[EVENT] Coming Storms

[Kaelyndra]

Even for the cool-minded Moto'Seide, it was hard to keep from smiling. A cub's enthusiasm was infectious.

Huo had bustled up next to his sister, and bumped her very sharply with his own shoulder. As it had not rained in the desert since before they were born, the idea of it made him stiffen. His own sister was brimming with excitement, so this must have been an important event, and he certainly was not going to let her outdo him!

"Stand up straight! You're making us look bad." He quipped at her, like he was leading a band of sentinels into the desert. She was entirely too out of control. Then, when wasn't Maipe?

"The first of the rains is here," Moto'Seide was explaining. Between the torrents outside, the yelling of Hraga, and her own excited children, it was hard to speak loudly enough to be heard.

"We'll need to rouse the remaining Firekin from their dens while the others help hold the waterwells. Before you go outside, we are going to make groups and stick to them."

Moto'Seide gave an extra-pointed look towards the eldest daughter.

"If the ground starts to move underneath your feet, you need to get yourself and the rest of your group to higher ground. No matter what. This is very important." Moto'Seide wasn't going to be able to move fast enough to pick up all of them if it started to flood.

"Huo, Maipe, you are a group." Hopefully the importance of the situation would keep them on task, and force them to work together. "Lasair, you're with Jezi." By Jezi, Moto'Seide meant the twins.

"Stick together!" she repeated, and then she led her charge of cubs out into the fray.

Hopefolly

DragonsRage24

Mimsey

 

[oo Ded]

Alya looked to Naseera with a slanted brow, but made no further show of any suspicion. Now was simply not the time for it. Instead, the soldier made her way silently towards where others had gathered. There was much to be done. Rains brought change; who knew what was to come from this night.

The sight of the enthusiastic band of cubs-the Legate's cubs, she noted- brought a little half-cocked smile to her face. It was heartwarming. Such vibrant life.  

[Whimsical Blue]

Morag grinned as she caught sight of her fathers, his mate and her 'watcher from the north', Elcca. Looks like someone wasn't happy to be out in the rain, but she wasn't really surprised. She could feel the way her own fur clung to her form, slicking her sides down and making her look bedraggled.

"Were you trying to hide, Elcca?" She chuckled as she joined them, gently tsking. She nodded a greeting to her father and Shula, taking a moment to stop and shake herself all over. Not that it helped... but for a few moments she felt a little less heavy.

"We should get to work. The more work we do now, the less we'll all have to suffer later and the longer the water will hold out."  

[Eos Galvus]

"Hello! Hi!" And Mpeko didn't seem to mind the grump of any newcomers, instead dancing around like an overgrown cub, beaming with sunshiney goodness, or something equally sacchrine.

"It's raining! There's water we might be getting in the holes!"

She tried rubbing against anyone she could affectionately, and then spun mid-jump.

Huo sat, now that more were found, and his ears pinned back a bit, the male grimacing. He looked like a soaked dog and he felt... Vile.

"Can we, you know, check the holes please? I feel disgusting."

Oh, water was wonderful to drink, but on his fur? No thank you. He looked terribly offended.

Agni chuckled idly, however, stretching finally, the soldier grinning some.
'
"Oh, how nice of you ladies to join the party." He smiled, a flash of smugness and fire.

"Good to be alive today, yes?"

Oh, he was sopping, yes, but on that token pleased. While he didn't know rain, he knew this was it, and it smellt and tasted good.

He just didn't need to dance and be... Perky.

Like some certain dumbasses. He idly wondered if Elcca was still looking for a sacrifice, and his face went thoughtful.  

[Mimsey]

Rain level: Moderate

Elcca wasn't one to hide her feelings. As Morag approached, she gave a dramatic sigh, allowing the water to drench her otherwise perfect fur. "I had reasons for wishing to stay out of this," she said. Extending her paw, she attempted to ease herself into the sensation of walking upon wet sand. It was not pleasant. "But it seems I was made for suffering, as it were."

On her shoulder, Yoan ruffled his feathers. The water impeded his flight somewhat, but not his spirit. "We're happy to assist. These next few hours may be key in preserving water for the next season."

"Yes, yes. I am sure they will have plenty of water to sustain them. Why would I come to a doomed pride?" Elcca chided.

