A hole, a hole, a hole in the desert.

[Cairo]

He had finally learned the true name of the old Crux Grotto territory. Rio De Tialoc. It was interesting to hear of the name, and after ensuring that the border patrols were taken care of, and nothing else had to be done, Cairo's curiosity had gotten the best of him. He had decided that he would go investigate the old territory, simply to feel like he truly belonged with his pack.

Cairo was slowly getting more and more integrated in the ranks of Crux Grotto, with every wolf he met. Saosin, Anberlin, Josalyn, Azalia, Gabriel, Gedeon and Kalin. He had met those wolves, but the wolf knew full well that there were more to be had. The Grotto had more than just eight wolves within it, including himself, Cairo knew. Granted, he wasn't sure how many more wolves, but he was determined to find out.

As the big black wolf padded toward the old pack territory, he prepared himself for what he might see. From what he had heard, the wolves had been chased away by a dreadful fire, and it had engulfed the entire territory. After all, if it hadn't, they probably wouldn't have had to den with the Kingdom of Tornade for as long as they had. Admittedly, the black brute hadn't ever seen the aftermath of a fire before, nor had he been close to one. It was going to be a new experience for him, no doubt.

When he finally arrived, Cairo couldn't believe what he saw.

The area was still quite blackened, though there was a bit of greenery coming back. What once must have been covered in ash was now covered mostly in bare ground, most likely because of the wind carrying the ash away. The entire area looked as though it could have been quite beautiful at one point, had the fire not swept through the area. Shaking his head slowly, Cairo realized for the first time what the other pack members must have been going through.

"This is horrible," Cairo muttered to himself, padding along the ground toward the lake. He knew better than to drink from it, for the water was probably contaminated with the aftermath of the fire, but when he seated himself, he could see flashes of gold every now and then. Goldfish. He thought to himself, chuckling under his breath. The fish weren't numerous, but they were a sign that life would continue to go on, even after this sort of disaster.

[Clementine]

The searing heat was all too familiar, perhaps even more in her head now than actually hot out. She had come straight from the desert, where the sun blared down relentlessly at the wolves below, scorching with the power of a thousand fires. The sun was still high in the sky, although it was headed in a downwards arch, nearing sunset and slowly pulling the heat away with it. Had the wolf been capable of sweating, she would have been drenched with the salty liquid, her fur sticking to her body and smelling similar to a damp dog. However, she simply panted, salmon hued tongue lolling from her parted jaws as she trotted on wards, in search of water to cool off her heated hide.

The ebon tipped ears on the female swivelled constantly, her senses on full alert as she caught sight of Goldfish Harbour and made a bee-line for it, her muscular stature weaving between faint shadows as her paws pounded the barren ground silently. The girl’s milky hued bodice lowered as she neared the water’s edge, her nostrils’ flaring rapidly as the scent of a wolf bombarded her. Wait – a Crux Grotto male. Anberlin? Pushing forward, Clementine caught sight of a large, dark male, charcoal enveloping his frame almost completely. That isn't Anberlin... Anxiety flickered in her chrome eyes as she gazed at him a moment and the slipped from the shadows to show herself.

A black mask wove its way across her feminine features, as well as staining her legs down to her large, scarred paws. The shadowy colour tipped her snake-like tail that waved slowly behind her, mimicking the smooth, effortless movements of a serpent ready to strike. The rest of her body was wrapped in a sleek, crème coat that would have glimmered with much care had she not have been injured the previous night. Jagged crimson scabs were raked along her underside, tearing into the right side of her muzzle and haunches. Dried blood matted in her pelt, evidence of a struggle that resulted in a great pain and the loss of much blood.

