Redhawk Caldera all is fair in love and brostep

For @Lagan! Though any of the fam is welcome ofc

The metaphorical reigns that kept the pups within the boundaries of the rendezvous den seem to loosen by the day, and Lucca couldn't be happier. Their parents let them roam further and further and they weren't being immediately herded back by an older pack member once they hit some invisible border. If it had been explained to them why they allowed them to do this, Lucca hadn't remembered it. He was baffled but pleased.

Today, though, found him in his usual state — a barely visible speeding ball of grey fur. He darted from place to place, sniffing at the base of trees, flipping over rocks, rolling in the patch of dirt before the den. He hollered as he did so, alerting everyone within a ten mile radius that he was up and ready to play! While he awaited for someone to accidentally make eye contact with eagerly join him, however, the pup amused himself with a small bug, dipping into a play bow before it and rolling his head as he barked happily at it, leaping away every so often before pouncing upon it again.

Lagan, as per usual, was out in the the woods, running around and having a good time. Ever since that famine ended and everything ended up ok, Lagan’s life was looking up again. He promised himself he was going to go search for Tapat again, for he hadn’t seen him since the food scare. His boyfriend, at least he hoped they still were. The grey and white bundle of joy still thought about the other grey wolf, but he’d gotten caught up in raising his siblings and falling in love with being a dad all over again. This was his true calling, what he loved to do. It basically allowed him a reason to be a big child forever, and for that reason it was the best. Plus he loved his family more than anything, and he would do anything for them.

Absolutely anything, he was there whenever they’d ask. And so when he heard Lucca’s call, he bolted in the direction of his little bro at the speed of light. When he saw Lucca playing with a bug, he slowed down to a trot. Who’s that you got there? New friend? He asked, a smile dancing upon his face.

*crawls back onto the scene* Sorry for the wait!

Lucca whipped his head upwards at the sound of his brother approaching, grinning and nodding at his words; though the bug was less of a new friend and more of a prisoner forced to play with him against its will. It took the momentary distraction to make its great escape, only to quickly be noticed by the pup again. Lucca let out a scolding, "bad!" and placed a slightly too heavy-handed paw upon it, promptly squishing the poor bug unbeknownst to the boy.

"Yah!" he announced proudly, looking back up to Lagan. Even though his brother was responsible for many of his foiled attempts to sneak away from the den, Lucca still thought he was super cool and didn't mind sharing. "He can be your friend, too! I haven't thought of a name for him but he isn't as loud as Clover or smelly as Tegan so he's going to be my new broth—" Lucca rambled happily, before realising what he had done as he lifted his paw to show off his new "friend" to Lagan.

Horrified, he stared at what was left of the bug, letting out a soft, "oh."

With a chuckle, Lagan swooped forward. Despite the plans he had for the bug, Lucca wasn't too disheartened by his unintentional murder of it, but his brother offered for them to bury it all the same. After, the day took a more sombre tone as Lagan explained life and death to the young boy, who took the information all on board even if he didn't understand everything. That was until Clover crashed the scene and his attention was stolen by their sister. After tiring themselves out with a game of chase, the younger children finally collapsed in a heap as Lagan went back to his patrols.

*tacks on an ending*