Redhawk Caldera All these creatures are a lie

Those first ten days were a special brand of torture, yet one Peregrine deserved to endure. He remained steadfast as call after call went up in the air, many asking for him by name. Sometimes, he made it there himself and other times, it was up to his pack mates to deliver the caldera's warning. Soon, word would spread as they turned all their visitors away with a firm message of unwelcome. The caldera would no longer tolerate outsiders. There were no exceptions. It was their right to close down their borders this way. Everyone could (and would) question them but it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference.

A day or two went by without anyone howling for him and Peregrine wondered if the initial storming of the caldera was over. One day, he might go out into the world and try to mend some burned bridges out in no man's land. For the time-being, the dethroned Alpha had no desire to see anyone, not even his best friend or sister. He didn't hate them, of course, and they hadn't done anything wrong themselves. But right now, all that mattered to Peregrine was his immediate family and his pack, those that had pledged fealty to him and these lands.

There was much to do, despite his demotion. Peregrine's primary focus was assisting his pack mates, particularly his children, to train as Wardens and Warriors. He didn't anticipate that the siege on their doorstep would continue much longer, nor that it would escalate to a larger conflict. But Junior was not the first nor last of her kind, a breed of outsiders who would happily hurt the caldera by going right for its heart. They all needed to be ready to defend their home, to the death if necessary.

Presently, the Kappa padded down the caldera's steep flank, headed toward the borders. He tossed up a howl, inviting someone, anyone to join him. It would hopefully be an uneventual patrol but that wasn't why he wanted company. He would use this time to train one (or more) of the caldera's next generation of Wardens.

Hope you don't mind!

The children were growing up, old enough now that he was comfortable leaving them in the capable hands of Ryuu. Him and Raissa were, well, who could say. He hoped they were getting through the hardships that they had endured. And so, today, he decided to go back to his old home and see how they were getting on. It had been a long time since he had seen any of the Caldera wolves and it was highly doubtful that he knew anything that had gone on. There was no way for him to know.

So, as he neared their outer borders he took in the look of the Caldera as a howl went up. His heart leapt - Peregrine! He hadn't hoped to see either of the alphas, sure that they were busy with their pack and children. They had always been hands-on leaders with their wolves and it was how he had hoped to emulate his own pack and fatherhood.

Excitedly, he sent up his own howl in reply. "Hi, Perry! It's me Duty!" That's what he howled, excitement and happiness prevalent in his howl. If only he had known the situation, he would have thought twice about coming to see them.

I don't but I can't say the same for Perry, ehhe. :)

A responding howl came from an unexpected direction and Peregrine tensed, pausing in his step. The fur along his spine rose as he immediately flung back his head and answered, "Don't come near the caldera! Outsiders are no longer welcome." He paused, drawing in a breath. He should explain, he knew, even if they really didn't owe that to anybody. "I can send a messenger to a neutral territory of your choice to explain if you like," he howled, hoping FitzDutiful would realize it was nothing personal. On that note, he would be unable to see his fellow Alpha himself, as he was absolutely unwilling to step foot outside his home (and pretty damn sure Fox wouldn't allow it).

His jade eyes scanned the borderline, looking for any sign of other wolves, whether pack mates or trespassers. He would continue to howl back and forth if his former pack mate wished, though he would not allow the conversation to take away from his primary duty right now: patrolling the borders. Nor did he want Duty's cameo to disrupt his intended guardianship lesson, should any of the caldera's wolves show up for it.

FitzDutiful has just sat down at the outer borders when Peregrine's response met him. The wind took a few words away but he had received enough to make him instantly recoil. He ran backwards, then back to the borders, then a bit further away, then back again. Finally he decided it was safer away and ran a good distance away. He looked confused at the lands. Why was Peregrine not coming himself?

"Am I really an outsider?" he asked of his former alpha "I thought we had a good relationship. One of the Sunspire said it was good for the Caldera to have no allies, what has happened to cause that?" He wanted to howl that the Silvertip Mountain would stand by Redhawk Caldera's side but he didn't want to send that out into the world without knowing exactly what he was getting himself into.

