Firefly Glen In these fine times

Backdated to 11/06. Private for those tagged. <3

Phox ended up spending the night the caldera, deciding it would be better to leave at first light rather than try and cram everything into one day. With the two younger lads on their mission to find Wraen and let her know where Maia was, it was now his job to see if this sister pack actually had any meat to it. He had only realized after Toad had left that he could have asked her to tell Fennec, but maybe coming here himself was better anyway.

Strolling up to the borders, Phox called on @Fennec, hoping it wouldn't be too difficult for her to find him. This was primarily a business visit, but he wouldn't mind catching up with @Bronco or @Meerkat either. Phox settled back on his haunches then, brown eyes scanning the endless trees while the chilly wind ruffled his silver back.

OHHH this is in the middle of awkwardness I think bwahaha

Fennec was dozing lightly when Phox's call startled her awake.  She stretched and yawned, then scratched idly at her shoulder where a few hunks of dirt still rested within her fur, a carry-over from yesterday's long digging pass.  She was making pretty good headway at this point into her new den, carving out a sizeable cavern that could house 2 wolves fairly comfortably at this point.  Before long she'd have the three (and change) that she needed.

That would have to wait, though!  She was glad to hear her dad and to go catch up, but he was probably here for a reason?  He hadn't called Bronco or Meerkat (thankfully...) so that tipped her off that it wasn't a family issue.  Something specific for her then.  She theorized as she traveled, everything from needing advice on a seance to dispell some angry ghost from the caldera to needing some poisons to get rid of an intruding army of bader-monsters.  The first sounded more interesting, she could hope it was that.

WC: 170

Fennec appeared from the wood, and Phox greeted her with a woof to alert her to his exact location.

Hey Fenn! he said, tail wagging and features bright. She looked well—of course she did. Fennec appeared to have found herself here, and for that, Phox was grateful. She was out of the shadow of her parents, but not so far away that he couldn't visit.

I wish I came here for a more fun reason, but the truth is, Maia took quite a tumble down the caldera, and Eljay suggested I ask if you had any herbs you could spare. Mostly for the pain, I think. Phox couldn't remember if Eljay had given him any specific plant to ask about, but if he had, the father didn't know what it was. He supposed he'd have to trust Fennec's knowledge on the matter.

She came to Phox's woof and stopped, listening as he got straight to the point.  Weird, considering he was usually more... chatty?  Turns out it was official business.  Oh.  Fennec didn't remember Maia all that well.  She'd had little to no interaction with Wraen's younger sister, as fond as she was of the older one.  

She thought about it a moment.  I have some willow bark that might help?  She'd collected it way back when, before she even came to the Moonspear, and had brought it along with a couple of other things with her through the move to the Glen.  My den isn't too far....  Oh. It hadn't even occurred to her, but it did as she trailed off into silence.

WC: 210

Actually, sorry, I don't.  She corrected, and her ears splayed a little irately.  My den... got destroyed, and some things got buried.  All of her things, actually.  Shit, how long was it going to take her to dig that out?  Should she even try?  Her pouch...

She huffed.  Damn.  It would have been nice to help Eljay out, but apparently, he'd have to wait.  She couldn't guarantee she could find the herbs, and it would likely be hours if not days before she could even dig them out.

Phox's ears perked up when she mentioned willow bark, even though that wasn't what Eljay had asked for. Phox certainly was not a medic, so he'd have to take her advice on what would or wouldn't work. Eljay could always be a double check on things, too. Phox readied himself to start walking to her den, but when she trailed off and explained that her den had been destroyed, it sounded like that wouldn't be an option anyway.

Shoot, he said. It really was some shit timing, but it wasn't as though she could have known what was going to happen to Maia.

There was, of course, one other option. The entire reason Fennec had gone to live with Moonspear/Firefly Glen was because there was yet another medic living there, right?

What about the other medic? The one that lives at Moonspear? Is there any chance they might be able to help us out?

Phox wasn't sure what Fennec's relationship was like with that other medic. But once again, he found himself thinking that this was why they had sister packs: to lean on one another when they needed something. All he could do was hope that he could catch a break.

Oh, yeah, I bet she does.  Fennec shifted a bit.  She had gone up once or twice on her own, but she'd not learned the way one hundred percent to the point where she'd be quick about it.  It would take her a while.  Yet if Phox called Meerkat or Bronco, she'd have to deal with that, and she really wasn't in the mood right now.  

If you don't mind waiting, I can go check? She said finally, deciding that making him wait was easier.  Maybe not for him, or for whoever was waiting on him, but for herself? Oh hell yes it was.  She paused, listining for a confirmation before she'd leave to make the trek up to Kukutux's den.

WC: 121

Phox sighed, relieved that maybe this would help Maia. It also gave him a boost of confidence that maybe having sister packs wasn't such a bad idea. He was vaguely aware that Wraen had been against it, for whatever reasons she had. If they could exchange goods and services between them, that was the real perk.

I'll be right here, he said. Phox let his hind legs fold under his weight, happy to wait for Fennec.

How long do you think it'll be? Phox asked, realizing that would be some darn tootin' good information to know. If Fennec was going to be gone for a few hours, he could handle that. But days? If that was the case, he'd turn back and come back tomorrow or the day after.

Couple hours?  She guessed, though that was so long as she didn't run into any trouble finding Kukutux and getting something from her.  If she wasn't there, though, surely she wouldn't mind if Fennec grabbed a thing or two...

