Thin Ice ((Tagged))

[Fierfly]

((Rykett, @shiver, Meds))

Epsilon:

Ice-fishing. Who would have thunk it? One thought turned to a suggestion had become (if he could say) a very successful day all things considered. It wasn't the traditional hunt he was used to or the usual excursion the pack might take, but it had worked. It had well and truly worked. Maybe this heir thing wasn't so bad after all, sure it had started out bumpy, but it really hadn't been so bad. He was starting to figure out what was within his limits and what was stretching way too far. His first duty was to the pack, he had to keep them in mind. Which really wasn't so hard, and he didn't mind the extra responsibility, he liked thinking he was doing something to contribute to Secluded Sunrise. He hated to think he was a big, furry sponge.

As he turned to survey the wolves following the procession, the three still-very-cold trout packed between his jaws shifted and he tightened his hold on them. He'd deferred lead to Alphess Blaise and Betess Amora, they were higher ranked, for some reason his mind translated this to mean that they got to take the lead, figuratively and literally. Besides, he was still weary of walking ahead of his alphess, last time he'd tried to think a step ahead, he'd gotten a thorough tongue-lashing. Granted it had been some time ago, their interaction ever since had been limited and short and while he was starting to feel her iciness towards him subside, he certainly didn't want to make that mistake again. Altogether they hadn't brought a very large party, but it had been a good trip and they were headed back with a little extra something to tide the pack over for the last few weeks of the cold, forested winters.

He faced forward again and picked up his pace as they neared the silver sheet of the lake. Stride lengthening and eyes focusing on the path ahead of them, he strode on.

[Meds]

Manaaki, Kanga;

The brothers followed behind Epsilon. Amora and Blaise were up ahead, and though Kanga seemed concerned only with following Epsilon's heels, Manaaki made sure to keep his eyes forward, so he was as much following the leaders as he was the procession. Deep scars were left where the heavy, large-footed twins walked, even in places where the snow had formed a hard crust. They were still curiously quiet, as they always were if they tried to be, but the crunching snow underfoot somewhat dampened the effect.

Aside from the party's foot-falls, everything else was quite. Silent, almost. They had been out and working hard for most of the day, and the sun was now beginning to dip below the far mountains, bathin everything in a wintery blue light. Kanga's breath clouded in front of him as he panted to himself quietly, whereas Manaaki's breath was more contained because of the fish he was holding. Kanga's fur was untidy, wet in some places and unkempt in every other. He was an uneven, half-dry mix of red and brown. His job had largely been frightening the slow-witted fish towards the bank, where Manaaki snapped them up until they had a respectable little pile. Kanga had spent the day running back and forth over the ice, dipping in and out of the cold water, and in general getting quite a lot of exercise. Therefore Manaaki didn't hold his heavy breathing against him.

"It's going to be a cold night," Kanga spoke in low tones to Manaaki. The older brother glanced upwards, noting the complete lack of clouds in the sky. He met his twin's eyes and gave a significant nod.

[Deleted]

It had been a rough day. At least for Amora. All afternoon she had been suppressing her urges to go and talk to Manaaki. Not in the usual way at least. They had boasted and teased eachother obviously, but her mind kept on curving their competitive banter into a whole new direction; a direction that Amora-the fearless Amora-was afraid to plow into. She just hoped that her oddness hadn't seeped out into the tone of her voice. She hoped that he hadn't noticed her fleeting glances and embarassed rise of her coat when she thought she had been caught. The effect of repressing her emotions and controlling her usual spontaneity, Amora was tired.

She had captured her fair share of glistening silver fish on the ice, taking full advantage of her oddly potent botany abilities. She had manipulated the long, tough stalks of the nearby grasses into a sort of hoop, dropping them down into the hole they had created in the ice, waiting fro an unlucky fish to meander its way through the loop. Then she would tighten the noose around its body, forcing thorns into the chinks in its armor to keep it from slipping sleekly away, and pulled her catch to the surface. However, at the beginning of the trip, fish seemed to ignore the hoop, sniffing at it but never going through it. Frustrated, Amora had baited it. With what? -Don't tell Epsilon- She had baited it with one of the scrawny minnows he had mildly managed to muster. Once her bait was set, fish seemed to be waiting in line for her. This pleased her very much.

Now she had a lovely cape of fish, each one trailing in the snow behind her on its very own reedy leash. She held the ends in her jaws, her teeth glistening as she grinned. However, even Amora got tired of grinning and opted for a relaxed stupor. She glanced at Blaise, her Alphess. It had been a long time since she had felt respect for the shewolf, and now she couldn't deny her the right. Blaise simply commanded respect. Although Amora fancied herself to be a better Alphess in the future, Blaise was the next best thing.

