Redhawk Caldera My independence seems to vanish in the haze
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Ooc — Talamasca
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Open to anyone who wants to find them.


Every few feet he thought he felt eyes upon him. When he rested - they rested - it wasn't for long. Titmouse couldn't keep up a good pace but his fear of being discovered, dragged back to that cave, it was too much for him to bear. He leaned on the dark girl for support whenever he could; together, they came upon the meadow where they'd met that fateful day, and then he knew where to go from there. Tit took the lead as best he could but the going was still slow. They ended up resting on the edge of the meadow, where it met with the bramblewood, somewhere secluded but not entirely enclosed - and Titmouse drifted to sleep with the wind on his face.

In the morning he and @Cassiopeia began again. They were mostly rested - or rather, he had rested, he couldn't say anything about the shadow - and he didn't think to ask. The two of them had been through a lot already. The boy still couldn't stop feeling like this was wrong, that someone would be coming for him out of the shadows to grab him. Maybe this was all a trick - he glanced at Cass a few times with such a thought in mind, briefly suspicious - but they'd make it. They did make it.

When the Caldera came in to view he let out a deep breath, bumping Cassiopeia with a side-step by accident, and slouched to the ground. He looked defeated, but felt anything but. We did it, he sighed, we're here -- this is home. The boy licked his lips and sat there idling (oddly, thinking about how much he wanted a drink), watching the trees and the familiar boulders as if they might just be pieces of a dream - then with a small nudge to the shadow girl's nearby body, he murmured, Call... Call for... But he didn't know who to name. No doubt Towhee would be a wise choice, she was strong and capable of defending them if they were in danger - but she wouldn't be happy to see him alive, he thought. Raven maybe, because he was injured, but he couldn't keep calling for her help every moment he needed it.

Call for @Elwood, just... Call for help.
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Ooc — thalia
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#2
The girl hadn't been able to fall into the comfortable lull that sleep provided, merely sitting beside the boy and allowing her mind to spin off into a thousand different tangents. Morning had come all too quickly, and she had risen and moved with the boy without complaint, though the ground seemed to pull at her paws with every step she took, determined to pull her down into the earth. As time went on and their destination neared, her steps took all the more effort; the pack before her symbolised the start of a new chapter of her life; though whether or not it would be with the caldera (as the boy seemed to hope) was yet to be seen.

Border-scent had her pause, and collide awkwardly with Titmouse. He sunk to the ground, and while she felt very much like doing the same, she remained standing as he offered instruction. She lifted her muzzle, and the song that fell from it felt almost as if it had to be dragged from her throat, her confidence severely flagging. And yet she did it, all the same, stiffening and preparing to explain just what she had done, perhaps flee soon afterwards.
That is not dead which can eternal lie. 
And with strange aeons even death may die.

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It wouldn't be long now. With the level of activity at the borders every day (and Towhee specifically doing her rounds), Titmouse knew that someone would come and find them - maybe not Elwood, but someone. He didn't know who he'd rather see first: his siblings or his sort-of-mom, but Tit was contented by the fact he wouldn't face them alone. They'd have questions - they'd probably be skeptical of the shadow girl too - but she had saved him from the cave. Whatever had transpired to land him there in the first place was far in the back of his mind. The boy lazed in the grass; he bowed his head to look at his leg and carefully begin to clean it, but he gave up within moments. The herbal paste that had been applied had all but flaked off by now and the bits that remained tasted foul.

It felt like forever. His leg was throbbing after the escape they'd perpetrated (and Titmouse would forever remember it as an escape rather than being freed; he still felt watched, expecting to wake up back in the cave, something) and he needed to rest, but he was growing impatient. Where is everybody.. he murmured grimly, and wondered if everyone had banded together and headed for the woods already. Maybe they were raiding right now and teaching that white-furred freak a lesson or two? Tit's mouth set in a firm line, his teeth gritting softly as a sense of pride overwhelmed him. I hope they kill him, he blurted next, and loudly, next to his dark friend. I hope... I mean, I know he's your brother, but... Tit didn't have the energy to be consistently chatty as per usual, and floundered verbally until he just.. Gave up. He'd probably offended her somehow; but he didn't realize that the sister Vaati had been talking about might've been someone else entirely.

