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+--- Thread: Redhawk Caldera Light the fire, stir the cauldron. (/showthread.php?tid=66251)
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Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Towhee - September 01, 2025
Although today was the first day of metereological autumn, the temperatures had begun falling days ago. The mornings were downright chilly, great swathes of mist hovering over the caldera at each daybreak. Although she appreciated the views, Towhee felt her old bones getting stiffer as the seasons changed hands. A familiar twinge in her leg warned that she would soon be limping again. She had nearlly forgotten about this particular malady, since her summer here at the caldera had given her such a reprieve.
She walked slowly along the shore of the lake, coaxing warmth into her aged muscles. Towhee missed traveling and thought about going on a day trip every now and then, though the timing didn’t feel right. And if her leg was beginning to act up again, roaming would likely only aggravate it. She was better off staying put and focusing on preparing for winter. The breeze that pushed against her face, cool and scented with the first wave of rotting leaf litter, seemed to agree.
When she felt as limber as she ever would, Towhee made her way back toward the Hobbit Hole. @Killdeer and @Amalia would have fed @Carolina Redhawk and @Lyric Redhawk breakfast by now. They would need to burn off some of the requisite energy and the Elder figured she could give their parents a break by taking one or both of them out on patrol with her.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Lyric Redhawk - September 01, 2025
Lyric was quite the bundle of energy these days, stressful for his poor parents, but he did sleep like a rock at night. He was picking up new vocabulary nearly daily, and that meant Ptero too.. which he would then run to show Towhee. Small accomplishments, but it was always exciting for him!
Catching the scent of his approaching great grandmother thanks to his mother's lessons, Lyric was quick to run and tumble from the mouth of the den to greet her. -
GG!- He didn't have anything to share today, but it was exciting to see her nonetheless. A developing brain that didn't process the passage of time very well meant that for Lyric, it was a reunion every time.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Towhee - September 01, 2025
Lil’ Ricky!Towhee exclaimed, matching her great grandson’s energy as she ascended the slope.
She huffed a pant as she halted in the doorway to lean down and nuzzle the top of Lyric’s head. Every day, it seemed, she had to bend down a little less. She snuffled at one of his ears before raising her head again and peering past him at the rest of the little family still breakfasting in the rear of the den.
-“Did you eat? I need you for something that will require a lot of energy,”- she said, dropping her gaze back to his youthful face.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Lyric Redhawk - September 01, 2025
Towhee met him with a similar enthusiasm, Lyric happy to bask in her full attention.
Mmhm, I ate quick.He promised, leaving out the part where after eating his own breakfast he had attempted to steal from his sister. Lyric was plenty well-fed, and that fact was hard to miss.
Where are we going?
He had no doubt in himself when it came to just about any task - and it wasn't very often that he was told it was important. No way he was passing this up.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Towhee - September 01, 2025
-“Atta boy,”- Towhee said in the most grandmotherly fashion possible. -“If your parents are cool with it, I’d like you to come with me on a patrol.”- She paused to let her words register with said parents, raising her voice a little to add, -“I’ll do a short route this first time, then we can eventually work our way up to a whole circuit over the next few weeks if you end up enjoying yourself. Sound good, Lil’ Ricky?”-
After getting the proverbial thumbs-up and asking Carolina if she wanted to come too—the little girl opted for a post-breakfast sunbath instead—Towhee turned and walked parallel with the Hobbit Hole’s grandiose doorway. Once past it, she began to climb to the hillock over top it, from which point she intended to continue upward at whatever pace Lyric set.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Lyric Redhawk - September 01, 2025
A patrol! He thought such things were only legend. -
Yes!- He was quick to decide, head twisting to yell back to his parents
MAUM! GG IS GOING. I'M GOING.
Trotting after Towhee, he was happy to take on her walking pace. It was rather brisk for his short legs, and he would surely be taking a nap afterwards. Probably good news for the Redhawk couple.
