Redtail Rise Boilerplate

All welcome, though I'd love to see @Reek, @Wynter or @Saena in here. :)

The weather had been a bit crummy the past few days, so Junior stayed close to the rise. She spent most of the time lazing around the birch she had slept under since her first day here and the rest of it wandering around in search of things to do and people to see. Presently, she was milling about the foot of the rise. She was so bored, she considered doing a patrol and leaving some scent markers, though it gave her pause when she began to ponder whether the rain would just wash them away.

Speaking of which, it began to drizzle, then rain in earnest. Junior bounded up the hillside, seeking out the nearest tree for shelter. She didn't really mind rainstorms much, though it was chilly and she would prefer to be warm and dry. Only slightly damp, the bony yearling took refuge beneath a leaning pine, settling back against its rough, sticky bark to wait out the afternoon shower.

Mind if we backdate this a bit to when Reek returns from his mis-adventures in RHC?

Reek's brief stint at Redhawk Caldera had been nothing short of a disaster. What had started as an innocent enough trip to see a friend had spiraled out of control into a clusterfuck of catastrophe at the paws of the alpha male of the caldera who had inflicted a new set of scars across Reek's homely face as a token of appreciation for saving his daughter.  Well, saving may have been an exaggeration... She would have pulled through on her own, however it was good to have a watchful eye fixed upon her.   

The weather on the walk back had been, well, unfavorable.  However, the cool droplets of spring rain felt good against Reek's sliced up snout.  Although the rain was comforting in a way, Reek still pined for a nice dry place to lay in silence with Wyn and a bit of comfort after a tumultuous few days.  

Reek passed through the borders to Redtail Rise and quickened his pace toward his humble den. However, before scaling the ridge, Reek spotted Junior taking shelter from the rain under a tree.  She must have not dug a den yet.  "Hey June-bug," said Reek, mustering a weak smile.  "Me and Wyn should have enough room for you too.  It'll be tight, but you don't have to stay in the wet."

Saena was mid-patrol and totally bored when the rain began to fall. It started as a mild drizzle, hardly a concern to any wolf and especially not to a Naturalist who lived exclusively outdoors. Unhindered, the Alpha female continued her patrol for another quarter mile, and by then, it was falling much quicker. It mostly beaded on the top layer of her fur, but soon enough it would soak through to her undercoat and chill her to the bone. Already she sported a spiky mohawk from shaking once or twice while her fur became sodden.

She was unwilling to get completely soaked and welcomed the excuse to get away from border duty, but her pace was unhurried as she headed for higher ground and the thicker forest that prevailed on the ridge's median slope. She flipped back her ears, surveying the borders even as she left them behind. The Rise hadn't had any trouble from neighbours or loners yet, but that didn't mean they would never face any adversity.

Saena didn't get far up the hill before spotting a bedraggled Reek ascending. She popped her ears forward just in time to hear him speak, and though she didn't fully hear anything he said, it drew her attention to Junior, who stood beneath a nearby tree. The Alpha made a beeline for the two of them, smiling broadly and brightly saying, "hey guys!" though her smile faltered when she noticed the red welt on Reek's snout. "What happened?" she asked, full of concern as she finally quickened her step to reach him.

I'm not too fussed about the timeline. :)

The rain showed no signs of letting up anytime soon, so Junior relaxed forward onto her belly, then curled slightly into a ball. Despite her supine position, she didn't close her eyes. She peered watchfully out at the gray, watery world and noticed Reek well before he approached. He must have seen her too, for he came in her direction before Junior could even woof to grab his attention.

"Hey," she answered, quirking a brow at the nickname before her lips parted in a panting smile. "I'm—whoa, what happened to your face?" Her brows knit when she saw the red gash on the bridge of his muzzle. Junior immediately sat up. She was no Healer, but... "My aunt's a Healer. She's taught me a thing or two. Have you cleaned it yet?"

That was when Saena appeared, a flash of spiky white fur that joined the two dark wolves beneath the sopping boughs. "I was just wondering the same thing. I was telling him about Aunt Willow," she answered the Alpha's question, her two-toned eyes fixing on Reek's mutilated face. "If you don't want your face to end up looking like these," Junior added, gesturing at her own scarred appendages, "then we've gotta make sure it's clean to avoid an infection."