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Nothing seems to stir beyond the borderline for a few long minutes, and she girl sinks onto her haunches, shoulders hunched. The boy echoed her thoughts as he speaks, and yet she is silent, expecting his question to be rhetorical, as she can lend no answer herself. She offers the boy a glance, noticing the hardness of his maw, the angry pride glinting in his eyes. When he mentions her brother, confusion passes like a cloud before her, briefly, before she remembers the boy she has not thought of in weeks. "Aries?" It seems wrong, somehow. How would the boy know that he is her brother?  She twists to face him, brow creased, wondering if she cared if Aries died. She couldn't bring herself to muster up much emotion; perhaps, after so long believing him dead, she'd cared all that she could for the brother that had left her so young.
That is not dead which can eternal lie. 
And with strange aeons even death may die.

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Ooc — Talamasca
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The guy's name doesn't affect him at all, which is strange to the boy. Titmouse expected to feel his skin crawl or his stomach to flip-flop as soon as his friend spoke, but instead he felt nothing. There was an absence of feeling that, itself, made his anxiety spike a little. He should've had some kind of response, right? The guy kept him in a cave - kept them both in a cave at some point, for all he knew - and he felt nothing.

Dumb name. He never introduced himself I don't think - too busy being a skeevy piece of shit I guess, Tit could say whatever he wanted to now that he was safe. He had run his mouth a lot before, but that had been fear talking. The fear was weaker now - he was home - and so everything came easier. I just called him Snow White in my head. But he won't be for long, not when us Redhawks get a piece of him, heh. Tit's gaze glossed over as he rambled, and his mind flashed back to the conversation with Vaati - about being so weak he could lose to a girl. He came back to himself a second later, glancing at her. I called you Green Eyes.

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Ooc — Kim
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It was not uncommon for someone to request his presence at the borders with a howl, and Elwood hoped it would be just another routine visit. More than likely, it was someone harmless, although his guard was up since learning of the Blackfeather wolves after Wildfire's kidnapping. What had once been a mundane task now caused his heart rate to increase ever so slightly as he trod over familiar ground toward the outskirts of his land.

There were two wolves, one which was unfamiliar and the other that he recognized immediately, despite his disheveled appearance. Titmouse had been with them only a few days before disappearing again, and while his absence had caused some concern, he was also known to be flighty. Elwood had simply assumed that Towhee was right and the boy wasn't ready to settle down. But as he drew nearer, it was easy to see that something was very, very wrong with this situation.

Elwood's stomach turned and he turned a hard gaze to the dark she-wolf with Titmouse. Was it just his imagination, or did she smell the way the Blackfeather wolves had been described? His hackles bristled but he concerned himself first with Titmouse, who was clearly injured. "What happened?" he asked, his voice sharper than usual. He kept the strange female in his peripheral vision as he spoke to his godson.
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She understood what he meant in a flash, and her stomach rolled. She didn't want Vaati dead, couldn't imagine the concept. All she managed to say, however, was,  "he's not my brother."  The words sounded a little hitched to her own ears, her gaze fastened on his as he continued. She didn't have a chance to reply to the last thing he said, however, before a wolf appeared before them and her stomach dropped, and the ground seemed to pull her down, down, down. 

She stood, wavering slightly as the man ignored her, addressing the boy instead. She was silent a moment, tail tucked close to her, until she gathered the courage to speak out of turn, and admit to what she had done. "I attacked him. it was a mistake." The words she had carefully rehearsed fled from her, and what followed was clipped and disorganized.  "Vaa-he panicked, and brought him to the cave. Wolfskull. I-his leg, I broke it."  she paused, attempting to grasp desperately at the confidence that had fled deep inside herself.  "I was freed. he told me to leave, so I got him, and brought him back here."   She grimaces, hardly in the best shape to be attempting to offer an explanation, battered and thin and exhausted. Her gaze moves to Titmouse, feeling already that speaking was a mistake.
That is not dead which can eternal lie. 
And with strange aeons even death may die.

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Ooc — Talamasca
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Not her brother -- ? Tit's ears twisted forwards as if that would help him hear her properly, maybe he hadn't been listening. But no, she said that pretty clearly. Before he could reply to that though, Elwood arrived. On one hand Titmouse was glad to see him - thrilled through and through - but on the other, he wanted to finish their conversation. His priorities were a little skewed.

