Redhawk Caldera [m] Kamikaze

Peregrine barely felt Junior's teeth sink into the base of his throat. He only noticed when it thwarted him from dealing his own blow. With a savage snarl, he yanked free even as his daughter's jaws relaxed. He then struck like a snake, this time burying his fangs so deeply into the back of Junior's neck that he severed it from her spinal column. Because Fox and Finley had already shredded her flesh, her head tore loose and it was suddenly swinging from his powerful jaws.

Quickly, Peregrine spat out his macabre cargo. He glanced down at the beheaded body, feeling nothing. He flinched slightly when Fox continued to attack it, though not because he minded it or blamed her. On strangely shaky legs, he moved to her side and tried to coax her away from the corpse. When she didn't respond to his nudge, he gently tugged on her ruff with his teeth. She turned and snapped at him, tearing open his lip. The Alpha male flinched again, though he didn't back away.

"Fox," he said, ignoring his and Junior's blood pouring from his mouth, "Wildfire needs us now." Knowing that he would probably get bitten again—he deserved as much—the Alpha male once more tugged gently on his mate's ruff, trying to remind his wife of their dying little girl. Junior was dead, the threat removed, and Wildfire needed her parents to be by her side.

Posting out of turn because I don't even think there's an order any more?

Hate. Rage. Fury. Those were the words that sang in Fox's heart as she continued to mutilate the headless creature in front of her. It wasn't until the word "Wildfire" that she froze, breath ragged and eyes bright with anger as she stared at the corpse. Perry tugged at her again, but a low growl warned him to do no more. She would return here just as soon as Dhole's safety was assured. "You are the last thing Wildfire needs," Fox snarled, then broke free from his gaze and stomped off to their daughter to comfort her.

How could he possibly think that bringing Junior here was a good idea. In that moment, Fox decided that wolves from outside their pack would no longer be allowed to enter their well-guarded land. It wasn't worth the lives of their children. No Lasher, no Blue Willow, no Dante, no Luke, no nobody. Least of all his rotten older children. Their broken childhood had twisted their fragile little minds into demons, and Fox would kill each and every one who came to her doorstep.

Once she was assured that no fatal damage had been done to her eldest daughter, Fox herded her (and the other two children) to Dhole's favorite spot: the badger den. She would deal with Peregrine and his murdering daughter later.

Elwood was swiftly pushed aside by the fury of both Finley and Fox as they went after the unfamiliar black wolf. His blow had managed to push her away only momentarily, and then when it became clear that there would be no stopping the Alpha and Beta females, he retreated. He watched pensively, licking at his lips nervously as his hackles stood on end and his tail swished uneasily. One ear flicked back at the commotion behind him and he briefly looked to Sebastian and Tiger, who were tending to Wildfire.

And then, Peregrine swept into the middle of the battlefield. Elwood watched with wide eyes as the swarthy male ended the fight with his fangs, severing the wolf's head from her body in one fluid motion. By this point, Finley, too, had separated herself from the action and had pressed herself against his side. He leaned into her, yellow eyes never leaving the scene in front of him as Fox continued to tear at what was now just a corpse.

In the moments following the scuffle, he would gain some clarity and learn that the deceased had once been Peregrine's daughter, Osprey Jr. He had never met her before and knew very little of her relationship with her father, but there was a knot in his stomach nonetheless as Peregrine tried to pull Fox away from Junior's body.

Once the little family had been ushered away to safety, Elwood exchanged a long look with Finley and turned to go, leaving the mangled corpse behind.

Fox set upon Junior's corpse. As the dust settled and the Caldera wolves regrouped around the macabre focal point of their less-than-regular morning, he watched the fire-kissed mother rip and tear and brutalize the dark corpse. Her mate tried to coax her away, but Fox was having none of it, slicing his lip and throwing verbal acid back in Peregrine's face when he spoke. Pura watched a dribble of spit and blood stretch from his step-father's lip and land on Junior's unmoving leg. The hot saliva pooling beneath his tongue spilled through his teeth, and there was a hungry look in his glassy eyes. Even his groin ached strangely. When Pura broke away to peer between his legs, he was met by the sight of something red and angry stretching towards Junior's still-warm body.

