[Puffin [RP]]

OOC: Liquid-timing this thread to take place after Nardir evacuates their territory but before Alana leads them to Inaria. This thread is where Puffin discloses his plans to leave Nardir and start a dog pack, and then leave with anyone who wants to join him. Nardir only please!

They rested in the valley below the mountains that made up the Fringe, north of the Desolace but south and west of everything else. Everything except the valley that had once been home. Puffin gazed up at the mountains that made up the perimeter of Nardir's crater, his gaze one of great longing, and sighed. His conversation with Alana had been deep, cutting right to the bone, but there was no bad blood. She was his queen, always and forever, but it was time for him to answer another calling. They had all lost so much, and though he knew this was one of the hardest challenges Nardir had faced, the way his heart head eased when he made his decision told him everything he needed to know. This was the right path for him. Nardir would be just fine without him.

Puffin stood before the remaining members of Nardir, counted their faces, felt a pang of loss for each face not there. To them he must look worn and harried, tired and broken. After the initial evacuation, he had gone back into their crater twice more to search for survivors. To search for Kestrel. He hadn't found anyone. This was all that was left of their pack, their family, and the reality of it left him stricken. "My fellow packmates," he began, and then paused for everyone's attention to find him. "The monarchs and I have spoken at length about our next steps. Nardir will seek sanctuary in Inaria for now, to rest up and recover, and the bigger decisions for the pack will be made there."

He watched their faces. He knew the questions on their minds: Where would Nardir go now? Was the pack done? Could they claim territory somewhere else? Would their valley ever be habitable again? He was just as uncertain as they were about these things. But the weightiest part of his speech still remained. "I will be remaining here to watch over the mountains and continue searching for survivors. Those I find, I'll send to Inaria." He took a breath. "I am stepping down as Viceroy and leaving Nardir, as well. I love you all, more than I can say, so I'm sorry to leave you in such a time as this. This was...not by any means an easy decision. But Nardir has a future, in Inaria and beyond, and the pack can survive without me. There are others whose fates are less certain."

He looked at Phillip. "There was a village of humans, once, and a pack of dogs that inhabited it. A long time ago. It was my home, before a hurricane destroyed it and scattered its surviving members across the strait and beyond. Some found their way to Familiaris, which fell as well. Nardir is home to some and sanctuary to all, but it is at its core a pack of wolves, and thus a place many dogs would not voluntarily go. I have it in my power to create a place like my old village, like Familiaris, that is a home to dogs. So I should. I need to. I have learned so much from you all, lessons I can pass on. We'll trek the mountains and valleys around Nardir's old valley and search for survivors, and we'll be a dog pack, however small."

He looked for Hudson and Alue. "Anyone who wants to come with me and join this pack is welcome. Even if you're a wolf, you're all honorary dogs to me." His lip quirked up in a small smile, the first since this tragedy began to unfold. "And Nardiri are always welcome to visit. Nardir will always have a place in my heart, and wherever you end up, you'll always have a sister pack in us."

He nodded to Alana and Julek, and found tears in his eyes. It was a goodbye he had not predicted having to make. It was a door closing shut on some of the best years of his life, with nothing ahead but a dream and a bit of conviction. "Thank you, everyone, for the joy that has been my life in Nardir. I am grateful to you all, and I will never forget any of you."

He took a step back then, and waited for what would happen next. Would anyone join him? He almost dreaded the goodbyes. No matter his conviction in the path he had chosen, saying goodbye to these wolves would be hard. Beyond hard. And his heart ached for those not there to say goodbye to. He thought back to the day he met Starfire, to the day he came to Nardir's border, to the day he and Alana saved Phillip, to the day he met Kestrel, to the trip he took with Julek to claim the crater for Nardir, to the day Alana and Julek raised him to alpha, and his heart felt like bursting. There was so much love here. The end of an era, he thought.

And the beginning of a new one, he hoped.

