Wolf RPG

Many things drove Magpie to a hasty return, despite her various injuries— luckily, the concussion prevented her from fully feeling most of them— but the most prominent was the nearness of Fox's due date. Of course, fully proving to the rest of the pack (Peregrine, in particular) that she wasn't a complete waste of space was also pretty up there... sometimes it was at the top of the list, depending on when you asked her. As she and her gray companion (she had finally realized it was only one wolf, but maybe one with two heads) began the slow process of dragging the goat back to the caldera, however, her senseless chatter had ceased.

Talking meant less dragging, and so it was reserved for their rest stops, when she urged her companion to "Come on, let's go!" Magpie was still selfishly unaware of the grey female's own ailments, but that likely had more to do with her concussion for the moment— she was likely to feel terrible and mostly stupid for it after her injuries had healed. It was good that they kept moving, anyway, for if the little black-and-white wolf were to fall asleep with her head wound, she might never wake up.

When they finally reached the edge of the caldera's claim, the yearling released her hold on the goat— which now smelled rather ripe, though it wasn't the oldest kill a wolf would eat— and bellowed obnoxiously, "@PEREGRINE," without thinking about politeness or protocol or the fact that she could probably just walk in. She drunkenly reasoned that the goat was too heavy to carry any farther, and that it likely wouldn't be taken well if she just allowed a stranger in (still unaware that her companion was related to the caldera's patriarch) without permission.

Her holler was rewarded with a sharp pain in her side, so Magpie plopped down on her haunches with a whimper, and glanced at the other female with a goofy smile. Her voice almost a whisper, now, to avoid further pain in her lungs, she declared, "We made it!"

Dragging the goat to Caldera had turned out to be a more difficult task than Osprey had imagined and, whenever her companion winced in pain or she had to fight a wave of nausea, she wondered, why the hell had she even got involved in this. If she had been smart and selfish, she would have been home by now. Probably visited Blue willow and got a cure for the sickness. Just the thought of her sleeping comfortably at her spot made her feel miserable for being here, helping out and gaining nothing from the whole ordeal.

Yet her better nature held her in a strong grip and she remained all the long and painful way to the she-wolf's home. And by the time they actually reached the place, Osprey was so fed up with everything that she didn't want to look at her companion or have anything to do with goats. Ever. Only the thought of seeing Peregrine and him dealing with this mad-person from now on, warmed her heart and made her stay. We made it! The other whispered. Osprey side-glanced at her and thought - It's better be worth it.

His encounter with Magpie and Dove left a terrible taste in his mouth and he didn't even have the ability to unload on his usual confidante. It turned out it didn't matter much, though. Curling around Fox in the den and feeling their pups squirm shoved her petty sisters to the back of the Alpha male's mind. He decided he could stay here forever... well, preferably with the pups outside of Fox soon!

Nature called, forcing him to extricate himself from their sweet embrace and duck out into the cold. Peregrine nearly pissed on his own leg when Magpie's shout carried up the mountainside. Impeccable timing yet again! he mused darkly, setting all four feet back on solid ground and glaring in the direction of her voice. What on earth would compel her to yell his name like that?

Although annoyed, curiosity drove him to investigate. He stuck his head in the den, said, "I'll be back soon," and then began to trot down the caldera's snowy flank. En route, he picked up on the smell of blood. Had she actually done what he'd told her to do...? Was she here with meat for Fox? He still wanted to slap her for shouting like a damn idiot, yet he was quietly (very quietly) pleased, all the same. He had gotten through to her and she was doing everything right, more or less, if she wanted to win him over.

When he saw the silver figure next to Magpie, Peregrine blinked. "Osprey!" he shouted, drawing close to the two she-wolves and their dead goat. "What brings you here?" He moved forward to lick her muzzle, then glanced over at Magpie. His smile faded, though he did not hesitate to acknowledge, "Actions speak louder than words," and give her a quick but decisive nod.

