Redhawk Caldera Do not approach the hooded figures {j}

Tempest slunk through the trees, bored. The wind parted her thick fur slightly, revealing the scars it concealed. Her stance was relaxed, but alert.

She stopped dead when a heavy, intoxicating scent hit her nose. Blood. And fresh, too. Her senses on high alert, she followed the blood trail, which led to a border and over it. How convenient. She approached the invisible line that marked the territory, stopping to sit on her haunches and deliver a howling song that requested for an audience.

Hello! :)

Elwood had heard through the grapevine about the recent scuffle at the borders with a lone wolf, so his guard went up when he heard a howl. Though he hadn't been involved in the situation, it had taught him that not every interaction would go as smoothly as Godfrey's. Stiff-legged, he made his way to the source of the call, and found a she-wolf that had situated herself just outside the edge of the territory.

She had a salt-and-pepper coat of black and white, and she looked fairly young, though she at least had the sense not to trespass. The Gamma greeted her less amiably than he had Godfrey, though he still did not show any signs of aggression. "This is Redhawk Caldera," he said gruffly, coming to a halt a good ten yards from the female. "Who are you?"

Tempest instantly lowered herself into a submissive posture, her gaze settled on the paws of the wolf. "I am Tempest, and wish to lend my skills to a pack this winter. I can prove myself, I will do anything." she said, hoping that she did not sound desperate.

She kept herself steady, and let none of her nervousness show on her face. Now that she was still, she took the chance to draw in breath, for something at the scene of the blood had awoken some memory. She couldn't quite put her paw on it, and it bothered her.

Upon his initial approach, Elwood hadn't noticed the blood that lingered from Peregrine's scuffle with the outsider. But now, as he surveyed the female, he could smell the metallic tang. It distracted him momentarily, as he glanced beyond her, trying to pinpoint the location of the scent, but he soon snapped his attention back to the loner as she answered his question promptly and directly.

It seemed that many wolves were seeking homes as winter loomed closer, and as he had found himself in the same position only a month prior, he was understanding of her predicament. The desperation in her voice was caused by reasonable worry. "What exactly are your skills, Tempest?" he asked, hoping to have her elaborate before he called for Fox or Peregrine.

Tempest was distracted for a moment by the blood as Elwood had been, still trying to pinpoint the scent to the memory surfacing in her mind. She was snapped out of her concentration when the male spoke.
"What exactly are your skills, Tempest?"

Tempest did not hesitate for long before answering "I am swift and sly, and therefore great at hunting. As for my fighting skills...I have yet to use them." She gave a small smile at the end of her short speech, hoping it would be enough.

Again, she quickly provided an adequate response. Elwood nodded his head, showing his approval. He had been lucky so far with the loners he had intercepted on the borders; both Tempest and Godfrey were adept and respectful. Peregrine and Fox would be glad to hear that this interaction had gone smoothly and hadn't required the use of teeth and claws.

"That's good to know. We value hunters and guardians here," he said, keeping his speech short and to the point. He wasn't one for rambling, and besides, it wasn't his place to do any more than that. "I'm not a leader, but I will wait with you until an Alpha arrives," he informed her, then turned and released a short howl requesting the presence of @Fox or @Peregrine.

Driven by motherly instincts, Fox had been feverishly rearranging the furs in the den over and over again like some kind of maniac. It was no secret that she'd been scarce compared to many of her pack-mates over the past week or two. Her mind was on children even more now than it had been in the past. Thankfully, with Peregrine and Finley as her fellow leaders, she needn't worry that she would be missed too much. And then there was Elwood, of course, who was proving to be quite useful as well. It was his voice that finally pulled her away from her perfecting of the den, and she loped toward him at an easy pace.

She arrived to find him standing head-to-head with a young female, and Fox looked back and forth between the two, an expectant gaze waiting for an explanation. She assumed it was a prospective joiner, though one could never be too sure of these things. The stranger looked fit enough and if she had any brains in that head of hers, she might just find a home here... provided that was her wish.

