[Pawprint]

Predicaments like this happen.  It is best to avoid them.  At some point some wolves know when they are going right into danger and head for it anyway.  They are prepared for the consequences.  They may be prepared to die as a result.  Going home was a hard journey, but the losses and gain were weighed in his mind for days as he journeyed.  Sara, Snowfluff, was in good paws and the pups would grow in a solid family.  Hakan, the family Doc, would see to their health.  Leader Alana would recover from the blow of losing Nardir under her watch.  It wasn’t her fault.

Aylie.  Life saver.  Despite her troubles, he would never forget the good she had done.

Arik had the makings of a Groundskeeper if he ever saw one.  What was the nickname he was given?

Mercury.  What a warrior.  And a warrior she would remain.  Scary too.

Well it was a great, what, seven years?  And there was so much left to see!

So at the bottom of the mess of roots Adolph found himself in, he hadn’t expected to reflect on his life this.  These fallen trees in old Nardir’s proud forest had now tangled him when he tripped over his tired legs reaching his family.  They came!  The Relic decided to slip away to die without fanfare and here they were.  He just got here and now they were here too!  Was he that slow or were they in Inaria for a short while?  Were they turned away or did they decide to go home instead?  His heart almost gave out hearing them.

And now he was stuck.  Adolph barked a few times, but the roots gave him limited range.  He snarled and let out one rolling bark.  He felt moments of woe in the moments he hung there, but in the end he shook his head.  He decided to laugh a little.

“I just wanted to pass away at home.  When did I become a damsel in distress?”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On the other side of the trees where the communal dens were, an ear flipped up.  Buckshot started.  I know that sound.  Buckshot bolted from his bed of moss--he hadn't made it to the dens, just slumped on the nearest thing he could find-- and scrambled up the structure as fast as he could.

"Keep barking keepbarking keepbarkingkeepbarkingkeepbarking, you'renotdeadyet."

He hadn't told anyone Adolph slipped away.  Maybe he tricked himself into thinking he would show up again like the last time they lived in exile.  He caught his father's scent a couple times on the trek home, but it faded out.  If the old wolf didn't want to be found, no one could stop him.

Once Buckshot made it to the top he gasped.  There were fallen trees scattered about.  If he didn't find him--

"Leader's gonna kill me for not saying anything."  

OOC:   So once again, come rescue the old fossil!

[Pawprint]

You may now post.

[Charley]

K y r a,

Oh don't you dare look back, Just keep your eyes on me
I said you're holding back, She said shut up and dance with me

actions - “speech” - thoughts

Finally they were getting settled. Through her bouts of queasiness Kyra was helping her father unpack his stash, and had dragged an abandoned sled to the unloading area. There were a couple of pelts on this sled she was coveting for a good bed. She uncovered the sled and a couple bones one of the crafters had stored fell out. For some reason they hadn't been licked clean and a wave of this strange smell only she could smell came at her like an invisible cloud of death.

nOpE.

That was it, she had been able to hold her stomach the whole way here but that got her dashing to the bushes. She didn't remember bones ever smelling like that before. Why was no one else reacting to the awful stench? EUGH she could smell it from HERE. She couldn't continue working under these conditions! GROSS. ((No one else should notice this smell.))

After she felt like she could stand again from dry heaving she heard a faint barking in the distance and saw Buckshot suddenly halt what he was doing and dash off like he knew the sound. AW C'MON there already wasn't a whole lot of help to unload thanks to Giant BLUE STRIPE BOY running off too. We can't leave this work to the elderly and the kids! Grimacing as another wave of yarking came over her she bolted after Buckshot to go yell at him.

"BUCKSHOT!!" She had a VOICE to launch a thousand birds and be heard across the compound twice and then some. He was not getting away that easily.

"Buck! Where d'you-" She started as she followed him. He looked way too intent on finding something rather than shirking responsibilities. "What's going on?" She asked, a lot more conversationally, coming alongside him, ears perked for nearby sounds.

ooc

Photo © Cedric Verstraete / coding © vixxie's codes / lyrics © Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon

[Ayliyra]

She was still tired from so much of everything but still she was pushing herself and for a slight change of pace..not..pushing herself even more. While she had initially been thinking of taking a nice long nap somewhere she had noticed the absence of the scent of Adolph, the one who had called her daughter, and had started worrying and had started waking up. Not in the sense that she wasn't still tired but rather her mind was refusing to rest which wasn't just fine with her but was something she was now actively encouraging it to do..to wake up and think or to at least sense. Sensing was probably easier as she tended to do it naturally and instinctively so while she did help some with the unloading she quickly moved into sensing..more specifically scenting. It was something she knew for a fact that she could do successfully not only when she was awake but even when she was asleep which meant that was probably the most useful thing she could be doing right now.

She could search for signs of Adolph, of any threats that might be in the lands, for prey and for herbs all at the same time. Hopefully she'd be able to find everything..well except the threats. That was something the pack did not need the rest though was very much needed. She moved at an even, though fairly good pace waking up more and more as she did making note and cataloging all the scents she came across that would be useful later when the sound of someone shouting rather loudly caught her attention. She wasn't entirely sure what had been shouted as she had already moved away from the main group a fair bit but the shouting had broken off which in her experience was never a good sign.

