Redhawk Caldera strangers get born, strangers get buried

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After getting rid of the cold that @Frolic had given her, Sylvie decided she wanted to visit @Chickadee at Moonglow. It would be a quick trip—no longer than a week—and give her the chance to get to know another sibling she'd lost touch with. The only holdup she was experiencing was leaving; her nerves were getting the better of her. She didn't know what to expect, so she sought out @Ceridwen to see if she'd been there before.

She meandered through the caldera, following her sister's recent scent trail.

Dwin had spent early morning hours looking for fresh food, which due to recent snow-fall had become a lot harder to find. She had to listen extra-carefully to hear smaller rodents underneath the snow piles and even that did not guarantee a success in hunting them down. She caught sight of some deer in the distance, who seemed just as desperate as her, digging through the snow to get at least some stalks of dry, yellowed grass to eat. Maybe they would have a chance to hunt down one. 

Tired she had returned to caldera and sprawled on top of a sturdy fallen tree trunk and this was, where Sylvie finally found her. Dwin opened one sleepy eye then the other and greeted her sister with a light wag of the tip of her tail. "What's up?" she asked, lifting her head and yawning. 

Sylvie was unaware of Ceridwen's busy morning and was surprised to see her sprawled upon a tree trunk. She froze mid-step, and her eyes widened as she watched her sister lift her head and yawn.

I didn't wake you up, did I? she asked, suddenly feeling that her reason for being here was now less important.

"You definitely woke me up," Dwin thought that the best way to get Sylvie used to the fact that she did not have to worry about everything, was by being blunt and honest with her. "But had I not wanted to talk to you, I would have pretended to be asleep," she explained. 

"So - you have my full attention now - what's up?" she asked and gave her an encouraging smile. 

Ceridwen helped Sylvie work through her guilt, and soon, a smile was on the older sister's face. She was thankful for her younger sister, who was so much wiser and well-adjusted than she was; she already was learning a lot from her.

I was thinking of going to Moonglow to visit ... she trailed, failing to remember their sibling's name. Chickadee, I think it is? Anyway. I was just wondering if you'd been there before and wanted to know what it's like there. I hear they're ... kinda weird.

"I have not been there myself, but Frolic has - I think - and I roughly know the direction we would have to go to," Dwin explained, realizing it had been a while, since the meeting between her and Dee. There had been an organized hunt recently, but she had injured her paw a day before the event and therefore remained home, taking care of the old, weak and needy. 

"Well, their traditions are different from, what we are used to here, but it seems that it is a new fashion of sorts. If I am correct, there was one Moon-pack, when I set out last winter. And now there are... 3 more sharing the name? They sprout up like mushrooms after a good rainfall," she mused. "I am pretty certain that among many traditions they have, eating visitors is not one of them. So - if you want to go and pay a visit, I can accompany you," she suggested, guessing that this had been the actual reason, why Sylvie had sought her out. 

There were four moon-packs?! Ariadne gawked, looking like a trout with wide eyes and a slack jaw. Dang, that's a lot! she exclaimed, having little more to say. That's crazy to think there are so many wolves like them—maybe we're the strange ones! She felt guilty for calling them strange; they were just different.

Thankfully, Ceridwen offered to accompany Sylvie, and she breathed a sigh of relief; it was precisely why she'd sought out her sister. Thank you, she said, relaxing visibly. I was thinking of going after everybody returns from the hunt—what'd you think?

"Beats me. Well, all packs are similar one to the other. It is the moon-brand that is new," Dwin pointed out. "I mean - our neigbours have two sister packs, but they had the good sense to name them differently, even if the traditions are the same," she said. 

"We - weird ones? Never," she rolled her eyes and laughed. "I have not reread the Declaration of Brecheliant's uniqueness - you know - our pack's founding document - but I am pretty sure that standing out and never giving in to trends was one of the cornerstones," she joked. 

"Sure. I have to get my paw in order -  might take a week or so, but then we are good to go," she promised. "How have things been for you lately?" she asked.

Post 600 goes to you!

‘Dwen's joke went right over Sylvie's head. We have a record of the pack like that? she asked, voice hitching excitedly. That would help her with her project of collecting their family's history!

She nodded at the timeline and agreed; her sister needed to rest her paw. Sounds like a plan to me, she said with a wag of her tail. And I've been pretty good—been hangin' out with Daddy and learning about our family. she said.

Then, as though it just occurred to her that Ceridwen was injured, she asked: What happened to your paw?

"Not in so many words, but I remember mom telling us of the time, when the pack had been just her and her sister Wraen. They had just found the area and were coming up with all kinds of challenges and tasks for newcomers to fulfill, if they wanted to join," Dwin explained. "You should ask her. I have a feeling that mom likes to return to that time now and again," she said. 

"This?" she lifted the "guilty" paw. "Oh, a freak accident. Slipped and fell, you know, how it goes," she smiled, but this was not the whole truth. She had thought that it would be a great idea to slide down that a steep snow-covered slope of caldera. It had been amazing for the first two times. The third she hit something, her whole trajectory changed and she tumbled down. Messing her paw up along the way. 

"Okay. What kind of juicy gossip did Eljay share with you?" Dwin asked, grinning. Of all the people the idea of Eljay gossiping away like an over-flowing soup-pot was hilarious. "Do you know, who else might know more stories about the family history? The Blackthorn side? There was this old hag Towhee I have met two or three times. She is a bit weird, but tells a good story. I do not know, where she has settled now, but if we get a chance to pin her down, we should!"

