Redhawk Caldera Chaconne

She was out of breath by the time she reached the flat summit of the Caldera, and took a few moments to rest before she set off, making a beeline for where Fennec had been holed up, taking care of Alyx and Bronco. The winds had fallen quiet but the snow continued to fall, silently accumulating on the ground and settling onto the branches of evergreen trees, weighing them down. She brushed past a few as she went, shaking the burden of snow onto the ground, sending the branches slinging up and down as they bounced, free of the weight they'd been holding onto. 

She didn't want to stress Bronco or Alyx out, no matter how keen she was to see them. She'd just been through hell and back and her mind was still a whirl. Light-headed from exhaustion and bloodloss, she chuffed for @Fennec, hoping she was at home. She sank to the ground, still puffing softly from the exertion.

Fennec was, in fact, home.  When she heard Niamh's chuff she wondered if her step-mom had changed her mind.  Of course, now she didn't mind waiting - her fight with the stranger had gotten a lot of the restless out of her system.  But she didn't hate the idea, and she stepped out smiling lightly, only to have that smile turn as soon as she caught the scent of blood.

You gotta be kidding me.  Was it the same one?  Did you kill it?  She asked, tipping her ears back as she approached and sniffed at Niamh.  She didn't get too nosey right off, unsure of how the Regent was with reactions to shit like that.  She'd only treated her once and that was with invitation - was always best to tread kinda slow.

"Wasn't the cougar," She said, though by that point she assumed Fennec would have deduced as much. She wondered for a moment if Fennec would have ever met Kiwi before- but she was fairly certain that their timelines likely hadn't brought them in contact with one another; thus, why she was Niamh's top choice as a medic. Anyone else might've recognized the scent, and she hadn't decided yet how to handle the truth with those who'd known Kiwi. She'd done what she could to clean her wounds on the way home, and and rolled in the snow enough- she thought- to rid herself of Kiwi's scent, but she'd also been exhausted and delirious.

Did you kill it? She didn't answer. 

"Got caught up with a loner. Pretty sure my eye will be alright, but my leg is what I'd worry most about," She said, propping her right forelimb up in the snow for Fennec to investigate as she wanted to. As she did, she noticed perhaps a bit too late- a tuft of ginger fur that had gotten caught between her claws. She frowned and gritted her teeth.

The worst of it was her leg.  Fennec noted this automatically but her thoughts were preoccupied because she definitely knew this scent.  And it was no cougar.

Fennec's expression was probably a mix of surprise and annoyance as the recognition hit her.  She ducked inside, grabbing a piece of the root she'd gathered and given the others, and dropped it in the snow next to Niamh.  Eat that.  If y'need it, I found somethin for pain, but it isn't strong.  She let out a small hff as she settled in to help clean up the worse of the wounds, the one on her leg.

Before she started in, she paused.  She attacked me too.  When I was getting herbs yesterday.  I tried to ask who she was and she wouldn't tell, kept asking about the Caldera instead.  I wouldn't say.  She let annoyance cut through that last statement, because she was a little pissed just remembering it.  Who did that?  Fennec didn't consider herself to be the nicest stranger but that didn't mean she couldn't recognize a complete asshole when she met them.  I didn't figure she'd try it again.

From this bite, apparently Fennec had gotten real lucky in her catch.  Because she obviously hadn't been playing around.

When she was offered a root, she curled her lip and nudged it away. "Keep it for Bronco and Alyx," She said. She was in pain, but she would suffer pain so that her children wouldn't have to. Winter made it more difficult to find plants, and she had no idea how well stocked Fennec's stash was as she'd never taken the opportunity to take a peek at it. 

Niamh felt cold panic run down the back of her neck when Fennec mentioned almost casually that Kiwi had attacked her too. She wanted to jerk her leg away and hobble off, but at the same time...It was obvious that Kiwi had no idea who it was that's attacked her. Her eyes narrowed when she received the tidbit of information involving Kiwi's interest in the Caldera, and she growled, baring her fangs at the thought. Perhaps she had been trying to find her way here to continue what she'd started, following her mother's death. Perhaps she'd been looking for Niamh, but she definitely hadn't been seeking atonement. Kiwi had had the chance to cough out an apology and submit, but she'd done neither. 

With a cold voice, she remained frozen to the spot. She wouldn't allow herself to shudder and show how much it pained her to feel Fennec's tongue sweeping across torn muscle and exposed bone. "She won't be a problem anymore." She said hoarsely.

