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Life collasped onto the tree, completely spent. Her body felt alien to her, soaked to the bone, tired, sore, never had she felt like this, not ever. She tried to shift into a slightly more comfortable position but only succeeded into flopping over onto her side.

She saw the two young ones, both looking soaked and miserable, huddling together and was grateful that the filly had survived. The bucks who'd helped her were pulling themselves out of the water. Her spirit reached out to try and help them but her body refused to move.

Safe..they were..safe...thank the swamp...

Life's laid her head down on the trunk of tree, nearly nose to nose with the Legendary that had helped to save her. Her vision was dark and blurry, she was going to faint.

She saw the elder buck stand and slip into the water. Her heart lurched and she weakly extended one of her hooves in his direction. But her body had given up.

"Sorry...." she whispered to him. Darkness engulfed her and the doe passed out.

Light stood on a branch in one of the trees as the floor raged under her, a soaked foxbun clutched in her teeth by the scruff.

She'd picked the critter up out of the water as it was swept past her. Light herself was paddling in the water, looking for higher land. Like other kimeti, she'd managed to haul herself up onto a tree branch and out of danger.

The critter in her mouth felt limp and she worried she might have been too late. She shook the creature by nodding her head up and down, hoping to jolt a response out of it. It worked. The foxbun began to wriggle in her grip, squeaking and chattering in fright.

"Hey, hey hey"Light mumbled around a mouthful of fur "ish o..."

The entire tree she was perched in shook violently. Light looked around, suddenly terrified that her safe haven was going to fall into the water and she'd be at the flood's mercy again.

Instead, what she saw was a tree trunk had rammed into the tree she'd taken refuge in. A doe with blue swirls and spots was on the back side of the tree and seemed disgruntled at the sudden stop.

"What're you think you're..." Light began to shout at the doe before a large CRACK interrupted her rant. The upright tree was creaking ominously. It wasn't going to be upright very much longer. Cursing the unknown doe and her stupid tree trunk, Light was left with no other option. Foxbun clutched tightly in her teeth, she leapt off the branch and onto the fallen log, other side of the other doe.

There was another huge CRACK and the tree Light had just been resting on fell over with loud creaks and groans. This dislodged the log both doe and foxbun were now on. The fallen tree pushed the other to the side as the flood surged and suddenly, the doe, Light, and the foxbun she saved, were speeding down the current on their one log raft.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

Always appreciated it greatly that he didn't have to explain to the crippled doe that her legs would work better in the water and was relieved when she slid herself partially across his back. The two of them swimming together would hopefully be enough to keep them both afloat and lead her sister along. Come what may, afterlife or ... well. High water, actually, the buck knew they were going to make it. They're going to make it.

The grip on his tail became frantic and obviously terrified and he bent his neck back to look at the doe holding on to him. Speaking loudly he addressed the darker doe, hoping she'd be able to hear him. "Hollyhock is it? That's a pretty name, I can't imagine the dream you had for that one." He winked at her sister with a smarmy smile and kept his eyes peeled for oncoming debris. The good news is that it seemed things were starting to calm down, not considerably, but enough that they were definitely going to make it. Calling back to Hollyhock again he had a question for her. "If you can hear anything else coming or feel it in the currents in the water, do you think you can let me know? Pull on my tail a little for something far away and really yank on it for something close by."

It was lucky for these ladies that Always was something of a genius.

It was the best ride of her life, dangerous and terrifying and nerve-wracking and just plain glorious, all rolled into one!

And then it stopped.

Curses and worse raged through Warning’s head, and she snarled angrily. Childishly, she stamped her foot on the tree. “Move!” she demanded, glaring at her perch. Abandoning that, she glared at the other doe, starting to roar back. “What am I?! – you and your thrice-damned tree!” About to launch herself at the irritating doe, Warning stopped herself. Instead, she grinned fiercely at the ominous creaking. Something was going to give, and her ride would continue! Warning cackled joyously, something that ended up being a little maniacal given the conditions.

