Redhawk Caldera redbone

Following his adventure at the lake, Dingo had been totally worn out. He followed the lake's edge with the idle hope of finding something to eat — like a fish, as much as he detested their slimy skin and limited range of flavor — and upon finding nothing, chose to sleep. He had moved east, then north, navigating one side of the lake with a mountain view across one shoulder. By the time he slept it was late, but it wasn't difficult for the boy to doze off.

In the morning he got up with a groan, feeling the ache in his leg muscles from all the travel and then the swimming. He'd overdone it, but had nobody to bitch at about it. Stupid legs, stop yellin' at me, muscles. Dingo slurred as he practiced bending his joints and moving about; eventually his body was warmed up again and he was on the hunt for something tasty.

Instead of food he found the marks of pack dotting the hillside. That should have dissuaded the boy, but he was a reckless fool — and he was hungry, so that trumped everything. He slunk across the border in the manner of a fox, his head down and nose overworking the soil as he searched for a cache or for something dead he could nibble at -- and voila, as luck would have it, there was a poorly covered cache for him to dive face-first in to!

He didn't think (unless thinking with one's stomach counted); if he had been paying attention, Dingo would've realized the cache wasn't improperly covered but rather, half finished, and someone was lurking nearby.

OOC: I can't help but picture Dingo with an Australian accent.

IC: There was never anything lazy about the way Shrike moved when he moved, but as he patrolled the borders there was a certain calm about him that he didn't often exude. Normally, his focus was here, there and everywhere, but not while he was making sure that their markings were clear and that he took note of the scents of wolves who had come to their packlands. When the scents crossed over the borders, he bristled slightly, even when it was accompanied by the scent of another pack wolf. He tried to memorize these scent so that when he eventually met those visitors, he would know not to harass them on the borders. 

But when a very fresh scent had crossed the borders unaccompanied, his lips pulled back and he growled. With stiff legs, he trotted along, head down as he followed the scent, but he did not have to follow it too far before he found the offending individual, who was in the process of investigating one of the pack's caches. His ears flattened and he called out with a commanding bark to get the intruder's attention, but didn't waste any more time than that. He would absolutely not allow this loner to steal from them after having traipsed past their borders. 

He tucked himself down and bolted toward the male with every intention of bullying him out of the pack's territories, and with every hope of getting to teach him a lesson he wouldn't easily forget.

GOOD. He has a voice sample on his profile (the dude from Avatar?) and his accent is perf.

His butt was high in the air, and his tail bat to-and-fro with glee as he snapped at the inner sanctum of the cache. There wasn't much in there; someone must have been by recently to clear it out, or maybe whatever had been shoved in the hole had been small to begin with. He tasted more dirt than meat, but that never bothered Dingo — he had filled his belly with dirt on more than one occasion. He finally managed to sink his teeth in to something more meaty, something with a fresh bounce to it, and was just starting to whip it out (har har) when the sound of a stampeding something caught him off-guard.

The stranger was on him so quickly that Dingo had to release the prize before he could escape; he was reluctant even then, which meant the guard's snapping teeth caught on his haunches while he deliberated over leaving the meal behind. He did eventually drop it and pull out (sorry) and then made a mad-dash towards the territory limits.

Over his shoulder he called out, Woah, WOAH THERE! Chill out bruh, I'm going! His voice carried and probably alerted more than just this one guard to his whereabouts, but Dingo didn't think of that. He was more concerned with getting away without too much pain — but there was something odd about the stranger's scent. Something familiar, and it was enough to make him stumble in his run and careen in a crescent and hide behind a cluster of trees.

HOLD UP! Do I know you? he hastily called out next, cowering slightly in the shadows where he hoped the guard would not find him.

Shrike was not pleased when the intruder remained at the cache, eating their hard won food rather than giving it up as soon as he realized he'd been caught. Satisfaction gripped him as he managed to clench a bit of the male's haunch in his teeth, but the sorrel male was agile and swift, and once he decided to get out of there, he streaked off, with Shrike in hot pursuit, chasing him out with an aggressive growling drone. He pursued the intruder beyond the borders, where he began to make a turn, which caught Shrike by surprise. As such, the silvery male fell behind in pace and lost sight of his target. 