---

As the group gathered back at center alley of the pride, Hraga was continuing to issue orders. He seemed relieved to see the additional help. "Alright! Everyone, you know the drill. We need to make sure these waterwells hold. They are going to fill fast. The danger is not that we won't fill them."

Another boom of thunder. Hraga tensed. "The water is going to rise rapidly, and it will start spilling out into the desert. Once it floods out, there's not much we can do. We need to stop the flooding. Dig more holes if you have to!"

Veru grimaced, moving beside Vlam. The large lion was still hard at work, rolling stones into place. The hole was crude, and wouldn't hold water for longer than a few weeks in the brunt of the desert heat. But even temporary water wasn't to be wasted. As it was, the water already seemed dangerously high in the pools.

The white lion furrowed his brow. What happened if all of them flooded? Wouldn't that be an actual flood?


arrow You like digging trenches, right?

Roll a dice 1-10.

If you roll 1-3: The trench you are at is well built, and holding. Water pools at the bottom, and the rocks surrounding it keep it from spilling out.
If you roll 4-7: The trench you are at is quite full, and close to flooding. It will need some repairs!
If you roll an 8-9: The trench you are at is flooding! Its a lost cause!
If you roll a 10: The trench you are at floods into the trench of the person who last rolled. Both are lost! GREAT JOB.

 

[Eos Galvus]

Agni walked to the holes calmly, eying his elder warily. He wasn't used to digging water-holes, but he'd learn, quickly moving to work on his hole.  

[oo Ded]

Digging trenches. Marvelous.

Alya looked less than thrilled with the task, but set forward regardless. Staring for a moment into the moistening ground, the lioness creased her brow. Now, how exactly was she to go about this? Her head craned from side to side in a stretched before she pressed downwards, using paws so accustomed to battle now to dig into the ground.

She was pleased with her progress, watching as water pooled and rocks were pushed into place as she dug. If the rain stayed as moderate as it was, this trenching business wouldn't be too difficult. The thought made the lioness pull her gaze towards the sky for a moment. It was hard to tell how the weather would hold up. How heavy the rains would become. But damn, did it feel nice.  

[Whimsical Blue]

Morag laughed and left Elcca to her grousing. Joining the others, the spymaster began to dig, shifting sand at a steady pace. It wasn't pleasant, really, to dig wet sand in the rain, but the need of the pride outweighed what little discomforts she might be feeling now.

Once her muscles warmed, the digging got easier, her paws falling into a rythmn as she worked. The trench was progressing well, growing deeper as others came to press rocks into the walls to support the weight of the surrounding sand. It was even starting to gather water, filling slowly as the rain pattered down around the dark lioness.  

[Eos Galvus]

Huo walked after the others slowly, maw pursed shut as he moved to dig a hole, silent as 'business' mode took over.

Now, now he had work to do.  

[SilverLutz]

Mat gazed out at the rain, her yellow eyes taking it all in. She was surprised when she felt someone beside her, and she glanced up at her mother. To her delight she was told she could leave! A delighted grin lit up her face, and she bounced out into the rain.

"Whoa...it's wet!" she exclaimed as the rain came down a bit harder. Finding herself starting to get soaked, she found shelter under her mother as the large lioness stopped to talk to some other females. As she was glanced at she stood a bit taller, looking up at the new faces. At the suggestion to move, she darted out from under Azar.

"Yes! Let's go down there!" she said excitedly. She wanted to help! Even though she wasn't quite sure how she could...everyone seemed to be digging. "Can I dig too, mom?" she asked hopefully, looking up with wide eyes which blinked often to keep the rain out of them.  

[Velveteen Angel]

Sozin had heard the commotion from his den and had immediately found himself amongst the growing crowd - eager, for a moment, that perhaps war was finally upon us, but no, it was rain. He was disappointed, and yet, still rather happy at the fact that he wouldn't dehydrate and die in this new pride.

As a born and raised rogue, it would be awkward if he died just because he joined a pride.
Mtek was by his father's paws, of course, as he usually was. The cub looked puzzled.
"Father..." he said, gaining Sozin's attention. "What is that?" He asked, as rain began to wet his small form.

"Rain," Sozin explained with a sharp smirk, before coming to realise that his cubs had never seen the rain...






