Blind Leading the Blind {OPEN}

[Ärï]

The heat and humidity of the summer day would be killer for a black wolf but luckily the wolf working her way through the oak forest was not black. Instead she was stunning pure white like newly fallen snow. Slender, long-legged and sleek the heat didn't seem to bother her much as she continued her slow trek through the mass of towering oak trees. Small paws covered the ground without a sound, wary of tree roots and low hanging branches. Ears always alert took in the sound of a starling singing to her right safely out of reach of any hunters and she caught a whiff of a fox hunting near a creek somewhere in the denser undergrowth. Paying the searching fox no heed, Athena continued her trek, contemplating recent events within the pack.

It was something she often did, taking long walks away from camp to contemplate and review things she had heard. Foggy once-blue eyes gazed unblinkingly at nothing in particular as she wove her way through the forest, aware of roots crossing her path and weaving with ease as though she had her vision. Some wolves couldn't tell she was blind until they got a good look at her fogged over eyes. Even than some didn't believe her but Athena would merely shrug and walk on past them. Who would fake being blind especially since her sister had lost her life when Athena had merely been robbed of sight?

Stepping into a sun-bathed clearing, Athena took a deep breath of the woodsy scents wafting all around her. Sunlight soaked into her fur, warmth seeping through her from nose to paw pads. Laying down in a sphinx pose near the edge of the clearing, sightless eyes turned skyward toward the sunlight she felt herself relax despite recent terrors within the packs. As she relaxed, Athena felt the gaze of another upon her. She had felt vibrations through the ground since leaving camp. Either she was near someone or someone was tracking her.

"Whoever you are, come out" Athena barked smoothly. "I know you're hiding in the bush now come out."

[Sivoncé™]

[]

A heavy, sad sigh echoed Athena's call. The she-wolf was black, licked with silver and blue here and there, perhaps in representation of her mother, or the mysterious, nonexistant other who was responsible for the second part of her genes. It was now, when the forest had burned to ashes, when she wanted him the most. The other parental unit that everyone else seemed to have....and yet she lacked. She'd heard Tatiana call Sothis 'papa','daddy'. So where was her papa? Svel loved her and cared for her fiercely, and she adored her mother absolutely. Svel was the perfect mom; so why was there no perfect dad?

It had never been her intention to hide; she'd been out to see how bad the damage was. And perhaps to hunt for her pack, as the prey pile was beginning to be as invisible as her fatherly figure. However, even her zest, usually worming its way into even the worst situations, was wiped clean away from her when she's stepped out onto the soot covered grasses. The trees were bare, only a pawful still bearing their leaves. Black marks stretched across them, great ugle gashes in the face of the once-beautiful Destinian territories. Now all that was left was the rubble.

She'd flinched a little bit at Athena's sudden appearence, but calmed when she recognized the wolf's faint scent and sharp voice. She turned, emerging from one of the last patches of brush and standing in front of the warrior, shoulders hunched and discouraged. "It's just me, Athena --- Breeze. I wanted to find some prey....but...." she trailed off, looking off into the swirls of mist and fog with distressed, pained blue eyes. The ground was changed underpaw, the taste of the air bitter. Athena would sense it.....perhaps as uncannily detailed as she usually sensed things. But Breeze was privately grateful one less wolf had to look upon the remnants of their home.

[Ärï]

(woops ^^ i knew it but i forgot >. > sorry)

Athena breathed in Breeze's scent and nodded a greeting to the other, still turned toward the sun. Despite the destruction she sensed around her, Athena still hoped for a stronger forest to rise from the ashes. Under paw the ground was dusted with ash, tree trunks smeared with soot and some burned all together. Few leaves remained looming above them and Athena could feel the haunting emptiness of the world around her. The fox she had sensed earlier, hunted in vain and only a few birds dared perch on the unstable, burned branches. Finally turning her head from the sun, Athena turned her head in Breeze's direction, sightless eyes gazing just to the left of the other.

