Ashfall
Supplies were running low.
Not that there had been much to begin with.
Ciron moved briskly through the camp, glancing from tent to tent and trying to keep his expression neutral as he moved. It had been days since the first major eruption - the outfall of which had mercifully missed them - and the barricade their group had been building was finally starting to look sturdy enough to actually help protect them when the next came along.
He watched with quiet fascination as the dragons reinforced the great curved wall with clay, stone, and scavenged metal scraps alike. A distant rumble shook the ground, and the builders quickly ducked behind their project, shielding themselves in case of another eruption.
After a minute or so, the quake passed, and they uneasily resumed work.
"Is it usually this bad?" he asked, though none of the workers responded with more than a nervous glance and uncertain shrug.
"Certainly not," came a voice from behind him.
Ciron tried to mask his slight jump as politely stepping to the side as Altiel came to join him, looking over the barricade with calm scrutiny. "Volcanic eruptions are supposed to be
rare occurrences. Even here."
Ciron looked up at the ash-clouded sky, gritting his teeth before shaking his head. He took a quick breath as he went over his options. "Perhaps we should leave, at least until whatever this is calms down. Do you have territory in Water? Or perhaps Ice?"
"There aren't enough resources to make the trip," Altiel dismissed, his voice flat. "Particularly for you and I - and I have no faith in scrounging for what we need during a move - too much is burned away."
"I wouldn't have asked to come here if I had known how bad it would be."
"I'm sure," Valtiel replied, briefly glancing to his son before resuming watching his clan. "And you aren't to be blamed for not knowing."
A few minutes of silence passed between them as the other dragons seemed desperate to work harder and faster in their presence.
"I will be getting several groups together in the next few days," Valtiel finally spoke, again turning to face him. "To salvage what we can from nearby ruins - and to see if anything is still growing off to the North."
"I should go with one," Ciron offered quickly.
"I'm not eager to let you out of my sight."
"But I
am fire, it'll be much safer for me," he countered. "I'd like to be of use. It's important to me."
Valtiel sighed, bowing his head in thought.
"I will... consider it," he replied hesitantly."
Heyy folks long time no update again. Sorry! Being pregnant has been consistently challenging but I promise I'm doing my best! Thanks so much for sticking with me!
Oh I also wanted to ask: do you guys want to hear about what's happening with Veldr? I've been considering writing a chapter for him but I also don't want to make all the split POVs annoying.
@
Dovalore, @
Valishtu, @
Gloomyvibes, @
AnimeLover9631, @
Akash, @
tigressRising, @
ArgenteaMoon, @
mintSMASH, @
StormWendjule, @
IronPen, @
Solaristigres, @
Acuarela, @
Rivix, @
Keet, @
catmeow1, @
Sharuna, @
owlstar7, @
Fallacies, @
Cngx, @
Arinemera, @
Weredogalism, @
Kosaa, @
astrallis, @
ShadewingRising, @
Kyaritty, @
Chalkolate, @
Luteia, @
Drachenschwinge, @
Kaskade, @
InfiniteIrony, @
Darunia, @
OrderedChaos, @
Kaskade, @
Viperfishy, @
SallyJane, @
huskies709, @
mmuted, @
Pastie, @
cybo, @
Synchros, @
Damindra, @
Velvetpaws, @
Macrocosm, @
Sabariel, @
demitri, @
PipDragon40, @
Dreamcoyote, @
casdeth, @
Khazraj, @
DreamSlayer, @
SoftDemon, @
Petall, @
Borkbean, @
dragonstars12q, @
Erithuet, @
nwn