Redhawk Caldera it doesn't care about being stung by bees

Accio @Fox! :)

From a distance, she looked like a slender shadow loping across the snowy plain, kicking up a a swath of sparkling white dust in her wake. Upon closer inspection, Honey Badger was larger than she initially appeared; her peculiar markings seemed to blend in perfectly with her backdrop. She weighed perhaps fifty pounds, making her large for her subspecies. She looked like a fighter, with her lean, muscular frame, her permanently prickled fur and the dead snake dangling from her mouth, its limp length whipping back and forth with every step.

She stopped and dropped her prey, a rattlesnake she had wrested from its winter's nest. Honey Badger quickly demolished her kill, then sprang back into action. She loped in the direction of a squat mountain in the distance. As she closed in on it, the yearling detected the scent of wolves. Brazenly, she ignored these warning flags and traipsed boldly along the borderlines. Her yellow eyes shifted, scouring the nearby slopes. She hoped someone would come after her; she was spoiling for a fight after the serpent had proved to be no more fun than a limp dick.

I think I want to start working on the warrior trade, so I hope it's okay if I throw Twig in here too! If not, I can delete my post. :)

When Elwood came across the scent of an outsider, he drew up short. What had started as a routine patrol of the borders had just turned into something else entirely -- something he hadn't been expecting. Immediately, his hackles bristled and his upper lip curled, and without a second thought he pivoted and began to track the trespasser into Redhawk Caldera territory.

He moved quickly, his long stride carrying him forward while his snout remained close to the ground. Elwood tracked the stranger's smell, following it as it zigged and zagged around the base of the mountain. It steadily grew stronger and stronger, until he became aware of a black smudge in his peripheral vision -- the culprit.

She was small and darkly colored, save for a peculiar white stripe down her back. The Beta wasn't paying much attention to her appearance, however; instead, he accelerated, barreling towards her. He was still a considerable distance from the female when he threw back his head, releasing a howl to alert his packmates to the intrusion.

*appears!*

Fox had had it up to here with all the intrusions lately. Maybe it was winter driving them in, but she was downright sick of it. It was one thing to trespass. It was another thing entirely to trespass on lands that were guarded by fifteen fuckin' wolves and have any expectation of coming out of it alive. So when Elwood's call rang out, Fox hauled ass to get to him. Her status as a warrior-type had gone mostly unused for the first month or two that she'd lived here, but it seemed the idiots were stepping it up a notch.

Without so much as acknowledging Elwood, she charged the white-topped trespasser with jaws open and ready to clamp down around the girl's throat. That is, if she could manage to bowl her over and get past the protective muzzle and head that was currently there.

I decided to delete my initial reply and repost it with some revisions, in case you were wondering. :)

It wasn't long before someone noticed her and came hurtling down the mountainside. Honey Badger slowed, then stopped, pivoting to face him as he closed the gap between them. She bristled, her ears lying back momentarily then splaying aggressively as her silver bottlebrush of a tail lifted over her hips. She braced her legs and took a few stiff steps toward him, displaying her lack of fear.

The silver wolf sent up a howl calling for backup, which made Honey Badger's jaws part in a taunting laugh. She was barely larger than a common coyote and this wolf probably weighed twice as much as her, yet he couldn't face her on his own? Her electric yellow eyes never wavered as the gap narrowed, though her head dipped low to protect her throat. The laugh became a leering snarl. She had the confidence of a wolf ten times her size.

Then the situation changed in a significant way: another wolf came charging onto the scene, heeding her pack mate's call. The red blur came speeding toward Honey Badger, smaller but faster than her gray brethren. Facing odds of two against one, the yearling was forced to acknowledge her limits. She was daring and dauntless but she wasn't downright stupid. Still, she wasn't about to flee with her tail between her legs. It wasn't her style.

Instead, she broke into a lope which carried her away from the approaching wolves, maintaining a distance of about a hundred yards between them. She kept her head and tail high and showed no sign of exiting the territory. Rather, she led them on a chase around the mountain's base, though she took the time to shout over her shoulder, "How about a fair fight, fireball?" This was, of course, directed at the second wolf, who was just about Honey Badger's size, perhaps even a bit larger.