A howl was easily intercepted, after all and right now he was hoping for some sort of explanation. He wasn't taking it personally but something bad had happened and his counselling nature, his friendship with the wolves of Caldera, made him want to know what had happened. Peregrine didn't seem his usual self.

Duty's response was exactly why they needed to establish these new boundaries, Peregrine realized with an annoyed growl. He found it incredibly entitled and didn't do much to mask his true feelings as he howled a response. "Are you a member of the caldera?" Of course, the answer was no. "Then you are an outsider." The instant FitzDutiful had relinquished his membership, he had forfeited his right to treat the caldera like home. Peregrine felt he and Fox had actually made that pretty clear. It didn't mean they held his decision against him or wished him ill intent. Of course, they didn't.

"I can send a messenger to explain," Peregrine repeated, trying to be patient but unable to keep some aggravation from coming through in his tone. Again, they didn't owe anybody an explanation but he wanted to give one, especially to someone like FitzDutiful. It just bothered him that everyone was taking this so personally. Maybe he ought to mention that. "It's nothing personal, Duty. Thanks for staying back. If you go to Big Salmon Lake, I'll send someone along shortly. I can't come myself, which I'll have said messenger explain."

Once more, he found himself scanning the area. Now he was looking for a caldera wolf not to join him but to go forth and talk to FitzDutiful face-to-face. Once that happened, Peregrine knew the Counselor would understand the situation better. Until it did, he figured the newer Alpha considered him a confusing jackass. Peregrine valued Duty, as much as he could an outsider, but he found he really didn't care anymore about his outside reputation. The outside world could hate him all he wanted, as long as he kept his sacred things sacred.

Haha, apparently it's just a fleeting visit!

If it hadn't been personal then it was certainly starting to become so. He knew full well he wasn't a member of the caldera any longer but it appeared they had no interest in maintaining relationships either. Suddenly he was thankful that he hadn't aligned the mountain with the caldera. He found he didn't want to know the reason for the sudden change - this was a far cry from the Peregrine who had been on FitzDutiful's own borders a few months ago.

Things happened, he understood that and respected that, but it wasn't worth it any more. He had no idea what troubles the wolf was in but he didn't want to come and explain it personally and FitzDutiful wasn't going to stick around for someone else to come along. To be honest, he had no interest in seeing any wolf that wasn't Perry, Fox, Finley or Elwood and if none of them wanted to talk to him then so be it.

"Don't worry about it." he howled back, deciding to stop at the plateau on the way back and find out from them. Perry had family there so they might have a clue about what has transpired. Now he wished he'd found out more from the Sunspire wolf. The Caldera might deserve allies but they apparently didn't want them. "I just came to say my family is doing well. Hope yours is as well. Goodbye Perry, maybe send Finley the mountain way sometime if she's still an outrider for you."

He felt like this was a permanent goodbye and maybe it was. FitzDutiful turned tail and left, not looking back. Before it had felt like he was leaving his home behind to create a new future. Now it felt like they were just strangers who happened to have known each other long ago and had nothing in common. He hoped to see Finley and she would be greeted a hell of a lot kinder than he just had if she happened to come by.

He tried not to hold it against them personally but his felt anger and sadness grip his heart as he meandered away, listening out for any reply Peregrine gave - if any, he wouldn't respond any more.

Just like everyone else, FitzDutiful didn't take the news well. He flat out ignored Peregrine's offer to meet up somewhere neutral to exchange information. The tension was palpable even from a distance. Peregrine wasn't that worried about it one way or the other. Although he didn't wish his previous pack mate ill will, Peregrine couldn't say he gave a damn what the other male did anymore. Duty's pack was none of his business, just as Peregrine's was none of Duty's. The rapport they had developed up until now, in which outsiders were welcome to come onto their land, was an unnatural exception to the rule that he and Fox were busily correcting. Let the haters hate them for being wild wolves and protecting their territory.

He made no reply to Duty's parting howl. Why would he press the matter if Duty wasn't interested? He let the other male go without another word. They could have still mingled in no man's land eventually but seeing as Duty didn't want to bother (as was entirely his prerogative): end of story. Peregrine resumed trotting around the caldera's outer edge, hoping that one of his wolves would come out of the woodwork. Especially after that none-too-pleasant exchange, the Kappa had some agitated energy he needed to work out.