Redhawk Caldera Their pet angel was just in the holy land.

Set for Friday (the 13th!). Probably just 1-2 rounds. :)

With X steady on her shoulder and the rising sun causing steam to rise from the grass at her feet, Towhee faced the crowd gathered at the northernmost borders. "This is it," she said to @Finley, @Elwood, @Quixote, @Colt, @Eljay, @Nevouku, @Orca, @Tegan, @Fiadh, @Lucca, @Clover and @Raven. (She included @Tywyll and @Cinder with a glance, even though they couldn't possibly understand.) The faces looking back at her expressed such a myriad of emotions, all of which Towhee felt inside herself too.

Ignoring the impulse for sentimentalism, Towhee did not bid their home goodbye. It's just ground, she told herself as she pivoted to face the lands beyond the caldera. Simultaneously, X launched off her shoulder and began winging northwest. It would be a long trek, especially since they must traverse around the mountains rather than through them. But the pups and the rest of the pack would be safer this way and, soon, that barrier would be between them and the Blackfeathers and they'd never have to worry about those bastards again.

Exhaling a shaky breath, the Alpha took her first and last step outside of Redhawk Caldera's borders, looking only ahead as she led her family toward the promised land.

He'd returned to his precious home only recently and already he was forced to leave it again. Eljay had rebelled silently and felt nauseous even as Towhee gathered everyone and announced that they were leaving. His breath was right just before they left, a deep and worried frown on his face that showed just how difficult this was for him; as always, he wore his emotions on his sleeve.

"Bye, home," he murmured defeatedly at the lands, a final goodbye from a boy to his home lands, before he crossed the invisible borders with a heavy sigh and short ragged breaths.

His breathing calmed only once they were on the road, as he has something to do then, could keep moving even as they went further and further from the only place he had ever truly considered home..

Nudge me if my assumptions about the puppies aren’t okay!

Elwood was filled with mixed emotions as he and the rest of the pack gathered to depart. He knew he wasn’t the only one feeling conflicted — Eljay’s frown clearly expressed his opinion on the move, although the boy would never speak up against his leader and parents. While Elwood hated that they had to leave the caldera behind, he agreed with Towhee’s decision and carefully kept any disappointment from showing on his own face as she announced that it was time to take the plunge.

The sunrise signified their new start and gave him a pinprick of hope as they began their journey. He fell into step with Finley and behind Towhee, planning to urge Tywyll and Cinder along on their own feet until they needed to be carried. He cast one last glance over his shoulder at the peak that had become so familiar, and a sense of calm enveloped him despite a twinge of regret. They were making the right choice.

Nevouku could see this was it. He had been here for perhaps a week or two, maybe just a bit more and already he would be on the move once more. He looked about, and couldn't spy Sebastian around, so grew worried. Had he gone elsewhere? He had wanted to reconnect with him...but it seemed to the nervous male that chance had passed.

Although she would never admit it to anyone, Orca was excited to leave the caldera. She didn't allow herself to explore that excitement too much, and masked it quickly with guilt that she was unable to control -- but if she did examine the feeling, she would realize that she wanted to see more of the world. She had been happy to remain within the territory's confines for her life thus far, but something inside of her yearned to experience what else was out there.

Her packmates wouldn't be able to decipher any of this just by looking at her; no, she simply followed Towhee dutifully as her sister led the charge away from one home and towards the next, her expression as somber as everyone else's.

He hadn't been around the territory to really mourn it.  It was just irritating.  The idiot neighbors were idiots, but eh.  Whatever.  At least for now he was just gonna go along with it.  What was the point of complaining?  It wasn't like he had the weight in the pack to be able to offer an opinion and have it be listened to, that he was sure.  Especially after recent events.

Now, he joined the others that had gathered, lurking around the back of the group like the shadow he was, an antler in his maw.  It was maybe that of a yearling or so, not a sizeable thing, but he'd found it a while back and that'd be easy enough to carry along to bemuse himself when they stopped.  Assuming he didn't lose it along the way, which was also entirely possible.

As the pack gathered around Towhee, Fin found herself staring behind them at the land they were about to leave behind. She had made her peace with the decision - it was the right one after all. That didn’t make it any easier for her. She had gone to Peregrine’s and Fox’s graves, not speaking out loud to them because even she knew that was insane, but losing herself to her thoughts of them and of the future, and hoping they would be pleased with the decision their daughter had made. She had gone to Tiger’s grave as well, just to look upon it once more before they left. 

She had done the same with other landmarks too - the whelping den where she’d birthed all her children, the shores of Rodney where she had told Peregrine that absurd story about how it had been named, the cave where she had been trapped for days during the snow storm with Towhee and the others, the little den by the stream where she had first lived before she and Elwood had become mates. So many memories - more than she’d ever realized until it was time to go. Fin felt mournful to leave it all behind, but had managed to find a way to be hopeful about their future.

When the group began to move, Fin stood still for a moment longer. It wasn’t until she heard one of the pups fussing about being nudged along by their father that she finally turned to help. She peered down at Cinder and Tywyll as she urged them along, wondering if they might be the ones to return one day and reclaim the territory. That thought made her smile, though she did wonder which of the Redhawks they would follow here. There was no Caldera without both Redhawks and Blackthorns, after all. They were one family, and they always would be, no matter where the road took them.