[Alue]

    During the short time being away from Nardir, Alue and Phillip had managed to get lost. Phillip was blind, unable to lead, and the one leading him was a scared, anxious adult child that barely knew how to defend the two. They had shortly found their way back to the Nardir group, and it seemed everything was as fucked as they had thought. Alue noticed that even Phillip seemed almost saddened at the lost of the crater, but suspected part of it was because he had to move on more now. Phillip had shared his history; the man village, and then being enslaved by Paradox, and then being rescued by Alana and Puffin. He had been through enough, and Alue worried if this would be the final straw on the old man’s back. During the big pack move the elder had gone blind, now what would happen?

    Even if the elder was, well, elder, he still stood strong, despite his limp. Alue stood with the husky, watching the group and offering to carry whatever he could. Phillip had seemed to long for a sled to pull, speaking softly to his medic of his wishes. But Alue was against the idea; they had traveled enough and were tired. If it had been a light load, he would have let the elder take a sled, but it wasn’t. It seemed they were all carrying the entire pack. Eventually, though, they stopped, and Alue let the bags slide off, his crystal bumping against his chest. It was the last thing he had to remember Kestrel with, his best friend. He knew the pain that Puffin was feeling, and tried to give his leader a look that showed that Puffin wasn’t alone in his suffering. Puffin had gone back to find Kestrel, but nothing had come up of it. If Alue hadn’t dedicated himself to caring for Phillip, he would have been right on Puffin’s heels to find her.

    "My fellow packmates, the monarchs and I have spoken at length about our next steps. Nardir will seek sanctuary in Inaria for now, to rest up and recover, and the bigger decisions for the pack will be made there." A soft sigh escaped the wolfdog, tired already from walking. "I will be remaining here to watch over the mountains and continue searching for survivors. [...] There are others whose fates are less certain." Alue looked hard at Phillip. Would the elder want to go on with Nardir to Inaria? If that was the case, Alue was willing to stay back with Puffin, living as loners to point out to lost members where to go. The two could mourn as well, together. Puffin looked towards Phillip, and even the elder seemed to know even if he couldn’t see it. "There was a village of humans, once, and a pack of dogs that inhabited it. [...] We'll trek the mountains and valleys around Nardir's old valley and search for survivors, and we'll be a dog pack, however small." He must have been speaking about the human village that Puffin and Phillip had been apart of. But this seemed like a solution that Alue could get behind, and Puffin looked at the wolfdog.

    "Anyone who wants to come with me and join this pack is welcome. [...]Nardir will always have a place in my heart, and wherever you end up, you'll always have a sister pack in us." Phillip was already on his feet before Alue noticed, going towards his old friend. Alue gave a smile - not really happy, after everything that had happened - but of agreement with Puffin. "Thank you, everyone, for the joy that has been my life in Nardir. I am grateful to you all, and I will never forget any of you." Alue and Phillip made their way towards Puffin, making it obvious what they were choosing to do. Phillip was old, moving with his limp, but seemed to move with confidence and what seemed to excitement and happiness. Like something good had flooded around him, and he was getting a new chance. Alue knew the feeling, even if he were part wolf. “We’re coming with you.” Phillip said as if he was forcing the pair into Puffin’s pack idea. “We can make it work.” Alue said, smiling somewhat painful at Puffin. There were tears in his eyes already, even if he knew that what was happening was good. It didn’t stop the pain of leaving Nardir.

[Ayliyra]

While the pack was trying to pick up the pieces from the first wave the second had struck dealing yet another massive blow to the pack while it was still down, still vulnerable. It was already an insult added to injury but it had not stopped there. Soon after memories of long ago of a mountain erupting fire had been brought to the fore of her mind as a there came a change in the air. It taken her a bit to place it but the instant she had she'd begun working to warn others of the need to leave while simultaneously making preparations to just that, and when the call to evacuate had been an official order from the alphas she was glad she had already collected as much as she had as it was quickly distributed amongst others to be taken along as the pack fled while she and a few others went back in again and again as many times as was possible to search for others and to gather whatever other supplies could be salvaged before being forced to flee as well.

