Redhawk Caldera [m] Kamikaze

Mature Content Warning

This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.

The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: someone ~*loses their head*~ if you know what I mean (GRAPHIC VIOLENCE).

On the third day after Junior's outburst, she lied to her sister. "It just triggered me when Reek told us what dad did to him," she said to @Saena, keeping her tone casual. "But I'm feeling better about it now. I'm not going to let that fuck-bag and his replacement family bother me anymore." She made no mention of the thoughts and plans that had been stewing in her head since Reek's return. "Anyway, I'm gonna go explore to the east, I think. I might be gone a few days. I'll see you later." She touched her nose to the young Alpha's cheek, then licked her chin and swept away from Redtail Rise.

Junior made a point to head east, in case her sister or pack mates were watching or went sniffing after her. After putting several miles behind her, she then made a beeline south, then gradually arced back west. The journey took the entire day, well into the night. She rested in the familiar Sleepy Fox Hollow for a few hours, then continued her trek early in the morning. She reached the base of Redhawk Caldera right around the time Peregrine and his family might be eating breakfast.

Heart hammering in her chest, Junior paused outside the borders, lifted her black muzzle into the air and called her father's name.

Indeed, the Alpha's family was busy chowing down on a doe he had captured just before dawn. Peregrine took his fill, then sat back to watch @Fox, @Nightjar, Wildfire and @Raven feed their faces. They seemed to be enjoying the fresh kill very much, which made him feel validated. It gave him immense satisfaction to provide his mate and pups with such nourishing sustenance.

He was licking some sticky blood from between his toes when a familiar but entirely unexpected voice rose into the air. Peregrine's entire body went rigid with surprise. He saw his mate and children pause and look at him questioningly. "Junior," he murmured. "I'll be right back. I expect this to be nothing but bare bones when I get back," Peregrine added more loudly, bumping his nose against his son's head in particular as he passed.

Not knowing at all what to expect from his prodigal daughter, the Alpha loped away from the rendezvous site, then down to the caldera's foot. He found her easily enough. He tried to read her body language but it was inscrutable. He found his heart was thudding nervously in his chest as he made his approach. He was happy to see her after so long, though the scars on her legs made his breath hitch in his throat, reminding him of his failures as a father.

There was no response. Junior's face fell into a scowl. Her ears turned backward. Maybe she should just intrude... but before she could foray further into this line of thought, she saw a familiar swarthy figure appear on the mountainside. Her mouth went dry. Her two-toned eyes never left Peregrine as he came toward her. She could feel the weight of his jade gaze on her face. Belatedly, she remembered to smile. She just hoped it didn't look as fake as it felt.

"Dad," she said when he came within earshot. She looked him full in the face. A small part of her—the small puppy inside her that had worshiped him, back before he'd become a total deadbeat—almost made her rethink her plan. But a much larger part of her felt fury surge through her. He looked happy and healthy. She could smell Fox and the pups on him. She wanted to throw up, preferably in his face.

"I came here to make amends," she announced after a pause, tail flicking tentatively. "I've decided to forgive you... and I hope you can do the same for me." It was simultaneously a bold and apologetic statement. She looked down at her paws. More accurately, her eyes traced over the gruesome scars on her forelegs, wondering if he'd even noticed them.

This encounter immediately reminded him of his handful of ones with Saena. He didn't know exactly how to conduct himself. When Junior called him dad, his insides felt soft and warm. When she informed him she forgave him, he swallowed, then slowly nodded. Perhaps it was presumptuous of her to make such a statement but he knew what pain he had caused her. He knew he was the reason behind her healed injuries, as a matter of fact. That she was forgiving him was sort of a miracle, honestly, and he would accept it humbly.

"Junior, I'm so glad you came to see me. There are a thousand things I want to say to you. I know 'I'm sorry' hardly covers it but please know that I am. I was a blind, ignorant fool about a lot of things. I turned my back on you. I'm so sorry for the pain I caused." His eyes lingered on her scars, then flitted up to her face. "I would do anything to make it up to you. I can't undo the damage, I know, but I'll do whatever it takes to pay my dues and redeem myself however much that I can. Junior..." he finished, voice getting a bit thick and shaky as he felt a million emotions. "I love you, baby girl, and I'm so happy you're here."