It seemed Reeks new injuries and the story behind them would be the new topic of discussion.  His pack-mate's genuine concern warmed the raggedy wolf's heart.  They were more of a family than he could have ever hoped to have.  "Oh, these?" He teased, running one of his forepaws across his face, causing him to visibly wince.  "Do they look bad?  Don't tell me... am I ugly?"  Reek shot the sisters a look of mock disgust to go along with his joke.  He was well aware that he had been beaten with the ugly stick, and hard for that matter.  

Junior seemed the most concerned about the raggedy healer's wellbeing, so he decided to address her concerns first. "Yeah, yeah.  I washed up on the way back.  It ain't bad, but I've got some stuff up in the den to treat it with.  Lazy old me hasn't been very lazy lately,"  Reek replied with a slight chuckle.  His herb cache was busting at the seams due to the pack's proximity to the herbalist's cache.  It was a regular healers wonderland.

"Redhawk Caldera happened... Obviously, I got in a little tussle," continued Reek, the king of understatement, as he turned his head to Saena.  "Didn't even get to see my buddy Pants before things went down.  Did you guys know the alpha there is a total prick?  I patch his kid up, and the guy fucking jumps me."  Reek opted against admitting his own fault in the matter... insinuating someone was a neglectful father tended to have it's consequences.    

"Aunt Willow's great," Saena agreed to back up whatever it was that Junior had said about the Blacktail healer before she was in earshot. "She's right though, definitely make sure you take care of it," Saena went on. She almost made a joke about Junior being basically a drunkard for the duration of her infection, but it was too fresh still. Her fear for her sister during that period and after, when the skinny Blacktail disappeared from the plateau, was stronger than any fear she'd ever felt in her life. She couldn't bring herself to joke about it yet.

Reek filled the gap with his own jokes, though, true to his character. Saena appreciated it even though she didn't have room to say it. "I'm sorry," she told him, barely concealing a grin, "but your career in beauty contests is at an end." Of course, she didn't intend to call Reek ugly. She hadn't noticed, truthfully. Saena put very little stock in other wolves' appearances, so whether they were beautiful or ugly, she often treated them exactly the same with no regard for their beauty (or lack thereof).

All jokes fell aside when Reek revealed the source of his injury: Redhawk Caldera. Reek went on to explain that it was the Alpha who attacked them. At first, Saena pegged Fox, as she so often did, but Fox wasn't a male. "Oh, yeah, we know he's a prick," she said, glancing sidelong at Junior, who would get the pleasure of telling Reek just who the Alpha of Redhawk Caldera was to them. She idly wondered which of the daughters it was, caught herself hoping it was the red-furred one (Fox's minime deserved to be hurt so much more than Raven), and guiltily put her thoughts aside.

Mind if I jump in? Also, this is the third time I wrote this post since I accidentally closed the last two tabs when i was writing...

The rain began as a light drizzle and so the male dismissed it and continued on his border patrol. A light rainstorm never bothered him, in fact it often raised his spirits as it was a confirmation that his god had not left him even when he wandered to strange lands. But the rain increased and fell in earnest, Zeus was either playing a trick on him or he was angry. Either ways, if the Greek stayed until he finished his border patrol, he would be soaked to the bone and that was seriously not what he needed or wanted.

So, Arion began trotting unhurriedly towards the Rise where his den was but he was quite a distance away from it. He had debated whether or not to make a run for it but came to the conclusion that he would still get soaked even if he ran as fast as he could. There was no sense in wasting precious energy if the outcome was the same.

When the Greek finally made it to the Rise, all the time muttering profanities under his breath, it wasn't long before the familiar scent of his packmates alerted him of their presence. Their figures came into view a moment later, Arion recognised them easily, Reek, Junior and Saena. Curiosity got the better of him and he quickened his pace, making his way towards them. "Hey guys, whatsup?" the stallion said with a grin on his maw, the smile faltered though when he noticed the cuts on Reek's snout. "The hell happened to you?" Arion said, and although his words were coarse and rough, there was genuine concern in them.

