Redhawk Caldera Carpe diem

I don't know the outcome of this thread just yet so I'll keep references vague.

Wildfire sat just outside the badger den, gazing over her small garden. The plants seemed to be doing pretty well, which brought a smile to her face. It became rather vague and her eyes grew unfocused as she thought about the recent conversation with her parents. Peregrine felt that Nightjar should be trained as the caldera's next Alpha male. Although she was a little envious, Wildfire was mostly happy for her brother. She agreed with their father's assessment. Raven was too quiet and introverted for a leadership role and Wildfire did not aspire to rise in the ranks, at least not that far. Like her sister, she just wasn't cut out for it. Besides, her interests—such as wandering freely—didn't exactly fit the mold.

No, Nightjar was steady as a rock in temperament, loyalty and convention. He was also the eldest. He was the rightful heir. Wildfire hoped it all worked out and that a year or two from now, she would follow Nightjar's lead. (Much as she liked to explore, Wildfire never considered leaving the caldera on a permanent basis.) It made her a bit sad too, though. She would hate to see her parents step down from their thrones and, eventually, grow old. They would die one day, she knew. Wildfire absently patted the dirt in front of her as she contemplated that heart-wrenching thought. She found it too poignantly painful, so she shoved it aside even as she pushed herself to her feet.

She began to wander, absently and aimlessly at first, before suddenly striding in the direction of the Beta pair's den. She hadn't seen @Elwood in a few days and she wouldn't mind asking @Finley when they could finally go on their trip. And, of course, she always loved to spend time with her little "cousin," @Elwood Jr.

Elwood came across Wildfire's scent on his way back to the den, returning from a few hours of hunting. Now that Eljay was two months old, he and Finley were able to spend a little longer away from him, although there was still always someone there to watch him. The new father never felt as though his son had taken away any of his freedom, but it was nice to dedicate more time to his primary trade; up until recently, his main hunting goals had been small prey to feed his family.

He lowered his nose to the ground and inhaled, identifying that Wildfire had passed by this location only a short time ago. The Beta began to track her, which didn't prove to be difficult; before long, her fiery red pelt came into view. She seemed to be meandering at a slow pace, with no particular destination in mind, although she was moving in the general direction of the Blackthorn den. Rather than call out and get her attention, Elwood dropped to the ground and began to slink after her, doing his best to remain undetected for the time being. It seemed that he was still in hunting mode as he stalked his target.

As she neared the Blackthorns' den, the rufous fur on Wildfire's neck suddenly prickled. She stopped, then looked over her shoulder. Her amber eyes swept the landscape but she saw nothing. Why did she feel like someone was watching her? She faced forward and took a step, yet she couldn't shake the feeling. Wildfire stopped again, then turned in a circle, giving her surroundings a 360° sweep with eyes, ears and nose.

The sensation persisted and eventually prompted the youth to narrow her eyes and whisper loudly, "Who's out there?" She felt sort of silly—hence why she whispered rather than shouted—and did not expect to receive an answer.

Somehow, Elwood managed to stay hidden enough that Wildfire couldn't see or smell him. He lingered in the underbrush, a smile playing on his lips as he watched his niece. She knew he was there, but she couldn't quite identify who he was. He crept forward until he reached the edge of the foliage; he would have to emerge into the open in order to progress any further.

So he paused and considered his options for a brief moment. Then, with little warning, he burst out of the bushes, sending brittle leaves flying. He grinned at Wildfire before quickly darting away, inviting her to chase him with a flick of his silver tail. He kicked up his heels and loped away, looking over his shoulder to see if she would take his bait before accelerating.

Although she hadn't really expected a response, Wildfire didn't trust the silence. There was something wrong with it. She couldn't put a finger on it but—and, abruptly, a wild Elwood appeared! He startled her so badly that the wound-up Wildfire leaped sideways like a frightened cat. She recovered quickly when she saw who it was. She playfully glared daggers at her wily godfather. She felt ridiculous and would have to get revenge on him for scaring her like that!

When he darted away, she barked and took off after him, bound and determined to (playfully) punch him in the face. Of course, he was a seasoned hunter and she was a clumsy youth, so the odds of catching up to Elwood were quite slim indeed.

