Fox hadn't really known what to think of the oddly-shaped orange and green orbs that sat on the ground, but after seeing a couple of them had already been raided by smaller creatures. Noting that there were plenty of them to go around, she realized it was the perfect opportunity to bring her comrades together and give a pep-talk about the winter, Finley's status, and what they could expect in the months to come. A little informal gathering would be great for pack morale, or so she thought, and it would be nice to bring them all together for a time and feast on the strange fruits.
Upon deciding this, Fox took her stance on the side of the caldera and sang the song of her people. It called for them to come and meet her, and her tone was light, airy, and happy. Sure, winter was beginning to settle in on them, but she was looking forward to the months ahead. Finley would return, she and Peregrine would have their children, and Fox had faith that Redhawk Caldera would remain strong.
When Fox's howl went up, Elwood paused in his digging. He had been hollowing out an area at the base of a tree -- the same tree, in fact, that he had called "home" for his first few nights in the pack -- in an attempt to fashion it into a cache for the winter. The grey delta gave another scratch with his right forepaw, bringing a pile of dirt toward his chest, then righted himself and turned, pointing his nose in the direction of Fox's voice.
It turned out that he wasn't far from her, and quickly found himself in close proximity to the alpha. With pricked ears and a gentle wag of his tail, Elwood greeted her nonverbally, coming to a halt next to a particularly large pumpkin. He leaned down to sniff it, pressing his snout against its hard, smooth surface, and then he looked quizzically at Fox.
Peregrine sneezed explosively, nearly drowning out the sound of his mate's voice summoning the pack. Wrinkling his nose, he began to move again, abandoning his nearly-finished patrol to go to her. He wondered what she had up her sleeve.
He arrived to find her and Elwood hovering in a... "Pumpkin patch! Oh, man, this makes me miss Finley," the Alpha male mused as he strode onto the scene. He did not explain, instead nodding and saying, "Hey, Elwood," before gliding over to his mate and greeting her with a kiss to the soft, fuzzy space between her gray eyes. "Hiyoo."
(I just joined a thread with Elwood, but it hasn't gone anywhere yet. Since it would take place before this thread, I'll act as if Somnia has already met Elwood, but I'll keep it vague.)
Somnia was trying to hunt solo when she heard Fox's call. Immediately giving up, (she hadn't caught anything yet anyways), she broke into a trot in the direction of the beautiful song's origin.
She found Fox, Peregrine, and Elwood, thankfully she had already met the three of them, and a bunch of unknown, green and orange objects. Somnia nodded respectfully to her alphas before sitting down. She let her attention drift to the unfamiliar objects, and then wandering into her thoughts. This would be a good chance for Somnia to familiarize herself with her new family, as long as she could keep herself calm when she met those she hadn't yet met.
"If I could just get a chunk of it, I'd be chill about sharing, ...cmon, Mother Nature, tweak gravity a bit for me. Just a tiiiiiiiny bit..."
Another high jump from the small stump that was at the base of a tall oak, who held an abandoned honeycomb nestled within its recently abandoned bee's nest.
Oh jeez, just imagining all the perks of getting the good sticky stuff.
So sweet, just...
A..
bit....
more...
reach.....
Just as the golden boy was summoning the hardcore parkour jump, a symphony snapped his mojo zen in several shards.
Damnit, Fireball.
Casting a envious glare at the obviously animate, talking, fully functioning, living honeycomb, the yellow pelt called over his slim shoulder as he bounded across the grassy lands,
"Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."
And after his light little temper tantrum, the two year old padded into the clearing.
First the Alphas.
"Hello there, Dark Dude, and Flamin' Foxy",he said jovially, while still showing the proper respect of body posture, lowered tail, proper body, ect.
Next, other dudes and dudettes,
"Sup, Electric El, and hey there, mystery babe", Ash said referring to the previously met comrade and random chick he hadn't seen around.
"Names Ashton, I'll acquaint myself with you the moment the head honcho duo tell us the meaning of the pumpkin life. "
And with a charmingly natural grin, the hippie sat back, watching the scene before him with glittering leafy orbs.
Fitz had been keeping to himself of late for no good reason other than his writer had been trying to wrap up old threads and hopefully by doing so ward off the office flu. If he had to pick a reason why he had kept to himself it was maybe because he wanted to work on new stories so that he could work a bit more towards his storyteller skill.