[Rykett]

Blaise:

Ice fishing was new to Blaise. In all her years, she'd never really attempted fishing during the winter months. The only time when she would've really needed the skill was during her time as a loner. It had seemed an impossibility in her younger years. How would she even get under the thick ice for a start? The answer now seemed simple, flowing water. Save for the occasional ice chunk, flowing water was free of ice. Their little ice fishing group had found the perfect spot to fish just West of the Kai Lake just before the Amoux creek rushed in to form the lake. It'd been a shallow area, but with a fast enough current to dissuade ice from crystallizing. Each wolf of the party had chosen different tactics to catch their fish. Kanga had herded his and Manaaki’s into the older twins deadly grasp, while Amora had employed her power. Blaise had opted for a nearly cat-like approach. She'd sat on the bank, patiently waiting for a fish to swim past. Then she had pounced, dipping a slender paw into the frigid river and flipping the unlucky creature onto solid ground. A more practiced fisher might've performed the technique with better results, but Blaise had only managed to catch two medium sized fish. At least, they were easy to carry.

The shortest route back to Sapling Grove was across the lake. Trapped under the frozen fingers of winter, the lake’s ice must surely be thick enough to walk across. Leading their victorious parade directly towards the lake, Blaise hesitated as she stepped onto the ice, testing her weight on it. A couple more careful steps verified the ice’s solidity. However Blaise was one of the lighter wolves on this excursion. The real test was whether the ice could hold the twins and Epsilon. As Blaise continued across the lake and the ice showed no signs of cracking under the wolves’ weight, Blaise began to gain confidence. Her steps were less hesitant as they neared the center of the lake. They were nearly halfway there and the thick ice sheet had barely crackled. As it was still quite a distance home, especially since the whole group seemed to tired to run all the way there, and the ice has proved itself safe to her, Blaise allowed herself some idle thoughts. ’This was never one of my favorite places ever since… him. I don't think I'll ever look at this serene lake the same way. I wish I could though. I thought I was being so careful, too. I convinced myself it wasn't love at first sight. I still don't think it was. We were both alone and he saved me. Why would he do that if he didn't care? It makes sense now, but back then I thought it felt so right. I guess that's the thing about love… you can delude yourself into believing something wrong feels right. I just wish-’

A bone-chilling crack interrupted Blaise's thoughts. She froze as she watched white cracks appear in the ice. Blaise had reached the center of the lake, the place where the ice was the thinnest since the water was the deepest. Cautiously, she looked back at the rest of the procession. She'd pulled ahead so they didn't seem to be in as much danger as the alphess was. Her agitated thoughts must have pushed her to move faster. Blaise considered her treacherous situation. She had limited options: move forward, move backward, move sideways, or don't move and let the others risk helping her. Blaise would prefer it if none of the other attempted to aid her. The males were too heavy to trust their weight on the ice and Amora couldn't grow plants without soil. Blaise thought of calling back to them, asking them not to help, but the speech would surely cause her to drop the fish onto the thin ice. The impact might cause it all to shatter. Therefore, Blaise had to figure her own way out. The cracks seemed to be surrounding her, so any direction she moved seemed to have an equal chance of sending her to a freezing wet doom. Keep moving forward, right?

Blaise lifted a white paw, warning protests from ice accompanying the movement. She hesitantly placed it on a portion of ice that seemed to be free of fissures in front of her. With a tense intake of breath, she shifted her weight onto that paw. Immediately, the ice erupted in noise around the weight of the paw and gave way around it. Blaise violently tipped forward, dropping her fish. The lake engulfed her in icey waters. Blaise sank like a stone for a couple seconds, shock by the sudden chill. Then she struggled for the surface. Blaise was not the best swimmer, a trait which had nearly cost Blaise her life on another occasion in this very lake. Yet, she managed to reach the surface… or where it should be. Confronted by the thick ice that'd once supported her, Blaise kicked against her captor, frantically, but that only resulted in sending her back into the depths because of the strength in her kick.

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

A giant, furry ear flicked as he heard Kanga whisper to Manaaki. "It's going to be a cold night," his own dark, sapphire eyes scanned around. The sky was clear, but cold and gray and the surrounding cold pressed around the group, searching for a thin spot in their winter shags to pierce through and put the chill in their bones. It wouldn't find a chink in Epsilon's armor, his fur was too thick and his power made him register it all differently, it didn't seem as sharp as it used to; the sensation still hit home, but it didn't cause the discomfort it used to, for which he was grateful. Kanga was right though, it was going to be a cold night. Night - they'd spent longer at the lake than he'd thought they would, and it was no short trip back to Sapling Grove, would they make it back before night? If they didn't, at least the gammas were still at camp and could handle any loners who stumbled across the border and keep things running for a while and they already had some game to keep them going if they didn't return to the big pack cache before nightfall, but camping out at night in winter... He studied the sky again: no clouds, no storms to hinder their progress, there was no reason why they shouldn't have been able to make it home before dark. There was nothing to worry about, they'd be back in plenty of time - it had been a successful trip, no need to spoil it by getting edgy over nothing.