"There is prey here" Athena assured the other. "It's hiding but it's here." Sadness was wrapped around the packs like a thick winter cloak humans wore and it made Athena feel like she was suffocating. Why no one could sense the regrowth already beginning was beyond Athena. The grass, leaves, ferns and other green things of the forest would return and new trees would grow stronger than the old. It was all part of nature's great design of destruction and birth. An old forest must die for a new to be born. "Don't worry Breeze, what comes from these fires will bring something better." Smiling, the slender femmora sat up, still looking toward Breeze.

[Sivoncé™]

Breeze looked to Athena doubtfully. Kiki and Fireflight would most likely return from the Eternal Tree soon, hopefully with news from Twilight. She thought back to the past, when the camp had been thick with sickness. She thought of the determination, the desperation on Kiki's face, something that used to frighten her in the nursery. She thought she had seen the truest depths of panic then.....but that paled in comparison to the look on the healer's face in the camp over Aliya's body. No....this was more than panic. Something was seriously awry in the forest. "Our old forest was just fine," she murmured sadly, remembering her favorite place for playfights, not far from here, was now destroyed for the time being. She looked to the ground, barely recognizable, and tried hard, but her mind would not make green fronds appear in her imagination of this place. All she could see was the rotten woodlands before her next to an image of the old forests, before the burnings.

As for new beginnings...
She could not see the world the way Athena did it;; she saw with only her eyes...and sometimes her heart and mind. Athena saw differently. Different, but perhaps not better. She might be able to envision a future where this forest was lush once more, but Breeze wasn't so sure if this was so. If that's true, then why is Kiki so....unsettled? I've never seen or heard word of a wolf with the look on her face. She's supposed to at least supposed to try and be strong, right? We need that right now....not fear spelled out in such away it makes my skin crawl...

[Ärï]

Athena chuckled softly at the sound of Breeze's sullen voice. Closing her fogged over eyes Athena breathed in and studied the scents below the bitter tang of ash and soot. Rising to her paws entirely, Athena padded forward, sweeping her front paw over the ash lightly. Her muzzle was pointed down toward the ground though her eyes saw nothing. She could smell it. "Come here Breeze" Athena beckoned, stopping in the center of the clearing and looking at the ground. Sitting back on her haunches, sunlight washing over her ivory pelt and shimmering with her movements, Athena continued staring at the ground. A normal wolf would think she'd gone mad or would at least be confused. Why would one stare at a pile of ash? Well Athena wasn't looking at the ash, she was looking for what was under it, not that she could really look at anything anyway.

Reaching out with a front paw, Athena swept aside the ash and continued sweeping it away once or twice before her paw stilled, stained grey-black with sooty ash. Where the ash had been was a small green stalk. Leaning forward, Athena sniffed it delicately before sitting back once more. "This clearing may be filled with wildflowers in the future Breeze unless I'm mistaken."

Turning her sightless gaze toward Breeze, the sightless one gave a smile. "There's nothing wrong with our old forest but this one will be so much stronger and much more beautiful. A little faith in that is all you need. The fires are passed and now its time to heal."

[Sivoncé™]

Breeze looked to the small green stalk with sadness and wonder in her gaze. Would that stalk ever sprout and bloom into the magnificent floral bouquet it was originally destined to be? Would Mother rain be able to find it there, hidden among the wreckage? Would Father sun be able to find his darling sons and daughters and give them life? She turned her eyes to the advancing smokes and mists, still clinging to the ground, no intention of leaving. "The fires are not seen here...you're right....but by the look on some of the pack's faces....I say they still burn somewhere. And this...mist. It's really kind of creepy....." she woofed, even managing a small giggle at this. "We'll all turn into smoky-colored.....for lack of a better word, ghosts. We'll all morph into smoke-pelted ghosts, yes," she nodded to confirm this, wondering if Athena would sense her motion or not. She didn't believe Athena any less than herself; they were equal in the sense that they were both good and both wolf. Some wolves doubted the warrior's senses...Breeze was only curious to how the world must seem in a different sort of sight.

On the back of her mind, thoughts of her father still lingered, and she saw herself as the tiny green stalk. She'd come out of nothing, perhaps, birthed in the middle of a field and not being able to come to the camp for her first moon. Her mother had worked hard and used every ounce of energy she had -- to produce a sprout....a neophyte. But weren't there some things that rain couldn't do on its own? Didn't sprouts need sunlight, too? How can you be the wet and the dry at once?