She instantly switched gears pushing herself to run towards where she had heard the shouting coming from listening for any further sounds that might indicate what it was she would be running into but as she got close enough to isolate and identify the scents out here..and to realize there weren't any scents of intruders she slowed down again to conserve energy for whatever the cause of the yelling happened to be. Normally she would still be going at full tilt but not only was she having to move uphill but there didn't seem to be the same kind of mad-dash urgency sense she was used to feeling when things were happening quickly..like with the flash flood and the earth quake that had bought them here.

When she came in view of the top there was Buckshot standing alone and peering downwards with no Adolph in sight even though his scent was wafting about..although..it was rather faint actually as if..oh no. She picked up the pace and was reaching the top as the scent of the third, and apparent owner of the booming voice she heard, grew stronger as the owner appeared. She glanced briefly towards the bright one, noticing the colors that resembled Firebright, and..she had recognized the scent as Nardir and being around for the earthquake but now that she could get an even better scent there was..a familiarity to it from another time and place, a time when she was still exiled and learning from Hakan. There was a difference though that she couldn't quite figure out..it was so similar and yet so different..she wondered if maybe this one was related to the Firepelts..was related to Hakan. There were more pressing matters though so she quickly dismissed the wonderings for now and picked up the pace to draw alongside Buckshot to peer down at..chaos.

There were fallen trees everywhere some with roots sticking out of the ground and others that had apparently been snapped in two with only half laying on the ground. And they were of all kinds of sizes, small, large and really very extremely large and there was brush mixed in there as well and it looked like there was ivy as well. There probably some rocks buried under it all as well and through it all was Adolph's lingering scent but though she scanned over and over again she couldn't see the elder.

That wasn't good. There was no scent of death in the air though which was good..it meant there might still be time. If Adolph was buried though..she could certainly find him if he was but she didn't have the size to move anything large on her own to dig him out. A good example of what she had meant all that time ago when Julek had been holding a recruitment and had asked everyone what their strengths and weaknesses were and she had been the only one to say that strengths and weaknesses depended on the situation. Julek had responded by calling her a fool..and here she was being proven right. Her smaller size would be a strength in balancing on debris without having to worry as much as anyone, which was mostly everyone else, who was larger but when it came to being able to move large, heavy things her small size was a weakness. She couldn't do it. And she doubted the firey one, who was of course larger than both her and Buckshot, could do it alone which meant more help would be needed.

There was only one thing for it..Mercury would have to be alerted. "I'm going to go get help. Stay here and keep looking and listening as well but don't try and go searching just yet. We need whatever scent trail there is to be as clear as possible so it can be followed more quickly and we need enough others here to help move and stabilize any debris so we can avoid doing any more harm". She said mostly addressing Buckshot, the one she'd gone back for during the flood when she'd rescued Adolph, only to watch him be swept away she had thought forever until he had returned to Nardir one more. With a last glance at the scene below and another brief one to the mystery that was the red one, she turned and began moving rapidly back towards where the camp was, adrenaline having finished waking her up so she was moving faster and thinking clearer, and knew that the camp would be the best place to find Mercury or Mercury's scent if the Warrior had decided to patrol the lands personally which Mercury being Mercury wasn't all that unlikely.

((and here it is..Aylie's entrance..hope it's okay))

[Kodiak]

#ee7f2d

Settling into a new place wasn't exactly hard for him, coming from a background of constantly moving and setting up camps, it was second nature by now. He'd found his den fairly easily, and unlike most who would have spruced theirs up with soft moss, nice warm pelts, or grass. Kodi's was plain and bare, the floor was hard packed dirt, a couple of roots here and there, it was a hollowed out tree trunk of course.

Curled up in half slumber, his ear would perk and his grumble under his breath at a series of barks and then minutes after a sharp yell that pierced his ears. Hmmm, not my problem. He'd move around again to get comfortable, and tense up. That's when the guilt started to roll in, ugh. You see, Kodiak had always been the type not to really have to care about others. Yeah, he was apart of a dog team, but they didn't really get themselves into precarious situations and if they did, well they had better get themselves out on their own. A bit of very very very very VERY tough love on his part you could say.

But now being in a pack, a REAL pack, that kind of attitude needed to be checked and tossed. He didn't live just for himself anymore, he lived for everyone here. Bi-colored eyes flickered open and narrowed, a grimace appearing on his tired face as the wolfdog snarled in annoyance and cursed his need for action. He was tired from the journey, he wanted to sleep. "This better be good." He growled, hulking form pulling himself to his feet and stalking out of his den with a irritated flick of his tail.

Nostrils flared, and sound of voices caught his tattered ears, it wasn't long till he found three. His ear flicked and his eyes narrowed as he blinked tiredly at a red female, and then bounced from the male, and the other girl. He'd heard a bit of what she said as she dashed past him and finally he walked closer, rolling his shoulders to hear a satisfying pop of his joints. "What seems to be the trouble? Maybe I can help." He said in a rather gravelly voice, the urgency of the third female only meant trouble.