Eyeing Towhee, he waited until they were some distance from the den before asking -Is this.. a secret patrol?- Of course it was a secret patrol. It wouldn't be any fun otherwise.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Towhee - September 11, 2025
The dogwood tree soon fell behind them as they continued their ascent, Lyric’s short-legged pace suiting Towhee’s aging bones just fine. Her tail flicked as she eyed the ridgeline overhead, then glanced to her great grandson in time to catch his conspiratorial question.
Although it was tempting to roll with it, she shook her head and told him, -“No, the whole point of patrols is that you don’t want them to be secretive. You want the whole world to know this place belongs to you. You hope that your presence will intimidate everyone so that they stay away.”-
Hopefully that wasn’t too disappointing an answer. Her orange eyes swept from his face to the crest of the caldera again. Within a moment or two, they would reach it and Lyric would get a rather panoramic view of the surrounding wilderness. She couldn’t wait to see what he made of it.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Lyric Redhawk - September 15, 2025
Towhee's response was disappointing, of course, but Lyric supposed that being loud and obvious could be fun too - and he was really good at it, as a bonus.
Before he could say anything more, they reached a new point of the caldera that Lyric hadn't had the treat of seeing before. He could see so much from here that suddenly the bowl below was far less appealing. Head whipping to look back at Towhee, his eyes were lit up with the joy of something new.
How much of that is ours?How far do I have to walk?
When speak of borders had come up, Lyric always thought that it would be something visually obvious. There was nothing like that here.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Towhee - September 18, 2025
It was tempting, of course, to tell him, “Everything the light touches is our kingdom” because Towhee was totally a The Lion King fangirl. But instead, she pointed downward, trying to call his attention to the foot of the stumpy mountain.
The bottom of the slope—also known as the foot—makes our borders pretty distinct. Any wolf with half a brain will know that the dozen or so yards leading up to it are also dangerous territory best avoided.
They would head down there in good time, though Towhee didn’t mind hanging out here a few more minutes and enjoying the views. She peered at the side of Lyric’s face, smiling a little at his expression. His world had just grown by a lot, she imagined.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Lyric Redhawk - September 18, 2025
He would almost definitely be bragging about this to Carolina later. He was at least 0.02% cooler than her now.
Eyeing Towhee, a new question popped into his head.
..Have you ever beat someone up, GG?He asked. Clearly, he was looking for a story. Not so different from any other day, of course.
It was hard to imagine that Towhee had never gotten into a fight, wasn't that just something wolves did? She was pretty old too, so she'd had plenty of years to build up good fight stories for this moment.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Towhee - September 19, 2025
Well! How was that for a non sequitur? Towhee gave her great grandson a funny look, then smiled right before her face melted into a contemplative expression. Not only had she beat up her fair share of wolves and other beasts over the years—and taken her lumps too—she’d actually maimed and killed.
Does a bear shit in the woods?she quipped.
I’ve beaten up too many someones to count.She paused, debating whether to joke about it or take an opportunity to lay some more serious groundwork.
Getting in physical fights isn’t as glorious as you might think, though. I don’t enjoy hurting others, though sometimes it’s necessary to protect yourself, your home or your loved ones. For instance, if anyone or anything ever threatned you, I’d beat the shit out of them in a heartbeat.
Unaware that he wanted specifics, the Elder tilted her head at him, once more studying his expression and wondering what might be going through that little noggin.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Lyric Redhawk - September 19, 2025
..Does a bear shit in the woods? He'd have to ask his parents later. Maybe they preferred somewhere cleaner.. like a hole.
I don't want to fight, I just wanna hear about it.He reassured her with a nod nearly firm enough to knock himself over. He'd been beat up by Carolina enough times to put him off the idea.
What was your first battle? Did someone die?
He shout a couple more questions Towhee's way, bright-eyed and ready to hear something worth listening to. He needed some new material for his stories.. everyone was getting tired of the same three he'd been adjusting since he could talk.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Towhee - September 22, 2025
Lyric insisted he wasn’t interested in picking fights. Towhee probably should’ve been happy to hear that, though she gave him a bit of a hairy eyeball. Then he asked about her first fight, her expression morphing into one of amusement.