"Man, you look absolutely terrible," the chocolate warrior stated the obvious. "Who did this to you? Where are they? Do I need to go smash any brains or break anyone's faces?" Arion's tone was sincere, and his threats were no empty words.

Junior scarcely noticed when Arion arrived. The reminder of her scars wasn't that bad by itself, even though they were the direct result of Peregrine's gross negligence. But her back immediately stiffened at the mention of the Alpha's attack on her pack mate. Naturally, Junior didn't take that well. The worst part was a minor detail to the other three wolves present. She felt a flash of heat, then a decided chill. Her heart throbbed and she felt bile rising in her throat. The words, "I patch his kid up," rang in her ears and mind, repeatedly.

Thus triggered, Junior blinked when Saena called their father a prick. Her mouth opened to add something onto that but all that came out was a strange croak. She looked down at her scarred legs and was suddenly fighting tears. He really did replace you! her inner voice was now screaming. Despite all the time that had passed and all the growing up she had done in the meantime, this information bit into her like the lash of a leather whip.

"I'll kill him," the yearling eventually whispered, staring blindly just past the Alpha female's shoulder. "I'll kill him myself!" she suddenly screeched much louder. "I'LL KILL THAT FUCKING DEADBEAT PIECE OF SHIT AND HIS STUPID FUCKING REPLACEMENT KID TOO!" Her voice echoed off the nearby hillside, then was swallowed by the hush of rainfall.

Reek laughed along with Saena's clever quip. "Damn," he chortled from behind a wry smile. "There goes my future."  Unfortunately, the raggedy man had banked on floating through life just on his dashing good looks, now, he would have to develop... a personality. Lame.  However, it was always good to make light out of the worst situations, and Reek appreciated Saena's positivity.  

Although he had tried to clean the wound to the best of his abilities, it would more than likely scar.  It was far too deep to just fade away with time.  Both Peregrine and Tyrr had left their permanent marks on the bony canvas that was Reek.  Constant reminders of his piss-poor decisions.  It would, of course, be one more for the ever growing collection.  "It's nothing, some ground chervile root and a little bit of poppy to take the edge off and I'll be fine" he said, turning to Arion.  The concern in his voice surprised Reek, who had up until now, believed that Arion had only seen him as a business partner in their drug trade... nothing more.  However, his words told Reek otherwise.  "The alpha of Redhawk Caldera kicked my ass," he continued, re-explaing the situation, and well, withholding a few crucial details. 

Where Saena had simply agreed with Reek's sentiment, Junior, it seemed would take it a step further. Much further.  When Reek turned to her, it looked as if she had seen a ghost, while she stammered and tried to find her voice.  Croaking turned into screaming, and the bastard pedaled back, almost tripping into Arion while she threw her tantrum.  Replacement kid? Deadbeat?  Obviously, their relationship had been strained, whatever it was.  "I'll take that as you know him," stated Reek awkwardly over Junior's shouting. Like Junior, Reek was the type of wolf to hold a grudge.  Rarely, did he ever let things go, and now with Junior worked up into a tizzy, Reek saw his opportunity unfolding.  "Wanna get even?" He inquired with a wide grin.

Their threesome became a foursome with the arrival of Arion. Saena shot the Warrior-to-be a broad grin, but before she could say anything to him directly, her three companions were worked into a frenzy. First, Arion noticed the gashes cut across Reek's snout, which Reek explained quickly and succinctly. His story didn't deviate one bit from what he'd recounted for the sisters, so Saena took it to be the whole truth. She'd made amends with Peregrine recently, but that hardly meant his transgressions of the past were erased, and this most recent one would be remembered.

She was just about to speak with Junior suddenly erupted. Saena took a step back from her raging sister, surprised and yet not at all by the words that flew from her lips. It was no secret that Peregrine's abandonment affected Junior most of all. Saena herself felt betrayed and forsaken, but it was nothing compared to how Junior must've felt, to inflict on herself the pain that she had. Though the rust-marked Redtail wolf felt her hair rise instinctively as a desire to control the situation welled in her, there was nothing she could say, for deep down inside, she felt exactly the same way.

