Redhawk Caldera I'm not sure how orange correlates with black in a way that's new.
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#1
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Towhee felt like her heart would beat out of her chest as she stood panting on the borders, blood dripping from her jaws. It wasn't hers; it belonged to the dead wolf currently pinned beneath her. She had caught him snatching some meat from one of the caches just inside the borderline and attacked on sight. They had engaged in quite a ferocious struggle—Towhee was a little surprised the sound hadn't drawn attention, although she was only guessing that it had been an awfully noisy fight—but she had emerged the victor.

After catching her breath, she slid off the still-warm corpse to assess herself. Her mouth may have been full of his life blood, yet she hadn't escaped unscathed. There were contusions all over her, including a deep bite wound on one of her white-streaked shoulders. She managed to twist her neck to lick it clean, then moved on to her other, smaller wounds, tending them one by one. Towhee knew she should call @Raven or go find her, yet she also knew the medic's energy and reserves were already being sapped by their (unwanted, in Towhee's opinion) guest.
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

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Phox had been so caught up in following his herd and watching the sky, he had barely noticed all the commotion that had kicked up dust in the caldera. He was, for lack of a better phrase, out of the loop. He knew the vague details. Their sister, Wildfire, was staying here, and so was one of her pack mates. He hadn't bothered to meet them, figuring they would be on their way soon enough. Besides, he was too focused on himself and his own studies to worry about any of that pack drama.

He was checking on the caches when he came across a rather dead wolf, covered in Towhee's scent (and blood). And even though he was rather apathetic about most things in life, Towhee was not one of those things. His heart pounded as he rushed to her, expression of shock and worry as he approached, slowing his speed and letting out a soft whine (that she would not hear, considering he was behind her). He took a wide path around her, not wishing to startle her in such a state. -What happened? Are you okay?- he asked, coming close as concern saturated his expression.
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She looked up sharply when she saw movement, jaw snapping shut as she tensed. But it was only Phox. He looked concerned, so Towhee quickly stepped closer to him and offered a reassuring nudge. -I'm okay. Actually, I'm better than okay! This dick,- she said, huffing breathlessly as she signed, unaware of how noisy she was being (as usual), -was stealing our food, so I killed his ass!- She had never really been one for swearing but, well, she was an adult now!

-I could use some help cleaning up,- she did say after a beat, then tipped her head toward the torn and bloody wolf. -And getting rid of the body, I guess. It would be weird to eat it, wouldn't it?- The thought had crossed her mind—meat was meat, after all—but Towhee figured an actual hunter should make the call, in case it was taboo.
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

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Phox didn't quite believe that she was okay, but he knew from experience that telling Towhee to do anything was unlikely to result in her actually doing the thing. She asked if they should eat the intruder, and Phox eye-balled it for a second, the question turning over in his mind a bit longer. They weren't short on food, or he might have suggested that it was a good idea. Something about it seemed to scream "do this only in desperate times." -We should get rid of it,- he agreed after a pause.

-But first we should get you cleaned up,- he said, beginning to work his way to some of the harder-to-reach places on Towhee. Grooming each other was something (Remedy assumes) they did often, so it didn't feel odd or out of the ordinary at all. The siblings had always been closer than usual, and though they had grown individually the past few months, Phox still considered them to be inseparable.
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#5
You got #499 and #500.

Phox said they should get rid of the body by means other than consumption, so Towhee merely nodded. She then plopped down (with a bit of a grimacing sigh) and held still as he came closer and began to tend to her wounds. He cleaned the ones she couldn't reach, so Towhee bent to gently run her tongue over the ones she could. She really wasn't in too terrible a shape. You should see the other guy, she quipped to herself, smirking a bit between licks.

When they were finished, Towhee found herself sliding forward onto her belly rather than preparing to drag the body elsewhere. -Man, the exertion's really catching up to me now. I'm fine, just w-o-r-n o-u-t,- she said, spelling it out for emphasis. -I just need five minutes. Where should we take it?- she queried, glancing at the body.
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

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Phox didn't believe that Towhee was "fine," but he also knew there wasn't much he could do about it. Even if she was more likely to listen to him compared to anybody else, that didn't mean she would always listen. -I can get Raven or Lagan to help,- Phox replied. -You should take it easy.- Phox looked back to the wolf, wondering what had happened. If Raven and Lagan got here, Lagan could help Phox pull the body somewhere else, and Raven could make sure Towhee's wounds healed properly. Phox wasn't entirely sure what that entailed, but he figured the medic had a better idea than he did.

Towhee looked like she was about to doze off, which really concerned Phox. As much as he wanted to let her sleep, something about that seemed off to him. He felt like she should at least stay awake until somebody got here. Lagan, apparently drawn in by the smell of blood, rounded the corner and asked all the same questions Phox just had. -Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?- Once Phox explained what had happened, his eyes landed on the dead wolf again. "Can you help me move it?" he asked, and Lagan nodded grimly.

-Stay here, we'll move it,- Phox told Towhee.
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When Lagan arrived with a bounty of questions, Towhee appreciated that Phox fielded them for her. She wondered if their older brother found the whole situation distasteful. She still remembered how badly he'd reacted when she'd killed a trespassing coyote pup in front of him. Whatever his personal feelings on the matter, he agreed to help Phox move the body. As they prepared to move off with it, Towhee nodded and stayed put.