Elwood continued to draw nearer to the trespasser, his yellow eyes fixated on her. Even from an distance, he could make out her aggressive stance; she wasn't going to back down. This caused him to grit his teeth in frustration. For the first time, he was feeling territorial of his home and pack -- he would do anything to protect them, and seeing a stranger traipsing through their lands with flagrant disregard was enough to spark a fire in his veins.

Suddenly, there was a blur of reddish fur that drew his attention, and he slowed his pace for only a moment. He quickly identified Fox, then resumed his forward motion. She was faster than he was, and was making a beeline for the black-and-white she-wolf. Elwood watched as the female smartly evaded the incoming attack of the two wolves, by pivoting and cantering -- almost leisurely -- away from them. She did not exit the packlands, but continued to meander across the claimed land.

With a snarl, the mottled grey male dug his paws into the ground, churning up snow and earth as he bore down on the offender. One ear twitched as she shouted out a taunt, likely directed at Fox, and he kept one eye trained on his Alpha, intending to follow her lead.

Kat, you can decide whether or not Fox is successful in her little plan. Or roll for it or whatever!

Fox continued the chase, although the smaller, darker female evaded her somehow. Granted, she had gotten a head start, so perhaps that made up for it. And when she asked for a fair fight, Fox did not reply. There was no such thing as a fair fight on claimed territory, any wolf with half a brain knew that. Even Fox had never thought that she would actually win any of the fights she had started back in the day. It seemed as though plenty of fights found her these days, which was all well and good.

Letting the intruder get a few more paces ahead, Fox spoke in a low voice, continuing alongside Elwood and keeping pace with him. “Don’t let her out of your sight,” Fox said, then darted away from him, disappearing into a thicket of trees that stretched alongside where the black and silver wolf was running. Picking up speed and pushing herself as fast as her little red legs would take her, she intended to cut her off at the earliest opportunity while Elwood kept a closer eye on her. It was a hunting technique often used for larger prey, which was exactly what they were hunting right now.

I'm not ready for her to die just yet (this is technically her first thread!) but Fox is welcome to catch her and injure her. I don't care about power playing, as long as it's not instantly fatal, lol. :)

The pernicious young bitch shot intermittent glances over her shoulder, constantly measuring the distance between herself and her pursuers and adjusting her pace accordingly. Had it only been one or the other, she would have stopped and turned to face her enemy, ready to fight. That simply wasn't a choice with the two of them hot on her heels, unfortunately. She growled under her breath, agitated that the odds had stacked against her so quickly.

When her electric yellow eyes peered behind her for the umpteenth time only to realize that the red wolf had abruptly disappeared, the long ridge of fur along Honey Badger's saddled spine prickled suspiciously. The mountain rose up on her left and open plains sprawled off to her right. She swerved suddenly in the latter direction, anticipating an ambush, though it was entirely possible she didn't change direction quickly enough to entirely avoid an assault.

Elwood looked to Fox as she drew up alongside him, listening to her quiet direction, then watched as she darted off into the underbrush. Her instructions were clear, so he returned his attention to the dark she-wolf, his vision refocusing. He continued to move at a steady pace, matching her speed and her maneuvers. When she abruptly veered to the right, towards the open expanse that led to neutral territory, he mirrored her.

Like a silver bullet, he remained behind her. He wasn't close enough to initiate any sort of attack, but he didn't let her get too far from him. His gaze shifted briefly, trying to judge what Fox's next action would be. He prepared himself to react in whatever way was necessary, his muscles remaining tight beneath his mottled pelt as he chased the interloper.

Pushing herself as fast and as hard as she could, Fox finally broke free of her cover, finding that she was just where she wanted to be: running directly alongside the two-toned idiot. With no regard for her own safety (which was likely a mistake, but she'd deal with that later), Fox promptly shoved her shoulder into the intruder's own, causing both of them to tumble and Fox to do so in a fit of growls and snarls. Hopefully, Elwood was not far behind.

