Northstar Vale Like a BAWSS!

He was too late to heed @Caracal's summons at Mereo—but he heard it.

Soon as he roused himself to moving quickly, he scampered across the range, finding his scent and following it to the best of his ability. It brought him to Epoch—and fuck, he should probably check on Towhee anyway.

Still, he howled for his cousin-brother, insistent, his tail wagging against the winter winds buffeting his fur on these high altitudes.

Caracal! He was back!

He stayed with Towhee for several hours, catching up and then shooting the shit. Caracal offered to stay longer—as long as she needed—but he also made the mistake of telling her about Heda. She insisted he get back to his newfound life, especially since she couldn’t do a whole lot these days besides wait around for the pups to come. She only asked that he visit her again in about a month’s time so he could meet them.

After a round of goodbye hugs, Caracal left Towhee’s little roost and picked his way toward the edge of the vale. En route, he heard a familiar howl rise up in the air. His spirit soared at the sound of that voice and he scrambled toward it, ignoring the persistent ache in his feet that even a long nap hadn’t quite eased.

KILLER! he shouted when he spotted the other young man, rushing toward him and looping an arm around his neck to pull Killdeer into a hug so tight it was almost a headlock.

CALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

His cry reverberated off the surrounding mountain tops.

He was bigger and burlier than his cousin, but they were still on equal footing—and now, it felt as if there were a chasm between them to cross.

Dude! Where have you been?! What is up?! What brings you here?!

Killdeer's questions came rapid-fire, curious and wild, almost unable to wait for the other's response.

Killdeer fired off several questions directly in his ear. Caracal grinned and gave him one last mighty squeeze before releasing him and stepping back. His good eye swept up and down as he took in his nephew’s large, stocky figure.

Damn, bro, do you even lift? he quipped admiringly. You’re cut as hell! Cute as hell too, he couldn’t resist adding, reaching out to pinch Killer’s cheek. Same as ever.

He didn’t mean to ignore his pal’s questions, though, so he took another step back and said, I’ve been… a lot of places. Most recently, I’ve been hanging out on Wheeling Gull Isle. Do you remember it? Where you nearly drowned? And I saved your ass? Anyway, I kinda settled there recently, Caracal continued, with a girl.

Pfft, Killdeer replied, grinning bashfully. Lots of spars and patrols. They keep you moving here.

He dodged the pinch and honed in on the answer, leaning forward slightly. A shudder ran through him at the mention of his not-so-great adventure in the sea.

It passed quickly.

A girl?! he replied, his tail moving at 200 bpm. His grin lit up his entire broad face. Dude, is she that. . .one you stayed with, when you were hurt? Or someone different?

He was happy for Caracal, and also quite jealous. All these girls for his cousin-uncle and he'd barely had a sniff of a crush.

But happy for Caracal!

He wondered if he would know who Killdeer meant, if he hadn’t just chatted with Sialuk yesterday. Caracal’s lips twitched in amusement as he thought of Moonspear’s pale leader, though he shook his head.

Nah, that’s Sialuk. She’s ruling Moonspear now, collecting potential husbands and wives, if you’re interested, he quipped. Her name is Heda. We lived together at the summit for a while, did a teensy bit of traveling before this waylaid me…

He pointed a toe at his eye. It wasn’t the most obvious injury in the world, though there was a filminess to it that wasn’t unlike Fennec’s. Caracal wondered if, like him, she could still detect light and shapes to some extent. But he wouldn’t ask Killdeer about that.

A goose half-blinded me, how fucking dumb is that? Anyway, you should come by the island, meet her and just enjoy our chill vibes. ‘Cause Mereo is, like, the exact opposite of chill, isn’t it? You still vibing with this place? What’ve you been up to, aside from all this patrolling and sparring?

He would be very interested were it not that Caracal followed it up with more information. At his gesture, Killdeer peered forward and then gasped, slightly. He hadn't noticed; in the whirlwind of joy reuniting with Cal, he had noticed barely anything.

God, dude, Killer murmured, grimacing. A goose?! Well, they are pretty mean, he admitted, with a shrug. But his face remained sympathetic, trained upon that cloudy orb.