She had almost died, he knew, and then she had vanished. He had lost her several times in the past year, in various different ways. But she was standing before him now. He badly wanted to rush up to her, hold her close. She meant to much to him. But Peregrine didn't want to press his luck, just like he hadn't with Saena or even Tytonidae. He really had fucked up with his first litter and the ball would always be in their court.

She saw him staring at her scars after all. You did this to me, she thought, complete with an internal sardonic frown. Outwardly, she did her best to maintain a small smile. Junior listened to her father's speech, which was so heartfelt that she was almost convinced. Once more, she was second-guessing her plan. But Junior's hatred for her father ran too deep, overwhelming any remaining threads of love and affection she might have carried from her early childhood. All it took was one flashback to that cold winter day when she'd nearly killed herself to remind her of the deep pain he had inflicted. It was unforgivable.

And so she lied. "Like I said, I decided to forgive you. And I did my fair share of crap too. So... I actually think it would be easier if we put it all behind us and maybe started over. What do you think?" She forced a wider smile onto her lips, her mismatched eyes lifting to look him tentatively in the face again. The tip of her tail stirred as if in anticipation.

Junior's reply was short, sweet and to the point. He shook his head at her. "Don't apologize, Junior. You have nothing to be sorry for..." His lips pursed. Right at the moment, Peregrine couldn't even recall any of her trespasses, if there even were any. "I'd like that, though I still plan to spend my days trying to make it up to you. But I would definitely love for you to be part of my life again." He paused, considering it, then hesitantly added, "And your half-brother's and sisters' lives, if you like. But that is entirely up to you," he added hastily, hoping he hadn't put his foot in his mouth already. Junior had always resented the idea of his and Fox's offspring.

Hoping to allay any ill feelings he might have caused by mentioning the pups, Peregrine queried, "Will you tell me what you've been up to since I last saw you? I've heard things from Saena and others but I'd love to hear the stories straight from the adventurer herself," he finished, unaware that he'd used the very label Saena had applied to the capricious Junior.

When Peregrine mentioned the pups, Junior felt as if someone had thrown a javelin right through her chest. At first, it was cold as ice, shattering her heart. Then those shards caught on fire and her entire body felt like it was smoldering. Her hurt was totally eclipsed by her hatred. It took all of her self-control not to grimace at best and go into a fit of rage (not unlike the one back at Redtail Rise) at worst. Junior wondered if blood could literally boil, because it certainly felt that way.

When he changed the subject, Junior shook her head. "There will be plenty of time to fill you in about my adventures. The most important thing is that I grew up, dad. Actually... I'd like to meet them. I think Saena mentioned that she saw them once. What are their names?" She didn't want to sound too excited or eager, then he might suspect something was off about this whole thing. The yearling bit her lip, trying to convey a sense of cautious enthusiasm.

The yearling's reaction took him by surprise. Not only did she not seem to mind the mention of his new offspring, she wanted to meet them. Peregrine felt his heart jump into his throat. A little voice in his head whispered, It's too good to be true. But he completely ignored it. He was too busy getting ahead of himself and envisioning a life in which his elder offspring regularly interacted with his younger. He would patch together his plateau life with his caldera life, slowly but surely, bringing them together the way he should have done in the first place.

"Nightjar, Wildfire and Raven. Also known as NJ, Wifi and Rave." Peregrine struggled not to grin like an idiot. He never thought he would be having this conversation. "If you don't mind the thought of bumping into Fox, I can take you to meet them. They're all eating breakfast right now. You could join us." He smiled and waved his tail, once more indulging in the mental picture of a happily blended family.

Either she was doing a damn good job or Peregrine was just too distracted by his own selfish delight to pay attention to her. Either way, the plan was working better than expected. He even invited her to come breakfast with his young pups. Junior felt a cool finger press to the base of her neck, then shudder down her spine. Her heartbeat accelerated. She experienced a fight or flight response. The Warrior steeled her jaw, ignoring the voice in the back of her mind that urged her to rethink what she was doing. This is a suicide mission! it screamed. I know, she coldly thought back.

