Raven's Watch the sky comes falling down for you

@Redshank

Whether he was escorted around the mountain range by the wolves of Tindome or he had made it here of his own solitary volition, it didn't matter. Screech had found himself struggling to find a safe route down from the mountain range despite the many criss-crossing paths, and he didn't feel confident in his abilities. He was best suited to the lowlands, or the flat lands, and certainly not to forests or mountains covered in forests. When the sound of a roaring waterway caught in his ears he sought it out, mindlessly thinking it could lead him to the beach — but it was not the sea that greeted him. Rather, it was a massive alpine lake that looked to be emptying out along one side of the range; the water screamed and pissed down the rock faces, splintering in to a web of smaller waterfalls and vanishing in to a chaotic mist. Screech didn't feel safe here. The sounds were so loud that his mind was swiftly emptied of thoughts, though, leaving him hollowed out and giving him a moment to think about his next plan.

I'm sorry this is weird and rambly and asdkasjlk

Unceremoniously, he had been thrown from the Sunspire. The large woman had made it clear she would tear him to pieces if he tried anything and, for once, Redshank did the smart thing. He kept his mouth shut and head down, obediently following the pack wolf until they were far from her home's borders. It was there he was then left, bruised and bleeding and angry. Although he wanted to go back, to launch an assault on Rannoch when he least expected it, entertaining thoughts of a glorious revenge while he cut down Sunspire wolves left and right, Liffey's words rang through his head. Going back would be suicide (if one didn't count breaching their borders as such already).

And so, with pained grunts and a limping gait, the boy set off for a quiet, hidden place to tend to his wounds.

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The hours that followed were mostly a blur as pain really began to set in. Feverish, Redshank wandered the mountains that surrounded the Sunspire, eventually heading towards a distant roaring sound that revealed itself to be raging waters cascading off a cliff face. He blinked at the sight emotionlessly, though it spurred within him a single desire — water. He licked his lips, realising suddenly how parched he really was, as half-lidded eyes turned to the lake that fed the waterfall. The rocks were slick from the mist, and his injured hind leg hadn't touched the ground since he had departed Sunspire, but he clumsily made his way to the waters, sinking both forepaws in the water as he drank. A vague but familiar scent beckoned his attention but he ignored it for now, too focused on low-key almost trying to drown himself in the shallows.

He almost didn't notice the brown mess of a wolf that had coiled himself so close to the shallows; no doubt Screech had passed his eyes over that exact spot a few times, but seeing wasn't exactly his strong suit (what was his strong suit?).

The boy didn't feel like drowning himself in the noise of the falls, so he began to find a safe route down from the ledge he had roosted himself upon, and it was during this struggle that he actually stepped on part of Redshank; his paw met the boy's tail and rolled, and as Screech staggered in a weak attempt to stop from falling on his face, he turned sharply so that he could see what it was he'd tripped himself on, and finally spotted the boy.

Redshank! He shouted from behind him, and with some fleet footwork Screech managed to stop himself from face-planting. He scurried and adjusted his position on the uneven terrain, and then squished himself in beside his brother, probing at him a little with his nose in order to figure out if he had been damaged. Are you okay? Dude! Rannoch is crazy, you're right, fuck.

The violent quivering of his limbs lessened as the boy finally quenched his thirst, however the pain that emanated from his leg continued. It came in waves, wracking his starved form as he grit his teeth and sunk to his stomach. They may as well have broken it in the end. He hunched over, chin brushing the swirling waters as the scent came again, and he had only a moment to process it before he felt pressure upon his tail that lay limp behind him. It elicited a startled whine from the Cairn and he spun to meet the perpetrator with a snap of teeth and flaring eyes. For all his sudden anger, however, there was an undeniable flash of fear. He heard Terance's command ring in his ears once more and felt that foreign feeling of utter helplessness as he was pinned beneath the pack wolves. But it lasted only a moment.

"Tit-Titmouse?" he stammered. It should have hardly been a surprise, considering how often the boys ran into each other. Yet he still stared at his friend with surprise, as well as relief...and hurt. For whatever dumb reason, Screech had decided to align himself with Rannoch and his ilk before Redshank sought to exact his revenge. He knew they were family, but Redshank just couldn't help but feel slighted by it all. After all Rannoch had done to them, he still chose to be under his lead? However, the time for discussing that was not now, not with the thunderous falls dulling their voices and Redshank's current condition.

The other boy seemed to have come to his senses about the man, anyway. At his prodding and questioning, the Cairn shook his head. Did he look okay? "Th-they're all crazy," he breathed with a snarl, leaning against Screech slightly as he tried to rise again. He released a swear as his hind leg twinged again with pain. That stupid Sunspire bitch. "You left," he said then, as much a question as it was a confirmation. It was really the only reason Redshank could come up with as to why the boy was here.

After everything they'd both been through, it seemed only right that they reunite here. Screech wasn't ready to accept that Rannoch was really not worth his time, but he was still hurting after the events at the borders. His anger was fresh, and the wounds inflicted by his so-called family had left a lasting mark deep within him. So when Redshank commented in his breathy way that, yes, his brother was here instead of there - he could only shrug and left his head to hang.

They're just as bad as Moonspear, he drawled in his rough way, and lifted his head just enough to watch his friend with one eye. I thought they'd be my family but they're nothing like that - I think Rannoch's broken. I dunno what they did to him, but he isn't the same. You were right. And that meant they were both here, alone but together, with no future at all. Screech wasn't going to accept that for long. I couldn't stay with them after --- after what happened. We need to stick together.

He hadn't been filled in entirely on the whole situation with this Moonspear pack, but Redshank had gotten the gist of it. Screech had been wrongly accused, three dark sisters took his eye, now he was an enemy of the state essentially. The story made the fur at his hackles bristle, but he knew the other boy had been banished from the area — and that Redshank wouldn't be so lucky if he sought revenge on another pack. If they were as bad as Screech said they were.

While his friend's admission that Redshank was right about Rannoch caused a degree of smugness, he also wanted to shake him. Why would he think the wolves that abandoned him twice (in Redshank's mind) would treat him like anything other than dirt? He could agree that something had changed within the burly alpha, however. Or perhaps he had always been like this and only now had his true, terrible nature decided to rear its ugly head.

"Good," he replied, meeting Screech's singular eye for a moment before looking out across the waterfall. To think this boy would become the most important wolf in his life after their rocky start. Now he was all he had. "'Bout time," Redshank huffed with a forced laugh, wincing again as his leg throbbed with pain. "Y'need t'stop running off to join dumb packs."

Y'need t'stop running, said Shank, which Screech felt deep in his soul was the root of everything. He nodded sagely and then took on a more resolute expression, frowning slightly as his jaw set. He knew there was nowhere to go from here - they were both at the proverbial rock bottom - which left them with only one option.

Then lets be our own pack. You'n me. It was almost like a proposal but Screech refused to see it that way. He was serious because this was a serious matter. They were adults now (mostly) and Screech knew nobody really wanted him, so why the fuck bother with trying to find a home? Why not make one? He watched Redshank for a reaction but went ahead to say, I'm done trying to fit in with these assholes. I can't go back to the Caldera, Rannoch is a crazy piece of work, and we have nowhere else to go - so we should go together, and wherever we end up can be ours. I mean, in a not-gay way. We can be the Alphas and everyone else can fuckin' deal with it.

Cue blacked-out monocle dropping across his good eye. Y'know, because memes.