Redhawk Caldera WE GOT GAME

Soon enough, the group of wolves brought down their prey with skill and precision. Elwood only managed to land a blow or two amidst all the chaos, but he was panting with exertion when he stepped back from the kill. His eyes swept his surroundings and he realized what had transpired while he was so focused: Nightjar had attempted to break away from Magpie and join the hunting group, and Dove had been seriously injured.

He winced as he looked at Fox's sister, his gaze lingering on her ruptured shoulder, then his ears tilted back as Peregrine reprimanded Nightjar. In the next breath, however, the Alpha beckoned his other two children to come closer, now that the hunt was over. It was easy to see that Nightjar was eager to participate, but he was lucky that he hadn't been hurt. Elwood took a few steps back, shifting his gaze between his packmates as he waited for further instruction from Fox or Peregrine.

He didn't reach the pack before they downed their prey. He was disappointed, but Nightjar's slow gallop didn't stop... not until Peregrine approached him with an arched head and neck, that is. Admittedly, he barely listened to his father's words and instead responded to the body language alone. Words were meaningless next to body language, and what he was hearing (i.e. seeing) was that he'd done something wrong, even though the desire to join in was completely natural for even young wolves. His ears went back and his body curled in on itself and his gaze went elsehwere.

Without saying anything at all, the youth slipped away from the group as soon as Peregrine's attention was drawn elsewhere. He slunk about twenty feet away and laid himself in the grass to wait for every other wolf in the pack to eat, after which he would approach and lick at the remaining scraps. His turn was naturally last as per the alpha male's dominance display toward him, and he accepted that by distancing himself. And all the while, Nightjar still didn't understand what he'd done wrong, and didn't even really think about it.

Final round! Thanks for participating. :)

It looked bad. No, it looked really bad. Peregrine eyed Dove's wound, then sought Magpie and Raven when he caught Wildfire's question. Could they help her? The deer had essentially kicked a hole in the subordinate. Getting the flesh to knit back together was one thing but preventing an infection would be a monstrous challenge in itself.

"Let's get her back to some shelter so she can rest. We can clean it and then you two can do your magic..." He wasn't sure what else could be done, though Peregrine knew that getting Dove off her feet and somewhere warm and dry was imperative right now. And though he was no medic himself, if there was one lesson he had taken away from all those months living with Blue Willow, it was that keeping a wound clean was paramount.

"You're all welcome to eat. Then bring the leftovers home." Peregrine said to the others, then motioned at Magpie and Raven. "You two, come with me. Did you wanna come too?" he queried of Fox, then said to Dove, "I'll walk on your good side. Feel free to lean on me." As soon as she was ready, he began to walk, which coincidentally led them to where Nightjar was resting. "Go ahead and eat, kiddo," Peregrine said as they passed, shuffling slowly back toward the caldera.

When their prey started to falter because of other wolves grabbing a hold of it, Pantaleimon managed to get close enough to sink her teeth into their target. She managed to grab a shoulder, although it was disappointing that she connected to muscle rather than the soft throat that she had aimed for. With the help of the others, the mule deer was soon downed. In all the commotion, Pan hadn't even noticed what had happened with Dove or Nightjar; not until she noticed Peregrine's stern reaction to Nightjar and Magpie.

Pantaleimon silently waited for her turn to eat, feeling useless and out of place in the whole happening with Dove and Nightjar -- Pan didn't know Dove that well, and even though she was Perry's lover, had nothing to do with telling off Nightjar either -- and looked idly at this detail and that while she waited until the higher ranked wolves had eaten.

Only when it was her turn to eat, Pantaleimon ate her fill -- which, considering the circumstances, was less than she might have had no one got hurt -- and slunk off for some alone time while she hoped Dove was going to be alright.

Peregrine soon collected Dove, then asked Magpie and Raven to follow him back to the caldera to wash her wound and find somewhere for her to rest. Wildfire almost went after them, though her attention turned back to the fresh kill. It would be a shame to let it go to waste. Slowly, she spun on her heel and trotted closer to the carcass, sniffing along the ground and approaching cautiously. She waited her turn, then fed much more ravenously than one might expect for such a petite wolf.

Licking her chops, Wildfire backed off the from the kill when she couldn't stuff any more meat down her gullet. Belly noticeably distended, she once again thought of following her father's footsteps to check on Dove's condition. But then the adults might need her help dragging the leftovers back home. There wouldn't be much, so she could definitely pitch in and carry something.

Actually, Wildfire went ahead and tugged a leg free, then balanced it in her muzzle and began to clumsily shuffle toward the mount. She originally intended it for Peregrine, then she realized it would be better if it went to Dove. Well, she would let them decide. The fiery youngster soon disappeared in that direction, leaving blood droplets in her wake but somehow managing not to tip over despite her top-heavy cargo.

Peregrine's top priority was tending to Dove, and with Magpie and Raven's help, he began to escort her to a place where she could rest and be examined by one of the pack's flourishing medics. Elwood remained standing, ears pricked and eyes trained on the group moving away from the rest of them, until Peregrine instructed everyone else to go ahead and eat then cache the remains.

If Fox went with her mate and sister, that left Elwood as the highest ranking wolf present. He went ahead and took his turn to eat, quickly pulling a slab of meat from the bone and swallowing it. When he was finished, he stepped back in order to let the others take their fill; once it was clear that everyone was sated, he pitched in with his packmates and began to dissect what was left of the carcass.

He seized a shoulder bone in his mouth and followed Wildfire; if necessary, he would return to gather the stray bones and tendons that hadn't been collected.

Magic looked to be about the only thing that could heal that kind of wound. Fox furrowed her brow, wondering if Dove would be ok. Perhaps if they’d had a more talented medic in their ranks… not that Magpie and Raven weren’t talented, but something told Fox that even the most talented of healers couldn’t fix everything. It was part of the reason Fox had been so wary of them to begin with. These thoughts she kept to herself, not wishing to rain on anybody’s parade.

"Yeah, c’mon, sis." Fox would do her best to support Dove if and when Peregrine needed a break. She trusted the others to watch over the children. They were part of the pack, after all, and Fox trusted each and every one of them to do no harm. All of them had been here for the terrible thing that had almost happened to Wildfire, and she knew they’d be on high alert.

Once they got Dove somewhere suitably quiet and out of the way, Fox would go back to the kill and eat her fill.