Abruptly, he noticed the contusion on her brow and her otherwise disheveled state. "Are you all right...?" While he didn't care much for her personally at this point, it was in his best interests to keep his pack mates in good shape. Peregrine shook his head. "And, naturally, we don't have a Healer," he muttered, though the irritation in his voice wasn't really directed at either of them.

Still oblivious to the fact that she had likely made another enemy— her interactions with the grey female had been terribly one-sided thus far, and had been motivated only by Magpie's selfishness— she waited in happy silence for the hulking male to greet them. Her grudge against him was forgotten, at least while her head was swimming, and her only purpose was to impress him enough that she could be a sister to Fox in peace. Had she been without a concussion, she might have told him, "Here's your fucking goat," and marched to her den without another word. Magpie was excellent at holding grudges, and Peregrine was causing her as much irritation as she was causing him. But her jostled brain had taken the edge off things, had caused her to momentarily forget Dove— she sought only to gain some standing in the caldera.

He imparted some sage wisdom on her, a key to his future approval— actions speak louder than words— but the phrase was likely to get lost in her current state. He continued to mutter, and sounded irritated. Missing his wordless approval of the goat, and the fact that he was asking after her well-being, Magpie sighed with some exasperation, wincing as fresh pain bloomed in her side. "I brought you a goat!" she told him earnestly, conveniently forgetting all about Osprey now that her alpha was here to receive the gift, "I was mad." she elaborated (or thought she was doing so), referring to the conversation Peregrine had overheard. "I'm fiiiine, now," the yearling sighed as if she were exercising great patience, still unaware of the world of pain she'd be waking up to in the morning. Why was everyone fussing?

Osprey frowned at the yearling until Peregrine's arrival gave her chance to look away and greet him with a very relieved gaze. Finally, the responsibility was off her shoulders, yet the fact that there seemed to be some sort of arrangement between her brother and his subordinate made her a little uncomfortable. If he had told her to climb up that cliff in order to get a mountain goat specifically... No. She tossed the idea away. Perry might be reckless sometimes, but he would never make requests hat endangered lives of others.

I'm fine now. Osprey gave an incredulous look and then rolled her eyes. You don't say... She thought and then glanced back to Peregrine, trying to come up with a proper way of telling him that this wolf was "effing mad", "a reckless fool" and "that she annoyed her to no end". Yet even in this state the she-wolf would hear and understand something from what she would say. Besides - the girl appeared to be very proud of herself - and it would probably not be nice to upset the injured ones.

"She fell down a cliff - with the goat," she decided to stick to the most important pieces of information and leave out her opinion about all of this. "Probably hit her head badly, because she thought that I was three wolves at first, now it has narrowed down to one and a half," what else. "Her leg is injured and she almost collapsed few times, while we made our way here," she paused, trying to come up with anything else that was of worth. "I could not leave her there... so - you owe me," she said and for the first time this day she managed to crack a grin at him.

Magpie seemed exasperated, though before Peregrine could possibly think about getting agitated further about her belligerence, he sensed that something was amiss with the yearling. He looked to Osprey, who explained what had happened. Oh, great! he thought, glancing back at Fox's sister with a frown on his face.

"While your dedication is... noted, there's absolutely no need to be so reckless. Getting yourself hurt won't impress me," Peregrine said to Magpie, disapproval in his voice, albeit no particular malice. "You won't be much good to anybody if you're an invalid," he pointed out to her, then shook his head and sighed. If the glazed look in her eye was anything to go by, she wasn't absorbing any of this. Why waste his breath?

"Thanks for helping her, Oss. I do owe you. Would you like to take some of this goat back with you...? Better yet, you're welcome to stay here. Hey, Fox is going to pop any day now; you could be here for the birth!" he realized, excitement in his voice. "No obligation, of course," he forced himself to add.

His jade gaze shifted to Magpie again. He couldn't do much to help her, not without a Healer in their ranks. They would just have to hope that she recovered from her injuries on her own and didn't walk away with any permanent damage. Peregrine didn't know what he'd do in that case. Whatever his personal feelings, he wished no harm upon Magpie. However, he was not prepared for her to become a burden upon the caldera either...