Autumn had grasped them all within its grips but sometimes it felt like it was losing hold and Winter was about to take over. At the very least it was putting up one hell of a fight. FitzDutiful had also been thinking a lot about changing his name. Yes, FitzDutiful represented him but he wanted to take on his own trait-name instead of constantly being reminded that he was born out of mateship.
Fox's howl went up and dutifully, Fitz headed towards her, one of the last to arrive but he still arrived. Happy to see them he greeted his pack respectfully and settled in to hear what was going on - taking in the pumpkin patch sight as he did.
In which Fox greets everybody personally because she's awesome like that. ;)
Next round starts Nov. 18th. No posting order!
Elwood was the first to arrive, and Fox grinned happily at him (ignoring the cracked scab on her face) and wagged her tail as he approached.
“Elwood!,” she greeted.
“You've never seen one before either?” she asked, prancing over and giving him a friendly, affectionate nose-touch to the shoulder. This was her first encounter with the strange food-like objects, and knowing that she wasn't the only one made her excited. Fox had an extremely good feeling about this gathering, and she hoped it would work out well.
Before he could answer, Peregrine was on the scene, letting the both of them know exactly what they'd found and wishing that Finley was here. A small frowning pout puckered on her lips, also wishing that their beta could be here to enjoy her little pumpkin find. She returned his kiss with one of her own, her tail beating the air.
“I was just asking Elwood if he’d ever seen these before. I’m going to guess that you have some experience with these… pumpkins, did you call them? They’re safe to eat, right?” Peregrine was the resident gamekeeper, and that included non-meat foods, too.
Somnia arrived not too long after Peregrine, and Fox trotted over to her and gave her a friendly lick to her cheek.
“Glad you could make it, Somnia,” she beamed, feeling more social than usual today. Winter would be here soon, and Fox wanted to ensure that everybody felt welcomed and included in the caldera. She was determined to make sure their pack was close-knit and would survive without any internal drama.
Ashton interjected with an introduction to Somnia shortly after, and Fox brushed his shoulder with her own.
“This,” she explained,
“is Somnia. One of our newer additions.” There was more she wanted to say and talk about with Ashton, but she was quickly pulled away by the appearance of FitzDutiful, who had been oddly quiet over the past few weeks. Sure, Fox had seen him around, but he hadn't been terribly involved in things, so she was excited to see him here.
“Fitz!” she whooped, bounding over toward him with her tail bouncing behind.
“We’re totally going to have to catch up after this, but right now, there are pumpkins to eat!” She pressed her nose into his neck for a moment, withdrawing with a giddy smile. She then returned to sit by Peregrine's side, and figured the other stragglers would make it when and if they made it.
Jovial and bright-eyed, Fox balanced herself atop one of the larger pumpkins and barked sharply to get everybody's attention (assuming they were chit-chatting with one another, here).
“Hey, everybody!” she began, casting a glance over the small crowd of comrades that had gathered.
“Couple of announcements first. One, Finley was hurt pretty badly, but she’s recovering back at the plateau. Once she’s better and returns, she’s going to be our second-in-command.” Briefly, Fox glanced to Peregrine.
“Secondly, winter is practically upon us. Perry and I want to make sure that all of you are pulling for each other. We have to work together if we want to remain strong.” Fox cast a glance to each of her pack-mates, wanting them to know how important this was to her.
“Thirdly,” she said, wiggling a bit when she gave Peregrine another cursory glance,
“Peregrine and I will be having children as soon as nature decides that I’m ready. I want all of you to be involved in raising them once they’re old enough.”
“Peregrine, do you have anything to add?” she asked more quietly, leaving the floor to him in case there were any announcements he wished to make.
Peregrine watched with some measure of amusement as his spitfire of a wife made a point to exuberantly greet each new arrival. He remained where he stood, letting her play the role of socialite. When she finished greeting each wolf in turn, he complemented her salutations with a smile and nod for each of his subordinates. He was quite happy to see them all here, particularly Fitz, their loyalest member save for Finley. He would have been their Beta male, perhaps, if he had been more involved but he had been lying low for whatever reason.
"Just that the pumpkins are edible. Tasty, even, once you get past the chunky, gooey texture." The Alpha male smirked. "Oh, and I really encourage each of you to pursue a trade. We don't care what it is. We'd love a well-rounded pack. Just make yourself useful in some way, you know? But enough with business... let's crack open a few of these babies, shall we?"
