Redhawk Caldera ARMY BRATS

Finley's immediate reaction to the alpha's call was to turn away - to tuck herself even further into her misery and continue to ignore the entire world that had never stopped moving around her, no matter how it had completely ceased to her.  The pain of losing her litter was still too fresh to her.  She and Elwood had decided not to share their loss with the rest of the pack.  What was the need?  It wouldn't bring them back and they had plenty else to deal with following the "incident".  She knew that she would be incapable of holding herself together in front of others, particularly when they asked her why she looked... off.  So, Fin avoided them as best as she could either by patrolling the borders, tracking herds outside of the Caldera, or simply hiding in her den and drowning in her sorrows.


But...

The beta lifted her head slowly a minute or two after the call had ended, staring at the entrance to the den as though she'd never even realized before that there was an opening over there.  She was still such a mess - on top of having not eaten more than a bite or two since the miscarriage, she somehow felt more bloated and sick than ever, as though her body was intent upon mocking her loss by continuing to put her through the motions.  Nonetheless, for the first time, she felt compelled to join her packmates, and so she dragged her haggard self to her paws and trotted off towards the call.

When she arrived, she immediately regretted it.  She wasn't ready for this at all.  Fin's eyes swept across the gathering, settling upon every wolf that would know in an instant that she was suffering, which was every one of them there.  Silently, she crept up alongside Elwood and stood just a couple of inches from him.  Their relationship had become strained since she miscarried, but what they lacked in intimacy, they had never lost in their need for each other no matter how awkward and silent Fin had made it in her turmoil.  Quietly, she turned her gaze to Fox and Peregrine, the latter of whom looked to be in just as terrible shape as she, which if anything simply made her feel even worse.  She turned her head down to her paws finally and focused on the blades of grass between them, praying that she could hold it together long enough to get back out of dodge.