ The Muscle xxx▓
tagged; Destinyxxxxxxxxxxxxx▓
mutation; Ecological Empathyxx▓
wc; 415xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx▓

xxxxxxxxWhen a few howls sounded off in the distance, a mixture of grief, hope, and relief filled his gut. Only seconds later a flicker of fear filled him. What if it wasn't his pack? What if it was just some vile outsiders already teaming to take him home from him. The last bit of his family that he had left? The growl that struggled its way up his throat and out his mouth, was cut short by a whine as another wave of pain ran up and down his spine. It wasn't terrible, and it wasn't as bad as what he'd felt when the fire had first started. Gritting his sharp molars as he shoved the pain down, the brute turned his gaze out over the land. As the pain receded the obsidian-furred titan started heading towards the nearest howl.
xxxxxxxxAs the untouched and healthy earth and grass gradually decreased and scorched land increased, Amarok felt his own skin burn. Maybe it's just the burning of my paw pads that I'm feeling, he mused darkly. Amarok wasn't the fastest guy around, but he'd been told by the former Epsilon that he'd never be the swift but deadly Slayer, but a mammoth; a tank. A dealer and taker of damage. So he had the durability and strength to keep going forward at a reasonable pace. Ignoring the lingering and low-grade but constant pain, Amarok started to slow as he got closer to the epicenter of the nearest howl. He'd just slowed down to a light trot as one of his few surviving packmates came into sight. A bolt of irritation and grief shot through him.
xxxxxxxxIt wasn't who he'd expected. Who he'd hoped for. He'd, in all honesty, hoped it had been a few different wolves. Some of his kin, maybe a brother or sister, one or both of his parents, a cousin, or even an aunt or uncle would have been acceptable. But mostly he'd been hoping for Laurel. A sign that she'd survived this terrible thing. But it was only the troublemaking Destiny. Heaving a sigh, Amarok opened his jaws. "It's good to see you alive Destiny. Considering." He swallowed roughly, then after glancing around and padding over to her, questioned her. "Have you seen anyone else yet? Anyone alive I mean." He felt that he had to add that last part. He'd seen plenty, maybe too much. He'd certainly smelt them. It hadn't been a pretty or good smell like one would expect.

[~Raining Fire~]

╒═══════════════╕
D E S T I N Y
ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴏᴜʙʟᴇ ᴍᴀᴋᴇʀ
Enhanced Hearing
Rank:Former Lota
Age:1yrs, 2m
Status:Single
Tags:Amarok
WC: 474
╘═══════════════╛

Destiny paused for a moment, almost fearful she had lost the direction of the howl she was tracking. She shook her head, ridding herself of the thought - or trying too. She feared who or what she would come across. what if it is an animal luring me, or a rival pack wanting to kill me she thought worriedly. Her attempts to clear her head were not working. She flicked her ears in alternate directions hoping to hear if anyone was approaching her.

A whine escaped her as the ringing was back in her ears, in seemingly full force. It almost knocked her down, the ring made her head spin. It also happened to make her question where she was. Destiny looked around. The world around her was spinning, everything looked the same. She stepped backwards and a small twig snapped under her weight. With her ears ringing the crack , along with the sound of rain; spooked the young wolf causing her to yelp in a second of fear. She jolted forward and away from the twig before catching her breath a few meters away before catching her breath. She scolded herself for being so on edge. But could you blame her?

Destiny looked around, a figure was slowly coming into view, luckily for her the ringing had stopped suddenly. She was thankful it chose now to stop so she could focus. A low growl mustered from her, concerned with who - or what was approaching. She scented the air to try and pick up who it could be but her nostrils were still full of ash remains, besides she could only smell smoke. Destiny focused on the figure until it came into view. The tall dark build of Amarok was now in her view. She sighed, relieved that it was him and not someone she thought would harm her. However part of her had hoped it was her brother or another pack member since Amarok wasn't the biggest fan of hers. She was however partly thankful to see another member of her pack alive. Perhaps there were more? "Ah, Hello Amarok." she greeted in return, as the wolf approached. "Unfortunately no. You are the first member of the pack I have seen - alive." she said with a shudder. Thinking of the bodies of her pack mates she had seen when escaping. Some she wasn't even able to recognize due to the burns. She shook her head sadly "Your howl was also the first one I heard. I'm not sure if anyone else is out there." she admitted with her tail drooping sadly.

Destiny studied the wolf in front of her - they weren't close but she felt the need to ask "Are you alright?" she questioned. Not sure if she would even know the answer if she was asked.

[daifuku]

✧ ─── 𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐋 )

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑. 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄. 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒. 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐈. 𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐄.

───

a wave of relief crashed over laurel, briefly quelling the humming anxiety in her body. she had never been the closest to kenai, given that he was a kappa and had spent so much time with his twin. but regardless, she was elated to just see a member of her pack. especially one who was alive and well. although, on a second thought, she supposed none of them could really be deemed completely 'well.' the shock of the flames, igniting and growing in the blink of an eye, the sheer panic: none of those would be forgotten easily.