Instead, she latched onto Reek's voice and turned numbly toward him. "He's our dad," she revealed, in case he hadn't caught onto it from Junior's outburst, "and he abandoned us at the plateau to start a brand new life with a brand new mate and, as you found, brand new children." She didn't think it was prudent to mention it, what with Junior so riled up that she could take it as a slight, but she couldn't help but say, "I've seen them, when I tried to let go of my hatred and put the past behind me, and even though they didn't choose their shitty parents, I looked at them and disliked them immediately, because our father left us behind in favour of them." This was a partial lie, of course—Saena knew her half siblings weren't to blame for Peregrine's negligence, and didn't wish them ill except for the red one—but it was also partially true, for there had been definite dislike, which grew ever stronger in the wake of Reek's injury and Junior's distress.

Arion simply nodded in reply to Reek's words, he knew the ragged man was good with herbs and boring shit like that so he knew the cuts would be treated well. But to the warrior, the problem wasn't really that, the main problem was the wolf who did that, the wolf who did that to his packmate. His drug dealer said that it was the Alpha of Redhawk Caldera that did this to him and Arion had half the mind to simply leave then and go for the Caldera to pay the Alpha his respects. Teach him not to mess with the Rise.

But then Junior seemed to have a fit, she stammered, like her voice had vanished. Whispers quickly escalated into screams. Reek nearly tripped over him as he quickly moved backwards as their black packmate screeched profanities and insults. Replacement kid? Deadbeat piece of shit? From what Arion managed to put together from her words, it seemed like she knew whoever the Alpha was and was someone's kid? He remembered she said something about being born in the wilds so it came to no surprise that one of her parents were still here.

A smirk touched Arion's maw then, ears flicking over to Reek as he spoke about getting even. Even though he had not known these wolves for very long, they were still his packmates and somehow he cared for them. Nobody injured his packmates, and even though the Caldera Alpha had done nothing to him, he wounded Reek and to the chocolate Greek, that was basically the same. "You can count me in," the warrior's eyes glinted.

Saena then began to explain saying that the Caldera Alpha was their father and that he had abandoned them at the plateau, wherever that was, to start a new life with a new mate, with new children. "I've just heard about him and I already want to smash his brains and beat him into a bloody fucking piece of shit," Arion shifted his weight, now more than ready to run to the Caldera, wherever that was and start a fight. If this guy could could injure Reek and then cause a major eruption from Junior, he had enough reason to piss on that pack's lands.

Junior was too busy seeing red to hear much of what was said after her outburst. She breathed heavily, her ears ringing with the echo of her own infuriated screams. She missed Saena's confession about meeting the pups, as well as Reek's joking, "Wanna get even?" Only when Arion spoke did Junior's focus suddenly return. Her head whipped in his direction.

"No," she said to him, eyes narrowing. She then looked at Reek. Her father had wounded him, so it was fair that he should want to pay it back. But Junior repeated, "No." She paused, searching for a way to articulate her thoughts. "He deserves to have his ass handed to him for what he did to your face. But my history with Peregrine runs so much deeper, as do my wounds. I want to be the one that dishes out his deserved punishment."

She may have appeared to be out of her mind right now but Junior wasn't crazy. Despite her Warrior experience, there was no way she could take down her father by herself. There was a whole pack waiting to back him up too. But somehow, some way, she was determined to hurt Peregrine the way he had hurt her. She knew that injuring his child would be the way to do it. And harming, even killing, one of his newer cubs would be a satisfaction all its own.

Squaring her shoulders, Junior steadied herself with a breath and spoke primarily to Saena, "I'm not going to run off to the caldera to pick a fight. None of us should do that. It would only invite a war on this brand new pack, which I don't think any of us want." She paused. "I have some ideas on how we can get him back. He'll pay for everything he's done to wrong us. I'm going to go have a long think. I'll talk to you about my ideas later."

And just like that, Junior slipped away into the storm, mindless of the onslaught of water now. Her mind reeled angrily, though thoughts of revenge helped her achieve a sense of sinister calm.