Unlike his son, Kiun was not even close to her father's side. Instead, she was entranced when Hraga yelled about the waterwells. Instead of hiding back with her dad, the small cub bolted towards the back alley of the pride, almost skidding into one of the rapidly filling waterwells.




Meka moved quickly with the others to begin digging new trenches. He had followed the crowd, eager to help as he could. He was excited - he remembered rain, as he was old enough to remember a time before the drought had become truly bad, but he was still excited by the rain. He was enjoying the feel of the cold on his fur once again.

NovaCracker

Just flooded your trench. |D You're welcome.

 

[Zosie]

After a swift nod, Mwale made his way towards the trenches. Others were in conversation and using this time to catch up with one another, and to marvel at the events of the day. However there was a handful that had decided to act. "Mmkay!" He mumbled, padding his way over to the waterwells. A few of others had found some too and had begun to evaluate the situation.

The one he happened upon wasn't built too badly, but needed some work as water began to pool in it rapidly. The rain dripped down the braids in his mane and ran off the curls of his chest as he bent down.

The rocks from the edges had been worn away in places and weren't in place, so he straightened them and quickly found some others to replace it. That wouldn't hold all the water in, though. He sighed to himself, and began to gently break away the sides of the hole to make it both wider and deeper. He contemplated digging another next to it, and began to do so, as rapidly as he could with his stiff foreleg.

That bloody elephant. He swore he'd curse the creature until the day he died.  

[Andranis]

At the crack of thunder, Kosuke looked up from what he was doing. The male frowned, then turned. "Shula, come help me with this, love!" He went back to furiously working at the waterwell, trying to make sure it remained secure. If they were to survive the coming season of dryness, they needed it to be good and secure, as much as the other holes. He didn't want to see another litter grow up not knowing what good, plentiful water was like. Which he had to wonder, how were his other children handling it? He offered Morag a smile, then went back to work. She was handling it very well, he had to say...

Assured that Elcca was up, Shula returned to Kosuke. She looked at the well and watched it flood into Mwale's well. Panic rose up as she dove to shove rocks up to stop it, but it was proving to be of no use. "Kosuke, it's flooding!" She looked over at Mwale, hoping he'd be able to help stop the flood going on, but it wasn't looking like it would be any use. The two wells were lost causes, and they'd have to start over again with new holes. "There has to be an easier way to DO this!" She frustratedly slapped a paw down, causing a splash in the gathering water.  

[Izzy Makani]

Titaia stood a few feet from her father and brother looking up at the rain that was falling down on her. She had to keep blinking to keep her eyes clear of water but she couldn't look away from the water falling that her father had called rain. Her fur was soaked fairly quickly in the time she had been standing out in the rain and a slight chill rippled from her head all the way down to her tail.

With one last blink to get the rain out of her eyes she turned her gaze to the ditches and the lions trying to maintain them. Many were already flooding and the lions maintaining them were trying their best to enlarge them and keep them from flooding. "Daddy why are they digging at those holes? They're full of water."

Velveteen Angel

 

[Mimsey]

Lasair followed behind his mother and sisters, his little body low to the ground as the rain continued to fall. He couldn't imagine why it was falling- this wasn't what water was supposed to do. Almost as soon as his little paws hit the wet sand, he recoiled at the watery sensation. What wasn't turning to mud simply floated in dusty streams. "I don't like this at all!" he bristled.

But it wasn't just the rain that was overwhelming. Lasair could not remember a time when the pride was in so much motion. Almost everyone seemed to be out and running in the dark, crowding around holes in desperate attempts to keep the pools from overflowing. He could even see his father from a distance, running lengths around those gathered.

---

It seemed keeping everyone from drowning themselves was a more difficult task than previously anticipated. Veru ran along some of the ditches, making a mental tally of how many they were losing. They'd already lost five. There wasn't an infinite number of holes, and if they kept losing them, the plan to conserve water would backfire into a floodplain.

"Lets spread out some," he called. "We don't want to lose any more!"

In the distance, another boom of thunder echoed across the darkened desert. With no moonlight, only faint shapes in the distance could be made out. As the roar of thunder continued, it became apparent that it might not have been thunder at all...

Elcca welcomed any opportunity to distract herself from the digging. She shucked some of the mud off her paws. "The storm may cause some rocks to fall."