Redhawk Caldera he's the one who likes all our pretty songs

please let me know if anything needs to be changed <3

Hux carries a nice, fat rabbit in his jaws as he approaches @Wildfire. He has been charged with the task of staying with her whilst she heals and this command fills him with pride and a sense of purpose. He also worries, however. Perhaps his skills are not advanced enough to help the fire-furred woman in her convalescence, but he knows he can only do his best. If anything goes wrong... if she dies.. the fault would surely fall upon him. Sometimes, he thinks of her children. They need their mother and he needs to ease her back to health so that he can return her to her family.

The snowy wolf drops the rabbit before her and gives her ruff a gentle nudge. He speaks in his soft way, smiling with encouragement. Uh, are you hungry, ma'am? I brought you something to eat. He sits back on his strong haunches, ready to serve her.

Just as soon as she'd reunited with her family, they were torn apart again, though Wildfire didn't know it. Critically weakened both physically and mentally, she remained in a stupor for days, barely hanging in there by a frayed thread. She might never have woken, except that a ferocious hunger stirred in her sleeping body. The first few times someone attempted to feed her, the inner beast rattled its cage but Wildfire showed no outward sign of acknowledgement. For whatever reason, this time meat was presented to her, the she-wolf's eyes popped open as if she had secretly been wide awake all along.

Without acknowledging anything—the lurking stranger, the unfamiliar surroundings—Wildfire tore into the meat, hardly chewing and swallowing each nourishing morsel with ravenous noises. It wasn't long before the hare was gone entirely and she was licking every scrap of flesh and blood off the floor. When there was nothing left, she gave the salty stone a few more swipes of her tongue, then blinked and looked upward, brain suddenly going online.

"Wh—wh—uh?" Wildfire tried to say, her voice rough with disuse from her catatonic state. She felt cold all over as everything came back to her and she simultaneously realized she was stuck in yet another cave, being guarded by a strange wolf. She very nearly retched. Instead, she turned her muzzle toward the source of light, her heart skipping a beat when she realized freedom and fresh air was so close at hand. She darted toward it.

And ran smack dab into someone just outside the door, hard enough to send Wildfire buckling to the ground.

The search party from Drageda was finally gone, which was a relief. But they had left two wolves behind: Wildfire and a guard called Hux. As Towhee made her way to the cave where Raven was looking after their sister, she scowled slightly. The Redhawks were Wildfire's family, even if Towhee didn't personally feel any familial bonds. They would take wonderful care of her (much to Towhee's annoyance), so why did she need a dedicated guard? She actually found it a little insulting. Although she couldn't care less about Wildfire's fate, she was important to the Alphas and so she would guard her faithfully. She didn't need some filthy outsider doing her job for her.

She approached the cave, lips parted as she prepared to call out to @Raven to see if she was inside. Before Towhee could get a word out, something flew out of the cave and smashed into her chest, knocking the wind out of her and causing the guardian to fall onto her hip. Her lips wrinkled back from her teeth in an automatic, defensive snarl, though they fell back into place when she squinted down and realized it was Wildfire sprawled at her feet.

As soon as she could speak, Towhee loudly muttered, "What the hell?"

It had been difficult to get food into the fiery shewolf; she seemed able to take only little bits at a time, and he had helped tear meat into smaller morsels to make things easier for her. So when her green eyes popped open and she began to tear into the rabbit herself, Hux jumped in place. His own eyes widened to the size of the moon. He had never seen anyone eat a rabbit so quickly. It was only minutes before she had consumed every last bit of flesh and swiped the floor of the cave clean with her tongue. 

Hux began to smile when she bolted towards the mouth of the cave. His grin disappearing, the pale guard once again startled by this turn of events,he barreled after her. However, before he could utter a word, Wildfire slammed into a Calderan, the dark-furred woman whose name he had forgotten (there were so many of them, after all.) Wifi was sprawled upon the ground,  and Hux hastened to nose her back, attempting to help her get to her feet and fearing she had fallen unconscious once more.

A-are you okay, Wildfire? he spoke. She obviously had no idea what was going on, otherwise she may not have sprinted for the exit as if she felt unsafe in the cave that had become her place of healing. He glanced towards the Calderan woman for just a few seconds before returning his sworn attention to the red shewolf. You're safe here, he said gently, licking her forehead in an attempt to soothe her. Everything... everything's okay now.

