[EVENT] Coming Storms

[Mimsey]

In which we take a moment to rejoice...

...and kick some freeloaders off the land.

Quote:

Almost a year of drought has ravaged the desert. Even for a pride used to water rationing, the climate has been unusually harsh. Tempers are almost perpetually on edge.

Yet, thanks to a pride wide effort, rations have worked. The sentinel outpost in the south has kept the declining stores in check. You haven't been drinking much, but at least you are still alive.

But still, the pride has waited. Through all this talk of war and bickering, one thing has been on their mind: when will the rains come?

Now, with the promise of rain in the future, we find we might not be the only creatures waiting for its return...

 

[Mimsey]

But if you are looking to be caught up to speed, check out the plot summary!

Hello, hello helloooo.

Welcome to another firekin event! Basic rules as per usual. We will be doing some plot, and some dice rolls. There may be additional prizes during the game.

Lets end this drought with a bang, eh?! You may begin at your dens if you wish, we'll be meeting in the middle.

arrow Some notations about the event!:

- We roll by dice! Events, attacks, ect. Individual rules will be announced in red bolded text for each 'event'. These are usually fairly simple. You can check out this recent RP to see how I usually run them.

- That said, your SOA is in NO DANGER. You are free to injure them if you have a low roll, but it is not needed.

- You may jump in at any time during this RP! It will be assumed your character has just been silent.

- THESE RPS SOMETIMES MOVE FAST. Please forgive us if we miss someone. NPC characters will try their best to respond to any questions and assistance given.

- Anyone who has a firekin approved may join in, even if they're still working on their duels.

- Cubs may be banned from certain rolls, it depends on how many we have.

AND OF COURSE. WE HAVE PRIZESSS.



First prize will be given out raffle style from all posts. The rest shall be a surpriiiisee....zz.

 

[Mimsey]

Quote:

They waited for four days.

At first, the clouds had appeared overhead. It wasn't the first time they'd done so, and like the child who cried wolf, very little was done about it.

The second day the clouds began to darken. This wasn't the first time that had happened either. So often a storm found itself forming over the desert, only to drift off and dump precious water out on some ungrateful steppe far off.

On the third day, there was some excitement. The waterseekers began digging holes. In fact, the hole digging operation had consumed the pride's forces, making little makeshift rain pocks throughout the desert in hopes of catching any rainfall. A few blundered about getting their hopes up. One of the pride's seers offered to sacrifice someone to the rain god. This got Elcca extra hole digging duty.

On the fourth day, the sky was black, but still no rain came. As night fell it seemed as though they might have been waiting for nothing. Perched outside his [now incredibly packed!] den, Veru found himself watching the night sky.

And suddenly- he felt a drop land on his nose.

 

[Kaelyndra]

The covering clouds trapped warmth in the desert - it was not as cold this night as it had been.

After some disagreement on what exactly bed time was, Moto'Seide had finally gotten the last of her children to sleep. They were all huddled together in a pile, Maipe and Huo kept as separate from one another as could be managed. They would fight each other in their sleep.

Once she was sure all five of them were breathing soundly, she felt at ease enough to join Veru on the outer ledge. It smelled of rain, but Moto'Seide was with the group of those that remained skeptical.

"If your hope could make the rain fall, it would." A long exhale escaped her lungs as she lowered onto the rock next to him. Their sides and shoulders touched often now, and the Legate didn't even think to make a face of disgruntlement.

Then, a second drop fell. One on her nose, one on her back. Seide turned her head to Veru and both her brows raised.

If this kept up, in just a few moments, the entire Firekin lands were going to erupt in joyous chaos.  

[Annchen]

All the excitement had rubbed off on Eld too, and he had been helped digging holes all day. Hopefully he'd get to experience his first big rain soon, but right now he was getting some well-deserved rest. Being young and single his shelter wasn't in a cave, and when the rain drops started to fall he couldn't miss it...

When the first drop fell he didn't realize what it was, and when a second drop managed to hit his eye he scrambled to his feet with a growl. The first confusion was replaced by awe when he realized what had "attacked" him.

"Rain," he said, and turned his head to the sky.  

