sanity.} (PLOT/OPEN)

[mudmudmud]

At one point, the wolf looking down upon the Destinian camp was rabid. He had almost killed his packmates because of his sickness, even coming close to attacking his own father. It's crazy what one would do in an altered state of mind. Almost as crazy as what was happening below him. Instead of good wolves coming to help those in need, filling the packs with kindness, dead wolves from Hellfire were plaguing them. It was unfair, really, and Thoth didn't enjoy watching. If anything, he had become even more depressed than when he was alive.

As he pondered, near tears, a bolt of light to his left frightened him to the point of nearly falling over. When he recovered, he saw a black figure, looking down upon another pack with hate in her eyes. The same thing happened again to his right. What madness was occurring, that even the good wolves of the Twilight Realm were killing and destroying?

A tear slipped down his muzzle and fell, hurtling through the clouds at a dazzling speed. As it fell toward the earth it became a single streak. A bolt of lightning. It struck a tree just outside the Destinian camp, setting the forest ablaze. Backing up, Thoth was horror stricken. What have I done?

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

Wait...what the...
BurnNote jolted awake when the smell of fire drifted through her nostrils. Her blue eyes darted about, looking for the source. Her fiery red coat was seen dashing through the camp, before she came to an abrupt hault. Her mouth fell agape for a moment as she watched the flames lick hungrily toward the sky. For a moment, she was speechless, before yelling FIRE!

[Acacia]

Link looked at the flames licking the Territories and threatening the harm of the pack. He was close enough to feel the heat as it crept closer. He ran back to camp howling, “FIRE!” The warrior was not quite fast enough as he was exhausted from patrolling tripping over a fallen tree He was overcome by flames eating the dry underbrush. Surrounded by flames with no escape he knew this was his end. He laid his head down watching the flames close in. The sound of an agony echoed in along with the underlying crackle of flames.

Whisper whimpered hearing the howl that sent shivers through her. The smell of fire was not one she liked. Hearing the calls of fire frightened the healer. She was stricken immobile with fear and her eyes watched the flames breath. Suddenly a blur flashed in the corner of her eye. A sharp pain made her yelp and curl up like a pup. Something had a hold of her scruff.

“Hold still.” Growled a voice, she knew the voice as one of the warriors. She could smell salt in the air. /Could she be crying?/ Whisper thought to herself closed her eyes. /she has reason to cry, we have already lost so much, now we lose our home. How much more of this is going to occur./ She felt tears beginning to fall.

[Destiny]

Akaira, having heard no protests from anyone, had been sleeping in the Destinian camp for several days now. Not near anyone else but curled up in a small sheltered area by the 'Holding' den. Roused from her sleep by something, she was soon aware of the situation, and surveyed the camp to see who was up and running and who wasn't. Without any further hesitation she headed for the Healer's den, where Svel still lay, half in a coma, and hauled the female up over her back. Having carried her all the way here in the first place, the weight didn't bother 'Kai, but she ran from the camp as slowly as she dared so as to avoid dropping the ill wolf.

In the farthest corner of the Proeliator's den, Silas slept on.

Unlike Svel, Sothis had refused to sleep in the Healer's den, where he could recover much more comfortably. Instead, he had chosen to take up his old nest once again, which was pretty much attached to Carolina's, for the very simple reason that he wanted to be as near to his mate as possible as often as he could be. When you've gone through the shit Sothis went through, you'll understand. Anyway, though he had gone blind, and was fairly mangled, his hearing was still good enough, and getting better with the lack of vision. Therefore, he stirred at the commotion, and immediately set to shoving Carolina in an attempt to wake her up. (Due to the fact that his vocal chords were still on the recovery.)

[This has been a horrible *oh man I have a headache* post. Thank you, and have a nice day.]

[Njack]

Banana danced excitedly. "Fire!" he yelped. "Fire!"

It was so exciting! He'd never seen fire before, and the way it kept on shifting... It was exciting and new and... hot. Really hot.

