Heron Lake Plateau pulled up, moped to the valley

alright so maybe tegan was all bothered over this whole towhee thing, but that's not to say he didn't think that quixote was arguably one of the most badass dudes alive and that he wasn't pumped as a motherfucker to see him take some action... cause he totally was! he'd had very limited exposure to the raven-furred alpha, but tegan's window-shopping had showed him that qui was probably pretty damn cool, and tegan was not a complex fella, so this surface-level observation sufficed. 

he sought out the newly-titled alpha with a big ole deer hind... not one he'd caught because god damn you know how hard that'd be? too hard is the correct answer. it was a gift! and tegan gifts don't come so easily.

So much had happened in such a short span of time that Raven's brain still hadn't quite caught up with it all. She was alpha now. How the heck was that even possible?! If there was one thing she had never imagined in all of her wildest dreams, it was that she'd ever hold a position of leadership -- certainly not alphaship. She couldn't help wondering how long it would last. How long would it be before Towhee changed her mind, or Aunt Finley or Uncle Elwood stepped back up to take the reins again? Raven didn't have a problem with either of those scenarios. She would happily step aside and let them have it.

But until then, she was still the alpha female. And all she could think about was how much she wanted to share the news of that and her likely pregnancy with the sister she treasured most: Wildfire. The problem was that Wildfire was all the way on the other end of the universe from here. Raven herself couldn't exactly leave and spend all that time making the trek herself, so she felt it best if a messenger were dispatched to carry the tidings. The first wolf who came to mind was their promising young scout, Tegan. The boy seemed eager to prove himself and make sure everyone knew he was better than his siblings, and while Raven didn't exactly agree with that assessment, she thought this would be a perfect opportunity for him to do just that. And so she set out to find him, but luckily for her, she didn't have to search for long.

It seemed Tegan was looking for them himself. As Raven approached, she grinned and wagged her tail, greeting him brightly, "Hey!" She noticed he had a hunk of meat in his jaws, and she arched a brow curiously. "Got a minute, Tegan? I need a favor."

oh yikes, if raven was inwardly referring to tegan as 'promising' then she was gonna have a rough time as an alpha. or maybe tegan was promising, who the hell knows. he certainly was a pain in the ass, if anything, so that'd probably be a thorn in her side for sure. he paused where he was, turning to look at raven as she skipped on over to him, his tail wiggling as he watched her approach. raven wasn't as cool as qui, maybe, but he was down to give her a shot. 

"ya sure!" he chirped back, dropping the hind at his own feet, tongue lolling, "wassup? i was bringing this to say congrats on the promotion to you and quixote, so-- congrats!" he dropped his little black nose to push it towards the raven-furred(hahaha) alphess, ears perked as he waited to see what she had to say to him.

Raven wasn't oblivious to some of the rumors that circulated about how aggravating Tegan could be (she was, after all, quite close with Towhee). But if anything, she found his energy and personality to be quite endearing, and she smiled as he responded to her with enthusiasm. When he told her that the deer meat was for her and Quixote, she sniffed at it appreciatively and commented, "Ohhh, shiny! Thank you!" If alphas were served food on a regular basis, Raven thought she might need to start working out.

Looking back up at Tegan again, she continued, "So...I need someone to carry a message to my sister, Wildfire, informing her of everything that's happened over the last few weeks. But she lives all the way over in Drageda, so it'd be a long trip. Shouldn't be too difficult, though, especially if you follow the coastline. Think you'd be up for it?"

raven's response gained a bright grin from tegan, his tail waving a little harder than before. only because she used a term that was totally not applicable in this situation-- he was into that. and then-- whoa. he was being asked to carry a message? all the way to drageda? that was fuckin... whack! whoa. he paused to look at her, wondering if she was being serious, before ultimately deciding that duh! of course she was being serious! tegan was totally the best, it made total sense she was asking him and not his lame ass siblings.

"bet!" tegan exclaimed, falling into a little playbow, bouncing once with excitement, before straightening up and feigning a serious expression because-- oh right, gotta treat those alphas with some respec. his wiggly butt gave him away, though. "i can totally do that, raven, like, won't let you down can do it!" and, lmaaoooo, towhee wasn't the alpha anymore and could no longer force him to stay within the borders. this little motherfucker was scott free!!!