Fennec heard Niamh slide the root and not pick it up, and she paused to frown.  That's not for the pain.  It's for infection.  Eat it.  She wasn't about to accept arguments, not even from the Regent.  She had more than enough of that particular plant because it couldn't be given often, but she was abstaining from the willow bark as well.  She was more worried about running out of it, though perhaps she'd go out and gather more.

She focused in on the task while Niamh apparently considered what she said.  Maybe she was just out of it too.  This wound felt deeper than even she'd first though and she wondered if she could drum up anything to plaster it with that would help to close it up some.  Winter poultice....

She won't be a problem anymore.  Fennec's interest was piqued at Niamh's tone.  She waited to see if she'd elaborate, but apparently not.  Good.  Something wasn't right with her.  Fennec answered, her fur prickling.  It was a little macab if they were really on the same page, but she felt better knowing the girl who had done this wasn't out there and ready for another chance encounter.

She was prepared to refuse what she assumed was going to be another nudge to take the herbs, but when Fennec pointed out that it was to fight off infection, she snapped her mouth shut and glared sharply at Fennec for a moment. She'd hit a nerve, one that Niamh wasn't keen on making public; but her step-daughter wouldn't have seen her expression. Nor would she have seen the way the corner of her lip wavered slightly, despite how she tried to keep them pulled tight. "Fine," She rasped, clearing her throat before she quietly reached and dragged the root back, and scarfed it down. She always hated the way herbs tasted. "Thanks," She said, her voice a bit softer then. She should have learned from pervious experiences that when it came to medicines, she shouldn't doubt whatever advice Fennec was giving her. She made a note to steer clear from making that mistake again. 

She wasn't sure if Fennec picked up on what Niamh had essentially confessed- but something about the grim set of her jaw told Niamh otherwise. She'd been rattled, visibly, and it did not seem as though the budding warrior was one to easily forgive others who crossed her. "What was she asking you, about the Caldera?" She asked, curious to know if she'd mentioned any names in particular.

Thankfully she didn't argue twice.  If there was anyone Fennec didn't want to try and force to eat something, it was Niamh, but she wasn't about to let her make this harder.  If there was one thing the aspiring medic had learned through her training (and personal experience), it was that cutting edges now made things potentially way worse later.

She wanted to know how big we were, and if we were prepared for winter.  Fennec replied.  I told her to come here and ask herself and that's when she jumped me.  If Fennec had done anything to provoke it, maybe she wouldn't have had such a big issue with it.  She'd provoked plenty of fights, but this girl hadn't had a single reason.  No wolf looking to join was ever that interested in the Caldera.

For the record, you're 100% right. If Niamh was a dog, she would be the WORST at having to take pills.

Niamh found Kiwi's questions suspicious. Posed by any other wolf, with the right tone, those questions could have been optimistic, hopeful. Perhaps another loner might have asked those same questions in hopes of finding a home. Maybe another one might have asked because they were empathetic, or because they were concerned for the welfare of others. Even if Fennec had given a very dismissive or ofense reply, it shouldn't have been enough to provoke an attack. 

"Hmm," She mused. "When she asked you those questions...Was she just being a concerned passerby, or do you think...Do you think at all that maybe she might've been fishing, or...Spying...Like she might have been scoping us out?" She asked. She wasn't doing a very good at phrasing what she was asking. But given how the past year had been- with neighbours ranging from annoying to potentially dangerous, her questions shouldn't have seemed too out of place.

Niamh cut straight to the chase, of course.  She was definitely putting it on when she started.  Fake nice.  Fennec responded, annoyed even remembering it.  Look, she'd used it once or twice, but when she did it she at least had the sense to do it well.  All lying badly did was piss people off.

The other stuff sounded alright, but I'm betting she was lying.  If she wasn't, then Fenn was going to pick up sharpshooting.  There was no way that girl had been interested in joining.  She would've known attacking me would kill her chances.  No way anyone serious would do that.  She tch'd softly in clear offense of someone used to selling better shit.  Why would anyone be scoping us though?

Had Niamh not known who the stranger was, she might have given them a bit of a pass, but instead, she listened to Fennec's opinion and frowned. From all that she could tell, Kiwi had stumbled across a member of a pack she'd betrayed, and had tried to figure out if she could be strong enough to ruin yet another one. She'd tried- in attacking Fennec, but she had failed. That fact alone made Niamh proud, though it also made her wonder. What if she spent so much time training Fennec...Only to have to face off against her in the future? But it couldn't be like that. Fennec and Kiwi were two different wolves, and they had different motivation for wanting to learn how to fight. Fennec, she felt, would be the pupil who would use her training to protect the pack- not kill its Sovereign.