"We'd both better hope you come out of this with all your faculties intact," he mumbled under his breath, moving to Magpie's side. "Lean on me if you need to. We're going to find your den. Can you tell me where it is?" Over the yearling's shoulder, he made eye contact with Osprey, wondering if she would accompany them or take her leave. He hoped she would tag along—he'd hate for her to go so soon—but he'd truly meant it when he'd said there were no obligations. She'd already done enough for them.

She gazed at him stupidly, the words— logical as they were— going over her head. Had Magpie been in a better mental condition, she would have massively preferred this sort of feedback from Peregrine; and would certainly put it to good use. His refusal to be forthright with his complaints against her had been the crux of her issues with him— Magpie didn't hate criticism, if it was explained and made sense. She could do something with it, use it. It was too bad that she was currently too out of it to appreciate this side of the male. Instead of responding, the yearling lifted her good hind leg to take care of an itch near her ear, yelping pathetically as her blunt nails came too close to her swollen eye.

Peregrine was still talking, but she somehow knew it was no longer directed towards her— but she chimed in excitedly, "Fox— puppies!" Good. She hadn't missed that, at least... and the male wasn't attacking her, nor was he spewing his usual insults at her. Magpie gathered that much, and felt suddenly content and relaxed. She began to crumble to a laying position, but her leader was at her side, then, nudging her to her feet. "My den," she repeated, shying away from his assistance— she was independent, after all— though her left hind leg was still too sore to touch the ground. "Dove ate my flowers," Magpie almost whined, looking at the male with her good eye. It was likely the closest answer he'd get.

Peregrine dealt with the situation like a good leader should have - he didn't scold the reckless girl, but didn't exactly praise her either. Whatever the deal between them had been, he seemed to be grateful for the effort. Even though the trip here hadn't been the most pleasant one, Osprey would have felt a little disappointed, if he would have ignored the kill completely. She had helped that moron to bring it here and it had been no easay task.

"I think I will pass," she declined his offer to take a bite of the goat. For the first time this day her stomach had calmed down and she didn't want to upset it by eating something. However, the prospect of staying at the caldera for the night came right in time. She was very tired and there was a long way ahead to reach the plateau. Out of loyalty to her packmates, she could do that... yet did it really matter, where she slept like a log? There would be no use of her in either of the places.

"Thank you - I will be glad to stay for a bit," she accepted and crossed the borders to assist Peregrine in bringing the girl to her den. A good rest was the thing she needed the most. "Cheer up, lass, you can pick up some another day," she told the girl, who had jumped from goats to flowers. "What's her name?" she asked Peregrine, realizing that up until now she had no idea, who this person was.

His sister declined the goat, though she took him up on the offer to stay. Peregrine grinned and wagged his tail. "I'll find you a place to rest, just as soon as we drop off this derp," he told her, then refocused his attention on the slurring Magpie. "Uh huh," he said absently to her, choosing not to engage with her any more than was necessary.

Shooting the goat a backward glance—he would have to come back to fetch and store it—the Alpha male began to walk slowly toward the mountain's foot. "Oh," he said when Osprey asked for the yearling's name. "Her full name is Butthole Crapface Magoo but she goes by Magpie most of the time."

"Shut up, Poopygrin," she retorted drunkenly, breaking into a fit of giggles— she was mostly unaware of their conversation, but bits and pieces broke through into her awareness. Two could play the name-calling game, but Magpie wouldn't remember this in the morning; and she definitely wouldn't have dared say it, even in jest, had she been in more control of her faculties. As it was, it was a completely thoughtless counter to Peregrine's own joke, definitely "for the lolz" rather than a serious insult.

Magpie fell into silence, then, perhaps reacting to a warning glare or simply overtaken by weariness and redirecting her energy to limping along in the direction they were guiding her.

ooc: Kat, if you have time, I would love to continue this thread for a bit.

