hurricane event [day 1, evening]

[Lexx]

There was no sunlight as the storm howled on, and eventually, only the subtle darkening of the clouds overhead signified that the day had begun to draw to its close. Naiad curled up as tightly as she could for warmth, pressed up against the wall of the cave. It was shockingly cool here, for the inside of the cave was at least half of the temperature of the tropical world outside, if not lower. It was also nearly completely lightless now. Closing her eyes hardly made a difference, she thought tiredly, and rested her head on her paws. She, Azain, and Halcyon had one thing in common; obvious distrust from all the true members of the pack. They had gazed at them with suspicion and dislike earlier, and now they ignored her, as she shivered alone. Her ears were still pricked for any footsteps, and her nose was still hopefully parsing scents as they came to her, for even though she had a decent map in her mind of where her packmates had arranged themselves, she still wished for company. Perhaps, she thought, Azain and Halcyon would settle by her. She tried to think soothing thoughts, and ignored the itch of the ocean under her skin. Her mind conjured a picture of Azain, windblown, bright-eyed, staring down at the wreckage of the storm below the mountain. Had she looked like that to Salome, standing at the edge of the sea? Somehow, she imagined there had been a lot less joyful innocence in her face, and instead...something else. Something strange, and even terrible, to have made his lovely eyes flicker so uneasily, so sadly, at her. No, she told herself. Think about anything else. Her stomach twisted obligingly in a cry of hunger, and she bit her lip, her forehead creasing, as she concentrated on ignoring it. There was a hierarchy in who was fed first, and Naiad, at the bottom of the pack as a probationary member, would simply have to wait. But a fish would be nice, her thoughts whispered all the same. Well, then, a distraction was in order. She pushed herself to her feet, and carefully made her way to a small group of wolves, set back from the sloping path up to the mouth of the cave. “Would you mind if I joined you?” she asked them softly, unsure of who, exactly, she addressed. "speaking" table by lexx

[Ray]

WORDS: 555

TAGS: Lexx

Surrounded by strange wolves, it was an understatement to say that Halcyon was feeling extremely uncomfortable. There were about four or five others that were situated around him in varying states of rest, some laying, some sitting, but despite their relaxed positions there was an air of forced politeness that left Halcyon feeling distinctly out of his depth.

He had been standing on his own a little distance away from the cave's entrance, because the sound of faraway thunder and the constant drumming of the rain was strangely calming - though the howl of the wind reminded him that outside their craggy abode the storm still raged with a vengeance, the cacophony of noise helped create a false sense of space around him to combat the overwhelming closeness of so many bodies. Within the narrow cavern the entire pack seemed to breathe as one, a huge entity he could not help but be aware of, and staying as close as possible to the cave mouth was the only thing Halcyon could think of to stave off the antsy feeling he was getting under his fur. And besides, if anyone asked, he could just say he was keeping watch. It was unlikely that anyone or anything would be wandering so far up the mountain this deep into the hurricane, but one could never be too cautious.

So it was that while he had been situated thusly, a few of the pack wolves had come up to the cave's entrance too, presumably to grab a breath of relatively-fresh air - or as fresh as humid, muddy-smelling, rain-soaked air could be. Then, noticing the unfamiliar wolf, they had settled down around him as well - whether to keep an eye on him or just to catch a break from the main bulk of the pack he did not know, but now there were more wolves he needed to impress. Which was just fantastic.

They had not started needling him immediately but had begun with a delicately stilted round of introductions, after which they had fallen silent for an awkwardly long period of time. Halcyon knew he was not a charmer, but he was especially unskilled at small talk, and it seemed as though these wolves were expecting him to steer the conversation (or lack of) towards something even remotely pleasant. Instead he sat there, mute as a rock, and cast his solemn gaze around the small circle as if his thoughts weren't churning as uncomfortably as his stomach was.

It was just starting to become too much when another wolf approached them, and Halcyon quickly recognised her as Naiad, the strangely lovely white wolf that he had met that morning. It was a small relief to see someone he recognised who was also in the same plight as him - or at least, something similar, and the fur along his back settled down some. She gently inquired in a soft voice if she could join, and Halcyon surprised himself by quickly speaking up.

"Please do, Naiad," he said, shuffling his forepaws wretchedly. The others were busy looking over at her, so he too sent a glance her way - one of mildly disguised distress, which he hoped would not send her into a panic but perhaps she could either help him with diverting the pack wolves' attention or getting them to disperse entirely.

NOTES ; hope this is okay!! <3

＃ENY ADOXOGRAPHY

[Kenren]

She needs wide open spaces Room to make her big mistakes Somehow the close confines of the cave still had yet to put Azain into a sour mood, though her belly was starting to have the first rumblings of hunger. Azain was a grazer, for lack of a better word, and spent a lot of her day plucking berries or the small fish as she passed by. Being cooped up here, without even the regularity of meals, was probably going to be what eventually broke her. But was there something she might be able to do? Azain hadn't worked much with her new powers, and other than feeling oddly deaf in this cave, she wasn't completely sure what she could do. Maybe... maybe she could grow some berries? Was that possible? She wasn't sure, but it would definitely (probably) ease the irritability even she could sense beginning to stir around her. Wolves had begun to bunch together in small groups, and though Azain longed to be in the middle of one of those warm piles, she knew better than to try and barge in. So, instead, she moved once more to the mouth of the cave. The air was warm there, and it sent a shudder down her spine. There were a lot of other wolves gathered here as well, and she paused uncertainly for a moment - however, she quickly spotted one wolf, then another - the two she'd met that morning. Tail wagging enthusiastically, she pounced up to the group, emboldened. Then, about to speak, she suddenly stopped and remembered her goal. She glanced at Naiad, then Halcyon - skipped over the others she didn't know, then picked her way rather haphazardly around them to reach the cave's entrance. The wind was still brutal, pushing and tearing at her and stealing her breath away, but she ignored it now as she plopped down onto the drenched rock. She glanced around, searching - but there was hardly anywhere for a plant to grow. Definitely nowhere she could make a berry bush sprout from nothing. Her ears and tail wilted and she rubbed her chin against the stone, ignoring the pelting rain and the looks she was very likely getting from the group. "Never mind," she grumbled cryptically, scooting herself around until she was laying facing the others. Her eyes immediately traveled to the white of the pretty wolf - of Naiad, naturally catching the outlier. She smiled again, tail thumping down. She shivered once, the wet soaking into her thin body, and she finally lifted her head again. She scooted toward the mass of fur, ignoring the trepidation with which she was watched until she was nearly upon them - then she stopped. Not all of the faces were friendly, and while that wasn't much different than normal, it seemed pronounced in the darkness. "It's too cold in there, and too wet out here," she complained, though it was more of a sigh than a real whine. It was stating the obvious, but she couldn't help it. There was too much silence coming from too many wolves and it was bound to make her head spin. speaking

CODING BY TEMPEST.

Lexx Ray