Redhawk Caldera Take me away to some place real

Fennec managed to snag a relatively long nap and that had her feeling at least more like herself.  Crazy how just a week ago, everything had seemed exhaustingly quiet.  And now she felt like things were spinning out of control.  It would be a little bit yet before she was sure enough to take a deep breath - wild, since she hadn't even really gained the ability to do so back yet.

Fortunately she didn't need to consider howling for @Towhee, and instead trudged off to look for her mom.  Her leg had stiffened up even more, but she tried to continue walking on it regardless, knowing it would be better in the long run to stretch it some vs keeping it stationary.  Weird that she hadn't even noticed the wound until after, when she'd laid down to find her leg matted with her blood as well as Bronco's.  Adrenaline was a hell of a drug.

She needed to tell her mom about the girl who'd jumped her, but she also wanted to talk about the same shit she'd brought up with Niamh.  If she was serious about training, she was going to need all the help she could get, preferrably soon.  Apparently this little corner of the wilds was a goldmine for monsters and Fennec didn't intend to let them near any new siblings who might be coming along.

The last few days had given Towhee quite a bad case of whiplash. Moving here had seemed like such a cool throwback at the time, not to mention a great way of dodging a bad situation back at the copse before it became worse. But with so many getting hurt around here ever since, it really began filling her with doubt. She couldn't help but think of her own fall back in the day and, with the initial excitement of the move faded, she realized she still held some measure of resentment toward the caldera. Was it really bad luck?

There was nothing for it right now, though. Fennec had been healing but now she was in bad shape again, though not quite as bad off as Alyx and Bronco. There was a cougar somewhere out there that might come back any day. Just a few days ago, she'd been bored, the most exciting part of her day assessing herself for any clues that her season might be approaching so she could take off when it did (maybe toward Kaertok, maybe just in some random direction that smelled like strange men). Well, life never ceased to be a roller coaster ride, did it?

And, actually, as she trudged downhill through a trench someone else had made through the snow—thank fuck for small miracles, she thought—Towhee wondered if it wasn't a good thing her heat appeared to be a little delayed this year. Who wanted to make babies in these conditions? Was it even a good idea to bring offspring into what felt like such a cursed world lately? She muttered under her breath, so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't even note Fennec nearby.

Snow was rough to move in, but it was particularly good for at least one thing.  It really amplified the movements of anyone around her.  She heard Towhee's crunching from a ways away, though the muttering was what gave her an identification.  Normally she could tell by gait but the slush threw that off a tidge.

Oh, crud, wait up.  The statement was bound to be lost on her mom, but Fennec couldn't help but say it anyway.  She hustled about as much as was possible, something that turned her jilted walk into an even more awkward half-jog.  I gotta.... talk.... ohshi  She cursed as the hill made her pickup a little too much speed and sat back, stopping where she was before her shoulder could pull the nonsense it was threatening.  No way was she tippin headfirst right now.

She listened.  If she hadn't come close enough for her mom to catch on, there was always the option of throwing snow at her.

She hit a slippery patch and nearly lost her footing, falling into a hard sit to prevent herself from taking yet another tumble down the caldera. She slid a few yards on her ass, yet that was fine. When Towhee came to a rest, she grumbled and didn't bother righting herself right away. Instead, she looked around surreptitiously, letting out a little cough of surprise when she spotted Fennec.

Her mouth opened to say something when she squinted instead. Rocking back onto all fours, she pushed through the snowdrifts, forming her own fresh trench as she made a beeline toward her daughter, wondering, "Why do you look even worse than the last time I saw you?" She'd been roughed up by the cougar alongside Alyx and Bronco, though it seemed like she had even more wounds now. Or was Towhee just misremembering?

Fennec was confused for a moment before she remembered that the stranger had caught her face a couple of times.  She wasn't really able to reach in order to check them herself, so she'd essentially spaced on it altogether.  Shit.  How bad are they?  She asked, then lifted her head almost sub-consciously so that her chin was exposed.  She waited for Towhee to answer, then lowered it again.

I had to go find some things for Bron 'n Alyx.  Some girl jumped me in the woods, but I pinned her down.  Fennec's voice purled with pride on that note, and her smile was extremely self-satisfied.  In spite of how stressful everything was, the win was something she was not willing to short-change.  She said she was interested in joining the Caldera, so if anyone shows up anytime soon... they might be her.  Fennec hoped her chokehold had deterred whatever plans the stranger might have had with their pack, but sometimes there was a special brand of stupid out there she didn't understand.

It was already frigid out here but Fennec's offhanded words caused a chill to sweep through her, frostier than the outer air. So she wasn't misremembering. When her daughter tilted her head a little, Towhee automatically stretched out a foreleg to very gently chuck under her chin to inspect her. She didn't hold on for very long, sighing as Fen righted her face and told the rest of the tale.

Great, Towhee thought and very nearly said before she stopped herself and rewound Fen's dialogue in her head. "But I pinned her down." Atta girl, she thought but knew better than to voice that aloud either. Instead, she brushed a paw down the Tradesman's shoulder to her elbow, just a motherly touch, gentle and proud.

Fennec couldn't tell her what this girl looked like, unfortunately, and she doubted any other descriptions would really help. But... "If a she-wolf shows up at the borders, I'll summon you so you can vet her. And if you ID the bitch," Towhee said, expression ominous, "we can repay her in kind. She just jumped you, for no reason, out of nowhere?"

So noticeable, but nothing too rough.  Fennec had kind of assumed as much, since she hadn't made much note of the bites since getting them, but it was good to have a second set of eyes (lol) take a look.  Definitely.  She'd know her voice anywhere, though even if she could find a way to describe it, it would be of no use to her mom.

