Redhawk Caldera firefly is the opposite of waterfall

Raven had never felt so helpless in her life. No matter how much they dug, there was only a handful of them and it would take days to tunnel through the thousands of pounds of snow. Trying to find their way in through a rear entrance was too risky, although its viability increased with every passing hour. The Gamma hated that half the pack was trapped, with the other half stuck outside in the elements. Fortunately, the temperatures were slowly rising and perhaps that meant the snow would begin to melt.

But how long could they wait? Raven was going out of her mind worrying about the pups especially. Could they wait? How were they faring without her milk to sustain them? They had begun to wean them but they were still several weeks away from relying solely on meat. What if they starved to death down there? The Gamma paced back and forth in front of the giant heap of snow, frantic with worry, before reminding herself: You need to dig! Dig, dig, dig!

She scraped until her muscles grew too stiff and heavy, forcing her to retreat and sit in the snow nearby. Recognizing the need for food to fuel her efforts, the Gamma dashed away across the deep snow. As she scouted for something, anything, to eat, she thought briefly of her poor patient. She had pretty much forgotten about @West with everything else that had happened. With her heart lurching into her throat—how many wolves would die because of her neglect, no matter how unintentional?—and began loping to the place where she'd left the ailing stranger.

It had been a struggle to travel with the two pack wolves only to be left alone. Each step burns but the pain is far too deep in her joints to be effected by the numbness creeping up to the rest of her body. West barely realizes she’s left alone when she’s settled somewhere. She vaguely remembers the promise of return and she tries to keep herself awake for a little while but her between the shivering and exhaustion, her body refuses. If she closes her eyes for a moment, she can rest before she’s attended to once more.

When she does wake up, several hours later, it’s dark. She blinks away the sleep from her eyes and stretches—or tries to, but winces in pain instead—and then attempts to pick herself up and reassess. Nothing looks familiar in the dark and her stomach rumbles to eat but West plants her rear to the ground as she tries to sort through her cloudy mind. Realizing it all could have been a dream gives her enough answers and reasons why the faces of the strangers’ are blurry and there are no scents collected by her frozen nose.

West doesn’t think much of it for long, finding her body too tired and sore to do anything else other than sleep. She doesn’t even have it in her to search for something to fill her empty stomach and instead falls asleep in the makeshift shelter for a while longer.

It is daylight when she wakes and once more unaware of how much time had passed since she’d fallen asleep, but the sound of crunching snow keeps her attention. Her ears droop back against her head and she lowers her skull for a moment, emerald eyes searching across the plain to see a dark wolf coming in her direction. Her face, nor smell, is familiar, but her mind pieces together the puzzle anyway and she awkwardly shifts her body to appear smaller just in case she’d made a mistake of getting too close.

With @Aaron's help (or so I'm assuming...), Raven had created a small dugout in the snow not far from the borders, just large enough to house a single wolf. That was where she'd left West, who appeared to occupy the foxhole still, several days later. For a beat or two, the caretaker worried that she would find her dead. She flashed back to the day she'd stumbled across Charlotte's body. She held her breath as she approached.

It blew out of her when she saw movement and green eyes blinking up at her from a crouched position. "Hey!" Raven said, perhaps a bit too loudly, crunching to a stop. She stood there a few seconds trying to catch her breath and ignoring the way her head swam. She really needed to fetch something to eat, for the both of them. "I'm sorry I haven't come back in a couple of days. There's been an... emergency," Raven explained haltingly. "How're you feeling?"

West blinks a few times when the girl shouts for her and her head lifts a little to realize that the dream theory is flying out the window. Her features, when close enough, seem vaguely familiar but the feeling should be far more distant than it is. Her brows knit together for a moment too long and she shakes her head, trying to absorb everything presented to her. While the destruction of her dream unravels into reality, she isn’t recovering the information as fast as she’d prefer. Her stomach lurches into her throat but she sucks a cool breath to try and settle the upset.

“I’ve been better,” she tells her, then cringes when she tries to shrug her shoulders. The rest of her trembles intermittently and West is thankful for the cold weather. "A few days?" she questions, unsteady is her voice, "what has happened?"

Raven liked to think she was a kindhearted and open-minded individual. But when it came to matters of her pack, she knew confidentiality was important. That was why she'd helped West but left her near the borders. That was why she opened her mouth to answer, only to clap it shut. Should she tell a perfect stranger of the caldera's predicament—its weakness—just because she was a patient?

