Redhawk Caldera It's going to be a bumpy night

An urgent call of nature prompted Wildfire to rise a few hours after midnight and pad away from her sleeping family members to water the grass behind a screen of shrubs. When she was finished, she wiped her feet and took a step back toward the pile of wolves, only for the moon to capture her attention. It was almost perfectly round and so bright that her amber eyes squinted slightly. It's looking at you... she thought, her ears drawing backward slightly. Her mother had assured her it wasn't actually an eye but that didn't stop the shiver from wriggling down her little red spine.

Wildfire was so unnerved that she jumped and almost yelped when something suddenly moved close by. She froze momentarily, heart thudding in her chest, watching as her father stood and began to walk away from the clearing without a sound. Her eyes trailed after him, wondering where he was going at this hour. "Dud...?" she whispered after him. Peregrine didn't so much as turn to acknowledge her. He just kept going. Driven by curiosity and a thread of dread, Wildfire paused for a few seconds, then loped after him.

"Dud!" she said more loudly once they were well beyond the rendezvous site. "Where're you going...?" He didn't answer her, which caused Wildfire to stop in her tracks to stare after his retreating backside. Her tail dropped and her fur raised. She looked over her shoulder. I should get mom, she thought, though her gaze flicked back to her father's silhouette as he continued heading down the mount. She stood still, indecisive, for a moment, then went tumbling after him.

She caught up to Peregrine and walked at his shoulder, staring sideways at his face. His expression was blank, his eyes open but dreamy. Wildfire quickly deduced that he looked like he was sleeping but how was that possible? How could he walk around if he wasn't awake? It boggled the youngster's mind. It also spooked her. Unwilling to abandon him in this state, she faithfully kept pace with him, following the Kappa as he led the way toward Lake Rodney.

If one good thing could be said about wolves (and he had little good to say about them), it was that they left a lot around for the opportunist: caches, half eaten carcasses, bones plugged with marrow. He was not choosy about his food and pride did not feed the belly; it mattered not to him if he ate what another killed or what he caught for himself. So, on nights such as this when his stomach growled with emptiness, he had no qualms about stealing into a pack territory to raid their caches while they slept. His efforts were seldom in vain, and this time was no different: he scavenged a rabbit and consumed it quickly in large chunks until nothing but a few tufts of stray fur remained.

He swiped his tongue around his mouth, and was about to leave when his ear twisted to the sound of a voice, of wolves walking his way. His head did not turn to look; he darted into cover, hiding his form among the foliage. He watched, and then followed them as the large male and small fox-colored pup made their way outside of the territory, toward a neighboring lake. By then he had determined the male was sleepwalking, and was confident no other wolves were on their trail.

He broke cover. "You should have stayed home," he crooned to the pup, pale gold eyes glinting.

Thanks for joining! :D

When they reached the distant lake shore, Peregrine stopped, and so did Wildfire. For several long minutes, she just stared at him, waiting for him to move again. Yet he didn't. He didn't even sit. He just stood there, staring vaguely over the black water. The fur along the pup's spine began to prickle. She loved her father but she would be lying if she said this situation wasn't starting to give her the creeps.

To make matters worse, a shadow skulked out of the night behind them. Peregrine didn't react but Wildfire whirled, swallowing as a small canine came toward them, issuing a quiet remark she quickly realized was not meant to be friendly. "You're a coyote," the youngster said rather inanely. She moved closer to her father, her black tail curling between her hind legs in a fearful display before she suddenly remembered: she was supposed to be a Warrior!

She wished her dad would turn around and help her, yet he just stood there. He might as well have been asleep! (She didn't realize that's exactly what he was doing: sleeping.) Wildfire felt overwhelmed and afraid. But she also felt protective. Her dad was essentially defenseless in his current, strange state. She needed to protect him from this creature, their distant cousin and unwelcome guest. She needed to stick up for herself too, prove that she wouldn't quail in the face of danger.

Recalling her mother's recent words about making mean faces, Wildfire scowled, her lips wrinkling back from her teeth. "You don't belong here," she said, her voice very quiet in the still night. "Go away." It wasn't much of a threat but it wasn't in Wildfire's nature to be aggressively confrontational right from the start. If pushed, the Warrior-in-training liked to think she could rise to the occasion. But only the intruder would decide if and when that happened.

np! Wifi is so cute *squishes her*

"You're a coyote," she said, and he smiled darkly. She moved closer to her father (he presumed) and tucked her tail. But he was of no use to her; he was a breathing stature unaware of the world around him. A simpler creature might have said nothing, have not made themselves known until they were upon the pup with teeth gnashing at her throat. But he was not such a simple creature.

The pup had a change of heart. She scowled at him, bared her teeth. His ear twitched. How brave of her. How foolish. "You are wrong." he said, his voice calm. "You do not belong here." He blinked. He seated himself, tail curling about his paws. "You should go home."