"Uh, yeah!" Junior managed, grimacing slightly and then offering a sheepish smile when Peregrine mentioned Fox. "If she doesn't care, I don't. I'll be good," she said, then offered up a laugh that sounded completely hollow to her own ears. "What are they like?" she added, moving to stand beside the Alpha so she could follow him. Their dark pelts brushed and she slowly recoiled.

She seemed a bit surprised and perhaps caught off guard, yet she agreed to join him. "Great," he said simply, turning and beginning to lope up toward the rendezvous site. Fox probably wouldn't be crazy about him bringing his estranged daughter around the pups but it was his right, as Alpha, to invite guests onto the territory. And he wanted the half-siblings to meet one another; that was their right. Besides, they'd met Saena before and everything had gone fine.

"NJ actually reminds me of Pura a bit, though he's a little more playful and talkative. Wifi's the bashful one. She's a little achiever, though; she's already a Naturalist apprentice. And Rave kind of reminds me of you and Ty, at least physically. She's quiet too. Don't take it personally if the girls act sort of shy around you."

It wasn't long before they arrived at the rendezvous site's main clearing, the smell of meat drawing them forward. Peregrine motioned for Junior to move behind him as he emerged from the tree line and padded toward Fox and the puppies. "Hey, guys. I brought a surprise guest with me." He glanced at the kill, which had been reduced to scraps. "I thought I told you to finish this off while I was gone! That's okay, now there's just enough for Junior to eat."

Smiling, he turned and motioned at Junior again, this time inviting her to stand beside him. "Kids. Yo, NJ!" he called to the least attentive of the three. "This is Junior. She's your half-sister, like Saena. You remember me talking about your half-sisters and brother, right?" he prompted them, then cast another sideways smile at the bony yearling.

This is now open to others.

Junior tuned out Peregrine as he answered her question, overlaying his descriptions with an internal, Blah, blah, blah! She concentrated on keeping her breathing steady, not to mention her legs. She felt oddly jellylike as she climbed the mount, knowing what she was preparing to do. But, strangely, her resolve only seemed to strengthen as her father droned on about his wondrous new offspring and led her toward them, like a shepherd accidentally leading a wolf in sheep's clothing to slaughter his lambs.

She obediently fell behind him as he led the way into the clearing. Junior took the opportunity to look around, gather her bearings and note the location of each wolf present. She felt a seething bolt of black hatred when she spotted Fox. She ignored the thunder of her heartbeat as her eyes fell upon each child, one by one. She didn't know which one Reek had saved, though she imagined it was the little black one. Her eyes momentarily locked on Raven, her bona fide replacement.

As Peregrine prattled on about introductions, Junior decided it was now or never. She had to act while her resolve was still strong, before her nerves could possibly fail her. Fully aware that she likely wouldn't make it out alive, she slowly wound closer to the puppies, smiling broadly and offering up an enthusiastic, "Hi, guys!"

Then, without any preamble whatsoever, she struck at the nearest pup (which happened to be Wildfire), determined to tear out the little bitch's throat. Junior knew that Peregrine would never, ever recover from the loss of one of his beloved favorites. Forcing him to likely kill her, one of his castoffs, in the process was just icing on the cake.

Just as Peregrine instructed right before leaving, Nightjar did his very best to stuff his face. It wasn't hard. He was porky, bulky, and overly eager about eating most of the time. He was the poster child for dual Warden and Warrior trades in his future, though, so this was understandable. He was still pulling strips of flesh off the doe, albeit slowly due to the cramping in his stomach from eating too much, when his father returned with a stranger in tow.

Strangers didn't bother Nightjar. For whatever reason, he instinctively understood that any wolf in the company of his father was an unlikely threat. Peregrine could neutralize them in a split second if necessary, and of course, Nightjar was also notably unafraid. He feared stupid things like butterflies and feathers, but never another wolf. He was on his feet instantly, boldly sauntering toward Junior with his little chest puffed competitively.