It did not take long to catch up to where the pack seemed to be gathering, she well used to the harsh realities of survival so did not find it as much of a struggle physically, mentally or emotionally as others seemed to find the situation. It left her conflicted on how to feel about that..vindicated that those who had accused her of being cold and harsh and unfeeling were now finally experiencing for themselves why and how she had become what they now saw and might now understand her better or to feel sorry for them to suddenly have their world torn away all at once as it had happened to her so many time before.

There was no time to dwell on that however as there was announcement being made by Puffin. The pack it seemed would be traveling to Inaria to ask for sanctuary and Puffin..would be remaining behind to continue to search for survivors. Then came the news she had not been expecting, not that she had been expecting him to stay behind to search for survivors but..it seemed that in the middle of a crises he was leaving Nardir..to create a pack of his own no less. For a moment she was furious that he would do such a thing and she couldn't help narrowing her eyes and swiveling her ears back showing her displeasure but..as she thought about  it..Hadn't she done the same? Had she not left the lands of the fallen Alchemilla and then instead of searching out Nardir immediately despite knowing, or at least feeling as though she were needed, had searched for Mercury and others whom she knew were missing instead? And had she not also considered forming a pack of her own as well to help her in her search? To be there to help Nardir?

She sighed internally for she had done all of those things just as Puffin was doing now and so..she understood. But understanding was not enough, or perhaps it was because she understood that she made the decision she did as she scanned the crowd to see if she could catch Mercury's eye if she were present but whether or not she could catch her mentor's eye she would make her way towards where Puffin stood, and where Alue and the old dog that she made sure to avoid as a precaution to snapping jaws, regardless of any potential bluntness due to age, and spoke. "I will stay and help you to continue the search for the missing and I will help you as much as I can to get your pack established. It will be good for Nardir to have another ally to call upon and I believe my skills can assist you in your endeavor well enough that my absence from Nardir should not need to be over long". She stated hoping it was clear to everyone that she was not leaving Nardir permanently but was only doing as she had always done..working to help those left behind..working to find the missing because she knew what it felt like to be the one missing, to wait for rescue that never came.

It was worth spending a day, at least, to try and keep others from experiencing what that felt like and if it took longer..she was used to traveling long distances in one stretch she could always catch up to the main bulk of the pack later..besides while she knew her skills were also needed in Nardir they were just as needed here if not more so in continuing the rescue effort and getting a pack started. So here, with Puffin and his collection, was where she would be to try and do what she could for them whether it was healing, fighting, or scouting..she knew a fair bit about all the tasks required for pack to run and so could do anything that was needed to move things along and give them, all of them, the best chance she could at survival for while they had dreams they wished to fulfill if they couldn't survive they'd never have the chance to see any of the dreams or wishes realized.

(and here is a short post..will try to clean it up later but basically Aylie is gonna stay with Puffin and Co temporarily to help them out and kind of..represent Nardir in the..uh..forming? alliance)
((edit: I think everything has been cleaned up and fixed now if not then..let me know))

[Auklet (RP)]

(ooc: gonna assume that Puffin and Auklet had the discussion we talked about in the PMs, Puffin. Otherwise, feel free to ask me to edit)

So, his brother had decided to take his advice after all.

Auklet was... surprised. As they had grown up together, he had always considered his brother a stubborn but unambitious sort of canine. Never one to step out of line, always do as he was told like a good boy and never one to stray from those who he valued. It was due to the latter that Auklet felt some sympathy for Puffin. These wolves had taken him in and then abandoned him purely because he was not like them. Sure, Puffin would try and tell him that he was leaving of his own accord but why do that? There had to be a underlining reason and Auklet - as fantastically racist as he was - immediately felt that the wolves and their uppity stance towards their domesticated descendants was precisely that. He also could not detect Puffin's mate from the crowd gathered. Just... what the fuck? Even love did not bind these creatures together. 

Love was a load of shit anyway but... still.

"My fellow packmates. The monarchs and I have spoken at length about our next steps. Nardir will seek sanctuary in Inaria for now, to rest up and recover, and the bigger decisions for the pack will be made there."

So, the writing was on the wall: they were packing up shop. It was good news for Auklet, as it meant he was no longer obligated to remain with the wolves. He had done what he had stayed here for, which was to reunite with his brother and try and convince him that running around with wolves was perhaps the most un-doglike thing one husky could do. 