[Whimsical Blue]

The soft patter of scattered drops was what woke Morag, her dark ears twitching before her eyes slitted open, taking a moment to orient on her surroundings.

It was such a strange sound... something she had not heard in more days than she cared to count. So much had happened, so many events crammed into a short time, that it felt far longer.

Was that... rain?

Rolling onto her stomach, the spymaster looked out from the rocky over hang she had been curled up under for the night, watching as small drops hit the dry, thirsty land. Still blurry from sleep, she simply existed for a few moments, feeling a warm joy steal over her, as though she were a cub and this her very first rain.  

[Zosie]

Mwale'Kono had moved from his den, sleepily, but warily. His time as a guard meant that he was a little on edge, most of the time. He grunted and hoisted himself up, his good leg bearing the brunt of his heavy weight.

Poking his dark-maned head of out the den, he could see a few others dotted around the lands. A low murmur, real or imaginary, was sounding out across the desert and he could sense something. The fur prickled on his neck and he set to walk ahead, but stopped, startled.

Gentle droplets of rain caught his face. He had not been here as long as some of the others, but he still knew the longing the pride had for the rain to bless them once more, and he knew how important it would be. With a smile, he bounded forward heavily. They had been rationed for so long, and hopefully now, things could change.  

[fuKurohane]

This was getting harder. Roihu had his own wounds to deal with from his recklessly excessive dueling, on top of the heavy influx of wounded soldiers from the battles with the shadowy lions from the north - whom he dared not name. Perhaps not until he met one... though he had seen what they were capable of, and felt the wary fear seeping, unspoken, through the blood of the Firekin. Everyone fears the unknown, and those few strangers that had been identified revealed few details about the nature of the group. Uncertainty aside, water had been short. As a medic, he badly needed water - to tend wounds, to break fevers - it was a basic necessity. This past year, it had been difficult enough to have enough water to go around for the pridemembers in general, much less any wounded soldiers, whose numbers were growing. He had to defer most water found for the medics to those whom he was looking after.

He felt sick, and he felt selfish, his thirst festering in his gut, making him weary, and slowing his healing. Such a festering was nipping at his rage, draining his energy and making him less rash. Perhaps then, it was what he needed, as he felt a deep enough loyalty to his kin to heal them first and foremost.

So as he lay in the hot shadow of his den, the soft whispering groans of the wounded not far off, he gazed out at the sands of the land...and he noticed a stranger sound... something he hadn't heard before. It had a smell, a humidity, something that was probably supposed to be familiar...

It cannot be, he thought, raising his head slowly, his mouth falling open. Rain?  

[Mimsey]

Veru smiled as Seide settled down beside him. As the rain began to fall down around them, the dust was purged from the air. For the first time in a long while, the air felt clear. "It seems I'll have to hope for more things with more regularity." he winked. "Perhaps some snow next."

Almost on cue, a low boom of thunder began, and the sky really opened up. The light rain continued until it was a gentle downpour, clearing sand from stones and waking up noisy cubs.

Lasair, having only just barely gotten to sleep, rushed out from his den to see what was going on. But the sudden sensation of being attacked by a thousand droplets sent him scrambling back into the cave. For many of the pride, this would be the first time they had ever seen rain.

Veru was about to call him back, when another voice could be heard yelling about the dens.

It was Hraga.

arrow "Everyone! We need to make sure the waterwells are holding! This isn't time to play!"

 

[Wylde Roses]

What was this? The white lioness awoke from a light doze with a start as the first drops of water hit her body. Stretching out with a yawn, Ran opened her eyes and looked about to see what could have jerked her out of sleep. She had been resting for a few minutes, having gotten some free time to herself to spare on such an idle, but necessary, pursuit, and then.... something had hit her?

Blinking blue eyes, Ran peered up at the sky, which hung with the same thick, heavy gray clouds that had been building for the past four days. She had been born in the height of the water crisis, and had never seen clouds such as these built up so much. While she knew what rain was, and that it was something that used to be very real, she had likened it to a myth that had been told to her as a cub.

