smoke in the distance. [open]

[lydia]

ooc: timeline is during/after the chaos thread.

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/262wfpe.jpg] The problem with living in dens beneath the ground, especially caverns, was that sound had a habit of echoing. Whether it was the whistling wind above one of the many entrances or a swift bend in the river a good mile away, it was always possible to hear it. True silence was rare; sound waves had a bad habit of bouncing off the hard rock surfaces. Today was no exception. Faint barks and howls could be heard, the voices faded and distorted the longer they traveled. Lydia woke from her afternoon nap with a lazy yawn, pink tongue curling between parted jaws. During her time in the Republic she'd gotten used to the constant influx of noises. There were days when they still managed to disturb her, though. Twin ears twitched in annoyance. This was one of those days. Her back cracked as she stretched out, joints loosening up after her nice snooze. She had to admit, her curiosity was peaked. It wasn't often that distant voices were a source of disturbance. It was too bad they were too far off to be informational. For all she knew, she had just slept through some party the pack was having without her. The young lyxxus trotted out of her preferred sleeping quarter, still a little sleepy eyed as she walked. Thankfully, it didn't take long for her eyes to adjust to the nearly absent light. It was when she finally emerged from the caverns that she had to pause and blink. The sunlight stung, forcing her to shy away with her eyes squished tightly shut. Rapidly Lydia blinked, trying to make the dancing spots disappear. It took several aganozingly long seconds, but when finally she readjusted she couldn't believe her eyes. Off in the distance, billowing up from the plains, was thick, grey smoke. The dry grasses were being eaten by a wildfire. If her eyes hadn't confirmed it, her nose certainly would have. The land was thick with the stench of burning vegetation. Had those calls come from pack mates caught in the fire? Obi! For a moment her mind panicked. What if Obi was trapped out there? Lydia shook her head. She couldn't worry about that right now. Her home was in danger. Turning back around, she partway entered the hole she'd just come out of. Her lilting soprano was an octive higher than usual, her panic clear as she called out to anyone that might be around. "Fire! The plains are on fire!" Hopefully (and provided she wasn't the only one left at the densite) the others would hear her calls. A part of her wanted to run back in and look for the others, but a stronger part of her told her to stay right where she was. She needed to keep watch. The others would be smart enough to come to her, right? She certainly hoped so. There was no telling what sort of damage had already been done.

[herbi]

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[atrb=background,http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/Eldarwen5/Wonder%20Why/Tables/ZMid.png] Fortunately, just as Lydia had hoped there was someone else in the den. Zoraia hadn't been sleeping, simply sitting alone in the near silence. The dens weren't nearly as secluded and peaceful as the various other parts of the plains, but for some reason after waking this morning she had just felt like remaining indoors. That choice had possibly saved her from any danger, though the myou wasn't yet aware of that fact. She shifted as she heard clearer voices bouncing off of the walls this time, ears twitching as she listened to the words. Fire? She was up swiftly, and raced through the dens attempting to find the caller, with all of the reverberation bouncing around the place it was a somewhat difficult thing to do, but by luck she had chosen to simply head outside look for herself, and shout back allow the caller to know she was there, outside of the dens now. By chance she had headed to the entrance that Lydia was now sat beside, and the myou exited to the dens and to the lyxxus' side. She didn't great Lydia though, eyes widening in shock as she gazed over at the rising smoke and the scent of burning met her nose. "No..." She muttered softly, unable to believe this was happening to her home, just as she was coming to accept it as being that.