She couldn't help laughing at his excitement, totally charmed by how much of a goofball he was. And of course, he accepted the task. She wondered how Finley and Elwood would feel about her dispatching their son on such a lengthy excursion, but she felt it was a reasonably safe mission and the boy was so close to adulthood already. Blackfeather was the only pack she was really concerned about, and they were so far from anywhere he'd need to go that it wouldn't be an issue. As long as he had the sense to stay well away from claimed lands, she didn't think he'd have a problem.

"Awesome," she replied, her wagging tail indicating she was clearly pleased with his response. "From what I've been told, there are a few packs along the coastline. When you start to scent their boundaries, steer very clear of them and you shouldn't have an issue. I think you should take one of your sisters with you, too. Maybe Clover...or Fiadh.." A thoughtful expression came over her face as the idea came to her. She'd feel a lot better if he wasn't entirely alone, and it might be a good chance for one of the Blackthorn girls to prove herself as well. "If you can do this for me, there might be a promotion in it for you and whoever you take with you." She didn't know how rank-motivated the boy was, but a tangible reward could be a good motivator sometimes.

whoa, bar raised. tegan totally already agreed to do it, she didn't need to be offering prizes and what not... but she was, which was intriguing. tegan straightened up, nose twitching as he considered what she was saying. would clover or fiadh want to leave the caldera? he doubted lucca would. hmpf. maybe he'd ask... or what about that yearling that was running with titty? maybe she'd be down, tegan thought she was pretty rad-- even though apparently she thought he was like a toddler or something. "i don't think they'd wanna, but i'll ask-- if not them i'll make sure i use the buddy system," tegan told raven with a quick, thoughtful nod. 

and then, with a sheepish dip of his head, which tilted gently to one side, tegan asked, "like, above clover in the ranks kinda promotion?" cause nah, miss tegan with all that responsibility shit... but bragging rights? oh heeeell yeah.

When he mentioned they might not want to go, she almost instructed him to tell them the Alpha said you have to...but she resisted. She didn't want to force anyone into anything at this point. She wanted to see who, if anyone, was most motivated to serve the pack as she learned the intricacies of how Towhee had ranked everyone. She nodded with approval at his promise to use the buddy system, and then at his last question, she had to suppress a giggle. He was such a goober. The competition between the Blackthorn brats was almost too much sometimes. "Well, she said thoughtfully, "I can't make any promises. But you're doing your pack a big service by carrying this news for me, and that will count for a lot when it comes time for me to think of who deserves to be promoted over who." She winked at him. "Just sayin'."

"bet!" exclaimed tegan again, this time tacking on a solid, "say less!" just some casual lingo, of course, because in the next moment he was actually requesting she say more. "what do i need to say? just to wildfire? i mean you know me i can tell anyone anything easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy but like-- you got any specifics?" he asked, mostly clarifying. as much as tegan preferred to just go wylin out and doin whatever he wanted to, his bragging rights over clover were on the line! so he sort of needed to make sure he did this right.

wow, being thorough... it was a good look on tegan.

Some of his lingo went over Raven's head a bit, but she more or less got the drift of what he meant. To his questions, she nodded and replied, "None of this is secret, but I'd prefer if you shared it with Wildfire directly so she gets it straight from the source." One never knew how things could warp and twist the further they traveled along the rumor grapevine. "Please tell her about our move to this plateau, so she'll know where to find us if she wants to come visit. Tell her that Quixote and I are the alphas now, and that we'll be expecting puppies closer to summer. Our packs are allies, so please reassure them that we intend to maintain our friendly ties with them. And be sure to bring back any news they might have as well." She grinned, waving her tail good-naturedly, and added, "Think you can handle that, O Almighty Scout?"

tegan nodded as solemnly as he could when she'd finished talking, but his tail was moving a million miles an hour. oh hell yeah! "yes ma'am! consider it done! i'm gonna go find someone to go and then... uh... i'm gonna talk to mom, cause i bet mom could help me get all set up," he told raven with another nod of his head. and then, reaching forward to nudge the bottom of raven's chin, tegan bounded off to lord knows where to do lord knows what in preparation.

I loved this thread! Need more Tegan in my life, hehe. <3

She nodded her agreement to his comments and then watched him go, calling "And be careful!" after him as he went. She wondered how long it would be before a raging Finley came and kicked down her door, puffing a fat cigar, brandishing machine guns, and demanding to know why Raven had sent her son on some crazy errand all the way across the entire wilderness. The last time she'd seen her aunt had left her with a profoundly bitter taste in her mouth toward the former beta, and she'd taken care to avoid both elder Blackthorns ever since. Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, she sighed, smiled a little to herself, and turned to leave as well.