So when a large, fat droplet landed on her upturned nose and made her snort, Ran almost sat down from the surprise. Water from the sky was real?!?

"This... is this really rain?"

Almost as soon as the question escaped her mouth, the skies opened and water dripped steadily over her, making her yelp with surprise from the sensation. Quickly enough, however, she regathered her composure. Was someone yelling? Oh, right - they needed to try and save as much of this water-from-the-sky as they could!  

[Kaelyndra]

"Snow?"

There was no such thing in the deserts of the Firekin. It grew chill, but it did not precipitate and freeze in the same moment except to produce hail. Or, it simply had not in Moto'Seide's lifetime.

So, snow, that was a foreign word. A word that had not been brought to her attention until just now.

It was Hraga's booming voice which brought her back to attention. Moto'Seide was on her feet, squinting in the coming rain. Her tongue clicked and she looked back towards Veru.

"One of us should go."

Tact demanded it be her, but Hraga was already organizing. Moto'Seide glanced behind her. The smell of wet fur was filling her nose.

"It is rain, Lesair." Seide's voice was calm, and she followed her son back under the overhang and to the other cubs. Those who had not already been woken up by Hraga's loud voice were being nudged with a rude, wet nose.

Kenna, who had been huddled close to her sister, blinked wearily and wiggled against the warm body and away from the cool nose. However, both her eyes popped open as she yawned. There was no alarm in her calm, dark eyes, for she had both siblings and parents close. As if she had all the time in the world, she stretched each of her muscles and licked a stray fleck of dust on her fur.

Her brother did exactly the opposite. Huo awake with quite the start. The large male cub had dropped quite a few inches after Lasair's body had squirmed out from under him. Huo had jumped up, hissing and spitting, only to find there was nothing. He may or may not have stepped on Maipe's tail in the process of getting out of the once-warm pile of siblings.

"Stay close together," he heard his mother's voice warned. It sounded excited, like there was something good about to happen. It sounded more like the roof was falling in on them. Huo put his ears back.

Hopefolly

DragonsRage24

 

[Annchen]

It was strange to be this wet, and Eld kept trying to wipe the rain out of his eyes with his paw. It wasn't working that well, and he tried to shake it off instead. A little bit better, but at the rate it was pouring down his mane was soon plastered against his face again. He stopped prancing around as he heard Hraga call in the distance. His military training kicked in and he ran over to see what he could do.

"How can I help," he asked. He wasn't trained in water management, but he could take orders.  

[SilverLutz]

The commotion outside was what roused Mate'moto from her nap. She yawned and glanced around, finding her family still asleep. She squeezed out from between her siblings and padded over to the mouth of the den. She knew she wasn't allowed to go too far from it, but now that she was a little older she could at least step her paws outside.

When she did, though, she hopped right back in. Water was falling from the sky! She stared up at it in awe, mouth slightly open, eyes wide. What was that? She had never seen it before? Was the sky broken? "What..."

But she heard from the lions outside what it was. Rain. Her ears shot up and her tail swung happily back and forth. This was what they had been waiting for, then! For the sky to break. She knew there had to be water up there since it was so blue! Now it was grey, so it was all falling down to them. How nice of the sky!  

[Whimsical Blue]

Hearing excited voices from all over, Morag rose lazily from her bed and stretched, a single flick of her tail given before she stepped out into the gentle rain. The cold wetness was a shock and she gasped softly, raising her face into it just to feel it run down her fur. If she had been a religious person, she might have felt the touch of the divine at that moment, but as it was, the joy she felt only blossomed more, spreading through her to make her breath come faster.

Dropping her head and shaking the water from her eyes, she trotted towards the main part of the den-site, observing what others were doing and making sure there was nothing untoward going on. With this unexpected weather, you could expect that some people might act unexpectedly as well.... which only reminded her that they were in a cold war, which dampened her joy somewhat.

The confusion going on now would be a good distraction for spies or assassins to make their way inside unnoticed and do some mischief. As the spymaster walked, she stopped to talk with any watcher she found, her soft voice giving orders to keep their eyes open and investigate anything unusual. They could not afford to be less than vigilant, especially this night.