Mute & Don

Mute trotted along, following after his sister, Don. He was a mute, hense the name. He couldn't speak, in other words. Quite a thing to not be able to do, especially when you had so many things running through your mind that you just wanted to blurt out. He drew in deep breaths, jaws seeming to be glued shut. He knew he couldn't talk, but sometimes his jaws just flung open to say something, but he never would. And never will. He slowed and sat next to Don, gazing around boredly.

Don stood there, wondering what to do and where to go. She knew her duty though, and it was to talk to Mute every once in a while to be sure he wouldn't become too, well... There was no exact word for it, but somewhat lonely. He was better and friendlier when he had someone to occasionally say stuff to him so he wouldn't become too stressed. Don sighed, looking about. "Well, an offer for a home, yet none for adventures... We'll continue along, if we have no luck here." she stated, now laying on her belly.

Mute sighed as well but stayed up. His auds swiveled. His maw slightly opened, but closed soon after. It was no use.

*Cracking*

Nearby, on the ice, something dark glided underneath. Suddenly there was a dull thud, and the ice quaked upwards. Silence. Then another thud, and the ice strained and squeaked, lifting upwards a few inches in one particular spot...

Mute & Don

Mute's auds swiveled to a particular spot out on the ice as it cracked and ripped apart. He would usually grow a bit frightened but something like this only made him curious. He tried to say something with his broken ol' maw but silence only followed. Then, auds pricked forward and tail being held high, he started toward the area where the ice was beginning to sprout upward. What was it?

Don, startled, hopping slightly, but landing upon her belly once more. She then was on her paws in a flash, realizing what was going on. She took a few steps back, but seeing her brother go nearer to the strange moving ice she became alarmed and her fur stood on end. "MUTE! Get back here! You don't know what's out there!" she yelled out shrilly to him, though it was more of a gruff noise than anything.
She watched as Mute continued going out, and stopped where the frozen water began. Now he was smarter than to step on it. Raising his dial and straining to peek through the cracks in the ice at such a distance he shakily lifted his front end forward. His maw moved in a barking position and then closed shut as he continued to watch, partly on his paws and partly on his behind.

Don grew slightly angered as her brother refused to come back. She began lifting her paws up and down, slowly taking a small step forward every few seconds. She was ready to jump in and pull him out of that peice of land if something happened to jump out or strike at him.

Galar

The ice settled back down, though now it was a concave area where water began to seep into. A few seconds of silence followed before the ice shifted upwards in one swift movement, renting the air with the eerie splintering and moaning of breaking ice. Two large, dark jaws emerged from the broken ice, lined with sickle-like teeth. The jaws rose high out of the water, followed along by the rest of a head and two, speckled-gold eyes.

Then the large jaws, belonging to a formidible-looking alligator, came slamming down on the ice. A large crack was sent scything across the frozen sheet, splitting its way right under the patch where Don stood. Now the ice groaned and quaked slightly, but didn't give in yet; although one false step could cause a sudden cave-in.

With a good-sized hole successfully made in the ice, Galar rested for a moment with his head out of the water, taking in a few deep breaths. It had been a good three hours since he last took a breath, and his icehole had since froze up again. As the alligator replenished his starved lungs, his eyes grew wide a moment. The cold made him terribly sluggish and cold, and he only now realized that two wolves were nearby.

Mute & Don

Mute's jaws opened wide open in a scene of a loud yelp as the ice shifted and splintered. He wheeled around and bolted, avoiding the cracks. He looked back and his eyes slightly widened as he seen the alligator. His lips formed the shape of a frightened howl as he ran back, whizzing past Don and to safety. Once he was standing next to a tree he turned around and tried desperatly to bark to his sister, but of course no sounds were released. He stared with wide eyes at Don, searching the ground area below her before going crazy. If he couldn't use his voice, he could always use his phyisical actions. He began jumping around and hopping, maw still opening and closing with great intensity as he strained to get his sister's wanted attention.

Don's jaw dropped as the ice flickered around her. Oh great. Now what? With a yeowl, she jumped up slightly and began lightly padding away, from the ice. Hopefully it wouldn't break completely under her wieght. She started for shore, unaware of the alligator.

