Redhawk Caldera Fly-by-nights from Riverside

Wildfire couldn't remember a time when the air hadn't been somewhere between pleasantly warm and searingly hot. As autumn crept up on the wilderness, she got her first taste of cooler weather... and found she loved it, at least so far. From the air around her to the leaves underfoot, everything was crisp. The sights and smells were amazing (and she was told they would get even better as fall really progressed). Although she knew winter was rumored to be the toughest season of all, the youth looked forward to her first snow and, of course, the completion of her first revolution around the sun.

She didn't miss the loud hum of cicadas nor the drifting fireflies much as she plodded around the caldera this evening, enjoying the early darkness and the dip in temperature. Her amber eyes flicked skyward to watch as the cold stars emerged beside the motherly moon. She thought briefly of her friend, Charon, as she wondered if he was looking at the night sky right now too. Wildfire's black tail flicked and she decided to rove higher, to a better vantage point, and see if she couldn't figure out some shapes and patterns.

There was someone in her path. She paused and squinted. "Njal?" Slowly, the juvenile moved nearer to the pack's eldest member. Her black tail began to slowly wag. "What're you up to?" she wondered, gliding to stand beside him, one large ear tilted toward him as she idly swept their dark surroundings.