Amon was late to the party, of course. He had been napping beneath his favorite tree, in that glorious little forest; the one he always ran to when he had a spare moment (which was all the time). When the call had risen up from the caldera's edge, he begrudgingly roused himself and began the hike towards the mountain.
And when he arrived, he was greeted by a cliffside peppered by various bodies. Not only that, but there were strange orange things which, in all of his many years, were a strange and new sight to behold. Amon carefully made his way towards the gathering and made it in time for the tail-end of Fox's announcements.
-will be having children as soon as nature decides that I’m ready. I want all of you to be involved in raising them once they’re old enough.
Kids? Ah, right. She'd mentioned that before. Amon scanned the group for familiar faces - and reactions - as he settled in among the bulbous plants. Peregrine promptly began to say something else, so the old man turned his attention that way, but the announcement was quick and to the point - trades, that thing that made a pack work right.
And then, as his pack mates began playing around with the pumpkins, Amon sat back and watched. His joints were too sore, burning from the hike to the caldera, and he wasn't in the mood for play. Still, he could observe. Observing was his forte.
Elwood grinned as Fox greeted him warmly, then placed a paw on top of one of the round, orange objects. "No, I haven't," he admitted, glad that he wasn't the only clueless one. Peregrine arrived shortly afterward, saying something about a "pumpkin patch," and soon other pack members began to join them. Fox flitted around to each wolf, welcoming them individually, and Elwood watched quietly with one paw still resting on top of the pumpkin.
It had been nearly a week since he had joined the ranks of Redhawk Caldera, and though his original intentions had been to just stay temporarily, he already felt more at home than he could have anticipated. He had made a handful of friends -- he glanced around at Ashton, Somnia, and the late-to-arrive Amon -- and was working on earning a trade for himself. He was feeling pretty confident and content as he listened to Fox's announcements.
He didn't know who Finley was, other than when Peregrine had mentioned her name (as a missing wolf) during their first meeting, but upon her return she would be promoted to Beta. Elwood nodded; whoever this Finley was, he was curios to meet her. Fox urged the pack to work together to be successful throughout the winter, and also informed the group that she and Peregrine were hoping to bring a litter of puppies to the pack. Her co-Alpha then encouraged the group to break open the pumpkins and eat them, so Elwood set to work. With teeth and claws, he managed to split his pumpkin and carefully licked at the gooey pulp that emerged. He smacked his lips thoughtfully, then announced, "Tastes pretty good!"
Ah, the sweet taste of a ripe pumpkin. Great stuff, really. And the benefits of the round assortments were the sheen that eating one, could give your fur. Made you look like a model, being so healthy and shiny.
Damn right, he was gonna eat one.
After listening to the announcements of the Alpha pair, Ash 'aruarururu'ed his enthusiastic response to the merry festive. The pay that struck him the most was Flamin Femalia talkin of her havin pups.
The hippie literally felt the excitement build up in him from the mere thought. Little wolf dudes and dudettes! Another 'aruarururu'.
Ash took an untouched orange ball and began gnawing the stem off, then proceeded to eat his way inside. From the top, down, he made his claim to the pumpkin, cleaning a neat hole big enough for him to fit his slim little head in. Which he proceeded to shove in the pumpkin.
Sitting up with the ball on his shoulders, the golden teen waddled around, licking, chipping, and gripping his way through the fruit. He was savaging the last piece in front of him, when he walked into something fluffy, soft, and possibly wolfy.
Which of his comrades had he stumbled into?
Somnia already liked her new pack, although she had only joined a little under a week ago. Fox had greeted all of them separately, and it made her feel like already she more than just another pack member. After the wolves she knew, the wolves she didn't know came. A golden wolf greeted her, calling her 'mystery babe', before continuing to tell her that he'll acquaint with her soon. All Somnia did was nod, not sure of how to respond to the wolf with the uncommon speech patterns. Luckily Fox introduced Somnia to Ashton.