My first battle? Do you think I can remember back that far?she scoffed playfully. A touch more seriously, she motioned at him and said,
Mm, let me think about it while we get this patrol underway. When you get to be my age, you have so many damn memories, you kinda have to dig through them. It takes time, sometimes.
She began striding along the caldera’s base, face turned toward her great grandson to catch anything he had to say. In the meantime, Towhee asked herself, Was the war with the Blackfeathers technically my first battle? Or did I have any combat experience before that? Hell if I can remember… damn…
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Lyric Redhawk - September 22, 2025
He was a bit disappointed by her response.
Yeah - you should remember! Your first battle is super important, right?But, he didn't push it any further for now. Towhee had said that she would try to remember, after all.
Bounding forward about a tail-length, he seemed to be taking this all very seriously. His head swivelled from side to side, looking for any potential intruders. Nothing would get past on Lyric's watch! He didn't think so, anyways.
Various ramblings of his own making passed through his head, unrelated mostly. Though today in particular he had to wonder; what constituted something as an intruder? Was everything an intruder, or just wolves? Was that why they hunted?
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Towhee - September 22, 2025
She hadn’t thought about it in such a long time, it really did take her a few minutes to dredge up her memory of—if not her very first taste of combat, then close to it. She had been a yearling at the time and many details were long lost to her. Towhee recalled a lot more about the preparations for that day than the day itself, though she distinctly remembered a white wolf attacking her, only for the lot of Blackfeathers to just as suddenly retreat back into their dank woods.
It was anticlimactic,she said, breaking the silence.
Do you know what that word means?she asked, eyes swinging to Lyric’s face.
We spent all this time planning to roust this rival pack from Blackfeather Woods,she said, which just happened to be within view.
There. See those trees across the prairie?
Once more, it was tempting to Towhee to drop a line about the shadowy place and how we don’t go there… but she remained silent as she stared at the trees over yonder, before flicking her organe gaze back to the pup’s.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Lyric Redhawk - September 22, 2025
Ah! And his story had come! Whipping his head back to look at Towhee, he shook his head. He did not know what anticlimatic was, but he wasn't so interested in the vocabulary right now.
Looking out across the prairie as Towhee had said, he thought he could see the trees she was talking about. His eyes weren't quite as good as an adults yet.
Did you win?He asked, head turning back to his great grandmother.
Still so young, his mind was pretty fixed on the concept of winning and losing. The nuances in between weren't something that concerned him yet.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Towhee - September 22, 2025
At the time, we declared ourselves winners,Towhee said, looking back to the distant, dreary woods.
But in hindsight… I’m not really sure. Then again, my hindsight is as clear as mud these days,she had to admit, frowning thoughtfully at the boy.
Sorry, wish I had a more interesting tale to tell.
Thinking about the skirmish with the Blackfeathers inevitably made her think of Screech. Her brow scrunched as she found herself wondering whether the white she-wolf who’d rushed her that day had been one and the same as Screech’s mate later on. None of it mattered now, she supposed, and she wasn’t going to get into this story with Lyric. He wasn’t quite old enough to hear it.
You should ask me about my scars,she prompted a moment later, increasing her pace just a tad to put the new patroller through his paces.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Lyric Redhawk - September 22, 2025
The story hadn't been much of a story at all.. but, Towhee prompted new questions from him.
Well, how did you get the scars of your back then?He asked, his smile quick to return. He supposed that scar stories could be pretty cool too.
Short legs speeding up to a trot, he wasn't considering just how far he could make it at this pace. Lyric wasn't so used to exercise like this!
Nose twitching, he took in the barrage of new scents surrounding them (new to him, anyways).
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Towhee - September 22, 2025
I’m glad you asked,she rejoined, winking.
I got those from a lynx during my Mereo days. Have I ever mentioned Mereo before? It was less of a pack and more of a regiment of soldiers. We constantly trained for battle, though before you get your hopes up, I never much participated in any actual fighting while there—aside from aforementioned lynx, of course. We did plenty of sparring though. We even had a dedicated pit for it.
