Redhawk Caldera pineflower

Finding the caldera empty caught him by surprise, which made no sense. Caracal knew the pack had disbanded, yet it was still wild to come here and find the place empty, with no trace of Towhee's scent anywhere. It kind of made his guts ache. He stood at the old borderline, telling himself to go somewhere else. He should start by going next door and saying "hi" to his old man.

But some morbid curiosity compelled him to climb the familiar slope, pausing at the crest to take in the views. The nostalgia was almost overwhelming. Abruptly, he knew he wanted to stop by the Hobbit Hole and he began the descent into the interior.

About halfway down, Caracal spotted fresh paw prints in the snow. Surprised, he tried to stop but immediately began to skid. He gathered momentum surprisingly quickly as his center of gravity shifted him so that he began to slide backward downhill. He shouted, though there was no one around to hear it.