Butthole Crapface Magoo and Poopygrin - now these two had some sort of chemistry, therefore Osprey shot a questioning glance at her brother. Was there something she should be aware of? Then again - there might be plenty and not all of it was relevant. She would love her brother regardless and, even though they had been at odds for few times, their bond was stronger than anything.

While keeping a wary eye at the limping girl, she also saw an opportunity to have a quick chat with him. He probably was a busy fellow and would not have that much time afterwards. "So - how have things been going?" she asked. "Are the kids already here?" she recalled him telling her to return in a moon or two and - even though she had not given any promises - what a coincidence it was that they had met just now. She would probably have to thank Magpie, when she got better.

He loved kidding around, albeit with people he actually liked. He had much more of an eh reaction to the yearling's joke, though part of Peregrine was amused by her out of character antics if only because he could never hate on some good old toilet humor. Still, he shot her a look of reproof when she told him to shut up, his tail giving a humorless lash.

Luckily, Magpie fell quiet and just limped along in a daze, allowing the actual siblings to catch up and chat a little. "We've had a bit of interpersonal drama around here lately. Other than that, though, things are great. We're all looking forward to the puppies. They'll be here any day," he reminded her with a small smile.

"Some of the aforementioned drama comes from this one here," he explained, gesturing at Magpie with a twitch of his swarthy muzzle. "When we first moved to the caldera, I found her and took her under my wing, personally. Then she saw fit to disappear without a word of warning. When she came back, I wasn't so welcoming... but it turns out she's Fox sister."

As it turned out Osprey had arrived just in time - she had not missed the arrival of Perry's kids - and, if fate would have it, she would be one of the first people to meet them. Of course, there would not be much to see - tired, but fiercely protective mom, little dumplings, which would be hard to tell apart in the darkness of the den. Yet... she suddenly realized, how very important it was for her and she was just as happy and excited for them as her brother was.

"So, Fox has a big family too," Osprey was pleasantly surprised and had a good look at Magpie this time. Maybe because of the dark coat she so no likeness whatsoever. Or it was probably because she had talked with Fox only once and it had been a very long time ago. "Yeah... plateau can't boast for much of drama," she said, forgetting her own clash with Saena. "Care to share, what interesting and gossip-worthy stuff happens here?"

"I think so," he replied in regards to Fox's family. "There's a lot of bird names in their family too, if you hadn't already noticed. It's traditional for them to name their kids after what they look like. Like how this one popped out looking just like a magpie. How serendipitous!" He motioned at the yearling again, aware that he was talking about her like she couldn't hear and not giving a damn.

Osprey seemed interested in the gossip and the swarthy Alpha shrugged. "It mostly boils down to Fox's sisters. This one and her other, Dove. It's nothing interesting or really worth my time, though. But, oh, hey... you know Finley, right? Well, she and Elwood—a good friend of mine and our Beta male—have fallen in love, so that's fun. We've asked them to be godparents. Maybe the Firebirds will have cousins one day too."

By now, they'd reached the foot of the caldera. After coaxing a few vague directions out of Magpie, he was able to locate her den and deliver here there. He should have stuck around a bit, made sure she was truly okay, but as soon as they dropped her off, he began to lead Osprey away. He wound up a gradual footpath along the mountainside, heading toward a small overhang that would serve his sister well as far as shelter went.

"I actually didn't mind Dove personally until the other day, when I caught her and Magpie shit-talking me. Magpie had the decency to act ashamed of herself but Dove was being a fucking punk. She needs to be shown her place," Peregrine revealed despite what he'd said earlier about none of it being interesting enough to share. "If it were up to me, I'd throw her out on her ass. But Fox is really close to both sisters, hence why they're still here. I can't blame her, I guess. Even if you were fucking up all over the place, I'd probably keep welcoming you back," he quipped with a crooked smile. Talking to Osprey about this did lend him some perspective...