With snow stuck to every inch of her fiery red fur, Fox managed to right herself, then attempted to see where her opponent had ended up. And where was Elwood?

The fiery bitch came flying out of nowhere, "T-boning" Honey Badger and causing them both to lose their footing and go sprawling onto the snow. The two-toned yearling snarled as she slammed to the ground and rolled several feet. She knew that she would die if she stayed down long, so she sprang back onto all fours as quickly as she could. She saw the red she-wolf following suit right behind her and could have attacked—if not for the large gray male closing in on them.

"Fuck you filthy cheaters!" she yelled nonsensically, spitting at the other female. How badly she wanted to engage her! But if she did that, she would be torn to pieces by her backup. "You're a pussy little bitch," she added in a low voice even as she turned and began to run again. She didn't have the advantage of a lead this time, so she put the pedal to the metal. Honey Badger didn't want to die today, so her only chance now was to outrun her enemies.

A flash of red drew Elwood's gaze as Fox rocketed out of the underbrush. She headed directly for the black she-wolf, and Elwood guided himself towards them, watching as the two females collided. They were both sent somersaulting into the snow as he neared them, drawing back his lips as he prepared to attack the stranger.

But she and Fox were both quick to right themselves, and before he could even reach them, the intruder had taken off again. Elwood snarled in frustration, changing leads and charging after her once more. She was fast, and this time she seemed inclined to keep running -- perhaps she had realized that the odds were against her and was trying to escape. Part of him was happy to just let her go, but he knew that Fox was out for blood, so he doggedly continued to chase her.

More senseless, meaningless, breath-wasting insults were thrown at Fox. All-in-all, it was quite refreshing to the usual simpering that trespassers usually gave Fox. Instead of "help, don't hurt me!" it was more along the lines of "I'mma fuck you up." The warrior continued her chase, hot on the heels of the silver-backed intruder, until she began to slow, giving the girl more and more room. Eventually, Fox felt fine letting her go, so long as she kept on running away from Redhawk Caldera.

"Keep running, you dastardly little beast!" she shouted after the retreating figure. Snorting, Fox turned to Elwood (assuming he had kept up with her) and panted heavily.

The words hurled at her back caused Honey Badger to dig her heels into the cold ground and swivel to face her enemies at a distance. She was tempted to run back there and slap those words right out of the red bitch's mouth. It really was a pity they couldn't just fight each other; it would have been an excellent match. Her ears pinned back to her skull and she leered at the mismatched silhouettes standing vigilant in front of their misshapen mountain home.

"Fuck you!" she screamed brattishly before pivoting and beginning to move again. There was no fight to be found there, so she would have to seek one elsewhere. As she loped along, she briefly ascertained her wounds—just some shallow contusions from the hard landing—as a predatory smirk found its way onto her black face.

Elwood was surprised when Fox started to slow her pace, and he followed her lead. They continued to lope after the rogue female for a short while, until they gradually ground to a halt. Both Redhawks were panting, their sides heaving with the effort of chasing the potty-mouthed she-wolf.

Under Elwood's watchful glare, she eventually became nothing but a speck of black against the horizon, until she disappeared completely. She hadn't gone quietly -- another foul insult had been hurled in their direction while she was still within earshot -- but he was glad to see her go. He huffed, giving himself a shake and allowing his hackles to soften as he looked to Fox. "What the hell," he said; he didn't know what would possess any wolf to behave the way that female had.

"Can you believe I was like that once?" she asked Elwood. Granted, she would have run at the first sight of another wolf. Two-on-one encounters were not her cup of tea, no matter how feisty she was (or had been). It was kind of hard to believe it had been only about a year since she had gone around picking fights with everybody under the sun. So much had happened between then and now.

"Funny story, actually. That's kinda how I met Peregrine." That, too, had only been roughly a year ago, and somehow they had managed to fall into each other's lives. She had pissed on his borders, which had in turn pissed him off, and they'd had some stupid conversation about border patrol.

"Were you really?" Elwood queried between his panting. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the cold air and attempting to slow his heart rate. Now that they were stationary, his body would calm down shortly. He cast one last glance in the direction that the she-wolf had gone, then turned his attention to Fox.