When  she asked about the circumstances surrounding the wolf's motivation, she pondered for a moment. "What I'm going to tell you, I want you to keep to yourself." She said. "At least until I've sorted out how I want to deal with it. But the wolf who attacked you is the wolf who killed my first mate, Colt." Even with revenge complete, it made her angry to speak of it. Odd; she'd thought that the effects of killing Kiwi would be positive, and immediate. Presently, she felt somewhat numb, and still angered over the fact that her beloved mate had been murdered. Denial, perhaps. Fennec had likely been told at some point about the circumstances, but Niamh rarely spoke of it to anyone, anymore. It haunted her, so she tried to bury it as deeply as she could.

"Colt was the Sovereign of the Firebirds at the time, having stepped in to take Wildfire's place when she passed away shortly after giving birth to Elfie and Weejay. That wolf that you met was Kiwi; Wildfire's daughter from a previous litter. I was told she attacked him after learning about her mother's death, so the reason she attacked you, because of your association with the Redhawks, is entirely personal." She said. "I found her before she could get here, and I put an end to her." She stated.

LORE DROP

Fennec was pretty stoked when Niamh wanted to share a secret with her, right up until she dropped exactly what that secret was.  And as she told more and more details, Fennec's expression grew harder.  Niamh's first mate wasn't a subject that came up often... but the phrase, she knew, also meant Bronco's dad.

He didn't talk to her much about him, and neither did anyone else in the family.  In fact, she didn't know much beyond the fact that he'd died when Bronco was pretty young.  She knew it affected him pretty deeply, though, from the way he did speak every time it came up.  And if that bitch was the one who'd done it, then she was a little miffed with herself.  Not that there was any way she could have known.

I coulda killed her.  I thought about it, but I didn't.  She confessed, a little flatly.  I shoulda.  No doubt now.  She was glad Niamh had, but she'd known something was off.  And if it was personal, that meant she had likely been a bigger danger to the pack than she assumed.  I won't tell.  But I'm glad you did.

She'd done about all she could to clean the wounds, though she didn't like how deep they were still.  I'm going to try to find something to put on this, but winter's kinda rough for it.  Just try not to move it too much.  It would heal a lot slower if she stressed it, and the wound was going to need time to knit together properly.

There was a stiffness that settled into Fennec's frame that Niamh could see and feel. The sudden stillness that overcame her was the attentive, focused look of a hunter waiting just a moment longer before making the move to ambush its prey. It was a look not so different from the one Niamh had had when she'd first registered Kiwi's scent. Within Fennec there lurked the same, dangerous potential that Niamh had, and that Kiwi had had. But Fennec's eyes did not burn with the same fierce, iridescent green that Kiwi's had. There was something almost comforting about the way Fennec's eyes remained unfocused.

She wondered now if Fennec regretted her decision to spare Kiwi now that she knew the truth, but she wouldn't have Fennec think she should murder everyone she met just because they were rude, or started a fight. "No. We don't kill just because we can." She warned. After all, taking the life of another was not something to be done on a whim. She could feel a subtle but growing heaviness that had begun to settle in, making her conscience nervous, and she did not want the same for Fennec. "You didn't know her, or that she owed me a life. You did what you had to do, and that was to get away and that is enough. To kill in self-defense is excuseable but murder is a crime punishable by death." She said. "Kiwi stole my Colt from me. So I took what I was owed from her." Said the reaper, grimly. 

It was more council than she'd want to have to give to another wolf, though it did surprise her that this was a discussion that her own children hadn't asked for, yet. Not from her, at least. But she'd always figured that at least one of her children would turn out to be as savage and brutal as their mother was, but perhaps she was wrong. Having the discussion with Fennec made her feel, oddly, a bit more complete. It was as if she'd been waiting to find a progégé amongst her own brood, only to realize perhaps she might find it in Fennec instead. 

When she was informed not to use her leg, she simply shrugged. "I have three other legs," She stated calmly.

Fennec huffed impatiently when Niamh brought up that she had three other legs.  Moving is moving it.  You have to let it heal.  She retorted, but didn't push it any farther than that.  She couldn't make Niamh stay here and stay still, but she could tell her she was an idiot when her leg didn't heal right.