No! No something really was wrong. His ruff prickled and he glanced around uneasily again. What was it? He wasn't quite sure. All he knew was that his instincts were telling him that something was wrong. Anything beyond that...

The Alphess had pressed forward ahead of the rest of the group - to scout out the trail Epsilon had assumed - but now she stopped and looked around wearily. He too slowed his pace and finally stopped and watched her. Why stop? She seemed to shake off her hesitation and shifted her weight and put another paw forward. There he was worrying about nothing again, he was being a goose. He'd imagined that hesitation, she was probably just re-orienting herself with the landmarks. What was wrong with him? He needed to get out more and remind himself when there was a reason to really worry and when there wasn't. All that time in the Grove was making him skittish and paranoid. Nothing was wrong, so he kept going.

A sharp crack rattled the whole party and all eyes and ears were zoned in on the source of the sound. It was Blaise. Delicate little fissures had spiderwebbed out under paws and now the cracks split and the ice beneath her broke. It broke.

Oh Power it broke!

Her eyes widened and she pitched forward, her weight had been shifting forward to the breaking ice and as it gave way she dropped to the freezing water below. A startled gasp and half-formed yelp before her dark, raven form tumbled down into the dark, icy water. Idiot! Why hadn't he been re-enforcing the ice on the trip back? It couldn't have been strong enough for a whole parade of wolves! Not all the way through, and especially not in the middle. He should have thought of that! Epsilon you idiot! The last thing he saw were those dark eyes, usually so calm and confident - they were wide enough for him to see the whites of them and dearly afraid as they stared at the icy depths and disappeared beneath them. He'd seen wide, terrified eyes like those before. Right before someone had died.

Epsilon dropped his fish where he was. "Stay back!" he ordered, the blue power tattoo between his shoulders lit up with an unearthly light and he hastily added an extra layer to the ice they were standing on, if Blaise could fall through anyone could, and that was the last thing he wanted to have happen. He whipped his head around to the betess, "Amora," he barked, "Get 'em to shore, make a lifeline if you can!" with that he shot after the retreating trail of bubbles under the ice. Hurling him powerful frame at the hole in the ice, his bulk broke a bigger hole in the sheet and he too plunged into the icy darkness. His paws kicked into gear propelling him through the water and he glanced around. Where was Blaise?! There! Movement! The frantic, struggling form of Blaise began to sink deeper into the dark blue water as she thrashed and looked for a way out. Re-orienting himself he turned and dived down after her, hurrying over to her with strong powerful strokes as he raced to help her.

[Meds]

Kanga, Manaaki;

Step.
Step.
Slip.
Step.

Evening was fast approaching, and Kanga wasn't gettingany dryer. He shook his mane violently, sending a few determined little ice crystals flying in all directions with a snort and a flash of his teeth. No ice would make a home on him. Not today. He caught Manaaki looking at him with ever-calm eyes and showed his brother his teeth, which earned him a slight snarl as well. Well, it's not his fault he was cold. And hungry, too. They hadn't eaten anything during the hunt. He could feel his ribs rubbing against each other. He was going to die. Manaaki seemed to know exactly what was going through his mind, because the next look that Kanga got was so withering that he had to admit that perhaps he was being a little bit silly.
Manaaki shook his head. Would Kanga ever be anything more than an overgrown pup? Oh yes, he could be serious if he wanted to (Kanga was the only wolf that had ever made Manaaki feel truly afraid), but most often he was just ridiculous—and they didn't need that while on a hunt with the alphess, betess, and heir. What a group they made. He sighed to himself and gave his brother a reluctant smile. Kanga was at least suffering in silence, which meant that only Manaaki, with their strange connection, could probably tell what he was thinking.

Crack.

Whatever either brother had been thinking was quickly wiped from their heads. Neither had been looking forward, but now with eyes up, they saw the tip of Blaise's head as she went under. Kanga snarled and sprang forward, but Manaaki reacted more quickly with a leap of his own. His powerful teeth flashed and closed in a deathly-grip over Kanga's scruff, breaking through the skin and coming together on the other side. He heaved his weight backward and yanked Kanga forcefully, keeping his twin well away from the thin ice. If Blaise sunk through, then no amount of help they provided would change anything. They probably would have sunk through themselves before eveng getting to where Blaise was.
Kanga understood Manaaki's train of thought and caught up soon enough, shaking his brother off with another toss of his head. He whined loudly, padding from paw to paw. This was the worst possible thing. Being fully capable of helping, and yet being unable to do anything. There was something so wrong about waiting on the ice and watching the Alphess drown—but then, in the blink of an eye, Epsilon had leapt forward and both boys had felt the ice under their feet thicken. Well, if anybody was able to help it was probably him.

