Redhawk Caldera Rats and children follow me out of town

Hoping for @Finley and @Elwood, and maybe a pup or two ;P

He hadn't handled it well. But, how could someone so young handle a heavy and previously unknown concept such as death without being deeply affected? Especially when it hit so close to home. Poor, sweet Peter -- a bright spark that bore contrast to this dark world had been snuffed out far before his time. Thankfully, Whip had been spared the gruesome details. He only knew Peter was never coming back. Sleeping forever.

Though he remained ignorant of his brothers suffering, the knowledge of his passing shook Whip down to his core. He retreated; both physically and emotionally. Most of the time, he kept to himself -- awarding the remaining Redhawks with his presence rarely. Even rarer still was speech. He spoke hardly a word.

Though he had taken silence upon himself, news spread fast around the caldera. Aunt Finley's litter was a rare draw to the innermost regions of the rendezvous site. Sometimes, Whip watched the whelping den from afar, seeing both Elwood and Eljay slip in and out. Every once in a while, he would catch the sound a slight peep coming from inside. He tried to give his aunt enough space, but curiosity got the better of him. He had given her enough time, he figured. 

Slowly, with body low and head tucked, his legs carried him towards the whelping den.

Edit: *entices babies* @Lucy @Lagan @Liffey

The approach of one of the firebirds drew Elwood's attention quickly. He was reposed outside the whelping den, enjoying the afternoon sunshine and listening to the peeping and squeaking of the puppies from within. Although they slept plenty, they seemed to be quite active during their waking hours, so he liked to be nearby just in case Finley needed any assistance.

His ears perked up and he smiled at Whip. He wasn't as close to the Alphas' boys as he had been to their older siblings; he hoped that would change, though. "Hey, Whip. What's up?" His tail stirred behind him, brushing gently against the scrubby grass.

Lagan is wherever papa is <3

Lagan sucked on his mama's teet, enjoying a nice meal. He was still a scrawny little scrap of a pup, but healthy and active. He had a good chance of making it as long as nothing disrupted his growth rate. He was the second born boy of the Blackthorn family, and he was doing his absolute best to survive. He crawled away from mommy and his litter mates, leaving them to keep eating. He wanted to find not mom. Not mom was his favorite. He always knew what Lagan wanted, and snuggled with him. Lagan thought that his papa was his and only his. His siblings didn't have a cool dad like he did. 

So he left the girls to get about a foot away from them before squealing for help. Forgetting his original task of finding Elwood, Tiarnach now wiggled about as he grew cold. The boy had a loud mouth on him, surely someone would hear his cries.

The den grew closer and Whip wondered if he could look inside. It wouldn't be too bad to just take a brief look and be on his way, but he was soon intercepted by Elwood, who greeted him as he made his way out of the den's mouth. Nervously, Whip scuttled backwards and his head shot down as if he had been caught doing something wrong. "H-hey Uncle El," he muttered like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. 

He wanted to ask if he could see the pups, but didn't quite know how. "Can I— Can I—" stumbled the boy. It was then that the peeping from within the den grew louder, thus drawing Whip's attention. Absentmindedly he drew his gaze to the den mouth and finally blurted, "Can I see them?"

*powerplays Lagan shamelessly* <3

Although Elwood greeted Whip in a friendly manner, the boy responded skittishly. He withdrew, ducking his head and stumbling over his words as he tentatively asked to visit with the Blackthorn puppies. Naturally, Elwood was reminded of his eldest; his heart warmed and, while he knew he shouldn't pick favorites, he appreciated Whip's natural respect and deference more than Ferret's bold and brash attitude.

"Of course you can," he said, shifting so as to give Whip a better view of the tiny wolves inside the den. Almost as though he was agreeing with his father, Tiarnach suddenly released a series of squeals which drew the Beta male's attention. He looked back to see the gray-furred boy wriggling their way, though the distance seemed to have become overwhelming. Elwood reached inside, his mouth closing carefully over Tiarnach's small body as he lifted him and placed him between his feet; this was, perhaps, the first time the boy had truly left the safety of the burrow.

Glancing back up at the timid Whip, he said, "This is Tiarnach."

Lagan's squeal's were answered as a mouth closed around him. Satisfied, his body quaked slightly, a shiver of content as he was placed delicately in between his father's paws. He wondered who had picked him up. He was getting closer to the day when he'd open his eyes, but not yet. Only one way to find out. Lagan wiggled back and forth, little white paws dancing about the air as he flipped himself over. He exposed his silver grey head, showing off his white diamond to his papa and Whip. Only his papa would know what this meant, and if it was his dad, Lagan would be even happier, he would've completed his original mission.

At the word of his uncle, Whip's face Immediatly lit with a smile. He was led forth towards the mouth of the den -- the noises the pups made inside were now far more evident. The boy stood in the den-mouth, staring down at his tiny, wriggling cousins with awe. They were so small, thought the boy. Whip couldn't help but wonder if he had he been this small at one point. Had he? He certainly didn't feel as if it were possible to be so helpless.

"Woah," he muttered, awestruck as he marveled at the Blackthorn brood. One particularly unruly pup had been singled out by Elwood as he took him in his daws and placed him gently at his feet. His name was far too complicated for the boy to pronounce, but it didn't stop him from trying. "Ten— Tar... Na.." His brow scrunched as his eyes fell upon the white dot on the pup's head. "He looks like Petey," he blurted, wondering how Elwood had made his brother so small.

Little Tiarnach seemed to be pleased to have been plucked out of the den by his father, as he writhed playfully between Elwood's legs. Although his eyes weren't open yet, he was already quite expressive, and Elwood watched as Whip examined the puppy carefully. He stumbled over the boy's name, which brought a smile to the Beta's face.

