Redhawk Caldera show me to a higher place

hoping for @Towhee ! Hydra is well away from the borders, but in a spot she can easily be seen from the Caldera :)  

 

Hydra knew of her fathers opinion of the Caldera, and though typically she was of the same mind of him Hydra had one friend there who she did, like it or not, care about and she was also a tactician. After that wolf attacked, she knew that everyone in this area of the Wilds ought to know. If they could dispose of this threat, there was no need for any to worry. The Caldera had young too, Hydra knew. 

So when she arrived near the borders, she called for the leaders and also, for Towhee. It slipped her mind that her friend could not hear this. Straight away, the proud Ostrega lowered her head to respect any that might approach.

The pups were now living at the rendezvous site and it delighted Towhee to spend so much time with them. She noticed that their noisiness seemed to bother some of the other residents sometimes, an observation which always brought a small smile to her lips. Her deafness could be a blessing in some ways.

She spent some time with them this morning practicing signs, then excused herself to start a patrol. As she climbed downhill toward the borders, Towhee swept the surrounding lands with her orange eyes, which froze upon spotting a black silhouette about a quarter of a mile beyond the boundaries. The Xi's hackles prickled and she hastened toward the wolf, stepping over the borders and approaching to tell him (or her) off.

But she quickly realized she knew this outsider. "Hydra," she said, coming to a stop perhaps five feet from the visitor. Towhee squinted, trying to assess how she felt about the yearling's presence here. She wasn't aware of the association between her and the rude guest some weeks back, nor did Towhee harbor ill will toward Hydra for any other reason. But their rendezvous had fallen off, presumably because both of them were more focused on their families, their younger siblings specifically, to carve out time for that sort of thing. They were more or less strangers once more.

"Do you need something?" she queried slowly, body language still wary.

Hydra had been busy with a lot since they had last seen one another, and a lot had changed. But like Towhee, Hydra harbored no ill feelings toward the other. In fact, Hydra still liked her. They, as they came into adults, had less free time and more time to be devoted to duty. She felt that if anyone might understand that, it'd be Towhee. There was nothing to apologize for; they both, at the time, had good intentions. It was difficult to keep a friendship with anyone outside of a pack, but given the nearness to the Caldera Hydra hoped at some point in their lives they would find time for one another again. If not, it didn't really matter—at the very least, the two had a good understanding of one another. And at least Hydra being here now to warn her friend of what had transpired would show that despite their lack of seeing one another, she still had interest in the well-being of, well, really Towhee alone—Hydra had a selfless side that extended solely to the people that she had liked. 

Towhee looked grown now, if a little on the skinnier side. Hydra's tail waved once the other neared her and showed recognition. Towhee, she greeted in turn, eyes averting and ears flattening atop her head. Her head dipped a little lower; she recognized full well she was not on neutral territory, and had respected Towhee after knowing her own personal initiatives. The question caused Hydra's eyes to turn back to Towhee, though she took care to never meet the others eye. Actually, yeah. I wanted to warn you guys about a violent wolf that was in the Glen. He nearly killed the previous leader of the Vale... who is healing at Moonspear, now, she informed, in case the Caldera had any relationship with the Vale wolves. My sisters and I went to remove him, but the guy showed no self-preservation. He seemed like he just wanted to kill someone. He smelled like blood and feathers, she spoke slowly as she reflected, again, on the events. It had all just been so weird. He's pale, blue eyes—a gnarly wound on his face, now. And pretty big, as big as her father. We're patrolling more of the Glen and our neighboring territory, in case he comes back or is maybe still around and hiding. Basically, she wanted Towhee to keep her eyes peeled... for herself and her own pack, if nobody else.

Towhee's eyes fixed on Hydra's lips as she spoke, gaze never once wavering as she absorbed the message. She didn't know the first thing about the vale, nor did she particularly care, though something niggled in the back of her mind. Apparently Hydra's pack was looking after the victim of a lunatic whose description struck Towhee as mightily odd. Blood and feathers? she thought, face remaining blank as Hydra continued with a physical description and a summary of his possible whereabouts.

Her first instinct was to tell Hydra she couldn't care less about any of this, though the Xi pressed her lips together. Hydra had come here on good faith to make sure the caldera wolves knew of the potential threat. Towhee could appreciate that. When she felt the black she-wolf was finished speaking, she dipped her snout to acknowledge the information and thank Hydra for imparting it.

