Redhawk Caldera I don’t miss my little golden age

@Peregrine. Think it’s OK to back-date this a bit? I’ve been sloooooow.

As much as she loved to travel, Sassafras was positively elated to be home. She had been away for longer than anticipated, but she galloped energetically across the borders upon her return and happily rolled her small body in the Caldera’s overgrown grasses. After a moment or two of ensuring she smelled like a proper Redhawk, she shook her coat free of loose debris which caused her spiky-looking hackles to fluff out and slowly smooth again.

With a low howl for Peregrine, she began to make her way along the border and pick up where she had left off, wondering whether she had missed anything in her absence and trying to think little of the fact that she had to deliver such melancholy news. She had never met Lasher, but she had a strong feeling that he had been adored by all who had known him.

Peregrine was busily staring off into space and doing a whole lot of nothing when someone howled for him. He jerked slightly and then tipped his head, listening and trying to place the voice. He was stumped for a solid thirty seconds. Sassafras? he wondered at last. He nodded to himself. Yep, that was her. She was back. Which meant... Peregrine practically tripped over his own broad paws as he lurched onto all fours. Hopefully she was back with news of Lasher. His stomach clenched with nervous anticipation.

It took him about twenty minutes to find and reach her. "I wasn't sure you'd ever come back," he greeted. He meant it teasingly, though there was a decidedly nervous edge to his voice that made some of the intended humor fall totally flat. "So? What did you find out?" Peregrine demanded a little breathlessly, dread already building in his throat.

She meandered along the borders for all the time it took for him to catch up to her, nosing this and peeing on that to add some fresh markings to the scenery. There was nothing out of place as far as she could tell by barely grazing the surface like that, but she still found the brief once-over to be reassuring.

When Peregrine showed up, she couldn’t immediately still the wag of her tail. She did give him a giant eyeball for his teasing, but her expression quickly grew solemn, then sad as she caught on to the edge in his voice. She’d had a reason for calling him. "Peregrine… I met Deirdre," she told him softly, intentionally mentioning the daughter of the man so that he wouldn’t doubt the source of the information. "Your friend suffered a heat stroke," she said gently. "He passed away."

Of course, he was hoping that Sassafras would bring him good news, some explanation for Lasher's absence that would untie the twisted, gnarled knot forming in the center of his chest. Deep down, though, Peregrine knew exactly what was coming. So when the would-be messenger delivered the news, his jade eyes bored into her face for a beat or two, then slowly drifted to the ground before closing. He felt a poignant wave of pain wash through him, chased after by a bittersweet sense of gratitude. At least they'd mended their friendship beforehand.

But knowing that Taltos was gone—had likely suffered too, before dying—naturally hit him like a punch in the gut. They'd made so many memories over the years, good and bad. Now they wouldn't make any more. They would never embrace again, a thought which made Peregrine's insides ache terribly. He wanted to sit down and weep, though he stiffened his lip because he didn't want to lose it in front of Sassafras.

"Fuck," he breathed after a long moment, acknowledging the information. "How was she? Deirdre?" he added a little distractedly. She had been worried about her father and he'd basically brushed her off. Yes, he'd been trying to reassure her at the time and he'd thought nothing of any of it. But she had been right and now her father was dead. And her mother had likely never returned. Peregrine had only met her once but she had saved his life, so he felt his throbbing heart go out to her.

A tightness gripped her throat at the heavy effect of the message she had carried home with her. "She was… still mourning. She will be for a long time," she said, not knowing exactly how to convey her perceived emotions of someone she had met but once, and who had been holding on to her control of them just as tightly as Peregrine was. "But she’s strong, and I’m sure he’s the reason for it," Sassafras added as she stole a moment’s glance of her Alpha’s face before looking away again, uncertain of herself and feeling increasingly out of place. She felt intrusive.
 
"I can just…" she murmured awkwardly and almost to herself as she made to slink away quietly to let him grieve in peace. "Unless… you want to tell me a story about him?" she asked tentatively, no longer facing him directly but pausing mid-step and looking at him from the side with flattened, sympathetic ears. She didn’t want to just leave him there alone, but she also knew there was no way for her to console him otherwise. To listen was all she had to offer.

She was strong. Peregrine took comfort in this knowledge, nodding ever so slightly even as he closed his eyes and drew in another deep breath. He couldn't help but picture his last few moments with Lasher. Had he known? Looking back, especially at some of the things Taltos had said to him, it made the Redhawk monarch wonder. It also made him very sad.

He only reopened his eyes when Sassafras began retreating. He blinked damp eyes at her. "I, ah... not, not just now. I'd like to sometime. And to thank you for traveling all that way. I appreciate it, Sass, I just... I think I need to be alone at the moment." He flashed her a look that was simultaneously grateful and apologetic, then instead of watching her move away, he took his leave instead, seeking out a quiet, solitary place where he could mourn his latest loss.

Sorry it was so short... we should have another! :)