Redhawk Caldera you never feel the jet lag unless you're trying to fit in.

Staying within the borders of a strange pack did not sit well with Artaax. It was uncomfortable to be amongst unfamiliar wolves in an unfamiliar place, family though they may be. The boy did his best to avoid those strange wolves by lingering at the den where they kept his mother while she healed. It couldn't exactly be helped when one of the Caldera wolves came to visit, which happened often. In those times, he slipped away and out of sight whenever he could manage it. But always, he lurked near her, quiet and watchful.

And horribly ashamed.

Now was one of those moments. The female alpha of the Caldera wolves had come to see his mother and Artaax had crept off. He felt judgment over his behavior that day from every pair of eyes that looked at him. Imagined or not, it was all he could think about when they were near, and it made him sick to think of the panic attack that had consumed him. His stomach was twisting in knots as he moved silently along the banks of the little creek that flowed a hundred yards or so away from the den. He gazed at his paws as he walked, having never felt so miserable in all his life, and feeling even worse from guilt at feeling this way at all when he should be happy over Wildfire.

After an excessive amount of pleading, @Finley had finally agreed to bring Fiadh along to see the wolves that were visiting the Caldera. Since they had arrived, Fiadh had found herself growing more curious by the day about just who they were. From their scent alone she could tell that they were different, but, that was the only basis of her assumptions; experience would only further shape her opinions of the smelly strangers.  

Excitement radiated through her body as she stepped briskly at her Mother's side. "So, Mom, are they all smelly?" she asked with a grin, the harsh spice of Drageda's scent tickling her nostrils as she spoke. Having never met anybody else outside of her family, Fiadh was anxious to learn anything and everything about them. Her question was quickly dismissed with an amused reply from Finley. 

By the time that they had reached the area that the wolves of Drageda had settled in, Fiadh found herself distracted by a retreating figure. "Hey, Mom!" she squeaked with excitement as she turned to look up at Finley. "Can I go meet that wolf over there?" her question was coupled with a jerk of her muzzle as she motioned towards Atraax. Once Finley had observed him and granted her permission, Fiadh quickly turned heel and raced towards the stranger as she attempted to get his attention. 

"HEY, SMELLY, WAIT FOR ME!" 

Artaax was quite prepared to spend his day drowning in his own misery and self-pity, but a shrill, high-pitched voice reached in and dragged him out. With a start, the boy turned to frown at the small, silver pup that was racing towards him. He glanced back towards the den up the hill, spying the Caldera's alpha talking with a packmate. Apparently she had brought a pest with her, or so the young boy thought as he looked again at the kid who had so rudely interrupted his solitude.

"What did you call me?" Artaax said as she came near. It sounded like she'd called him smelly, but that didn't make any sense. He smelled just like he always had, though the scent of saltwater had unfortunately faded some from his fur.

Towhee always did her best to obey her Alphas and respect their wishes, yet she found herself simply unable to accept their decision to take the pups to visit the outsiders. She shadowed Finley and Fiadh now, feeling quietly furious at the Alpha female's judgment call. Hadn't they heard the story about Peregrine's elder daughter visiting and nearly killing one of his young pups (the very wolf at the epicenter of the current fiasco)? Even without that kind of history, it just went against every one of Towhee's protective instincts. But she didn't feel like she could say jack.

Fuming in frustration, she kept watch without interfering with the goings-on. Fiadh was shouting at one of the younger visitors, by the looks of it. Towhee had no idea what she was saying, though she quietly hoped it was something terrible. Her lips twitched and she sighed, remaining vigilantly in the background.

You can skip me; I'll just post sporadically! :)

You wanna continue just us since Fiadh is PPC now? We can just slap a close on it too :)

Artaax frowned at the pup as she explained her comment, insisting that he smelled weird. He tried to be subtle as he leaned his nose down towards his chest to take in a breath. It once quickly re-determined that he did not, in fact, smell strange at all. After a brief argument with the pup, he watched as she turned with a huff and sprinted back towards the den, presumably to rejoin her mother.

The boy was in the process of turning back to the creek when his gaze swept across another wolf - this one clad in blacks, reds and whites. He furrowed his brow as he looked at her, though he didn't say a word. He recognized her from the day they had arrived at the Caldera, and she was looking just as unfriendly now as she had then. His eyes narrowed slightly as he finished his turn and dropped his gaze to the water trickling slowly by.

I'd really love to use this toward her mastery, so let's continue!

When Fiadh darted back to her mother and they began to move away, back toward safety, Towhee felt perplexed but relieved. She swiveled, prepared to tail them back, but halted mid-turn and peered at the pale stranger. Suddenly it occurred to her that maybe he had said something untoward to her family members, causing them to make their unexpected exit.

"Hey!" she shouted after him, hastening to close the distance. "Hey, what did you say to them?" she barked too loudly.

She didn't leave. Artaax surpressed a sigh as he heard her call to him. He glanced back over his shoulder at her, his brows furrowing as she asked him.. something. He blinked at her, not understanding what she'd said in her monotone voice. It came out somewhat garbled to his ears, and he was not in the practice of reading lips to help himself understand.

"What?" he asked as she came near, his head tilting slightly with wonder. She seemed perturbed, whatever she was talking about. He glanced back towards the den where the pup had rejoined her mother, wondering if this was something to do with her or something else entirely. He looked at the young female again, waiting.

"What?" was a question Towhee saw fairly frequently. While she was usually quite patient with her loved ones when they required a repeat, her teeth clenched as she read the confused expression on the outsider's face. Was she really so hard to understand?

"What—did—you—say—to—them?" she enunciated as clearly as she could, pausing slightly between each word. Towhee shot him a look that heavily implied he was dumb, orange eyes still narrowed suspiciously.

The girl was obviously quite put out by his request for clarification. His ears flattened in annoyance as she spoke to him as though he were the stupid one. Thur's words rang in his mind in the midst of his irritation. He was a guest in this pack's territory, and so he forced his irritation to settle with a roll of his shoulders and a deep breath. He was the son of the heda, and it irked him beyond belief to have to submit himself to anyone outside of Drageda. But he did not ignore his nomi, and certainly not his commander.

"I didn't say anything," Artaax replied, speaking slowly as well, "She told me I was boring and smelly and ran off to find my sister." He felt the irritation rise again, this time directed at the pup for insulting him and determining that Blixen would be a better companion. He didn't like others to be better than him at anything, even if he didn't actually want to entertain the kid and was glad she'd run off.

He insisted he hadn't said anything. Towhee squinted mistrustfully, though her expression shifted at the rest of his response. Apparently Fiadh had decided he was too boring and smelly to bother with. An amused light entered Towhee's orange eyes, though they hardened again when she realized that meant Finley and her young charge were off to see yet another outsider.

"Well," the guardian said haltingly, "you do smell strange." There was no way for her to know it, yet that briny, salty scent came from his ocean-side stomping grounds. "You should get back to your camp." The look she gave him illustrated that it was meant in the spirit of a command, not a request. Then, without another word, Towhee marched after her relatives.

He saw the glimmer of amusement on her face and found his irritation rising. He did his best not to react though, instead continuing to sit placidly as she announced that she agreed with her cousin's declaration and added one of her own - that he should go back to his family. He sucked in a breath as she turned abruptly and marched off, seething at being told what to do, and at being insulted. He bit his lip and looked back at the water for a moment before pulling himself onto all fours and setting off back towards his packmates. Rankled as he was by being told what to do by someone not Drageda, Artaax was not one to disrespect the command of a dominant woman.