When she said hi, he chirped, "hey, you!" right back. He opened his mouth to demand a play fight when suddenly the black female was a blur and chaos erupted. He was only a little puppy, but his brain, at least the part of it governed by instinct, moved very quickly to analyse the situation. She was going for Wildfire.

Putting as much effort as he could into it, Nightjar screeched, "hey!" and charged, completely unaware of the fact that Junior would actually kill him if she got the chance. His only thought was to protect his sister from this much larger opponent... but surely it was a game, right? Surely she would admit defeat when he rammed into her leg, just like the other adults did... right?

She had been in the area.

Tiger carried with her a coyote she had taken care of; it was a little on the younger side, but, still, it was better to take care of it now before it grew older and you know... could do any real damage to their caches. She thought it was practical and the best thing to do for the Caldera and had no qualms with it. She was passing through, and drifted toward the family to say hello and all that. She had actually wanted to talk more with Fox, who she didn't really know all that well. Given she'd been around long enough to feel confident in her staying, she really wanted to get to know the leader; she'd just been busy trying to earn some trades. At the least, the leaders might know of her efforts... but Fox knew not so much about her. Even Peregrine she could afford to see more, and the kids!

It was with that in mind that she broke through the clearing. Mission: get to know the fambam some more. It appeared there was a scrawny black wolf, but Peregrine must have known her, because it was him she stood beside, greeting the family cheerily. Tiger herself thought she might have actually fucked up and interrupted something, and instead of a committed, "Hey guys, whatsup, how are you doing, wanna hang a while," she offered a pleasant, "Hry grys!!" Her greeting muffled by the 'yote in mouth, that now suggested, just passing through, see yas later!

Just as she was about to move on, the skinny one lurched for a pup. Tiger stood still for a second, a moment of what the fuck...? clearly hitting her, and then she dropped the coyote and threw any and all caution to the wind. Tiger herself moved to enter Juniors line of attack, but if she had hit a cub beforehand Tiger would just go on a frenzy in attempts to distract Junior to go for her, instead. She wasn't much of a fighter, but it was the most she could do, not wanting to hurt a cub further or knowing, really, what Junior had succeeded in doing. She heard Nightjar, but only heeded the attacker.

enter the bulldozer lolz

Finley's body had not been a huge fan of her wrestling match with the starved coyote.  One, it just plain ached far more than she ever remembered it hurting after a fight.  Two, the cut just above her shoulder that the little bastard had inflicted stung with each step she took - not surprising, but still quite irritating as it was really little more to her than a scratch.  In spite of all that though, Fin was thoroughly done with her body slowing her down.  Especially after that week or so she'd spent holed up in her den, puking herself stupid, there was nothing that would stop the fierce little woman from going about her duties.

The beta had just been burying the ragged carcass of a raccoon that she'd stolen from a gaggle of carrion birds when she heard the sounds of excitement coming from the Redleaf Disarinno residence.  She'd paid it no mind as it wasn't entirely unusual.  When a voice she had not heard in quite a while rose upon the wind, her mind snapped right to attention.  Finley's eyes narrowed as a growl rumbled gently from her chest, the scars across her back tingling as though even they remembered the way the bitch had kicked her out of the Plateau when she had barely healed enough to move.

Junior.

A protective instinct rose in Finley that she knew Peregrine would have likely chided her for.  He still carried affection in his heart for the bitchy daughters he'd left behind, but while Fin could maybe consider the pale, rust-edged Saena with neutrality, she could never be convinced that his black-furred child was not a threat.  And so, the beta made a quick job of finishing up with the cache before making a hasty trek to her godchildren.

I can't really even say what moment it was that Fin spotted the little family conversing with the black demon child, nor when it was she realized that something was terribly wrong.  I'm not sure when she started running or even at what point in the attack Junior was when Finley reached them.  All I know is that there was fury in her throat as she launched herself at the female, heedless of what other packmates might have been in her way or already on her.  It was already enough that Fin had a grudge to settle with the yearling, but now the Blackthorn was hungry for the blood of the bitch that had dared lay a claw upon her babies, blood that she had already begun to taste as her jaws snapped viciously closed on the side of Junior's neck.

