Redhawk Caldera Come drink the blood of apples

*randomly decides there's an apple tree here*

Not mandatory and not even really a solid PA but... come eat apples with your Alpha to celebrate our second anniversary. :)

@Fox @Elwood @Shrike @Eljay @Sassafras @Trick @Sasha @Finley @Whip @Gannet @Lucy @Liffey

They had officially lived here at the caldera for two years (nearly to the day) and yet Peregrine had never noticed the apple tree before. It was close to the borders overlooking the supposedly haunted forest to the south. It stood alone. The Alpha stood there staring at it, wondering if it had sprouted overnight somehow. His half-blind jade gaze then dropped to the dozens of apples scattered below it.

Peregrine moved closer, scenting at the nearest one. It smelled sweet but rotten. He turned it with his nose and discovered a mushy, wormy brown spot on its underside. He snorted and moved to another. This one was split open, its browning innards crawling with ants. The third one appeared to be a more recent drop. It was bruised but still shiny and whole. The black wolf sniffed at it, then closed his teeth around it and sank them into the flesh. Sweet juices filled his mouth, accompanied by a loud and delicious crunch!

It was awkward to chew it, since his teeth were made to slice and dice meat. But somehow he managed and swallowed a mouthful of tangy applesauce. "Damn," he murmured to himself, "that was fucking delicious." Peregrine promptly devoured the rest of the apple, stem and core included, and then two more before it occurred to him that he should share his discovery. With the blood of apples on his breath, he summoned anyone in the pack who wanted a delicious fall treat.

It had been a few days since his return, the facts about Lucy still haunting him. He had failed the most basic rescue mission... He felt like a failure for the first time in his glorious life. But- was it going to keep him down? Hell to the fucking no. Trick was a try-hard by heart, and if Lucy was lost again; he'd find her! Yes, yes this was it. This fire would fuel him for longer than his rage would, fir this was motivation. He would and deserved to climb this ladder of hierarchy hell, and only then he'd be satisfied.

The call reached him as he was walking- a few herbs in between his teeth. Seeds were scattered all over his handsome face, adding to his already very green orbs. He blinked- it was Uncle P, and he had called for all of them. Trick hurried to his home and lay down his herbs safely in his den, sprinting off quickly in the direction he had swore he had heard the call come from. His nose did not betray him either, and before he knew it he was close to his Alpha, bowing formerly before him.

To what do I owe the honor of being called for? He questioned, his face a hot mess with all the green. He scented the sweet smell of apple-juice fairly quick, and his thoughts brought him back to the old man who had been feeding on apples. Trick wondered if Peregrine was aware that the seeds of an apple were not so good for you when eaten in large amounts- but he kept that information for himself until he knew what he was called for.

travel post!

Gannet hadn't informed anyone, but yesterday and today he'd wandered out a bit.  Not far into the bordering territory, of course, just enough to give a little taste of what was (right) out there.  Turns out it looked about the same as what was in, and he was somewhat underwhelmed.  But the walking about was fun, and he had plenty of thoughts to keep him happily occupied, so he'd enjoyed the jaunt.

He was barely in earshot when Peregrine sang out a discovery, and his ears shot up, pivoting to catch what was going on. A call to come, but not an urgent one.  He twisted his head curiously, considering it.  Stay, or go?  What was here was ok, but what was there might be better.  With a little grin, he kicked into a gallop and ran back in the direction the call had come from, probably looking to arrive a little after others but definitely eager to join in.

He could have chosen to find the low turnout disappointing but Peregrine just shrugged inwardly and decided to enjoy the opportunity to focus more personally on the first arrival (Trick) as well as his son. He cocked his head at the former's sweeping bow and elegant words, though he didn't answer him as he was too busy turning to grin at Gannet, who was loping eagerly in this direction.

"No real reason," he said, facing Trick again and flicking his tail. "I just found these apples and thought someone else might enjoy them too." The Alpha paused, then glanced downward and scooped a half-rotten fruit with his broad paw, lobbing it at his son with a playful warning of, "Think fast!"

Before Peregrine could answer him, a young, white boy entered their little scene. trick was surprised that a child was the second to come when called, not sure where all the others were. He frowned for a moment, swiftly looking around to see if anyone was just coming but none were. Weird- an alpha had called and barely anyone showed up. trick was glad he was a (somewhat) loyal packmate, well mannered and on time.