I will, Sylvie replied, wide-eyed. That ... sounds ... nuts. She couldn't imagine having to fulfill a challenge or task to join a pack; she would've never been a Brecheliant member if that'd been the case!

She nodded, her expression sympathetic as 'Dwen explained how she'd hurt herself. You had Daddy look at that, right? she asked. And on the topic of Eljay, she answered: And, no, no hot gossip—he just gave me a general run-down of things—about our grandparents, all the aunts and uncles, you know. The kind of stuff that wouldn't interest Ceridwen.

An old hag with interesting family stories? I'm down, she said with a laugh, although the thought of meeting a hag made her quite nervous. But she knew she'd be fine as long as she was with her sister. Where was she when you last saw her?

"I think that "being nuts"  is the essential ingredient to being a Blackthorn. Just like reckless and impulsive," Dwin laughed, when she heard skepticism in her sister's voice. "But in all seriousness - I do not think that those tasks would be anything we would not be able to tackle. Our mom and dad raised us well. We are up to the challenge," she smiled. 

"Oh, nah... it is nothing that serious that would not heal on its own, given few days rest," she shook her head. Dissmissive as any kid, whose parent is a doctor and who does not listen to their advice on ealth, is. This time, however, her assessment was right. She would be up and running again in few days time. 

"In a very cool place. There are pools of super hot and stinky water and it is very warm there, even if it is freezing cold everywhere else. That hag took a good swim there and then ran off in the wilderness dripping wet. Chances are that she is a frozen ice-block somewhere until the spring comes. Or... her being a hag... she has some magic in her system and being drenched to her skin does not harm her," Dwin rambled a bit, recalling the encounter vividly. 

"She reminded me of Frolic, really. An old version of Frolic, but crazy nonetheless. She said she had been raised by our grandparents," Dwin shared. "When do you want to go on that tour?" 

Sylvie felt a sting of self-consciousness. There was nothing reckless or impulsive about her, and she wondered if there were more Blackthorns like her and Daddy that were tame and predictable. Yeah, like I said before, everybody who lived with the Frosthawks seemed pretty nuts to me. At least those who stayed around. But they had been kind, which mattered most to her.

She was reassured about 'Dwin's paw, taking the words at face value, and she nodded and dropped the subject.

The story of Ceridwin's encounter with the hag had Sylvie on the edge of her seat; she'd never heard of such a place and wondered if magical elements existed there. Maybe the entire place was magical, she offered, eyes wide and voice quiet. Maybe that's where she powers up! Oh, they had to go! Sylvie had to see this place for herself. The cherry on top was that this "hag" also seemed to be raised by their grandparents, which only enticed her further.

I'm ready whenever that paw of yours is good! she said enthusiastically, her tail wagging and her forepaws drumming in excitement. Just come and get me, and I'll be ready!

Dwin did realize that in the generic Blackthorn family lore, which she had been advertising around, there were outliers. Like Eljay and Sylvie, and - perhaps - other siblings, who she had not met. "Do not worry, sis, about not quite fitting the typical profile," she attempted to correct her mistake. "Blackthorns are diverse and a spectrum rather than something uniform. You and daddy are the ones to keep us grounded and not going overdrive," this had begun as a way to encourage her sister, but had turned out to be quite true. Without Eljay, Dee and Sylvie, even mom, who may have suffered occasionally from Dwin being an insensitive and cruel jerk, she would not have learned to rein in her temper and be a nicer and more considerate person.

"Powering up on those rotten egg fumes?" Dwin regretted that Towhee was not here to hear this. She was confident the old hag would spin an extra yarn about this. "That's something new, but worth considering. But promise me that, when you meet her, this is not the first thing you ask her. You know - the old hags like to be respected and you have to first treat them a bit like royalty," she nearly guffawed at this, because this had never been case between them. The first time they had met Towhee had puked a mushroom on her. The second and/or third time - they had been ragging on each other mercilessly. "You know - a bit of a reverance won't hurt, also - admiration for their wonderful personality," she got carried away. "And shock her with this question right, when you are ready to leave. Otherwise she may put a curse on you and - who knows - turn you into a chew toy or something for her grandkids to demolish." 

"Sure. So - you want to meet just Dee or visit all of the moon-packs?" she asked. 

Impressing older people reminded me of this stand-up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDX1YTL-ByU

Sylvie smiled, knowing what Ceridwen said was true. She and Eljay were the ones who kept the family grounded. I guess you're right, she acknowledged. We're probably why there are still so many of us—we've got to keep the family from doing crazy things! She felt a responsibility to admit this; newfound purpose found her, spreading through her like wildfire. You all would probably be doing crazy things like jumping from the caldera and poking bears if it weren't for us!

She nodded in silent promise, taking all of her sister's words at face value and not considering that some may have been in jest; Sylvie notoriously took things too seriously. I won't! she didn't want to become a chew toy!

Ceridwen had gotten Sylvie riled up—in the best way possible—and she felt no anxiety. Lets go to each one! she decided excitedly.

"Confidence suits you, sis! Wear it more often," Dwin smiled at Sylvie kindly and leaned to press her shoulder against her reassuringly. It would be a long-long-long and winding road for her older sibling to reach that inner-Sylvieness, where she would feel happy and comfortable in being exactly, who she was, and no longer attempting and failing to conform to, what society thought a wolf should be. But Dwin made herself a promise there and then that she would be there to help her sister along. Not attempt to change her, but praise, where it was due and earned, and smooth over, when the faith in her own strength would leave her. 

"Let's do all then," Dwin agreed. 

I think this is a good place to fade out and I can start a private one, when they are on their way to Moon-packs (Fire Hot Springs, perhaps?) and then follow with the rest.