He'd raise his head just slightly, ears pulling back as strange scents were all around, kinda sucked when you were new and didn't exactly have a chance to learn everyone's scent. Though there was one different from the rest, faintly so, but it was there. Hmm.

[Pawprint]

OOC: Hope I got everything.  Let me know if I missed any details.


Buckshot almost jumped out his fur when he heard Akutan's fiery mate yell after him.  But by the time she got to him, she seemed to notice the situation and her voice amped down.  He was still looking at the fallen trees and upturned roots, almost missing the other wolf who joined them.  Aylie's presence was welcome.  She helped saved his father twice, three times was perfectly fine.  Though it seemed his dad was always getting himself into trouble.  Granted one or two of those was his fault...

"I'm going to go get help. Stay here and keep looking and listening as well but don't try and go searching just yet. We need whatever scent trail there is to be as clear as possible so it can be followed more quickly and we need enough others here to help move and stabilize any debris so we can avoid doing any more harm."

Buckshot's ears drooped, but he  nodded his head with force.  Going on his own accord was bad and he wasn't--he hated to admit it--as young as his energy showed.  His paws gripped the rock and soil as she left.

Another wolf...dog...approached offering help.  He had man's mark around his neck, the same one that Leader wore on her neck.  The scruffy wolf arched his head back.  Did they know each other?  Did man use both of them during her disappearance and they helped each other escape?  He shook his head and then his whole body.

"My daaaad," he said before cutting his woe, "he's lost down there.  I didn't even know he made it to Nardir, I lost his scent...for days off and on.  He's, ohhh, old.  Sixteen sets of seasons old.  I couldn't stop him leaving if I tried."

He spilled the truth yet held back some to these (relative) strangers.  He trotted in a circle over and over.  Then he stopped abruptly and let out a sound that was a cross between a whine and a howl.  Another sweep of the forest showed no signs of the black and white elder.  No sound.  No movement.  Was the forest helping him or stopping him from finding his father?

"I want to go," Buckshot admitted.  "He needs to be with his family.  He needs to see them before...before...can you guys see him?  He's black on top and his face is white with age.  Maybe one of us should get a sled just in case."

[Charley]

K y r a,

Oh don't you dare look back, Just keep your eyes on me
I said you're holding back, She said shut up and dance with me

actions - “speech” - thoughts

The firecracker bristled as the fairly familiar brown girl started ordering them all around then ran off to get help. Buckshot seemed to know her well enough and didn't question her. Who was that kid to think she had any special rank to order them around and then take off? Granted, getting help wasn't a bad idea but try and stop them from moving forward and searching. No sense sitting here flicking their tails at flies, they were all capable of sniffing out what was going on. New Guy with the Collar came up, she had seen him on the trail but she was far too preoccupied with not puking on the trip and keeping to herself to get to know him. Handsome, big, also perfectly capable of tracking down Adolph without the brown kid's help.

While Buckshot was filling them in Kyra was scanning the area. It was like the mayhem after a windstorm.
She perked her ears at how Buckshot admitted he wanted to go, after he was pacing.

"Psh, who's she to tell us otherwise? Your dad's not helping much here, did you hear him? Do you remember where you last heard him? Try calling for him!" She said starting into the bramble, disregarding the brown girls order of stay. Kyra knew Adolphs scent well enough, she hadn't spent any time with the elder but she had hung around the X clan dens long enough to know of and about him more of less.

"You!" She called back at the grey and white giant dog, "I'm Kyra! Wanna come join the mess? I never caught your name!" She asked over her shoulder as she was picking her way through. She was grateful for stomach wasn't trying to make her puke just now but she felt a little light headed. It was good to have something heroic to do.

ooc

Photo © Cedric Verstraete / coding © vixxie's codes / lyrics © Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon

[Ayliyra]

New scent noted, big thing spotted. Good. There would be more help already here. That didn't mean more help wouldn't be needed though especially if..she didn't stop and barely slowed down but she did slow down just a tad, enough to be able to call over her shoulder to the large new arrival what had just occurred to her. "Collar one! Try and start clearing a path back to the camp for healers and an elder to walk on or be carried on..but leave the disaster area alone until we have more help". She had noted the collar and remembered what it was called and since she didn't know the red ones name or the large one with the collars name..the collar would be used as the indicator that was who she was speaking to and giving new instructions while repeating the previous ones..just in case the lateness of the arrival had prevented them from being heard.

Which on that note..she would have to try and figure out a healer to get. She had healer training of her own of course and if need be could treat injuries in an emergency, which this did qualify as she was sure, but she still would like to have another healer present, preferably Hakan if possible, just in case. Though Hakan, it had occurred to her, was also getting old or was old she supposed so she wasn't sure if that would be possible or not..but then that was another reason for a trail being cleared. She didn't want it cleared just for Adolph, she also wanted it clear to make it easier and thus more likely, she hoped anyway, that Hakan would be able to come and help treat any injuries.

