Redhawk Caldera go slow

predated before jaws death thread

Tiger wanted to make herself useful. And so, she started her day off productively: finding the caches, and establishing what was in them. What she wanted to know if there were any caches with herbs that had healing properties in them. Tiger knew very few. The sort to stop headaches, ease cramping and stomach aches, and one that helped constipation. Those she had learned out of necessity in her last pack. There was a woman who couldn't pass unless she ate those herbs and another with perpetual migraines. The latter wolf died.

Now thanks to the snow melt, she could identify those plants if she saw them. So Tiger cheerfully hunted for them, sniffing away at the land and zoned-in on the earth below her feet. Surely she'd find something. One of the three?

Elwood had seen less and less of Finley over the last week; their meetings had been few and far between, and when they were in each other's company, it was usually brief and heated. On one occasion, she had assured him that nothing was wrong and that her feelings for him hadn't changed, so he forced himself to put his worries in the back of his mind. He chalked her strange behavior up to the beautiful weather and her wandering ways; she just needed to get out and stretch her legs a bit, right?

While Finley was gallivanting outside the territory, he continued his duties within. He was moving across the lower reaches of the caldera with a plump hare clasped in his jaws. A pale figure ahead and to his right caught his attention, and with a quick flare of his nostrils he identified Tiger, Finley's sister. Immediately, he changed course and padded towards her, his tail giving a friendly wave as he greeted her around the mouthful of fur.

Speaking proved to be difficult, so when he was close enough, he dropped the rabbit and gave her a proper hello. "How's it going, sis in law?" he said with a grin.

Tiger turned when she heard she was being approached, her tail waving jovially left and right when she saw who it was. "Hey," she hollers back, and notices the quarry he had dropped at his feet. "Working to win my favor, eh?" Tiger snickers, eyes still on the prize. "I'll need at least two more rabbits, a squirrel, and..." she squints. "And if you can achieve all that, the last... most special thing... to get my favor... is..." Tiger blinked. "I haven't decided. But I will." She nods, smirking.

It was good to see him, and it was good to be back. Tigers fuse had been short and she had been angsty the past week, but now all that was left of her heat was the remnants of the scent, nothing else. She took a step closer, and tilts her head. "What's doin??"

Pantaleimon had just returned from hunting and carried a rabbit between her teeth. She'd bring it to the cache, or maybe she could finally search out Fox, the Alpha Female, and the new pups? She'd told Peregrine she loved puppies, but now Pantaleimon had not actually given them any attention yet -- mostly because she was too scared to meet her new Alpha Female. She knew that sitting still would only earn her more dislike than making a bad impression, but it was so much easier to sit still and procrastinate doing something scary than actually facing your fears... Pantaleimon was not used to this much freedom, and she didn't know what to do with herself.

Lost in thoughts, Pantaleimon ran into two wolves were chatting away. Pantaleimon didn't actually hear what they were saying, but they appeared to be in some kind of conversation. It would've been easier to give them an acknowledging nod, but before she knew it, Pantaleimon was standing still next to them as though she was actually part of the conversation. Too late to casually walk away from the conversation, now. In lack of words, Pantaleimon awkwardly stood next to the two wolves, head and tail low, and the rabbit still in her mouth (almost as though it was a safe item that would make it sensical that she wasn't saying anything). Being social was hard when you needed to have your own unique thoughts and needed to think about what a normal pack needed, rather than a Siren pack.

Yay! Hi Iris!

Tiger's greeting and subsequent comments reminded Elwood so much of her sister. Her mannerisms were similar to Finley's, and he couldn't help but grin as she made a list of requests, with the last item, of course, being as of yet undetermined. If she ever did come up with one more thing, he was sure it would be over the top and comical.

"I'll get right on that," he promised with a wink, then began to answer her question. "I was just on my way to put this in a cache. What are you doing?" As the words left his mouth, there was movement nearby, and suddenly another wolf came to a halt alongside Elwood and Tiger. The former blinked his yellow eyes at the male, giving a cursory sniff as he didn't recognize him. The scent of Peregrine was woven into his fur, confirming him as a member, and Elwood assumed that he was a new recruit he hadn't met yet.

In the wolf's mouth was a rabbit -- much like the one now laying at Elwood's feet -- and the Beta gave a friendly wag of his tail, showing his appreciation that the subordinate was already pulling his weight. "Well, Tiger, here's your second rabbit," he quipped, then cupped his ears towards the male and added, "Hi there. I'm Elwood. You are?"