Tempset dipped her head to the Alpha, still in a submissive position. "Greetings, honorable Alpha" She said in a cool voice. "I am Tempest, and wish for a place in your ranks. I can hunt well and fight, I am able to prove myself in any way."

{Sorry for shortness, in a rush!}

The Alpha female was prompt, and Elwood swung to face her as she approached. She was considerably smaller than him, but he lowered his head and tail accordingly to show respect to his leader. Rather than speaking, Fox simply waited for an explanation, looking between her subordinate and the stranger.

Elwood glanced at Tempest, who spoke up quickly, introducing herself and providing a brief summary of her skills. There was no need for him to elaborate, as that was all the information she had given to him only moments ago. Instead, he tilted his chin ever so slightly, a subtle nod directed at Tempest, then turned his yellow gaze back to Fox.

The fact that she was brighter than most of the hoodlums who had shown up at their door recently was promising, though Fox had never been keen on accepting somebody just because they were better than the worst. Tempest spoke of hunting and fighting, both things that Redhawk Caldera did not necessarily need right at the moment. Still, having another able-bodied wolf among their ranks certainly wouldn't hurt them. Fox glanced to Elwood, then back to Tempest.

“What’s your weakness?” she asked plainly. A wolf who boasted that she could do everything well probably did nothing well. One who knew where her weak points were would do better here.

Tempest tilted her head slightly, considering. "I was raised by coyotes, before they were all killed." Her eyes flashed with pain before she continued. "Therefore, I am not wise in the ways of the wolf. I have much to learn on the subject."
"After a hare I once caught lashed out, I find it difficult to see out of my right eye at times. The wound became infected, but cleared up, luckily."
She paused thoughfully before adding:

"Throughout my time alone I have learned a great lot about herbs and healing, after I realized how lucky I was that the wound in my eye cleared up on it's own. They properties of different herbs interest me."

For the time being, Elwood remained silent, simply an observer at this point in the interaction. He was learning from Fox, paying close attention to the questions that she asked so as to increase his own knowledge of guardianship. The next inquiry that she made was one he hadn't thought of, but was equally as important as finding out what a wolf's strengths were. He looked to Tempest, anticipating her reply.

She took the question in stride, pausing only momentarily to consider her answer. It prompted Elwood to do a bit of introspection on the spot; what were his weaknesses? He wasn't particularly fast or nimble, but he wasn't built for fighting, either. As far as mental flaws, he knew from childhood fights with his sister that he could be stubborn, as well as boring and a "stick in the mud," according to her. He shook his head lightly, refocusing as Tempest summed up her statement by adding that she was also interested in herbs. The pack didn't have a naturalist, as far as Elwood knew, and he was curious to see if Fox would find this valuable.

Tempest's history was a strange one, and therefor immediately suspect. Fox ignored the rest of the girl's words. “Why were they killed?” she asked. Perhaps it was uncouth to ask such a thing, but Fox needed to know what they could have done to be killed. If Tempest was a risk for the caldera, Fox certainly wouldn't feel comfortable accepting her. It also got her wondering as to whether or not Tempest would have a soft spot for their canine cousins. Coyotes were enemies to Redhawk Caldera.

Tempest did not want to answer the question, but she would do it if it meant a place in Redhawk."My father slaughtered tham all when he learned of my existence. I would not meet his demands to go with him, so he took it out on them. He was huge and pitch black, and they were dead in mere minutes. I ran, and for some strange reason he did not follow."

Knowing what the Alpha must be thinking, she said: "I do not afflicaite with coyotes anymore, though I must admit I do have a small soft spot for them. But that can be-erased-if needed." She finished in a cold tone, putting emfase on the word erased.

Elwood frowned, his brows knitting together as Tempest divulged a bit of information about her history. It sounded rather gruesome -- her father had murdered the coyotes that had raised her, which prompted more questions to gather in the Gamma's mind. How had she wound up with the coyotes in the first place? Why had her father killed them, but then not gone after Tempest? Wasn't she the whole reason for the slaughter?