The large white male disappeared under the water moments after shouting for Amora to get the others back to shore. Kanga felt indignant for just a fraction of a second, as if he were a pup that couldn't take care of himself, but then he realized that with their combined weight, they probably were in more danger than he thought. Especially now that Blaise and Epsilon had both broken through and could very well have started a series of cracks that could weaken the entire surface.

Manaaki and Kanga turned as one, but Manaaki met Amora's eyes. She had been off all day, Manaaki wasn't sure why, but any anger or frusteration she was feeling towards him would have to be put aside for now. She was in as much danger as them if the ice was compromised. Kanga took a few cautious steps away from his equally heavy brother to try and give the ice a chance. He looked to Amora as well. If the ice broke again, it didn't matter what Manaaki said, he would leap in and throw Amora out but the skin of his teeth if he had to. Three wolves weren't drowning today, and that was final.

[Deleted]

The caravan came to the edge of the lake, Blaise contemplating on crossing it. It was cold enough that they should be able to take a short cut to the forests, but that assurance didn't stop Amora from being on edge. Being off of the earth, albeit frozen, was unnerving for her. She had received her power at a very young age, at the birth of the pack itself. She hardly remembered a time without botany. So stepping out onto the ice sheet left her cut off from her comfort. Nearly. She still had the thick vines in her jaws. Those fibers were her lifeline in a way. Despite how unsettled she felt, she didn't let it show. Amora had made a face for her to live up to. Betess Amora was never afraid, she always had a plan, and always succeeded. Betess Amora would never be scared of a little bit of ice under her paws. Her wooden leg cut into the silence as the wolves walked. Every paw was nearly silent, perhaps a few claws clicking against the smooth ice. Her prosthetic broke the rhythm with prolonged scraping as it dragged. The hard surface gave the joint where her flesh and her fake leg joined little to no padding, causing the two parts of her to grind uncomfortably.

Nevertheless she trekked on, beginning to fall into a groove, eyes forward but glazed over. She was thinking. She had been thinking on this particular subject for a while now. The position of Beta was open. A Betess could always use some extra help. Amora, despite what she often told herself, wanted someone to talk to, someone to crack jokes with, someone to warm the empty coldness of her den. The black-furred shewolf had made her own den, crafted under her wooden claws. However she rarely slept in it. More often than not she stayed the night in the large, pack den. There she was kept company by Lisanna and Expense, even Helios, and Chance would drop in. But if Amora was truly honest with herself, she was lovesick. She had never been shown excess amounts of it, and when it was given it was either taken for granted, or even pushed away. And now, her heart, so stony and stubborn for so long seemed to be deteriorating, crying out in pain. Withdrawals one could say...

However Amora was snapped from her thoughts by a miniscule crack. She blinked rapidly, clearing her mind, suddenly making herself aware of her surroundings. They were about at the center of Kai Lake, Kanga and Manaaki were behind her, Epsilon and her Mother up front. Epsilon and Blaise had frozen, Blaise especially still. However she seemed to move on, placing on paw in front of the first. That's when it happened. The icy spiderweb under the Alphesses dark paws fractured even further, piecing itself into chunks, allowing the Alphess to fall through into the inky fathoms below. Amora's heart nearly stilled before picking up speed as she watched her mother vanish before her eyes. She should do something! She had to save her! However, Epsilon was closer, and faster. He turned a panicked face towards her, barked an order before he too disappeared into the waters. Make a Lifeline for the others.

The Betess whipped her head around, violet eyes wide, pain, panic, and worry so obvious in her eyes, quite possibly the first time she abandoned all care for how others viewed her. Her power mark glowed on her side, a harsh beam of light that reflected off of every pitching crystal around her. She whipped the vines, freeing them of the fish she had labored so hard to earn. "Grab on." She barked extending the vines towards the twins. She manipulated the brittle, brown vines around Manaaki and Kanga, her ankles quivering as she attempted to conquer her hysteria. Amora took a deep breath and looked back at the two males, her expression hard and determined. She tried not to think about her Mother in the deadly water below her paws. She tried not to imagine her struggling hopelessly in the darkness. She should focus on the task given to her. She had three vines. She had unconsciously twisted two vines around Manaaki, one for Kanga. They would be okay, but what about Blaise and Epsilon? They needed a life line. But where to get another vine? They were so far from shore she couldn't possibly reach any vegetation from here. Her woodenleg creaked on the reinforced ice. The webs seemed to be spreading from the initial fissure. Amora squeezed her eyes shut and bowed her head. She opened them to see her mismatched paws on the pristine ice. One bright, the other wooden, secured by vines. Vines. She narrowed her eyes and set to work, the ice under the twins wouldn't hold for long, even reinforced, the ice was still at its thinnest point.

