Redhawk Caldera this might not be the best time but i have something to say

@Elwood and @Finley

Blondine had decided that finding home could wait a few months for the weather to break. For now, she needed to find a place to stay and something to fill her belly, neither of which would she have come across on her own. The journey down the mountain range hadn't been nearly as easy as she had hoped, but now that it was over and she was back on flat land, she made sure to prioritize finding a healthy, well-marked border.

Just so happens that the border seemed to find her. Blondine sat a few yards away and howled for someone to come see her, hoping they would move with some sort of haste.

Sorry for the delay! And for Fin :D

Fin had never been much for border patrol. It was a tedious and time-consuming effort that she had little patience for. And with so many guardians in her ranks, it wasn't often she really felt there was a need for her to take the long trip round the Caldera daily. But, as alpha female, she did her duty every few days, and even more so now with the turmoil brewing between her pack and their neighbors to the East.

Truth be told, her lack of attention to the borders was probably good for those who came to visit them. These days, she was not in the least bit friendly to outsiders. It was a necessity, all things considered - she trusted very few to not be in league with Blackfeather in some way. The skinny girl she came across now was no exception. The howl had barely finished its echo when Fin stalked towards her, tail waving high, hackles raised, and chin lifted dominantly.

"Just turn around now and leave, kid," Fin greeted, "I have no use for you, and you really don't want to be here anyway." She was stern in her words, leaving little room for argument unless the other female was just as stubborn as the alpha. What she spoke was true enough - Even if this thin, gangly creature was somehow a gladiator on the battlefield, Fin had no desire to drag anyone else into the conflict between the Caldera and Blackfeather. She had a hard enough time getting her long-term members to understand the need to go to war, let alone some random stranger.

My girl is persistent!

Blondine wasn't normally one to argue against authority (especially when she could be potentially outnumbered by tens), but there was something about the Alpha's attitude that she just couldn't let slide. Well hold on now, she countered, How d'you know what I want? Surely if I dragged m'self up to your borders I must want something. Before, joining this pack had been a goal of necessity, but now, Blondine was determined to get in one way or another. 

You might be able to use me, I'm no child. Maybe it was hard to tell (which wasn't too hard to believe), but she was incredibly gifted in two high-in-demand areas. If she could just get the Alpha to listen!

Fin stared at the other female as she protested her dismissal, her expression flat and unimpressed. It was strike one in Fin's book that she didn't obey orders, and also that she went about this in a way that the alpha considered disrespectful. She allowed the girl to finish before offering a response, mostly because she didn't really have the energy to talk over her.

"I don't care why you're here," Fin told her with her typical blunt honesty, "I'm not interested in hearing how I might use you. I don't want to use you. Now please just leave. I'm tired and I really don't feel like chasing you off." She could call Towhee over to do the job for her... She would probably enjoy it, actually. It wasn't often that Fin actually asked her to run newcomers off for her. That was actually a bad habit she'd been trying to curb more recently.

It was impossible to call for Towhee directly—at most, she could be reached via a messenger of the four-footed or winged varieties—but sometimes, she just happened to be in the right place at the right time. At the moment, she was a bit like a lidded pot of boiling water as she roved the borders; the water was hot, roiling and steaming but, for the moment, kept under careful control.

That all changed when she saw Finley apprehending a figure near the borders. Towhee froze to watch a moment, her sharp orange eyes reading the situation. She was well-versed in body language, naturally, and didn't need any extra reason to fire up these days. In the blink of an eye, the pot boiled over and the the mercenary burst forward like a bullet from a gun.

Assuming that Finley had already given a verbal warning to go along with the cues she was giving off with her body, Towhee didn't bother offering one herself. She wanted—maybe even needed—to kill something and the war was still days away. Here was her opportunity to satisfy that predatory urge, as well as get in some last-minute practice as an executioner. She threw herself ruthlessly at the thin stranger with every intention of ripping out her throat.

peep this

Blondine was just about to give another protest, her body braced against the dismissal of the Alpha, when another unaccounted for wolf stormed at her from her flank. With no warning, there wasn't much that she could do to fight back. Hell, even with a courteous I'm coming for you!, she still might not have been able to do much. She was already sick and injured and alone; getting into a fight with a pack wolf was the last thing she needed.

All Blondine could really do was submit (much unlike herself!) and pray that her attacker missed any important parts. There was a throbbing pain and a dim burn to her face, though initially, she couldn't tell where it'd come from. It took a few moments for her to realize that teeth had run across from her cheek to her jaw, down to the middle of her neck. It was a nonfatal hit, but surely not one she wanted.

slight assumption made in that Towhee will pause for her. I can adjust if'n you want, Kat!

As if on cue, Towhee arrived in all of her volatile glory. Fin was busy setting a frown upon her face in response for the protest she sensed was about to come when her goddaughter lunged into view, causing her to jump a little in surprise. She tensed as the stranger went down, readying herself to help if she fought back. But it shortly proved to be unnecessary as the girl went down and stayed down with Towhee standing overhead.

Fin stepped forward then, trying to position herself in her niece's view so that she could give her a non-verbal command to hold. "So, where did we land on the you leaving thing?" she asked almost conversationally. She did feel a little bad, but at the same time... she had warned her that she didn't want to be there. She'd been considering an alternate reason for that being the case, but this worked too.

The wolf flinched and rolled at the crucial moment, avoiding a fatal hit. Towhee's teeth scraped into the unyielding flesh along her cheekbone, all the way down to the tendons in her neck. It felt so good, despite missing the critical hit. Double tap, she thought wildly even as she peeled back her lips to repeat her strike, only hopefully with a little more accuracy this time.

But the stranger had rolled and submitted, which instinctively gave the Gamma pause. She immediately looked to Finley, whose body language commanded her to, "Hang on." Towhee ground her teeth in frustration but did as she was told, looming over their unwelcome guest and inhaling deeply when the scent of freshly spilt blood tickled her nostrils.

The Alpha female said something that, without any tone, baffled Towhee a little. Just to make things clear (for herself if not the stranger), she added gruffly, "Get the fuck out of here right the fuck now." If she didn't obey promptly, she was dead meat.

She would be back, Blondine decided then. No time soon, no, but if she hadn't already made it back home come autumn, she would be back and she would be admitted. In that moment, however, she decided that she'd taken enough of a beating for one day and skedaddled off and out of reach.

u wanna wrap up love? :)

With that, the girl was up and running. Fin settled as she watched the skinny creature go, shaking her head gently. It was a shame it had had to end that way, especially when she truly had been trying to look out for the girl's own good by rejecting her. Now was not a good time to be a member of the Caldera, and she would not trust any complete stranger to have her back in the battle to come.

"To be fair..." she said aloud after turning to Towhee and making sure the girl's eyes were on her, -I did warn her that she didn't want to be here.- Fin smiled in spite of herself before gesturing for Towhee to walk with her and setting off to continue along the borders.

Although the foolish she-wolf heeded Towhee's warning, the guardian was tempted to give chase and kill her anyway. Perhaps if Finley hadn't been there, she might have done that. Actually, she probably wouldn't have given the stranger the chance to flee at all. But it was neither here nor there now. She was gone.

The Gamma made no comment in response to Finley's remark, though she returned her smile and dutifully fell into step beside her as the Alpha began striding along the borderline.