Redhawk Caldera back on the job

Pantaleimon had recovered swiftly, but he'd got scared after what had happened near Silvertip Mountain. The outside world was a dangerous place, and while he longed to see Reek again Pan had grown scared. Even the prospect of patrolling the borders was frightening to Pantaleimon; but he knew time was drawing near for him to pick up duties again.

With a worried frown on his face, Pantaleimon trotted along the borders, shoulders hunched while he kept an eye along the territories. Pan hoped nobody'd show up, really, except perhaps a pack mate to keep him company, but he realised the risk that someone would come along to seek a fight.

Finley had been gone for a week. She had promised that her trip would take only a few days -- three, tops -- and yet, seven rotations of the moon later, she wasn't back. Elwood knew in his heart that she would never purposefully abandon her family, but he worried that something had happened to her. She was the bear fighter, after all -- and he had a sneaking suspicion that even if she wasn't actively looking for trouble, it had a tendency to find her.

The hardest part was reassuring Elwood Jr when he started to ask too many questions. Big Elwood had given himself a break by dropping the boy off with @Raven, who was swiftly becoming his primary babysitter. He aimed his paws towards the border, intending to scout for any signs of Finley.

He wasn't the only one patrolling, however. He soon spotted the hunched figure of Pantaleimon and called out to him as he approached. "Hey, Pan! How are you feeling?" he said as he strode closer, knowing that Peregrine's lover had recently been quite ill.

Wildfire was just returning from yet another quick foray to Nocturne Summit—she just couldn't stay away, it seemed, and it was sort of becoming a home away from home—when she spotted her two uncles milling along the borders. She smiled and hastened her step, happy to see them after spending a few nights away from the caldera. As much as she loved to travel, she still missed her loved ones when she was gone. She told herself she should stick around a while this time, catch up on the happenings here. The little mountain to the west—and the entire rest of the wilderness—would still be there a week from now.

"Hey Uncle El, Uncle Pan," the juvenile greeted when she came within earshot of her elders. Her black tail wriggled as she bowed her head and nudged first Elwood's chin, then Pantaleimon's. "I just got back. I was hanging out at the summit—the place where I ran into Aunt Flea the other day," she said, amber eyes meeting her godfather's briefly. She was unaware of her aunt's prolonged absence, having been out and about herself. "How are things here?" she questioned, falling into step beside them like their little red shadow.

Pantaleimon had been drowning in his own thoughts when he heard Elwood's voice call out to him. Pan startled briefly, before turning his head to Elwood and smiling. "Oh, uh, hey," he greeted. Then it hit him that Elwood had asked how he was doing, and Pantaleimon opened his mouth to reply when Wildfire strode into view, from opposite sides of the borders. Pan smiled at Wildfire -- who to Pantaleimon was almost like his own daughter -- and listened as Wildfire said she had gone to visit a nearby summit.

"I heard you were out looking for me," Pantaleimon said with a grateful smile. "Thank you." Pan turned to Elwood as he remembered that he hadn't yet answered the query. "I feel better each day. But I... It was kind of scary. I - I think it might have been intentional, and I just don't get why a stranger would do something like that." Pan frowned as he thought it over. Sure, he understood why some wolves attacked other wolves over territory as well as the dominance game and all that. But this had nothing to do with either of those things.

Pantaleimon seemed to be startled by Elwood's approach, so the Beta lowered his head slightly and splayed his ears. He didn't ever wish to make Pan feel uncomfortable, but that seemed to be ingrained in the Gamma's personality -- he was easily flustered, although Elwood hoped that he would eventually feel more comfortable around him. A youthful voice piped up behind them and he swung his head around, yellow gaze falling on Wildfire as she approached. She physically greeted both Elwood and Pantaleimon, then explained that she had been out and about.

Elwood smiled at the mention of Finley -- he had heard from Peregrine recently that she had taken Wildfire on a short excursion -- and then shifted his gaze back to Pantaleimon as the white male answered his previous question. His brows knit together with concern. He hadn't heard the details of Pan's illness, so he voiced a few queries. "What do you mean, you think it was intentional? What happened?" What sort of wolf would go around poisoning strangers?

She smiled at Pan. There was a bit of a painful grimace hidden in there, based solely on the fact that, well, she hadn't exactly found him. But she was happy to have helped (or tried, at least). He meant a lot to her and she knew her father adored him too. It still gave her a little thrill when she thought about that morning when Peregrine had approached her and tasked her with searching for his lover. It made her feel important, even if she had sort of failed in the end.