Despite the bedraggled, battle-ready appearance of the thick female, her smoky grey eyes held a gleam of kindness and amusement as she looked from the male before her, to the crystal aqua only a few feet away. She had yet to venture this far within the Doctrine district, and was mildly shocked to see the remnants of great destruction at the greedy hands of fire, and her calm gaze swept and took in the ashes and soot that marred the earth. Before she spoke, Clementine rolled back her shoulders and took a step nearer the waters edge, turning her eyes onto the Crux Grotto pack mate with a small smile, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I just came from the desert by Taper Shelves, and I desperately need to cool off... Do you mind if I...?" Dipping her muzzle towards the make-shift lake, Clemmy took another slight step and tilted her head to the side in an inquisitive manner.

[Cairo]

Cairo understood now, the sort of devastation and heartbreak a wildfire could bring. The brute hadn't inquired about any of this to Anberlin, but he had a feeling that a wolf or two had been lost to the blaze, and he wasn't sure the pack had gotten over that grief yet. That sort of loss wasn't easy to handle, Cairo knew that for a fact. Hell, he knew that first hand. After all, he'd lost his father.

For a moment, Cairo's mind transported him back in time. Back when he was younger, and less somber. He once had been a joyful sort, laughing and cracking jokes whenever he wanted to, with wild abandon. He hadn't had a care in the world, aside from keeping Arish and Luxor safe. That was, until the night his father had been slain in the middle of the pack's clearing, for everyone to see. Cairo had been forced to watch, because if he moved, Arish and Luxor would have been able to see the entire thing. Cairo watched as his father's throat was torn out, and ripped open, before the prone figure was tossed to the ground, like a piece of garbage.

Surfacing from the memory with a sharp intake of air, the black brute quivered once, before calming himself. It was all in the past now, and the offense had been taken care of. However, as Cairo took a deep breath in, dispelling the last of the unease from his chest, he caught a whiff of Grotto scent, and a slow smile found it's way to his muzzle. When the she wolf spoke, Cairo turned toward her, the slight grin still on his black muzzle, and a warm gleam within those dark teal eyes of his.

"Be my guest, friend. I don't suggest drinking from it, though. I'm sure it was contaminated with ash, and who knows if enough time has passed for the water to flow clean again," Cairo said, shrugging his shoulders. Then his eyes raked down her form, taking in the injuries. "My, looks like you had yourself quite the battle. Name's Cairo Halistair, what's yours?" Tilting his head, he grinned again.

[Clementine]

Clementine’s mind was reeling as she awaited the male’s response, gazing at his large, muscular build. The build of a male, that for some reason, she herself had. Broad shoulders, sloping down to wide hips, tendons and muscles rippled along the female’s back as she shifted slightly. Her body was, for the most part, toned and sleek, although she did carry some of the extra weight that females tended to have over males. Unfortunately, all that jiggly weight was around her stomach, and so Clemmy refused to lie on her side, exposing her midriff. Despite her confident stance, and cool, calm gaze, the girl was self conscious like an adolescent and hid it as best she could.

The male turned, his ebony pelt catching the light as he moved, shining brilliantly every now and then. His dark lips were twisted slightly, revealing a gentle smile that softened his features and warmed the encounter considerably. The pack mate’s eyes were dazzling, mirroring the hue of a lake during a storm, the deep, blue-green of the water. Teal. Birds occasionally carried the color, but rarely, and Clementine felt her smile widen as the male spoke. The anxiety of coming across a malicious, cruel wolf subsided, and the female exhaled slowly, releasing the tension in the shoulders and that had been tightening within her chest as she waited.

"It's odd, you can smell the ash and the smoky scent for miles, but nothing really prepares you for the sight, does it?" Clemmy mused, a bitter sadness glinting in her eyes as she swept her gaze across the land, taking in the miserable grey and black that covered the area. Imagination kicking into overdrive, the female pictured the tall, twisting trees that used to stand at the water’s edge, the metallic colors of the leaves in the fall as the Changing began and their hues were altered before they fell, giving way to winter. Closing her eyes a moment, Clem allowed memories to wash over her, remembering the autumn – yellow, gold, orange, bronze, red, crimson – that had surrounded her young life as she grew and matured in her first year of life.

