Redhawk Caldera love never wanted me.

Oh, hello there! :)

Elwood's life had settled into a nice little routine in the caldera. He woke up, he scouted the borders, he tracked prey, he checked on the caches, he went to sleep. There was some variation to the schedule -- for instance, depending on the weather, he might feel like hunting first thing in the morning, as opposed to patrolling. However the day played out, it was usually predictable; just the way he liked it. Redhawk Caldera was beginning to feel more and more like home, and he liked having a purpose and serving his pack.

The days tended to blur together, due to his repetitive schedule, so it was easy to lose track of time if he did not stop and think about it. On the day that Finley had sent up her howl, alerting the pack that she would be gone for a few days, Elwood had paused in his step and frowned. It wasn't odd, necessarily, that the Beta would be away from the territory for some time -- after all, she was an outrider, and had an adventurous personality to boot -- but he still felt a twinge of worry. He didn't act on it, however; Finley was an adult, and she was capable of caring for herself (even if she had a habit of getting herself into trouble).

Though he didn't go searching for her, he did make an addition to his daily routine -- stopping by Finley's den to see if she had returned. On his way to the borders, he would simply meander past, looking for any sign of his friend. Each time, he was met with the same scene: everything was just as she had left it, and there was no disturbance to suggest that she had come back.

Presently, the Gamma was making his fourth visit to her burrow in as many days, and wasn't expecting to see or smell anything different. But even as he approached, he could tell that Finley was there; the snow was churned up, as though a set of paws had rushed through, and her scent was fresh. Elwood smiled, unaware of the girl's fragile emotional state, and trotted right up to the mouth of her den. He wanted to welcome her back, and see how her hunting had gone. "Finley! You in there?" he called, stooping down to try and peer inside.