Help! {anybody}

[Ärï]

Soot-stained paws thumped in rhythm against the ground, muffled by ash as the fleet white figure struggled toward camp, relying on memory and scents as her guide. Sightless nearly colorless eyes stared blankly at the path ahead, muscles rippling under her sleek pelt. Her heart hammered as she raced toward the Destinian camp, tripping every now and than. It wasn't often that Athena ran great distances due to her blindness. She usually moved at her own pace somewhere between a trot and a walk or if she knew somewhere really well she could run for short distances but dared not risk going faster. It was a caution brought about by her blindness but now that was shed away. Why? Breeze was in trouble, in the company of a Hellfire spirit and Athena dared not test how long the neophyte could entertain him before he found out her colorful lie.

Smelling the scents of the camp, Athena forced herself to slow down, coming to a stop just inside the entrance of the all too familiar clearing. Firelight. That was who Athena needed, the new Destinian leader. Toss was too old to keep up even with Athena's improvised run. "Firelight?!" Athena barked, sightless eyes searching the clearing as if willing the new alphess to appear."Has anyone seen Firelight? It's important you lazy bags of bones!"

Lashing out in her foul mood, Athena nearly tripped over a pup, barely managing to avoid it, continuing to sniff around in a search for Firelight. Seeing Athena in a rush was a very rare thing. Wiser wolves veered away from the blind wolf, some looking at her as though she'd gone mad and a few looking frightened. Athena sighed in frustration, tail flicking angrily. Well it seemed Toss wasn't around either! Wonderful! Growling in frustration, Athena whipped her head around toward the camp entrance once more, vibrations from pawsteps reaching her sensitive pads.

[Sivoncé™]

The copper she-wolf entered the camp in the dim morning light, her grooming still not keeping all of the soot-marks at bay. But she didnt' seem to care, as her eyes were trained upon Athena, surprised to see she was looking quite miffed. Glancing about the clearing, it was apparent that other wolves were either confused, frightened, or disgruntled. Deciding to ask Athena, seeing as she looked almost desperate, a rare thing, Fireflight padded over to her. "Is there something the matter?" She woofed, concerned.
Did we get attacked while Kiki and I were gone? No, we woudl've known almost right away --- noboyd looked injured.
Did one of Carolina's pups run off? No, that's more like Svel's pups -- and they're old enough to know better now. Or maybe someone got lost in the fogs -- it wouldn't be too hard to do it....
She waited, tense, for Athena's response.

[Ärï]

Facing the newly named alphess, Athena moved toward her until the pair were almost nose to nose. "Hellfire" Athena hissed. "Breeze and I encountered one in the forest. She's leading him away from camp but I don't know how long she can hold him off, she's not a good liar." Athena knew better than anyone who was lying and who was not. Her keen ears heard when heartbeats picked up and her almost unnatural awareness told her when something was off. Though the thought of returning to where the spirit was lurking was an unwelcome thing to Athena she refused to simply leave Breeze to deal with it herself. "The spirits ravaged two other packs, we should have known they'd come here. I was foolish to let her wonder off but we've got to help her. She's taking him toward the mountains."

Athena looked battle-ready though worried and wary. Her lean muscles were coiled tensely under her sleek pelt, sightless eyes holding a determined look. Sure, Breeze was neither her neophyte or her kin but she was still Athena's packmate. The guilt of her sister's death haunted Athena and she refused to let another wolf die because she'd been unable, despite Morgra's death being namely Morgra's own fault.

Besides, an angry Athena was a dangerous Athena. Intelligent and aware, Athena could fight almost a well as a normal warrior. True she was slower when running in closed places like forests but she managed to get along. Besides, someone had to take Firelight to where the Hellfire wolf and Breeze had gone off to. With all the bitterness in the air because of ash, soot and smoke, Athena would rely mainly on her ears and her memory but she could manage.

[Sivoncé™]

Fireflight's breath stopped short for a moment, then restarted a moment later ; a sudden realization that one of her original suspicions was right -- the one she'd thrown away. Well, Breeze hadn't exactly run off this time, but she was off somewhere she didn't know well, with a god-forsaken wolf that could be the end of her at any given moment. She thought of her own neophyte, Breeze's sister, fiery Fyren, and nodded. What Breeze had done was foolish to say the least, but it was also something that spurred from an instinct to protect her pack. But whatever punishment Breeze would serve could come later. Now, they needed to move out and find her. Fast.

