Redhawk Caldera i do whatever i can wherever i end up.

I demand a wild @Fox to appear! Otherwise... this is just going to be awkward for me to try and cover up... :3

What had happened at the Plateau had happened, and though some of the finer points of Peregrine's grand speech and the reaction he had received stung the Blackthorn a little (especially the reactions of some more than others), she was an expert at denial and pressing forward. And thus, she had followed the swarthy wolf to this massive crater, or "Caldera" he had called it. However weird the name had been and however strange it felt to imagine telling strangers she met that she had to "get back to the Caldera", Fin was a wolf who followed those who spending time with brought her the greatest joy. And that was Peregrine, Fox, and Finn (we're still in denial 'bout that one, though).

Once the initial burst of excitement had passed and the wolves were on their way to their new home, Peregrine's worry for his mate had infected even the ever enthusiastic and optimistic Blackthorn. As they moved swiftly across the Flatlands and into the Great Bear Wilderness, Fin had stopped to snatch up a few mouthfuls of plants and roots between her teeth. Her companions had hardly noticed, so intent were they on the journey. But that suited Fin just fine. After all it would have been hard to explain with her mouth so full of foliage.

After arriving in the Caldera (lol, why was it still so silly sounding?), Fin had stashed her stash somewhere near where Lasher and Fox had been resting. Greetings were shared, sentiments expressed, etc. etc., and then rest had begun. It was maybe a couple of days still before Fin had found her opportunity--Fox alone and hurt, the rest of the pack wolves off marking borders or killing things that they could all eat--before Fin retrieved her stash and approached the injured alpha female.

Fin walked steadily towards the resting female, mouth full of plant, the only announcement of her presence the gentle chuff her full mouth was capable of allowing. She dropped her treasures onto the ground before her paws, turning her gaze to the fiery female and waiting for her to acknowledge her platinum friend's presence.

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Pff. You know I can't resist a Stevie thread. Also, I've had a bruised rib a few times, so I'm modeling her injury off of that, lulz. Pooping is the worst. D:
Also, got carried away with length here...

Fox had spent nearly a week resting her broken body. It was entirely frustrating not to be able to run around and do all the things she wanted to be doing. She wanted to be pissing on the borders to mark them as her own. She wanted to be searching for a suitable den site for her children. But she could do nothing but lay in the grass by the mountaintop lake and wallow in her own misery and pain. Of course, Lasher and Peregrine had been there to help, and that was something she could not deny them thanks for.

Even Blue Willow had made a (decidedly strange, in Fox's opinion) trek out here to give her some plants to ease the pain. Fox had made an exception to her all-meat diet to chew the bitter, disgusting plants. She couldn't be sure if they were working or not, but she did feel like she could put a little bit more weight on her sprained foot each day, and her rib hurt slightly less when she took in a deep breath.

Having hobbled as far away from her resting spot as her body would allow, Fox squatted awkwardly to take her morning piss and poop. Pooping was the worst, since she had to use her abdomen, causing her rib to hurt even worse.

Finally done with that, Fox returned to her resting spot and carefully lowered herself on to the ground beside the lake. She gazed out at it longingly, wishing that she could spend her days traversing the landscape rather than merely looking at it. A noise behind her alerted her to Finley's presence, though, and she shifted so that she could see the grayscale girl. She was holding a bundle of plants, and Fox quirked a brow as the girl set them down on the ground.

“Come to kill off the weakest, eh?” she teased.

rofl no problem <3

"Oh, my dear Fox," Fin replied wryly to her friend, "Of course I am." She gave the fiery woman a grin before trotting over to lay parallel to the lake, facing her companion. The weeds she'd collected rested nearby within her reach, but she made no move to drag them any closer. She was content to let them lay for a moment.

"You can't blame me, though. You know you'd do the same if roles were reversed." Another grin slipped across her face. She was teasing of course, but... Fin actually wouldn't have put it past her (though she did like to think that she at least Fox would have thought twice about). She was a wildfire of a wolf--someone who knew what she wanted and went out and took it, to hell with any consequences. It was what Fin liked about her; something they shared together. Except Fin wasn't really one to want power, per se. She more lusted for adventure and excitement, something she saw power only as ever getting in the way of.

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It was strange for Fox to try and figure out what others thought about her. Most, she assumed, did not like her. Fox did not have a charming, likable personality. She was brash, quick to judge, and left little room for mistakes. But that did not mean that she would kill somebody from her own pack if they were not going to die from some other cause. Sure, if one of her packmates had broken all their legs and had lost the ability to breath, she would end their suffering. She said none of this to Finley, keeping those speculative thoughts to herself.

“I’d be more likely to kill you with teeth,” she mused, flashing her pearly whites for effect. Fox let a few beats of silence fall between them, then switched gears. “Tell it to me straight, Fin. Does everybody at the plateau hate me?” she asked. Peregrine would sugarcoat the truth, she felt, and Finley was probably her closest friend apart from her mate.

Fin gave a smirk in response to Fox's words, only to freeze while staring at her paws when the silence between them ended and the alpha bluntly inquired about the opinions that they'd left behind at the Plateau. Fin had never really given it much thought before, not until she'd sensed in Peregrine some sort of need to justify their move to the Caldera. After that, she'd given that day in the Plateau more thought and had remembered something besides her own anger at Finn for electing not to join them She remembered the words that had been said, the tension that was in the air, and the angry looks that so many had had on their faces.

"Probably not everyone..." Fin started slowly, peeking up at her friend's face. Looking at her reminded her that it was Fox (crazy, eh?), not some other delicate soul who couldn't take the raw truth. "Okay, okay, I admit, some were definitely rubbed the wrong way by this whole thing. At that meeting, there were a fair few that looked mad and a couple who actually said they were mad. There were some who were supportive though."

