The powder gathered and swelled until a veritable avalanche began. The sound of cracking ice was overwhelming as it echoed over us. As if it were tumbling stones, the avalanche approached. We hadn't had any trouble with things like that so far, but none of the Saharliard were so stupid as to think that thousands of tons of snow would be an easily surviveable disaster.
"Behind the walls!" I commanded. "They've been reinforced, and they've survived this long, so get in! Keel, Khatif, come help them in! Hurry!"
The tiredly trudging travelers changed from preserving energy to panicked escape, and I pushed them onward. The slowest and weakest in the back quickly found themselves gathered up in Keel and Khatif arms while they were forced into safety. I remained in the back, watching the swelling wall of white approaching at a deceptively quick speed. Fortunately, the last of my people were gathered into safety before too long, and none were swallowed up in the wave. Instead, as it slowed before making contact with the walls, in the end, there was a slope that led to the top of the walls as well as a fair amount that made it over, burying some of the buildings at the edge of the city. Otherwise, there was very little damage and those few who were buried were able to dig themselves out of be excavated before their lives were in danger.
"Where are the Misti Hawar?" Percral's voice cut through the chaos. "Keep prepared, gather your spears, just because it's still light doesn't mean they can't appear now! Hrash! Get your tail moving! I mean NOW!"
With Percral calling out orders, the Hak'Tal were the first to gather themselves into battle formations, ready to protect whoever needed the help.
"Brutus!" I shouted, the command not needing to be spoken. To his credit, he was already gone, moving towards my home and children. Then, ready to confront the battle that was coming, I sprinted towards the center of the city. There, the constant vigil held over the dormant ant colony remained, and I listened while deliberately bringing the sound waves to me to ensure I could react in whichever direction needed me most. That my home was nearby was merely incidental, and I spared just the briefest moment's attention to listen to Sybil, Brutus, and a couple other Alqat's voices.
I spread my attention further and further, and as my sonic magic kept me apprised of the situation all around me, I could listen to the discussions on every wall. The eastern walls, those furthest from the western side where the avalanche had hit, were curious about what might be happening on the far side of the city, but by their Alphas' commands, they were remaining vigilant.
Good.
The north and south were keeping track of their surroundings as well, though the north was cluttered with the worries and explanations from Tala's pilgrims. Even so, the guard seemed to be working well. That left the west, whose walls were receiving the bulk of the mobile elites' attention. Efforts to clear off the worst of the snow were under way, and, looking down the main road that led there, I could see some of the work that was being done to prepare the city for the Misti Hawar's assault.
But where were they? Nobody was talking about suspicious shadows or even any movement that they could see. Our enemies could be hidden up in the wake of the avalanche, where snow hung in the air like clouds, but if they didn't capitalize on their advantage, then why had they done it? Just to give us more work to keep the walls safe? It would just work better to do it when they were ready to attack, so it simply made no sense to me. There needed to be a reason, though, just one that didn't make sense to me…
"I do apologize for that, Zaaktif Ashlani." A distinguished female voice spoke to me. "Our attempts to ensure that the path forward were safe resulted in a minor avalanche. I do hope that none of your people were harmed?"
Looking down, I saw a creature that I hadn't ever before. It was like a rat, but longer, with a thin furry body and the face of a predator.
"We're all fine, so far as I know." I replied. "And you are?"
"I am Mitelli, the chief scout on this supply mission and a proud Mustelid Beastkin. A marten, if you must know." As she spoke, she pushed herself back onto her hind legs and then, suddenly, a woman stood there. Much faster than Cupun, this Mitelli pushed her chin-length hair back from her face and smiled widely as she held a hand out to shake. She carried herself… strangely. A part of me insisted that she held herself like a human, that her smile and her shoulders were normal, but so much of me revolted at the strangeness.
"I must admit," I said, looking down at my own hands, "I'm not sure if I should shake your hand. I'm afraid of needing to get Vefir over here to heal you. I'll accept the offer for what it is."
"Makes sense!" Mitelli replied, sunnier and more… direct, than any of the rat Beastkin I'd met so far.
"I'm not sure what to think of you." I mused aloud, looking down at the comparatively diminutive woman.
"What do you mean? I'm happy to tell you what you wanna know!"
"I expected more… pride and secrecy. Every bit of information I've gotten from the other Beastkin I've spoken with has been dragged out of them with no small amount of effort on my side, as well as has been somewhat… untrustworthy."
Mitelli bristled a little at that. "You're saying my people have lied to you?"
"Yes." I said flatly. "Are you going to—"
"Oh, I apologize, Zaaktif! I merely meant to say how disappointed I am with them!" She shook her head while raising her hands. "The Rodentia tend to be… more sneaky than the rest of us Beastkin. There's a reason why we Mustelid are in charge of them. So please, accept my apologies on my people's behalf!"
"Very well. If you wish to say that, then would you explain how you got here without my knowledge?"
"Well," she shrugged, "part of that is a secret of how we of the Beastkin hide ourselves, but I can assure you that it was entirely mundane. I, as a small mammal, was able to infiltrate the perimeter. It wasn't easy, don't worry!" She insisted as I stood observing her. "I won't show you the path I took, but I can guarantee that Misti Hawar would be incapable of following in my footsteps."
"I suppose I'll accept that. Now, Mitelli, you say you're here in front of the first load of supplied from the Union?"
"Yes!" she nodded excitedly. She didn't seem to do anything that was low energy. "Now, where do you want us to unload it all?"