[Ärï]

Athena mused over her companions words for a few moments before shrugging and smiling lightly. "Well, nothing wrong with being Soot Wolves I suppose. As far as the mist, it will go away I think. Once we get a good rain perhaps the ash and whatnot will stop blowing around and creeping everyone out." Chuckling to herself, Athena paused for a moment to listen. With soft ash covering the ground Athena struggled a bit with feeling the vibrations of footsteps but her ears still worked perfectly. Rising to her paws, Athena slowly turned her head from left to right and back again over and over. Sightless eyes gazed at nothing but her ears were flared as she sought out the sound she had caught. Ah. There! Athena froze, head angled to the left, ears flared and her sightless eyes looking at the ground.

In a flash of soot-streaked ivory, Athena was off. A puff of soot rose from where her hind legs kicked off to propel her toward what she had heard. As she moved, a small rabbit hiding in the roots of one of the burned out trees tried to flee but Athena beat him to the chase. Closing her fangs on the unfortunate creature, Athena picked it up with ease and padded back to Breeze, dropping the rabbit at her paws.

"I told you there was prey here" Athena barked, a light hint of smugness in her tone. She had been catching heartbeats, scents and feeling tracks under her paws made in the ash. Yes, prey was here but it cowered in its burrows and there was little of it but Athena was sure the pack would manage.

[Sivoncé™]

Breeze thought about this, about being a wolf of soot and ash. Well, then, at least, the ashes would not bother or irk them so. Maybe they would even be enjoyable, like romping through fields of flowers or autumn leaves crunching underpaw. She wrinkled her nose, thinking of how bitter her pelt would taste while grooming. Thank Twilight we can't change species like that -- there's no way we'd be able to make it!

She watched curiously as Athena made her run. She took a few hesitant pawsteps forward, then froze in surprise as she returned with a rabbit dangling in her jaws. It certainly wasn't the largest thing ever, but it was something. A little hope seeped into her spirit, but she was still doubtful. Athena reminds me of Fireflight. They always make things out to be in the best light possible -- except for Fireflight has her limitations. She's an optimist....but in times like these, I guess she's more of a realist. I suppose there are some good things to look forward to...they're just hard to find in all of this fog...
"Good catch!" Breeze woofed, tail wagging the smallest bit. She opened her mouth to scent the air for more prey, but instead inhaled a thick cloud of smoke. She sneezed suddenly, breaking off into a violent coughing fit. After what seemed quite a long time, she recovered, but her eyes stung and watered. "Oops..." she murmured, trying to scent with just her nose instead. It still didn't work so well, so he turned to her sense of hearing. She tilted her head carefully, thoughtfully, searching for tiny rufflings among the forest floor.

[Ärï]

Hearing the coughing and hacking from Breeze, Athena perked her ivory ears, dropping her meager prize. Turning her visage toward Breeze, Athena angled her ears and looked curiously toward her companion. Guessing she'd inhaled smoke or ash, Athena waited patiently for the hacking to subside. Sitting back on her haunches once more, rabbit laying at her paws, Athena pawed lightly at the ash. "Tracking will be difficult anymore" she commented airily. "You'd inhale ash every time you tried, as you have proven." The soft rustling of something in the burnt out undergrowth made Athena's ears perk up once more and angle to the left. From the sound of it something else had heard Breeze's hacking and seemed worried by it. Mentally the snowy she-wolf smirked. It should be wary with wolves about but than again the animals hunted by wolves were too dumb to know any better.

Sliding her front legs forward so she was in a sphinx position and ignoring the grey staining her once stunning white pelt, Athena waited to see if Breeze would commence to hunt what lurked in the burned foliage. Well, not see but she would listen nonetheless. It always astounded her how loudly a wolf could tromp through the forest, burned or healthy, and still manage to catch prey. How they managed, Athena had no idea. With her overly sensitive ears due to blindness, she had gotten used to walking lightly with little noise because if she could hear herself walk that meant something else could too and her chances of successful hunting went down. That had been her first lesson when coming from unconsciousness and finding herself alone, blind, soaking wet and starving.

