Redhawk Caldera You don't have to be ruled by fate.

Towhee had a terrible headache. She tried to sleep it off but when she woke a while later, her head was still pounding. She lay panting in the shade for a few moments, willing away the dull throb in her temples, before hoisting herself onto her feet and padding off in search of @Raven. She wasn't at the badger set near the edge of the rendezvous site but when Towhee lowered her nose, she picked up a fresh scent trail and began to track it toward the far eastern edge of the territory.

As she was meandering downhill toward the distant forest, it suddenly occurred to her that she was nearly six months old. Towhee froze in her tracks, blinking her orange eyes in revelation. She was well on her way to adulthood, a thought which made her feel strange but thrilled. Picking up her feet again, she resumed her path toward the borderline, her older sister's scent still in her nose and her brain still knocking around in her skull.

Hope it's okay if I join! :)

Elwood was conflicted over Eljay's disappearance, and rightly so. It seemed that he had made the decision to depart on his own, so on one hand, he couldn't fault the boy. He was a young adult and many wolves left their birth packs to chart their own courses in life. But at the same time, he knew Eljay -- the boy had never expressed a desire to explore or leave Redhawk Caldera; so what, exactly, had convinced him?

He wanted to go out and search for his eldest son, but there was something stopping him. If this was Eljay's chance to spread his wings, he had to let him, no matter how much it hurt. Despite this, however, he was spending more time than usual at the borders, patrolling and marking and keeping an eye out for Eljay's unlikely return. Presently, he had paused and was simply gazing out at the landscape beyond his territory, unaware of Towhee's distant approach somewhere behind him.

Absolutely!

Raven's scent led beyond the borders, which was sort of strange; the medic didn't often leave the territory. Perhaps she had gone into the neighboring forest to collect supplies. Towhee stopped there, hesitating. Should she join her sister, give her a helping hand, or perhaps wait for her here? A third option presented itself in a flicker of movement out of the corner of the Xi's eye. She turned sharply, squinting at the silhouette in the distance. Recognition registered within seconds and she was already on the move.

"Uncle Elwood!" she shouted, trying to get him to slow down so she could catch up with him. Towhee sped up, galloping to close the distance, and waving her lowered tail when she approached the Alpha male. Her head was throbbing a bit from the run but she bit back any complaints. Without a word, she matched his step, indicating her willingness to join his patrol. She could seek out Raven later if the headache persisted.

There were many things they could talk about, including Eljay's puzzling decision to leave or the Alpha pair's upcoming litter. But rather apropos of nothing, Towhee said, "I've been thinking—what does it take to become a leader?"

There was a call from behind him, and Elwood turned an ear back. He recognized Towhee's voice (which was soon accompanied by the sound of her paws hitting the ground as she ran towards him) but couldn't tear his gaze away from the landscape just yet. Only when she was alongside him did he blink and clear his vision and his thoughts, glancing down at his goddaughter.

"Hey, Towhee," he said. He wasn't at all surprised to find her at the borders, but her question was unexpected. He raised his brows as he briefly contemplated the query. He had fallen into leadership himself -- he hadn't anticipated the promotion that had been given to him by Fox and Peregrine, and then he and Finley had stepped up into the Alpha positions after the Redhawks' deaths. It had been more of a necessity than anything else at the time. The pack had needed leaders just as the newborns had needed parents.

"Well," he said, pausing in his forward stride so that he could turn towards Towhee and allow her to read his lips, "you have to be dedicated to your pack and to helping its members, first of all." There was a lot more to say, but he was interested in what other questions Towhee had and how they would guide their conversation.

If the question caught him off guard, he didn't show it. Elwood turned to face her, opting to speak rather than sign, which made sense as they continued to plod along the borders. She watched his face carefully, nodding at his sensible response. Towhee immediately thought, I'm dedicated and helpful. She blinked. She couldn't pinpoint when the idea of pursuing leadership might have entered her head but she could not deny her seemingly sudden interest.

"Do you think," she began slowly, "that I'd make a good leader someday?" Her heart skipped a beat. It was one thing to think it but another to voice it, to put the idea out there in the wild. Plus, she was genuinely anxious about her godfather's feedback. What if he didn't think she'd be cut out for it? What if he thought her handicap or the chip on her shoulder would hold her back from obtaining such a position?

Finding herself feeling defensive and prickly, the Xi said, "You won't find anyone more dedicated—or loyal—than me," to help make her case. Aware that she wasn't giving her uncle a chance to get a word in edgewise but seemingly unable to help herself, Towhee added, "I'll never leave. I'll always be a Redhawk. And a Blackthorn." She caught his eye as she said that last bit, which was something else she wanted to discuss with him. But it would have to wait for now. She finally shut her yap to allow the Alpha male to speak.