"We'll keep an eye out," she said simply, finally tearing her eyes away from Hydra's face to scan their surroundings briefly before her attention returned to her former sparring partner. "I have no doubt that you'll find him and kill him," Towhee remarked with a twitch of her lips. "You look as if you've been training hard," she added as a nod to Hydra's lean, muscular physique.

Hydra nodded. What put me off the most about it was the guy who was attacked said he didn't even know the guy... so... he might just attack anyone he sees, that was what Hydra felt was the most important takeaway. The guy likely didn't discriminate when it came to victims... meaning any wolf outside of their territory could be fair game. Hydra recalled all the times as a child she attempted to explore the outside world... her biggest concern were her siblings. Hydra knew Towhee had siblings, too, just not how old they were. 

She was at the least glad to hear that Towhee would keep an eye out. Better safe than sorry. As far as what she said next, Hydra grinned in turn. She definitely intended to, and perhaps her complete lack of verbal response confirmed that. He had landed a scratch or two on her, though Lyra, who had been stationary, received the brunt of his retaliation... and for that, he would certainly pay with his life if she ever saw him again. To the next compliment, Hydra smiled. I could say the same to you. You look stronger, and that was true, even despite the skinnier appearance Towhee presented. Have you been practicing much? She did not want to assume, but Towhee herself carried plenty of lean muscle that indicated she was doing something.

If she came across this wolf who acted violently and indiscriminately, it wouldn't be a first for Towhee. She filed away all of this information, planning to take it back to her Alphas when she had a chance. She saw more of them lately too, what with everyone using the rendezvous site as a home base now. Towhee's face softened as she recollected this recent transition, though she licked her lips and swiftly refocused on the conversation at hand.

Hydra returned her compliment and the Xi looked down at herself before glancing up again. -I've lost weight. We've had a slight food shortage here lately,- she signed before remembering herself and repeating it out loud. She wouldn't normally share this information with someone outside the pack, yet she trusted Hydra wouldn't abuse the information somehow. "I guess it makes my muscles pop out more," she quipped with a single dry bark of a laugh.

"I haven't been focusing on my warrior skills so much," Towhee admitted, "but you won't find a better guardian anywhere." Her eyes glittered with fierce pride. She wasn't that far off from totally mastering the skill and she wasn't even in the adult ranks yet. "Maybe one day, when our siblings are grown up a bit more, we can resume our spars?"

Hydra tilted her head at Towhee's mute gesturing, though then Towhee spoke aloud. What was that? she asked in a nonjudgmental tone, mimicking (imperfectly) the sign she had made for "food". And as for the food shortage, Hydra looked thoughtful. Has it ended?  she asked, curious; Towhee had said "lately", but also said "had", so she wasn't sure if it was still going on. Yeah, you look ripped, she said in earnest. Towhee looked like she had given up bulking season in favor of "shredding". but also like you could eat more, if you wanted. Moonspear's had one too many foxes hanging out—I could bring you some, she offered good-naturedly. If they couldn't spare it, Hydra would never offer—but they could. Moonspear thrived, lately. 

As far as what Towhee told her next, Hydra was quite interested. That's next for me—I'm more of a fighter than I am a guardian, but they kind of go hand in hand, right? she remembered Towhee's skill when they had sparred. You're a natural, you'll get that too in no time anyway, Hydra said with a wave of her tail. At Towhee's next suggestion, Hydra nodded eagerly. Definitely, she said, smiling. How are your siblings? I've got three new ones—my first brother, and two sisters. Gonna try and get my brother to be my little apprentice, she shared with a smirk. One had nearly died, but the past was in the past. And Ran, well, Hydra had totally forgotten.

"Ptero," Towhee answered simply, then pursed her lips. "I think it's coming to an end. Several wolves left, which helps matters." A smile flickered at the funny (to her) flattery, then she shook her head. The food situation had improved significantly enough that the Xi no longer felt like she had to worry about the puppies. And everyone else—herself included—could fend for themselves. They didn't need handouts.

"Yes, they do sort of go hand-in-hand," the guardian agreed. "I do need to build my offensive fighting skills but, for now, it's much more important that I know how to defend." There was so much to protect here, from the pups to the stockpiles to the land itself.

"I have two new brothers and two new sisters myself. I don't know what they'll end up doing as far as trades. They're only two months old. We actually just moved them to the rendezvous site the other day." Perhaps this was too much information to provide to an outsider but, again, Towhee knew Hydra wouldn't somehow use the information against her or her pack. She trusted her. "I'd tell you their names but I'm told that even those of us who can speak clearly have trouble with them, so I'm not even going to try to pronounce them out loud." But just to humor herself (and possibly Hydra), she made all four name signs.