There's a lot of bird names in their family too, if you hadn't already noticed. Well, apart from Fox Osprey had met no one else of her family tree. Besides - fox was hardly a bird, so the aforementioned conclusions were hard to come up with. But she didn't say anything out loud though - three was no point either. "I am glad that our mom didn't stick to that kind of customs. I mean, how many children named - Black, Gray and White - can you actually have?" she mused out loud, pointing out to the most common coat patterns they had in their family. Yet knowing their mother... you never knew, actually.

Finley - at first the girl's name didn't ring a bell, but then she recalled a meeting with Finn that had taken a long time ago. She remembered, how unhappy he had been with her moving away and then, when she had turned him now. When Perry mentioned that the girl had fallen in love with another man, Osprey felt conflicted. Yeah, glad for the new couple for Perry's sake, but Finn was still alone and from what she had seen - you couldn't say that he was prancing around in joy. But another topic not worth beginning. Life wasn't fair.

"So that's, where the "Poopygrin" comes from?" she grinned. "Or... "gaping asshole"?" she cast a glance at Magpie for confirmation, but then she remembered that they had dropped her off at her den. "And there I was feeling sorry for her - I told her that you have been called in worse names," she furrowed her brow and then her face softened, "Well, I hope that after this adventure, she will know, how to keep her mouth shut." When Peregrine mentioned that he would keep her in the ranks no matter, what trouble she caused, she offered him a sincere smile: "You are such a sweetheart."

He rolled his eyes but nodded when Osprey asked about the silly nickname. He then paused, eyeballing her questioningly, when she mentioned gaping assholes. Had Magpie told her about what she'd said...? He looked around for her, then remembered they'd left her behind. His jade eyes returned to his sister's face and he offered a pained smile when she called him a sweetheart.

"Not," he quipped softly. "But, yeah... I hope so too. I wouldn't tell her this but the fact that she reacted appropriately made all the difference. It helped her case that Dove was such an impudent bitch at the same time. Magpie may not like me but at least she knows where she stands in the scheme of things. Dove, on the other hand... I have no idea why she was tearing into me except that she appears to be a two-faced piece of shit," Peregrine vented.

Although Osprey had asked about all of this, he shook his head. "Sorry to take out the trash on you, Oss. With the pups almost here, I don't wanna dwell on this bullshit anyhow. Do you think you'll hang around long enough for the birth...? It should be any day now," he emphasized.

"Oh, come on, Perry... You know that you can tell me everything and that I will always have open ears and mind for you, so to say," Osprey paused, hoping that she had made her point clear with the right expression. "Besides - you needed to get that out of your system and I do hope that you feel a bit better than you were before," keeping troubles to yourself only rarely was of any benefit. It only made the matters worse. So she was all for people expressing, what they thought. Even if it meant screaming and shouting alone in the middle of the forest.

"I think that I can. I didn't feel that well today - my stomach is upset with me and doesn't want to keep anything down there," she said with a wary smile. It had got a bit better for now, but she still didn't think that eating anything was the right way to go. Even though - she felt hungry. "I would like to have a rest, if you let me, before I got home. A few days won't make much difference either," therefore it was a "yes". She would stay and wait for Perry's kids to arrive.

"I am the fairy-godmother to Blue's kids - I gave blessings, when they were born. Think I can pull the same trick here too?" she asked Peregrine, knowing that he might not mind. But what would Fox have to say in this?

"I know," he said simply when Osprey reminded him that she was an impartial listener and that it was best not to internalize these things. "I know you don't care," he added with a fond, lopsided grin. "I just don't want to get hung up on this stuff too much. They're really not worth the time or the headaches."

His brow knitted ever so slightly when Osprey reported stomach troubles. "Have you tried eating some grass?" he asked. He was no Healer but any canine knew that a little bit of grass could help settle the stomach. His tail wiggled when she said she could hang out for a few days and likely stick around for the birth. "I'm sorry you're not feeling well but I'm happy you'll be staying."

Her question took him by a surprise for a moment, then the Alpha laughed out loud. His eyes sparkled. "Fairy godmother—I like that. It's so you. I'd like that. I'll float it past Fox for sure. What kind of blessings?" he wondered curiously even as the pair of wolves drew up beside a small overhang flanked by shrubs on one side and a slender pine tree on the other. It was a cozy little space and would provide a decent amount of shelter to Osprey for the duration of her stay.

