Obsidian and sliver robes stretched tight over his muscles as he responded to the packs call. He had been hunting small game outside of the pack, hoping to catch a few unaware rabbits trying to shelter from the storm only to have their burrows turning into drowning holes. The torrential rain had not stopped and thunder shook the ground and the surrounding forest as he neared the eastern border. A sudden roaring came to his ears even though he was still some distance away. He slowed, turning his head and bells pricked to the sound. A look of confusion came over his face until it dawned on him. The river. His orbs widened and the adrenaline that filled him forced his pads to pound the soft turf until he left the tree line and was overlooking a strangely powerful sight. The river was more engorged than he’d ever seen it and much wider and faster flowing, he made out the shapes across the river to be his pack mates and was suddenly furious that this natural barrier stood between him and them. He watched them, trotting up and down twenty feet of the invading riverside. They were digging trenches and at least one had left- hopefully to round up the rest and herd them away. This river would not stop swallowing land even if it stopped raining shortly.
Marx let out a howl of frustration when he saw the river greedily taking their trenches and overflowing them in mere minutes. He spotted Enigma and stopped pacing, focusing on her. A howl rang out from deep inside him- he knew he had to get across. He gave one last long look at the ivory bandit he knew he loved and swung himself around to race down the path of the river. Logs, branches and even small swampy islands floated down and surely there would be a spot where he could get at least some, if not most of the way without having to brave the rapids he. He galloped quickly downstream and almost immediately spotted something. A large collection of logs and flotsam has met a narrow point in the natural river and had slowly built up there. The river still flowed past, but it created a tentative natural bridge of sorts with more logs ramming it and creating an even bigger blockage. Marx studied it, working out the most stable path to take he also noted the water level was still much lower on the other side if this dam. He leapt into the water, only about chest height before he could clamber onto a solid, extremely slippery log. His feet slipped and his underside crashed into the log and almost winded him. He growled and crawled forward, belly still in contact with the log; bark and small branches scraped him half raw by the time he had half way across when he heard a loud groaning sound. The whole structure seemed to vibrate for a few seconds and he had to grab onto a smaller branch sticking vertically out of the log to maintain his grip and not fall into the water.
The bridge was going to give way at some point, most likely when the water levels matched or when too much weight was put on the upstream side… or if it became unstable. He stood, risking life and began leaping from one log to the next, bruising and cutting himself almost every time he landed, but it made for progress. By the time he landed in the shallows on the far side, the sliver-gray of his coat had a pink tinge to it, but he ignored the pain and swam a few metres and clambered unsteadily onto shore before shaking himself off. It had taken so much energy to cross and not fall prey to the river, he wasn’t sure he would be able to do as he planned. He began to dig a trench near the riverbank, far too near to slow it down, but he hoped the water would follow his trench and cut into the earth around the main structure, eroding away its holds on at least this side. He dug from downstream first, knowing the water would gladly taken his path once he got near upstream. He dug and dug, soil flinging everywhere and finally he had a trench about three feet deep and winding in a curve around the main logs holding the dam like structure in place. When he was done, he reared on his back legs and struck the final foot or two of soil holding the river from taking his trench. It gave way after a few strikes, collapsing and the water soon eating the soil away- it would take time to work, but now that the water was doing his work for him, it was progressing much faster. He watched it for a few moments and then forced himself to run back up to his pack mates. He soon found Enigma and the rest and called out to everyone.
Everyone needs to find high ground- NOW! Get away from the forest too- many trees will fall unpredictably. The river will rise fast even if it stops raining. STAY TOGETHER.
Without thinking, he had taken charge and beckoned them to the west, where the ground rose many feet above the river, if only slowly and would be the best place to shelter, with much younger forest that would bend and blow over instead of the grand old oaks and pines that could fell and crush you in a moments notice. Marx looked at Enigma and went to her and nosed her, urging her on if she hadn’t already moved. She could lead them and he could follow behind to make sure no wolves were left behind.
M A R X
High Commander of the Soldiers of Abendrot
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