"i... i don't know," she admitted, her gaze dropping to the ground. the same questions were whirling around in her head as well, but she had absolutely zero answers. it made her head ache as much as her muscles did. there was only one way to find conclusions to their worries, one that involved a lot of aimless and tiring wandering. she tilted her snout skywards, scanning for scents to follow with little luck. there was nothing but the remnants of smoke, as well as the overpowering rain. her ears could vaguely pick up howls, but they were far and faint - so faint that she wasn't sure if she was making them up or not. a swish of her tail was all that betrayed her frustration, along with an exhausted sigh.

laurel glanced over at kenai, who was evidently filled to the brim with nervousness and fear. for his sake, and for her sanity's sake, she'd have to hold on to all the hope and patience she had left. "i'm sorry, i pretty much got separated from everyone else as well. never mind that though. let's go look for them. you're not hurt or anything, are you?" she studied the other wolf, squinting through the rain. mostly checking for injuries, but also checking to see that he was real. and not just a desperate figment of her imagination.

───

[Rae'tia]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx▓
Amarok xxxxxxxxxxxxxx▓
2y&10m ∙ Male ∙ The Muscle xxx▓
tagged; Destinyxxxxxxxxxxxxx▓
mutation; Ecological Empathyxx▓
wc; 305xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx▓

xxxxxxxxHis muscles tensed once more as Destiny spoke, giving him a negative answer. While Amarok wasn't necessarily upset with the response, it did force a crack into his hope. She'd seen a few pack members from her tone that were now departed. He highly doubted that she'd be the only one either. Amarok just hoped that no one too young saw anything. Moon and Stars what a day. he silently cursed, glancing up at the smoke-filled skies above them. Clearing his throat, the male opened his maw to speak. "We should probably let out another howl or two, then maybe try to find a good place to stay." He mused aloud, he glanced around then paused and turned his attention back to Destiny as she questioned him on his well-fair. Grimacing and shivering once more, the lupin shrugged. "I've certainly been better, a few scrapes and scratches, but nothing dire," Amarok reported, before giving her a short but intense look over. "What about yourself? Any injuries that need to be looked after?"
xxxxxxxxStepping closer the male pressed his nose to one of her shoulders as if checking for an injury that he couldn't see, before stepping back with a mildly worried look plastered on his face. As he waited for a response from the younger lupine the brute started to mentally go over the places they could try to find shelter inside the territory. Mostly because Amarok had never been outside the territory before. From what I saw from the hills, there's still some good territory just south of the Dark Skies territory, and west of the old... camp. He grimaced at the thought. Should provide plenty of shelter for them, and... he mentally trailed off, he could focus on this later right? Returning his attention to Destiny, but kept himself alert just in case.

[~Raining Fire~]

╒═══════════════╕
D E S T I N Y
ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴏᴜʙʟᴇ ᴍᴀᴋᴇʀ
Enhanced Hearing
Rank:Former Lota
Age:1yrs, 2m
Status:Single
Tags:Amarok
WC: 340
╘═══════════════╛

Destiny sighed, flicking her gaze around to what was left of the fire. Thankfully, the rain had put out the flames, but the damage was still done - and irreversible. Sadness consumed her as she took in her surroundings. This being the first time she had truly stopped to look. "Everything is gone." she blurted in a hushed tone. She shook her head and turned back to face the dark wolf, before hearing Amarok's voice. His low voice boomed in her ears, it sounded like he was yelling at her. They weren't on the best of terms but yelling? Destiny pinned her ears back instinctively as his voice sounded raised "You don't have to yell" she muttered. The light ringing in her ears returned and she sighed, here we go again she thought dreading the ringing that had already caused her so much pain.

She took a deep breath, turned her attention back to their conversation and nodded, in agreement to what he said "I think trying another howl would be best. Maybe - hopefully someone will hear us" she said. Part of her hoped the howl would work. That another member of the pack would hear them and answer. A glimmer of hope someone else was alive. Destiny only feared another pack would answer and it could cause additional trouble. She tried ridding herself of the thought. It wasn't something she should be focused on at this time.

Destiny nodded as he confirmed he was alright besides a few scratches. She opened her mouth to respond to Amarok's question if she was alright, when he had touched his nose to her shoulder. Destiny froze, she wasn't used to the wolf showing her any form of emotion besides anger when she had to be searched for. She offered a small nudge back to him, in a comforting way. She wasn't sure how else to react, it threw her off guard. Breaking her thought she spoke "Shall you howl, or should I?"