He slowed and began to track the male by scent when his voice rang out. For a moment, he paused and considered the scent and sight of the male- nothing rang a bell, and even if it had, he wasn't a member of the pack and wasn't going to get a 'get out of jail free' card that easily. "I don't know you," He called back with an austere voice, which caught a bit in his throat as he caught sight of the male again. He growled, lowered his head and began stalking toward the male, hoping he'd finally get the hint and run away.

It wasn't a strong smell, but it was enough to make Dingo double-think things. He squatted in the dark and watched the stranger search, his short pelt prickling all over with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety — and when the guard denied all knowledge of him, Dingo chuffed softly, dissatisfied with the conclusion. Nah bro, I must know you -- or someone from here -- but he was foolish, for the smell he detected was so thin and so vague within his own memory that he couldn't place it, and it was likely just his mind playing tricks; but he didn't want to be wrong. Dingo began to pace slowly between the trees opposite to the way in which the other wolf moved, keeping some sort of obstacle in the way at all times. He didn't maintain any level of observation on the space behind himself though, as he was watching Shrike intensely from the dark.

Then, it hit him — Robin. His sister had returned home and told her siblings of her adventures, and she had a smell like this one upon her. It had been pretty heavy. She had mentioned meeting family here, but for the life of him Dingo couldn't recall the name of the person. His attention drifted from the stranger briefly as he concentrated on the memory and he did his best, but couldn't put a name to the scent. The boy had always been too care-free to keep up with details. They'd been named for an animal just like himself and his siblings (duh) and at first he thought maybe some kind of bird? but that didn't seem right. Badger? Rat? Quail -- nope, that was a bird you dingus.

Finally he thought it best just to ask, and finished pacing, lifting his head to find the guard. He couldn't spot him but asked as loudly as he could to compensate, DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE NAMED -- and in that moment, his bellowing came to a halt because Dingo had indeed found the guard, because he'd stepped out from behind a tree and smacked face-first in to the other guy's butt, squawking awkwardly. Dingo finished his sentence in a subdued flurry, hoping to get it out before the other guy ripped him a new hole (not that he really needed more, he didn't even know how to use half of them) uhh, named after an animal, or something? heh.

Luckily (probably) for the two males, another one had rushed on scene. Not rushed exactly, but had instead heard the very faint sounds of screaming and growling and had decided to check it out on his own volition. Whatever he was doing near the borders, none would know until two episodes later when the author finally revealed her secrets.

"Woah woah woah boys," the wolf groaned, stalking over to the one he knew (Shrike), looking somewhat displeased. The stranger smelt slightly like Fox - or at least a relative of hers, because it was so familiar and yet so drastically different to his keen nose. Ashmedai, though tiny he was, sort of glared at Shrike with his tail raised, silently telling him to stand down. If the situation did not require escalation, they would not escalate it.

"Name and intention, Mister I-like-to-scream-and-disturb-everyone-in-the-general-vicinity." Ash huffed, tail still raised, but eyes slightly quizzical. Why else would he be yelling for someone named after an animal? There were only two... Or two that he knew of, anyway.

ooc:  Just a friendly reminder not to powerplay another person's character :) Saying that your character stumbled in the direction of another character, rather than straight into them, would be better as I've outlined that Shrike was stalking toward yours and had your character in sight. Also, in your second post, you powerplayed Shrike biting Dingo when I hadn't yet written anything about Shrike aiming to bite him, as well. Instead, you could always say that Dingo was within biting range, or that he stumbled and would have made himself an easy target, rather than putting poor Dingo's butt right into Shrike's mouth, as maybe I might've not had Shrike bite him at all- I wasn't left that option, though, and that's the problem with powerplaying.  If you have any other questions about powerplaying, feel free to PM me and I can toss you a few suggestions about how to avoid having that happen while still leaving opportunities open for your fellow roleplayers to engage in fights and such :)