Another wolf showed up after Ashton. By listening to Fox's greeting, Somnia learned his name was Fitz. Next, Fox started the announcements. There was another wolf, named Finley, who would become Beta when she got back to the pack. Second, Fox told them that they were each to pull their own weight as well as help each other, which was fine by Somnia, as she was already planning to. Lastly, the alphas wanted to have pups. The jet-black alpha added in that the orange things called pumpkins were edible, and suggested that they try to earn a trade. She also noticed that sometime during Fox's announcements an older wolf had straggled in.
Somnia was already planning out what her trades would be. She would go after Gamekeeper first, and then she would try to pursue Councilor. The last trade, she wasn't quite sure what to do. She knew why she wanted to pursue the first two trades, but couldn't seem to match up anything else that she like with a trade. It didn't bug Somnia at the time; the first two would occupy her while she figured out what the third should be.
Practically bouncing around in excitement, she let out three excited barks of encouragement. Somnia then found a pumpkin, and learned from watching others how to get inside. Once inside, she found the pumpkin to be a bit weird.
First off, it was icy and cold from the weather. Besides that, the taste wasn't too bad, but she definitely preferred meat. Plus, she couldn't decide whether she was supposed to eat the seeds or not. Somnia had tried one, but it didn't have the same fruity taste as the half-frozen gooey stuff. She still proceeded to lick up the gooey stuff, not wanting to waste food when it could be scarce this winter. She spit out any disobedient seeds that ventured into her mouth.
Somnia was about halfway done with her pumpkin when something bumped into her rear end. Letting out a surprised yip, she turned around with pumpkin goop all over her face. Ashton was there with a pumpkin over his head. Somnia started guffawing at the sight, although not exactly sure why it was so funny. "It looks great on you," she teased, "You just have to put in two holes for eyes, and then, you can go around making enemies fall before you from laughing so hard!"
FitzDutiful felt very happy for Finley to get promoted to Beta, even as he felt a nudge of jealousy at not having a high position in their pack. Although he hadn't been around much he had been here since the start he'd been a constant presence - did that not count for something?
Regardless, he soon got over himself and offered his congratulations to the wolf who wasn't around (even though he was!). He also offered Peregrine and Fox congratulations on their future children that they were planning at some point in the future. Suddenly he felt very left out, like everyone else was moving forward with their lives, enjoying them, while he... tread water and just floated along. He needed to get a severe grip on himself.
While the wolves tucked into the pumpkins, FitzDutiful had a brief taste, decided he wasn't a huge pumpkin fan and sat on the outskirts of the group feeling wholly miserable for himself and doing his best to hide it.
I'll post the next round on the 21st. :)
Peregrine mentioned the pumpkins and gave a brief reminder to everybody to pursue a trade, and then they were off. Fox dove into one of them, gnawing on the thick outer shell before she finally broke in and slurped down the meaty insides. It certainly was a strange taste and texture, but she enjoyed it anyway. Picking her head up, she glanced around to see several others doing the same, and she licked her lips free of the pumpkin seeds that had gathered there. Hopefully, swallowing them wouldn't do any damage.
Weaving her way through the small crowd, she found Amon, who had arrived a little bit after everybody else.
“Hey, old man. You sure you don’t want any pumpkin? I can grab some for ya.” She'd happy bring him back a chunk if he wanted to give it a taste. If he accepted, she'd quickly sprint to an open one and bring it back, and if not, she'd simply smile and move on.
It was after her interaction with Amon that she noticed Ashton wandering around with one of the large spheres on his head, and she looked quizzically at him. He was a strange beast, that was for sure. But nevermind that, there were other wolves to socialize with, and Fox made her way over to FitzDutiful, who was sitting on the sidelines.
“Don’t care for the taste?” she asked, using her tongue to pick out a chunk of pumpkin that had been left near the back of her jaw.
“It’s no meat, I’ll tell you that much.” Fox didn't mind the taste or texture, even if she probably wouldn't seek it out after this. With winter barrelling at them at full speed, though, she wanted to ensure that they used all possible sources of food.
Hey, old man.
A voice flippantly called out, and Amon turned his gaze sharply to reveal who it was - seeing Fox in the next instant, he relaxed. Her jovial little march halted when she was close enough, and then she offered to grab him something to play with.. Or eat, or... Whatever it was these pumpkins were good for. He was going to refuse the offer, but reconsidered quickly. Why not have a little fun? The entire pack was here and nobody was in any danger. Ah, alright. I'll give it a shot.
