Redhawk Caldera I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition.

There was a flurry of movement around Towhee, though she scarcely noticed, since she was still busily fighting for her freedom. Then, suddenly, something wrenched her free from the interloper's grasp. She felt the sting of teeth burrowing into the loose skin at the back of her neck and instinctively went limp, although she was much too large to be carried and was instead dragged rather unceremoniously across the ground. Just as abruptly, she found herself dumped beside a shaken-looking Phox.

From here, Towhee could see that the black stranger had started to retreat, Elwood still hot on his heels. The pup licked her lips and lunged forward, only to check herself and peer back at Finley. If looks could kill, the Xi might have withered on the spot. Instead, she pressed herself to the ground and remained very still. She didn't even have to sign; everything about her body language said, "I'm sorry." All the same, her eyes fixed forward, tracking the outsider's movements and silently rooting for the Alpha male to catch and kill him.