ic: Shrike managed to creep up on the reddish wolf and was surprised to see the male stumble straight into him. Shrike sidestepped and snapped at the air between the two of them, teeth clicking shut in an abrasive warning. He put a few feet of distance between the two of them, but kept his head down and teeth bared, hoping the intruder would get the hint, finally, and leave. He paused and his growls quieted, though, when the sorrel male said now that perhaps it wasn't Shrike that he knew, but another wolf in the pack. Perhaps, Shrike thought, it was someone's scent he'd recognized, not his own, and now that he had a chance to give the male another good look over, he saw several traits- the red fur being the most indicative- that this male might have had some relation to Fox. 

...But relation or no relation, this lone wolf had no right to trespass, and absolutely no right to steal from the pack, whether he knew Fox or not. Obviously, he couldn't know her that well if he couldn't recall her name and didn't know precisely who he was looking for.

Shrike was not best pleased with Ashmedai interrupted his confrontation, and the stiffness in Shrike's body showed this. His posture was still lower than that of the higher ranking wolf, but he couldn't accept Ashmedai's technique. "Trespasser and thief." He said sternly, silver eyes focused on the intruder in question. "Stole our food. Won't leave." He said in a voice wrought with frustration. He had been informed such things would absolutely not be tolerated, and that his way of dealing with the intruder- chasing him out- was the best thing to do. 

The alphas had pups to feed, and with Peregrine's leg broken, their caches needed to be stocked. Plus, if Ashmedai was content simply to converse with someone who'd intruded into their territory while there were young whelps made Shrike's tongue curl. He would have something to say to Fox about Ashmedai later.

Whoops! I must have read your post wrong then.  

Kinda assumed Shrike wouls attack when given the chance, but Ill keep my assumptions to myself from now on!

And then there were two. Dingo awkwardly side stepped a few inches so he wasn't entirely overwhelmed. He listened carefully to waht both wolves were saying, interjecting with more like a tiny nibble of like, some scraps... after being labelled a thief. It wasnt like he had taken anything valuable.

He straightened up after that, a lopsided grin on his stupid face. Dingo Crestwood, at yer service! I was uh, just a little hungerpated. His ears slipped back as he assumed a look of casual guilt. His desperation was hardly a good reason for his presence here, but maybe he could earn brownie points (and save his own ass) with some truthiness.

"He smelt like Fox, but not. If you had harmed someone related to her..." the danger would have been too great, and Ashmedai tried to convey through his words that he, too, would have chased the stranger off if not for the tell tale scent that crept up on his nose. In fact, that was the only thing keeping him from running the guy away.

"Going to chase him out was right, and there was no problem with it. But now there is new information, a new variable that cannot be ignored. Besides, he was looking for someone named after an animal - quite the specific request, don't you think?" Ash let loose a warning growl towards the unknown male, daring him to come closer and take more - even if he might have possible relations to the alphas, he was making it clear that he would stand by Shrike to run - or even kill - him if he took any more, or even one step over the border.

"Crestwood, you say?" voice still hard and steel-blue gaze cold as the metal it was named for, he scrutinised the other. Ashmedai had heard the name Crestwood coming from Panther, Fox's supposed younger Brother. This Dingo's surname gave him even more reason to pause and think (and as much as he would have now liked to hurry him away, too dangerous). "I met a Panther Crestwood the other day. Do you know him, and how are you related?" tone turned forceful, Ash silently bade Shrike to listen and not Attack. In his body language, he would have easily conveyed to all that if the Dingo was lying, he would be dead within the hour.

Shrike had just about had it with Ash who kept rambling on though he'd had no idea what had transpired between Shrike and the trespasser before he had showed up, so he shook his head vehemently. "Didn't mention Fox. Doesn't even know her name. Said he knew me. Didn't mention anyone else 'til after you came." He said, to clarify. And it was the truth- Dingo hadn't made any mention of knowing someone other than Shrike until when Ash had showed up. Until then, he'd just been a trespasser who was trying to buy himself a way out of trouble by forging some kind of connection. 

