Redhawk Caldera Do you really want to get on the FBI's radar again?

With great power came great responsibility, or something along those lines. Now that Towhee was feeling better—physically and mentally—she came up with a checklist of objectives she wanted to accomplish in her first few weeks as Alpha. It should surprise no one that she wanted to deep-clean the ranks. She wasn't out to oust anyone, though there were a few wolves she didn't know well or at all. This seemed rather absurd, given her new station, so Towhee took some time away from her patrols to do a little hunting. Her prey: @Allure and @Andalusia primarily, though she also wanted to catch up with @Sebastian and @Whip, who seemed a little scarce. If she couldn't locate them, she would consider them expatriated.

As she did her best to track down any or all of these four members, X winged along overhead, his shadow leading the way across the glittering snow. In the distance, Towhee saw @Orca and @Raven chasing one of the pups—no, make that @Lagan. The yearling squinted at their distant silhouettes, a small smile playing across her stoic features and the tip of her tail wiggling. She then trained her attention back upon the endeavor at hand, nose skimming along the crust of fine white powder that draped the caldera.

@Andalusia Let me know if my post is okay. Tried to keep it vague. I don't think Seb would leave Anda, so let me know if you want to PP her being with him.

Most of what happened during the fight Sebastian had mentally blocked. The flash of Andalusia jumping before him to save his life was not mentally blocked. Or how she had been bleeding on the ground. He could not remember much but his adrenaline at the time kept him on his legs. He had tried to get Andalusia to safety. He couldn't even remember if they had won the fight. Perhaps they had? He had been too focussed on Andalusia. She should have stayed with the children.

What he could feel now what only pain. He had made it back to the Caldera but he was in a bad shape. He had a huge gash on his shoulder, exposing the muscle underneath it. It was not a pretty sight. His chest missed patches of fur, showing the shallower cuts. He had several bite marks around his throat. But the worst was his lack of tail. He looked like his father. A little stump was left of the lush tail he had before. Sebastian was glad that he couldn't see himself but he could feel it when he moves. You could say he could still feel his tail. Like a ghost tail.

His shoulder gave him the most concern. It was very prone to infections and he did not have enough energy to find herbs. Maybe Andalusia still had a cache somewhere but he had been too tired to ask her. He was in too much pain when he moved to even ask her. The male made it back to the territory but there wasn't much of him left. His body still exhausted, trying to make an effort to recover if he would ever recover. He hadn't seen much of the others. Sometimes he wondered if they even knew he was here, that he returned. That Andalusia and he both had returned. Though, for now, he rather did not want to move.

Others are welcome to pop in anytime. :)

Towhee was just starting to feel frustrated—an emotion exacerbated by the thought that Phox should have been around to help her with tracking these members—when she finally struck a trail. Immediately unsettled by the underlying thread of malady in the scent, Towhee followed it until it led her to a gray figure slumped on the ground. The young Alpha dug her feet into the snow and came to a standstill several feet away, blinking in surprise at Sebastian's prostrate form.

From here, she could see the poorly-healing gash on his shoulder, as well as his stump of a tail. When she drew in breath, she could detect what she thought was the odor of infection. She didn't even bother saying hello or asking how he was doing. After her momentary assessment, Towhee lifted her muzzle into the air and howled for Raven, her voice ululating off key across the caldera.

"Sebastian," Towhee finally spoke in her clunky cadence, taking a step closer, "it's been a month since we fought." It was perhaps a useless statement, especially with her lack of tone. But the concern and surprise were written all over her face. How was it that he was still in such bad shape so long after the battle? Where had he been all this time? Why wasn't Raven already all over his case?

Talked with Jaclyn, and Seb and her fled the scene and tried to stumble back to the territory, so that might have taken a few weeks. You can assume they crossed the border a few days ago!

Sebastian raised his head when he heard someone approach. He hoped it was Elwood but it seemed it was Towhee. Sebastian realized she carried herself different, he could tell enough from that. Now he wondered how Finley and Elwood were doing. He wanted to greet her with the same respect but couldn't. He placed his head down again. There wasn't much fight left in the male. The female spoke, it had been awhile. Had it? It felt so recent

Sebastian let out a soft groan. What did she meant to say with that? That he should have healed? That he should get back to work because that is the last he felt like doing. The male tipped his head to the side so one eye could look up at the female standing before him. "Andalusia... Tried to get back here. Together. But.. I had black outs," he muttered. "Just arrived. Travel made healing go slower," he tried to explain to the female.

Towhee blinked. "The fuck?" she muttered under her breath when he reported returning just days prior. It made no sense to her, though she didn't bother pressing for details. Sebastian was a soldier who'd fought on behalf of this pack and he clearly needed medical help. Hopefully Raven would get here soon to tend to him.

In the meantime, the yearling stepped closer and inspected his wounds. "You should've called for help," she said, though she left it at that. "Is she in bad shape too? Where is she?" Towhee's orange eyes cast around for any sign of the she-wolf she hardly knew before dropping back to Sebastian to catch his reply.

Sebastian groaned. He didn't intend to take so long to travel back either but he couldn't help that he wasn't moving so quickly. He hated it, along with his tail that was chopped off. His ears flattened mostly because he was ashamed when hearing her curse. He disliked to displease a leader but it wasn't really his fault in his opinion. Sebastian rolled more onto his side in a submissive demeanor.

"Not sure if I had the strength for it. Howling at this moment doesn't seem appealing," he admitted. Sebastian nodded. "She is. She was with me. Should be with me. Might be getting herbs," he spoke, though he sounded worried and tried to scramble to his feet. He kind of wanted her to be there with him. What if she died of her injuries? He didn't want to lose her again. He didn't get far though. He couldn't even get to his feet. His shoulder hurt intensely and the pain made his energy levels be drained further.

