Redhawk Caldera Once upon a time

Wildfire's body language was clear this time, even before a single word erupted from her little mouth. Abruptly, she moved away from Elwood, vehemently shaking her head -- and there was no doubt left in her uncle's mind when she quite forcefully replied, "No!" He took to his feet, willing to continue to appease the fiery little girl. "Okay, okay! We won't go home yet," he promised, though that left him with the task of finding their next adventure.

He didn't want to go too much further -- Wildfire was obviously already tired, despite her desire to continue on -- so he padded into the underbrush near the log, moving along a path that would eventually take them back to the Redleaf-DiSarinno den but in a less direct way. He wasn't sure what they would find, but he brushed his nose briefly against the ground, sifting through scents in hopes of finding something interesting. All the while, he kept one ear tilted towards Wildfire.

Suddenly, his paw dropped to a lower level, jarring his shoulder slightly, and he withdrew. When he looked down, he realized that they had come upon what appeared to be a dried out creek bed. The mud was cracked and pockmarked with footprints from various animals that might have passed through in recent days, though it seemed that it had been quite a while since there had been any water in the shallow indention.