I'm going to hold off on posting with P+J until tomorrow but I wanted to throw this onto the pile...

Wildfire ate her fill of the fresh venison and retired several yards away to chew on one of the doe's ulnae. It had just pricked her in the gum when two dark figures strode into the clearing: the returned Peregrine and an unfamiliar black she-wolf with mismatched eyes and strange marks all over her forelegs. Wildfire dropped the bone. The stranger intrigued her, though she did not move forward to greet her half-sister as their father introduced her. She just sat still, though she flattened slightly when Junior slunk closer with an exuberant greeting.

The next thing the red pup knew, there was a set of jaws at her throat. She felt fangs piercing the fur and flesh on the side of her neck, then a crushing pressure preventing her from taking a breath. The sensation changed just as abruptly when the embedded teeth raked forcefully sideways, then released. Thus throttled, bleeding and in shock, Wildfire went limp and flopped on the ground like a discarded rag doll. Her golden eyes rolled in her head as wolves tousled practically on top of her. Snarls and shrieks filled the air, drowning out the thin, weak whine that bubbled from her mangled throat.

Tiger hit Junior, but it did not do the desired effect, or stop the inevitable. She watched the red pup get attacked, and again entered Juniors wrathful trajectory and attempted to grab the child by the scruff and move her away from the fray. Blood. A lot of it. God, she thought of Jaws, and she twitched as she looked at the throat... She threw up her head, calling to the pack, to anyone nearby with medical knowledge, fuck, fuck, she could not fix this -- could the girl even swallow? Breathe?

At the least, the girl ideally could breathe, if she had succeeded in pulling her away from the fray. Whatever injuries Tiger had acquired went ignored in favor of the more severe injury Wildfire had obtained. She did not have much time. But she didn't want to leave the girl bloodied and limp and well alone when she went to retrieve what little she could. She threw up her head. She howled for @Elwood and the cry was an urgent one. Peregrine would likely go into the fray himself, but in case he did not, "I NEED SOMEONE BY HER," She bellowed, not wanting the cubs to see the traumatic thing. Particularly if she died. She'd do everything she could.

Not sure if he is allowed to join I will remove if needed! 

Sebastian was already rushing towards the commotion when he heard Tiger's howl. Was she in trouble!? Sebastian rushed even faster to the group of wolves. What he saw was not a pretty sight. He wanted to ask what happened but Tiger's yell was more than enough for him to spring to action. "I will stay with her!" He rushed towards Wildfire and stepped protectively over her. His instincts made him lick over her severe bite wounds hopefully that would make it stop bleeding. This coppery taste he wasn't enjoying. With care he grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and carried her a few feet away from what was happening.

Sebastian wasn't sure what was going on but he had a feeling he didn't want to know. The grey male curled around the young female. "Don't worry, Wifi. Seb is here. Just stay with me okay? Can you hear my voice?," he tried to whisper softly by her ear. He kept an unconscious stream of his voice going on so she had something to hold on to. But he was no healer and he had no clue how severe the pup was injured but it looked really severe. Luckily Tiger was getting the right herbs, right? He hoped she would hurry.

If this isn't okay, please let me know! I couldn't imagine El doing anything else but will gladly edit!

Elwood was far enough from the fray to be oblivious to all the noise, but Tiger's howl reached his ears and drew his attention. He looked up sharply, ears standing tall on his head as he deciphered the note of urgency in her voice. Instantly consumed with worry, the Beta male dug his paws into the earth and sped towards the source of her call, weaving across the uneven terrain and rocky landscape with abandon.

The scene that unfolded before him was enough to stop him in his tracks. It was hard to tell exactly what was going on -- there were wolves everywhere, it seemed -- but he quickly pinpointed Tiger and moved towards her. As he did so, his heart leapt into his throat; it appeared that there was some sort of scuffle going on, and that Finley was a part of it.

A growl rose in his throat as he turned abruptly towards the grappling wolves and surged forward. He aimed to knock the black she-wolf away from Finley, using the force of his shoulder. His first thought was to keep his teeth and claws out of the battle as long as was necessary; this wasn't his fight, and he had no idea what had started it, but his focus was Finley.