Galar

For a moment, his brain was confused with the cold. He was torn between wanted to talk to the wolf and wanting to strike out at these creatures that were running from him. But luckily, as the cold hampered his thoughts, it also hampered his movements and appetites. Like the rest of the alligators here, Galar couldn't eat in the winter anyways. But having little good judgement at the moment, the large reptilian hoisted his front legs up onto the ice, which promptly caused a very large section to cave in, sending him back down under the murky depths with a great splash.

It worked like dominos now. The waves of water that Galar left in his wake now battered and strained the already split ice that Don was scrurrying to get off of. The great sheet of frozen solid cracked like broken glass along the line of the original break, sending the ice and anything on top of it into the water. Don would have to make a hasty leap to save herself from a freezing bath.

Is if oblivious to the dilemna he just caused, Galar rose up again, blinking slowly at the two wolves. "Ah, good to see wolves again!" His words were painfully slow and soft, but it was just possible to make out with gator was saying.

Mute & Don

Mute watched, horrified, at the scene that played out before him. He had since stopped moving around and stood high, paws glued to the ground below him. His maw was opened as his orbs followed his fleeing sister's movements, wanting to call out to her, or maybe say something to the gator that he now recognized the animal as being, but his broken vocal cords just didn't supply him with the power to speak. He narrowed his eyes as he tried to pick out his sister's form in the mass of ice and water that splashed everywhere.

Don's eyes widened as she seen the ice split all over the place below her and in front. She wanted to turn around, but knew the ice was shattered back there as well. She continued onward, her legs reaching out as far as she could make them. She strained to keep her footing on the slippery frozen water, and nearly tumbled, but soon regained her posture and kept running. She realized, at the last moment, that she would have to leap, and so pushed off with all her might, propelling herself over the freezing water below, and onto the other side. She landed gracelessly and stumbled, sliding quickly to the shore and nearly flipping on land. She spun around once on her paws again and searched, orbs soon finding the large alligator. She slightly bared her fangs, but noticed he seemed to not be threatening. "Who are you?" she asked, suspicious. Had he done that on prupose?

Soon Mute came running over carefully and hopped next to Don, staring at Galar. His maw opened, orbs focused, every sense alert. He himself was very springy at this point.

Galar

He slided slowly forward in the water, now that there was a clear pathway towards the shore. "Galar. How about you? Haven't spoken to a wolf for a while." He added, getting closer and closer. And unlike his usual, cheerful voice, Galar sounded rather monotone right now, which made it rather hard for him to convey his good intents.

Mute & Don

Mute continued to look at this alligator, not sure yet. But soon his auds pricked forward all the way and he became overly curious. He opened his maw to say something, and then began pushing his nose through the snow and over the ice. He sniffed at it wildly, tail brushing back and fourth intently. He was standing right next to his sister, and nearly batted her with his wicked banner.

Don sighed, shaking her dial slowly. Then she turned her orbs to look at her brother, and she took in a deep breath. "It's ice, you idiot," she said, as if he had just asked the question. She had a very unique way to understand his movements. She could nearly read him perfectly. "And we'll be finding some food soon enough." she then finished, rolling her eyes before looking back to Galar.
He looked at his sis and grinned, dial and banner high and unmoving now. His auds were still pricked as he then turned toward Galar, laying on his belly, which slightly rumbled.
"I'm Don. He's my brother, Mute." she stated, introducing themselves. Or she introduced them, actually, since he obviously couldn't. But then she noticed the gator's last words, and she grew curious. "Haven't spoken to one for a while? How is that so? We're everywhere." she then asked, auds swiveling. How interesting... Maybe he ate them so they stayed away? Sitting back on her sleek haunches she watched him, waiting for his reply.

Galar

His eyes narrowed in a grinning way as he watched Mute's antics. That fact that the wolf couldn't speak hadn't hit Galar yet, so he went on to reply to Don, "Too cold, really. Winter is the time to sleep." The alligator explained first, then added in a casual manner, which would have been more passionately said if he had more energy in his chilled body, "Plus, the other gators around here like to eat the wolves." Galar turned his large head slowly to Mute, "Are you hungry? I've got some food, if you'd like it."

Mute & Don

Mute looked at Galar with curious eyes. His dial tilted to the side in a quizical manner before his maw parted, only revealing glittering fangs and a rough tongue. He sighed, auds flickering. Darn... He couldn't answer. He was very hungry though, and wanted something to feast upon. Soon he turned his orbs to stare at his sister, panting. He licked his chops and began glaring at her, mouth finally closed, nares quivering. His body was stiff and unmoving, as was his eyes.