Yep, it's meant to be a sort of free-for-all! I think this will be my last. :)

Fox's words stung him, though he deserved it and so much more for his horrifically poor judgment. "I know," he whispered, bowing his head and tucking his tail. He waited for her to turn, then fell into step behind her as they swooped to Wildfire's side. He expected a tiny corpse but she was awake and breathing. He felt tears in his eyes as a silent sob clawed up his throat. He wanted to move forward to coddle his poor baby, yet he let Fox and the others do that.

When it was unanimously decided to move Wildfire somewhere more sheltered, Peregrine remained a silent, watchful guardian. He brought up the rear, keeping an eye on his little family. His split lip and chest wound bled copiously but he ignored them. The only one deserving of any kind of medical attention was his little girl. Right now, Peregrine knew he really was the absolute worst father in the world.

The large tank of a male stayed close around Wifi. He would be her shield if the attacker would break free and want to get to the dhole colored girl. Sebastian was also licking over her wounds. When Peregrine moved Nightjar back, Sebastian was quick to grab the pup by his scruff and place him by his sister. Now he was the shield of two bundles. Where was the third one? Raven?

Sebastian glanced over the battlefield but couldn't see the other young. He hoped that the third was safe too. The male watched the alpha female approach. He uncurled and got to his feet. His pale eyes watched at the mother checked her young. It seemed Peregrine didn't want him to start any drama in the beginning because Peregrine himself was already the one that created drama now everything clicked in Sebastian's mind. 

Though the watchful male saw how affected Peregrine was by the whole thing. Sebastian trotted closer to him and nudged his shoulder with his nose for some comfort. Even though he was not good at this type of thing he did feel bad for the dark male. "Shall I move away the body, Peregrine?," he offered. Clueless that the dead yearling was his daughter. 

Wildfire couldn't see much from her prone position on the ground, though it wasn't long before what seemed like the entire pack surrounded her, including her mother and father. "M—!" she tried to say, though she winced as pain lanced through her gored throat. Speech was off the table. Instead, the pup weakly lifted a foreleg to tap Fox's muzzle, her golden eyes then roving to her father's face. Too young to realize his fault in the matter, her little black tail wiggled at the sight of him.

Soon, they were lifting her and carrying her somewhere more safe and cozy. Being moved hurt and Wildfire couldn't help but whimper and cry. She went silent when she saw Sebastian pass in front of her, headed toward Peregrine. Without thinking, the pup reached out a paw to bat at the tip of his tail. The look in her eyes begged Sebastian to stay with her. He had helped and comforted her during the chaos. She wanted him to stick close, wherever they were taking her.

As Fox carried her away, Wildfire finally did the expected and fainted, partially from blood loss but mostly from the overwhelming chain of events. She escaped into the black void of unconsciousness.

Finley flinched when Fox tore at her mate as he tried to end the carnage.  There wasn't an ounce of her that didn't think the alpha female had every right to act the way she did, but there was perhaps a tiny sliver in her heart that felt terrible for Peregrine.  He was a complete idiot, to be sure, but this...


Finley pushed her thoughts aside as Fox stormed over to Sebastian and her children.  Though she was loathe to leave Elwood's side, she did so then as her mind finally allowed her to realize that Wildfire's life might be at stake.  

She breathed a sigh of relief  once she saw the frightened little girl sheltered in Sebastian's strong arms.  She bit her lip hard at her actions - so sweet and innocent, void of any bitterness or blame to either of her parents for what had happened to her.  Fin watched as Fox herded her and the other firebirds away, glancing at Sebastian as he asked what ought to be done with the body.  "Leave it," Finley instructed quietly, knowing full well that the last thing Peregrine would want right now was to decide what to do with his daughter's torn and bloody carcass.

With the alphas gone, Finley looked towards Elwood to share a glance with him before moving to usher Tiger and Sebastian away with them.  Once away, she would tell them who the strange wolf had been so that they were not in the dark about the true depth of tragedy that they'd been present for.  It then would be straight to the borders with them to strengthen their territory lines against whoever or whatever else might coming knocking in the aftermath of the yearling's death.

Dammit, this is one party I regret being late for!  D:

Raven watched the scene unfold before her like a macabre, twisted musical.  One minute they were enjoying breakfast together, no different than any other day, the next, she was being introduced to Junior and then out of nowhere, black death fell upon them in a blur of screams, terror, ripping flesh, cracking bone, and blood -- everywhere, blood.  A warm spurt of it splattered her in the face and she quickly backed away, staring in an unblinking, shock-like state of horror as what had been, for only a few seconds, her half-sister was torn to pieces in front of her eyes.  From her hiding place in the shadow of a scrubby little bush, she watched...and watched...