Fin paused for a breath, eyeing her friend to see her reaction. She'd be happy to share the details if the woman wanted, but she knew her well enough to know that Fox was not typically one to appreciate lengthy explanations.

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So, there were a few who were pissed, a few who thought things were peachy, and a few who didn't seem to have any kind of opinion. For Fox, that was enough. It was actually more positive than she had expected. A large part of her assumed that everybody would hate them for what they had done. Fox realized that those who had followed them here were truly devoted to Peregrine and herself. Knowing that made her happy beyond words, although she wasn't one for verbal sentiments anyway.

"At least I managed to rope you in," Fox said with a cheeky grin. "I'm sure there's plenty of thrill-seeking adventures to be had here." The fireball had already managed to get a head-start on that one, although that wasn't something she was particularly happy about or proud of. Getting herself broken was not her idea of fun. Then again, the drugs Willow had left were helping, so that was a bonus.

Speaking of...

"What kind of poison did you bring for me, anyway?" she asked, glancing to the pile of plants.

If Fin had been forced to admit it, it really seemed like the pack was far more disappointed in Peregrine than they were mad at Fox. She kept her mouth shut on that front, though. She knew it would be harder for her friend to hear about what this ordeal was putting her mate through than what it was doing to her. Besides, Fox was no fool--she knew already.

"Oh, I have no doubt," Fin replied promptly, "It's too bad you went and broke yourself, otherwise you'd get to come tear this place up with me." She gave a little sigh. It was a bummer that Fin was going to have to get into all of this trouble by herself. She'd save some of the better stuff to do with Fox, though. Even though the jerkface had already gotten a head start by falling down a cliff.

"Poison?" Fin questioned as Fox drew her out of her silent musings. She looked about her in confusion for a moment before her gaze landed on the plants at her side. "Oh, your poison! Right, I forgot, I'm here to kill you," Fin chuckled, "Where ever is my head these days?" She reached out a forearm to paw at the bundle, drawing it nearer until it rested between the two of them. "I heard you were having trouble sleeping with all of the pain, so I found some... pain relievers/sleep aides for you."

Her face was innocent, but her eyes were glinting with mischief. What she'd brought was probably not the sort of plant they would have found in Blue Willow's stock, but it certainly had it's medicinal effects. And it was perfectly harmless as well, as long as they weren't going to be operating any heavy machinery...

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Did Finley just bring her some weed? <__<

Fox fully intended on exploring every little nook and cranny of her home as soon as she was capable of doing so. She just hoped that time came before certain other things (namely puppies) were put into motion. Fox desperately wanted children (and she knew Perry felt the same), but she was also well-aware that they would be somewhat of a hinderance to her. It had been quite some time since she had been involved in the lives of children, but she was determined that her own would be worth something. It would be curious to see what kind of parent she would become.

"Willow brought me something the other day," Fox recalled, sniffing at the plants Finley presented, "but the stuff she gave me is different." Blue Willow had warned her to take only a little bit at a time, lest it upset her stomach. So far, Fox was doing a somewhat decent job of heeding that advice.

"What is it?" she asked, "And are you sure it's not gonna kill me?"

If it helps, I completely did not set out with that intention.. That just kind of happened.

Fin snorted in a very lady-like fashion in response to Fox's question. It was pretty amusing, especially paired with the look of concern on the alpha's face. "No, it won't kill you," she assured her, "In fact, it'll make you really, really love life." It didn't surprise her in the least that what Blue had brought to Fox was different. This seemed like the sort of thing Blue was probably warned against when she was learning to become a healer. But Fin was more... we'll call it trusting... of her patients. As long as someone was there to supervise to make sure they didn't try anything that would hurt them, it really was the best pain reliever she'd ever experienced.

"You might get super hungry, so I'd just keep a big pile of food within reach. Other than that I don't think you'll be wanting to move anywhere," she added sagely.

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Fox squinted at Finley, but she trusted the girl enough to take her advice. She was curious to know what Finley meant about loving life, considering Fox did not really think about how she felt about life often. Life just was. She rarely had feelings about it. Again, Fox bent her nose down to sniff the plants, realizing they were even more pungent than she had thought at first. Definitely more smelly than the herbs Blue Willow had brought for her.

“Thanks Fin,” she said, her tone genuine and she nudged the girl's shoulder with her muzzle. “You want to go be my temporary gamekeeper and round up some grub? I think I’ll munch on a few of these plants in the meantime.” She wasn't sure if she would add in Blue's herbs to the mix, but she figured it couldn't hurt to have a little bit of both. Then again, Fox knew next to nothing about this sort of stuff. It was one of the main reasons she refused remedies in the first place.

You can either post again or archive :D BTW I'm so glad that Fin (and maybe...I....) has a friend.... :3

A smile flickered across the silver girl's face as she watched Fox begin to nose at the weed(s). While it probably wasn't the remedy a true healer would prescribe (unless they were in one of them states where it was all good), it was quite honestly what Finley thought would be best for her friend. She wasn't a conventional healer, and if one better than her presented itself, she was happy to stand to the side and let them do the work. But the Caldera was newly forming, and Fin was smart enough to know that she was the best they had--as uncomfortable a prospect as that was.

"For you? Of course," she replied with a smile, pulling herself onto all four paws. She began to trot away, only to pause after a few steps to look back at Fox. "I'm totally still going to murder you, you know that right?" she waited only long enough for Fox to nonchalantly acknowledge the eventuality before giving a wink and continuing on.