Padding slowly to the lake’s edge, the wolf’s nostrils flared as she sniffed at the cool liquid, agreeing that it was more than likely still contaminated. As the male spoke once more, heat flooded Clementine’s face and she chuckled gently, pulling her ears back in embarrassment. "Funny story, really... got trapped in a collapsing den back in the desert... Those jagged, old rocks have teeth, I swear," a gentle laugh slipped from her lips once more, before she continued, "Clementine Ruu Yuani... It's a pleasure, Cairo."

[Cairo]

Looking at the sight before him, Cairo shook his head. It was such a tragedy, to see a place that was once no doubt breathtakingly beautiful, to be eliminated into nothing more than a few straggling bits of green, amidst an ocean of gray, burnt ground. The ash wasn't there so much, anymore, but it was clear from the color of the ground it had been at one point in time. Perhaps with some more rain, the rest of the pioneer vegetation would appear, helping to make the area a bit more lush, and hospitable.

Something about the idea of someone else living in Crux Grotto's old home didn't sit right with the boy. They might have moved out, but this was the place that so many memories called home, it was a place that had seen a lot, and had no doubt supported the pack since they came about. It was a place that Anberlin had inhabited for quite some time, if Cairo was any judge of exactly how long the pack had been around. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Cairo looked at the girl.

Her words held nothing but truth. Though the area distinctly smelled of ash and smoke, and every now and then you could get a whiff of what it must have smelled like during the fire itself, that was in no way shape or form any preparation for the devastation you saw when you set foot in the actual territory. it was almost an entirely different story from what your nose told you, though it gave you a bit of.. premonition, perhaps.

"It really isn't. I'm afraid our noses probably couldn't take it if it were any good sign of how devastated the area was," Cairo commented back, dark teal eyes sweeping the area once more, a sense of loss clear in their depths. Soon enough, however, they found their way back to the she wolf, and it was then that he realized that she was rather interesting to look at, with her dusty tan base coat, and darker legs and face. It wasn't often he saw a wolf so intriguingly hued.

When her explanation reached his ears, Cairo couldn't help but nod. "Yes, those inanimate objects tend to have a mind of their own, no matter what anyone else says. It's quite frightening sometimes, really." Cairo gave her a broad, warm grin and a wink to show that he was merely jesting, to lighten up their mood. He didn't enjoy it when the conversation was heavy, and sullen, unless he was actually feeling sullen himself.

[Clementine]

Clementine was unaware of the area being the previous pack land to her new found family, and the loss in the male’s eyes as he spoke was unknown to her. Offering a gentle smile, the masked femme nodded slowly, breaking eye contact with those deep, mysterious teal lenses as her own gaze took one last sweep of their surroundings. Yes, disaster seemed imminent in this world, whether for wolves or humans alike. The reminder of the fall of those two-legged beasts caused a mighty shiver to race down Clemmy’s spine. Man had been so advanced, in seemed, their intelligence superb and their machines and structures far beyond the knowledge of the animals.

And still, their demise came upon them swiftly and wiped them out, erasing them from the earth. How did the animals survive when they knew far less than the humans? Perhaps the intelligence was different... perhaps the wolf knows the ways of nature in ways that Man never knew, and perhaps it was the Earth herself who chose to destroy the eager and capable two-legged creatures. Shrugging the philosophical thoughts away and to the back of her mind, returning the steely-hued orbs that brightened her dark face back to the male,"I think you are exactly right with that, friend, as awfully unfortunate as it is."

A bright smile and a winking eye accompanied his next statement, and Clementine laughed heartily, her enjoyment of this wolf now clearly decided. Flashing a toothy grin of her, the female slipped into the water to ease her burning wounds, and cast the male a look back over her shoulder, shouting, "Frightening? Mister Cairo, it is down right horrifying! The things nightmares are made of!" Wagging her tail as she waded farther out, Clem raised the charcoal tipped banner higher, avoiding the gentle pull of the steam on her delicate appendage."This water, however... Purely divine," she purred, closing her eyes with a dopey smile and allowing her ears to flop out to the sides.