Their dad?  That was their dad!? Small fucking world.  Reek listened intently as Saena explained their situation.  The picture she painted of the alpha of Redhawk Caldera was one of an ass: a terrible father and a flake, a man who would walk out his own children.  As if Reek didn't already have the preconceived notion that Peregrine was simply a waste of air, however, Saena's explanation only solidified the raggedy wolf's views.  But, one thing was certain.  Something should be done about it.

Arion was the first to say he would be on board with a pay-back plan, which came as a pleasant surprise to Reek.  The raggedy man wanted nothing more than to get even with his assailant from the caldera, and seeing what he had done to both Saena and Junior created a desire within Reek for heads to roll... particularly Peregrine's, since the pups were essentially innocent in the whole ordeal.  Reek did not harbor the same disdain for his replacement young; his issues laid with the alpha himself.

However, Junior was quick to snuff his plans for vindication before they could even take root.  Dragging the Rise into a war over damaged pride was the last thing Reek wanted to do... and it all felt oddly familiar to his time in Ankyra Sound. "Fair enough," he said to Junior before she made her exit. "Just keep me in the loop." This was her battle to fight after all, however, Reek was ready to play any part he could.

After Junior had made her exit, Reek turned to the others.  "I'm gonna go— you know, treat this thing," Reek said, gesturing to the gash on his face with one of his forepaws.  "Good-god... Wynter's going to flip when she sees what happened to me."  Reek stifled a shaky laugh before setting off toward his den to see his mate... explaining this was going to be a doozy.

Their discussion was so chaotic, the anger and hatred so palpable, that Saena could only sit down meekly and listen. She had no words. This level of aggression wasn't something she was designed to handle. She was a wolf who followed the rules and did so as justly as she was able. Sure, she held grudges, but actual revenge wasn't something she often followed through. Take Koda, for example. Saena had every right to hunt him down and mangle some part of his body for what he'd said to her and what he'd done to Dante, but the thought had never crossed her mind, and not only because she wasn't much of a fighter. It wasn't her style.

"Good," she said firmly when Junior promised not to go picking fights. "The last thing we need is them showing up here to take us down. As much as I dislike Peregrine and as much as I hate his mate for how selfish she is," and here she grimaced, "they have a very strong pack. We wouldn't stand a chance." Junior's ideas about revenge were just that—ideas. Whatever she was planning, Saena was unlikely to allow it if it involved the pack in any way, but she didn't wish to wound her sister further by shooting down any idea. The lanky black Warrior was already heading off anyway. It was too late to say anything else.

Reek said his goodbyes as well. Saena quickly told him, "tell her you beat the other guy up, that'll win her over," as he turned away, and then she was left with just Arion. She turned to face him and flicked back her ears apologetically. "I'm sorry for that, Arion. Junior's not usually like that. Our dad, he fucked us over pretty bad, though. She... has scars from it." Saena needn't mention their real source. "I'm shocked that happened to Reek, though. I didn't think he would show such a lack of gratitude to someone for helping his kid, especially his new ones."

Arion met Junior's gaze calmly as she spoke and listened intently. The last thing he wanted to do was to drag his newly established pack into war with a larger, better established pack. The odds were not in their favor and the danger was much too great. If they wished to take revenge, they might as well create plans and wait, wait for their best chance, wait until the Rise was a larger, more formidable and powerful pack before they put their plan to action. If there was a plan at all, for although Arion was a wolf to hold grudges for a long time, he learnt that it was different for others and more often than not, they forgot.

The Greek kept silent as the other wolves spoke, absorbing their words and storing them away in his brain like he did if he thought the conversations held interesting information that he had to go through later. Arion did wish to take revenge on the Caldera, they would never catch him anyways, mindless creatures, but he did not wish to endanger the Rise and therefore, until he had a better attack plan, he would stay put.

The stallion simply offered a reassuring smile and a shrug of his shoulders in reply to Saena's apology. "Its fine, you don't have to apologize for that, we all have those moments anyways." Moments were rage burned through their veins and blood was all they saw, moments where revenge was all they knew. "He probably thought Reek was hurting the kid instead of helping," Arion shrugged. He had never been a father himself so he really wouldn't know. "I should get going, the borders won't man themselves," the rain had lessened into a light drizzle and soon it would be gone.

"I'll see you later," he smiled at her and turned to walk down the hill to the scent line.