He danced his way away from the searing flame.

"Guys! There'sfirethere'sfirethere'sfirethere'sfire!"

[Sivoncé™]

"FIRE! THERE'S FIRE!"Fireflight was ripped from her sleep only to be plummeted into a nightmare of far worse magnitude. All around her, the Destinian world was in flames and rapidly disintegrating into ash. As she rocketed from her den and out into the open clearing, one thought had a vice-grip on her mind: get the pups out. She thrust her way into the scintillating nursery, her heart racing as her eyes fell on her pups, huddled together in fear.
"Come along, young ones, quickly," she urged them. "We have to go, we're not safe here." She turned and called to the beta over her shoulder.
"BURNNOTE! Take Akenaten and Hatshepsut with you, and lead the others to the lake!" She scooped her pups from the nursery and nudged them towards the camp exit to wait for BurnNote. Fireflight abruptly spiralled into panic mode: Imhotep and Ramses were nowhere to be seen. And neither was Euphrates, for that matter. But had her mate even returned since he'd left her?
"EUPHRATES! IMHOTEP! RAMSES!"
No answer. Suddenly, she caught sight of the captive den, and her eyes widened.
They don't know about the fire!
She didn't stop and think that it was Babylonia in that den, or the devil spawn who were resting there. She just reacted with a mother's instinct and sprinted to the den. Luckily, Babylonia had already waken and was ushering her pups into the camp.
"Uruk, Phoenicia, Sargon, Ishtar, we've got to go, we're not safe here!" Ishtar looked like she would protest, but the roar of the flames made her fearful enough to follow orders without question.
"Go to the lake with the others, please," Fireflight murmured. For a rather surreal moment, Fireflight and Babylonia locked eyes. The gaze broke with a curt nod from each, and Fireflight plunged back into camp to rouse the others. The two queens had an understanding of each other; right now, they were both mothers, and their children were both in peril. Their struggle was shared.

Carolina roused at Sothis' touch, eyes wide as she realized what was going on around them. She stood abruptly, but did not dash from the den; instead, she offered her shoulder as support for her mate to stand, knowing he would be feeling the wounds of his journey for a long time. The whole world could be burning down, but she would always wait for him.

[Destiny]

"Nrrgh..." Off in his comfortable little corner, Silas' slumber had gone undisturbed - until the point at which Fireflight started howling, and the commotion hit its peak. At this, he stirred, rolling, yawning, and generally doing regular morning exercises - What's that smell?[/] He paused mid-stretch to take a heavy whiff of the air, and quickly became aware of the general insanity. After a few seconds confusion, he determined that that was not mist at all, but, indeed, fire, and his brother might need an extra shoulder, and who else was still inside? Without further adieu, Silas struggled up - still a tad weak from the journey - and gave Sothis a little push in the direction of Carolina. Mostly so that he could feel that he'd at least tried to help his sibling before jogging on out into the camp. "Anyone need help getting out of here? Pups to carry? Shoulder to lean on?" Despite the absolute chaos, he remained utterly and completely calm.

Sothis' was a bit more panicked, and rightly so, what with not being able to see anything at all, and still not being entirely used to it. A mangled muzzle was pressed in the general direction of Carolina's shoulder, and - with an extra shove from what smelled like his brother - he was soon standing. Albeit, a little shakily. "Looks like things are about to get a bit hot.. Are we the only remaining of our family? My memory is still a bit fuzzy, after the illness.." With her as a guide, he hoped they'd both make it out of this inferno alive, and was ready to press on with as much speed as a he could, as immediately as possible.

[Sivoncé™]

Carolina's eyes watered as the smoke stung at her eyes. It was nearly impossible to see the camp as the thick layers of smoke fogged her vision. "It's just us love," she answered him. Sadness ached in her heart. All of their children....all of their children were long gone...
"Let's head to the lake with the others." She led him towards the camp exit, knowing their progress would be slightly slower than the others with Sothis' injury. She offered her shoulder as an aid to his steps. Dear Destiny, I hope no one else gets hurt...