His reply made her blink. She didn't understand what he meant. Of course she belonged here. They were technically outside of the caldera now yet home was within sight. She felt certain they were still within the territory's boundaries. Her parents had named this very lake, after all. She did experience some doubt as the coyote's words began to sink in, though she steeled herself.

She decided to amp up her game a little bit on the verbal front. "I'm a Warrior," she declared, speaking a bit more loudly now, "and I can kick your butt." She tried to inject confidence into her words, though it was difficult. Truthfully, Wildfire probably wouldn't have felt half as bold if her father's shadow wasn't lingering behind her. Even if he was unresponsive, at least he was there.

She spared a glance at Peregrine, who still faced the lake, then squinted back at the coyote. He didn't appear to be fazed by the big black wolf's presence. Wildfire wanted to assure the intruder that if he didn't believe she could kick his butt, then her dad surely could. But how could she threaten the wretched beast if her father was behaving as docilely as a snoring cow?

"Go away," Wildfire eventually repeated, "or I'll kick your butt."

I was going to comment in my last post (and forgot) that I've always loved the quote you have for her under her name, and now I see you have changed it lol.

He flicked an ear as she threatened him, and flicked it again as she repeated that threat, but his expression remained unblinking, his face an utterly unconcerned portrait. If he had the slightest respect or affection for his cousin species, he may have admired her boldness, her spirit, but he had none of those things. "What have you been told about coyotes?" he questioned with a twitch of his brow. He already knew, but regardless. Briefly, his eyes shifted to the large male, attentive to any slight change that may indicate he was waking.  

Haha, my previous title was a lyric from "Superstar" by Lupe Fiasco. The current quote is from Arya Stark, I think? :D

After issuing her redundant threat, it suddenly occurred to her that calling for help might be a good idea. Perhaps a true Warrior wouldn't need backup but she wasn't dumb enough to consider herself a full-blown, self-sufficient fighter yet. She was neither old nor experienced enough to even hold the formal apprenticeship yet. It didn't really matter, though; ever since Junior had bitten her throat, Wildfire hadn't been able to raise her voice beyond a certain level. Howling was out of the question.

The coyote showed no indication of backing down from what might escalate into a fight. For now, it remained a stiff-legged face-off, with Wildfire doing her best to leer at the prairie wolf. Her expression flickered at his question. She then resumed an angry face, which was more of a sneer now than anything. Her amber eyes flashed and her little black tail gave a few predatory lashes.

"Nothing," she answered truthfully. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "I watched my aunts kill and eat one, though." Perhaps that would intimidate him. "Coyotes are meat." She punctuated the ominous statement with a quiet growl and took a single step toward him.

I believe it is an Arya quote! Love that girl.

If she had been told nothing of him and his kind, she soon would be. In his experience, wolves had much ill to say about their smaller cousin. But perhaps, killing and eating them had said enough. Bile burned his throat, and his nose twitched as a snarl begged to be bared, but he held his stoic countenance. "So are brazen pups," he answered back cooly. She stepped toward him, but he did not move, though the tip of his tail flicked the ground. "Tender meat." He smiled.

"Now," he continued. "Are you going to attack me, in which case I will eat you, or are you going to let me help your sleeping friend?"

You got post #250! :D

Wildfire didn't know the phrase fake it 'til you make it, though she was currently living proof that it worked. She didn't feel nearly as brazen as she was trying to convey, yet evidently she looked the part. Rather than frighten her, the coyote's comment made her realize she was doing a good job. Steeled by this realization, she growled again, louder this time. She began to lower her head, not out of deference but in an instinctive effort to protect her throat as the situation continued to build toward a physical altercation.

He taunted her, asking her if she was going to attack and threatening to eat her if so. She didn't quite understand his remark about her sleeping friend, though even as those words left the coyote's mouth, Peregrine made a strange noise behind her. Wildfire's breath caught in her throat. She froze. She didn't dare look away from her nemesis, yet she badly wanted to know what was going on with her father.

Unseen by her, the Kappa swung suddenly to face the two smaller canines. Even as he turned, he moaned low in his throat. The noise cut off abruptly when he noticed Wildfire and the coyote. Their identities did not really register with him; he just knew he had company. His unfocused jade eyes drifted from his daughter to the prairie wolf beyond her.

Back and forth his gaze traveled in silence before Peregrine eventually murmured uncertainly, "Lil'... Weenie?"

Woot!

He shook his head, and decided to wait for the pup to gain enough courage to do something rather than stand there and growl at him. It seemed she was about to, until the large male made a noise that caused her to freeze. The coyote's eyes flicked to the male and watched him closely, but the brute was still asleep. For now. In that moment his gears shifted. He sought to remind the pup she was but a small fish in a dangerous pond while he had the chance, and lunged for her. His teeth reached for her scruff, intending to carry or drag the brat off a short distance.

