Redhawk Caldera I'm trying to fight the feeling I will fall to the ground

As Capricorn waddled through tall prairie grasses, he kept looking up to see a headless mountain in the distance. His journey was one of self-discovery and, perhaps, gathering intel and forces. He was practical and task-oriented, so ordinarily the male spent very little time admiring the scenery, but that mountain was interesting. It was unusual and out of place, just like him.

The valhund cross therefore hurried toward it, or hurried as much as a valhund cross could hurry without running. He was a good runner for his size and could keep up with longer legged wolves, though it took more of his effort, but there was a greater distance between walking and running for Capricorn than for your average wolf. Loping was unheard of for the short-legged wolf.

He didn't get very close to the volcano before the potent scent of urine came to him on a southbound wind. He lifted his head and sniffed deeply. Capricorn hadn't been out and about much, having stuck to his home mountain for much of his life, but the scent seemed somehow fresh. It didn't have the same... worn down quality that a long-standing pack seemed to have. For this reason, perhaps, he dared to waddle closer.

Mind if I? Ashton is in this area, anyway.

The golden boy had quite a nice time exploring the lands, learning new plant species, encountering and remembering his experiences on the captivating lands.
But he'd never expect to see a short wolf.

With a curious verde stare, the sunny little teen trotted up to the strange shortie, taking in mind the pelt colors, remarkably like that of a wolf, but moreso, looking down on the little canine.
And he seemed as though he was focused in his movements, inspection of the pack border nearby with a recon-like look to his little stout body.

"What's up, little dude?"

A mellow little greeting from the aspiring Healer, as he sent a friendly tail wag in his direction.

It wasn't long before he was found by a male with a dirty blonde coat. Ashton practically towered over Capricorn, who tilted his head back to look up at the other wolf without the slightest trace of indignation. Even when he was referred to as "little", the de Septentrio didn't take offence. There was a time and a place for defensiveness over his size and this wasn't it.

His first impression of Ashton was formed with ease. The male had a pretty appearance with his brilliant green eyes a perfect contrast to his golden fur, but he didn't seem arrogant. He didn't even seem remotely like a narcissist. Instead, he seemed very laid-back and mellow, at ease with the world... possibly lackadaisical, thought Capricorn, but probably not a bad guy overall.

"Good afternoon," he said with a smile, unblinking as he stared up at Ashton with eyes that didn't so much as dare make contact with the other wolf's. "I'm a traveler. I smelled your borders." Squinting, he waved his curled tail and then added, "at least, I assume they're your borders...?"

"Heh heh, nope, snicker kicker, I'm not there just yet. I'm tryin' ta treat a little fire fox at the moment, she's not doin' too hot. Maybe if I prevent the flame from burnin' out, I'll get a welcome from em."

The sandy dude grinned down at the tiny wolf, being pretty impressed at him being so proud of a stature in his miniscule size, not cowering infront oh his tall self.

"Hey mini man, what's your name?"

Vibrant greens scanned the tiny for any body language that proposed hostility at any of the friendly terms he threw down to the dude.

Half of what the golden boy said was lost on Capricorn, but he continued smiling politely up nonetheless. He was a logical sort of wolf and by extension, a good speaker. Slang never had a place in Capricorn's world, but he wasn't about to rebuke another for their word choice, however poor it might have seemed to him. Ashton wasn't his kid and he wasn't one to instruct others.

What he gathered was that it wasn't Ashton's pack, but he was in the process of trying to get into it. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you're getting at," he said, maintaining his polite smile but furrowing his brows ever-so-slightly to indicate he was unsure. "You're treating a fox?"

Whatever the explanation was, when prompted for his name, he responded quickly with, "I am Capricorn. You...?"

The 2 year old sun borne had seen the confusion darken his light little features, and he lightly put a paw to his little and surprisingly muscled shoulder.

"No worries, tiny tim, I got you."

Making a pointed effort to recap the language lessons his mother tried to teach him, his own golden hued brows contorted with the struggle.

"I said I am not of this pack, as of yet, and hopefully soon, I will be. I am treating a female who's pelt holds the colour of flames itself, for a case of..."

Ashton sat on his lean hinds, the yellow pelt making rivets of touchable gold gleam in the sunlight, as he attempted to think of another wordly version of 'high'.

"Delusional sickness. "

Then grinning a sharp smile at the small wolf, he acknowledged the others name with a swift dip of his sun draped skull.

"Nice ta meet ya, Cap'n Capricorn. Name's Ashton. But you can just call me Ash, dude. "

The instant that Ashton put his paw on Capricorn's shoulder was the instant that his impression of the similarly aged male began to change. His upbringing told him that a paw on the shoulder was a sign of dominance, and by the golden boy's own admission, he was just as foreign here as Capricorn was. If only because the boy also seemed to have some pending contract with the inhabitants, he didn't outright react, though he did tense.

