Swiftcurrent Creek happy birthday to you

Cap'n Bazi. It didn't have the same dastardly sound to it as Cap'n Fox, but she would get used to it. She had Scimitar to help her now, and it made the burden of Alphaship - because it was a burden, and she respected Fox all the more for carrying it now - a little less weighty.

Food, water, and plenty of rest had brightened Bones' clever eyes, but months of captivity and torture had left their mark. She was thin to the point of scrawny, and her coat lacked the luster of a healthy wolf. Bazi stole a glance at Bones' jutting hips as the other girl adjusted herself to better converse. What a foul thing to do to another living thing..

But Bones didn't seem fussed - she'd been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and was ready for bigger, better things. "Where do I start.." Bazi murmured - it was her turn to stare at the Creek, weighing the significance of various events.

"Well.. after you left, we got into a bit of a scuffle with the Sunspire wolves. Fox.. you know how she is; she baited them. Peed on their borders, fought with their members.. eventually, two of our own were captured and held hostage, and another one was injured. Haunter died at the same time, so Fox was.. distressed, I guess." It was easier to sympathize now - in the heat of the moment, Fox's temporary abandonment of the Creek had seemed like the worst thing in the world. "She ran off. Only for a little while, but things were moving so quickly then that it felt like an age. She found Peregrine, the three of us met up, Fox and I had a bit of a fight, and--"

Suddenly, something dawned on Bazi. She paused her story-telling, ears rising high on her head. "Actually - do you even know about the Sunspire?"