Redhawk Caldera There's not a road I know that leads to anywhere

In the aftermath of Junior's vicious plot to kill them, the children of the Caldera were discomfited. Wildfire was in recovery, rarely peeking out of the badger den while her wounds closed and her flesh stitched itself back up. Tiger was a constant companion of the young Redleaf-DiSarinno's now. Raven was reclusive, moreso than ever before, and skirted around their father any chance she got. Even the adults were bothered; where Fox was now a firecracker with an almost over-zealous intensity, Peregrine was in the dumps.

Nightjar was different. The incident had not traumatized him or even really affected him at all. Because he hearkened to his instincts far more than his feelings, the boy understood what had happened was out of necessity. He felt nothing for the wolf Peregrine beheaded; two seconds prior to the event, she was a sister, but it was so brief and so unexpected that Nightjar didn't even care that she was dead. At the time, he'd feared for Wildfire, but after that calmed down and his sister was stabilized, Nightjar's life went pretty much back to normal, except for one thing.

Peregrine was now everything Nightjar aspired to be in the future.

It wasn't just because Peregrine was already pretty cool. It definitely wasn't because he'd been demoted to the bottom of the heap, which Nightjar didn't even realize (or care about—ranks meant little to him except in disputes). It was because Peregrine had dispatched his own daughter as a threat, and because he'd done so so easily and brutally. Peregrine had, overnight, become the most badass wolf in the entire Caldera, and Nightjar wanted his Warrior prowess.

So it was that the almost-three-month-old didn't bat an eyelash when he left the rendezvous site and followed Peregrine's scent trail diligently. Nightjar knew he would probably be in trouble for leaving the area, but screw it. His father wasn't there and, frankly, he didn't think his mother, sisters, or godparents were nearly as cool or fierce as him, even though they'd been part of the scuffle as well. When he heard a voice calling his father's name, Nightjar sped up, and stopped when he spotted his newly greyed parent with Tiger nearby.