For a breathless moment, both Wildfire and the coyote listened for Peregrine's next move. Aside from a quiet outburst, the answer was that he did nothing. Spotting the opportunity, the coyote chose that moment to strike at the puppy, taking advantage of her momentarily divided attention. He succeeded, his teeth clipping the loose folds of fur and flesh at the back of her neck and securing her in his grip.

Yet she wouldn't just let him drag her away. Although Wildfire gave a quiet and undignified yelp at his initial hit, her lips began to wrinkle back from her teeth. She jerked forward, trying to yank her scruff from his jaws. When that didn't work, she used the looseness of her own skin to her advantage. She twisted, swiping out a paw meant to hit him right in the eyeball.

Meanwhile, Peregrine blinked his eyes as his daughter was attacked right under his nose. He was still deeply asleep, though there was a sliver of awareness in his jade gaze. It was not enough to compel him to rush to her defense, though as the noises of a scuffle disturbed his drowsing, his lip curled in displeasure and he mumbled a warning: "Stop... it... stop... pissing... stupid... border... protocol..." He also took a few steps closer to the tussling pair.

Slight pp of him dragging her. I can correct if need be! :)

He succeeded, his teeth clamped into her scruff. She fought against him, trying to pull herself free but he held tight. He started to drag her away from her father, as he was unable to hoist her completely off the ground her body would scuff the ground as he hauled her. But, as had been previously determined, she was feisty and was not going to come without fight. She twisted in his jaws and struck out a dirt-clad paw, catching him squarely in the eye. "Little shit," he hissed as he squeezed the eye shut, but he could feel something aggravating it every time he tried to reopen it. Perhaps a scratch, perhaps a pebble.

He dragged her some twenty feet, then paused to steal a glance at her father with the one eye he could keep open, still holding tight on her scruff for now but she was not making it easy.

I don't mind; it keeps things interesting. ;)

Her cuff landed and he hissed in response, cussing in her nearer ear. Wildfire spat too, much like a cat. She was both angry and scared that her punch hadn't loosened his grip at all. She continued to fight him, though he managed to drag her a few dozen feet. She squirmed the entire time, though it wasn't until that distance between the two of them and her father yawned wide that Wildfire truly began to struggle.

Growling, yipping and flip-flopping, she did whatever it took to wrench herself free. She could feel her skin stretching and tearing, the coyote's teeth leaving gouges on her scruff. She didn't care. What were a few bite marks when she risked losing her life? While she struggled to break free, she threw the catatonic Peregrine several frantic glances. Why wasn't he doing anything? Was he really asleep?

Even as that question screamed through her head, a loud snarl rose above the sounds of their scuffle. Peregrine suddenly began to canter toward them, his lips wrinkling back from his teeth. "Let Lil' Weenie go!" he snapped loudly, head and tail raising. His fur rose too, prickling to make the swarthy look all the larger. "Get away from my wife, you stupid motherfucker!" And with the precision of a runaway train, he charged.

His ears flattened against the sound of her yipping as she doubled her efforts to free herself. Spurred by the gaping yawn her father bared, indicating he was still asleep, the coyote growled and hauled her some distance again. His teeth cut into her scruff as she writhed in his grasp. Drool soaked her fur, the instinct of the opportunist wakening to the taste of blood, but he was in command of his instincts and his game was not to eat the child.

Or... wife? His ear flicked to the sound of snarling, his one open eye beholding the sight of the black male baring down on him. Time was up. Without flinching, or missing a beat, he let go of the pup and darted off into the brush. He spared not a glance back as he ran, weaving among trees and slipping into brush, using every curve of the land to hide himself and lose the wolf.

If the coyote hadn't released her and darted away into the night, Peregrine might not have hit him, as he swayed off course at the last minute and went careening a good six yards sideways. Breathing heavily, Wildfire shot a wild-eyed glance at his back, then immediately stood and spun, mistrustful of the coyote's antics and wary of his return. The night around them was quiet and still. Peregrine too had lapsed back into silence.

Heart still pounding in her chest, Wildfire trotted to join her father, ignoring the stinging dampness at the back of her neck. "Dud," she said, moving to stand in front of him. His face had gone slack. "Dud? Dud? Are you awake?" He didn't respond. Once again, the child glanced over her shoulder, afraid that the coyote might realize Peregrine wasn't a threat after all.

"Lil' Weeeeenie," her father sighed suddenly, causing the pup's neck to snap back toward him.

Her mouth was dry. "Do you hear me, dud? Can you walk?" Wildfire whispered sotto voce, swinging around to stand at his shoulder and giving him a nudge. To her surprise and relief, he began walking. And all it took were gentle prods to point him in any given direction.

Thus Wildfire painstakingly guided her sleepwalking father home, their arrival of course promptly awaking Fox and the others. None of them would get much more sleep this night—except for Peregrine, of course, who seemingly could not be woken from his spell...