Don sent a warning glance to her brother before thinking. Her own dial tilted just a bit. "Eat?" she asked, auds pricking as the word caught her attention. "Eat wolves? No wonder you haven't talked to one in a while. Ahh, Mute and me are just passing through, actually, and weren't planning on being eaten..." she stated, thinking slightly. Nope, nothing in her memory book saying to be in a gator's stomach. She then remembered his question to Mute. She suddenly broke the silence. "Uhh, he can't talk, unfortunatly... But he trys to get things across with his movements, and facial expressions, stuff like that. Anyway, he could use some food right now, if you don't mind?" she then added, looking at Galar.
She looked over to Mute, who was silently searching around him with his wandering eyes, as if the food was somewhere nearby him.

Galar

The reptilian tilted his massive head to the side a bit, "Can't talk?" As his mind worked painfully slow over the possible reasons for Mute's.. well, his 'muteness', Don went on. Ah, facial expressions. Galar was definitely not good at reading those, for his own species couldn't use facial expressions as communication. Still, he was better at it than other gators. "I hope you like deer!" Galar stated next, his eyes lighting up a bit. The reptile slid back into the water and out of sight.

He was gone for a good two or three minutes before his bulky form broke through the ice-laden waters which hadn't the time to freeze over yet. In his jaws were the soggy remains of a deer; the front half of one, anyway. The carcass had been stuffed conviniently under a submerged log for future use, and because of the cold, it hadn't decomposed too badly since it was caught a few months ago. Still, it carried a rank odor, and the fur was missing here and there in great patches.

Galar toted the carcass to the shore and set it down. "That ought to be plenty. Eat as much as you like."

Mute and Don

Mute listened to the little conversation, auds swiveling as they ranted on about food and his "un-ability" to speak. He tilted his own dial a bit when Galar did and hopped up onto his paws, staring curiously. It was a pain to not be able to say anything. He wouldn't be able to stress it enough if he even could. He yawned lightly before slowly stepping forward, daintly along the shore once the gator disappeared beneath the water.

Don kept her orbs on Galar, auds pricked. "Yeah, can't talk... We do like deer, though!" she piped up gleefully, pouncing her front end forward. She padded to the shore and looked into the water, orbs straining to see underneath the top, but it was, of course, impossible. She then watched as he came back up, her mind now focusing mostly on the deer carcess. It may look icky to humans and other animals, but to her it looked pretty darn good. She nodded and bounded forward, but politely, toward the free food. Once she reached it, she bent her neck down and lowered herself onto her belly, ripping away at the stinky meat, ignoring the oder, even though it seemed to sting at her nares.

Mute's orbs lit up powerfully at the carcess and he immedietly sprinted forward, right at it, and pounced, on top of it. He bit and tore into it, not caring at all about the scent or looks. It was just as good as a fresh peice of dead deer, he guessed. He held a big grin as he chewed, banner waving from side to side happily.

Don ate quietly, staring at her brother. Where had his own manners gone? Oh well. He was a bit too hungry to manage those right now, anyway. "Thanks for the meal." she stated, enjoying the taste. It had been a while.

Galar & *Tremor*

He gave a toothy smile; which just involved opening his jaws enough so that all his teeth were clearly viseable. Many creatures found this gesture less than friendly looking, but most of his friends had come to understand the gator's attempts at showing gestures. "No problem! Say, do you two live in the Valley?" Galar loved talking to the wolves so much that he had begun trying to bribe the lupines to come to his marsh more often, by offering them food and what-not.

Suddenly, the water trembled and a light shudder shoke the ground beneath the wolves. All around the marsh, large cracks were sent fingering out across the unbroken parts of the ice. Though slow to react to the strange happening, Galar narrowed his eyes. "Do you feel that?"

After a few moments, a little stream of bubbles rose up from the water. The odor of rotten eggs quickly filled the air as more of these bubbles rose up from the murky depths of the lake.

Mute & Don

Mute kept his attention on the food, not even glancing up when Galar spoke. He was only interested in the deer right now. That was one thing good for not being able to speak. It gave no reason to reply to others when you were busy. Heh, Mute liked that. He continued to rip away, even when the water and earth trembled as it did. But when the new stinky scent came up with the bubbling water his nose wrinkled and he lifted his dial, maw opened as both orbs narrowed.

