Redhawk Caldera days gone by

The commencement of shuffling and wailing within the den prompted Crow to flatten her very plush ears against her skull and thump her tail all the more wildly. A small female (smaller than herself, even) appeared in the threshold, and Crow immediately noted the smoothing of bristled hackles. The little black female tucked her tail against one haunch, but did not cease the sign of enthusiasm it had a mind to display. The alpha female then emerged in full and claimed the gift carcass with a sharply delivered question of just who the stranger was.

“Crow Corvidae,” she chirped brightly, with obliging and submissively averted eyes which shone. If Fox had been anyone else, she might not have thought to offer her surname, but Crow already knew who she was from discussions she’d shared previously with her wandering sister. She’d already caught a clear image of the other female before respectfully aiming her eyes elsewhere, and she couldn’t help voicing the recognition that followed. “You must be Fox,” she observed, because the resemblance was extraordinary.