And all of a sudden Green Eyes was running her mouth and it took Tit a second or two to catch up. In between her outbursts he tried to edge in with his own explanation but, surprisingly, she was effective in conveying at least the basics - and quickly. With a frown on his face (and a sharp glare at her for spilling the beans -- how was he supposed to keep her safe now?), Tit shot a look to Elwood and cut in before anything else could be said.

That's not true - this big white dude grabbed me, took me to that cave. She tried to help me. We're here now because of her. She saved me from him. I don't -- I don't remember how I hurt my leg, which was sort of true, so please, please don't chase her away. I -- I promised her -- I told her she could stay, for saving me. This all came out in a jumble of course, some of it too fast and rising in tempo as if he couldn't get it out quickly enough. There was a pleading tone near the end as Titmouse verbally grasped at straws, hoping Elwood wouldn't see her as a threat. She -- she could show you how to get in, too. We can wipe them off the face of the wilds -- as payback, y'know?

As if a promise of vengeance, pain, and death was a bargain.

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Ooc — Kim
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#9
*flails*

The two youths began to explain in choppy sentences, talking over each other. At first, Elwood didn't understand. The girl had attacked Titmouse and broken his leg? Or had something else happened? Titmouse seemed adamant that she hadn't been the one to injure him. Elwood's frown deepened as he pieced together the information provided. Wolfskull. A cave. Payback.

His heart plummeted. Had Titmouse been assaulted by Blackfeather? Was one of their members standing right here, on his doorstep? In that moment, Elwood shut down. Anything else said by either Titmouse or the unfamiliar girl would be ignored. He needed to protect his family -- which meant that he needed to get rid of her. He disregarded the fact that Titmouse was trying to vouch for her and use her for intel, and with teeth bared, he turned on her.

"Get out," he snarled, lunging towards her with snapping jaws. Titmouse could stay -- and should probably see Raven -- but there wasn't time for Elwood to say so. Fear and anger spurred him on, urging him to drive the dangerous female away.
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They would not have her, as she had expected. Perhaps she had screwed up everything for herself (she most definitely had), but there was no place for her here, apparently. And she wouldn't push her luck, not for the promise she made Titmouse; her survival seemed much more important. She looked to him once, and there was a glint of fear in her eyes; what lay before her was murky and uncertain. 

 "I'm sorry." was all she murmured to Titmouse, before twisting; but not fast enough to miss the stinging snap that landed on her flank. She moved, gaining speed rapidly until she left both Titmouse and his Caldera behind, an odd sort of longing sitting heavy in her chest.
That is not dead which can eternal lie. 
And with strange aeons even death may die.

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What transpired next confused the hell out of Titmouse; it was so fast though, and he was still reeling from Green Eyes' attempt at shooting herself in the foot. She had been successful, unfortunately. Elwood took in as much information as he could and then snapped - literally and figuratively in Tit's eyes - going straight at the dark girl. Tit reacted to his advance and his teeth by throwing himself between the two wolves; whether Elwood connected or not, he wouldn't let harm come to his friend considering all that she had risked to free him.

What are you doing?! he screeched, almost drowning out Cassiopeia's hasty apology - but Tit's ears flattened simultaneously with it, and so he caught it just before her escape. No - no! I promised her - he rambled, spinning on his heels and trying to go after her. Titmouse made one wrong step with his injured leg and went down, hard. Without really thinking, the boy had expected something there to resist his motion - he expected Cassiopeia to be there - and obviously she wouldn't be. 

He watched her slip back out the way they'd both arrived, but couldn't call out after her because of the pain in his limb. It was searing and constant, as if it had just snapped all over again, but there hadn't been a snap or anything. All Tit could do was sit there in the dirt until the sensation abated, and by that point it was too late. He was hastily bracing himself with his good leg and trying to get back up within a handful of moments, though.

I promised she could stay! What the fuck is your problem?! 
He was screaming in earnest now. With a face-full of dirt and every inch of his body aching from his injuries and the exhaustion of his escape, he didn't move, but his voice - and his unhindered sense of rage, of betrayal - overwhelmed everything.