I'm not a big eater. Trick answered with a nervous chuckle. Don't want to be small and fat. He followed, the (what he found to be) rude language meant more as a joke than anything. He played around with a stone in the dirt with one black paw as Peregrine instead went to converse with the white boy. Jealousy bubbled up to the surface of the dark being that was Trick, and he cleared his throat. You shouldn't eat the seeds of them- they are not so good for you in large amounts. He said, not caring if Peregrine already knew this. It was more to get the attention on him again.

Food?

Shrike could go for food. Maybe Peregrine had caught something, or had found something dead and was after sharing it with the rest of the pack. It had to have been substantial enough for him to have called the whole pack out for something to eat, so Shrike picked up a swift lope to get there early enough so that he didn't have to growl and shove his way past the wolves inferior to him to get the amount he deserved. He was feeling a bit hangry, to be honest, and tired from roving and searching for any sign of Lucy so a good meal was exactly what he needed.

Hangry Shrike bristled slightly when he caught Trick's scent, and he prepared himself mentally to step up and claim rights to feeding should he have to, but he was surprised to smell no blood as he got closer and closer to where he could smell Peregrine and Trick. As soon as he saw them, he scoured the area for any sign of food, gloosing over the apples completely and looking for some fur or even feathers and frowned softly when he saw none. Confused, he looked to Peregrine and Trick, only to see that they were targeting apples. Gannet was there too, and Peregrine seemed the most interested in not only playing with, but eating the apples.

Shrike happened to come to a stop with one between his paws, and he looked down at it. He was reminded of Sassafras who'd been chewing on grass when Peregrine had been attacked by Ferret and he grimaced slightly as he lowered his head to sniff the apple and turn it over. Tentatively, he bit it, but did not bite a chunk out of it. He simply licked the juice off his teeth and considered it for a moment, a somewhat unconvinced look on his face. He turned his eyes up to Peregrine again, as though to ask are you sure about this?

It did take him a bit to get there, yet turns out, he was still one of the first.  

As he was happily approaching, his dad took the opportunity to lob one at him. Instinctively Gannet snapped at the rotted fruit, catching it and spattering the pulp down his muzzle.  Unfazed by this, he flipped it up playfully, licking the mess from his jaws as he went to retaliate by wrapping his paws around Peregrine's broad neck and attempting to nip at an ear.

Fox had been pooping when Peregrine's call rang out, and she strained to get the last of it out of her and onto the ground. Unfortunately, she must have eaten something a little bit stringy, because it would not come all the way out. She had to scoot her toosh on the ground to release the turd from her butt, and only then did she sniff at it to make sure... well, she wasn't really sure why she did that. It was instinctual. Now that she was much more comfortable, she galloped toward Peregrine's call with eyes bright (well, one of them, anyway) and tail wagging. What she didn't realize was there was a dangler still hanging out of her bum.

She arrived to find Peregrine, Trick, Shrike, and Gannet all gathered around eating... something red. Apples? Fox had never paid them any attention, and she gave Perry a suspicious glance. "Not trying to do one of those mass suicide things, are you?" she asked.

The summon didn't go unheard to the Blackthorn pair's eldest son, and he lifted his head to the sky to hear. It did not take long, however, before he sighed deeply and lowered his head again. It didn't even matter to him if daddy or Lagan and Liffey were going; he couldn't even get himself to move. His body felt tired, even though he knew he had been laying about the majority of the day. His brow scrunched into worry but he still stayed in place at the rendezvous site.

The thought of everyone else either doing something important for the pack or having a good time without him made him even sadder. His eyes shimmered with emotion, but a great deal yet he kept inside, festering, as he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep while his mind was boiling with thoughts of mommy.

1 time cameo

After learning what Trick had found out about Lucy's whereabouts, Elwood had debated with himself. His first instinct had been to take off running immediately, to cross the borders and head towards Neverwinter Forest so he could start scouring the adjacent territories. But there was one big problem: no one knew exactly where Lucy had gone. In fact, there were wolves from Neverwinter who were searching for her, as well. On top of that, if he left the caldera he would be leaving Eljay, Liffey, and Lagan with no parents to care for them. Eljay was more than capable of watching out for his younger siblings, but Elwood just couldn't swallow the pang of guilt that he felt at the thought of deserting his children, especially since Eljay was already having a hard time coping with his mother's absence.

So after a few days of deliberation, he decided to stay home. He had howled from the border a handful of times, hoping that @Finley would be in range to hear his message and head towards Neverwinter Forest, but there was no telling where she was. Presently, he lingering near the outskirts of the territory, gazing northward towards the last known location of his daughter. Peregrine's call caught his attention and he spun on his heel, thankful for a potential distraction.