"Don't worry about us," Raven replied quickly, yellow eyes bright despite her fatigue. "How are you? Are you hungry? Why don't you eat some snow—it's important you stay hydrated—while I grab something to eat." The medic paused for maybe two seconds, then turned to make good on her words, not really giving West an opportunity to reply.

She was gone for perhaps thirty-five minutes. She hadn't even needed to dip into a cache. Instead, Raven fed off the carcass of a black-tailed deer near the foot of the caldera. She then gnawed off one of its hind legs, which she drug back to the dugout. She didn't mind sharing meat, not when resources were so readily available. When she dropped it in the snow, a sparkling white cloud of ice crystals burst into the air. The Gamma watched them drift and then settle back, then nosed the over-sized drumstick toward West.

West frowns when she isn't given anymore information, either about the last few days she lost or the predicament her pack is in. Raven appears to be in one piece, at least, but she hasn't had any interaction with anyone else (that she can remember) since being left alone. Nor does she suspect she moved very much either with how stiff her joints feel outside of her typical symptoms. Her jaws clench after she's brushed off to further ask about her wellbeing and West glances away without answering. The other doesn't give her a chance to answer if she wanted to before she disappears back in the opposite direction.

She watches her disappear into the snow expanse before she turns back to observe surroundings with nothing more than snow and the occasional tree. The thought to eat snow for hydration remains in her mind, knowing that it is what she needs but unable to find any motivation to do so. For a long moment, she stares at the ground and with one attempt, lowers her head to scoop up a mouthful and nothing more. It causes an intense ache in her sensitive, yellowed teeth but she grimaces through the melting and swallowing and doesn't try it again. West licks at her chops and makes herself comfortable near the little shelter she'd been stowed away in until the inky woman returns.

After a bit, the other returns and West peers upward to see a large, albeit somewhat frozen, leg and sets it down nearby. West stares at it with the same expression as she had with the snow but works to tug it a little closer. Her face twists with the force to pull but when it's close enough, she only hovers over the meat with a side eye in Raven's direction.

he too had noticed the avalanche, a bit too late as well. he had little on the line except-- maybe-- his own life, so he was not nearly as frantic as raven had been. he sought her out now though, since he'd found a sorry excuse for a fox and figured that they could perhaps share it. it was still, after all, a mans job to fend for the women, and raven might've needed it more than he did.

he came across her and the ill creature, standing a few meters back and eyeing into the burrow. he let out a low chuff to grab her attention, ready for the diseased woman to attack-- just in case.

Raven took a seat while West ate, carefully monitoring the she-wolf. She didn't smell diseased or even sick. She just appeared to be worn out and weak. Assuming she could regain her strength and that she possessed some useful skills, West might make a good addition to the caldera. Perhaps she should tell Elwood about her, even though the Alpha male had quite a bit on his plate at the moment what with the cave-in.

When Aaron approached, the Gamma dipped her snout at him. Mistaking the fox as a gift intended for West, the she-wolf clipped its tail with her teeth and pulled it closer, nudging it toward the feeding woman. If she wasn't hungry for it now, she could stash it and eat it later.

"West?" Raven said when it seemed her patient might be slowing down. "Do you think you'd be interested in joining the caldera? Do you have any skills?" She was no good at this and it showed with her awkward questions. She exchanged a glance with Aaron, wondering if he might add something more astute, since he seemed to have some leadership experience.

After a moment, West begins to pull at the kill beneath her. It proves difficult at first but as she works, the chill breaks away and she's able to take a few bites without worry. It is when Aaron approaches that she slows, slowly turning to look in his direction and stare for a long moment. Her emerald gaze scrutinizes him for a moment, wondering if she should consider it weird he's shown up after Raven twice now. She tenses and glances down at the fox being nudged in her direction before she's even finished the first.

A twist in her stomach causes her to stop, shifting to look at the dark woman again as her name is spoken. Her ears droop against her head as her name sounds foreign on her tongue. She shouldn't know it, she doesn't remember sharing it before.

"Maybe," she says, realizing it's not the question she'd been holding on to. She flicks her gaze toward the male again but forces herself back to Raven. "I'm pretty good with plants and I thought I was good with the weather, but," she adds with an awkward chuckle. The snow storm caught her off guard the further she'd gone north.