"Grass... at this time of year?" Osprey said, thinking about the tough, yellow and dead grass, which was no better remedy for stomach aches as eating twigs. She had tried, of course, but never found the same satisfaction as one had, when munching on fresh green and juicy stalks in early spring and summer. But, since her sickness had been quite a lot to go through, she was prepared to try out anything. "I will see... maybe it works."

"Please, do so - I don't want to upset or insult her," she nodded. If Fox had different views about child-naming, -raising and -blessing, then Osprey didn't want to meddle in by doing something that the other person could see as useless and even dangerous. Plus, you never knew the mind of young mothers. However, hearing Peregrine's approval made her heart fill with joy. After all he was one of the most important people in her life and his opinion mattered the most.

"What do you wish them to have? Character traits? Certain abilities? Prophecies? Well, I am not good at the last ones - I strictly believe that we are the ones to decide our fate," she tilted her head to the side, waiting for, what Peregrine would choose.

Peregrine imagined dry grass wouldn't taste good, yet even fresh green grass wasn't exactly palatable. Osprey said she would try, so he left it at that, thinking nothing of her stomachache beyond that. If he'd known she'd gone into heat and dallied with strangers recently, he might have suspected a possible pregnancy. Alas, he knew nothing of that, nor was his sister likely to share that personal information with him.

"Fox won't be insulted. She'll probably find it hilarious. Like I mentioned, she's close to her sisters too. They can do no wrong. The least she can do is extend the same to me and my sister," Peregrine quipped with a crooked smile. "How could anyone say no to a fairy godmother anyway? I mean, how many kids get to say they have one of those—on top of everything else?" He was thinking of the Firebirds' myriad of de facto aunts, uncles, godparents, etc.

"What do you wish them to have?" she wondered. "Ah, I know better than to set expectations," he replied with a conspiratorial wink. "All I wish is for their health and happiness. And I guess, one day, I'd like one of them to rise up as Alpha in our stead, so that Redhawk Caldera can always be a Redleaf-DiSarinno legacy."

He motioned for Osprey to move forward and check out the snug little den space. The rocky ceiling and scrub on either side would provide shelter for the elements, so even if it rained or snowed, she would still be comfy, warm and dry.

"Not many, probably," Osprey nodded her head in agreement. She would have preferred to have a fairy godmother herself, except she didn't know, what help would it be. She was not Cinderella, who needed a frilly dress, crystal shoes and a carriage to go to the ball. She would probably arrive there, dressed in jeans, wearing her favorite t-shirt ("Writers do it literally") and worn-down sneakers. She wasn't Aurora, who had to be kept away from the curse happening. Yeah... when it came to fairy godmothers traditional fairy-tales weren't that helpful in explaining, what else could they do.

"We can think of something," she liked that her brother hadn't asked for something that was not acquairable. It was a good thing that he realized that Osprey was implementing elements from her stories in real life. After that she went to check the sleeping spot Peregrine had found for her - few sniffs and a bit of digging later, she turned three times and lied down. It was nice to finally have a rest. "Just make sure that no one eats me, while I sleep," she told him wearily and finished with a mighty yawn. She was tired.

ooc: finish in your next post?

Osprey investigated the cozy little space, then made herself comfortable. Peregrine remained standing nearby, the tip of his black tail twitching as he watched her. He felt a wave of fondness wash over him. Having her here for a few days delighted him. It would be extra cool if she got to meet the newborns before heading back home. Part of him wished she would decide to stay, though Peregrine had long ago accepted that his sister's place was at the plateau, for reasons of her own.

"I'm glad you're here, Oss. Thanks again for helping that pooface," the Alpha said, stepping forward to nudge Osprey's cheek and then nip at the tip of her ear. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he said, "Good night. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite. I'll bring you breakfast in the morning." With a smile, he departed, heading back to the burrow to tell Fox of all that had happened this evening.