When he arrived, he found Peregrine, Fox, Gannet, Trick, and Shrike, all in varying stages of eating or investigating an apple tree. Shrike didn't look at all sure about the red fruit, but Gannet was enjoying the messiness of a rotten one with abandon. "Apple picking?" he asked as he reached out with a forepaw to roll one towards himself.

"Nice catch!" Peregrine said, truly impressed. His tongue lolled from his mouth in a genuine and wolfish grin when his son chomped the fruit and then flung himself at him. A happy growl burst from the Alpha's muzzle as Gannet's legs slung about his shoulders. The weight pulled on some tender tissue near his shoulder but Peregrine didn't care. He even leaned into Gannet's nip, saying, "Mind cleaning that out while you're at it?"

And then, all of a sudden, most of the rest of the pack was there too. Peregrine offered his gathering pack mates a pleased grin, though between Trick's remark and Fox's morbid question (which made him swallow and notice Whip's and Eljay's missing faces particularly), the expression slid right off his face. "They're, uh, poisonous?" he guessed, now giving Gannet a shifty sideways glance. Shit, had he just killed off the one well-adjusted child he had left?

"Don't eat those," Peregrine practically bellowed when Elwood appeared and innocently mentioned apple picking. "This was a terrible idea," he continued, speaking to no one in particular. He then gave his son another thoughtful glance before pausing for a dramatic beat and then declaring, "FOOD FIGHT!" Naturally, he took that same moment to scoop another apple and lob it at his wife, even while screaming, "You have a dingleberry, dear!"

trick blinked as a dominanter male entered the scene, one he vaguely recognized as Shrike. Trick had not spoken to the man much, but he was certainly not liking the mute behavior. He bit his lip lightly, not noticeably nor hard. Sooner rather than later he realized he had no real reason to be angry with Shrike. The other probably had been with the pack longer, though Trick doubted he knew herbs as well as him. Mentally he pulled up his nose. Yes, soon they'd realize he was better.

While Trick left Uncle P and the white boy to themselves, giving up his attempt to pull Peri's attention to him alone, his green eyes flickered to the approaching Fox. With a dip of his head he greeted her silently, softly chuckling at her remark. Mass suicide? Well, that sure would've been a social way out. But Trick was not planning to die just yet.

Trick smiled when Elwood arrived- he recognized the man as Lucy's father and had told him about how he had found her at Neverwinter Forest, just before she had ran away from there too. It still bothered Trick. He should've been the one to bring her home safely, yet he was still in battle with himself if he did it for a promotion or for the well-being of the young girl. He was just about to ask if he was okay until Peregrine finally came to the realization that apples were only good for a wolf in small amounts. Trick wasn't sure what made the seeds of them bad, but he had seen some cases of wolves dying who had eaten too much of them. Then again- one could die from drinking too much too. 

Yes, perhaps this wasn't the best idea. But as long as you only eat the soft bits I'm sure- He stopped talking as a food fight started and he moved back a few steps. He didn't want to ruin his beautiful coat, even if it was already a mess with parts of plants that he had been trying to gather before coming here. Still, his playful side made him slap one of the many apples towards whom he trusted the most- Peregrine himself- with a chuckle.

Fox shrugged, glad she hadn't eaten any of the apples. She didn't know if they were poisonous, but apparently Peregrine didn't know that they weren't. They might all die, or they might all live forever. She'd rather not commit suicide, so she opted out of this particular feast. They did smell rather tasty, but she was far less likely to eat something she'd never eaten before (than, say, her children). Not that she was going to tell anybody to stop eating apples.

The apple that Peregrine threw at her hit her smack-dab in the cheek, but she took it like a champ, doing nothing more than shaking it off and directing a playful snarl at him. "You're a dingleberry!" she yelled back, picking up a rather rotten apple and lobbing it at Trick. If it landed, it would surely make a mess.

Gannet growled happily, nomming the ear briefly before galloping off as more arrived.  He sniffed one of the applies and was just crunching in when Perry mentioned poison.  He let half lay, but swallowed down what he'd already chewed.

Staring at the apple, he shrugged, then snapped up the other half.  If they tasted so good, they had to be for eating. Missiles were flying, but he didn't move to participate just yet.

Apparently, Elwood arrived just in time for all hell to break loose. Almost as soon as the words left Elwood's mouth, there was a yell from Peregrine, and then the Alpha male was throwing a rotten apple in Fox's direction. She retaliated by tossing one towards Trick, all while Gannet munched away in the background, apparently undeterred by the possibility that the fruit could be poisonous.