Oh, the stories she could tell about Mereo! That had been her heyday, she supposed. She may have never seen combat but she’d fallen in love there. Towhee doubted Lyric wanted to hear that story, though she gave herself a moment to reminisce fondly before refocusing.
When you’re old enough, I’ll take you to the canyon to see what’s left of it,the Elder promised.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Lyric Redhawk - September 22, 2025
A pack of soldiers! Now that was good material for his stories.
What were you all training for if you never fought anybody?He asked, tilting his head. Were they just trying to be prepared?
Towhee's promise of a trip was enough to excite him, clear from the full back-end wiggle as he followed along. How long would it be before that trip could happen, though? He supposed he shouldn't be in too much of a rush. Having no responsibilities was pretty sick.
Waiting for her response, Lyric tried to imagine what her fight with the lynx had been like. He had never seen one himself, so it was really stretching those imagination muscles!
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Towhee - September 22, 2025
I think the leader—he called himself Imperator—had an agenda, though if he told me anything about it, I don’t remember. I don’t think he did,Towhee posited, shutting her mouth before she could go off about a certain commander.
When she reopened it, she told him a bit more about the confrontation with the lynx. It had been just one of many close calls over the course of her life. She would never regret fighting to defend the things that had meant so much to her at the time. And, she supposed, she did not regret her time in Mereo, even if Germanicus had been a piece of shit in the end.
Have you spent much time with Alivia? Livi?Towhee questioned as they trundled along.
Said Imperator was her dad. Her mom, Rue, was my best friend. We all lived together in Mereo. ‘We all’ including your late… I guess he would’ve been your step-grandfather or something. His name was Maxim. But I assume you don’t want to hear any love stories.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Lyric Redhawk - September 22, 2025
Lyric thought to question why Mereo's leader had picked such a funny name, but was distracted by Towhee's story of the lynx. He would have to ask about it later.
Frowning at Towhee's final remark, his body language immediately screamed of disappointment. For shame GG! How could you!
But.. I like love stories.The sappier, the better. He gobbled up every fairytale told to him before bed like it was the sweetest candy.
It seemed to him that Mereo was where Towhee had thrived. She'd had friends there - and apparently a mate too! But where was he now?
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Towhee - September 22, 2025
Really?she questioned with a huff of laughter.
Well, okay then. I’d love to tell you about mine. But I hope you don’t mind stories with sad endings.
Towhee turned her head to look him in the face. He was around the same age Sable and Towhee Jr had been when Maxim had vanished, never to be seen or heard from again. Obviously, hearing about it was far different than experiencing it… but Lyric and his sister had gotten a taste of that same loss earlier this year. The thought made her stomach feel hollow.
You know what, I’d love to tell you all about your GG Maxim someday. But I just realized I’m not in the mood for a tragedy. I’m sorry for the letdown, Lyric. We should probably do a little less talking and focus on this patrol, anyway. And I swear I will tell you our story one day.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Lyric Redhawk - September 22, 2025
That prompted a full-on pout from him.
You're mean, GG.How could she! How evil! However only moments after he spoke, an unlucky pawstep sent the pup forward straight onto his face - back legs in the air and all!
Maybe he deserved it, just a little bit. The universe can teach boundaries when it wants to.
RE: Light the fire, stir the cauldron. - Towhee - September 22, 2025
His comment pinched a little, though Towhee pretended otherwise and quipped in agreement,
Oh, the meanest.
Offering him a wink, she faced forward just in time to miss his spectacular splat!, suddenly increasing her pace from a slow and steady trot to a more ground-eating lope. She glanced over her shoulder to see if his little legs could keep up, leading him along for perhaps half a mile before slowing again.
We keep the markers pretty fresh, though if you have any gas in the tank, we could practice some marking if you like. All you have to do is pee on something near the borderline. This warns others to keep out. If you don’t feel like peeing, you can also use your paw pads to scratch.
She did a demonstration of the latter, then cocked her head to see which option Lyric might try. Towhee didn’t want to stare at him either way, so she resumed padding slowly along the route. She didn’t plan to go much further with him and glanced back, wondering if the Nestling was getting tired.