"You can call him Lagan," he said; he was glad that he and Finley had settled on nicknames for the twins, for his own sake as well as that of his packmates. The Gaelic names were becoming more familiar on his tongue, but he was fully aware of how different they were. Whip's next observation, as abrupt as it was, caught the adult off guard and he blinked at the youth.

He gathered his thoughts before responding, knowing that he was about to broach a sensitive subject -- his own son hadn't even accepted the death of Peter. "You're right -- the white spot on his head does kind of look like Peter's," he said, biting his lower lip.

Lagan was pretty sure that it was his papa, but his wish was not fulfilled. He did not feel the head boop, which was one of his favorite things. Lagan let out a whine, flailing his little white paws up in the air, hoping to catch them on one of the two wolves who watched him. The other one, the not papa, seemed smaller, and from little Lagan heard, had a higher voice. Was it one of his siblings he hadn't been introduced to? The little lump of grey fluff rolled his way over to this new wolf, away from the comfort of his father and snuggled into the brown fur other Whip.

Once comfortably settled in between Whip's paws, Tiarnach turned his wobbly head around, searching aimlessly for his dad. He wanted to snuggle, with this new bro and Elwood, so did his best to call his dad over. Tilting his small head back, the Blackthorn squeaked hoping his dad would come snuggle with his new brother. Lagan was very active, and though he usually did instead of thought, he did have a little brain. He knew what he wanted, and from observing with his working senses, how to get what he wanted.

Lagon... No, that wasn't his name. Whip's brow furrowed as the baby blackthorne wriggled his way between his paws. It was like holding his brother again -- pulled back from the void, Peter was back. At such a young, impressionable age, mortality was difficult to process. Especially with Eljay sometimes referring to Peter as if he still walked among the living. It confused Whip, and this confusion reared up inside of him.

"How come Eljay gets to see Peter and I don't?" He asked, looking up to his uncle. "He's my brother! It's not fair." His shaky voice was peppered with both anger and envy. Peter was out there -- and judging from Eljay's insistence, Elwood must know where.

Lagan's cries for attention were absently responded to by his father; Elwood delivered a gentle boop to his forehead, though he didn't really realize that was what the boy had wanted. His motions were distracted and his gaze was trained on Whip -- the question the boy had just blurted out was loaded, and as he quietly soothed Lagan, he was really stalling and searching his mind for an answer.

Faced with the reality of his own son's mental state, Elwood felt as though someone had just slapped him. He and Finley knew that there was a problem and had addressed it at length, but now it was going so far as to affect Whip -- and maybe even the other boys. Curling a forepaw around Lagan's chest as the pup gave a squeak, he finally began to force out a response to Whip's demand.

"Well, he doesn't actually see Peter," he tried to explain, speaking slowly as he processed the situation himself. "He just misses him a lot, like you do, but he...pretends that he's there, sometimes. But Peter's still gone," he said, looking Whip in the eye as he tried to gauge the youth's reaction.

Sorry for the wait!

Finally he was given the head boop, and Lagan flailed his paws excitedly. Small giggles escaped his mouth and he rolled around between Whip's paws, snuggling into the Redhawk's brown fur.. Suddenly Whip raised his voice. Lagan jumped a bit, unsure of why/what had just happened. Was he angry? He couldn't tell, still couldn't see. The little boy wriggled a little closer to his pops, worried that something might be wrong. His father hurried over Lagan, soothing his cries. He had no idea he looked like Whip's real brother. He didn't mean to make the other angry.

Little Tiarnach was now relieved to be back in his father's clutch, however he still wanted to snuggle with Whip. He let out another squeak, hoping that the older wolves would do what he wanted them too and stop yelling!

So it was all just pretend? Whip had a hard time wrapping his head around it. Either somethings was, or wasn't. "He lied to me," he mumbled, feeling both dissapointment and anger at Eljay for leading him astray: for giving him hope when there was none to be had. The boy sniffed, feeling raw emotion beginning to boil over within his small body. He struggled to control it, and so he fidgeted and rocked back and forth.

"Is Peter gone forever?" He finally asked, clinging to the last bit of hope he held on to. "Will I ever see him again?"

Elwood bit his lip, feeling worse by the second as Whip processed the information and its implications. Eljay had lied to him, though he hadn't meant to -- but Elwood didn't try to defend him. It wasn't the time or place to try to take sides; he realized that Eljay and Whip were both hurting, and while he loved his son dearly, it would be pointless to try to change Whip's train of thought.

The boy then asked another difficult question, while Lagan squeaked, seeking attention from Whip that the older pup just couldn't provide at that moment. Elwood sighed and just shook his head gravely. He didn't want to have to explain life and death to the Alphas' son -- that was their territory, and something that could be addressed at a later date. Rather than sugarcoat his words and try to make light of the situation, he gave the youth a sad smile and added, "I'm so sorry, Whip."

Lagan had no idea what the older wolves were talking about, but something did click inside of him. They seemed sad. Lagan didn't understand death or loss. He thought life was just a big fun thing, with milk and siblings and papa! He didn't know what there was to be sad about. Siblings didn't leave, and neither did papa or milk. Life was good. One day the Blackthorn boy would understand. Siblings, milk and papa, they could leave. It was entirely possible, and one day he would know why that made people hurt. For now, he stopped squeaking, seeing as neither Elwood or his newfound brother paid him much attention.

Sadness led to not much play it seemed, which led to a tired Tiarnach. The silver furred put stopped his wriggling and yawned, stretching out fully between his father's legs. He would nap right here, and hope that Whip would nap here too.