Redhawk Caldera Look what they've done to my brain, ma

Nightjar plodded along the edge of the caldera's crater with his tail held high and waving above his back. Ahead of him darted a fox, an animal he had no instinctive need to kill because it wasn't a competitor, but one that he found some entertainment in. It was rare that the burly boy would seek entertainment, but the borders were secured by the other guardians and there was nothing else for him to do. Besides, this was skill building in a way.

The fox would dart several yards away and then pause to glance over its narrow shoulder at the wolf that was tailing it. Normally it would make a getaway, but the wolf's behaviour confused it. Nightjar was relentless in his pursuit, but the wolf did so lackadaisically, as if he was doing it sheerly out of boredom. That was indeed the case. Nightjar had no intention of catching the fox or doing anything to it but he enjoyed following it, and even made a sort of game out of it: occasionally he would surge forward a few steps, sending the fox skittering nervously away to quite a distance, and then Nightjar would close it again with relaxed steps.

This had gone on for about fifteen minutes now, and still the fox did not depart wholly. Perhaps it was confused or perhaps it enjoyed it as well. Nightjar couldn't know the mind of an animal. Since a fox was neither prey nor rival, it was even harder to guess what it might be thinking. So he just continued following it around the caldera's rim, as he would do until he became distracted by something else or until the fox made its final escape.