While they were gone, @Orca appeared, also drawn by the scent of blood. After offering a quick explanation, Towhee asked, "Hey, could you call for @Raven?" Orca nodded and quickly howled for their older sister. She then took a seat beside Towhee, eyeing her litter mate's wounds. "I'm fine, Phox cleaned them for me and I'm sure Rave will make sure nothing gets infected."
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

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As they lugged the body away, Phox wondered what would drive a wolf to such extremes. He could not think of a single scenario where he would want to trespass on another pack's land, let alone try to steal their food. Was this wolf just that stupid? Were all wolves outside of the caldera that stupid? He had met a few, of course, usually while he was at the lake doing his routine star-gazing, but none of them had seemed exceptionally dumb. In fact, they had seemed rather intelligent, like himself. Maybe the wolves outside of the caldera just did not care about boundaries.

Once they had moved the body far enough away from the cache, Phox paused and panted, looking over the body once more. "Should we... do anything else?" he asked, looking to Lagan for advice. Lagan did seem more concerned than Towhee had been, perhaps about the same level as Phox had been. "We can cover it," Lagan suggested, and he began picking up sticks, leaves, and whatever else he could find to cover the body. "It won't keep the scavengers away forever, but it'll give him some dignity." Phox wasn't really sure why the wolf needed dignity, but he complied, figuring Lagan was older and smarter about these kinds of things.

On the way back to Towhee, Phox heard Orca call for Raven. At least that was taken care of. "Thanks, Orca," he said once they arrived back at the scene. "I'm gonna check on this cache. Gotta make sure it wasn't too badly wrecked." Phox went over to do just that, nosing the remaining bits of food (and, let's admit it, eating a few hunks in the process). He carefully placed the larger bits back in the ground, covering them with dirt until they were safe and sound once again.
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It had been some time since Raven had seen Towhee or the other recently adultified kids aside from Titmouse, but she'd been hearing some great things about them. Towhee in particular had really blossomed into her role as guardian of the packlands, and Raven thought the girl might be destined for leadership someday. Phox and Orca had grown into intelligent, productive members of the pack too, and now Titmouse was back as well. As surrogate mothers went, Raven couldn't have been prouder. The kids had had a weird upbringing but overall, it had worked.

She was lounging near her little medicine cache, doing nothing much in particular, when Orca's voice split the air with a note of mild urgency: someone needed help. Quickly, she ducked into the little den and grabbed a few of her favorite "all purpose" plants, mostly those that aided in blood clotting and infection prevention. Over the years she had learned that, more often than not, when she was called directly like this, it meant that someone was injured. She quickly made her way in the direction from which Orca's voice had come. She had to drop her small bundle of plants a few times and exchange howls with Orca to re-orient on them and get a better sense of direction.

They were all the way out by the borders so it took Raven a while to find them, but soon enough, she did. After a quick explanation from Orca, she approached Towhee and immediately began taking stock of the girl's injuries. "Hey," she greeted them all with a fond smile, concern evident in her eyes as she noticed the leaf-strewn lump on the ground nearby. Turning her attention to her sister, she commented with a touch of humor, -"You sure have a talent for getting yourself all banged up. We should make up a new trade just for you: Redhawk Caldera Resident Punching Bag."- Considering the distance she'd had to run to get here and the time it had taken, she was glad she'd trusted her instincts and brought the plants that she had. Immediately, she set to work grinding them into a paste with her teeth. They were a little dried-out, which really wasn't ideal, but they would be sufficient for now.
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With nothing to do now but wait, Towhee dropped to the ground and stretched gingerly, wincing slightly as her hurts smarted. She did her best to relax, though she twitched inquisitively when she saw Orca howling again. "Raven's on her way," the two-toned she-wolf mouthed to Towhee, who nodded and let her chin drift down to her outstretched forelegs.

Phox said something about checking the cache, which was smart thinking, and Towhee's orange eyes followed him and Lagan as they disappeared in the direction of the raided stockpile. Soon her attention was drawn to a sleek black figure trotting her way, a bundle of green in her mouth. The mercenary sat up with a muffled groan, her tail tapping gently in greeting.

"You're in good hands, so I'm gonna get back," Orca said, nudging both her sisters before striding away, presumably back toward the rendezvous site. "See you," Towhee called after her, then turned to watch Raven address her before quickly getting down to the business of preparing her herbs.

-Hey,- Towhee protested, albeit with a smug smile, -you should see the other guy.- She paused for effect before adding, -Except you can't because he's D-E-A-D.- She spelled out the word for emphasis, then waited to see what the caregiver would say to this news.
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

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Lagan lingered near Towhee while Phox finished up his part of making sure the cache was put back together. It wasn't perfect, but at least they hadn't lost the whole thing. Once he was satisfied, he returned to the group and watched Raven and Towhee talk back and forth with one another. He winced when Towhee smiled, wondering why she seemed so... pleased about killing another wolf. Sure, he'd been trespassing, and it was the right thing to do, but there was something unsettling about the way she enjoyed it so much.
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#12
Wrapping this up for us!

Raven looked a bit taken aback, then quickly asked Towhee for further details. The battle-worn youth happily obliged even as her sister began assessing her wounds, explaining how she'd stumbled upon the stranger with his head buried in their cache. The mental image made her blood boil all over again and her lip curled as she told the story of how she'd attacked immediately and put him down. -Serves him goddamn right,- she concluded.

The medic's lips pursed thoughtfully but she didn't make any particular comments. When she asked if Towhee felt up to relocating to the sanctuary of the rendezvous site, the mercenary nodded and climbed to her feet. Her body smarted as she began walking, though not too horribly. As she walked past Phox, she made a questioning face: You coming? Whether or not he came along, she faced forward and followed the caregiver toward the stash of remedies she kept in the badger den at the territory's heart.
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

I archive threads if my partner goes inactive and/or there are no new replies for several weeks. I'm more than happy to continue an archived thread if you're interested. Just revive it (via maintenance) and tag me in your next reply. :)