Wildfire remained mum as she trailed after her uncles. She knew all about Pan's illness upon returning, as she had watched Peregrine tending to him. But the mention of ill-intentioned strangers took her by surprise, as it did Elwood. How could someone have caused those symptoms in Pan? Abruptly, she remembered the words of Taltos as he described tainted food, as well as Raven's offense at such an awful use of herbs.

"You think you ate something tainted?" she asked. "What did you eat? Did it taste weird? Did it burn your mouth or anything?" Realizing she might sound a bit overbearing, she ceased with the questioning but did explain, "Someone I know told me that these wolves that live on the plains poison meat." There was an unspoken question there: had Pan eaten food sourced from said plains?

They both seemed surprised that it wasn't an accident, and only then did Pan realise that he hadn't told anyone yet about the intent of the attack. Pan had just been so happy to be home that it had completely slipped his mind.

"Yeah..." Pan said, frowning with worry on his face. "I... I'd heard about that, yeah, but I wasn't really near the plains... Or, uhm, that area of them. It was near Silvertip Mountain. After it happened, a wolf showed up, but she... she didn't help me, just... stared." The frown continued as Pan continued: "I didn't smell anything weird on the meat, though, which is what worries me the most. If it was bad meat, how do they hide it so well?" Pan probably wouldn't so easily take free meat that he found laying around again. It'd been a painful but valuable lesson.

Elwood's frown deepened at the mention of the plains wolves. It was concerning to learn that there was a pack nearby that made a hobby of poisoning meat to be left out and consumed by others. He wondered if Peregrine and Fox knew about it -- and then thought of Finley, who was out gallivanting by herself. A knot twisted in his stomach, but he swallowed his fear, refocusing on the conversation with Pantaleimon and Wildfire.

Pan admitted that he had been near Silvertip Mountain when it happened, and that a female wolf had appeared shortly afterward but hadn't offered him any assistance. The whole thing sounded fishy to Elwood, and it was enough to further his opinion that venturing away from home could only end in disaster. "Do you think she could have done it?" he asked, referring to the unhelpful she-wolf. Why else would she simply watch someone suffer from food poisoning? He then glanced at Wildfire, hoping that the young naturalist could provide some insight into Pan's questions -- how had they kept the meat from obviously smelling tainted?

Her lips pursed as Pan stammered out a description of the events. When he finished, all she could do was shake her head. She remembered Taltos mentioning that it was possible to mask the taste of poisons, though she didn't know how. Maybe Raven would have some ideas, though it wouldn't necessarily help them now. Her warm eyes flicked to Elwood as he pondered aloud whether the strange she-wolf in question was behind it all.

"I guess the only thing we can do is remind everyone not to eat meat they find lying around," Wildfire murmured. She vaguely recollected the Alpha pair issuing a warning about this months ago, though she could barely remember. "We might never know what really happened. But I'll ask Raven about it. Maybe she has some ideas about how to spot tainted meat... or maybe some sort of herbal remedy in case it somehow happens again."

That was all the youth could offer, really. "I'll go talk to her right now, actually. I'll catch up with you both later." Besides, as much as she wanted to catch up with her uncles, patrolling wasn't her favorite past time. "See you," the juvenile said, bowing her head and breaking ranks to trot up the caldera in search of her dark sibling.

To Elwood's question, Pantaleimon frowned. He didn't want to blame anyone for things they might not have done, but why would she have come over to him and sat there if she hadn't done it herself? "I don't know... I don't... want to blame anyone for things they may have done, so it's... Yeah." Pan smiled apologetically, as though he had had the chance to catch the perpetrator and hadn't done so. He just didn't want to blame her in case she was just innocent and weird. The only thing Pan could blame her for was being completely unempathical towards others.

Wildfire seemed to agree that they wouldn't know what really happened and said Raven might know more. Before Pan knew it, Wildfire made ready to leave their patrol and Pan nodded. "See you later, be safe." Pan couldn't help but feel his stomach knot when he said the latter bit; Wildfire explored out of territories a lot, and Pantaleimon had grown worried after what had happened to him if she'd be safe enough.