((and here is a really short blurb and probably my last post here until..Merc entrance time and anyone else Aylie brings back here))

[Kodiak]

#ee7f2d

He glanced to Buckshot then, brows lifting and expression resting into something solemn. Ah, family stuff. Whoops, he had half a mind to turn the other way, but that's not really pack mentality now is it? The male went on to say that his father was very old. "Hmmm, that sucks." Kodi said simply, glancing out past the other male and female.

Though tattered ears pulled back as the spotted female, paused and called out. At first, Kodi didn't even register that she was calling to him, finally he turned back to look at her. Eyes like daggers, lips curling to reveal teeth as he snarled. If only looks could kill, but even then this wasn't Kodi being angry, rather he was more so annoyed. "That's not my name, and if you want it cleared, then you clear it yourself." It was said with a flick of his tail and a derisive snort.

Perhaps a little too harsh given the situation, but, eeh. Attention would flicker toward the red female and he'd sigh scowling at her. "Unless you guys got it covered." The wolfdog said plainly, which he could tell by the hysterics of the other male, that it wasn't the case at all. "Kodiak." He mumbled, stepping past the two to give the air a good sniff as well as survey the area. "Weird scent, must be his." Definitely did smell like an old fart's. "I'm going down there."

He'd turn away from the two, looking for the best and clearest possible way down to the area below, not really caring if the others were hellbent on stopping him. This old geezer better enjoy the rest of his years sleeping quietly in the Mother's Hills, sturdy paws would skillfully climb down into the brush below. Bi-colored eyes would glance out to the trees that strewn about, tattered ears flicking forward as he careful moved ahead. "Old man if you're alive you better star barking!" Kodi called out gruffly, voice echoing loudly, nose to the ground and ears up he'd begin to sniff up the trail.

[Pawprint]

Aylie left more orders and the others were snarking back.  Kyra started to move to the forest.  Buckshot was no leader and corralling them looked difficult. The situation was deteriorating more and more.  Speaking of corralling others--

Buckshot bust a gut laughing at Kyra.  "Firecracker!  Man nothing holds you back!"  He couldn't help himself.  However, as she left for the forest's edge, the wolf lowered his ears.  They should stay.  Then Kodiak followed too.  He cared even less (his grumbling about his dad left something to be desired too).

Buckshot grunted.  Aylie was right.  Kyra was right.  And the other guy was grumpy.  But waiting for help could be worse for his father.  Getting lost was bad too.  He looked at his crew of rescuers.  Wait a minute!

"Firecracker!"  He ran to catch her.  "Stay behind!  Well, sort of.  See, see, your bright, and red, and everyone can see you.  If you stay close to the base of the hill or the beginning of the trees, then Aylie and the others can see you.  Then you can lead them to us."

Buckshot then turned to Kodiak.  Ooo was he big.

"You have the height and size.  It'll be easier for you to see over things while you're sniffing out for him.  I'll move along the roots and fallen branches if he's mixed up in them."

With that, the male jumped on top of a long fallen branch and walked along it until disappearing in a tangle of branches.  His head popped out a few seconds later, shaking his head no.  He hopped out the branches and repeated the process with another tangle.

"Let's go Kodi.  Dad, now would be a good time to use that long wind of yours!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If Adolph knew the wolves were talking about his lack of help finding him...

The old wolf opened his eyes and looked to the sky.  It wasn't until he saw a flash of red coming down a slope that he shook awake.  Kyra.  A large grayish dog and then his son popped into view, but just barely.  Adolph growled and chewed one of the roots with dulled teeth.  If he could free part of his body he could move more to get their attention.  They were too far away and his voice wasn't loud enough because of the roots in his way.  

"Old man if you're alive you better start barking!"

A few roots snapped by then.  He could only move half a leg.  Adolph would get himself rescued...if only to give a talking to at that indignant wolf shouting at him.  Adolph pawed at his neck, scratching a few more roots loose.

"Dad, now would be a good time to use that long wind of yours!"

Unbelievable.

"Fine," he grumbled.  "You want loud?  Buckshooooooooot!  I'm staring at your rear, get over here so I can use that long voice!"

About 30 feet away, he saw his son's head pop up.  The son barked something and was sniffing in his direction.  Adolph slumped down exhausted.  He needed a long rest after that.  He hoped he had done enough and they would find him when he recovered.

[Mercury]

The Dark Moon Queen of Nardir                 ☿ "Being brave means to know something is scary, difficult, and dangerous, and doing it anyway, because the possibility of winning the fight is worth the chance of losing it. - Emilie Autumn

Ayliyra had made decent enough time in finding the Queen, and Mercury soon came jogging up the path with Aylie and Arik in tow.  Her pace was urgent, but not frantic.  From Aylie's description, Buckshot and Kyra were already searching.  If the groundskeeper and a warrior couldn't take care of themselves in the wild, her pack had serious issues.  The fact that Kodiak had come to assist was a bit surprising, but Merc smiled at the thought.  Kodi wasn't exactly charismatic, but she had found that under his gruff nature, there was a sweet, honest and hard working male.  He had yet to open up to the pack, but she hoped that he would relax in time.