[Scorpioness]

◈Shrias◈
◈the dreamer◈male◈2yrs 3m◈cold immunity◈tags: Amarok, Destiny◈

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Shrias was deep in the forest, lost in his thoughts when the fire started and he almost noticed it too late, flames menaged to burn some fur on his tail. He was running trying to give an desperate howl to alarm the pack, but the smoke painfully squeezing his lungs with the overwhelming smell of burning vegetation and something human-made was chocking his voice before it even left his throat, currently adrenaline and instinct were driving him forward, towards the unscathed parts of the woods. This was no good, he hoped that at least pups were safe, but with how much the fire was spreading he was not so sure about that, today he had free day of his duties, so now he had no way of telling if his assumptions were correct.
He didn’t know how long he was running, but he didn’t recognize his surroundings, the white wolf lost his orientation in his panic, the rain muted some scents already and his nose was too overwhelmed from the smoke to cooperate. Before he could succumb to the shock, he heard familiar howl, he recognized this wolf, he stood there a moment or two before he went in the direction of the howl. His muscles were so exhausted that now as he was walking, he was visibly shaking, his paws hurt not only from the distance, but the searing hot ground as well. Shrias’ previously impeccable white fur was now dirty and haggard, burnt on his tail and his dry coughing caused him to wheeze each time he had taken a breath, the wolf looked truly miserable.
So when he finally noticed two familiar wolves, he might’ve taken two, three, four steps before he fainted with a sad noise of relief.

▐████▓▓▓▓▒▒▒▒▒░░░░░░❆❅※❇⋆◈◇○◌ aa█aa███. . . ⋆❇❅◈❅❇⋆ . . .███aa█aa ◌○◇◈⋆❇※❅❆░░░░░░▒▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓████▌

[baby tantor]

. ✧|K E N A I|✧ 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙏𝙒𝙄𝙉 .─────────────────────────────────────────────
--- [ male ] - [ 1yr 7m ] - [ kappa ] - [ muscle mutation ] - [ mentions: laurel ] -
-─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

whatever hope was left in kenai quickly subsided when laurel admitted she didn’t have any answers. when the fire started, kenai and totem were by themselves. it was almost a blessing that he wasn’t around his pack mates as they struggled to survive. his ears twitched at the sound of faint howls, but he couldn’t recognize them. perhaps they weren’t even from members of his pack. his heart began to ache as the reality of the situation began to truly sink in. his muscles in his legs pulsed as he attempted to stand another time.

“i think i am okay. just a little shakey,” he said as his legs twitched underneath of him while holding up the rest of his body weight. he grimaced at the idea of looking for everyone else. as much as he wanted to remain optimistic, he wasn’t so sure. “laurel,” he said softly. “what if we don’t find anyone?” part of him didn’t want to know the answer to that. he let out a deep breath and looked off into the distance.

[Rae'tia]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx▓
Amarok xxxxxxxxxxxxxx▓
2y&10m ∙ Male ∙ The Muscle xxx▓
tagged; Destiny & Shriasxxxxxx▓
mutation; Ecological Empathyxx▓
wc; 372xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx▓

xxxxxxxxHis heart hurt at the hushed words that Destiny blurted out and turned his gaze away. Only for his attention to return to the female, his face crumpled into a slightly confused frown. I'm not yelling, what in the name of the moon is she talking about? Amarok shook his head, females, always crazy. He mused silently, before returning to the problem at hand. Truthfully, Amarok didn't disagree with the sentiment. Everything was gone, the home he'd known all his life had been reduced to rubble. To ash. The grim part of his mind wondered if the forest and the territory as a whole would ever recover. Logically, he knew it would, but seeing the devastation before him. It didn't just damage his hope, but it seemed to burn the edges of his memories as well.
xxxxxxxxShaking his head once more the male let out a thoughtful hum, thinking over the options. "Why not together. It would let the other know that we've found each other. So no one would have to worry about trying to find us, or you know worry about our safety." Because there's safety in numbers. He snorted, tell that to the rest of the pack, who didn't survive. The dark-furred brute opened his jaws to add more but was interrupted by the arrival of another. Amarok blinked dumbly as Shrias; a former sigma of the pack, dash into the area that they'd situated themselves in paused, recognized them, took a few more steps forward, and then collapsed. His jaw dropped, bi-colored gaze flickering back and forth between Destiny and Shrias the dark male was speechless for a moment before he huffed. "Well, I guess we have to deal with him too." He muttered under his breath completely flabbergasted. It could be worse though, it could have been one of the omegas. His lips curled at the thought.
xxxxxxxxAmarok didn't hate omegas per se, but he didn't like to be around them. They were a bit of a double-edged claw for him. They reminded him that no one was perfect, but were also the weakest links in the pack. As a Theta, Amarok had no time for weakness. Even if he yearned for that weakness to be his.

[daifuku]

✧ ─── 𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐋 )

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑. 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄. 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒. 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐈. 𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐄.

───

laurel watched as kenai pushed himself to his feet, recognizing the exertion the younger wolf went through to do so. her own legs felt weak beneath her, and she herself had to stiffen a muscle or two to keep them from trembling. "it's okay, i'm shakey too." she added all the warmth into her voice that she could. "no one ever expected anything like this to happen." their pack had lived such a peaceful life. others as well. the forest had housed many groups of wolves, all living in harmony and quiet. what could any of them have done to deserve this?

"there's got to be someone out there, kenai. i'm sure of it." she shook her head with conviction. or at least, she tried to put conviction into the motion, as if to convince herself of her own words. "let's not worry too much about it right now, and just get going, alright?" she turned her head, identifying the direction of distant howls. with one last tired and pained glance at kenai, she started off. her feet were heavy. each step felt like she was dragging her paws along the ground, with none of the usual dignity or grace she made sure to carry herself with.

───