Redhawk Caldera Don't give in, don't give up

She had struck out on her own again, though by now the adults had more or less given up on trying to keep track of her movements, at least within the territory. Towhee had proved that she was fairly capable of performing routine patrols on her own, so they let her have at it. Despite her young age and the repetitiveness of circling endlessly around the rocky smokestack of the caldera like a donkey marching around a blacksmith's forge, the young mercenary never tired of this task. Her sharp eyes roved the borderlands as she skulked along an invisible tightrope, nostrils flaring and hackles prickling.

As ever, she didn't hear the call that went up in in the muggy May air. But it was only a matter of time before the Xi spotted the interloper standing at the fringes of the pack's territory. A warning growl ripped from her throat as she immediately sprinted toward him. She knew better than to simply attack on sight, yet there was nothing welcoming about her demeanor as she dug her heels into the earth and stood her ground about five feet from the pale stranger... whose scent was strangely familiar.

"Who are you?" she demanded, her voice a garbled bark.