And as for vibes. . .

Man, 'chill' sounds amazing right now, he replied, sighing. This place has been awful. I think my mom and I are gonna leave soon. She was mated to Germanicus, and apparently he's in love with someone else—fuckin' asshole.

He gritted his teeth, holding back other invectives. The island sounds great, he managed.

He genuinely didn’t expect such awful news. He blinked, lips parting. Caracal vaguely remembered Germanicus from a prior visit. He also recalled the time he’d come across a distraught Fennec. He’d always assumed she’d been upset about Bronco at the time, if he’d thought about it much at all. Damn, how much did it suck that both of her relationships had ended?

Oh man, Caracal replied, that blows. I’m sorry you guys are dealing with that. But if you wanna come visit the island, you should! Hell, come and stay as long as you like.

That sounds amazing, he said, drawing out the word. He felt better already, infinitely more relaxed in the presence of his oldest friend. And with the relaxation came sorrow, for he knew the two of them would be separated by land again, once this interaction ended.

He sighed. You know, I can't help but feel things would be better if the whole family had just stuck together, Killdeer mused, shrugging. Maybe this Heda girl would have come to the caldera eventually, and maybe I'd find someone—but we'd all be together.

Now we're all apart, and it sucks balls, dude, he said, voice bitter.

He drew closer to Caracal and gathered him into a hug without arms, pressing his burly shoulder hard against the other's russet ribs. I miss you, bro.

The two of them had done so much traveling together, Caracal hadn’t realized how attached he felt to their family. He supposed it made sense; after all, Killdeer had remained here with his mom, while Caracal had continued to putter from place to place. He loved all his relations—Killer chief among them—but he also didn’t mind living independently. It hurt his heart to know his buddy felt as though all the Redhawks were adrift.

When Killdeer pressed into him, Caracal raised a foreleg to clap him companionably on the back before wrapping his foreleg around his shoulder to tug the two of them together. I’ve got you, the gesture said. Even if he couldn’t empathize, he could certainly sympathize.

Well, round them up and bring them all to the island, he quipped before saying in a slightly more serious voice, What if you and Fennec went to live in Epoch? Mom, Maxim and Uncle Ph are there. Jack too. His ears fell a little when he thought of Leo, wondering if Killdeer had known her well. And she’s about to pop out some more. If you two moved in, it’d be a proper Redhawk takeover.

He pursed his lips, thinking. Maybe, he said, once he'd pulled away. If it's mostly Redhawks, I suppose it would be cool. But there's still a lot of soldiers there. And I'm done with Germanicus's shit.

Killdeer wondered if Epoch was, too. Only one way to find out, he supposed.

I'd rather get my island living on, he went on, grinning. As long as I don't have to nearly fuckin' drown again.

That was one Caracal experience he'd rather not relive.

Killdeer mentioned there were a lot of soldiers living in Epoch. Caracal thought his mom had mentioned they were all retired, though the point still stood. Anyway, he couldn’t really speak to it himself, so he only gave his pal a sympathetic look. It made sense to him that they might not necessarily want to move into a pack with so many ties to Mereo. Maybe a fresh start from scratch would be better.

Hell yeah! Caracal exclaimed at the mention of island living. We’ll find some coconuts, hollow ‘em out and stick ‘em on your legs—flotation devices! he joshed. If you two come by and decide to stick around, maybe Heda will even let us rename it Wheeling Hawk Isle.

All jokes aside, he ought to head back soon. But he was in no hurry to part ways with Killer. Caracal wanted more than just a few minutes’ chit-chat with his best buddy before they went back to their separate—but hopefully not forever—lives.

Hey, wanna walk with me a ways, maybe grab a bite to eat while we catch up some more? he invited, motioning vaguely northwestward.

He let out a wheezing guffaw at the thought of sticking coconuts on his legs, almost doubled over. Asshole, he remarked, but nodded. Hell yeah. Wheeling Hawk Isle. Let's do it.

Killdeer nodded at the invitation and traipsed along, happy to stick with Caracal for however long they had remaining before his bosom buddy went back to paradise.

He would soak it all in.