As they came up the hill, she spotted the bright red marker that could only be Kyra's pelt.  Did she know how much she resembled her mother?  Mercury made a mental note to tell her once this crisis was averted.  As they came into view, Mercury barked.  A doglike sound that may have surprised the wolves around her, but a call she had grown accustom to using.  Kodiak would have recognized it immediately, and she expected his gravelly bay would be echoing back to her shortly.  If Buckshot was worried about organization, he needn't worry for long.  Although, as Mercury crested the rise to where Kyra was perched, she noted that Buckshot seemed to have done a very reasonable job himself.

"Bring me up to speed."

Mercury ordered, in a no-nonsense, militaristic kind of way.  Report.  It was brief and to the point, a quality Kyra would no doubt appreciate.

☿

[Charley]

A r i k,

Oh, through the wilderness, You and I we're walking through the emptiness
Oh, my heart is a mess, Is it the only defense against the wilderness?

actions - “speech” - thoughts

The fringe dire had looked back more than once to the isle on the way here. If he had felt like he had a choice in the matter he would have been happy to remain on the isle, especially since it seemed like things where being handled and how many people... how many people were already here and working. But the cat had said to aid the Queen and that they would be back. He had no doubt that he would be back... He pulled his attention to the task at hand. He stuck to Mercury's side, though not uncomfortably so, and he continued on into the forest as Mercury veered from him to get a report on the situation from Kyra's vantage.

He carefully picked his way through the roots and bramble and found his own perch on an ancient and crumbling stump rising out of the ground. The forest canopy was dark and would hide a darker pelted wolf well. He could easily pick out the grey dog... uh... Kodiak? He had a harder time picking out his previous mentor Buckshot in the green and brown forest colors. It was as if he was made for these woods with the way he was camouflaged. Beyond Buckshot he could just see the hint of movement of maybe Adolph lying back down from shouting just now.

"Got him!" Arik called out, and with better agility than his height would have suggested, he leaped down from the stump, quickly ran over the scattered roots and foliage, hopped onto a log to leap to another log, gingerly ducked under a large branch, hopped to a slanted rock back to the ground to duck under another branch to then leap over a fallen tree to get to where he saw the movement last. It was as if these lands were in his bones. The many moons he spent by himself running through the thick forests in the neutrals was paying off as well. Alas he was off by a good four tail lengths but at least he was within smell and ear shot. "Adolph?" He asked sniffing around. He finally found the old codger stuck in a mess of roots. Without another word the dire grabbed a root and used his weight to pull it off him. While he was tall he wasn't going to be able to get them all by himself.

"Need a paw here!"

ooc

Photo © Spencer Arquimedes / Modified coding © vixxie's codes / lyrics © One Foot by Walk The Moon

K y r a,

Oh don't you dare look back, Just keep your eyes on me
I said you're holding back, She said shut up and dance with me

actions - “speech” - thoughts

Kyra gave Buckshot a smirk as she descended but held up for him to catch up to her as he offered a different mode of attack. She gave him gave him another smirk as she nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. I like that one!" She said, and that way she wouldn't have to try to maneuver her way through the thick of things while she was feeling lightheaded and groggy! Win-win! She spied a big log and she easily scaled it, though the exertion gave her a bout of outright dizziness that she had to blink through for a moment. Dad would probably mention it being from lack of eating and then running around.

When she was steady she looked around and kept an eye on things, glancing back for the brown kid and whoever she was bringing along.
Then who should show up but the New Leader and... ARIK? Yeah sure he was going to be a lot of help, hermit shy boy to the rescue, probably too chicken to actually get into the fray. And what the heck is he doing SO CLOSE to Queenie? She watched as Mercury made her way over to where Kyra was perched and asked for a report. Kyra gave Arik the side eye as he just carried on his way like he was totally into this kind of thing. She glanced briefly between Mercury and Arik but filed the suggestion away for a moment, under "interesting".

Military like, love it.
"Buck heard Grandpa Adolph call out, he's gotta be stuck nearby. We just heard him give out a call but I think he's pretty-" And just like that Arik got to be a hero for a moment as she watched him make all these quick fluid like movements across the forest and nigh disappear over a log, his call for a paw was pretty clear though. He'd be pretty easy to follow.