The standing tree finally gave up – it sank, didn’t swim – and with a final explosive CRACK! they were loose. Warning’s jubilant scream twined with the other doe’s fearful yell. Unwanted passengers or not, as long as that doe stayed on her half of the tree with her freaky foxbun, Warning was fine with her. Especially with this fun ride! The tree whapped something, and looking back, Warning was fairly certain it was something living. She shrugged, turning back to watch their journey with a brutal smile. She spared a glance for the – admittedly – pretty doe.

And then life was all about the rush, the wind in her ears and the spray splashing up. Casualties? Didn’t matter. What mattered was staying on this tree. Laughter was torn away by the wind.

“Best! Day! EVER!”

The grey kiokote, safe on the perch (and hoping that the great grandfather cypress's roots are firm and deep enough to withstand the pressures on the tree), looks around with wide, dark eyes at the devastation. The kimeti grouped on the platform are a motley crew, and the kiokote is pleased to note that there are a good many foals and younglings that have been saved.

Perhaps the swamp is not such an inhospitable place, thinks the kiokote -- and then the train of thought is cut abruptly when, with a deafening CRACK, another cypress gives way; the platform the gathering rests on judders and bounces on the current. The kiokote flattens himself against the grandfather cypress in alarm, hearing more screams in the distance. Perhaps more trees gave way.

A dark head turns towards the stag, "Your kind -- Legendaries, right? Why did you not see this coming? How often must these floods happen in the swamp?" It's not accusatory, no -- just baffled. Wondering. What has happened to the Motherfather of the kimeti to justify this?

The bright-eyed doe emerged from the water like an angel - but as she dragged the vine up with her, Dark could not help but wonder if it would hold. Still...the waters were not as fierce as before, and what other choice did they have? Without both of them on the vine, it would be difficult to pull two foals to ground. She looked back at Far with the doe's question - the cheetah chirped, rubbed a circle around the foals twice, and stepped away.

"He can swim."

Moving back to the group, she told Far in a low voice, "if anything happens, grab my tail," before gently nudging the foals towards the vine, "just bite - here - don't let go. You'll be safe with us; everything will be just fine, don't worry." Before she picked up her end, she looked straight at the doe, and with complete gratitude, said, "Thank you."

There was just something short of sublime when it came to catastrophes. She reveled in the heightened emotional state disasters brought. Bodies drifted by, sharp shrills for lost ones punctuated the air, faces twisted with survival instincts, and a few desperate ones tried to seek purchase on their tree. She curled her lips deeper into a genuine smile. She felt so alive. And yet interest at finally seeing the kiokote warred with her dominant, homicidal emotion. She was having so much fun. She never wanted it to end.

Warily, Gloom pulled back Look-see from the edge of their tree. He knew it wouldn't last and Doom was getting in one of those moods again. Unbeknownst to her, she was all but humming with excited energy as her quick, playful eyes darted to and fro at the mass-scale carnage. He, on the other hand, kept on watchful eye on their pride and joy while taking research notes on the flood. He was observing how long it took for various lifeforms to drown. It was a good thing so many small animals kept on trying to climb on their tree. All in the name of research, he maimed them to see how their injuries slowed them down. He also fed Look-see and himself. They had to keep up their energy. His eyes took on the effects of trees falling to the pull of the current, noting it was akin to breaking natural dams. Good to know for future purposes.

To say that Look-See was hard of seeing was like saying bees gave lovekisses. The flood had washed away all her scent markers. All the knowledge she had accrued regarding unique scents was for naught. There weren't many light sources thanks to the clouds. She fretted. She had become obsolete. She wasn't useful to Doom or Gloom. In sheer panic, she hurriedly stepped to the side, but not without tripping and falling into the flood they all tried so hard to avoid. She screamed in alarm.

And just like that, Doom's fun had come to an end. They didn't even have to think. Into the fray they both jumped, urging the distance between themselves and Look-See to shorten. A foxbun had crossed into Doom's path. She bit into its neck and flung the little s**t into the air. She didn't want to know what Gloom was riding that gave him extra height.