The matter-of-fact way in which Towhee responded left little room for Hydra to even think of another question. I've never heard of that before, she simply said, before Towhee continued. Well that's good then. At least they knew they had to do what was best for the pack, Hydra did not know that Towhee had a hand in some wolves decisions. Even if she did, she would agree wholeheartedly with the girls methods. Hydra would do the same, after all. 

I'm good with offensive, she responded proudly, I can help with that, if you can help me with more defensive stuff. I know the basics, but if you know anything extra, it would help, Hydra had protected—a bear invader, and kept out others before they could get in. She had been many a physical altercation and fortunately, her offense had bested others defense. Of course, she was certain that none of them had been a master. It would be interesting for two experts to come against one another; Hydra was eager for it, in fact. But now wasn't the time, and since Towhee wasn't as well fed as she could be at the moment, Hydra did not even entertain it. 

Cool, she breathed, congrats! she knew Towhee had been anxious about them, but now she seemed pleased. My siblings have been around for four. They've been moved—a little later than your siblings, though. We had a bear lurking. We were able to take it down—I was able to kill it, after it fell over a ledge, but still, it was impressive enough of a tale to tell. They're tough. You really do need a whole pack to take down a healthy one, she informed, wanting Towhee to know this. When Towhee signed the names of her siblings, Hydra's eyes widened. That looks tough, she said with a laugh. Vela, Galaxy, and Jarilo are my siblings. Vela and Galaxy don't appreciate fighting much. So, probably Jarilo, she wanted a little sidekick to tell what to do and to attack things. When coming against trespassers, it was always effective with her sisters.

*randomly puppeteers some PPCs*

Towhee wasn't sure she'd "heard" correctly and echoed, "A bear?" She blinked, then gave Hydra a nod. "That's impressive. Was anyone hurt?" she found herself asking. She truly didn't care about the pack on a personal level, though she supposed it mattered to her because it was important to Hydra. Perhaps she did still consider her a friend, despite the time that had passed. She snorted inwardly at herself.

"Galaxy—as in stars? What do the other names mean?" Towhee wondered, always curious about wholly unfamiliar words. She wanted to repeat them aloud but was afraid to even attempt. She would just have to go by the shape of Hydra's lips. "Can you spell them for me too?" she requested, feeling only slightly self-conscious. It would allow her to picture the words better in her mind, make sense of them.

A howl suddenly rose into the air. Then another joined it, from a slightly different direction. @Orca and @Lagan called back and forth a bit, other voices joining in the chorus. Evidently @Lucca had strayed from the rendezvous site and they were attempting to locate him. There was an edge to the calls, though no urgency yet. Not that Towhee could hear any of it at all; she remained totally oblivious to the alarms ringing behind her, focus still trained expectantly on her visitor's mouth.

A bear, Hydra confirmed, eyes widening dramatically. My friend, Terance, got hit pretty hard... but my sister Lyra patched him right back up. She was relieved by that. Terance was another close friend of hers. He came at the bear and was right in the line of fire but fortunately didn't get hit hard enough to break anything. I hear bears can break your back with one good swipe, she grimaced. Needless to say, it had to go; it would be a threat to every single wolf in the pack.

Hydra explained the other names as she knew them, and spelled them out for Towhee to boot, before she paused when she heard howls ring.

Her own ears flicked as a call came into the air. While no, it didn't sound urgent, it likely needed as many functional noses and eyes that there was. She didn't forget their number was not as large as it once was. She looked to Towhee. Lucca's strayed from your rendezvous and they're trying to find him. I should get back myself. If I see a puppy where they shouldn't be, I'll just bring them here, she said with a grin. Hydra knew better than to offer assistance with another packs pups. Those were off-limits. She waited for Towhee to take action herself before leaving.

The Xi noticed the change in Hydra's demeanor, the sudden alertness and the tilt of her ears. Towhee went rigid, resisting the urge to look around to identify the source of the noise her guest was surely hearing. Instead, she focused raptly on Hydra, anticipating an imminent explanation.

Hydra didn't leave her hanging. Towhee frowned at the news, then gave Hydra a perfunctory nod, a thank-you and farewell. "Thanks, Hydra," she added aloud before turning swiftly and loping back toward the territory's center. En route, the howls changed tune, announcing Lucca's safe return. Towhee couldn't hear that, of course, but felt her white-streaked shoulders sag in relief when she came home to the sight of a happy family reunion.

Spanks for the thread, let's have another soon!