[lydia]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/262wfpe.jpg] A shadow crept up beside her, signaling the presence of another. Lydia turned her head as the Myou settled next to her, worry written into her expression. She didn't know Zoraia very well at all, wasn't even sure they'd ever had a real conversation. But, now was not the time for social graces. Her own mind was running a mile a minute as she turned to gaze back into the distance, imaging the worst. "What do we do?" The question was quiet, almost rhetorical. Usually the Lyxxus had a strong head on her shoulders. She never let in room for doubt or worry. Decisions took milliseconds to make and consequences were never a cause for anxiety. But now... Now her heart was on the line. She didn't know what to do. Her family was out there. Obi was out there. If Obi had been in the dens, he would have shown up by now. The pair had a habit of finding each other. It was rare to see one without the other. The fact that he wasn't here now meant that he must have been out near the fire. He was in trouble. He was in trouble and there was nothing she could do to help. All she could do was sit there and stare out into the distance, instinct telling her to run while her head and heart demanded she stay. Behind her, her multiple tails twitched in agitation. Hopefully everyone was alright.

[herbi]

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[atrb=background,http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/Eldarwen5/Wonder%20Why/Tables/ZMid.png] What should they do? Zoraia had no idea. A part of her, the rabbit soul was itching to run away and escape the danger a natural instinct for it conflicting with her emotions. Both souls did know though, that they couldn't leave like this. Home and the closest thing that Zoe had to a family was here, there was no way she could simply leave. But she wasn't sure what other option she actually had. "I don't know..." Zoe murmured softly, dark eyes watching as the smoke coiled up in the air, still hardly able to believe that this was happening. She tore her gaze away, peering into the darkness of the tunnels hoping to see the rest of the pack emerge unharmed. "We can't be the only ones here..." She spoke her thoughts aloud, though her voice was faint. She barely knew the rest of the pack, Fyodor and Keely were the two she had known best, the pair persuading her to join the pack in the first place. To have lost them though, any one of them was a difficult idea to face. Eyes looked away from the tunnel, no other sounds travelling through it now and no one else emerging, instead her gaze rested at her paws, lost as to what to do.

[lydia]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/262wfpe.jpg] "I hope not..." Her voice was a breathy whisper, trailing down on a forlorn note. For several long moments she let her eyes drift closed. Her breathing stilled as she held her breath, blocking out the smell of smoke. Maybe when she turned her senses back on this would all just be a dream. It couldn't possibly be real, right? She didn't want to believe that it was real. But she could only go so long without oxygen. Violet eyes snapped open as she took a deep breath, coughing from the smoky air. While it wasn't so bad when breathing normally, the scent in combination with the strong gulp made it overbearing. Several minutes were spent sputtering as she tried to breath shallowly enough that she got enough air without the icky, smoky taste. That was the one problem with scent and taste being so closely tied together neurologically. The bad smells always tasted extra disgusting and it took everything she had to try and not vomit. When finally her stomach stopped doing somersaults and her breaths evened out, Lydia turned her gaze of Zoraia. Her mind was still on the rabbit myou's last words. Hoping her pack mate would catch on quickly, she pointed her nose to the sky and let out a long, low (well as low as her voice could get) howl. Hopefully the others would be near enough to hear it, whether they were in the dens or out of them. It was all she could think of to do.

[herbi]

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[atrb=background,http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/Eldarwen5/Wonder%20Why/Tables/ZMid.png] It wasn't until the wolf at her side began to cough and splutter that Zoe again turned her attention towards her. Dark eyes glanced about anxiously, a part of her attempting to work out what had happened, though settled upon the lyxxus in the end. "Are you alright?" She questioned, the concern and confusion in her voice. The smoke was travelling, though her own breathing was retaining a regular pattern, relatively unaffected so what had happened to Lydia? She wasn't aware that the problem had been somewhat self-inflicted. With her breath regained though, the lyxxus simply lifted her head and let out a howl. For a second, Zoraia simply listened to the sound, her rabbit soul made her quite the quiet creature and howling was something that she very rarely did. Still, she was a wolf and of course had the capability to howl, just never actually felt she really needed to. She had to now though, understanding that this call was to the rest of the pack. Lifting her head slightly, Zoe joined in with her own song, though it was a quieter weaker sound than Lydia's.