IT'S A LONG WAY DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE RIVER.
The days had been getting longer and hotter, and with the heat came more and more water sucked into the air in evaporation. Everyone who was anyone knew the water cycle, evaporation, condensation, all that shit. Arrow sure did know it well, she was an anyone after all. Eventually, the water had to go somewhere, and, normally, it would just go back down onto the swamp, no care in the world. Just a little bit more water for the gators as the drops fell through the leaves of the trees.

This time was different though. The heat had been so bad the past few days - and not to mention that little heat wave the swamp had gone through that short time ago - there had been more water than usual that had been sucked into the sky. The first sign something had gone wrong was when Arrow had heard the thunder rumble through the sky, and felt the electricity of lightning crackle through the air. It had woken the Luminary up, and she had certainly not wanted to be awake at that hour. Grumbling , the feline would stretch out, a large yawn leaving her maw before padding out of her house and into the humid swamp air.
The second sign something was wrong was when she saw the crocodiles. They were  something common, seen often from the swamp dwellers, but what wasn’t common was seeing them move all in one motion, seemingly trying to get away from something. Even crocs had their limits, she guessed. They scrambled, their weird clawed hands stomping across the muddy swamp and into town. It annoyed the luminary to a point, seeing the town that she had lived in so long be dirtied by nasty feet, but she was used to that by now, animals simply walked into the camp without warning it seemed, more often than not.

The third sign was the water. It was what the crocodiles had been running from, she knew that, she wasn’t stupid. But when she saw it, it took a second to register. It was slow at first, the level of water rising and eventually seeping into the town that Tanglewood had reside in for years, but then it got quicker as the rain soon poured down, and she took a step back. “Get your fucking asses out of those houses and move!” The Luminary shouted, tail lashing as she quickly turned around to go back into her house, to wake up the sleeping bodies that were inside before running out once more, banging on doors and moving on quickly. “The town’s flooding, so go to higher ground and help those who need it. Make sure no one’s left behind.”

EVERY OCCASION HAS ITS DISCUSSION—


a scream from his mother and he jolted out of bed, shouting for his siblings to wake up. evacuation? he burst out of the house and skidded to a stop next to her having tracked her scent. "WHAT is going on, mother?" he had noticed the heat, yes, but not the crocodiles. his maw parted, licked his lips. "oh."


—AND EVERY GENERATION HAS ITS MEN

"SPEECH"

[W]isker

IT'S A LONG WAY DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE RIVER.
She opened her mouth to say something to Kiara, something along the lines of if they couldn't hear her banging down their door, then their death at the water's hand wasn't her fault. Of course she wouldn't have meant it, she'd give her life to keep as many safe, if not all of them. The woman held the gaze of Mei for a bit too long, nodding as the shape of a long and twisty dragon she had never seen before morphed before her eyes. "Be careful, Mei." Was all she could offer with a slight crack to her voice, a suspicious lack of crudeness that was typical of her.

As more and more swamp members began to exit out their homes, the water began to rise more, quicker and more furious, following in the wake of the alligators as the rain poured down, harder and harder. Buildings began to shake as Arrow made her way from house to house, trying her best to get all those within her group awake and out, moving away from the water. Her want to make sure no one died would seem to be her downfall, however. As the houses shook more and the water caught up with her, Arrow found herself swept up by the current, dragged along the bottom of the muddy swamp as the water rose, rose high on the houses and far above any animal could stand on the ground. She couldn't swim, had never needed to swim against a current so strong, didn't have the practice.

She wouldn't need it after she hit the side of a house, eyes widening for a moment as she watched it get ripped from the ground, now floating out to the edge of the territory, out to see, and then she was out. Unconcious the body was pulled this way and that, hitting houses and the objects within them as they carefully float out to sea. The town was gone, and in that moment the luminary who led it was as well. Long live the spitfire feline, for she had died once again.

EVERY OCCASION HAS ITS DISCUSSION—


he didn't protest as kiara dragged him along, merely stayed silent, casting one long look at his mother. please be safe, arrow.. i wouldn't know what to do without you. the words ran over and over in his head as he hoped and prayed that she would be safe.
nodding a quick thanks as she dropped him he immediately found a spot to watch over the camp, optics fixed on his mother. she shouted at mei something he couldn't hear and he then watched in horror as the houses began to fall. maw parting in a silent scream as his mother was carried along. he knew she couldn't swim.
kiara came over, gently trying to pull him away, but he ignored her, muscles straining to keep his body in place. he couldn't watch but this was like a firework display he couldn't keep his eyes off of. he watched in dismay his mother slam into a house, then get carried away after it, limp like a dead bird and floating away slowly.
"no.." his voice broke, then it seemed to be torn out of him. "NO! MOTHER!" it ended on a roar and his bones collapsed, feathers grew until the seagull launched himself off the hill, speeding towards the water with tears blinding his vision."mother come back.."
there! was it a paw he could see? no, just seaweed. feeling lightheaded he made his way back to the hill and promptly collapsed in a heap. so many losses. his mother, then his other mother. would death never end? would tanglewood ever be safe? last thoughts were a wish that he had told her he loved her more before unconsciousness hit and he passed out.

—AND EVERY GENERATION HAS ITS MEN

"SPEECH"