"Doesn't even know who he's looking for. Can't be that close to her. Still a stranger. Doubt it'd make a difference to Fox." He said, and it was a fair point, so he gave Dingo another stern look. He didn't seem to know who he was looking for at all- no name, just the idea that a wolf had been named after another animal. "Plenty of wolves named after animals. Peregrine. Fox. Shrike. Osprey." He said, listing off the wolves that he knew. His point was that "Gives him no right to trespass and steal." He said, and as Ash made a soft threat to Dingo, Shrike did as well. "From who you're looking for." He said. "We don't give out freebies." As far as he was concerned, Fox probably wouldn't give anything to him- so why would she feel inclined to hand over her food to a stranger who seemed to know her? Like Ash, Shrike wasn't about to let this guy get off easy if he couldn't prove he had some reason to be here. Ash mentioned another wolf, which Shrike felt was offering him too much information. For all they knew, this could be a spy or someone lying so that he could get closer to Fox.

Lemmie know if I gotta change anything!

Dingo would never admit to being the root of all chaos in the world, but he had a knack for finding it - or it found him. But whatever hostility the two strangers posed towards Dingo seemed to uhh, not exactly vanish, because clearly he had rubbed the first guy the wrong way (winky face), but kind of, ease. This new guy was after answers, and the theif was eager to respond; he opened his mouth at the first mention of his brother Panther, but wasn't quick enough — he stood unphased while the wolves bickered amongst themselves, his jaw hanging.

Following a slew of names that meant next to nothing to the trespasser, the guard looked upon Dingo in the same sharp manner as his compadre. Gives him no right to trespass and steal, he intoned, and Dingo's jaw hinged back in to place. He didn't want to get in to any further trouble but at the same time, knowing now that his brother was here made him want to stick around.

But he's right! The boy jibed, his thin eyes glancing between the two wolves. Panther is my big brother. Tall, dark, handsome, has an accent? As he listed off the traits best known by his fellow teenagers (mostly the ladies, some suspicious lads that Dingo had always been leery of), he plastered a grin right back on his blunted face.

That must be who I smelled! You gotta let me see him, the boy's tail lifted and wagged, forgetting his fears temporarily despite the ever-present threat that both guards presented.

"You forget," Ashmedai hummed, previously closed eyes slowly opening, glaring straight at the wolf's in a clear show of dominance, "We don't 'gotta' let you do anything. We don't know you. We have never seen you before. For all we know, you're lying. " Pausing, Ash's cold, steely tone transcended deeper into the pools of anger he had, the glint of his teeth clearly visible in the stark daylight.

"You steal, and you dare to make demands of us? Perhaps my partner should have just run you off already. Be Glad, mister Dingo, be glad that I am here. He would probably have killed you already - and I'm close to doing it now." Tail hiked up above his shoulders and having done absolutely nothing useful at all, Ash threw the ball into Shrike's court, letting him decide what to do with Dingo and if he wanted to continue talking, or just get him away.

When Dingo supplied facts about this Panther character, who was allegedly his older brother, Shrike looked to Ashmedai for confirmation. It seemed as though perhaps Dingo's story checked out- he might be a relative of Fox's afterall, but Ashmedai did not seem at all convinced, and merely voiced the same suspicion that Shrike had had- this male could be lying. For all they knew, he could have been told this information about Panther and had been sent to cause harm to Fox or her newborn pups. Had Dingo not stolen from them, and had he not trespassed, Shrike would have been much more interested in him. After all, if Dingo really was Fox's brother- then it meant that he was also, albeit through mateship, related to Shrike. 

Dingo's manners escaped him again and he put forth an innocent request to meet Panther, but Shrike wasn't having it. This wolf was a criminal and Shrike would not forgive him of it easily. Ashmedai spoke out, mentioning Shrike, who knew personally that he wouldn't have killed the intruder (unless he had absolutely refused to leave), but he wasn't about to let Dingo know that. He would rather that they be feared. The ball was left in his park, and Shrike stepped forward menacingly. 

