Redhawk Caldera The front lines - the edge of death

Elwood heard each word spoken by both the youth and the freckled adult, but he chose not to register them. The young girl could have had a chance with him, despite Towhee's negative reaction to her presence and her gift. However, as soon as the male arrived and began making assumptions and inappropriate claims of dominance, any sliver of respect Elwood might have had for them was gone. It was a shame that he didn't realize just who he was dealing with; had he known this was Charon, who had hassled Sassafras, he might have had a more physical message to deliver.

Rather than speak further -- even as Towhee shouted at and moved towards the interlopers -- Elwood simply stared at them stonily. He would let them think what they wanted; as long as they were away from his borders in the next few seconds, he didn't care. He had made his feelings quite clear and he did not alter his posture even as the two unwelcome wolves began to make their departure. The white male's insults fell on deaf ears, literally and figuratively. Elwood couldn't remember a time that he had encountered such immaturity, and certainly wouldn't justify him with a response.

As the pair began to put distance between themselves and the caldera's borders, Elwood glanced at Towhee. He shifted to nudge her shoulder with his own, though his head and tail remained elevated and he quickly planted his gaze once more on the twosome's retreating figures. "You okay?" he asked, although he already knew the answer. She was probably perfectly fine, and he couldn't help but feel proud of the way she had defended their pack.