Amora hurriedly unwound her prosthetic, discarding the intricate leg, tossing all her hard work to the side. She stretched out the vine and tossed the end into the hole where Epsilon and Blaise had sunk. Then, wobbling, she took the end of all three vines and began to run. It was hard at first, being without her leg, she stumbled and weaved back and forth, leading the twins along. They ahd to get tot he shore as soon as possible, at least onto the thickest ice.

[Rykett]

Blaise swam towards the surface ice once again. This time she scratched, furiously, at the ice sheet’s underneath. Maybe she could chip away at it enough that it would crack. Her desperate attempts seemed to be making no progress. Blaise could feel the air inside her lung slowly go stale as her movements sucked the precious seconds of life contained in that oxygen. There wasn’t enough to last long enough for Blaise to escape. She was doomed. With a gentle push, Blaise floated back in the darkness of the depths, body spasming from the cold.

Blaise supposed she could just complete her surrender by releasing what little air she had left. It’d be quicker that way… but couldn’t. She couldn’t get herself to give up, completely. There were so many wolves counting on her, so many wolves to live for. Blaise found herself wishing Scorpius, the wolf who’d betrayed her, hurt her, and tried to break her, was still there. Then he could give her just a bit more time with her pack and her daughters, even if he’d damaged her again. In her oxygen-deprived state, Blaise thought she saw him dive into waters, sapphire eyes flashing in the deep blue water.

Her blurry vision went black as Blaise shut her violet eyes. Maybe there was some thought that could comfort her, something that she did that’d make her life worthwhile. Despite her position as an alphess and a mother, Blaise couldn’t help but think of her regrets; her frustration at falling for Scorpius, her disappointment at being rejected by Sheba, her despair at Ruko’s choices, and her sorrow for not saying ‘I love you’ to Amora more. There was so much she’d failed at. Just a little more time. Blaise willed herself to hold on. She would not just fade away. Something flickered within her. Could it save her? Blaise’s eyes snapped open as she embraced it. Power… she had a power! Where had she gotten it? Maybe Sheba had changed her mind? No matter. She had it now and that was what mattered.

Blaise used her Flame. A tiny spark of light appeared in the darkness… and immediately was extinguished. Blaise tried again, but her second attempt was even less fruitful with no light whatsoever. The only effect Blaise could perceive was a slight increase in the water’s temperature. At least she could be warm-ish while she died. A dark form was moving towards her. Oh… her hallucination of Scorpius was still there. Wait, no. That wasn’t Scorpius, it was Epsilon!

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

The giant male had always been a reasonably good swimmer, and he enjoyed a plunge now and then. He'd dived through Kai's deep waters before, but this was no pleasure paddle. This time a life was depending on him.

Subconsciously he spread his toes, turning his massive snow-shoe paws into paddles, he relaxed his spine, turning his massive bulk into a stream-lined sinew, nose first to maintain the smoothness of the flow and to keep his body in check and moving in the desired direction, his tail and rear paws worked together, coiling and lashing to re-orient him so his nose pointed him in the direction of his Alphess. Her keen, feminine fore-paws were clutched near her chest, tail lightly curled between her legs - her form utterly relaxed and velvet lids covering her closed eyes as her head fell back against the cushion of water and the still body fell deeper into the dark reaches. He turned, swimming up for the ice - he was a good swimmer, but she was sinking fast and didn't have much time: every second pulling her back up was going to count, so he didn't have a great deal of time to get down. He turned his body so his paws hit the underside of the ice, spreading his great form across it to get his balance. His power tattoo glowed as he spread another layer across the ice again: no one else was falling through the ice today if he had anything to say about it. He craned his head, looking up - er down - to the diminishing trail of bubbles to the sinking raven form. There! He lightly brought all of his paws off the ice, then with a stubborn, jaw-rattling kick lashing out at the solid mass of ice he'd just secured, he was shooting off through the water, paddling down for the barely conscious form.

He had to hurry, she couldn't have been able to last much longer - she'd been yelping as she went under, she couldn't have had much air - and it was cold - he wished he knew how badly the cold was affecting her: the sensation was muted for him, he was aware, but it didn't cause the discomfort it did her, she was probably dying faster from it: hypothermia and drowning, brilliant. He had to hurry.

Her eyes snapped open and there was a brief spark of light in the water. What the-? Later! He could ask her about it later. Her eyes were open and she was moving, she was alive! He swam up and sank his teeth through her scruff - apologies could come later, the grip had to be strong or else he could lose her with all the mass of the water pushing against them. She wouldn't last a second plunge, he had to make everything with this one count.