The leader hopped off and returned in a flash, offering up a nice little pumpkin which she held by the green stalk; after dropping it nearby, she was off once more - towards one of the menfolk who had somehow wedged one of the spheres on to his own head. Peculiar creature, Amon thought with a quirk of his brow, and then turned his attention back to the orange thing.
With one paw he rolled it closer, and then began to inspect it. It smelled like... A plant. With a quick flick of his big fat tongue, he identified that it tasted like a plant as well. What was he supposed to do with it again? A quick glance around the group, and surmised that eating it was the intended activity. So he slouched upon the ground, pumpkin between his forelegs, and attempted to bite at the surface.
Fox came over and sat by FitzDutiful and he shot her a look of appreciation. He must matter if she would come and keep him company. Hiding all the doubtful thoughts that had been burning through his mind he answered her question honestly. "Not at all. I find it quite.... " he paused as he searched for the word. "displeasing is the best way to put it. I don't vehemently despise it, but neither do I want to taste it any more. An experience tried and tested, truly."
FitzDutiful wasn't sure where to take this conversation. He was almost in a 'please leave me alone' kind of mood, the kind where even someone saying you were wanted and admired and respected wouldn't make you believe it. "How are things going with you? Children are a pretty big step so I'm guessing extremely well!" Fitz still remembered the conversation they'd had about her previous love though he wasn't going to bring that up right here. He had a sense of duty and confidentiality about his time as a counsellor. Unless he thought some drastic action needed to be taken, or said wolf was endangering themselves or others, he would mention nothing to anyone else.
While the Alpha female continued to make her rounds, Peregrine preferred to observe more than interact for the moment. His lips twitched and he shook his head when Ashton thrust his head inside one of the pumpkins and began running around (and into his pack mates). It made the Alpha male miss Finley all over again.
He belatedly realized there was another missing from the impromptu party: Siv. The Alpha male ran his tongue over his lips. Fox's lookalike surely would have enjoyed this little get-together, so where was she? Should he call for her? Go look for her? Peregrine's brow furrowed.
He considered consulting with Fox, yet she was busy talking to their loyalest member (aside from Finley), so he let it go for the moment. Ashton and Somnia were talking as well and Elwood and Amon appeared to be deliberating over their samples of pumpkin. Peregrine cracked a smile at the former's declaration before honing in on a pumpkin of his own.
Peregrine dropped to his haunches, the pumpkin placed neatly between his big black forepaws. After scanning the assembled wolves a moment, he bent down and made to take a huge bite out of the great orange fruit. The tough peel thwarted him; his fangs became stuck and he had to use both paws to pull the pumpkin from his own mouth. Chortling under his breath, he bit at it again in nearly the same spot, this time puncturing through the shell and releasing the sweet fragrance of the pumpkin's sticky innards.
Rather than eat them, however, the Alpha dug his paw into the misshapen hole and scooped out a stringy, gooey clump of pulp, which he promptly chucked in his wife's direction.
There was a lot going on around him -- wolves talking, wearing pumpkins on their heads, eating the orange innards -- but Elwood tuned them out for the time being a focused on his treat. Unlike Fitz (though he didn't know the wolf, he had heard Fox call him by name), he rather liked the taste, though the consistency took some getting used to. It was stringy and slippery all at the same time, but the sweetness was appealing to him. He used one forepaw to brace the pumpkin while he tore at the thick shell, letting more of the pulp and seeds spill onto the ground.
He paused momentarily, glancing up to watch Ashton careen across the crowd with the pumpkin on his head. The medic bumped into Somnia, who laughed at the blonde wolf's antics. His gaze then followed Fox as she addressed first Amon, then the wolf named Fitz. Just as he began to nibble on his pumpkin again, there was a commotion -- Peregrine lobbed a pawful of pumpkin guts right at Fox. Elwood laughed, waiting to see what the Alpha female's response would be to her audacious mate.
Ashton heard the unfamiliar voice, only to immediately pair it with the girl Foxie Babe was talkin' about earlier.
Somnia.
Ouuuuuu.
"Well, if you could throw a few holes in here for breathing too, I'd wear it around ya as much as you want me to, beautiful. And I don't really make enemies all that much, but if I caught a mirror image of maself,...well, it was great at least ta know a bit about you adorin my hardcore hat before I died of a heart attack."