It was hard not to join in; the hilarity was contagious, and Elwood grinned as he looked at the apple at his feet. He lifted a paw and then pressed down just enough to break the skin and make the insides start to ooze. Then he scooped it up and lobbed it into the fray, somewhere in Shrike's general direction.

Shrike's attention was still on Peregrine, and he didn't make another move toward the apple until Peregrine commanded them to stop. He lifted his head quickly, and surpressed a gag, should that juice have been poisonous. He shot a look at Trick, who was supposedly going to be their medic, for not stopping this sooner, especially where he'd seen Gannet munching away on one. Sick Trick, he thought mundanely, as he turned his head to see the amount of wolves that had shown up. His ears flattened when Peregrine announced that they'd then have a food fight, and called his mate something that Shrike didn't quite catch as he threw an apple at her.

Still somewhat perplexed by the idea of doing anything with the apple, and not at all enchanted by the idea of picking one up and throwing it around, he stared down at the apple at his feet, lifting one foot to paw at it skeptically, just before he felt something hit him smack in the ribs- not hard enough to bruise or knock the wind out of him, but enough to cause him to woof unexpectedly and stagger sideways in surprise. He looked first at his side, grimacing at the juice that dripped off the silver hairs before he looked for the one responsible of throwing it. He looked first at Trick, who was sending apples in Peregrine's direction, then to Fox, and finding no hint on their faces he scanned the crowd and passed over Elwood twice before he saw the expression on his face. Shrike's brow lifted in surprise- Elwood threw an apple at him? Really?

He looked at the apple at his feet and sneered slightly, before he noticed that it was still attached to a small, dry branch. Tenderly, he picked it up, and was glad to see that the apple still remained attached. Good, he didn't have to put it in his mouth. He eyed Elwood, and his grimace turned into a crooked grin, before he swung his head in a circle three times and released the branch- only to see that the only thing he was letting go of was the branch. With a thunk, the apple smacked Shrike smack between the eyes on its way down, sending him sneezing and spluttering and wiping his face frantically with a paw, even though he was sure someone would have seen his little spectacle.

Maybe throwing wasn't for him. So instead, he found two apples on the ground and stepped over them, turning his back directly to Elwood, and with a brisk scuff of each hind foot, sent two apples flying through the air, poorly aimed, but at least he'd begun to contribute something!

Although Fox hurled some choice words at him, she chose Trick as her target as far as apples went. Peregrine laughed loudly at the sight, only to be cut off abruptly when his wife's victim slapped a piece of fruit in his direction. It nailed him right at the edge of his jawbone with a loud kthunk! before dropping at his side. The Alpha blinked in momentary surprise, then started laughing again as he shook his head, bent down, sank his teeth into the offending missile and then pivoted.

Although Elwood and Shrike were fairly engaged with one another—the Gamma was actually in the process of kicking apples at the Beta like some sort of wild horse—Peregrine moved toward the sub-leader. While he was busily launching apples backward, Peregrine hoisted his head into the air and crunched the one in his mouth. But instead of swallowing it, he let the mashed bits and juices to dribble out of his mouth onto Shrike's head.

"I baptize you in the name of the red, the hawk and the caldera," the monarch muttered playfully, then rapidly withdrew to blow the remaining apple chunks in the general direction of Gannet's face.

Dingleberry. What an odd thing to call someone. Well, that was what Trick thought when he heard Fox say it- before an apple hit him right between the eyes. The rotten fruit spilled everywhere on his already green face, making his face-fur all sticky and yecky. He had barely noticed his own apple had hit Peregrine. With a confused, dizzy look he looked around, only to realize it was Fox that had aimed for him. He smirked at her. While not very bright in the head, she certainly had aim. Oh, what a hell it would be to clean this all up, but that was none of his concern for now.

While Shrike was kicking apples away, some still munching on the sweet fruit, Trick was scouting out the forest floor with the intention of finding a rotten apple- FOR REVENGE! FOR GLORY! He was often one to take games too seriously, and this game was no exception. Finally found him in the chaos of flying apples and icky sounds and sticky feels, and he carefully picked it up. It tasted like very sweet crap, but he was just lucky he didn't have to swallow it or anything.

He moved with his agile body through the mess, trying to find Fox again. Once spotted, he would drop the rotten apple, gently, before slapping it at her with a mighty grin. Whether it landed or not, he had done his best. He was now just waiting for it to be over so he could take a bath.