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Ooc — Kim
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She moved quickly, but not quickly enough; Elwood felt the impact of his own teeth on her hindquarters before she managed to pull away. He would have followed her out of the territory had Titmouse not intervened in that moment. Before Elwood really knew what was happening, the boy had flung himself in front of him, and the Alpha was forced to draw up short with fangs still bared.

Titmouse shrieked as he tried to follow his "friend," and Elwood was prevented from having to chase him when the boy's legs gave out beneath him. He slumped to the ground and continued to screech, rage and despair emanating from his form. When he turned his anger on Elwood and began to cuss at him, the Blackthorn bore down on him and snapped his teeth against the air in an effort to silence him.

"That's enough," he growled; there was much more he wanted to say to his godson, but he knew that at present it would all go in one ear and out the other, drowned out by Titmouse's big emotions.
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It just wasn't fair. Elwood had no idea what he was doing (according to the teen, who persisted with his tantrum). There was no good reason for Titmouse to be so attached to Cassiopeia - in fact, he didn't even know her real name at this point - but something made him very protective of her; he had given her a promise, trusted in his family to support him, but hadn't taken anything else in to consideration. Had he been older and a bit wiser, maybe he would've used the dark girl's help and then turned her out the way the Alpha wished. Tit was nowhere near mature enough to realize his mistake, and probably would defend his choices until he was blue in the face.

He almost did just that. The boy was still going on and on about all of this when Elwood snapped at him, and the display shocked Tit enough to make him lose his place, verbally. He sputtered a little, trying to pick up the shouting somewhere - but Elwood's raised voice made him stop and glower. He was panting hard for a minute or two, then struggled to his feet.

You don't trust me. Titmouse stated flatly, turning a cold look upon the older wolf. Before Elwood could defend himself Tit just spat, If you trusted me you would've let her stay. There was more to it than that - but Titmouse was adamant in his own truths. In his mind, right now, Elwood was the enemy.

With a bold swivel of his body Titmouse was up in Elwood's grill with his fur bristling, tail arching like a challenge across his back, and he lunged (albeit pathetically) at his latest antagonist.


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Let me know if this isn't okay or doesn't make sense -- also I'm fine with it if Titmouse bites him, I wasn't sure if he was attacking with his teeth or not! :)

Elwood's abrupt movement toward Titmouse was enough to silence the boy, at least temporarily. He took a step back as his nephew collected himself, both mentally and physically, and the hackles standing in a ridge along his spine softened. But he bristled again in the next instant when Titmouse spoke once more, accusing him of a lack of a trust.

Before Elwood could react, Titmouse had suddenly and aggressively closed the gap between their bodies. He felt the youth's breath hot in his face as he loomed close, and while he certainly didn't want to further injure him, he couldn't stand for this kind of behavior. Titmouse's attack found its target in Elwood's shoulder as he turned to him, and he hoped to simply knock the wounded boy off his feet with the gravity of his own weight.
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Titmouse was no warrior and he needed to admit that to himself at some point; his captor had been right about that, and in his mockery of the boy's behavior when Cassiopeia had bested him. Yet it wasn't a warrior's stance he took as he turned upon his Alpha. He had shot after Elwood with no intention of doing him harm (doubting himself even now, filled with rage and the sense of betrayal, of hurt and loss now that his friend was gone) and yet, his teeth made purchase with Elwood's shoulder. He bit down out of instinct more than true desire, feeling his teeth snag and tug, only to release a moment later when he understood the dire implications of this assault. It was a fluke that he'd  landed the hit at all - and then, in his moment of surprise as he let everything slacken, Elwood bowled him over.

Titmouse went down like a sack of bricks, landing on the shoulder above his broken forelimb with a squealing whine, and then rolled beneath Elwood on to his back with his good limb lifted to his clavicle. His paw protected his throat just in case while flashbacks of the fight with Green Eyes played hastily through his mind; his eyes were wide and full of terror, and his tail tucked so as to brush his pale exposed belly.


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Despite the pinch of Titmouse's teeth on his shoulder, Elwood allowed his momentum to continue to carry him forward. The end result was what he desired: Titmouse lost his balance and was bowled over easily, unable to keep himself upright on his remaining uninjured legs. Elwood's forelegs splayed to keep himself from falling on top of the boy, and he found himself looking down into the frightened face of his nephew.