He shook his head gently; he didn't want to drag out this interaction, so he refrained from posing his inquiries. Coyotes were not an issue to the pack, as far as he knew, so there should be no reason for Tempest to "erase" her affection for them, so long as she didn't go around inviting them to feed off of their caches. Again, he looked to Fox for her reaction.

“The fuck?” Fox said in a whisper, shaking her head. Tempest almost acted as if Fox and Elwood were supposed to take this news in stride and act like it was same-old, same-old. “I’m sorry, Tempest, but I’m not sure we can take on a risk like that. Your father killed what was basically your family. Why wouldn’t he do the same to us?” With her children coming into the world soon, Fox certainly didn't want some crazy wolf killing everything in sight. Even if Tempest answered the question, Fox wasn't sure there was much that could budge her decision.

Fox shot Elwood a glance, though she said nothing to him. She only hoped that this wouldn't get ugly or weird, two things that were certainly possible. Rejection wasn't easy, and Fox simply couldn't imagine bringing Tempest into the caldera with a history like that.

"Because," she growled "If he shows his sorry fucking face around here again I will rip it off. I'm a big girl now, you know."

She smoothed her bristling pelt, reranging her face into a calm express that she knew must look deranged.
She thought before saying. "And if that is too big an issue, I will walk away, kill him, and then come back." Tempest paused before adding hastily"I'm not really a voilent type, just when I need to be."

Fox was wary, and for good reason. The story that Tempest unraveled was a dramatic one, and Elwood's hackles bristled defensively as the female vehemently responded to Fox's question. He hadn't been with the caldera since its inception, but he already felt protective of its members; it sounded as though Tempest could inadvertently bring drama to the pack's doorstep, even if she swore that she could handle the situation herself.

A low growl rumbled in the depths of Elwood's chest; not directed at Tempest, necessarily, but at the idea of a band of coyotes bringing trouble to his pack. He would agree with whatever decision Fox made.

Fox had expected the girl to simper and be on her way, but her reaction was quite different. The growl and ruffling of her feathers put Fox on edge, but she allowed Tempest to speak her case. Still, it wasn't what Fox thought would be the best scenario. “No,” she replied, “If he comes here, you will do whatever he says and get him as far away from Redhawk Caldera as possible. If you can agree to that, you may stay.” Those were the only terms Fox felt comfortable with. If Tempest could not abide by them, she would be sent packing.

If Tempest challenged her father and lost (which sounded quite likely, considering he'd murdered a whole clan of coyotes), Redhawk Caldera would be forced to take him down. That was not something that Fox wanted to deal with, nor did she want her children to be in any danger.

Tempest sighed. Well, it was better then being thrown out. "I agree"Suddenly, the full weight of what had just happened came crashing down. She was in! She was sure her happy expression looked positivley stupid, but she didn't care. Finally, a pack of her own. She felt like hugging someone, but seeing as she was a wolf, that was impossible. She was content in thanking the Alpha and the subordinate and wagging her tail like an idiot.

Editing in a conclusion, with permission from Remedy!

Elwood nodded as Fox proposed a condition that Tempest would be required to fulfill in order to be a member of the pack. He thought it was perfectly reasonable, and would ensure protection for all involved, should Tempest's father show up on their borders one day. The girl was obviously happy to have been accepted, as was evident by her expression and the wagging of her tail.

He returned the smile, allowing himself to relax and even giving his tail a little wave of its own. Finally, he spoke up, adding to Fox's statement. "Welcome to the pack, Tempest," he said, glad to have another able-bodied wolf to help provide for them this winter. He would be keeping a close watch on her, however, making sure that she didn't get into trouble -- or bring any trouble to the caldera's front door.

Fox agreed, giving Tempest a brief welcome, then excused herself. Elwood took the opportunity to give her a brief tour of the territory, as he had done with Godfrey.