When her father literally tore Junior's head off a few seconds after it all began, the image of him standing there holding his own daughter's head over her lifeless, decapitated body burned itself permanently into her mind.  She felt her gorge rise and she immediately vomited the breakfast she'd just enjoyed moments before.  She remained hidden there, her eyes fixed with a hollow sort of fear and horror on her father, until her mother gathered her and Nightjar together with Wildfire.  Only then did she really notice the damage that had been done to her sister, but Raven could feel no concern or sadness for her.  Raven couldn't feel anything.

She closed her eyes and swallowed the bile that remained at the back of her throat, once again seeing the terrifying image of her father in the darkness behind her eyelids...

In his hunger, Pura barely let five minutes pass after the final wolf had left the scene before coming out of hiding.

There was Junior, dead and mangled - and this time, it was for real. A younger Pura might have mourned her passing, but the monster that had grown in his place had little capacity for such things. He approached her slowly, staring silver eyes roving from the tip of her tail to the displaced head. It had landed face down. When he rolled it over with a gentle nudge of his broad paw, two half-lidded eyes stared back at him. Paired with the red, lolling tongue, she looked derpy and undignified. Pura's black lips split into a rare, spooky grin.

He snatched his sister up by one velvety ear and was about to flee the scene when his eyes strayed to her tail. Her full, beautiful tail that so modestly shielded her from indecent exposure - a tail that Saena had given to a dog.

Pura dropped his prize, cast a long look into the woods, and acted with speed. In less than three winks had snapped the bone and arranged the tail at an acute and unnatural angle. Considering Junior was missing her head, it was doubtful that anyone would notice. Pleased, he picked up the discarded head and trotted down the side of the mountain. It dribbled all over his paws and onto the ground, but Pura didn't care. But the time anyone noticed, he would be long gone.

Not far beyond the borders, Pura would settle down with his sister between his forepaws. For a long time, he would study the contours of her face - the aquiline features, two fans of dark lashes over mismatched eyes. This was his sister. This was a wolf whose life he had saved, hauling her back from the actual, literal brink of death - the sassy, cocky, belligerent upstart with the big ideas and a soaring spirit. Pura cocked his head, staring into Junior's unfocused eyes.

He liked her better this way.

Strip by strip, he would relieve her of her skin, until all that remained were two big ears and one defiant, staring eye.

Will this be a Pack Activity or can I add this to threads with pack members?

Sebastian watched how the Beta female approached. He frowned at her statement but didn't question it. Surely the higher tier must have a good reason for it. Sebastian still felt bad for Peregrine but he figured the male didn't need a shoulder to cry on. The large male then turned away from the mangled body. He hadn't realized Wifi requested his presence since he had been focussed on another thing. He watched the alpha's leave. It was the Beta pair that coached him away.

Sebastian had so many questions but he wasn't going to voice them. He knew it wasn't the moment. Surely Finley explained what happened, answering some of his questions. The true story shocked him but he kept his thoughts for himself. He thanked them for telling, feeling valued because they trusted him with this information. Sebastian would make it his mission to patrol the borders even more frequently. He glanced at Tiger and all that was her beauty. They were quite the team back there. He gave her a bit of a wary smile, awkward pup that he was. 

One more quick post for EXP purposes. :)

As Elwood turned his back on the horrific scene, Finley gathered Sebastian and Tiger. The two subordinates had more than fulfilled their duties by watching out for Wildfire and her siblings during the scuffle. The little dhole was lucky that they had come to her rescue. He bowed his head, nonverbally expressing his gratitude to them even as they fell into step with him.

It was then that Finley filled them in, her voice low. The news was shocking to Elwood, but in the end, he felt that Peregrine had done the right thing. It may have been his fault that Junior was given the opportunity to attack Wildfire in the first place, but he had saved her life. To think about it in further terms only made it more complicated, and it wasn't his place to judge. His job was to support his leaders; that he would do in the days to come.

He cast one last glance over his shoulder at the broken body lying wrecked in the middle of the rendezvous site, then pushed the image out of his mind.