"ah..." aaron began to say, his jaws parted uncertainly as she dragged the thing over to the woman. he didn't finish though, deciding it wasn't worth it to argue. the other was already eating though, he didn't see why she'd need more... but, whatever. he studied both women as they spoke, nose twitching at the ill one's comment about the weather. his gaze held steady to her, focusing on her facial expressions and waiting for any signs of hostility. she seemed pretty tame for now, but sometimes sick wolves could lash out at any moment. even further, he had still yet to get over the incident with kirkegaard-- so he was just a bit on edge.

The mention of plants piqued Raven's interest on a personal level. Perhaps West could provide some assistance with gathering herbs and other plants come springtime. Maybe the two of them could even replant the garden beside the badger den. But she knew not to get ahead of herself. West sounded pretty noncommittal. And who knew what Elwood and Finley would make of her?

"If you're interested in joining, I can call my godparents here to interview you," the Gamma offered. "But if you aren't, we should probably relocate you somewhere further from the borders." She gave the she-wolf a slightly apologetic look as she said the words. "For your safety," she explained. She did not mention that her services would cease in that event. She didn't mind helping a stranger or even sharing food during this time of plenty. But she couldn't afford to offer West much more assistance beyond that, unless she was a pack mate.

West looks toward Aaron as he makes a sound but Raven captures her attention again as she gives her her options. Her ears fall back on her head. The kindness the woman has shown, albeit scarce, has been enough to get her this far. With a meal and rest, she can probably make it a little while longer but then what?  There is no where she’s going in particular and a steady rock beneath her feet might give her the leg up she needs.
 
“Um, yeah. I’d like to talk to them,” she offers with weak hint of a smile. A wary look flitters at the male but she does not hold it long as her anxiety persisted.

aaron narrowed his eyes at raven as she offered to show the stranger to the alphas. perhaps that was the right thing to do, but the stranger worried him all the same. he stood still, quiet, as the two talked, his gaze falling between her and raven, waiting for something to happen-- or just waiting in general. "where should we move her?" he eventually asked raven.

With a pang, Raven remembered the situation back at the cave. She swallowed. Well, Finley wouldn't be able to make it but hopefully @Elwood was available. She hated to call him away from the rescue efforts, yet it was probably good to take a break now and then, do something constructive to keep their minds off the hopeless futility of the situation.

She opened her mouth to howl for her uncle when Aaron's question sidetracked her. "We'll figure that out once Uncle El makes a decision," she told him with a flickering smile, then resumed her stance and sent up a call for the Alpha male's attention. She briefly explained the situation to him, just in case he really couldn't spare the time and wanted to leave the ultimate decision in the Gamma's hands.

Once Raven answers the others question, she calls for those in power to make their decision. She'd been scrutinized before but she never had to question her home. Now, based solely on someone's first impression, she either will or won't have a home. Her heart feels heavy as she doesn't know what she's getting in to, what kind of wolves the rest of them are—Raven has proven to be something of a saint but Aaron doesn't settle well with her. Between the two of them, she can't decipher, but she supposes she'll find out soon enough.

aaron didn't speak in response, but nodded. the gamma let out a call for elwood and the man flicked his tail. he wasn't sure how long this whole process would take, and  figured he wouldn't have much say in it, but he supposed that having another able-body to hunt wouldn't be too terrible. at this point, however, he wasn't sure how able bodied she was. she was sick, throwing up and staggering when they first came across her. he still didn't fully trust her, but maybe he would just have to get over it.

It didn't surprise her much when Elwood responded a few moments later, telling Raven to use her best judgment and make a call. The Gamma's lips pursed and she glanced briefly at Aaron before giving a decisive nod and saying to West, "I'll go ahead and accept you. We'll keep you here and I'll tend to you. When you're feeling better, you'll most likely relocate to the c—" Her voice cut off abruptly as the reality of the pack's situation washed over her again.

Now that West was one of them, the caregiver revealed, "Half the pack is currently stuck inside a cave and we've been busy trying to dig them out. I really ought to get back there. I'll come by again later to check on you. Aaron, you should probably come with me. We need all the help we can get with this." That probably went without saying but if there was any possibility he was considering standing watch over West, Raven needed him to understand he was needed elsewhere.

"Get some rest," were the medic's parting words to the newly recruited West before she turned, motioned at Aaron and began trotting back toward the cave. At least she would have some news and information to give Elwood to help distract them from their plight.