Heron Lake Plateau now i’m free from what you are

Raleska came upon the scene following Svalinn's abrupt departure. He had heard something she had not, which befuddled Raleska. Dumbly the girl trailed after him, wondering just what had captured his attention so intensely that he would just up and leave like --

Oh.

That.

That being a collective group of grown-up wolves, very aggressively assembled around her mother. She had just enough time to see that tension, thick as a rope of clotting vine, around the adults.. but it was the way her mother stood that terrified her. She had stood that way when they were denied by the cruel couple in Easthollow; a new berserk feeling rose in Raleska's stomach.

Raleska didn't know what had been said or done to deserve that kind of attention (even if she had, she still would have defended her mother) but she knew she did not like the way those grownups were looking at her. They were looking at her like they were about to sink their teeth in, hard.. rip her from limb to limb like she was a cornered doe. They looked at her mother like she was in danger and like Svalinn, Raleska did not like that.

Something instinctive wheeled up in her, the desire to fiercely defend blood over all else. She flanked Svalinn and offered a low growl, her feral gaze on the most menacing of the wolves, which was the black leader of Redhawks. She felt her hackles ripple across her back like the bladed edge of a sunfish's spine, and lurking around her mother, she looked more furious hound than sweet puppy with her lips pulled back in a vicious grimace and her teeth exposed.

pping the kids with permission

the wolves closed in around her, as if she were a lost lamb their teeth chattered for. but she was no lamb -- she was an outsider; those teeth would soon come for her. she withstood their remonstrations, tolerating the verbal whiplash of her own rotten actions with a dull, knowing stare.

caiaphas' pride withered, but she stepped back regardless -- with svalinn and raleska by her side, (safe?) she would risk nothing.

"go," she hissed to her children, a small thrum of pride stirring in her heart as she witnessed the feral, uninhibited defensiveness of their mother. they would make fine killers one day -- but not today. they were still pups, and pups did not grow into adults if their mothers risked their lives unwarranted.

she was loathe to turn her back to this crew, but she had little choice -- at the urging of her (ex)packmate's teeth she sprung back and prowled for the plateau's borders, silent despite the guttural snarl that threatened to claw its way out of her throat.

certain that a cheap shot might be thrown to her turned back, she rounded her shoulders and kept her hocks under her with each stride; her gaze focused on the form of her children ahead. both of them walked with a grave reluctance, casting worried glances behind them every several feet. she kept her face stern, her eyes proud -- and walked unflinchingly away despite knowing at any moment her life could be ended.

She didn't catch Colt's parting comment—she hadn't noticed his arrival or his departure, honestly—otherwise she might have pointed out that there was a big difference between constructive criticism and outright attacking a leader's position. Towhee wanted to say a lot of things about this very subject to Caiaphas, yet this wasn't the time or place, even if it was probably her only opportunity. Although unable to hear most of the last shots fired in the war of words, Towhee knew she must do one simple thing: escort the would-be usurper and her ilk away from the plateau, by force if necessary.

But it didn't prove to be: Caiapahas began to move, her offspring sticking close and Towhee tailing the bunch. Her commandeering posture and the occasional show of her teeth demonstrated her lack of tolerance for anything but movement. Rapid movement, to be precise. She was glad they were largely cooperative, because the mercenary didn't want to lay a tooth or claw on any of them. She just wanted them gone.

When they were finally shown out of the territory, she would stand sentinel near the borders and make sure they were well and truly gone before going back to find Raven and the others. Any impulse to engage Caiaphas about her choices today would be repressed, her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. None of it mattered now. She'd made a rash choice and paid the price for it, there was nothing else for it. Towhee had personally liked the she-wolf prior to this but reassured herself that the Redhawks wouldn't even feel the loss. In the end, Caiaphas had been dead weight.

Phox stuck by Towhee’s side, following her lead as far as what to do. He did not know Caiaphas one bit, but his opinion of her was Not Good™️. Once she started moving, along with her kids, Phox felt himself relax just a tiny bit. Like Towhee, he would follow them to the edge of the territory and make sure they didn’t try to do anything stupid like turning around and coming back. The yearling got the sense that Towhee wasn’t going to chase him out, which was a very, very good feeling.

Still, when Towhee went back to find the others, Phox decided it would still be better to stick to the outskirts. Maybe once things cooled down a bit he would venture inward, but for now he could keep an eye on the outer reaches of the Redhawk claim.

WC: 419

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Niamh’s heart was shaken a bit when both Svalinn and Raleska took to their mother’s side, standing there defensively. She liked both of them, and the hurt showed on her face for a moment as she regarded each of them as they backed their mother up. She couldn’t blame them, really- she had gone to Screech’s side in much the same way the first time she’d met the Redhawks...But then again, she had eventually joined their ranks and now stood alongside them, facing another challenge that had come up. It had been foolish for her to hope that they would abandon their mother, considering that Caiaphas was a good role model...And she as a badass. Niamh had no doubts that the two adolescents would grow up to be tough like their mother. She hoped, though, that they wouldn’t bear a grudge against the Redhawks, and that if she came across them again in travelling the neutral lands that they wouldn’t hate her. Hoping Caiaphas didn’t hold a grudge was likely a lost cause. She seemed to think that the pack was being run by incapable weaklings, and Niamh hated the idea of those words reaching other packs in the area. It might make them sound as though they could be easily ousted from their home, if another pack decided they wanted it. At the same time, she hoped anyone who would take Caiaphas in would realize that they were taking in a potential usurper.

Quixote issued a command that Caiaphas should leave and she did, with Towhee pursuing her. Colt had already left, and she had some things to mull over before she went back to talk to him...And she had to sort out exactly how she felt about the little scene he’d caused. He’d made her look bad, and she wondered now what Quixote might think of her. He and Colt had been close friends once- probably Quixote’s closest friend in the pack, aside from Raven...But after what he’d said, she doubted very much that he’d trust her anymore. Still, she’d shown her loyalty and continued to do so, accompanying Towhee as she made sure that Caiaphas, Svalinn and Raleska left for good, and meandered along the borders for a bit to make sure she wouldn’t double back. Eventually, she would spend the night patrolling and fussing about the words Colt had spoken, preparing to either give him a good tongue lashing (and not in a dirty way) or give him the cold shoulder.

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For some reason I thought it was someone else's turn (oops) so I'mma just go wrap this up real quick at this point.  :P

God, finally she freaking got moving.  It took long enough.  Maybe they should have used some teeth to get her out of here faster.  It did leave Quixote reconsidering how he treated wolves though; the buried anarchic streak left him from earlier days had shaped him to be a pretty casual leader.  Weren't causing trouble?  Then all was cool.  Did he really have to put his foot down and be more of a control freak to get the sort of respect that he gave to leaders automatically?  Ugh.

He was going to be happy to see the back of them, and it didn't take too long (though it felt much longer) to get them to the borders and across them, off into the unknown.  Whatever fate would befall them, it wasn't his problem any more.  Pity for the children, but that was all.  The excitement was over and it was time for the Redhawks to return to return to their usual level of calm (which wasn't very, but this was even out of the norm for them).

Quixote would wait until they were out of sight before turning home with Raven.  Maybe she'd want to talk about what had just happened.  Maybe not.  But to a certain point it didn't matter as long as she was still there beside him -- then everything was okay.  And if any other idiots tried that same thing Caiaphas did, maybe he should just skip straight to the "chew their face off" option.