Joey

Joey moved to the lake where he got in and rinsed himself off before looking to those who survived. HE sent out a call hoping those that had been at Aspen would hear him. They had to pass through here after all.

Darkia and Cassanova stood together neare the lake cleaning each others wounds.

The leopard seals slid into the lake.

Cloudbreaker & Erathi

A lone mare was already at the lake by the time Joey and the ragged remains of the Haunters arrived. Cloudbreaker was pacing at the edge of the bank, swishing her tail to keep the flies off of her wounds. She was clearly anxious and troubled, and her distress doubled at the sight of the blooded bull elephant and those that trailed out of the forest after him. Missing from the ragtag band was her own mother. "Joey, where... where is everyone?" The mare looked to the treeline, seeing her brother Cassanova, along with Darkia. But Frostlit was nowhere to be seen. Greyfell, Mikia... not even the deer were present here. There were no canines either.

A small shape swooped down from the sky, circled over the group, then landed on the stump of a long-dead tree. Erathi had trailed the survivors from the Ruins, while her dad had remained there to circle their home and survey the damage. "Joey! What do we do?"

Joey

Joey looked to those that showed up they were few. HE watched the seals slide into the lake. They have either scattered or diedhe said then looked to erathi.we wait here for Senka and the other warriors to see us, they have to pass right by here to get homehe said.

Cassanova moved to his sister and began grooming her. Darkia joined the two. She rested her head on the back of her brother her eyes shut.

Luke & Koray

Koray had missed it. His entire group had missed not only the battle, but the takeover as well. He was fighting his own battle... unwillingly. He and Luke made it out mostly in one piece, save for Koray's damaged left eye rendered useless, and Luke's torn up face and a missing canine tooth.

They traveled up along the riverbank with every intention of crossing it once they neared Galar's Marsh. The quake had rattled them, but it wasn't the only thing leaving them covered in mud and blood. And with the landscape appearing unfamiliar, they completely past Galar's Marsh and ended up on the banks of Pike's Lake. Luke's legs were weakening. He just wanted to sleep. but there, in the distance, he saw Joey, and soon a few of the other Haunters. "Senka..." He called weakly before collapsing. Luke rushed to his side, nudging him gently, then more urgently, then outright shoving him.

Tersek & Others

"I'll watch from above." Erathi proclaimed, and took to the skies once more, to circle high overhead and scout for friends and potential foes while her comrades rested below. Cloud was not nearly so task-oriented as the raptor, and was still reeling from the terror of the quake and the sea of felines that had swarmed the Ruins like a relentless plague. She could not shake Velvet's words either, or the stench of blood and the sick crack of bones she felt upon crushing a packmate. Greatly disturbed, the young mare could do little more than stand there and fret while he brother and Darkia approached.

In the distance, a haggard group of canines were approaching from the opposite stretch of bank, slowly making their way to the rendezvous that Joey had so wisely picked out. Walking in front, Tersek lead his four packmates in a silent, grim march, his powerful body showing signs of strain as he forced a wounded back leg to keep up with the other limbs. The co-lead was struggling, but not nearly so much as his two sons where. Huerosan suffered from a broken front leg, and Drekh was lagging pitifully as he fought to expand his lungs against painfully fractured ribs and a myriad of contusions. Cavan had been spared any significant damage, and only carried a few superficial cuts and bumps. Only Monarda had made it out unscathed; at least in a physical sense.

"Koray?" She was the first to spot the big cat and his canine companion. Tersek's dual colored eyes, however, honed in on Joey. All the fatigue seemed to drain from his body in a heartbeat as his head shot up and he propelled himself forward, sprinting in a gimped gate to reach the bloodied elephant. "What are you guys doing here? Where's the rest of the pack?"

Joey

Joey knew it was rare to see a full grown bull elephant bloody so when Terserk came racing over he was sure the canine had a feeling. THe nuova alba attacked, the earth quake gave them an advantage. We'r on that made it , i thinkHe spoke.

Darkia & Cassanova stood with their sibling.

The leopard seals poked came n land.

Senka, her daughter and Son Tyrant were also ambling their way back. Senka back leg bled she couldn't remember if it was from the fight or hte land slide. However; she did not let it hinder her at all. She saw the group and her rage began to boil as she caught what joey said. Her half sisters were probably part of it. Then her eyes saw her father and despite the pain in her back leg she rushed over to him. Father!She said and licked his face. She looked to the group.They will not get away with this, old family members or not they have made it quiet clear they are against us. The nuova alba will fall and we will take our home back. However; we should not rush things, we shall rest here heal and discuss further more what needs to be doneShe looked up at Erathi. If you feel safe enough I would ask you to keep an eye on those scroundels and let me know what their doingShe called up. She then turned back to her father.