[Sivoncé™]

[[We need to spice this up....*thinks*
I have a small idea ]]

A rustling in the bushes rang through perked auds, and Breeze cropped into and instictive hunting crouch. She inhaled the air with a sluggish slowness, gently breathing in to taste what creature was rooting through the ashes. A mouth-watering scent answered her, still delectable even though it was a faint whisper among the screaming smoke swirls. Another rabbit, just slightly larger than the one Athena caught...slightly. Perhaps they were mates...
This depressed her, so she switched gears.
She took careful, silent pawsteps. Well, silent to her ears. Probably loud to Athena, as she was only a neophyte, not as practiced as some of the warriors. She slunk forward, inches away, ready to spring and lock fangs into the pelt and skin of her prey....
She lunged, a perfect leap, a perfect angle, there was no way she should've missed the rabbit, but she landed with a thud on the stained earth, wind knocked from her lungs. The fluffy white cotton tail was bobbing away into the smoke, perhaps to become some pack's prey, or worse...to go and be wasted by dying of the smoky poison.
What's going on? I had it down pat -- that rabbit was mine.....
She froze, eyes wide as she saw a large, black smear lumbering towards her in the murky woodlands. She and Athena were no longer alone....and no Destinian would approach in such a way, eyes glinting with hidden intentions, broad shoulders hunched and muscles flexing...
She looked back to the place where Athena would be, not being able to see her packmate in the dark. Athena might be good at hearing, and she might be able to fight, but this was no regular wolf. This thing looked quite literally like a spawn of Hellfire....

[Ärï]

As Breeze lunged away for the rabbit hiding in the burned brush, a shiver shot down Athena's spine making the white wolf uneasy. "Wait Breeze...!" Athena began but it was too late. Her packmate was gone into the growth in search of the prey. Athena's ears laid back against her skull for a moment. Perhaps her awareness wasn't as good as she thought? After all Breeze had only gone for a rabbit...it couldn't hurt her...Athena perked her ears up again, expecting Breeze to be on her way back but she heard no pawsteps from her packmate. Frowning, Athena pondered for a moment. Breeze couldn't have run far enough for Athena not to be able to feel the vibration of her pawsteps. So...that meant she'd stopped running.

"Breeze?" Athena barked warily, rising to her paws and leaving her ash-dusted prize and beginning to move in the direction her companion had gone. "If this is a joke it's not funny" she warned, uneasiness creeping into her like a winter chill, cooling the marrow in her bones and making her blood sluggish in her veins. White auds kept flicking warily, muscles coiled under her pelt. "Breeze say something, move or something!"

Instincts screamed at her to run, flee, leave Breeze to a fate Athena could not see. Her heart rate picked up but Athena took a step through the crackling burned brush, swinging her head in search of sounds from her companion whom had gone stone still. She felt eyes on her pelt making her hackles rise but she heard no heartbeats or pawsteps....was this one of the hellfire spawn she'd heard of? Panic bubbled in Athena's belly but she forced it down. She refused to believe hellfire was breaking loose despite proof she'd experienced. Besides...why would it be here?

"Breeze...." Athena murmured warily, ears flat against her skull, shrinking back against her will from the unwelcome force she sensed watching her.

[Sivoncé™]

The form of the dark brute stilled as Breeze came into a clearer sight, a malicious grin splitting across his maw. A poor little helpless neophyte. Not as exciting as the attack on the Sheerans had been, or the massacre at the Siverian Camp, or even their grand entrace at the last Moonless Meeting. And definitly not worth plotting for, not worth keeping around to brainwash or turn against her packmates. Or was she? He wasn't in a peaceful mood -- not in a merciful one, either, but Rye was dead, Winter was in hiding somewhere....and Risika was evading him. Not for long that damned fae won't...
He measured his options. He could toy with this female, mess with her brain a bit, decide if she was worth it, and then go from there....or her could just take care of it all nice and quick.
Risika's a crafty thing. I guess I do need a few more wolves at my side....besides. She seems a little like a wolf I crossed a while back --- Loni, I think it was....
"Hello there, little girl. What's your name?"

