Redhawk Caldera Ashes, ashes, we all fall down

Tags for visibility! @Fox @Elwood @Shrike @Eljay @Sassafras @Sasha @Trick @Finley @Whip @Lagan @Lucy @Gannet @Jackrabbit :o

His wounded shoulder was no stiffer than the rest of his body this morning as he rolled from his warm sleeping space, yawned, stretched and mentally prepared himself for a patrol. He glanced down at the sleeping Fox, taking a moment to bend down and nibble at the tip of one ear. It flicked but she didn't rouse. Smiling to himself, the Alpha male pivoted, his head raising and his tail flicking upward over his hips as he strode from the rendezvous site toward the eastern borders.

He found his path blocked by none other than Ferret, who he hadn't seen since the incident. Peregrine's mouth opened to say—he wasn't sure. Before he could get a word out, his son struck. He was typically already on edge around his unpredictable eldest, yet he was not prepared for the genuine hostility of this attack. Ferret's fangs burrowed into the crook between his shoulder and throat, close enough to Peregrine's jugular for the father to realize the deadly intent. Fortunately for him, Ferret was still young and unskilled enough that he had missed his target.

With alarm bells sounding in his head—had his child really just tried to go for his throat?—Peregrine blinked and then reacted. He arched his head and bit at the nearest part of Ferret he could reach, which happened to be one of his ears. He yanked on it, causing Ferret to yelp and release, flinging himself backward. The swarthy father only had enough time to spit out the scrap of his son's ear and brace himself before the incensed youngster flung himself at Peregrine once more, tail raised in a flagrant challenge to the Alpha's authority even as he made another genuine attempt to tear out the leader's throat.

But he was ready for him this time and dodged the youth's quick but imprecise attack. Peregrine then snarled and rounded on the youngster, grabbing him by the scruff and roughly manhandling him until he got Ferret on his back. Pinning the squirming youngster to the ground, he looked into his son's eyes and saw actual hatred looking back at him. It pierced his heart like an arrow. Ferret had always been a difficult child but the Redhawk monarch had never anticipated this.

"I'm only going to let you live because you're my son," he said lowly, not sure if Ferret would even hear over all his struggling. He swallowed thickly. Peregrine couldn't trust the teenager any longer. He had proved twice now that he would attack unprovoked. He was a threat not only to the Alpha male but everyone else in the pack. "Get the fuck out," he said woodenly, sliding off his son to let him get up, head and tail arching with authority as he dared the Firebird to try anything else.

Ferret was one angry son of a bitch but he wasn't completely stupid. Glaring at Peregrine in a way that reminded him eerily of Junior, the pup skulked away toward no man's land, muttering curses under his breath. Only when he got far enough away did he actually turn back and hurl several loud and nasty epithets at the Alpha male. Peregrine tolerated this for a few moments but when Ferret dared to take one step back in his direction, the swarthy wolf snapped and lunged. Fortunately, the cowardly youth spun and fled.

The Redhawk stood there for a while afterward, waiting to see if Ferret would try to return. He was also trying to process everything that had happened. When Peregrine finally moved, all it took was one step before his legs buckled. He hadn't even realized how much blood he'd been losing this entire time.