He was showing off for Her wasn't he? Did he really think he could put the moves on a wolf like Mercury? As far as Kyra knew he was a loveless emotionless hermit who didn't care about any kind of companionship, she had tried. "Well there's that then. Gonna need a good path for Adolph to take home, especially if he's exhausted. Maybe put him on Kodiak's back?" She suggested turning to Mercury to also gauge her reaction to Arik's response. Or was it Mercury who put the moves on Arik? This is gonna be good.

ooc

Photo © Cedric Verstraete / modified coding © vixxie's codes / lyrics © Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon

[Ayliyra]

The island had been interesting but she'd been still glad to get moving and to get back to the rescue mission with not just Mercury but another in tow. She had been a bit surprised when no one else seemed to be collected but then she supposed the camp did need to be properly prepared to receive an injured elder which meant someone would have to stay and well..prepare the camp for just that. Which meant she probably shouldn't have been surprised in the first place. When they had arrived at the scene well..no one but Kyra was where she had told them they needed to be and the path wasn't clear either so..no one had listened to her. It was something she should have been used to but still felt annoyed and frustrated by regardless. There were reasons after all why she had said what she did, she hadn't had time to explain her reasons but she had done rescues before, successful ones, and knew what it usually took to accomplish them.

Then the one she had brought instead of going with Mercury went on further contaminating the scent area and her ear flicked back briefly in annoyance. There wasn't much she could do about stopping the galloping one though so she simply got to work scenting. She moved quickly but carefully noting where Collar, and Buckshot's scents were so as to determine where they had already searched and moved to where there was no scent from either of them which was where she picked up Adolf's scent. She was already in the process of following it when Bluey called out that he had him..and then went leaping about running the risk of causing a collapse of debris, possibly onto Adolph, causing her to go from feeling annoyed to furious. That didn't stop her from moving towards where Arik was heading though, albeit more carefully than the bounding Arik.

She had already found where Adolph was and watched as the other overshot the area and then turned back, obviously realizing the error, and then before she could say anything to stop him he had grabbed one of the roots trapping Adolph and pulled. Fortunately the root gave without causing any adverse effects on the rest of the tangle but when he called for more help and before he had a chance to do anything else she spoke. "We are going to help but I suggest you stop rushing otherwise you might get Adolph or someone else killed as not all of this debris is stable and could fall and crush someone or cause some other form of fatal injury so it will need to be properly stabilized and cleared to make sure the rescue is done not only quickly but safely". There now that that had been addressed she next addressed Adolph specifically.

"Adolph? It's me Aylie. Can you breath okay? Does it feel like anything is broken?". Because that information would also be important for this rescue as it would not only tell them how fast they needed to move, although they would need to still go slow enough to not cause a debris avalanche or anything like that, but it would also tell them how careful they would need to be in moving stuff and what sort of method could be used to transport the elder back to camp.

[Kodiak]

#ee7f2d

He hadn't seen Mercury or Arik join their little search party, however he did see the other male leap down the cliff face into the mess of overturned trees below, Kodi raised a brow, but did little else as he followed behind at a brisk pace.

The other male had found the old coot, and was already working on trying to free him when the wolfdog approached his side, eyes would glance at Aylie glowering at the two, fur bristling with annoyance. However, Kodi would instead turn attention to the roots, he'd bite and snap as he pulled and pushed a few out of the way. Ears pulled back as he spat plant matter from his mouth and glared at Aylie, rolling his eyes at her questions. Why not ACTUALLY help?! With a flick of his tail he'd return to the task at hand, ignoring if she even spoke up about it.

This called for a sturdy stance and luckily Kodi was very surefooted and Adolph was very small and relatively light. The first signs of fur and he'd lower him self, extending his neck as best he could and snapping his teeth as GENTLY as he could until he found purchase. Teeth found the old man's scruff and Kodi slowly pulled him up and forward towards himself, all the while Arik was quick at work moving aside the roots and vines.

If others came to help then cool, nice, but either way the old man would be free after a couple more steady pulls and shifting roots. Could would release his hold on the old man's scruff and glance down at him with the same glowering look. "Sorry if I got your neck a little too hard, big teeth." The large male said with a shrug, before turning his attention to Arik. "Nice job." It was simple, but a compliment was a compliment.

He'd finally give a look around eyes catching sight of Mercury, he'd briefly stare at her for a moment, ear flicking and then looking away. He'd allow for the others to devise a plan to get the old guy outta this mess.

[Pawprint]

They came.

Adolph saw bounding blue and gray and for a minute he thought Starleet was coming to him.  He jolted.  Was it really--?  But by the final clearing he old wolf realized it wasn't his former packmate but her son.  He watched with squinted eyes as the boy missed, and then made his way toward where he was actually stuck.  (He tried not to chuckle.  Arik was trying his best.)  Ayliyra popped up, none too happy.  Then another large wolf came and joined Arik pulling at the roots, and finally Buckshot.  The old wolf was relieved and unhappy at the other of arrival.  For one, he knew the girl and his son: those two would fuss and overburden themselves saving him.  Second, though Adolph was grateful these large males were succinct in action, he hated that they went to taking the roots down with abandon.  One would never know if the roots quit at once and drop him by his neck.  Ayliyra voiced it since he couldn't.

Too much planning, like he thought.  Adolph sighed when she asked about his condition.  And Buckshot, gritting his teeth in a moment of overwhelming, decided to nudge himself under the mess of roots in case they gave away.  His son didn't want the situation to escalate between the three of them, but focus on saving him.  Figures.  It was like when the time they were caught in the rapids.  Buckshot let himself get swept away by the current to keep the rescue focused on him; and a younger Aylie and Sara argued over how to take care of him.  History was repeating.