"Pleasure," he said, somewhat more gruffly than he might have before. All the references to his size would get old eventually, but at least Ashton hadn't yet suggested his size was a problem. The first wolf to do that would get a face full of Capricorn.

"So... delusional sickness," he trailed off, entirely unsure what that would look like. Wolves got sick sometimes, usually from parasites, and those that were too sick to recover often dwindled away and faced death alone. Packs left behind weaker wolves all the time. "You think she's strong enough to survive it?" he asked. It was, perhaps, a rather aloof thing to say, but it wasn't meant in poor taste.

A simple nod jutted the thick mane from the bod, the up and down motions signaling there was no apparent danger.
Though Ash noticed a nit of tensing from the mini compadre, he categorized it as being surprised by a sudden touch.
Not as mellow as he thought.

"Yea, the Fox babe will live, though I hope dhe took that leaf I gave her, amd put it to good use. Or else 'blachehheh', " the golden boy made sound effects of a painful death.

"Hopefully it doesn't whinny down ta that. Don't want the girl dying when I wanna see what her pack is about. I'm eager to help em' out in any green way I can. "

With another jovial wag of a tail, the bright blond looked down to his company, studying his sapphires with his emeralds.

"You wanna join or somethin'? I feel like they're a nice crew to do the fondue with. "

Much of what Ashton said was still gibberish to Capricorn, but he did his best to listen politely and decipher the meaning where he could. He sifted through the words, deciding that Ashton was some sort of healer. He kept his opinion of the art, as well as the probability of this fox character dying if she hadn't already done so, quietly to himself.

"That's good for them," said Capricorn, still with that polite smile on his face. He might have felt differently about healers than many wolves but he couldn't deny their perceived usefulness. Any pack was probably lucky to have a botanist in its ranks. When asked if he was looking to join, he pondered the question for a moment. It wasn't like he was going anywhere anytime soon, and yet... he didn't want to be hasty.

"I haven't decided where I'm going," he finally said, choosing something in between thoughtful and uncommitted. "When I figure it out, maybe I'll find my way back here. Then I'll see if you got invited to join them."

Wanna fade? :)

"I'd love it if you made it, Cap. If anything, we would definitely hang out, and you could show me so many things, and I could show you just about the same. Dude, we could be pack bros!"

The yellow pelted teen laughed at the thought of the pair strutting down the street, so much like that of a biological mishap the two too image of, and it sent him into another swries of barked laughs.

Finally the 2 year old settled, his verde orbs softening on the small Capricorn.

"I hope ya have saftey no matter where you go, Cap'n. You got my kudo points, so if anyone or anything tries to rough you up, call me up, and ill be right there. That's a promise. "

A sincere tail swish perminated the oath, and the hippie felt like he had made a new friend today. Then he stood, and turned to point his slim athletic bod in the direction of the rock bird structure where he left Fox.

"Well, mini man, I gotta go check up on flamin' female. Maybe we can hang sometime. You're a pretty chill dude. "

Maybe someday in his future, Capricorn would take "cap'n" as some sort of joke title. Ashton seemed to think it fit him. Maybe it was his bearing; he did hold himself rather proudly, after all. Confidence was the name of the game for wolves of his ilk. His father made sure every son and even daughter born of his seed was as imperial as could be. Maybe it was Macintosh's need to be better, or maybe the man was truly traditional enough to believe that wolves still cared about that sort of thing.

In any case, Ashton didn't seem to be one of those wolves. Capricorn had finally settled on an opinion of the male. He couldn't have been lazy if he knew much about plants, but it was hard to take him seriously. Capricorn thought that might affect Ashton in the future, but didn't say anything about it now. He decided it wasn't his problem at the moment.

"That's very nice of you," he said, "consider it a deal. If you have need of me I'll come as fast as my little legs can carry me." He shot the male a crooked grin, for although references to his size were sometimes wearying, he'd learned long ago to laugh it off when possible. He could refer to his own legs however he wanted. "Good luck with the natives... dude," he said as Ashton headed back to check on the fox. Capricorn lingered a moment, watching the golden male go, before turning back to the prairie and heading back an acceptable distance from the caldera.

Many apologies, I thought you were last post. I'll archive it for us. Great thread, Chelsie. W_^V

With a nod of affirmation, the hippie teen turned and trotted back off to the caldera, his stance that of loft and carefree in nature.
Only on his thought of the new friend he had made, did his already made grin, broaden.

The little dude said 'dude'.
Oh yea, they'd definitely be friends. He'd male sure of that.
Done.