After Wildfire departed, Pantaleimon continued the patrol alongside Elwood. "Uh, how's Finley doing, and little Elwood Junior?" Pantaleimon smiled fondly at Elwood as he mentioned the Junior countrpart -- though Pantaleimon had not spent much one-on-one time with the squirt, he had dropped by on occasions. As a caretaker, Pan's door was always open to look after a pup if the parents needed some time alone, after all, and Pan adored being around the littlest members of the pack.

Pantaleimon didn't want to point any fingers, and Elwood supposed he was right. There was no way to truly know if the mysterious she-wolf had anything to do with his illness. Wildfire -- already wise beyond her age -- advised that they spread the word and encourage others not to eat anything that they didn't kill themselves. She then excused herself, having decided to go talk with Raven about the situation, and Elwood nodded and watched her go. "Keep us posted," he called after her retreating figure, then fell into step alongside Pantaleimon.

The two males resumed their patrol, tracing a path along the borders that had been well worn by the paws of Redhawks. One of Elwood's ears turned towards Pantaleimon as he asked after Finley and Elwood Jr. A smile sprang unbidden to his lips, although it faded slightly an instant later. "Eljay's doing great. Growing and learning every day. He's having a hard time right now, though, because Finley is outriding and he doesn't know how to cope with her being gone," he admitted with a frustrated swish of his tail. He wasn't used to being a single parent, and Elwood Jr was becoming more and more bothered by Finley's absence as the days wore on.

"Do you have any suggestions?" he suddenly asked, remembering that Pantaleimon was a caretaker by trade. At the very least, maybe Elwood could drop the little bugger off with him for a few hours when he was starting to reach his breaking point.

Pantaleimon smiled fondly as Elwood said that Eljay was doing well. However, soon his face fell and he looked away briefly as Elwood said that Eljay had a really hard time with his mother being gone. With a sympathetic frown on his face, Pantaleimon said, "Oh, that's a shame..." Pan thought back to his own youth but briefly, and he wondered if he had ever been like that. He didn't think so, at least not towards his mother; she had been cold towards him, probably because Pan was a representation of his mother in looks, and yet born male. If anything, he might've cried for Galateia, but as he grew older Pantaleimon had come to realise that once the cute puppy months wore off, nobody really cared that much anymore. At least not the females.

When Elwood asked if Pan had suggestions he smiled in reflex, snapped from his thoughts. "Oh! Well..." Pantaleimon considered the question a moment. "I could watch him for a bit, of course, whenever you'd like, which doesn't help much, but it might give you some rest." Pan smiled a bit more genuinely this time and then thought a bit harder on the matter. "Don't you... Uhm, don't you think it's just something he'll, like.. grow over in time? I mean, at least he likes you and wants to spend lots of time with you, so it's... probably nothing too serious." Pantaleimon said this carefully, because without a doubt fresh parents who had a difficult child might not see it the same way. Pan found it hard to empathise for once, because if he had pups, he'd want to be with them all day, every day, so they'd never have to cry for him being gone. Unfortunately, it looked like that future was a very far-off dream that would probably never happen, so Pan quickly set it from his mind.

Elwood smiled as Pantaleimon made the very suggestion that had just crossed his mind. He would certainly add Pan to the list of trusted babysitters for Eljay. They had requested Magpie's assistance quite a bit until she left, and then Raven had taken over in her stead. She was an easy choice because she tended to stick close to the caldera; although Eljay very much enjoyed the company of his cousin "Wifee," Wildfire was often on the move.

"I would really appreciate that, Pan. Thanks," he said with a bob of his head, then he bit his lower lip thoughtfully as the caretaker asked a question. He certainly hoped that Eljay's strong attachment was something that he would grow out of. Of course, he wanted to maintain a healthy relationship with his son as he grew, but that would mean finding the balance between being independent and clingy.

"I think so. He's still young, and I'm pretty sure this is a typical phase," he replied. "Most kids experience some sort of separation anxiety, right? But hopefully as he gets older, he'll become more secure. I mean, it doesn't bother him if I drop him off with Raven for a little while, but I think he's just stressed because this is the first time Fin has been gone for longer than a few hours." He gave Pan a sheepish grin, realizing that he was probably rambling a bit, but still glad to have found someone to confide in.

Pantaleimon nodded as Elwood explained that maybe it was just a phase. It was a sensitive subject to Pan, since he'd been ripped from his mother's side pretty violently as a child. She had never been warm towards him, but from one day onto the next his mother had simply dumped him with the Consorts of the pack and let him go.

