Redhawk Caldera WSS: Prologue

Hunting solo was better than hunting with packmates. There was no need to share the spoils, no discrepancy in skill sets to work through, and, most importantly, no voices flinging criticism at her when she really messed up. Alyx limped lightly through the pines, scowling at the ground as she worked her way up toward the lake, where she hoped to soak her sore paw. One slip on a patch of ice while chasing down a rabbit and she'd gone and sprained the damn thing, and now she'd have to rest it for a couple days before she could return to practicing.

She was surprised when she arrived at the water's edge and spotted the burly, gold-chased brown form of her brother moving along the slope from afar. She hadn't seen Bronco in... Well, since he'd left. Maybe in passing at best, but that was all. The cold lump of resentment that found its way into her chest when her parents denied her the right to leave and expand her horizons the way they'd let Meerkat go rose suddenly into her throat. She'd almost forgotten that before that, she resented Bronco for leaving her after promising to be there for her.

As she wasn't turning out to be the most forgiving of wolves, and certainly not mature enough yet to bury the hatchet first, Alyx opted to pretend she hadn't noticed him and continued down to the lake, thrusting her paw into the freezing water and hissing at the cold bite of it.