Redhawk Caldera i warn you not to doubt the silence before the storm

we are not a threat to the wolves here, nomi says, and blix nods, eyes bright. she wonders if her extended family looks like her, or more like soft eljay. like her brother, she wonders if they're more similar to her sweet cousin in disposition than the strength of the wolves of drageda. (unlike her brother, though, she's very fond of their useless sitter, and fiercely protective to boot - an odd sitter/sittee relationship, but, well, someone's gotta look out for the weaker man!)

her eyes and nose are peeled for the arrival of the caldera's alphas - her aunt and uncle, who mother have talked so much about - but, no, there's someone else. at first she doesn't recognize the scent - it's acrid and feathery - but underneath there is... something sweetly familiar, something she could never in a million years forget or overlook, sweet mother's milk and herb. and then she sees her.

abandoning any sense of decorum the girl wails "mother!" and launches herself from her family's side, flinging herself the remaining distance to bury into her side, oblivious to the her state until she's nearly upon her. up close it is impossible to ignore the grime and her injuries and blix tumbles over herself in an effort to not collide with her and make it worse. she scrambles, expression panicked and jumbled, joyful and terrified, and with a quivering voice asks, "c-chit don kom au?"