When the unnamed wolf got Adolph by the scruff of his neck, he just about lost it.  That long wind of his came back.

"Enough!" he said with a rasp.  Where did his voice go?  Was that an angry wolf or a hissing rat speaking?  "I'm not ready..."  The roots were loose, but his body was suffering from some atrophy.  Adolph was struggling, but only his tail, head and neck, and the muscles around his ribs moved.  His legs were so asleep...those pins and needles were going to hurt.  He growled.  He wanted the boy, whoever he was, to just wait a minute.

"Dad?" came the quiet voice of Buckshot.

"Son, daughter..." they know who they were, "stay under me so I don't slip."  As for Arik: "Watch for any roots as he pulls me.  Or this 'old man' will be 'barking' his last."  There was a glint in his eyes.  Dry, sneaky, or some mix.

Yeah, Adolph thought, I heard you call me old man, boy.  Though he couldn't blame him.  The old wolf must look like death right now.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Adolph was finally on the ground,  Buckshot nudged his father's hind legs to get them moving again.  He knew when the pins and needles would come they were going to hurt.

The Groundskeeper stayed silent for most of the ordeal: he didn't like the execution at all.  Kodi could have choked his dad.  Arik could have too.  And he wished Leader could have been here giving orders, but she was busy with Kyra, who was at least doing her job.  Buckshot was so mad he couldn't even remember the nicknames he gave them.  This wouldn't have happened if he stopped everyone, including himself, from leading the rock side.  But now wasn't the time to argue.  He knew one was going to come anyway.  Right now his dad came first.

"Aylie help me move his muscles.  His legs are asleep.  Kodi, find a branch large enough to carry dad in  and Ari, flag the others so they can find us please."

He sounded less assertive than he ought to.  Buckshot wasn't a leader.

[Mercury]

The Dark Moon Queen of Nardir                 ☿ "Being brave means to know something is scary, difficult, and dangerous, and doing it anyway, because the possibility of winning the fight is worth the chance of losing it. - Emilie Autumn

"Buck heard Grandpa Adolph call out, he's gotta be stuck nearby. We just heard him give out a call but I think he's pretty-"

Before Kyra could finish Arik called back: "Got him!" and was dashing down to help.

"Well there's that then. Gonna need a good path for Adolph to take home, especially if he's exhausted. Maybe put him on Kodiak's back?"

Mercury was already trotting off in the direction of the entangled elder. Kyra's suggestion was a sound one, too be sure. But Kodiak was also busy attacking the roots.  The tangle had certainly done a good job in entangling Adolph.  As Mercury approached the lip, she watched Arik and Kodiak ripping away at the roots, while Buckshot provided support.

"We are going to help but I suggest you stop rushing otherwise you might get Adolph or someone else killed as not all of this debris is stable and could fall and crush someone or cause some other form of fatal injury so it will need to be properly stabilized and cleared to make sure the rescue is done not only quickly but safely"

Ayliyra, instead of helping, was ordering the ranked members about.  Not a single one of them was paying the least amount of attention,either. They didn't have time for backseat drivers.

"Ayliyra!" Mercury barked, her tone short. "Fetch Hakan and Sarajevo. Have them bring a litter. Go!"

Mercury jerked her head in Adolph's direction, indicating to Kyra that she should help Buckshot in getting Adolph's limbs circulating again.  There was no need for Arik to stop his attempt to remove the roots.  As Mercury and Kyra descended into the brambles, the Dark Queen was tracing the patterns in the roots, identifying the problem points.  It was clear they had to release Adolph's head before his body.  There!  That was the section!  Mercury lept onto a section of roots, then grabbed a hold and yanked.  The roots groaned, but it needed more weight.  Mercury let go for an instant.

"Kodiak!" She called, instinctively choosing her teammate. "This one!"

Then she shifted her grip, grabbing the opposite side of the wooded jaws.  If they pulled together, they should be able to untangle the roots from Adolph's neck.  From there, it was either brute force or more puzzles... only time would tell.

☿

[Charley]

A r i k,

Oh, through the wilderness, You and I we're walking through the emptiness
Oh, my heart is a mess, Is it the only defense against the wilderness?

actions - “speech” - thoughts

Arik blinked with a root in his jaws, pausing as Ayliyra berated them and he didn't know what to do. He glanced at Kodiak who seemed to ignore her and kept going. Arik proceeded to follow Kodi's lead but he tried picking roots a bit more carefully to pull.

Buckshot showed up and finally Adolph spoke up, he sounded thirsty, nearly half dead. Arik had trouble following all the activity and who's orders to follow. He tried picking out roots more carefully but there were so many bodies so close together and Adolph sounded angry that things started to blur and he was finding himself starting to freeze. He was loosing focus and getting overwhelmed. The roots started to look meshed together and confusing, he didn't know which one to pull and which to leave.  