"Whoa," Towhee blurted when Sebastian made a point to submit to her, only to struggle to get to his feet. "Take it easy, Sebastian!" she shouted at him, louder and more sharply than was necessary, although she couldn't really help it. "I've called for Raven, so just sit still until she gets here to take a look at you. She's probably gathering some supplies first. She'll be here soon. Just don't move."

For the next minute or so, Towhee thought over the situation, trying to make sense of it before eventually dismissing the inexplicable details and focusing on what to do now. She drew in a breath, then asked in a slightly softer voice, "Would you like me to clean your wounds for you while we wait?"

Sebastian toppled over on his good side. He was not very stable on his feet. His head dipped when he heard the female's loud voice. He stiffened into place and then looked around, whines coming from his throat. "She was just here!," he winced. "Right next to me. I should find her," Sebastian ended in a mutter, looking around intently. When he moved his neck it hurt and being so low to the ground didn't make him see very far. Though he tried. He didn't realize that Andalusia's scent wasn't even on or around him.

Sebastian huffed. "I'm a healer too," he spoke, though the state in which his body was didn't imply that. Plus mentally he couldn't really think what to do right now. He was focussed on finding Andalusia. But she didn't seem to be here yet. "Maybe we should look for Andalusia," he suggested. He shifted a bit when she offered to lick it. "No. It hurts," he spoke. "It is a really deep wound. I don't know if licking will help." Sebastian sighed deeply and placed his head on the ground. Then he saw her. There!! "There she is!," he keened lifting his head. He saw her approach. "Look she has herbs for me! Marigold!," he beamed. His docked tail moving, though for anyone other than Sebastian there was no one there.

"No," Towhee said firmly when Sebastian said he should go find Andalusia, unconsciously making the sign as well as if to emphasize her point. "Stay still," she instructed. She thought of arguing with him about cleaning the wound, though before she could open her mouth again, he was shouting joyously over Andalusia's return.

Towhee turned her head to look, a thread of disquiet rippling down her spine when she saw—no one and nothing. She squinted, scanning their surroundings, then slowly looked back at Sebastian. He looked positively delighted by his friend's return, albeit Andalusia wasn't there. He was hallucinating.

"Oh shit," the Alpha mumbled loudly, now looking around for any sign of Raven. "Where are you?" she huffed impatiently. She was about to send up another howl when—much to her relief—the svelte black she-wolf appeared, a bundle of herbs clutched tightly in her maw.

Raven immediately rushed to Sebastian's side, where she gently dropped her bundle on the ground and then bent to inspect him. As she did so, Towhee sidled up beside the medic to whisper, "He's fucking delusional, Rave. He thinks he sees Andalusia. Which begs the question," she continued in a low voice, orange eyes tracing warily over Sebastian's beaten features, "where the hell is she?"

Since she's a PPC, please feel free to control Raven too, especially since she's tending to your toon. :D

Sebastian felt his heart quicken when he saw her approach. He was clearly happy to see her. She was carrying herbs. See, she had just gone out to get herbs for him. He should do the same for her one day. When he felt a bit better. He was much more peaceful now he was seeing her so close to him. He glanced up when Raven approached, also with herbs. They were different from the ones Andalusia had been carrying.

Sebastian looked at the herbs suspiciously but he recognized some. The male stiffened as she got close. He didn't want anyone touching it but with a wound as deep at this, it would take some time to heal. Raven glanced worriedly at Towhee. "It is probably because of a fever. That means infection," she returned. It was perhaps a miracle that the delusional male found his way home in the first place. Before Sebastian knew it he had to chew on some of the herbs she brought.

Sebastian wanted to pay attention to it as he didn't know some of the herbs. He was almost a medic himself. Though he could always learn from Andalusia. He growled when the female started to treat the deep wound. The herbs stung but since the wound was deep it was easy to stuff it with herbs. Sebastian let out yelps in pain though he kept still because Andalusia was there with him. She was healing him, not this black lady. He wasn't even seeing any black lady. She had morphed into Andalusia. "Andalusia almost died, Towhee. She saved me in the forest. But she was hurt badly, but luckily she didn't die. Though for a moment I thought she did,' he explained while Raven tended to him.

Hopefully it was only a fever and not something more dire, like post-traumatic stress. Towhee bit at her lip as she considered Raven's explanation, then watched the medic begin to tend to Sebastian. She couldn't hear his yelps, though she saw him wince. Unknowingly, Towhee grimaced in sympathy. It was hard to watch him suffering so much.

"I'm going to go search for her," the young Alpha muttered to the medic. "You're in good hands, Sebastian," she said more loudly, looking down at the fallen soldier. "I have to go—duty calls. I'll check back later." She licked her lips and lingered a moment, watching the caregiver and her patient. Towhee then pulled her eyes away and trotted east, intending to scour the lands between the caldera and the woods, fully expecting to find a badly mauled body out there somewhere.

Sebastian nodded. 'I just saw her! She can't be far away Towhee!," he spoke full of hope. Sebastian then lets Raven tend to his wound. He curiously watched as the female treated him. He also asked her several questions about what she was doing to heal him. He could always learn from her. After all, he still wanted to be a medic. "So you are using now? These are Borage Leaves?" The dark female just nodded. Sebastian was pleased he knew.

The dark woman stuffed his gash on this shoulder with a paste of Borage Leaves and also gave him the common poppy seeds to chew on. She also gave him a root to chew on. Sebastian obeyed her soundlessly and started to chew on it. It had a weird taste. Later he learned from the female she used Chervile Root. Apparently, it was found through the fall and the winter months. How convenient! For a brief moment, he didn't think of Andalusia. Perhaps, the thought that Towhee was looking for her gave the male some peace.

- fin -