It was not unusual for Alaric to make the decision to go on a moonlit stroll through the forest. With everything that had happened recently, he had dedicated himself to the practice even more diligently. He'd lost his temper on Caustic, and while the wolf was yet another of his tribemates that he viewed as his equal instead of a friend, Alaric had discovered that anger wasn't a planet feeling. That night he had realized that time spent alone under the moon's silent gaze helped him keep that kind of thing in check.

    On this particular night, the moon and the stars were not the only thing that decided to light up the sky. A shooting star streaked across the sky, and with it came a roar that suggested that it was perhaps closer than one might consider comfortable. He watched it fly by with curiosity furrowing his brow. Where was it going to land? Supposing that curiosity was going to kill him one of these days, he rose to his feet and began for the treeline of the clearing he had been relaxing in.

    And then the tremors began. He'd made it a number of paces into the forest when the earth began shaking with a violent fervor. The tabby stumbled backwards momentarily but quickly regained his balance. Calls from the town began ringing out—Leroy's voice, shouting for everyone to make it to the town square. They'd be safe there. Heeding the call, Alaric made for the town square in a dash.

    That was, until, a tree collapsed just in front of him. The moment seemed to play out in slow motion; one moment he was sprinting towards the town, and in the next, a tree, probably long dead and rotten and disturbed by the tremors  was falling, falling, falling, and within seconds a shooting pain exploded from just above Alaric's left eye. Every nerve in his face lit up, and for a few moments he recoiled in pain, letting out a loud wail in the process. "Fuck!" Alaric howled, blood beginning to spill from an open wound on his forehead and down the left side of his face. Tears pooled in his blue hues, but not out of sadness. His gaze, which had been trained on the ground, moved upwards to look at the assailant. One of its many thick branches had struck him.

    With a paw he wiped away the blood that was accumulating near his left eye. But now that it was gone, he could realize the full extent of his injuries: he could no longer see out of his left eye. Panic, an unfamiliar feeling for the tabby, was beginning to set in. That was his sight. He needed it. Damnit, why did this happen to him of all people? Fuck. Just as soon as the panic had come, it dissipated, and now acceptance wormed its way into his mind. Aurum had one eye, too... maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he thought. Maybe.

    Taking a moment to collect himself in the midst of an earthquake, Alaric would rise back to his paws and begin his rapid trek back to the town square, although his gait was noticeably slower than it had been previously.

    He arrived in the town square within minutes, the blood that he had wiped away replacing itself due to the sheer amount of blood vessels located in the face. The figures of those gathered in the square revealed themselves to his remaining eye as he approached. He ignored them for the most part, instead drawn to Isaac who was preparing to treat the injured. "Let me help," he spoke flatly in his best attempt to ignore the pain. He doubted that his eyesight was going to come back—why not at least put his knowledge to use if that was going to be the case?

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The fear that rattled his ribcage would swiftly subside as the first survivors came into view. Leroy dreaded the possibility of potential injury or loss of life that could befall any one of his fellow Tanglers, though seeing the copious assortment of his tribemates arrive safely at the town square had moderately alleviated him of the distress he felt. Vigenere, Keter, Selby and Ivan, Isaac, Bloth Hundr (or whatever it was), Kiira, and Alaric were among those who showed up at the destination. Varying degrees of injuries and afflictions plagued those present, but at least none appeared to threaten their lives. The faint figure of Aurum soaring through the skies provided some relief to the general as well - if there was anyone who should be out there saving people, it should be the literal angel.

When people began taking off from the town square, the urge to howl "No!" in repugnance began worming it's way up his throat. Out there, it wasn't safe. Distant structures crumbling on themselves created a cataclysmic and outright horrifying sound, and due to the threat of more structural damage being inflicted on the surrounding area, the region outside of the town square was essentially a no man's land. He resisted the temptation to shout, however - in addition to being brutally squashed, there stood a chance of the deserters rescuing someone who was trapped under rubble. The swamp dwellers were a hardy folk, and they weren't about to let a few tremors stop them from saving their friends and family's necks.

His line of vision danced between a handful of the individuals among him, particularly those who harboured nasty lacerations. The General winces in discomfort as his tongue becomes gripped between his yellowed teeth, which served as a natural reaction for observing the bloody Alaric. Poor guy, his fur had become discoloured by crimson bodily fluids. And his eye... his eye had seen better days. Wobbly pawsteps carry the wolfhound over to the tabby, who extended a helpful hand to Isaac in assisting the wounded. A generous offer, but he simply wasn't in any suitable condition to provide medical aid - if anything, he needed aid more than most. A quick glance towards Kiira tells him that the snow white fox was already tending to someone else, specifically one of Aurum's rugrats. "Hey, [member=3667]Isaac[/member]," he requests in a stern fashion, "fix him up, first."

It was then that the shaking earth began to subside. Hope began to flutter about within his system, though it retired fleetly. Going off of what his memory could recollect, aftershocks were very common for this type of thing. The initial wave of shaking had passed, but there may be more to come.

An opportunity to address everyone present. "Holy fuck, is everyone all good?" he asks, the volume of his voice raised significantly so that those around him could hear. There wasn't anyone dead in the town square. But as for the people out there, he couldn't tell. Mental images of the individuals who had yet to turn up defiled his imagination. Aurum's children, not including the one with Kiira. Beck. Moth, and all of her kids apart from Ivan. Dr. Caustic, and that other fellow he bunked with. Any one of those listed could be unharmed, injured, or deceased.

It was of the utmost importance that the people still absent were ushered to safety, but sending folks to venture out of the town square was not going to happen.

Not on foot, at least.

Leroy hastily padded towards his Proxy, who lingered by the Medic currently caring for Asvini. "[member=6881]Aurum[/member]," he says in a tone devoid of any sarcasm or satire that his voice typically housed, "we can't have nobody else leave the town square. For all we know, the ground could start shakin' again, and I ain't gonna let more people get hurt." His eyes would drift off to the cub on the ground. He feared that he'd have to dish out a difficult decision for the lion face; either function as a father and stay with his kid, or exert himself as a hero and save those in need. The male's chocolate hues return to the second-in-command.

"I ain't... I ain't demandin' nothin' of ya," he continues, a knot tying itself inside of his neck, "but it'd be promisin' if ya could get your eyes in the skies and rescue anyone ya see. There's a few faces that're missin', and I- I just need to know they're safe. I don't think Isaac 'n Kiira are enough to handle everyone that's wounded by themselves, so even just havin' Selby 'n Moth back here would be a fantastic help."

// the tremors have stopped! this could be only temporary, or they could be finished for good.