Don's own orbs changed, but they widened. She lifted herself onto her haunches again and looked to Galar. "Yeah, what is it?" she asked worriedly, wondering what in the world that rocking sensation was. Soon her nose wrinkled just like her brothers and she coughed rapidly. "And what's that horrid stench!?" she said loudly, not being able to stand it. She continued to cough, but lightly this time, banner stuck up in the air like a flag. What the?

Galar

Galar now registered the scent and gave a low grumble, "I don't know..." The odor became very thick in the air as more of the bubbles seeped up through the marsh bottom. The stench was caused by a high consentration of sulfur gas, which had been released from the ground during the earthquake. Although it was a very potent odor, it was not harmful. But what was coming next... it could be deadly.

Without warning, the water seemed to come live. All around, the ice writhed up and down and broke up as the water went into violent turmoil. Galar was flipped on his back and thrashed wildly to right himself as the water seemed to have come to life. Here and there, fish, turtles alligators, and other water creatures could be seen getting jostled around by the angry waters. The ground where Mute and Don stood didn't tremor or quake, even though the water looked as if an earthqake had hit it.

Mute and Don, and any other creatures nearby, would begin to feel very light-headed now. But other than the stench of sulfur, no other odor could be detected...

Mute & Don

Mute suddenly flung his dial upward, but then stood still after that, facing the water, nose still crinkled. He bared his fangs and pulled his lips back in the way of a snarl, though of course no sound came. Only the gurgling if saliva in his throat. He then soon felt light-headed, and began wobbling upon his paws. He looked dazed as he went this way and that, but he had enough sense to get away from the live waters, orbs wide and full of fear. He began to trot away, closer to his sister, when he stumbled and collapsed right then and there. His body was motionless, and he felt the light sprinkles of water nearby on his pelt.

Don's body tensed as the water came alive. She yelped and leapt backward, wanting to get away and out of the wave's reach-- if any of it came to the shore. She started away from it, but soon felt the same symtoms as her brother, and she wobbled, but was able to keep her footing, and was smarter than to keep on going. She stood, trying to remain still, but the feeling overcame her, and she nearly tumbled head-first to the ground. "Wha...?" she said slowly and quietly, as she struggled to keep herself up.

Galar

Several birds flying low overhead, and those perched in nearby trees, began to fall earthward. Many landed in the waters where they quickly drowned. Others lay limply on the ground.

The water quickly returned to normal, and slowly, the bubbling sulfur slowed down until it stopped all together. Galar had pulled himself half-way out of the water as he looked to the wolves with confusion. Breathing at a much slower rate than the warm-blooded lupines, it took him a while to take in the noxious air and become dizzy himself. "Humans?" He responded, his voice even harder to understand now. He had been tranquilized once, several years ago, and remembered the light-headedness that had overtaken him. Yet he saw no humans around.

Galar's eyes rolled back slightly and his head slump to the ground. A pain began to throb in the back of his skull, and the same pain could be felt in all those around the marsh. As darkness threatened to take him over, the alligator managed to draw in a ragged breath to speak, "Starlit! The farm... need help..."

Mute & Don

Mute felt even more dizzy, but kept himself in line. He was like the birds on land; just laying there limply. His breathing was soft and smooth, but a pain, like with Galar and the other animals, he felt a pain in his dial, which seemed to throb furiously. He yawned, and tightly closed his eyes right after, taking the pain, but trying to relieve it at the same time.

Don could still understand Galar, despite his unusual voice. She couldn't reply though, and nearly stumbled, but caught herself. Her head whizzed as her mind played about with the seem-to-be toxic stuff that they had breathed in. She shook her dial violently when the pain came, throbbing just with as much force as with her brother. She managed to keep cool, but inside she was falling apart and her mind seemed to not be working right. Her auds swiveled forward to hear the gator's words, and she thought. "Starlit? Farm?" she whispered quietly to herself. Hmm, maybe he was talking about that farm she had heard animals talking about. She would give it a go. Maybe the residents there could help them. She shook her head once more before turning and running off. "Watch Galar while I go to... The farm!" she howled back to Mute as she raced over the marsh to get help.