His lungs were beginning to ache - he hadn't planned on being down here this long: how much longer could he hold his breath? That was a question he didn't want to know the answer to, where was the hole he'd come in through? His heart sank as he couldn't find it. Why not? They were pretty far down, but he could see the ice and he knew they hadn't moved that far from the initially break-point. Trailing lines wavering in the icy water caught his attention and he checked his grip on the Alphess' ruff and began striving for them. If something had gotten down there then there had been an opening with any luck it was their opening.

He'd never carried something as big as another wolf through the water: actually, he'd never carried anything during a dive like this. Well, there was a first time for everything. The extra weight was taxing and his lungs started to burn as he neared the surface, he shouldered the Alphess for a moment to study the lines - they were vines, Amora's vines. Thank-you Amora! A light crust of ice had formed over much of the hole, but it wouldn't take long. He hurtled his bulk up through it, seizing a lungful of air and choking as some of the frigid water came in with it. He yanked Blaise's head above the water line and set his paws against the edge of the ice, working on re-building the ice that the fissures had broken and firming up the hole, hopefully thick enough to support one's weight. "Amora!" he tried to push the limp body of her mother over the edge, get her head in the clear air where she could breathe. "Get off the ice! Reel her in-!" his head ducked under and he seized the thick fur on the midsection of her back and swam up again, dragging the pelt and the wolf wearing it up to the surface, heart pounding as he felt no movement coming from it.

[Meds]

Manaaki, Kanga;

The silver and russet furred twins were sharing their frustration at not being able to help. At this point, they were only a huge liability, rather than a help. The largest wolves in the group, and yet as helpless as if they were day-old pups. The emotions rolled off of them in waves, palpable to each other, and each fed on the other as they stood, frozen. It was so against their nature to stand by and do nothing; indeed, to stand by and require more help for themselves rather than sending that help to those who needed it most.
In any case, as they stood in their angst, precariously still on the ever-thinning ice, suddenly, vines began to wrap around them. Kanga jerked and snarled at first, so engrossed was he in the peril happening across the lake from them, but he quickly discovered that it was just vines from Amora. It tightened around his chest, which was an odd feeling. On the one hand, it felt more secure, which was positive. On the other, he knew that on the other end of the vine was a small (compared to him) she-wolf. If he went through to the black water below, honestly, what good would come of being attached to her other than pulling her in after him? He supposed he could follow the vine back through where he fell, but it was still unsettling to think that he might put Amora in danger if he were to go in.

Manaaki, on the other hand, did not flinch when the vines encircled him. He knew they were from Amora almost as soon as they touched him. Two tightened around him however, which did make him feel slightly constricted, but he shrugged his powerful shoulders and was able to re-situate them slightly, which made him feel a little bit better. But everything was happening so fast, it was at that same moment that Manaaki noticed Amora was not yet running.
He understood that she had her mother to care for and worry about, but there was some feral part within him that suddenly needed her to be safe, even if it were at the cost of the others. Surprisingly, a white-hot anger flared up within him then at the sight of her in near-danger and him not being able to do anything. In many ways, the anger of a calm wolf was even more powerful than that of an imbalanced wolf, for it was so rare.

But then, as quick as a flash, Amora had untied the vine from her own leg and sent it toward her mother. Then, gathering the remaining vines up in her teeth, she started to run. One leg down, she began slipping along, but clearly wanting to lead the brothers to safety. Again, both twins were hit with the undeniable frustration that they were a liability rather than a help, but each knew it would be best for the group if they just cleared off.
They waited until the vine was almost taught, and then both sprang forward to pick up the race to safety. Kanga was so heavy that as he leapt forward, one of his paws broke through the ice behind him and he nearly stumbled. The cracking behind him did wonders to speed him up, however, and it was with sheer determination that he kicked his foot free of the icey hold and began trotting.
Manaaki was no small being either, however. He had seen Kanga break through, but that only served to show him just how truly thin the ice was. As they began to run after their Betess, the ice cracked with each fall of their paws. Manaaki broke through once as well, though unfortunately with his front paws, but thankfully his brother was there immediately to drag him back up.

After what seemed like an eternity, the ice stopped cracking below them and they skidded to a halt, spinning around to survey the trouble behind them. They were still on the ice, but an easy swim from shore by then. Manaaki kept an eye on Amora without even consciously realizing he was doing so. A three-legged wolf wouldn't have much hope of swimming if she were to go through. Epsilon's voice had sounded behind them, shouting for Amora to reel in the Alphess.
Manaaki reacted first. He knew Amora wouldn't have much leverage with three legs, so instead he lunged forward and closed his teeth around a piece of vine trailing behind her. He gave a great tug, and then Kanga fell into line behind him. As one, the twins began pulling backward with machine-like strength, their claws occasionally slipping on the ice but in general making progress.