I'm still giggling about "instructions unclear, smothered dog." :D

Elwood's quick glance back showed him that Wildfire had recovered quickly from his surprise. As he swung his head around to face forward once more, he heard a bark that was soon accompanied by the thundering of smaller paws. He grinned broadly, his lips peeling back from his teeth as the wind rushed past his cheeks. He was built more for speed than for sparring (which had both advantages and disadvantages when he acted as a warrior) but he kept his pace slow enough that Wildfire would be able to eventually gain on him.

He raced across the uneven terrain, bobbing and weaving past the underbrush. He stayed away from the slopes of the caldera, knowing that the rocky surface would be a difficult place to play chase. After a few minutes, he started to decelerate, simultaneously preparing him for whatever revenge Wildfire would be planning.

Haha, dogs. I thought there was a small animal dying in my walls this morning. Nope, just PC's stomach gurgling.

I power-played a bit, let me know if I need to change anything! :)

Despite her klutzy tendencies, Wildfire managed to keep her feet. And in spite of her small size, she somehow managed to catch up to her uncle. With a playful war cry, she leaped at him with her forelegs outstretched. She would have preferred to whack him right in that grinning mouth of his (playfully, of course!) but all she could reach was his rump. She went for it like a lioness attempting to fell a gazelle, grabbing his hindquarters and digging in her claws a little, then dropping her (light) weight in the hopes of dragging him to the ground.

It wasn't too long before Wildfire caught up to him. Elwood could hear the pounding of her paws against the earth. The rhythmic thumping ceased momentarily as she launched herself into the air, and in the next instant he could feel her paws pressing against his hindquarters. He was larger than her and could have easily twisted his hips to escape, but instead he allowed himself to be pulled down, tumbling to the ground and rolling to a stop.

He came to rest on his back with his forepaws tucked against his chest, tongue lolling from the side of his mouth as he grinned back at his niece. "Not bad for an outrider," he teased.

Elwood tumbled to the ground and Wildfire liked to think she was just that powerful and skilled, though she knew better. Her godfather had likely let her win. She didn't mind, though. She did, however, mind when he teased her. Wildfire bared her teeth and stood over him, black tail sticking out stiffly behind her like a poker.

"I'm a Warrior too!" she reminded him, her voice playful despite her expression. "And I'm gonna kick your teeth in!" Wildfire threatened with a giggle, suddenly shifting her weight onto her haunches and freeing up her forelegs to flail them at Uncle Elwood's face.

Wildfire might have been small, but she could cut a fierce figure. She grimaced at her uncle, showing her teeth and puffing up her dark tail. She wasted no time in reminding Elwood that she was a warrior and that she was fully capable of beating him up -- and he didn't have a chance to argue. Although the lithe Redhawk was young, she had put a lot of practice in to each of her trades. Elwood didn't consider himself an exceptional fighter by any means, although his size alone gave him an advantage over Wifi.

He accepted her punches with little protest, however, as she batted his muzzle with her paws. In fact, he played into her actions by turning his head left and right, corresponding with her blows. He suddenly gave a yip, reaching up to clap a forepaw over his mouth. "My toof!" he yelped, as though she had actually knocked one of his canines loose. "It's gone!" And he proceeded to turn over and pretend to search the grass. Perhaps Wildfire was a little too mature for such silly antics, but Elwood's life had been consumed with Eljay lately -- it was hard to adjust his perspective at times.

His head whipped back and forth and Wildfire giggled and grunted. Suddenly, he declared that one of his teeth was missing. This gave her pause for a split second before her face contorted. "You lie!" she bellowed as loud as she could (which was not very loud at all), then pounced her uncle's tail as he pretended to search for his canine on the ground. "I'm gonna rip your tail off and beat you with it!" she declared, then burst into laughter at her own declaration.

The giggle fit made her knees weak, so Wildfire sank down to the ground just beside her godfather, gasping for air even as she jiggled. Eventually, the paroxysms subsided, though she pretended to keep laughing in the hopes of taking Elwood by surprise. With the hollow, breathy tittering streaming from her smudged muzzle, she rather abruptly leaped at him again, hoping to somehow tackle him to the ground.

Even as Elwood combed through the grass with his snout and paws, Wildfire cottoned on to his joke. "You lie!" she exclaimed, at a volume that was quite possibly the loudest Elwood had ever heard her use. It was still a few degrees softer than any other wolf's shout due to the damage done to her vocal chords all those months ago, but her indignation came through loud and clear.

She then threatened to tear off his tail, a proclamation which sent her into fits of laughter. Elwood joined her, chuckling as his paws grew still and he ended his pretentious search. His ears splayed to the side and his eyelids slid to half-mast, his mouth opened wide in a silly grin. Wildfire continued to giggle, and she was successful in catching him off guard when she pounced him.

