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TL;DR: It's night. Nyx, the current Crown, appears to have been taken by the cougar, and her blood is in the clearing. Strangely, thunder booms and lightning strikes across the sky, but there is otherwise no signs of a storm. My cat Helios investigates by following the lightning bolt's direction out of camp - others can follow and react - and finds the cougar's remaining cub is dead, crushed beneath a tree branch but that isn't the weirdest part. It has a wound from the lightning that is similar to the scar Rowan's Ares' has on his face, including damage that shows the back teeth. Helios' takes this as a sign from their Ancestors that Ares' is to be the next Crown, and has returned to the camp to announce it to everyone. ]
Every day, things seemed to get worse.
First, the outsiders that came with the devil at their paws. Then, the fish intruders - they were a lesser nuisance, but still had stolen Saturn's attention from the Atari. Perhaps, had he not been lured by them, things might be different.. They could have prepared better, focused on themselves, not drove head first into the belly of some beast.
It mattered not, as he gazed into the pool of blood near his paws. Nyx's scent, their blood - and the reek of cougar. Another victim of this nightmare.
Helios couldn't say he was surprised by this turn of events, but he was disappointed. He always held his Crown and their Claw in the highest degree, but Saturn and Nyx's choices had left them in ruin. And with Nyx dead to the cougar, they had no semblance of leadership. (Not that Nyx had been much of one.)
... What was that? Lightning flashed against the night sky, joined by the loud roar of thunder around them. The noise and light was startling, and Helios took a step back with confusion - it was as if it'd come from nowhere. An unnatural phenomenon that led him to wonder..
Was it the Spirits?
Curiosity guided his paws through the darkness, heading out of the Atari camp in the direction the lightning had struck in. It took a moment, traveling further than he anticipated until finally the smell of smoke reached his senses. And burnt flesh.
As Helios approached the scene, it became abundantly clear what occurred. The lightning had struck a tree... and something else. He hadn't been able to tell with the smell of scorched flesh and fur, but he could see it now. One of the cougar's cubs.
It was crushed beneath a massive bough, but Helios wasn't sure that's what killed it. He could see where the lightning had struck - fur melted away along its head to reveal a gnarly wound alongside its muzzle and head, revealing back teeth. Actually, come to think of it.. it was oddly similar to a scar one of their members had.
Was this a sign of their salvation? Why else would this occur, so shortly after Nyx's loss? Did it mean that He had the power to defeat the monster that hunted them?
"Spirits, forgive me if this is not your will." It was as close to a sign as they'd had in seasons, and Helios was listening to his gut.
"Sky have mercy on us all."
He would leave the cougar and tree limb to return to camp.
"Atari, hear my words! In our woods lies the last of the cougar cubs - struck down by the Spirits that watch over us. They have given us.. the identity of our new Crown, and the hope our mountain may once again be safe."
Helios' set his sights on the cat in question. Red streaked along white fur like blood, leading to a grisly, maimed face. Ares' had been hurt once, the ripping of flesh and fur had left a permanent mark similar to what Helios' witnessed on the cub. Even the teeth.. were the same.
".. Ares. It is an honor to serve you, my Crown." He dipped his head - a gesture of respect and submission to their new leader.
"When you are ready to head to the Glimmerall, I will take you for your anointment."
Re: Bone Crest Throne