"Towards the mountains..." Fireflight murmured thoughtfully. It was clear the gears of her mind were working fast, though she was managing not to give into panic, to cling with all of her might to the boderline and remain strong. "Then we will take a patrol an go after her. Hellfire fiend or not, our kind killed them once, and we can certainly do it again. I'll take Sothis, Svel, and Edward. The five of us will be able to travel fast, but be enough force to take whatever is waiting for us," she murmured, including Breeze's mother and mentor in the grouping. "Now, Athena, what region were you in when this happened?"

[Ärï]

Athena kept trained ears forward, on Firelight catching every word the new alphess said. In her mind Firelight couldn't move fast enough. Spirit fiends were something entirely different from a normal kidnapping or invasion. They put Athena on edge because they had no heartbeat and if they wanted to be they were entirely silent. Around a spirit, Athena felt on edge, completely blind, frantic. She felt like when she'd woken and found herself blind on a riverbank far from home and helpless. The closest thing to desperate Athena got. She didn't like being blind like that. Without her ears, Athena was one sense away from totally deprivation. She hated to admit it but she was frightened, very much so of Hellfire wolves. They were unnatural, not meant to be of this world anymore. They made the air cold and everything about them felt wrong.

"We were in what's left of the Oak Woods" Athena reported tensely. "Breeze was....unhappy about the fires. I caught a rabbit to show her there was still life in the forest and she ran off after another one. I couldn't get any closer to the thing, I couldn't help her." Bitterness crept into her voice at the thought. It was admitting her own weakness as a blind wolf relying purly on instinct to save her from something she could neither see or hear, something that felt unnatural and made her turn and run like a frightened whelp.

Few wolves fully understood the struggles of a blind wolf. If their ears could not help them, they were next to helpless, relying on their instincts. Her instincts had told her to run away rather than to help Breeze. She'd bowed to her instincts and fled like a coward.

[Destiny]

The beautiful fae was seated nearby, pearly fangs working on a piece of meat as she tore the scrumptious deer leg apart and gulped it down. Another, smaller wolf was there too. Eating with her it seemed. The fiery young Fyren, who Svel had named for Fireflight by taking Fyre and adding an n to it, was chewing on some as well. Brightly colored pelt shimmered prettily when she moved, wild, adventurous green eyes sparkled with her youth. Those same eyes watched as her mother swiped tongue over the bloodied jaws, a quick cleaning, before padding swiftly off to join the new alpha and Athena. Tail wagged quite a bit now, as young neophyte gazed upon her mother, her hero and Athena. Yes, Fireflight was Fyren's hero, or heroine I suppose you could say. Always had been. Those bright eyes continued to watch as Svel dipped her head to the alpha, and then stood at her side. Her mother was still so young, for she had barely been a warrior when she'd become impregnated. Sometimes the little wolf wondered who her father was, perhaps she didn't realize that her name meant 'Sin'.

The brute, canvas of blues in many shades sliding over muscular shoulders as he moved, appeared from the shadows a few moments after Svel joined Fireflight. Sothis hadn't been seen much lately, perhaps the young wolf was searching for something, someone. You never could tell what it was with the odd brute. The wolf who seemed to know more then he let on, all the time. A comforting lick was given to Svel's shoulder, also a sign of respect, in order to deliver the message that they'd find her daughter out there. Svel was one of, if not thee, fastest wolves around, and Sothis was an excellent tracker.

[Sivoncé™]

Fireflight nodded as her patrol began to assemble. "All right, we'll head towards the oak woods and start off again from there," she decided. Then she was faced with another conundrum: speed. It was obvious they should be maneuvering through the woods at their fastest pace...but the fog made things hard. And though she didn't at all think lowly of Athena, she knew the she-wolf might have a hard time.
"Svel and I will take the lead. Edward and Athena can take middle, and Sothis, you can bring up the rear. We'll go as fast as possible, but we must also excercise caution. We don't know if....anyone else is out there," she woofed.
She looked at her own vibrant neophyte, suddenly seeming like she was joining the patrol. Fireflight offered her a kind smile. "Fyren, would you mind making sure everyone knows what's going on? We have to be ready...in case they decide to attack....."
Trusting Fyren to stay back, a task that may or may not be a stretch, Fireflight took off at a fast, yet measured pace. It was a steady speed, not a sudden bolt into the forest. Hopefully Athena would find this easier to go along with, a steady rythm hitting the forest floor instead of a barrage of pawsteps. Hopefully the others will catch on.