Breeze stared up at him, eyes wide, and she tensed even more when she heard Athena's call. If she had heard it, so would he. It was too late to pretend she was alone now -- too late to pretend she'd been out in a strange forest all by her lonesome. It probably looked like Athena was her mentor, perhaps. She could've yelled 'Athena, run!' or 'Go back to camp!' but both statements would give away vital pieces of infomation about Athena that she didn't want out in the open. "My name is Nadina, and I'm just passing through here, seeing as the loner lands are lacking prey. Turns out this place isn't really much better...." she wracked her brain, searching for an excuse for Athena, or a way to get them both away from this wolf.
I'll lead him on a goose chase. Athena can go back and get some warriors...we'll meet up somewhere, if I can hold out, and we'll take care of this...thing.
"I'm actually on my way back to the mountains near this area. There isn't much life here. And it's not like packwolves are worth bothering, anyway --- I used to hang with Black Fury's gang, the outskirts, really. My mother found it enthralling -- but she didn't stay there long, either. Low tolerance for me. So I like to pick on the bigger, more irritable mountain freaks." She declared, gaining confidence as she carefully wound her tall tale. She even added in a flaunting air, the same braggy, smug feel of most of Black Fury's pack of ruffians she'd encountered.
I'm so young....he's never gonna buy it. Or worse yet. He's gonna tell me to go and prove that--- "Black Fury, hm? Right, so would you be so kind Miss and lead me to his camp? I understand you may or may not be in good standing, but just the general vicinity will do," he drawled, clearly unimpressed.
This is it. Athena, I hope you're good and being fast....and sneaky.
"Good standing? I'm in one of the best," she snapped, standing. "And, well, I suppose it would be good to see some old....maggots. Well, hurry up!" She trodded off into the mist, not moving very fast, but not so slow her confusion would be obvious. All she could hope to do now was either corner him somewhere and hope Athena was following, or hope she wouldn't start off in the completely wrong direction.
I've never been a good liar....
Deciding she was damned either way, she went with the slightly better chance:
"Follow me." She murmured. The stranger seemed to take it as directed towards him, but she sent a desperate glance into the brush before padding away.

[Ärï]

Athena stood frozen, muscles locked and sightless eyes widened in both fright and panic. What did Breeze think she was doing?! Apparently she thought she was being sneaky. Shoving her panic away Athena forced herself to remain still and not bolt away like a frightened horse. Her ears flared as she listened. Breeze was a fair liar but Athena could hear her panicked heartbeat but than again she had the advantage of the ears of a blinded wolfess. Surely the spirit, whatever it was, couldn't hear it or thought the fright was simply the shock of seeing a dead evil spirit floating around or however it was they moved. As Breeze's lie began to wind down, Athena very slowly unlocked her fright-tightened muscles and began to step back.

Walking on thin ice, Athena kept taking slow steps backward, actually thankful for the ash and soot staining her once white paws. The soot muffled the sounds of pawsteps. When she thought she was far enough away, Athena turned tail and ran like a bat out of hellfire. Well, that's a lie. Athena being blind couldn't run as fast as she would have liked to but for a blind wolf she moved fast. Thanks to the burned out forest she found little to get in her way. She had to get back to camp. What if no one believed her? What if no one helped her? They could think Breeze was running off with someone and had simply used Athena's lack of sight to dupe her into causing panic in the pack and give her a cover story for vanishing.

Firmly Athena beat down that idea. She knew better. Breeze wouldn't do that. They wouldn't spin a lie like that and leave the Destinians in panic of Hellfire's demons coming after them. Keeping that thought in her mind, Athena ran faster, nearly falling as soon as she accelerated. Forced to slow again, Athena kept up her pace toward the camp. She had to get help. Someone would listen even with Firelight gone.

Just keep playing him Breeze, you can do it, Athena thought frantically.

(should i start a thread in the camp?)

[Sivoncé™]

(Sure ; Fireflight is just getting back, actually )