She made no effort to right herself; she didn't have the strength. Wildfire closed her eyes, sure this was some sort of nightmare, though they opened again when someone nudged her. With a quiet hiss, she flinched away from the touch. Her ears fell back and she squinted at the perpetrator, only for her chestnut eyes to widen slightly when she realized this was no stranger. She didn't know him well—she couldn't recall his name, currently—but this wolf was from Drageda.

But she wasn't back home, a fact which Wildfire verified with a quick glance around herself. The knowledge of her location slammed into her and she found herself staring at the unfamiliar she-wolf. She was black with red and white markings. Nobody had to tell Wildfire that this was another of Peregrine's and Fox's progeny; she knew nearly instantly that this must be one of her younger sisters. She was at Redhawk Caldera.

Belatedly registering her cohort's question, she looked in weary amazement between him and her unknown relative. "I'm—" There was no way Wildfire could answer that question right now. She blinked, then said, "I'm not going back in that cave. I'm—I need to be in the open," she stammered, finally mustering the strength to sit upright and begin climbing to her feet, very ready to put as much space between herself and the loathsome cave as possible.

As she took one wobbly step, then another, she glanced between the two wolves and asked, "Remind me who you are? And how I got here?"

The guardian took a step back when Hux approached Wildfire (who reproached his gentle touch), ears splaying uncertainly as she watched the scene unfold. The invalid seemed rather disoriented, which made sense. She was practically a living skeleton, plus she'd just knocked her noggin on Towhee's solid chest. Slowly, though, she collected herself. It was a little difficult to read the feathery movements of her lips, though she apparently wanted nothing to do with the cave. Towhee shot a puzzled glance at the other guardian as if to verify she'd "heard" correctly.

"How come?" she wondered. She didn't have any qualms with relocating Wildfire somewhere more open, though Raven might not approve. "It's probably better if y—" she tried to argue, though Wildfire was already on the move. Towhee considered physically stopping her for a second, then decided she didn't care enough to take that kind of action. Plus, Wildfire clearly didn't want to be touched right now.

"I'm Towhee Redhawk," the guardian answered as she moved to shadow Wildfire's steps, after exchanging a quick glance with Hux, "and I have no idea. You just showed up at our borders and passed out."

@Wildfire @Towhee I am sooo sorry guys.

Wildfire flinched away from his touch before he could make contact and he quickly withdrew himself out of her personal space. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to touch her; she was disoriented enough. Only now did he realize that she probably did not even remember his name. To his surprise, she didn't know the other female's name either.

Towhee spoke first, and his gray eyes watched her with a combination of curiosity and wariness. Hux was almost sure that the Redhawk woman did not pose a thread, but he had been charged with looking after Wildfire and therefore must remain on guard.

It was his turn to speak. "I'm Hux," he said softly, swishing his tail a few times. "We've met before, but it was a while ago." He glanced between the two women. "Yeah, you just showed up, and er, went unconscious. We moved you to this cave while you get better. But... I mean," he caught up with her, albeit continuing to give her ample space so as not to overwhelm her. "We can probably find a-another spot for you. If you're uncomfortable... or..." He trailed off, feeling awkward, and fell silent.

"Hux," Wildfire repeated, recognition registering if only just barely. Her eyes slid to Towhee's face, her sister's speech impediment preventing her from immediately understanding. It took Wildfire a solid minute to parse out what she'd said, in part helped along by Hux's embellishment.

"I just need to be in the open air," she said quietly, turning toward her pack mate again and wondering why he was here, not Thuringwethil, Portia or anyone else she trusted. "I need—" she added disjointedly, suddenly finding herself breathing fast, her whittled-down rib cage heaving with her rapid breaths. "I need to breathe."

She stopped, closed her eyes, still gasping slightly like a fish out of water and attempting to collect herself. She could feel a patch of dampness on her forehead where Hux's tongue had touched her and Wildfire flung up a forepaw and began scrubbing at her face. Even as she performed this rather inexplicable ritual, her thoughts cleared up a bit, allowing her to recollect her flight from Cicero toward the caldera.