Oh hey guys. <__<

As soon as Junior stepped onto the scene, Fox was on edge. And apparently, her motherly instincts were right, for Junior got a whole two words out of her foul mouth before she straight-up tried to murder Fox's eldest daughter. Not a single moment was wasted as Fox lunged at her mate's daughter's throat. "Kill" was the only word that flashed before her reddened vision, and she would do just that. Apparently, Junior had a death wish.

Fox could not even think about the welfare of her eldest at that moment. She knew only that Junior must die. Fox wanted that to herself.

Thanks for joining the drama, everyone! Your posts are absolutely fine. I'll be posting with Junior next. Otherwise, it's open season!

Junior's cheerful greeting caused Peregrine's smile to falter, as if in that final instant, it clicked. It was a ruse. Even as the realization struck him with the force of a freight train, he made to jump between the yearling and his three youngest. He wasn't quick enough and Peregrine would have nightmares about this moment for the rest of his days, as he watched Junior's jaws close around Wildfire's throat. He was responsible for this; he had led the butcher right to her victims.

Fortunately, the caldera's wolves proved quick on their feet. Besides Fox, several of them appeared—such impeccable timing—and they quickly fell upon Junior even as she strangled Wildfire. The little red cub dropped to the ground as the others proceeded to pull the yearling off her young victim. For a split second, Peregrine didn't know what to do as he watched both of his children being slaughtered in front of his eyes. 

But a single glance at his struggling toddler let him know exactly what he had to do. While Tiger and Sebastian swooped down to help Wildfire and Fox and Finley leaped to punish Junior, a veritable roar burst from Peregrine's mouth. He had made a terrible, grave mistake by bringing her here and he would rectify it now. The instant Junior had aimed to harm the innocent Wildfire, she had ceased to have any meaning to him. She was not his daughter; she was a fucking baby killer.

As the Alpha and Beta females' teeth sank into either side of Junior's neck, Peregrine charged forth to join the effort. He took a moment to roughly push Nightjar out of the way, toward Sebastian, then reared up and slammed his weight down on his daughter's bony shoulders. She began to crumple to the ground and the black Alpha dropped with her, jaws yawning wide open. He sought to do to her exactly what she had tried to do to Wildfire: throttle the life out of her. With Fox on one side and Finley on the other, he aimed his fangs at the sweet spot on the back of her neck.

She knew a split second of satisfaction as her teeth dug into the child's throat, puncturing the flesh and partially crushing her airway. But her triumph was incredibly short-lived. Wolves appeared out of the woodwork and Junior felt herself being assaulted from all sides. She had no choice but to drop the child; she needed her teeth to defend herself, though it was obvious to everyone—most of all Junior herself—that she would not get out of this alive. It truly had been a kamikaze mission.

In less than ten seconds flat, Finley and Fox were on either side of her throat, tearing it wide open. Simultaneously, she felt a great weight on her back. Junior flicked her head sideways to watch as her father crushed her to the ground and aimed to hit the back of her neck. Her two-toned eyes were filled with absolute hatred as she fell prey to Peregrine and his wolves. She somehow managed to twist her mutilated neck to snap at him, momentarily thwarting his momentum as she landed a deep bite to the curve beneath his throat. It was the last thing she ever did.

She was losing blood fast and the she-wolves were tearing her to pieces. Junior felt a flash of searing pain wrack her entire body, then numbness as shock took over. Her eyes began to glaze and her head dropped away from Peregrine's neck, releasing it, and bobbed limply toward her black chest. Her ruined throat was dripping copious amounts of blood and gore on her marred forelegs. Just before Junior collapsed completely, she felt pressure on the back of her neck again. Then everything went black as her father tore it free from her body, which slumped, defeated, at the caldera wolves' feet.

Many things happened all at once, but even as the Caldera wolves collided into Junior one by one, Fin held onto the ounce of flesh she'd managed to ensnare.  Even as Peregrine slammed her down into the ground, Fin held on until the last second when Junior finally managed to tear away as she reached to sink her teeth into her father.  Fin's eyes widened as she snarled, but quickly she was knocked away as the alphas finished the job.