"I will be remaining here to watch over the mountains and continue searching for survivors. Those I find, I'll send to Inaria. I am stepping down as Viceroy and leaving Nardir, as well. I love you all, more than I can say, so I'm sorry to leave you in such a time as this. This was...not by any means an easy decision. But Nardir has a future, in Inaria and beyond, and the pack can survive without me. There are others whose fates are less certain."

Auklet resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Unless whatever space gods these wolves worshipped could crap out a prime territory for them to flourish in, they were fucked. He was certainly not sticking around to watch them screw over themselves to keep the last vestiges of what they called a 'pack'. Puffin had clearly stated he was stepping down and remaining in the mountains, so there was clearly a plan after that. A pup whimpered somewhere, and the husky glanced around the gathered before turning his attention to Puffin once more.

"There was a village of humans, once, and a pack of dogs that inhabited it. A long time ago. It was my home, before a hurricane destroyed it and scattered its surviving members across the strait and beyond. Some found their way to Familiaris, which fell as well. Nardir is home to some and sanctuary to all, but it is at its core a pack of wolves, and thus a place many dogs would not voluntarily go. I have it in my power to create a place like my old village, like Familiaris, that is a home to dogs. So I should. I need to. I have learned so much from you all, lessons I can pass on. We'll trek the mountains and valleys around Nardir's old valley and search for survivors, and we'll be a dog pack, however small."

Nodding mentally, Auklet could not agree more. Although he couldn't give two shits about any survivors, the appeal of running around with dogs once more was certainly something he could not resist. It was only when Puffin mentioned that wolves could join as 'honorary dogs' that his jaw dropped. What the hell?? How could he possibly want wolves to follow him around after they had let him down? After his own mate had abandoned him? He only hoped this was a temporary thing - a means to an end - or else the pair of them would have to be looking over their backs, even in this so-called 'dog pack'.

Ignoring the two who spoke to Puffin beforehand, Auklet stepped forward. Discomfort was evident in his posture as he approached his brother. "I'm with you, naturally," he spoke curtly. "I wouldn't lose sight of what it is you truly want, though. A pack of dogs can only depend on their own. If we can't find survivors of this pack, that will not be on your head. Our survival, however, is what is in your paws."

Our survival, Puffin. Us. Dogs. Ayris.

[Hudson]

Bad luck seemed to be similar to a raincloud that constantly hung over her head and followed her wherever she went; however, Hudson had grown thicker skin and was ready to face what was to come next. After all, the mutt experienced her own share of loss and heartbreak from her short-lived, yet, wonderful time spent in Familiaris among with dogs of her kind. When the Alpha had abandoned the dog pack to fend for themselves along with the one whom she believed to love her, she felt her heart torn in two. Listless and absolutely inconsolable by any means: Hudson owed her life to Anika whom made sure to lead her out of the abandoned savanna to a new home within the bounds of Nardir. Anika, however, disappeared after the earthquake and Hudson to be left on her own once again. The mutt knew better then to think Anika abandoned them after the devastation; however, she only hoped that  somehow she survived out there and they would meet each other once again. The harsh reality of life had dawned upon her: the world was cruel. 

Yet, as a lesson from her dearest friend: Hudson knew they would need her now more then ever and she would follow those ready to move on to their next journey forever a guardian, a protector and someone whom would love them unconditionally. After all, it was in her nature. 

Unbeknownst to the others with the exception of Puffin, Hudson found her own  way towards the meeting from the far end of the valley fashionably late and quiet as the grave. Golden eyes gazed up and out towards Puffin and she couldn't help but feel terrible for what he what he had to now endure. Her eyes broke from him to glance at the remaining members gathered about the land and she couldn't help but take feel her heart ache for them all. She sat down in the far back of the meeting grounds and wrapped her tail around her stocky body. Her ear flickered slightly  before he began to speak. 

