Redhawk Caldera The front lines - the edge of death

Before the unwelcome guest could react, another wolf abruptly materialized. Towhee took a step backward, tail arching but head lowering defensively as her ears slicked back against her head. The newcomer's body language presented both a challenge and a threat as he came to stand astride the younger female. He said something, though for whatever reason, Towhee couldn't read his lips particularly well. She caught a few of the words, enough to prickle the fur along her spine indignantly.

She felt a presence come to stand at her flank. Towhee did not look at him, though she detected her uncle's scent and sidestepped to press their shoulders together. She glared at the audacious twosome, and as soon as she felt the growl vibrating through the Alpha male's frame, she complemented it. There was no way for her to know how loud it came out, though she put all her angry energy into it, so hopefully it served its purpose.

But neither wolf budged. Towhee watched shrewdly as the youthful she-wolf spoke. Her lips were easier to read. "We don't give a damn about you or your pack! Get away from ours!" The guardian sprang forward, snapping her jaws in the open air but holding back from an outright attack. She wanted to leap at either one of the interlopers and tear off their faces, yet she would only do so if cued by Elwood.