"We owe you nothing. You owe us." He growled. "Both for sparing you, and for the food you stole." His steely gaze ran over the male again. "Go. No more words, excuses, pleas. You don't, then we kill." He said, and flicked his tongue over his teeth. "You want to meet Panther or Fox? You owe us. DO not return unless you can replace what you stole three times over. Once for stealing, and two more for the wolves you wanna see that you stole from." Shrike did not normally speak this much, but for times like this, he could make an exception. Having felt that was fair, he growled. "Leave."

Possible last post from me! If you want him to stick around any more, just stop him again.

Couldn't he just catch a little break? As both guards refused his simple request, Dingo felt his heart lurch in his chest. His wagging tail ceased its movement and his ears, once forward-facing and eager to hear the voices of both present, flipped back upon his head. He pouted for a milisecond before countering everything that he heard — he wasn't about to be called a liar when he hadn't lied! They could've easily said no and maybe Dingo could come back on a day when Jerkface 9000 and his butt-monkey weren't on patrol.

Then, the grizzled man gave him a task. Dingo resisted the urge to groan at the thought of doing work, but the look on his face was pitifully morose. His desire to speak was effectively cut to pieces by everything Shrike proposed, and with a glum, okay... as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar by a beloved grandmother, he began to turn and slink away. He didn't know where he'd go to find enough crap to fill three whole caches, but he'd at least try.

Panther'd better be grateful for all this, the boy's mind idled, and he picked up his pace, eager to scurry off.

"Wait."

It was a simple statement. It wasn't a plead, or a request from Ashmedai - it was a command, almost. Now what could he say that the boy would find worth his time? Age had made him wise; turning down the youngsters could not be good for the pack even if they were family. His steely gaze relented for a moment, the tail less high. He was Shrike's superior... he could override the task given, yet he did not want to seem soft. What to do, what to do?

Ah. He would respond the same way he did Panther. Ashmedai would call @Fox - @Panther, if he decided (or was in range) to come and verify the male's identity/annihilate him.

Throwing up a call for the alpha finished, the Epsilon leveled his eyes with the small child's once more, feeling a sort of kindness he had not seen since his brother's children. Wolf instinct told him to chase away and kill the trespasser and thief, but rational thought told him to give the boy a chance. "You said you are a Crestwood. If you are lying, you will meet your fate at the teeth of the alpha. If you are telling the truth, then she will deal with you." Feeling that that was enough explanation for the curt howl, Ashmedai turned his gaze away.

Speaking to Dingo but words left to drift in the air, Ashmedai decided to make the hunt slightly easier. He was, after all, only a boy. He looked nothing more than a year old, barely enough to strike out on his own. "This cache must be replenished - you will give back what you took and what the cache would have when it was full." Hoping Shrike would see the boy for what he was - a boy, Ash silently prayed to whatever gods there were above that this wouldn't earn him a boot to the arse.

Fox spent a majority of her time at the rendezvous site, and she was there when the call resounded through the territory. With a heavy sigh (and not terribly pleased to be leaving her family), Fox sauntered toward the source of the howl. When she arrived, Shrike and Ash were heading off a younger tan wolf who looked like he'd just been told he was grounded for the rest of his childhood. Curious, Fox drew in closer, only to hear Ash's final remarks about the cache.

"Fuck that!" Fox spat and leapt at the stranger, jaws open and ready to clamp onto whatever she could grab. If he (or the other two newer recruits) expected her to show mercy, they were terribly mistaken. Anybody who stole from them was an enemy. How did these two not know that? At the very least, they were going to get a stern talking to.

Finally. 

Shrike had begun to bristle when Ash comanded the male to stay. His eyes turned steely and he regarded the wolf who was technically his superior with a surprised and somewhat accusatory look. Ash was the only one stopping Shrike from tearing this intruder and thief a new arsehole, but when Fox showed up on the scene he felt relieved- his instincts had been right. It was the Redhawk Caldera's way to chase intruders out and kill them if they could, especially if they had stolen. So as Fox surged forward, he gave a sidelong glance to Ash, as though to say I was right all along! and he too spat out a growl and charged toward the intruder, satisfied that he could now attack once again and finish what he'd started. He hoped that Ash would get the awakening of a lifetime when questioned about stopping Shrike when he was chasing the intruder out of the packland. He could hardly wait to tell Fox exactly what had gone down before she showed up.