Tiger was still real thoughtful as to what it would be... but when it came down to it, her mind was empty. Well, when the time was right, right? But he played along anyway, and the rambunctious Tiger grinned at his promise. "Good. I'd hate to badmouth you to my sister," she teased. Tiger would never do that, not if he didn't deserve it anyway. Getting a rabbit wasn't really her intent here, she was just messing around. Her pale ear twitched as she heard the approach of another male, but filled him in. She was sure the other would hear, because she wasn't shy. "Looking for some medicinal herbs. I dunno there names, just what they look like and smell like." Helpful tidbits, more worth than names.

The other wolf was there, then, and she noted the rabbit. "Is that for me?" Tiger smirked, her tail waving. Of course it wasn't, but she took note of Elwood's words. "I'm Tiger!" She too darted closer to get a good whiff, and noted Perry also.

Pantaleimon's head lowered a bit more when the female spoke, and she dropped the rabbit to the ground when spoken to. The female asked if the rabbit was for her, and instinct obligated Pantaleimon to hastily say, "Y-yes, of - of course," as Pan nudged the rabbit forward. She'd intended to store it or give it to Fox, but it would have to wait. After she had nudged the rabbit forward, Pantaleimon felt kind of dumb, remembering that this pack was different from the Siren pack -- but there were some things that were too deep to ignore. Pantaleimon remained submissive as the female introduced herself as Tiger, and the male beside her as Elwood.

Pan remembered that Elwood was one of the pack's Betas, but she didn't remember hearing the name 'Tiger'. Presumably, Tiger was just a pack wolf. But she was still a female. "Uh, nice to m-meet you," Pan awkwardly said. "I'm Pan, uhm... Pantaleimon." Even though it was hardly necessary to say considering her awkwar behaviour, Pantaleimon uncomfortably added, "I'm new."

@Tiger @Pantaleimon want to finish this up? :)

Although both Elwood and Tiger addressed the newcomer with friendly tones and expressions, the poor guy seemed to be terribly uncomfortable. Elwood watched with curiosity as the wolf -- who would momentarily introduce himself as Pantaleimon -- quickly gave up his rabbit to Tiger, as though that had been his plan all along. It was curious behavior, but Elwood thought that perhaps he just wasn't used to pack life; or maybe he had been raised and taught to show extreme reverence to higher-ranking wolves. Whatever the case, he hoped that Pantaleimon would soon grow accustomed to the more relaxed atmosphere of Redhawk Caldera.

He flashed a quick grin at Tiger and the rabbit and quipped, "There you go, sis." Although he didn't know her particularly well yet, he found that he enjoyed referring to her as his sister-in-law. It was nice to learn more about Finley's family. The silver Beta then shifted his attention back to the nervous Pantaleimon, who remained crouched with his head and tail downcast.

"Well, welcome to the pack, Pantaleimon. We're glad to have you," Elwood said warmly, perhaps trying to compensate for his new packmate's anxiety. "Did Peregrine accept you?" he asked in an attempt to make some simple small talk that would perhaps alleviate his worry and lead to more productive conversation.

my last post, so @Tiger can finish it up maybe? :3

Pantaleimon nodded in hasty acceptance of the words when Elwood said that the pack was glad to have Pan. Upon the question, Pan answered a hushed, uncertain "Yes." Pantaleimon remained bowed, not wanting to cause any reason for Tiger to think that she might mean disrespect. Elwood was the pack's Beta, too, and while he seemed docile like Peregrine, Pantaleimon would take no chances.

"I should, uhm..." Pantaleimon awkwardly suggested, and cast a glance in the other direction, even though she had nowhere to go. "Y'know, hunt... more, uhm..." Pantaleimon decided to just give up on talking for now and cast Elwood and Tiger a quick apologetic glance before averting her gaze again. The large white came into motion and she cast a quick glance over her shoulder while she said a quiet "bye" and vanished from sight.

Glad to be away from the others, Pantaleimon decided to search for another rabbit to hunt -- she wanted to become an official gamekeeper of the pack, after all, so it only made sense she would try hard to keep the caches filled. Hunting was so much easier than social contact.

Wrapping up since Steph is removing Tiger from the game. :)

The anxious male answered Elwood's question, confirming that it had indeed been Peregrine that had accepted him, then quickly excused himself. He was sorry to see the subordinate go so quickly, but perhaps his timid nature didn't allow him to enjoy socialization as much as others. "See you around," he called cheerfully after Pantaleimon's receding form.

Turning back to Tiger, he grinned and said, "How about that hunt? I do owe you at least a squirrel." When she agreed, he led the way into the underbrush, wielding his nose like a weapon.