Ashton kept feverously licking and gnawing, and soon found his hat a bit delirious, so taking the orange sphere between his nimble paws, he yanked it off of his now equally orange head. Lustrous verde orbs glistened her way, and the handsome hippie dipped his head.
"Heya there. "
Somnia let out a small smirk/grunt/laugh thingamabob in response to his reflection comment. "Hi. Name's Somnia." She gave a small head dip of her own, before flashing a toothy, almost evil looking, smile. It then seemed to get very quiet as most wolves onlooked a happening event.
A quick round-a-bout look showed that the source was a piece of pumpkin flying at fox.
She prodded Ashton with a paw to redirect him to it. "You think she'll react positively?" She muttered it quietly. Somnia truly had no idea how the foxy alpha female would react. Guess she would find out in a moment.
Siddling up next to her, he sat on her right side, and murmured to her, while keeping orbs placed on the goop of pumpkin sludge its way through the air with uncanny precision towards the Fireball Femme,
"Name's Ashton, but ya can call me Ash. Whichever you have your mind on first. Soon to be Calderas Healer, and maybe Caretaker, seeing how outside life isn't all that dandy for me. "
The babe asked if he had a notion as to what could go on with the dynamic duo, and with a wolfy grin, he shook his blonde crown.
"Not a clue, but best believe if its taken well, at least one of us may have a chance of makin it outta this alive."
Sorry for the slight delay. I'm going to archive this on the 25th, so get your replies in by then!
Fox glanced back to Amon, happy that he was munching away on the pumpkin she'd gotten him. Quickly, though, she returned her attention to Fitz, who was telling her that he disliked the taste.
“Yeah, I suppose it’s not for everybody.” Even still, she was glad he'd made it out. It was definitely good to see his face considering he'd been a bit evasive lately. Fox opened her mouth to reply to his second comment when a thick, juicy splat of pumpkin was lobbed at the side of her head. She took it like a champ, and it didn't take her long to realize who had thrown it. Peregrine had the guiltiest of looks on his face, and she immediately raced over to him for a good ol' roughhousing.
Others, of course, were more than welcome to join in. And when it was all said and done, they could all fall asleep in one big wolfish heap.
When Fox looked over at him, he gave her his cheesiest grin. He then braced himself as she barreled toward him, though when she struck him, it felt like being gently head-butted by a soft, fleecy lamb. He cackled at her, eventually letting himself be knocked over so that Fox could playfully punish him for his misdeed.
Roughhousing with his wife put Peregrine in a frisky mood. With an impish glint in his eye, he mounted Fox right there in the middle of their pack mates. "How do you like them apples!" he hooted, bucking against her a few times. He was laughing when he tumbled off her and rolled onto the ground, where he stayed, using a pumpkin as a pillow and Fox as a foot rest.
Somnia watched as Fox took the hit and barreled into Peregrine. She watched them roughhouse until Peregrine decided to mount Fox.... In front of everyone. Somnia turned her head, staring right off into space as her thoughts took over. Sure, it was a display of affection, but wasn't announcing that they would be trying to have pups enough? No need for a public demonstration. When she looked back at the Alphas, they were done doing that.
Deciding it would be fun to fling pumpkin herself, she scooped two pawfuls of pumpkin goop out of her half-finished pumpkin. She shoved the first pawful into Ashton's face, though it didn't make his already orange face worse. The second, she lobbed at Elwood. Somnia scooted into a laying position behind Ashton, hoping to get out of Elwood's line of sight before he realized that she was the one that threw it.
At the end of the night, when all things were settled, she retreated to her own sleeping spot.
This pack was a strange one — they were all so close despite being strangers, for the most part — and the increasing level of foolish behavior was worrying to the older man. He had finished trying to bite and tear through the pumpkin skin between his paws, and thus he discarded it with a flick of his paw. The orb rolled and caught upon some soil.
Amon's gaze roamed the gathering. He watched the jovial faces of his comrades, witnessing the tussle between the two leaders, the way Peregrine raised himself upon Fox, and the reactions of various others - Amon wanted to laugh at their antics, but something stopped him. The beast got to his paws in the next moment and began a steady stride away from them all. Let them have their fun, they'd earned it.
Sitting around was something he wasn't accustomed to. There was work to be done somewhere - the caches, the borders, making sure they were equipped to deal with Donnie if the fool ever showed up - and so Amon began to slip away.