Sun Mote Copse Click clack of your nails on stone

10/28 @ first light: departure.
10/29 @ dusk: return.

This will be one round only, and I'll leave it open for a week. I'm not planning on doing a returning thread, so this is your chance to join the group!

Towhee had agreed to stay in the copse and hold down the fort. Niamh was off to scout out the caldera and see if it was even a viable option, and Phox had spread the news that he was going to take a trip to the Frosthawks. Anybody was welcome to join him. They gathered at first light, and he planned to stay the night with his sister, relax, and arrive back the following evening. It would mean nearly two days away from the Firebirds, but he thought the trip would do them well, and he could run the idea of the Caldera past his older sister as well.

Once everybody was accounted for, Phox led the way south, looking forward to seeing familiar faces (and perhaps some new ones).

Eljay was quite excited to go, and it showed. The visit to Redhawk Caldera had made him feel rejuvenated and the thought of getting to see Raven again was quite exciting, too. It wasn't that he liked travelling, but the thought of moving back to the Caldera excited him and besides, travelling a bit actually brought him closer to thinking about maybe striking out from the pack at some point. Fennec possibly not staying at the pack was a minor setback in that, and he needed to give it some good thought. Maybe he could enthuse someone else for the caretaker role..? He'd never thought of it before, but it might be good to check around.

With @Weejay by his side he arrived when Phox called everyone together for the trip to Frosthawks. He told Weejay all about how Raven'd taught him how to clean wounds and had taught him most of his herb knowledge. He spoke warmly of her, looking very much forward to seeing her again, throughout the trip. He also spoke fondly of Owen, one of Raven's children that he had helped care for and, in some way, helped raise, and of course he mentioned others from his past, too, while he wondered out loud whether they were still around in the Frosthawks. As a matter of fact, surrounded by pleasant company and, most importantly, someone who knew the way, Eljay seemed to pretty much forget that he was out in the wilderness at all rather than the safety and comfort of his own home.

During his time there, Eljay was happy to catch up with everyone in the Frosthawks. He was a little sad to see that Owen wasn't there, but he was happy to catch up with his sister Liffey, reminisce other days and wonder where Lagan was these days, and catch up with Raven, his dear friend who he hadn't seen in a long, long time. They exchanged some caretaker things. There wasn't really anyone that Eljay dared open up to about his doubts of staying with the Firebirds, and his considerations for exploring to find Maia — he wasn't sure in any way, and besides, he didn't want to worry anyone and he certainly didn't want to risk anyone telling Phox about it. Those thoughts remained comfortably in his own head while he went out to meet all the latest children that he hadn't had the honour to meet yet, and caught up with all of his old friends and family. It was a nice visit that did him a lot of good, and he returned home deciding to first see how the move to Redhawk Caldera would go before deciding anything more in regards to leaving home.

It was Weejay's first time to Frosthawks.

In the beginning she stuck to Eljay, happy they were going on an adventure together -- but in a way, nervous too.

She learned of Raven, of Owen. She met them both -- eyes bright with wonder for the dark-pelted woman she had heard so much of (who, tangentially, had been present while Weejay was a baby, but she did not remember her well at all). She wasted no time picking @Raven's brain -- for she remembered Phox and Eljay both had told her of the woman's lengthy knowledge. Ultimately, Weejay pulled away from her palaver with Raven light-hearted and that much more knowledgable.

Most extraordinary of all, however, was the familiar figure Weejay found loitering among the pack of her distant relatives and kith. "AENGUS!!!" Weejay hollered, pushing her daddy excitedly as she ran for the boy that she had spent so much time in the woods with. Together they walked along the pinestraw loam, excitedly chattering and filling each other in on all that had transpired since their last meeting.

In the end Weejay was terribly sad to go -- part of her wondered even, if she could or should stay... But in the end she knew she would miss Eljay too much. Besides, all of this had been good for her daddy just like it'd been for her. She had not missed how he seemed almost naturally at home here -- for a while, it was as if they had never left home at all.