Redhawk Caldera friends become family

Shrike had passed that very restless night in his den, had rearranged all his items several times and had even taken several trips in and out of the den, taking a few of his items out completely. His den had been scattered with pretty things that he'd found- mostly white rocks that he'd found along rivers or creeks, the claw from what he assumed was an eagle, a couple antlers and even two small skulls which had likely belonged to young deer. These, naturally, were the items that he carried out of his den and banished; their pale, permanent grins were too much for him to handle, as he knew one day Peregrine would be reduced to nothing more than a skeleton as well and it was a painful reminder of the loss they had suffered. 

That morning he went South, far from his routine route, to begin marking along the borders to make sure that no foreign wolves got any ideas as Peregrine's scent began to fade. His heart felt heavy every time he found Peregrine's scent, and he made sure to leave it me, marking instead somewhere a bit further down the borders. He felt as though he was dawdling and it took him quite some time to even make it halfway around the pack's borders, where he veered away from his path in search of a drink of water- and maybe one or two more white rocks to fill up the empty space inside his den. 

 There was a new scent in the pack- belonging to a female he did not yet know, but it had been in the packlands for at least a day now, and no calls had gone up despite the fact that other wolves had crossed her path. Probably a new member, he supposed, which was a good thing. They would need to up their numbers- even if just by one or two wolves- to make sure they could defend their borders. 

As soon as he caught Fox's scent he balked. He wasn't entirely sure what he could do for her now, aside from hunting and continuing to both search for  Lucy and keep their borders safe. Still, he could not avoid her, and continued to walk in the direction he'd been headed in as Fox's scent grew stronger and stronger. Maybe she would appreciate going for a hunt, or continuing along the borders with him. Something to get her mind off the current situation, but when he saw her, all the little ideas he'd come up with faded away and he felt lost again. 

He greeted her with a low chuff, and approached her with his head down and tail low, as he had at the gravesite. They weren't far from the creek, where he could satisfy his thirst, but before he could take care of himself, he had to put his cousin's mate first. He touched his nose gingerly to her cheek. "Anything I can do for you?" He asked quietly.