"Maybe it was a bit early," Pan carefully offered, looking like he felt guilty for even bringing up the suggestion. "These things often come with uhm, with time..." Surely things would be fine for Elwood's little sprout in due time, right? He just needed some time, most likely.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Elwood agreed. Talking with Pantaleimon was making him feel a bit better, at least for the time being. He knew that when he parted ways with the Gamma and returned to Elwood Jr, he would be assaulted once more with questions and tears. He shook his head gently, feeling frustration welling in his chest. As the days wore on, it grew harder and harder not to be angry at Finley for deciding to leave while Eljay was still so attached -- and for being gone longer than she promised.

"Anyway," he said, clearly ready to move on to another topic. "I'm glad you're feeling better. How are things going otherwise?" he asked. As they meandered, the warden's gaze swept their surroundings, looking for anything out of place -- or any sign of Finley -- but there seemed to be no disturbances along the border.

Pantaleimon followed Elwood's gaze, as though expecting someone to be at the end of it, but there was no one there. Perhaps he hoped it was his mate returning home; things had to be tough for them. Elwood then asked how things were otherwise. Pan couldn't complain, since he had Perry and the firebirds, and great pack mates in Redhawk Caldera... But there was something missing.

"Things are good," Pantaleimon said, but his smile betrayed that there was a sharp edge to his happiness. "Well, I mean... I wonder when Perry and Fox are going to, uhm... pups. I guess sometimes I just wish that, y'know..." Pantaleimon's smile quavered a little, and he didn't want to really have to say it out loud. The possibility of pups, if ever, was still so very far away for Pantaleimon that he didn't dare hope. What with two healthy couples, the Alpha and Beta pair, even if Pan ever found a mate -- a mateship that'd be built upon a scam, on top of all other objections -- odds were slim that he'd get permission to breed, right?

Although Elwood didn't know Pantaleimon well, he picked up on the sadness behind the male's eyes as he spoke. He wondered aloud about Peregrine and Fox's next litter, and Elwood nodded. He was sure that the Alpha pair would plan to have more pups as soon as the firebirds were old enough. That would mean more playmates for Eljay; he was curious to see how his son would act with younger children. But that wasn't what Pan was thinking about, so Elwood redirected his own thoughts, frowning slightly in sympathy.

It was obvious that Pan wanted children of his own; but with Peregrine as his lover, that complicated things. Elwood certainly didn't have any experience with a similar situation, but he tried to understand the male's feelings. "I'm sure it'll be sooner rather than later," he said, sidestepping over a branch in their path that likely had been knocked down by the storm. "But you're pretty close with the firebirds, right? So you'll probably be able to play an important role in raising the next litter," he suggested. Of course, that wasn't the same as having his own children, but Elwood didn't really know what else to say.

It was evident to Pantaleimon that Elwood was mostly being companiable when he said that it'd be sooner rather than later. With two active, high-ranked couples in the pack, Pan didn't have much hope, but he tried not to bother others with it too much.

"Yeah, they're great," Pan said when Elwood mentioned the firebirds. "But I don't think they really see me as a mo-- uhm, father." Pantaleimon smiled awkwardly at the slip of tongue. "But I guess I shouldn't complain, I mean... I've got lots of things." Maybe not his own pups, and maybe he never would, but considering his situation Pantaleimon knew he shouldn't complain and just accept and enjoy what he had.

Had Elwood been more focused on the conversation, he might've noticed Pan's subtle mistake. He was distracted, however, with thoughts of Finley; even as he went about participating in other activities, she was always at the forefront of his mind. So he didn't think it strange when Pantaleimon almost referred to himself as a mother, instead just returning his smile.

"Yeah. We're pretty lucky here, for the most part," he replied. The pack was doing well, although they had recently lost a few key members. There was still a strong core -- though Elwood was reminded that one of those wolves was still missing. He sighed. "Things seem to be pretty quiet out here. I think I should go check on Eljay," he said with a sidelong glance at Pan. He reached out to nudge the male's shoulder amicably with his nose, then turned inward towards the caldera itself. "I'll let you know if I need a babysitter sometime soon," he offered with a smile before departing.

"Bye," Pantaleimon called after Elwood as the Beta departed to check on his son. Pan sighed softly and continued to trail along the borders then, hoping dearly he wouldn't run into anyone — particularly anyone hostile — while he finished the patrol along the Caldera's borders.