Redhawk Caldera Luck be a lady

Not only had Peregrine noticed Pan's absence, he had sent his six-month-old Outrider out into the world to find him. She hadn't been able to locate their pack mate, though she had reported catching Pan's scent northwest of the caldera. He hated to leave his pack and territory vulnerable, so he didn't venture out himself, though he had a feeling that if Pan didn't materialize soon, he wouldn't be able to help himself...

An unfamiliar voice howled for him. Peregrine was dozing perhaps two dozen feet up the slope, not too far from the borders, having taken a break between patrols. He scrunched up his face as he rose, then carefully (and slowly) picked his way downhill, then toward the source of the call. He didn't immediately think to associate it with his absent lover, though once he spotted Pan's familiar white figure in the distance, the Alpha's heart leaped.

He desperately wanted to run, yet he maintained a slow and steady pace. He did bound the last several steps, bumping into Pan rather roughly and nosing him all over. "Where have you been?" he asked in a voice that was slightly stern but mostly just concerned. He barely registered the she-wolf standing nearby, though Peregrine eventually did look at her and demand, "And who are you?" while angling his face to scrutinize her with his good eye.