Redhawk Caldera some day they will all be dead

His head cocked at her answer, somehow doubting that. But then she asked him a question, one she'd already asked with different words. Caracal realized he hadn't really answered then, so he shifted his weight and settled more comfortably in his seat as he contemplated how to respond.

"There's lots to do," he insisted, "like exploring... hunting... patrolling... uh... hanging out. I spend a lot of time with my mom and Killdeer. Sometimes I hang out with my sisters," though often he just as often avoided them because they did have a tendency to be less than pleasant toward him. Although Vesper did remind him of the twins, he quietly hoped she didn't turn out to be an awful pain in the ass too.

"I can show you Hobbit Hill," he thought aloud a moment later. "It's basically the rendezvous site. The Hobbit Hole is just below it, which is a big den anybody can use." Caracal twitched an ear and looked sideways at Vesper, wondering if she'd be interested. "It's where I was born," he also thought to share.

he reiterated that there was lots to do within the caldera, but the examples he mentioned were all things she could have done on the isle. it reinforced how pointless this move had been, considering she wanted nothing to do with phox. her and peregrine's relationship with him seemed to be the only impetus, and that frustrated her to no end— phox had been with them for a long time, now, and she had grown no more fond of his presence.

but... there might be something to the amount of wolves here. it had always been maegi, mou, and her siblings. with how strained those relationships had become, it might be nice to spend her time with others. even if they were all technically family, they were new to her. it was an unconscious thought, but perhaps some of these new relations could fill the void that had been catalyzed by phox.

i was born on an island, she shared in return, quiet and wistful. she was interested in a tour of the caldera from a local, but first: can you tell me more about the others? sphyra liked fighting, and so vesper had already decided she was worth meeting. what are your parents like? vesper wanted to know, suddenly.

He wondered if Towhee would mind if he brought Vesper to the Hobbit Hole. He decided she might enjoy a visitor—Bridget had prescribed company, after all—when his cousin spoke. She didn't say anything about the rendezvous site, though her words intrigued him. And of course he would be happy to oblige her request.

"Yeah, sure," he answered easily. "If we go to the Hobbit Hole, my mom is probably there, if you wanna meet her." Caracal glanced at her, wondering if he'd already met Towhee. "She's really cool, though..." He trailed off for a moment, biting back a sigh. "She's been sick lately. And my dad, he's cool too, but he doesn't live here."

He was technically the reason why, though Caracal didn't bring up that part. To this day, he wasn't really sure what to think about that, so usually he just... didn't. Like always, he nudged that thought aside and peered at Vesper, suddenly mirroring her interest.

"How about you? Your parents, I mean. What are they like?" He recalled Towhee talking a bit about that whole complicated situation but Caracal either hadn't listened closely, hadn't really followed or more likely a little bit of both.

she listened with interest— the most she had shown thus far. vesper loved her parents, but she would hardly call them cool. she was about to agree to meet her aunt, but caracal went on to mention his dad not living here... and then reciprocated her question.

vesper's jaw tightened, and she closed off once more. she wanted to talk about anything but that. after a moment, when her suddenly racing heart had calmed and the blood stopped thundering in her ears, she said, they're all liars, hoping to end any further questions. i'd like to go to the hobbit hole. there was a chance to towhee would also want to talk about vesper's situation, so the darkling might have been better off simply walking away. but caracal was helping her, and she would spend the rest of the day bored otherwise; it would take a bit more rest before she was ready to fight a wolverine again.

Something about the way she said those three words told Caracal not to ask any more questions, even though he had so many. What did she mean, "all"? And what had they lied about? He wracked his brain, trying to remember what Towhee had told him about it. But he really couldn't recollect any of the messy details.

Anyway, Vesper seemed interested in heading to the Hobbit Hole, so the boy bounced onto all fours and said, "I'll keep it slow." As much as he wanted to introduce Vesper to one of the territory's focal points and the wolves who resided there, he hadn't forgotten she was in some measure of pain.

Thinking that she and Towhee would be two peas in a pod that way, he motioned for her to follow as he strode away from the shore, headed toward the caldera's eastern slope. From a distance, he pointed out the dogwood tree to her, asking if she could see the den's mouth below it. He kept his pace reasonable as promised, especially when they began the inevitable climb.

When they arrived, he peeked his head inside and saw that Towhee was there, albeit asleep. Caracal quickly backed out, pointing at the hilltop and saying, "She's napping. Let's go hang out up there until she wakes up. Or," he added even as the thought occurred to him, "you can rest in there with her. I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Up to you, though."

vesper was relieved that her tone seemed to end further questions before they could begin, and the pair trekked mostly in silence to the hobbit hole. she moved slowly at first, but then pushed herself to walk and compose herself more normally as their journey went on— realizing it wouldn't matter if caracal kept her secret or not if she looked injured. by the time they arrived, the pain in her side had regained its sharpness as she breathed.

her cousin peered in as vesper was searching for excuses not to meet towhee right then, after all, but he reported that he aunt was sleeping— even offering the uncomfortable suggestion that vesper join her. actually, she said, i'm going to go home. she realized how abrupt this was, and added, i'm tired; but my sister is probably looking for me.

vesper turned to leave, then, reluctantly ready to return back to the densite mou had claimed for the four of them... but she paused, looking over her shoulder. thanks, by the way. for everything. i'm glad i met you, caracal.

"Oh," he blurted when Vesper abruptly announced she was going home, "okay." ​To the island? Caracal wondered a little inanely. She said she was tired and she needed to find her sister. He cocked his head, suddenly remembering one thing Towhee had told him after all: there were three new pups, including Vesper.

There wasn't much for him to do other than watch her turn and go. He quashed the temptation to call after her, though Vesper ended up pausing and looking back anyway, taking a moment to thank him. Despite his confusion at her sudden departure, he smiled warmly at her words.

"Welcome! I'm glad we met too. See you around?" It came out like a question, but a hopeful one. Caracal raised his foreleg in a wave, then looked ponderously toward the Hobbit Hole a moment before slipping inside.

Thank you for a great thread!!!

you toooo! more soon. :D

he seemed baffled by the sudden change of her mind, but accepted it as readily he had everything else during their time together— that won him vesper's favor alone. she thought he might be the first wolf she had met that wasn't making decisions for her all the time. at his question, she nodded, even offering a small smile, before she went on her way and he slipped into the den with his mother.