Finley's entire body was trembling as stepped back from the bloody scene as Peregrine tore his own daughter apart.  It was then that she noticed Elwood and immediately she swept towards him, worry at his face and neck with her muzzle as for one moment of panic, she thought he had somehow been injured as well.  In her mind, she knew that death might not be done with the wolves of the Caldera.  Perhaps it was the last vestiges of self-preservation pushing her, but in the next few seconds, she was ignorant to what was happening behind her to Wildfire.  Instead, she turned and looked on with grim satisfaction as the alphas slaughtered the yearling.

Luckily for Wildfire, her injuries were not as severe as they initially appeared. Junior's teeth had left small puncture wounds in her neck, which bled quite a lot. Her windpipe was bruised too. But the wounds were well short of fatal, as the caldera wolves hadn't given the yearling a chance to properly apply a killing bite. She didn't even lose consciousness. She did squeeze her eyes shut as chaos broke out around her, though they slowly reopened when she heard a voice whispering to her. She found herself staring into Sebastian's eyes. Wildfire whimpered.

"Hurts," she managed to croak, even as the snarling suddenly lapsed into a sinister silence, following a loud thump. Pain and confusion were etched all over the child's face, as well as fear. She tried to sit up to see what was going on but the blood loss had left her very weak, so Wildfire rolled back on the bloodstained grass, tears slowly leaking from her golden eyes as unvoiced questions swarmed her young brain. What was happening? Why had Junior done this to her? Was anyone else hurt?

Pura is hiding. :)

It didn't take Pura long to work out that Saena's move had prompted Junior's return to the Teekon Wilds. He sensed her along the borders of his sister's claim, and spied her dark, narrow body moving across the mountain on multiple occasions. Three out of four.

But one day, she left. He spied her as she crossed the Dawnlark Plains, moving south at speed and with great purpose. And as was Pura's way, he followed, leaving just enough distance between them to hide all evidence of his presence. No sound, no scents.

Eventually, they reached the Caldera.

Pura had visited once before. Peregrine had met him in the fields, and they had shared one of only a handful of pleasant conversations in Pura's sparsely populated Chat Bank. Unlike his sisters, Pura bore his adopted father no ill will - nor did it matter to him that Peregrine had gone on to procreate with someone else. He wanted to eat the infants, of course, but that was neither here nor there. For Peregrine, he would stay that urge.

But Junior would not.

Pura watched them re-unite - father and daughter, chatting as easily as if the past had been plucked from their minds and replaced with fluff. When they moved, he followed them in, expertly avoiding detection. In the midst of claimed territory that he had no business intruding upon, this meant he had to give the pair a few hundred meters of clearance.

If he hadn't, who knows? Perhaps Junior would have been distracted enough by his arrival to live a little longer.

The commotion quickened his steps. Without pausing to consider what was going on, Pura rushed to close the gap, happening upon the scene in time to see Peregrine lift his daughter's head from her shoulders in an explosion of red. Junior's body hit the ground with a dull thud, followed by the gentle patter of her own blood raining down on her savaged, headless body.

Pura crept behind a nearby tree, staring his blank stare and salivating freely.

Fox's own blood pumped feverishly through her body as Junior's spilled to the ground where her head had once been attached. She was, understandably, still on edge, and she began to tear wildly at the girl's lifeless flesh in every direction. While Fox was not opposed to cannibalism (everybody's gotta eat), her fury was directed more toward the thing that had attempted to kill her daughter. Maybe, just maybe, if Fox could disassemble the body, it would save Wildfire's life. No, it wasn't a logical thought, but logic was too far gone at this point.

The mother continued to thrash at the girls body until somebody attempted to drag her off. Instead of relenting, Fox snapped savagely at the well-meaning wolf and went right back to tearing apart the body. She had never believed in burying the dead, and she would let this piece of shit rot right here if it were up to her. It would make a good spot to teach her children to piss and shit all over such filth.