Niamh was right, though, about the basics of killing.  She couldn't have known for sure, but still... she'd sensed it and hadn't trusted her gut.  Apparently her gut had been exactly correct.  What if you could let them go, but if you do, they might come back?  And next time you might not catch them before they do something worse?  Fennec asked in response, a little less flatly but still subdued.  That had been her internal struggle and she still wasn't sure she had a handle on it.  Letting her go had resulted in Niamh's leg getting fucked like this and Bronco's dad's murderer almost running off scott free, and that made her feel even less sure.

So not in self defense.  But defending this place.  She knew she couldn't assume that anyone who asked about the Caldera meant ill, but Kiwi had proven it when she attacked.  She found herself hanging a little, waiting for Niamh's answer.  The way Bronco had always described his mom, and the way Fennec had seen her thus far, hadn't led her to believe she'd get this kind of conversation from the woman.  A part of her had wondered if Niamh wasn't secretly judging her for not finishing the job herself when she had the chance - just the way she'd been.

Fennec was right, of course- any movement that involved walking about would inevitably cause her to either use, or avoiding using certain muscle groups- and could end up injuring her elsewhere as her three legs compensated for the injured one. She could also trip and fall and open the wound up again- so she didn't argue Fennec's point, even if she knew she would have a very difficult time obeying the medic's orders. At least she could play sentry for Alyx and Bronco, now, and give herself some rest while she did so. She could not wait for Phox to come home; his absence was beginning to make her lonely and agitated. 

Fennec posed a couple questions with regards to the proper way to deal with potentially harmful lone wolves or intruders, and they were classic questions for a young guardian and warrior-in-training to ask. There were some morals to be obeyed, for sure- some laws that could change depending on whatever incident or obstacle faced them. Sometimes, it was best to show mercy, but other times, doing such a thing could spell tragedy for others who might fall within the forgiven beast's warpath later. For these questions though, Niamh had a relatively simple answer. 

"We frighten them." She said murmured with a low, satisfied growl. "So that they won't ever dare come back."

Hmmm.  She gave a light humm of agreement, though it was skeptical.  Recently it was slowly being proven to Fennec that some wolves didn't scare, and that if left to their own devices, they could cause irreparable harm.  She wouldn't set out to kill any stranger that fought her... but she might listen to that little voice.  The one that said someone fighting that hard to destroy someone they barely knew likely wasn't someone worth letting go.  Better to take the life of someone willing to throw theirs away than to allow them to take someone else's.

I guess it will be a little longer, then, before you can show me how to do that.  But okay.  Most situations would likely end up exactly like Niamh said, and if she could learn to overpower and turn away someone like that, then that was the first step.  Kiwi had been a nice victory for her, but Fennec wasn't stupid enough to think it meant she didn't have a lot to learn.  Noted.

Fennec seemed reasonably satisfied with her response, and accepted the fact that it would indeed take a bit more time before Niamh was completely to to the task of sparring with Fennec. It seemed easier, though, to leave that decision up to the one who would know best. "Once the doctor says we're both in the clear, we can start." She said, amused.

"We can talk strategies in the meantime. There's some fight theory you should know," She confessed. Fennec likely already knew some of the tactics she should use against wolves of varying sizes and speeds, but she should also be trained how to combat their other threats- such as cougars and bears. But just the thought of one of them began to make her head ache. She'd probably had a bit too much over-stimulation for the day. "But I honestly think I might be all tired out, now." She admitted. "Mind if I go crawl in with your patients and take a nap?" She asked.

Fennec wasn't sure if that was a jab at her (a reference to Eljay being the proper 'doctor') or a compliment, but she chose to take it as the latter.  Eljay was still her teacher, but she knew enough to be able to say when Niamh would be ready to go.  Herself?  Well... she was naturally biased.

Please.  She replied, thinking that sounded like an excellent idea.  She really didn't like the feel of her leg, and the quicker she got hunkered down off of it, the better.  I'm going to go hunt down something to put on this, if I can.  Talk of strategies could wait, but she made a mental note of it.  She would definitely be asking about it another time.

She waited, listening as Niamh shifted herself (and helping, if her step-mother seemed to allow her to or need it).  Then she'd turn and disappear out into the snow again, searching a little closer to home for something that might serve as a poultice of some sort.

She nodded when Fennec agreed with her proposal, and a yawn struck her, as if on cue. She snapped her mouth shut afterwards and nodded drearily. "Thanks Fennec." She said, giving a nod to the good doctor, before she moved forward to touch her nose to the warrior-in-training-to-be's shoulder, before she slipped inside of the den to curl up with her son and daughter for a nap.