After several long beats, Wildfire placed her foot back on the ground, drew in a steadying breath and slowly peeled open her chestnut eyes. "Towhee, is there any chance you could bring me some food and water?" she asked, then turned to Hux. "Why are you here?" she demanded in a quietly baffled voice. "How long was I out?"

Towhee's expression remained an interesting mixture of curious and incredulous as she remained steadfastly by Wildfire's side. When she stopped, so did the young mercenary. She couldn't hear the invalid's struggle for breath, though she could see her battle for composure. Licking her lips, Towhee's ears slipped backward, eyes shifting uncomfortably as she waited it out.

She did not expect the request that came. Towhee's eyes narrowed and she thought of refusing. Instead, her lips pursed sourly and she marched back toward the cave, fetching the rabbit Hux had brought to Wildfire. She dropped it unceremoniously at Wildfire's feet a moment later, then took a step backward to regard her.

"I don't know of a way to get water to you, though I can ask Raven for help," she said in a tone that might have been begrudging if Towhee's every word didn't come out sounding utterly flat. I'm not a medic, she thought edgily, orange eyes flashing with renewed interest when she saw Wildfire begin to interrogate Hux.

Wildfire's breath seems to quicken, and while he thinks that this is because of the stress that his presence is causing her, the rapid, jagged breathing concerns him. She wants to be out in the open, apparently very abhorred at the idea of being sheltered in a cave. if that's what you want... I can find a different spot for you, he says softly, just as Wildfire begins to scrub her face right where he had touched her. In that moment he feels entirely worthless, and this feeling is deepened when the red she-wolf turns to towhee to ask for food and water - instead of him.

The Kru's lost gray eyes follow the Caldera woman to and from the inner portion of the cave,until she emerges carrying the rabbit that he had originally brought to Wildfire. Had Thuringwethil's mate forgotten about that? Hux remains silent until Wifi turns to him and begins questioning him.

He's butthurt a bit hurt, a bit dumbfounded, but he steels himself the best that he can and answers with little emotion in his voice. Heda asked me to stay behind and watch over you while you get better...a-and you were out for a few days. His ears lower. He glances toward the other woman, and back to Wildfire. I could find a way to get water to you, if you want. She probably doesn't want anything from him, but it is his duty to look after her, and that's what he intends to do. Meanwhile, he tries to recall that the woman has recently endured unknown horrors... There's no room for him to be pathetic and to get his feelings hurt; her reaction to him is understandable, and he realizes that he cannot take it personally.

She made no reply to Hux's offers to relocate her; any spot sufficed for now, as long as it wasn't in a cave. As a matter of fact, Wildfire didn't think she could walk any farther. She slumped unceremoniously to the ground, feeling utterly diminished. She could breathe easier now, though Wildfire felt certain she wasn't going to be able to stay awake long, perhaps not even long enough to eat the hare Towhee chucked down in front of her.

"Thank you," she murmured, shooting her younger sister a grateful look, unaware that it had been Hux who'd procured the meat. She then began to pick at the kill, though she paused to peer at Hux when he explained his presence. Despite her starving state, her stomach suddenly felt heavy, her appetite fleeing, at this thought that she'd been unconscious for days, that her family—they hadn't been a mirage they had really been here—had left her here with a near stranger.

It was all a lot to process. Wildfire made a few more attempts to nibble off some of the meat, though eventually she gave up and slumped beside the partially eaten rabbit, eyes closing and breaths coming deep and slow.

Hux offered to fetch some water and though Wildfire didn't answer, Towhee shot him a look and nodded decisively. "Yeah, you go do that. And call for Raven too, while you're at it. I'll keep watch." She looked down at her decrepit older sister, who had taken a few bites of food and then apparently passed out beside the kill. Towhee felt mildly alarmed but when she ducked her snout down toward Wildfire's own smudged muzzle, she felt her warm breath. And her breaths, while shallow, expanded noticeably in her sunken rib cage.

Folding herself neatly into a seated position by Wildfire's head, Towhee gave Hux an impatiently pointed look. Although she didn't much care about her sister's ultimate fate, it was her prerogative to guard her, not some outsider's. In fact, as soon as he returned, Towhee would tell him that, point blank. They didn't need him and he should go home to Drageda, where he belonged. Wildfire would be in very capable hands.

Wanna fade it for us? :)