She was asking weird questions like how many members we have.  Said she wanted to join, but I was busy, so I told her to come here and find out herself.  That's when she tried it.  I caught her before she could land a hit.  Well... mostly.  She allowed.  Technically she'd caught her first, but the other woman had managed to snake her way around before Fennec had gotten a good chokehold on her.  That's not normal, right?  Asking how 'prepared' a pack is when you want to join?  She was no ambassador (help us if she was) but there was no way she'd ever ask that kind of shit.

Towhee stiffened a little as Fennec went on to describe the stranger's behavior prior to the attack. She supposed it wasn't entirely peculiar to want to test a pack's mettle before joining its ranks. But assaulting one of its members wasn't the way to accomplish that. Her lips pulled into a frown.

"Asking wouldn't have struck me as that strange. I could even see a joiner requesting to spar the leader, though I wouldn't say that's normal procedure. But attacking you? That's not just weird, it's also dumb as hell," Towhee replied even more flatly than usual.

She couldn't help but think of Maia's attacker, still presumably at large. But he was a he, by Maia's report. Who was this strange she-wolf who'd gone after Fennec? Was she random? How did she know about the caldera, in that case? The whole thing was sketchy as fuck.

"Were you able to get the supplies you needed?" Towhee wondered in the next breath, deciding not to linger on the subject. "I can help if you need it. Actually, I'd like to go with you when you do supply runs. With cougars and crazies running amok, no one should be going out alone."

Fennec snorted derisively in agreement.  It had been stupid as hell, especially since she'd effectively owned her.  There was one good thing to be said for her lack of sight, and that was others tended to underestimate her.  They assumed she'd have no clue where they were or what they were doing, not realizing that they gave their positions in a variety of ways.  Traveling had taught her how to map the land within her mind, and to use the scents and sounds around her to "see" even more.  Sparring was teaching her to read her opponents the same way she read the terrain, though the degree of anticipation and focus it took was immense.

I got them all, yeah.  Found some roots that should help with infection, and some bark for pain.  There isn't really a lot else to find.  She'd been lucky to be able to dig up the roots at all.  Winter wasn't a good time to be running short, and they were near dry on supplies.  But if I go again, I guess, yeah.  She wasn't happy about needing an escort, but she sucked it up because her mom was absolutely right.  A part of her wanted to insist she should be here to watch over the den, but that was stupid because if she got hurt worse, they were out another healer and (semi) capable packmate.  Shit.  I forgot, Fig said something about a crazy.  You never saw em again?

For a solid ten seconds, Towhee stared dumbly, not sure what Fen was referencing. Then it clicked. She must be talking about the wolf who'd attacked Maia. "Ah, yeah, there was no trace of him. Hydra and I scoured the woods and never found anything at all." Now she had to wonder if these were isolated incidents or if there was some sect of crazies nearby who had it out for the wolves of the area. That was absurd though, right? They were probably just one-offs, except... two of them. Her lips pursed tightly.

After a moment, the Sovereign said, "On that note, I've got a patrol to do. You're welcome to come with, unless you were headed to see the invalids?"

I'll come with, just for a bit.  Fennec answered.  She'd just come from them and could spare a short time, though she'd need to return soon.  I actually wanted to ask... would you be able to start giving me sparring pointers again?  Not now, but when we can again.  She fell in step presumably with Towhee, instinctually allowing her mom to guide the way.

With pups coming probably, I want to be able to help with the borders more.  Especially with what happened.  With everything that was happening.  If Towhee didn't have anything talking-wise to share this trip, they could wait, but maybe she'd even have a tip or two to share now.

Retracing her steps back to the main trench and woofing for Fennec to follow, Towhee resumed the downward climb. It was a narrow path through the snow, forcing them to walk one in front of the other, with the Sovereign in the lead. Unfortunately, this meant she didn't even realize her daughter was talking to her, asking questions.

"There's a slippery patch here," she said, unwittingly cutting across Fen. As she spoke, she turned and saw the movement of her lips. "Sorry, didn't mean to cut you off. I missed what you said." Towhee planted her feet, stopping so Fennec could repeat herself and she could catch it this time.

Oh.  This was a frequent enough occurrence that it wasn't hard for Fennec to immediately release any irritation she might have had repeating herself.  She tended to not recognize (for obvious reasons) when Towhee had to look away, and Towhee would occasionally not be directed her way when she chose to start in on attempting to communicate.  They were bound to cross wires every few times.

I said I was hoping, maybe, you could give me some warrior tips.  I asked Niamh too.  Fennec re-iterated.  Once, yknow, this isn't a problem.  She indicated her shoulder and side in a small gesture that she assumed Towhee would recognize.  Pointing was a thing for them, she at least knew that much from the many times a wolf would use 'there' only to instantly realize shit.

When you and her have kids this year, I want to be ready.  She planned on stepping up more than last year, but if the cougar fight was any indication, she had a ways to go.  She'd come out of it in better shape than either of her siblings, but she knew without a doubt pure dumb luck had been to blame for that more than anything else.

Despite everything, her daughter's words prompted her heart to do two things: first, it swelled with pride at Fennec's intentions. Then it skipped a beat when reminded, if only vaguely, of her hopes come springtime. Towhee couldn't help but smile and reach out to touch her nose to Fen's cheek, her lips brushing against pale fur as she breathed, "Of course."

Dividing her attention between Fen's face and the path ahead was quite an exercise in multitasking, though Towhee didn't want to miss anything else as she carefully led both of them down the slippery, snowy slope.