Fireflight caught sight of Silas and breathed a sigh of relief. "Silas, please take Hatshepsut and Akenaten with you to the lake, I have to stay and make sure everyone else gets out!" The first, flaming tree at the far reaches of the clearing fell to the earth with a sudden thunder. Dust devils of ash and dirt billowed up from the ground. Fireflight coughed as the debris blew down her throat and seared in her eyes. Giving herself a rough shake, she dipped her head into the sleeping dens to check for wolves -- not that she could see much of anything in the haze, anyway. She relapsed into a full force panic: still no sign of Imhotep, Ramses, or Euphrates.
Suddenly, there was a terrible shriek behind her.
Fireflight whirled around to see Ishtar was separated from Babylonia and the others. The little pup cried out for her mother in desperation as a wall of flames barred them from her grip.
"ISHTAR! Baby hold on, Momma's coming, momma's gonna get you!"
Are those....tears?
She had never witnessed the she-devil in this form. She had never dreamed her even capable of it. But they were real -- the streaks running from her eyes were real. The ice queen was crying. She circled around the fallen branches in growing desperation, Ishtar wailing all the while as the fires reached greedily for her tiny little body.
Within an instant of witnessing the scene, Fireflight was soaring through the air. Pain boiled in her gut as fire licked her underbelly and set the alpha aflame. In one great bound, she landed next to Ishtar. Her teeth snagged the scruff of the soot-stained bundle, and she tossed her through the break in the fire.
And then, reality set in,
Fireflight writhed in agony inside a cocoon of fierce flames, walled in on all sides by the flickering copper demons. They dove for her form, swooping in for the kill.
All she knew was pain. All she knew was burning.
All she knew was hell.
"FIREFLIGHT!"
The last thing she heard was Babylonia screaming her name, and then the world went dark.
Fireflight was losing a life.

[Destiny]

With a sound that might've been a sigh, and might've been a strangled and muffled wail of sorrow, Sothis took a brief moment to press his nose into her neck. "Maybe we'll live long enough to try it all again. We're good enough for a second chance at parenting, right?" He wasn't so sure that his body was, though. Not after these last few moons. With Carolina's help, he struggled in the general direction of safety. "Could always be worse, I suppose.. You could be gone too."

Back in the flaming pit of the camp, Silas immediately reacted as his alpha gave instructions. Without further thought, he raced to where Akenaten and Hatshepsut were, and grabbed the former by the scruff - in as gentle a way as he possibly could - while leaning down, and nosing the latter towards his pack. Wolfie-back-ride, anyone?

Meanwhile, Ashur had been momentarily trapped by a flaming branch in the far corner of the holding den - having chosen to stick around, and all that - and was only just breaking free. In moments, he was out in the open, witnessing the scene - about to leap for his daughter - and then Fireflight had things under control. And then she didn't. But they didn't have time to wait around, so he simply skirted the fire, and darted to Babylonia's side, nudging the pups towards the exit. "We really need to get them out of here."

[Njack]

Banana stared. For some reason, the whole fire thing didn't seem as exciting anymore, and he didn't feel as happy, for once in his life. The howling of wolves filled the camp with increasing urgency, and he began to feel faintly worried for the safety of his packmates.

He trotted off, chased by the fire, towards the direction that other wolves were fleeing in.

Faint worry, yes, but... Banana was quite sure that everyone would be all right.
---
Phoenicia was there, watching, unable to do quite anything. Everything just happened so fast. She was sleeping, and then all of a sudden, fire. And Ishtar was in trouble, and then, her aunt (sister-in-law, really, but Phoenicia felt that Fireflight deserved some kind of old person bonus) was on fire.

The fire, all of it, was quite surreal, and she was suddenly worried.

Will she be all right? She thought to ask the question, but another soon followed on its heels. Will we all be all right?

And then she didn't want to ask the question anymore.