His lips remained taut around his teeth, but Elwood relaxed ever so slightly. He kept his guard up, though, just in case Titmouse surprised him with another physical response. "Titmouse," he said sternly, and then repeated himself. "That's enough."

Although the youth was curled beneath him, protecting his throat and cradling his damaged leg, Elwood stayed in his current position -- essentially straddling him -- in order to communicate that Titmouse wasn't to make any sudden movements. He was willing to give him another chance, but only because he was a Redhawk; he was family. "I'm sorry about your friend. I couldn't let her stay here if she's from Blackfeather, though. I trust you, but I can't trust her. You can stay -- we can have Raven look at your leg. Tell me what happened, and start at the beginning," he said, speaking firmly and slowly and hoping that Titmouse would listen and oblige.
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He saw Elwood looming over him and for a split second he was Green Eyes - and then Vaati, Raven, kind of a mess as his brain attempted to diffuse his fear. It didn't wholly abate but he calmed enough to listen to Elwood's voice, take a deep breath, and do as he was told (fucking finally).

I - I... I thought it was Raven. In the meadow. I ran over to her and then... Well, yeah, she was right, sh-she attacked me. The next thing I remember, I'm in a cave and I'm hurting. He swallowed a lump and watched Elwood for a visual response, but continued after a beat. She tried to take care of me but I didn't trust her, or the other guy - this big white guy, he acted like the boss. Remembering the conversation brought a sheen to his eyes and he grit his teeth for a second, wanting nothing more than to go storming back over there so that he could rip that guy a new hole - It's all really fuzzy in my head.

Was there more? Sure, but Titmouse was too overcome at this point to explain further. Hopefully Elwood got the jist of it.



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This time, when Titmouse relayed the tale, he did so in a more coherent manner. Elwood listened, his patience with the boy slowly returning. It turned out that the girl had initially attacked him, although Titmouse had tried to protect her by twisting the truth earlier. Either way, he had still ended up confined in one of Blackfeather's caves.

He committed the information to memory, particularly the part about the big white wolf that had appeared to be in charge. This was, perhaps, the nameless criminal responsible for the assault and kidnapping of Teekon's innocent residents. Shifting backward slightly so that Titmouse could right himself if he wanted, Elwood inferred, "And she helped you escape?" There was nothing that they could do about Titmouse's friend now -- she was long gone, if she knew what was good for her -- but he was curious as to why one of the Blackfeathers would pardon a captive.

"Why did she help you?" he asked. He wanted to get Titmouse into Raven's care soon, but still had questions to be answered first.
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Titmouse failed to pick up on the slackening of Elwood's guard or the strength of his patience, and responded to the questions as if he were being interrogated by the "bad cop" side of an interrogation team. On the topic of their escape Tit started to explain, She-- but then fell quiet because he'd inadvertently cut off Elwood mid-question. Finally he blurted, I think she was a captive too and they -- he -- that guy, he might've done something to her. But she wanted out of there as much as me, and -- and I promised her she would be safe. As he mentioned this last bit, Titmouse felt himself finally feel the defeat of the moment, and deflated.
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Elwood frowned thoughtfully as Titmouse explained the situation with the girl. While he didn't like to hear that she had potentially been another wolf held by Blackfeather against her will, nothing that Titmouse shared was pure fact. He was speculating to the best of his abilities, and Elwood couldn't blame him for that. His time spent as a captive had surely been confusing (not to mention physically and mentally draining), but that didn't mean that the girl was who she said she was. What if it was all a lie? There was no way for either Elwood or Titmouse to figure it out at this point in time.

But Titmouse's upset was evident in the slumping of his body, and Elwood understood that he felt terrible for breaking his promise. He didn't feel that there was anything he could say to really reassure his nephew; he didn't even know how the proposed war alongside Drageda would play out, so he couldn't suggest that they try to spare her. Presently, the most important thing was to get Titmouse's leg looked at, so he focused on that.

"Let's get you to Raven, okay? Do you think you can walk if I support you?" he asked, his untrained eye roving over the boy's various injuries.
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He didn't want to accept his uncle's help but he knew not to fight it at this point. Titmouse was exhausted and that was likely the reason for his combative behavior - that and the betrayal that still stung him deep down. But the boy rolled to his feet and accepted the aid that Elwood offered, going silent as he hobbled deeper in to the territory in search of his mother.