"My fellow packmates. The monarchs and I have spoken at length about our next steps. Nardir will seek sanctuary in Inaria for now, to rest up and recover, and the bigger decisions for the pack will be made there. I will be remaining here to watch over the mountains and continue searching for survivors. Those I find, I'll send to Inaria. I am stepping down as Viceroy and leaving Nardir, as well. I love you all, more than I can say, so I'm sorry to leave you in such a time as this. This was...not by any means an easy decision. But Nardir has a future, in Inaria and beyond, and the pack can survive without me. There are others whose fates are less certain."

So that was it, was it? Just like Familiaris, they would be left to fend for themselves and now Puffin wore the heavy burden of seeking survivors amidst the wreckage and sending them off to Inaria? Where were the leaders now? Why were they not here to address the members of the pack? She gnashed her teeth together and felt anger work it's way through her body.  The very idea of leaving him to shoulder that alone left a horrid taste in her mouth.

"There was a village of humans, once, and a pack of dogs that inhabited it. A long time ago. It was my home, before a hurricane destroyed it and scattered its surviving members across the strait and beyond. Some found their way to Familiaris, which fell as well. Nardir is home to some and sanctuary to all, but it is at its core a pack of wolves, and thus a place many dogs would not voluntarily go. I have it in my power to create a place like my old village, like Familiaris, that is a home to dogs. So I should. I need to. I have learned so much from you all, lessons I can pass on. We'll trek the mountains and valleys around Nardir's old valley and search for survivors, and we'll be a dog pack, however small."

Among the shared pain, wreckage, fear: Puffin now stood among the others as a beacon of hope and someone to look too towards a new future. Surprised crossed her features when she saw Auklet step forward towards Puffin and pledge his aid. Before long she was the next to stand up from her spot and step forward looking toward probably the only friend she had left. She made her way towards the front and stopped beside Auklet, "I'm with you as well. Until the very end." She said reassuringly, "Tell me where you need me and I'll get to work straight away."

After all, among the others? She was home.

[Puffin [RP]]

It was no surprise to him that Phillip was the first to rise. It was poetic, wasn't it? The only other dog in Nardir who had come from Puffin's same village, his very rescue from Paradox (and Tortuga) had been Puffin's first act as a citizen of Nardir. Phillip took his place at Puffin's side, and Puffin smiled wide, feeling the closest to whole that he had felt since this all began. Alue was next, hard on Phillip's heels, and Puffin's smile turned sad. He felt his eyes burn with tears, and he knew as he locked eyes with the wolfdog that their thoughts were on the same missing person. He swallowed the urge to cry and nodded at Alue's words, hoping Alue knew without his saying how much his support meant to him.

It did surprise him when Ayliyra stepped up. And yet, at the same time, it didn't. He met her gaze as she spoke and felt the aftermath of Alchemilla's fall at the core of her words, and he could only nod in thanks. Speechless. He had thought she might be satisfied to see the last of him, even after their last conversation, but it seemed they had a sort of friendship instead. Funny how things turn out.

Auklet stepped up next, and Puffin found himself on the receiving end of the strangest pep talk he could remember ever having. Oh, Auklet. Puffin just nodded, happy to have his brother at his side either way. Auklet would probably never understand Puffin's love for Nardir, but that was okay, with the dog-centric future he had now set his path towards. It was unlikely that many (if any) wolves would leave Nardir for a dog pack anyway. Even Ayliyra's presence was temporary, which ought to put both Auklet and Phillip at ease.

When Hudson joined the group, Puffin's smile became sad once more. After Familiaris, she had deserved so much more than another fallen home. But then, that was why he was doing this. For her, for Phillip, for Anika, Rosalee, Koen, Ryina, Akiko, Penny...all those no longer here. They all deserved better. He could do better. He would do better.

"Thank you. I'm so grateful to all of you." So this was the start of his new family: an old man, a healer, an honorary dog, his rude brother, and a weathered border guard. "Well, let's get going. I plan to make camp in the mountains by nightfall." He looked out on what remained of Nardir, and nodded goodbye. "I'm sure I'll see you all again. Mother Moon watch over you."

With the start of his new pack at his side, Puffin began the trek towards the mountains.