[Deleted]

Amora ran on, her unbalanced hobbling lope taking her across the crackling silver ice as quickly as possible. The black shewolf stuck out like a bruise on the glittering surface, hauling two larger blots behind her. The three ran from the site where the Alphess had plunged into the polar temperatures. Frightened, Amora stumbled the last steps before collapsing onto the bank. She was too shaken to do much in response to Epsilon, and luckily Kanga and Manaaki were there to reel in Blaise and Epsilon. Heart racing erratically, Betess Amora rose back to her paws, the snow and ice around her solidly supported by soil.

Her dark violet eyes strained as she watched Epsilon Hail her mother onto the eggshells that were thin layers of ice. Mom...was she okay? Was she breathing? Was she even alive? Had Epsilon gotten there in time? Amora knee she couldn’t rush out there and endanger the pair further...the anxiety and anticipation was killing her. If her mother died-Amora didn’t want yo think about that.

And yet there were multiple ways that this could end her mother’s life. Multiple ways that consistently and unrelentingly bombarded her mind. She could have hypothermia and freeze to death. The water in her lungs could develop into Pneumonia. She could have too much water in there currently and drown even while in land.

Amora vowed not to over any alter anything, she would live in the moment. Of course she would read the situation and react accordingly, but living in all this anxiety of possibility was never really living. The Betess limped back onto the ice, standing beside the warrior and the scout, fur fluffed out apprehensively. ”Mom...” Her barely sudible whisper was cracked and full of emotion. They had never had the best relationship, but her mother was all she had left.

[Rykett]

Strong jaws clamped down on Blaise’s scruff. Blaise gasped in pain, involuntarily. The simple expression of pain released the stale air from Blaise’s in a stream of bubbles. The overwhelming urge to inhale assaulted Blaise. She feebly resisted, refusing to give up just as help had arrived. As her consciousness flickered, her willpower failed her. Water flooded Blaise’s lungs. It felt like acid, freezing cold acid that was never meant to be within lungs. Blaise instinctively choked, trying to expel the liquid and replace it with blessed air. Yet, there was no air to replace it, only more water. Blackness quickly overtook her.

---

Blaise was transported far away from her drowning body in her unconsciousness. She padded through an unfamiliar forest. The bare trees towered threateningly. Their branches clawed her sides, trying to drag her back. Blaise refused to be stopped. She just kept walking until she came to a puddle of almost completely clear ice. She paused, looking down at her reflection on the ice’s surface. It was weirdly distorted. ”A dream…” she whispered to herself. But was this the dream or was the awful memory of being trapped beneath ice? The trees around her shook and began contorting as if they were tortured souls. ”This is the dream,” Blaise decided. She glanced behind her as if she could see what was happening in the real world. Would she wake up dead or alive?

A distant voice called her name. Blaise turned back to see a form padding out of the shadows. His ashy grey fur had haunted her. His mouth opened. ”I will always be there for you,” the voice was distant and unidentifiable. As he spoke, his pelt melted into another pattern. It became brown and mottled then flashed to a near white with unmistakable black tendrils before it faded back to grey while green and blue markings swirled into existence. The eyes remained a sapphire blue throughout the display.

”Liar.” That had been to be proven true for all, but one of the dream wolf’s forms so far. It’s pelt continued to shift, darkening to a deeper grey. The green disappeared leaving only dark blue. The eyes finally changed as well, become a violet several shades lighter than Blaise’s. Blaise averted her gaze from the wolf. ”Do you really think that of all of them?”

”You’re dead.” The words felt bitter in Blaise’s mouth. She refused to meet those once familiar eyes. ”Yes, I died for you.”

”I know…” Blaise whispered. She finally looked up, but the wolf had disappeared. Still, she spoke to the empty air, ”I might be joining you, soon. But, I… I’m not dying for anyone. I failed them.” Tears threatened to escape from her eyes.

---

The dream took up the short space of time that it took to get Blaise back on dry land. Her soaked pelt made her look much smaller. She appeared dead. Not even breath moved her chest. Water blocked the precious air from entering and in her unconscious state, there was no chance of Blaise ejecting the water by herself.

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

A curse or two escaped as he finished pushing her limp form up on the ice - it started to slip and he swore again as he ducked back under and grabbed her once more before climbing out of the deathly hole, claws scrabbling for a hold and the leverage to orient two sopping masses of fur.

A vine curled around Blaise and Kanga and Manaaki began working at reeling the bundle in, he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He coughed out a few mouthfuls of water he'd inhaled in the dunking and gave himself a quick shake, then began loping alongside the precious cargo being hauled by the lines. The power-tattoo lit up the gray atmosphere with its pale, blue light as he worked on supplementing the already existing ice - now that she was finally up the last thing he wanted was for her to drop back down - they'd been lucky to get her up in the amount of time they had - a second plunge more time trying to force her back up - it was not a luxury they could afford.