With a quirk of one brow, he said, "I've got to hear that story." He didn't know much about Fox and Peregrine's history, just that they had come from Blacktail Deer Plateau. He was curious to hear the pair's origin story.

I love rewriting stories! I think that's the only reason I chose chronicler for Foxypoo.

“I was one obnoxious bitch,” Fox replied, “Not that I’ve changed that much.” She said this with a smirk, implying that she was the same obnoxious bitch she'd always been. But in all truth, she had changed quite a bit. The constant drama with Swiftcurrent Creek, The Sunspire, and Blacktail Deer Plateau had somehow managed to level Fox out in the end. And now that Elwood was asking for the story, Fox was compelled to tell it, start to finish. She sat, eyes still watching the spot where the hellbeast had run off, watching to make sure she would not return.

“I’d just come to Swiftcurrent Creek,” Fox began, “I was going around causing shit with all the packs around. Much like our, ah, friend.” Fox couldn't remember exactly how many Alphas and others she'd pissed off, but it was a fair few. “I pissed on the plateau’s borders,” she said, chuckling at the thought. “For some stupid reason, Peregrine didn’t tear my throat out right then and there. I guess we were kind of frenemies for awhile after that. We ran across each other every once in awhile, but he was, ah, bonded with another lady, so we were never anything more than friends. One day, outta the blue, he told me things were falling apart with his lady lover. I didn't think anything of it, really.” Well, that part wasn't entirely true, but Fox wasn't about to admit that. She'd denied having any feelings for Peregrine even after... “Shit got real in Swiftcurrent shortly after that, which is a different story all together. Peregrine basically gave me a place to go. From there, things just kinda… fell into place.”

Elwood settled onto his haunches as Fox began to regale him with the story of how she met Peregrine. Her feisty personality was evident in most of his interactions with her, but he had still been surprised to hear that she had once been as reckless as the she-wolf they had just chased off. She proclaimed herself to be an "obnoxious bitch," to which Elwood laughed; though he didn't think that of his Alpha, he could see how someone who didn't know her well might have formed such an opinion, especially once her tale unraveled.

He listened as she told him that she had been an instigator to a number of different packs, including Blacktail Deer Plateau. She had even peed on their borders! Elwood chuckled out loud as he thought about that; it was interesting that such an action had brought Fox and Peregrine together. He imagined that Peregrine hadn't been too pleased with her at first, but he had obviously met his match.

"Wolves better not mess with us, then," he quipped once she had concluded, referencing her behavior. Though she wasn't quite as wild, she seemed to have redirected her "craziness" into protecting and defending her own pack. "I can't believe you peed on Peregrine's borders," he reiterated with an amused shake of his head. He liked Fox more and more with each fact he learned about her.

Last post for me!

"I doubt they'll ever learn," Fox replied, returning her gaze to the spot where the white and silver scalawag had vanished. When Elwood mentioned that he still didn't believe her story, she chuckled. "It was a crazy time." Not that right now was much less crazy, of course. They had trespassers left and right, it seemed, and they showed no signs of slowing down—let alone stopping altogether.

After a few more long moments of making sure their little friend wasn't going to make a U-turn, Fox bumped shoulders with her fellow leader. "I'm gonna head back in," she said, "Maybe see if Peregrine brought anything back from his latest hunt." That boy was always bringing her yummy gifts, and she couldn't say that she was displeased about that at all. Fox had never been a great hunter, and she usually took from the caches rather than work to find her own food.

Although it was apparent that Fox had calmed as she matured, Elwood could still see her spitfire personality shining through at times. He was glad; it was part of why he was so proud to be a member of Redhawk Caldera. He respected both Fox and Peregrine as leaders, and appreciated that they were both honest and open with their subordinates.

"I'll walk with you," he said as Fox announced that she was ready to leave the outskirts. He wouldn't have left until she felt comfortable, and with no sign of the trespasser left, it was time for them to resume their normal duties. So the two wolves meandered side by side until they reached the slope of the mountain, then parted ways amiably.