"Bullseye!" Fox exclaimed when she saw that her apple had done its job. She watched as Peregrine dribbled bits of apple on Shrike while spitting the rest at Gannet. Truth be told, this whole thing was getting to be quite the sticky mess. Not that Fox minded, of course.

She was about to lob another apple at Elwood when something hit her side. It was Trick, of course. Probably revenge for her own attack. "Well, I never!" she said in mock anger, but it took all of three seconds for her to forget about the apples completely and attempt to playfully tackle Trick. It was her goal to bowl him over completely.

Elwood couldn't help but laugh as he watched Shrike's attempts to join the fun. The other male smacked himself in the face with a branch before turning and kicking at the apples with his hind legs. This tactic didn't provide much aim, but it did give him a decent amount of power -- and Elwood had to duck to avoid one of the flying apples as it sailed between his ears.

When he lifted his head again, it was just in time to see Peregrine dribbling apple mush onto Shrike's head. Somewhere in the background, Fox lunged at Trick. Without a target to assault, Elwood flopped to the ground and began to munch on one of the soft fruits.

Before Shrike or Gannet could exact revenge upon him, Peregrine quickly fled to Elwood's side, ducking down behind the Beta. "Don't tell them where I went," he whispered sotto voce, clapping his broad paws over his snout to muffle his dorky giggles. He knew it was only a matter of time before they both came for him.

In the meantime, his eyes and ears peeked over Elwood's back as he watched Fox attempt to tackle Trick. He grinned. It never failed to amuse and turn him on when he saw his wife going beast mode on someone, playfully or otherwise. "Go firecrotch!" he cheered before catching himself and pancaking on the ground beside the munching Elwood.

This whole situation was ridiculously silly—as Redhawk Caldera gatherings tended to be—but Peregrine suddenly felt a deep feeling of contentment wash over him even as he awaited his certain doom.

This will actually be my final post but y'all are welcome to PP him through the end of the thread! :D

Last one from me. ^_^

Whether or not she made contact with Trick and succeeded in knocking him to the ground, she fully planned on continuing her football-style tackles until she either a) succeeded or b) grew bored of chasing him around. In either case, she would end up slumped up against Peregrine, licking the sweet, sticky mess off of him, while he did the same to her.

He grinned at Fox as his apple hit her. HA-HA! He let out in victory, for once not caring about the sticky mess that clumped his silky fur together. Of course, it felt like hell, but this was surprisingly fun. Even as Fox chased him - Trick being a fast as hell rabbit hunter able to run away for a bit. Eventually he gave in, seeing no reason why he should not give her the win. This was just a game, not a fight. He had no honor to hold. She ended up tackling him, and Trick squished an apple under him that created just more mess. Luckily it was a rotten one, or it might have hurt. He chuckled, quickly getting up. 

All was calmed down a bit, and he took a deep breath. The sweet scent of apple juice hung in the air thickly, and it only too a few breathes to make him dizzy. He cleared his throat, nodding to Fox and Peregrine for a moment before he threw his muzzle up. Okay -I surrender! I'm going to clean the mess that is my coat now - cheerio! He let out with a playful chuckle.

He then padded away to his own den and washed his coat spotless - even though the sweet smell remained for at least a day.  

Last one from me! :)

He'd been more concentrating on finding apples and launching them between his hind legs at Elwood, and hadn't paid much attention to Peregrine, who'd managed to get a bit too close to him. Figuring he wasn't Peregrine's target, he continued to scuff apples backwards, but froze for a second before skittering sideways when he felt something slimy and cold dribble down his cheek. He looked up in surprise at Peregrine, who'd obviously mushed one on top of his head, and barely managed to close his eyes and turn his face away when the remainder of the apple chunks in Peregrine's mouth were spat at his face. 

"Gwaawwww!" He exclaimed, immediately dropping to the ground and rubbing his face furiously against his legs, the grass- anything, just to get that yucky slime off his head. He shook his head furiously, sending a few bits of apple peel and juice flying, and looked around, only to see a bit of dark fur cowering behind Elwood. Both were fair game, he figured, so he ran toward Elwood, head down, intending to head-butt him in the side and send him toppling over the alpha who'd spat at him. 

All in all, it had been a long time since Shrike had played and had fun, for no reason other than to play and have fun. He'd later go to a stream and give himself a good, thorough rinse to get every last bit of sticky sweet fruit out of his fur, before retiring to his den, tired, but chuckling.