I'll be back quick as I can.  Maybe you can find us something to eat while I go?  Fennec asked, allowing a little hopeful wheedle into her voice.  She knew her dad was always good for dinner and she was already getting a little hungry.  Not only that, but that meant he wouldn't just be sitting here until she got back, tempted to call others to make conversation with.

With one last nuzzle to Phox, she turned and began to trot carefully towards the base of the nearby mountain.  

WC: 128

Yeah, of course, Phox said when she suggested he rustle up some grub. That would keep him from twiddling his thumbs, and a couple of hours was plenty of time to track something down. Besides, getting something for Fennec in return for her help was only fair. They were family, but any good family member knew not to be a mooch.

He watched her as long as it took for her to disappear from his sight, smiling before he turned and headed out to grab some food.

When Phox returned a few hours later, he held in his jowls a badger carcass. It was not something he'd killed, but rather an old female who appeared to have died of some other natural cause. Unbeknownst to Phox, she'd left behind a young kit who had been tailing them for quite some time, attracted to its mother's smell.

Phox set the badger down, visually scanning the area for Fennec before he planned to call for her.

In the end, Fennec didn't find Kukutux within her den, but she did manage to raid a couple of things.  She'd replace them later... and she'd made sure not to take all of anything.  She honestly probably wouldn't even mention it unless Kukutux asked.  Her progress up and down the mountain was slow, and Phox likely returned quite a bit before she did.

Once she was down, however, she could travel at a pretty steady jog back to the border.  She didn't recall exactly where Phox was, but she followed the line, waiting until he hailed her or she simply heard or smelled him.

She dropped her find when she got there and waved her tail.  I got a few things.  A couple I don't remember what they're called, but they all help with injuries.  Eljay'll know how to use them.  Some he'd taught her about.  Then she sniffed, catching the scent of blood.  Oh, hell yeah!  She was starving and obviously, dad had delivered.

WC: 165

Tag for reference!

Phox woofed when he saw her, glad that she was back. It had taken a bit longer than he had expected, but it looked like she'd delivered on the goods. Maybe this big sister pack thing wasn't such a bad idea. If they could all support each other, Phox was hard pressed to find a downside to the arrangement. Then again, it meant that if one of them got into trouble, they would all be in trouble. If some outside pack really wanted to, they could theoretically go to war with all three. They probably wouldn't have a chance at winning, but Phox still worried about that to some degree. And he wondered what would happen if things soured between the three packs.

This is great, Phox said when she was close and explained what she'd brought. As soon as he got back to Redhawk Caldera, he'd give the goods to @Eljay and he could use them to help Maia.

Phox nudged the badger toward her. He could always hunt more for himself if he really needed to. Right now, though, something batted at his tail, and he swiveled around to find the badger kit. He was a little bewildered at first, wondering why it would walk up to him like that, but he remembered the story that the wolf with the otter had told.

Well I'll be damned. You know, last year, I met a wolf with an otter friend, kinda like how Towhee used to have her bird friend, X. The wolf with the otter said that she'd found her by killing her parents. Looks like I've unintentionally done what I've thought about doing for awhile. You interested? he asked, turning back to Fennec.

I'll bet it could help you with hunting and the like. Badgers are no joke, so it'd probably be a nice pet to have.

The striped creature looked up at him with its small eyes, looking lost and a little bit confused. If Fennec didn't take him up on the offer, Phox would probably go ahead and have it for a snack. No harm, no foul.

At first Fennec wasn't sure what Phox was going on about, but then she heard something moving behind him, ever so slightly.  He clarified that it was a badger and immediately Fennec was thrown back (unhappily) to the entire den fiasco.  She had made a joke about bribing a badger to help.

She opened her mouth to decline, but then had a second, bigger thought.  Sialuk and her statement that she had an animal 'guide'.  A small badger wasn't going to make much of a guide, but on the upside, it wouldn't put up much of a challenge either.  If it followed her around she'd barely have to do anything actually.  She could always eat it later.

Sure, why not?  She sniffed curiously.  Wonder how it is with gardens.  It came out more of a statement than a question, and she snickered.  S'pose I'll find out.

WC: 146

Last from me!

They're pretty good at digging, so maybe it could help you with a new den, too, Phox said, smiling.

Even if she didn't end up bonding with the little thing (who was now wandering up to her rather than Phox), he thought that it would make a very easy snack for her. He didn't say that part out loud, of course, but he had to imagine that Fennec had already considered that option. Hopefully, whichever way she chose to use it, it would be of some benefit to her.

I'm going to take these back to Eljay, he said, referring to the herbs. Thanks for your help, Fennec. I'll see you around!

With that, Phox gathered up the herbs, took a deep breath, and headed back to Redhawk Caldera. Along the way, he thought (yet again) about how nice it was to have Fennec nearby. He had missed her while she'd been gone, and hopefully now she felt less suffocated by family. Bronco and Meerkat were good company, but at least neither of them seemed to want to hold her back.

He made good time getting back to the caldera, passing off the supplies to Eljay, who would hopefully know what to do with them. Exhausted from his journey, Phox found a spot to curl up and get some much-needed Zs.

Maybe.  She thought maybe he'd stay and share dinner with her, but it made sense that he had to go.  She in turn would take the kill, but first she did pop forwards to give him a quick touch with her muzzle.  Thanks, dad.  She passed him a smile, then snagged up the kill and began to carry it back towards her new densite.  It was an option as well for Eljay's present, and likely she'd set the hide aside, to rest with the beaver she'd eventually catch.

In the end neither of them would be realized into a final project, but right now, Fennec's mind buzzed with the possibliities they (and the baby badger trailing at her heels) offered.

WC: 120