Redhawk Caldera uncast shadow of a southern myth

Shrike sat quietly, attention flickering from one wolf to the next as the others showed up. He had a few expectations- just of the wolves he'd met before, but found himself somewhat surprised. Neither @Allure nor Ashmedai showed up, which stirred very different responses within him. He wasn't displeased whatsoever to see that Ash didn't show his face- in fact, he felt somewhat satisfied in seeing that the male had probably moved on, going elsewhere where wolves didn't care about properly patrolling the borders. He was disappointed, though, to see that Allure did not show up. She was pretty; he'd wanted to get to know her better. 

But his disappointment drifted away when the curiously marked pup- Ferret- came up to him and boldly sat no more than a foot away from him. He was lanky, with a long body and narrow frame, and would probably be stuck in that awkward phase for a while. Shrike cast the boy a glance, unsmiling, and allowed his gaze to linger on the brazen pup for a moment, as though any moment he might growl or shove the pup away. But before that plain gaze could last, it broke- he smiled, clicking his teeth together quietly in an amicable greeting to the pup before turning his attention to the pup's parents. Even if the kid had broken his father's leg, he couldn't be all that bad.

As it turned out, Shrike's worst suspicions were confirmed. The herds were gone and the greenery with them. Peregrine mentioned that they might have to leave the Caldera, and he nodded. If there wasn't food, they couldn't stay- what Peregrine said made sense, and Shrike would, of course, do his best to help the family out. It was with surprise and perhaps a slight shade of disdain that Shrike turned to look at the female who joined them shortly after Peregrine finished speaking, leaning heavily on Elwood. It might not have occurred to him before, but the fact that Finley was pregnant meant that there were more mouths to feed- and that she herself was in danger of being malnourished. He frowned- but he was not disappointed. Instead, he felt the stirring of determination in his chest. He would do everything he could to keep both the alpha and the beta families healthy and at the present, it looked as though Finley needed as much care as she could get. He made a point of introducing himself to Finley and Elwood as soon as he could, and offering his aid whenever he could.