Her daughter Myriad Had a broken tail and half of her left ear was missing and she was a bit muddy.

Tyrant was nearly all fine just shaken up. He paused at the mention of Nuova alba. He growled slightly.

Luke & Koray

"They took..." Koray's exasperated attempt to speak was futile, his breath seemingly gone from his tired lungs. He coughed weakly, a spray of blood leaving his mouth. Luke picked up where the co-leader left off, doing his best to explain the situation to his packmates. "We were ambushed by humans on our way to Aspen Grove. I don't know how long they had us in their cages, but... they made us... do things." He gulped, his voice quavering ever so slightly. "Pitted us against each other like monsters." He averted hi eye from Senka, clearly ashamed. "Now... now I'm not sure who the monster is. They made me kill her. They made me kill Shadi, Senka! I didn't want to, but--" By this time, Luke's strong demeanor was replaced by sobbing. "Look at what they turned me into, Senka! Turning on my own packmate! I felt like I had no control, and..." His legs could no longer hold him up and he toppled to the ground. "They have Greyfell... and the others..." He cast his eyes to the south, toward Manahcob Downs. "Tainted can help us. My little girl, she can help us. And Nightshade - she's always been loyal to the Haunters. When we recover, we can seek their help, and maybe get our family and our home back."

Tersek & Others

Tersek was silent. A good chunk of the pack had been taken by humans, another by a landslide, and yet another by the Nuova Alba? What remained was a scattered, bloodied mess, a sad fraction of what the Haunters use to be. The brute's eyes narrowed as he scanned through the depleted warriors standing along the bank, and seeing absolutely no canines amongst them, a low growl echoed through his sore and battered chest, "We're in no shape to return to the Ruins like this." That as much he agreed with, looking to Senka, "We can't stay here; humans frequent this place, and we've in the open. There's hardly any land here that can be used defensively to our benefit. We need-"

"I know of a place." Sounding greatly wearied, almost more soul-sick than physically beat, Cavan nevertheless spoke up when the need for a temporary home was brought into discussion. "There is a patch of land to the south, a place the humans constructed but no longer inhabit. There is a building there, and fences that would offer us shelter from both the elements and surprise attacks." The old wolf looked between Senka and Tersek, then too Luke, "We can rest tonight, and flesh out plans for our future. Including the rescue of Greyfell and the others."

Senka

Senka began to pace despite the slight cut to her hind quarter. Her mouth open due to panting. She listened to them all,What about the leapard seals? She would not leave any of them behind.

Mena and mark and their children listened and watched.

Joey looked to the seals. I could carry one with my trunk periodically during the trek to this place, However; is there a large enough water source for them?He said. The leapard seals could shuffle along with them and he could carry one periodically to give them a rest.

Luke & Koray

Luke was almost oblivious to the scene around him. Their home was stolen from them, their former leader had been captured, many Haunters were unaccounted for, but all he could think of was the pained but forgiving eyes of Shadi in her final moments.

Koray didn't leave Luke's side, but his eyes were on Senka. His little girl, all grown up, leading the Haunters to safety. "Orinoco and Peril were trying to escape when we left, but even if they did, I doubt they could survive long away from warmth. They will seek out the Ruins again. Should that happen, I fear for their lives." The caiman and the coral snake respectively, being cold-blooded, were at risk of hypothermia. "But the seals - does the river lead to the building? The seals could swim downstream, and we could follow the river."

Tersek & Others

"There is no large body of water within the area, but it's not terribly far from the coast. They may be better off swimming along Requiem's River, and remaining in the delta while we regroup and recover." Cavan suggested, looking for the most practical solution to move the massive seals, "If we're attacked again, and they're caught on dry land, they'll be easy pickings." The old wolf turned his muzzle to the south, towards the abandoned Wolf Center where he'd spent several months of his early life. It was not a place he was keen on returning to, but his mind had turned towards the defensive, and the sturdy buildings and fences would give them the same protection that the Ruins always had.

Senka

Senka listened and paced.That will have to do, we can have erathi check on them periodically but they should be fine so long as their not caught out or to far from waterShe said nodding to the seals. we shall accompany them there and then go on to our destinationShe said calmly.

Mena and the others nodded.

Joey listened.