Redhawk Caldera Kangaroo court

He was implacable, pushing her toward the borders and giving no heed to her pleas. Wildfire hadn't expected this. Caught off guard, she found herself shuffling away from him, allowing herself to be herded toward the caldera's outskirts. She briefly wondered what he would do if she resisted him. Would he really attack his own sister? When she glanced at his stony expression, it removed all doubt. Yes, he would remove her by force if necessary. Wildfire's lips parted in dismay, yet no sound came out as she continued to move unwittingly toward the territory's fringes.

As they came closer to the open grasslands around their home (correction: his home) and she saw the caldera rising up behind Nightjar, Wildfire felt a desperate impulse to push past him and flee up the mount. Surely their parents would not let him hurt her. But what if he caught her before she could get to them? Her brother would treat her like a trespasser. He would probably kill her. Her stomach seemed to drop into her feet.

"Nightjar, please..." she whispered. But there was no way to un-ring the bell, she knew. He would never let her pass. Right now, it was difficult not to take it personally and feel both hurt and upset, though she knew he was only acting on instinct. It was unexpected but impersonal. He really had made her decision for her. Perhaps this was the simplest way, if not the easiest.

"I'm going," she announced even as they reached the outskirts, her body language complementing her words as Wildfire crouched, black tail tucked. "But do me one last favor, as my brother," she said, enunciating the word in the hopes she could override Nightjar's feral side just for a moment. "Tell them I didn't abandon them. Tell them the truth." Tell them you gave me no choice, she thought but bit her tongue.

She stopped near where the caldera's foothills became Meadowlark Prairie, planting her feet. She knew she could (and likely would) howl to tell her family members the news. However, she still wanted to make sure Nightjar told them what had happened here. Wildfire didn't think they would hold it against him. And she had already let everyone know she might be leaving. But she was desperate for them to understand that she hadn't meant to cut and run like this.