Suddenly a clear and commanding voice rung into the air and pierced the rising fog in his head. Though Mercury didn't directly tell him to do anything differently, things seemed to be in much better focus and he heeded Adolph's last direct order to him to keep pulling roots away from him as he was pulled out. Beside Mercury he could find problem areas much better and pull directly on the one trapping the elder but leaving the supporting ones. By the stars above how had Adolph gotten into this mess? Was he sleeping in the roots of a tree and it fell in a storm?

ooc

Photo © Spencer Arquimedes / Modified coding © vixxie's codes / lyrics © One Foot by Walk The Moon

K y r a,

Oh don't you dare look back, Just keep your eyes on me
I said you're holding back, She said shut up and dance with me

actions - “speech” - thoughts

Kyra was on her toes and ready to follow Mercury in an instant when her head swam because she stood too quickly. Eugh she was going to be sick again wasn't she? She hopped down from her perch to follow Mercury and gave her head a shake before picking up her pace.

She perked her ears as the Queen used The Voice at the brown kid and called her by a vaguely familiar name. She narrowed her eyes trying to place where she had heard that name before but she couldn't remember. No time for introductions or memory digging anyway, she nearly missed Mercury's nod to Kyra to get involved.

Kyra tried to dive in as smoothly as she could but swayed a little as her balance shifted. This pregnancy was going to kill her before it even got started. This is ridiculous, mothers have been carrying and birthing pups since the dawn of time how could she be having it so damn hard? The world stopped moving as she gfot on her elbows to access Adolph's legs and rub life back into them.

"Believe me Grandpa, if you were so set on barking your last we wouldn't all be here saving your ass." She quipped with a scowl, she had a sour taste in her mouth.

ooc

Photo © Cedric Verstraete / modified coding © vixxie's codes / lyrics © Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon

[Ayliyra]

Of course she was ignored by the giant, clearly stupid, collared one who seemed to think brute strength was the answer here..perhaps one of those all brawn no brains types. She gave a mental snort at that though noted that big blue, Arik, was being more careful now at least. She studied the vines a bit and found one to chomp down on when out of the corner of her eye she saw brainless lean and grab Adolph by the scruff and immediately was concerned about the force involved and all the injuries which could result from it. Before she could figure out what to say or do though Adolph came to his own defense saying that he wasn't ready. Hopefully the brainless one would listen but it seemed Adolph had that worked out as well just in case the collared one didn't listen. She did as Adolph bid and with her small size slid underneath him to help hold him up just in case something went wrong.

She moved carefully to keep Adolph from slipping and to avoid jarring him just in case of any broken bones or internal injuries. After a point Buckshot asked for helping in getting Adolph's circulation going which was good but with the healer training she had she knew it was a bit more complicated than just giving him a massage. Then Mercury was giving an order, ordering her to go fetch Hakan and Sara to help. It was, or would have been, simple enough to do so except she hadn't spotted either of them at the camp when she'd went looking for Mercury earlier but she didn't want to take chances where Adolph's potential injuries were concerned and she was familiar with the territory from when she was a pup and was also familiar with both individuals scents and as she did have healer training she could give a better idea of what might be needed beyond a litter so with a quick dip of her head to Mercury off she went to carry out her orders.

((and I think it was my turn for this..maybe..I'm not actually sure I just happened to remember this being here and..yeah. Hopefully everything in the post is correct I'm distracted and it's confusing))

[Kodiak]

#ee7f2d

The old mutt thrashed weakly, though suddenly, the movement nearly caused the wolfdog to go down with him. Jaws were quick to let him go and he felt his temper flare in such a way, a growl rippling through his chest and up into his throat. Technically, Kodi didn't even want to be here, and yet. Blue and gold eyes resting on what he could see of the old man's face, if looks could kill, Adolph would've never had time to bark his last breath, for the wolfdog's gaze would've vaporized him in a split second.

Ear flicking idly as more paws came from behind, turning slightly to notice Merc with a quirked brow, though it wasn't exactly that surprising to see her here. She was the alpha after all, protecting her people came with the job description. His bulky form stepping away as Adolph rasped, making room for anyone else who wanted to assist while he let his temper cool. He knew he would be useless if he didn't have a clear and collected mind, tail flicking like an agitated cat with a familiar irritated look plastered upon his face.

The smaller male called to him and his gaze flickered to the other for a moment before giving a shrug and stepping into the brush, it didn't take but a moment, there was a lot of fallen trees, so branches weren't exactly hard to come by. It was always surprising, to himself anyway, how heavy branches could be, though it didn't pose quite as much trouble. He pulled it through the brush, powering through snags and the feeling of splintering wood piercing his gums. It was a large enough branch, still covered in leaves, eh, that should do it. Letting it come to a rest behind the group, though giving a clear path for those to walk around it.

It was about that time Mercury called out, gaze snapping toward her as if trained by the sound of her voice. He stepped forward, snorting loudly through his nose as he did as she directed, jaws closing over another root section, with their combined efforts it gave way, releasing whatever grip it had around Adolph, he flashed a look toward Mercury for a moment before looking to chew away more roots.