Rather than prompt him to provide more details about the makeup of a leader, Towhee cut right to the chase. She asked if Elwood could picture her in leadership someday, and the thought gave him pause. Although she and her siblings were still young, he supposed it was something that had been in the back of his mind. After all, their parents had founded Redhawk Caldera; they could be considered the pack's heirs. But Towhee wasn't asking if she was deserving of leadership; she wanted to know if she possessed the traits required to be at the head of a pack.

"I think you would," he replied after a moment, a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips. Towhee was territorial and extremely loyal to her family, much as both of her parents had been, and they had been successful Alphas for a long time. And she had already made improvements in her ability to interact with outsiders, which showed maturity beyond her age. On the other hand, her hearing impairment would likely complicate things, but Elwood didn't think it was the time or place to bring that up.

"Do you want to be a leader someday, Ms. Redhawk-Blackthorn?" he asked, quirking a brow. She hadn't said it outright, but her questions clearly indicated her desire.

Yes, she thought, though Towhee paused a moment to really think it through before answering aloud, "I think so." Her lips pursed and she sought eye contact as she admitted, "I haven't thought about it a lot. But it feels right, if that makes sense?" She shrugged a little awkwardly and hoped she didn't sound silly or flaky. She was more or less flying by the seat of her pants here, though this conversation was certainly gelling the fact that she was interested in pursuing leadership.

She wanted to know how she could prove herself and earn a rank at the top of the hierarchy but his playful comment made her steer the conversation to a side road for a moment. "How come you and Aunt Finley don't go by Redhawk?" she wondered with a tilt of her head.

"It feels right," Towhee answered, and Elwood nodded his understanding. While she seemed to be unsure as to why she felt this desire, he knew that it veritably ran in her blood. He could see traits of both of her parents in her, and suspected that they would only become more pronounced as she aged.

Rather than continue with that topic, Towhee asked another question, this one related to their surnames. If Elwood remembered correctly, he had discussed this very subject with Peregrine at length, but they had never officially done anything about it. He and Finley were still Blackthorns, though in a way, they were also Redhawks. He shrugged, wishing he had a better response to provide his goddaughter. "You know, I'm not really sure. We've always been like family, your parents and me and Aunt Fin, but we never took on the name," he said. Raising his brows, he wondered, "Do you think we should?"

She pondered his question for a beat, then slowly shook her head. "Not necessarily, I guess. I just wondered." Towhee paused, licking her lips. "It's just a name," she added, speaking even more slowly than usual as she parsed her thoughts out loud, "but I guess it feels weird that we have different last names." She gestured between them, then shrugged lightly, catching his eye. "Redhawk-Blackthorn works though," the Xi finished with a small smile. She meant it for herself, though even as she said it, she wondered if maybe the Alpha pair would adopt the combined name at some point too.

But back to the more pressing subject: "Would you and Aunt Finley want me as a leader?" It was another question whose answer she almost dreaded as much as she anticipated. And, once more, Towhee found herself plunging ahead before giving her godfather a proper opportunity to answer. "If you do, you could teach me. I know there are things I could work on and I'd be happy to if you give me a chance."

Her response was fairly noncommittal, so Elwood smiled and shrugged his shoulders. No matter what their names were, they were family. Personally, he had never been overly attached to his own surname; in fact, he had substituted his parents' last name for Finley's in order to become a Blackthorn. He wasn't opposed to being called a Redhawk or even a Blackthorn-Redhawk, but it was something he would want to discuss with his mate -- and they had quite a few other things on their plate at present.

Towhee shifted the conversation back to her original subject with a question that Elwood contemplated briefly before responding. It would take more time and thought to truly determine the answer, but he could see the eagerness she felt to follow in her parents' footsteps. "That could be arranged," he said, making an addition to the list of things he needed to talk to Finley about. "If it's something that you really want, then we can train you. Aunt Fin and I might like to have some help with leadership eventually," he said. He wasn't necessarily promising that she would be promoted to Beta as soon as she reached adulthood, but it was perhaps a long term could they could all work towards together.

Her heart thumped hopefully when her uncle seemed open to the idea. Towhee's tail gave a few rapid twitches and she shot him an appreciative smile. -Really?- she signed, mindlessly shifting away from verbal communication as the two of them came to a natural pause in their uneventful patrol. -I'm pretty sure it's what I want. I'd like to at least train for it in order to find out. Does that make sense? Is that okay?-

This time, it wasn't Towhee who cut off Elwood before he could respond. It was the sight of a wolf in the distance. The Xi's focus abruptly shifted away from the Alpha male as she squinted at the silhouette. It was moving in this direction. No, it was running this way, right toward the pair of guardians. Towhee's fur stood on end as her lips wrinkled back from her teeth. She lowered her head, ears splaying, and unleashed a loud warning growl.