OK! Figuring out his injuries and editing a little. @Ashmedai you might wanna edit your post but IDK yet. /writes 

Dingo was nodding furiously as the guard continued to speak, outlining a different deal; evidently the two could not agree, they were like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum — but then there was the Red Queen, dashing through the trees towards the gathering. Her expression was blank at first, but seemed to morph in to some form of rage, and the woman snapped verbally and then physically in Dingo's direction. Before he could agree or disagree to the new terms the boy was skedaddling as fast as his long legs could take him.

He ran, but he called out as he huffed and puffed, Aw come on! I was gonna -- cue gasp - do the thing! But it didn't matter. He had to escape before one of the wolves tore him a new one. Hopefully one of the two derps at the border was on his side (a doubtful thing but Dingo was sorta hopeful); at the very least maybe one of them would talk to Panther, and he could vouch for Dingo -- god, pack shit is so complicated. Dingo threw aside all thoughts of his potential with these strange wolves and bee-lined for safety, hoping he'd at least make it to safe ground.

But he did the inevitable, and ran smack-dab in to a tree, which took him by complete surprise. The boy staggered at the base of the trunk, having earned a tiny concussion, and then tried to straighten himself out enough to keep running. It was a brief flub in his escape plan, and lent enough time to his pursuers so that they could land a few bites to his precious hide; Dingo let out a hiss and a whine as he was intercepted, but with some fancy footwork he managed to twist free of them and go dashing off in to the wilderness, leaving a thin trail of blood splatter on the grass and trailing upon a nearby sapling.

Fox's reaction removed all semblance of agreeability Ashmedai might have for the boy. He'd never really dealt with this sort of thing in his previous pack before (having been a hunter and a hunter only), and up till then hadn't been quite sure of what to do, instead playing along with Shrike who might have at least an idea. So when his alphess leapt forward, he did too, baring and snapping his teeth.

If Shrike could have seen inside his head, he would have been too smug to say anything.

You know what, next time I'll just trust my instincts and you, he growled out (half in the process of chasing Dingo, and half communicating with Shrike). Racing alongside them was easy - he had been trained to hunt, trained to kill - but not wolves, never wolves. So, when the male managed to skirt away and remove himself at last, Ashmedai had to steel himself for whatever was coming from the look on the other male's face. 

Yeah, next time, he'd just run them off.

Somehow I forgot it was my turn. Whoops!

Shrike jumped in beside her, and that would not go unnoticed. Already, she had determined him as being a good recruit. When the intruder fell, Fox ripped a chunk of fur from his hindquarters, just as she had done with a certain previous "visitor" in Peregrine's presence not long ago. At least he was smart enough to run, and Fox let him. She'd taken her prize, and she wouldn't go after him to claim more of his hide.

"Good riddance," Fox huffed, turning back to Shrike and Ash. "Nobody who steals from us should get a lick of mercy. You hear that?" she said, directing her words toward Ash in particular, who was about to make a deal with the lunatic. Fox was not a negotiator. Not after what had happened the last time they'd been "nice" to an outsider they thought they could trust.

She gave Shrike a militant nod and then headed back to the rendezvous site.

ooc: will just archive this to keep things tidy :) Fun thread!

ic:

Shrike was relieved that he didn't end up getting more mouth from Ashmedia- who instead seemed to relinquish his stance and trust Shrike more. It was with great pleasure that Shrike was able to resume running Dingo away from the pack, as he had originally intended and to Fox's statement he gave a sharp nod. His suspicions had been correct- Caldera wolves did not tolerate intruders at all, not even if they claimed to be family, and particularly if they stole from the pack. Fox took off, and Shrike turned, purposefully, and kicked a bit of dirt in the direction in which Dingo ran, as though to bid him a final adieu. He gave a slight I told you so look to Ashmedai and, without saying more, moved back to the borders where he would quite happily resume his patrol.