The twins made short work of the hauling and brought her up onto dry ground and he relaxed his power. Amora whimpered and danced from paw to paw anxiously, choking on a call for her mother. You didn't realize how small a wolf was until their winter pelt was soaked and you could see the slack in it contrasting with where the bones and more permanent structure actually showed. And she was so still - not a sound or movement stirred her body.

-

Violent, white, roaring, boiling water. Wide, frantic emerald eyes screams - shrieks yelps and howls. A silver-white head plunged under the surface - dark gray followed. A gasp, coughs - a dark nose and the fearful eyes once more. Lost again in the swirling white.

Seconds dragged into hours of eternities - finally the terror ended. Limp, white body on shore - gasping, dark gray. Whimpers. Invitations to play. "Get up - please get up." a careful ear trained on the motionless lips - a mother's tears. No breath, no heartbeat.

Dead

-

His heartbeat pounded in his ears - not again. Oh Power, please not again. Was her heart still beating? They had to get her heart beating.

Like an overgrown cub he pressed his massive paws against her ribs and began pushing and shoving - like a cub trying to goad a sleeping parent into wakefulness to play. "Breathe," he pleaded under his breath. "Come to life, live, breathe, please..." he was none too gentle about it either - he pumped at her side, working to force the water from her lungs and only hoping he was not inadvertently breaking her ribs.

[Meds]

Kanga, Manaaki;

It was all happening so quickly. One moment they had hit dry land and began pulling the vines, and the next Amora had stumbled back onto the ice, her eyes locked on her mother. Manaaki dropped the vine without thinking and leapt towards her, feeling again that sickening sensation in his stomach at the idea of her in danger. Kanga snarled as his brother let go, but continued hauling on the vine connected to their alphess.

The silver-furred twin knew not to get too close to Amora, what with the ice near the banks always being even-thinner, but he skidded close enough to lunge and grab at her scruff should she go under too. It was probably silly, him being so worried, but that thought didn't even occur to him for a moment.
"Amora," He said, his voice calm and soothing even in such a turbulent time. He was trying to call her back to safety, to reassure her, and to support her all with one word. Kanga's ears flicked and his eyes moved over his brother to the Betess. For the first time, he wondered if Manaaki didn't count Amora as more than just his Betess. He didn't have long to consider though, because soon enough Epsilon had Blaise out of the water and was trotting alongside her as her body (not her body, she) was hauled over to land.
Manaaki came to himself in that moment and hurried back to help Kanga. As one, the twins had the Alphess across the ice and onto safer ground in mere moments. Epsilon set right to trying to expel the water from the Alphess' lungs. Kanga spat out the vine and dashed over, wanting to make himself available anyway he could. Manaaki, however, looked toward Amora once more. He didn't go to her again, for she was a very independent wolf and he would hate for her to think that he didn't see her as a capable being, but he watched her. Until she got off of that ice and went to her mother's side, he would be watching. He wanted to physically see her paws hit the frozen ground on the side of the bank.
Only then would he go and aid the others as best he could.

[Deleted]

Epsilon arrived, the coarse vines that once wrapped around her shoulders and torso were stretched thin, the other vines from hauling fish were also deflated and exhausted. They had finished their job, Epsilon, the Twins Kanga and Manaaki had pulled her mother to safety.

Tension was palpable in the air, the atmosphere around them thick and electric as Epsilon began pumping Alphess Blaise’s ribcage in an effort to force the icy water from her lungs. Amora could no longer stand by, ankles shaking and mouth dry. No...she had to do something!

Skittering to her mothers side, she lay in the cool ice, angling her mothers skull delicately to the side so that the water would flow out. Amora cradled her mother, resting her own head on her cheek, licking her muzzle gently as she whispered encouragements. ”Remember when we were at the river with Ruko? That pheasant you caught was the first meat we ate...remember...” Amora went on, tears rimming her deep violet eyes as she looked up. She met Manaaki’s gaze, the lump in her throat preventing any more vocal action. She turned back to her mother, pressing her dry fur against her freezing wet form.

Amora usually recalled the past with bitter anger and annoyance. Thinking of young Ruko being prioritized and pampered, feeling regrets as she revised her argument with her mother. Regrets and revisions...
But now...now it seemed her memories might be the only thing linking her to her mother. If her mother died today...she and Epsilon would carry the pack...how would they explain this to Tear and Ramone? They had been there the longest, urging Blaise to take the crown...
No. She couldn’t think about the possibility of her death. Blaise had to be alive. Her mother had to be alive.