Feel free to control NPC!wolf. :)

"Really," Elwood replied, verbally reiterating Towhee's exclamation. He frowned slightly, focusing on her body language as he tried to interpret her next statement, but before he could fully process it they were interrupted. Towhee's posture changed abruptly; she straightened and turned to gaze outward suddenly and fiercely. As soon as Elwood shifted, he saw what had grabbed her attention: there was a wolf making a beeline for them.

Nothing about this stranger's appearance suggested that it was approaching the borders for a peaceful palaver, so the guardian immediately went on the defensive. His hackles raised and his lips peeled back from his teeth, and he began to move forward, planning to intercept the loner before he or she got anywhere near his territory. He gave a warning snarl, and when the wolf did not slow its pace, he continued forward.

The warning did nothing to slow the interloper's approach, nor did Elwood's own menacing display (presumably with sound effects). Towhee's heart skipped a beat as the wolf continued its charge straight toward them, her body bracing as she deliberated whether to stand her ground or rush the stranger in return. She felt the streaked fur along her shoulder blades ripple uneasily when the wolf came close enough for her to pick out details: dark gray fur, yellow eyes that glittered with something like madness and a sickly foam frothing its—her, going by scent—lips.

Although the Xi didn't know the first thing about rabies, she felt an instinctive repulsion at the sight. She dug her paws into the ground and sprang toward the she-wolf, unwilling to allow her any closer lest she infect the pack with whatever malady she suffered. The strike was both accurate and deadly as Towhee managed to plunge her fangs into the side of the stranger's neck and drag her bodily to the ground. Towhee buckled her own legs and dropped too, maintaining her grip on the other wolf's throat and bearing down hard until she felt the bone and tissue crumble under the force of her jaws.

As the other wolf got closer, Elwood realized the reason for its reckless rush towards them. It was sick; not only could he see the effects of rabies, but he could smell the odor of disease. He opened his mouth, ready to warn Towhee away from the stranger, but before he could say or sign anything she had sprung forward. He barked sharply -- forgetting that she wouldn't hear it -- in an attempt to urge her to back off; and when she didn't, he joined her.

She had sunk her teeth into the wolf's neck with an expertise beyond her age, and was already pulling it to the ground. It didn't put up much of a fight, likely because of its illness, but Elwood still assisted. The quicker they eradicated the threat, the better. His own jaws sought purchase at the back of the wolf's neck, just above its withers. The added pressure was enough to end its life; it twitched pitifully, gurgling as blood pooled from its mouth, and then was still.

Elwood stepped back and said sharply, "Stay away from its mouth." Remembering that Towhee wouldn't be able to hear his words or his tone, he gave her a nudge with his snout, pushing her back and away from the dead animal. When she was presumably looking at him, he said, "It was sick. Contagious, maybe, but only if it bit us -- not the other way around. We still might want to have Raven check us out."

The moment she felt the body go limp, Towhee unlatched and sprang back. Simultaneously, Elwood nudged her and she looked at him sharply, reading his lips. She nodded her understanding. Although she didn't know the details, she sensed the disease and knew to avoid prolonged contact with the corpse. She took another step backward, the fur of her ruff prickling warily even as the eyed the body.

-What did she have?- she couldn't help but wonder, tearing her eyes away to peer at her uncle. -Okay,- she added in reference to his comment about Raven. -Should we go right away?- The threat was eliminated and Towhee knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

Wrap up? :)

"Rabies, I think," Elwood replied. He was no medical expert by any means, and hadn't come into contact with any animals with the disease in the past, but there had been that weird wolf-like creature a few years ago. There had been more wrong with it than just illness; just thinking about it was enough to make Elwood shudder. Either way, he didn't want to take any chances, whether it was rabies or not.

Glaring down at the corpse, he nodded as he said, "Yeah, let's go find her now." He began to lead the way back into the caldera's territory. He didn't necessarily like the idea of leaving the body on the borders, but knew that it would likely be taken care of by scavengers.

"Ray bees?" Towhee repeated under her breath, immediately picturing bees shooting death rays out of their butts in lieu of stingers. Her eyes narrowed as she studied Elwood's face, to see if he was pulling her leg. But no, he looked deadly serious. She would have to ask him and Raven more about it once they met up with the medic.

She took one last glance at the corpse, suppressing a mild shudder. Towhee then broke into a purposeful trot, matching her stride with her uncle's as they left the borders and headed deeper into the territory in search of Raven, now with much more pressing matters than a mere headache.