He felt the weight of her against his shoulders but this time didn't give in. She was small enough that it would have taken some effort for her to drag him down; he braced his forelegs and remained sitting up, his muscles tensed against her attack. "Not this time, kiddo," he quipped, then reached out to wrap an arm around her neck, effectively giving her a noogie with his other paw.

Elwood was as solid as a rock. He didn't even budge. Wildfire snorted like a wild filly, then tried to backtrack to try again. Maybe if she put every ounce of her strength into it, she could bowl him over. She knew it was unlikely but the spirited young Warrior wanted to try anyway. But before she could, her uncle grabbed her around her neck and rubbed his paw against her head in a classic noogie.

"Stahp!" she protested, squirming and squealing, though she began to laugh again. Doing so made her muscles feel loose and useless, so eventually she just flopped in her godfather's grasp. He had won. "Say uncle!" she declared, giggling all over again at her own cleverness even as she surrendered and admitted defeat.

:D

Elwood laughed as Wildfire made a valiant effort to escape. He could feel her muscles tensing and relaxing as she struggled to get away. Once or twice, she almost gave him the slip, but he tightened his hold and continued to ruffle the fur between her ears. When she finally gave up -- weak with laughter -- and shouted the magic word, he released her, leaning back onto his haunches to catch his own breath.

"You're pretty feisty, warrior," he complimented; it would have been a lie to say that he wasn't tired after that wrestling match. "Sorry for the ambush," he then said, though his eyes twinkled to match his grin. "How're things going? You've been out exploring a lot lately, haven't you?" He had detected Wildfire's scent on the borders many times, and more often than not it trailed away into the wilderness.

The Beta released her and Wildfire moved out of reach, shooting playful glares in his direction even as she smoothed her petticoat, so to speak. Elwood complimented her on her feisty nature and she smiled, pleased. Out of her three trades, she considered herself perhaps least suited for the role of Warrior, though she would never stop trying. It was part of being a Redhawk.

"Yeah," she replied when questioned about her travels, "a bit. I recently met Saena. She didn't try to hurt me or anything," Wildfire added quickly, not wanting to worry her godfather, "although it was kind of a... hot mess. All she did was rant about how much she hates mom and dad." She paused, thinking of where else she'd gone and who else she'd met. "I also saw Dante again. And I met two wolves around my age a couple weeks back. It's been fun, getting out there more," she concluded.

His brows raised with surprise at the mention of Saena. His first reaction was to bristle slightly, much as he had when Wildfire first told him about Dante after the storm. But she was quick to assure him that her estranged sister hadn't tried to hurt her, so Elwood refrained from giving her any cautionary advice. Wildfire was old enough to take care of herself, and that was evident by her description of the encounter with Saena. Funnily enough, Dante's name came up in the next instant. The fact that Wildfire could associate with wolves who were not the biggest fans of her parents showed maturity; she was growing into her own individual, separate from Fox and Peregrine, and was making that known.

"Sounds like you've been busy then, huh?" he said with a flick of his tail. "What's your favorite place to visit so far?" he then queried. He was curious to pick Wifi's brain a bit and see what it was about outriding that was so appealing to her. He knew why Finley liked it, but Wildfire was decidedly less reckless than her danger-seeking aunt.

She smiled and nodded. Wildfire contemplated her uncle's question. In the coming weeks, she would really expand her horizons. So far, she had only really visited a handful of territories, most of them nearby. She mentally thumbed through them, arriving at a sort of complicated answer.

"Probably Greatwater Lake, even though I keep having, er, interesting encounters there. That's where I ran into Saena," she explained. She hadn't really gotten to see much of the lake then, though she had returned only to run into Dante. That reunion had been slightly more pleasant, though they'd gone over all the crap Saena had flung at her. "It's so big and pretty. Have you ever been there?"

Wildfire took a moment to consider Elwood's query, then came up with an answer. He recognized the name of the territory, but didn't think he had ever been there. His paws had traveled to Big Salmon Lake on more than one occasion -- including recently, after the storm -- but he had never made it all the way to the other body of water.

"That's kind of to the northeast, right? I haven't visited, but you'll have to take me sometime," he replied with a smile. Although outriding was far from a passion of his, he wouldn't be opposed to taking a trip with Wildfire as his tour guide. Perhaps, once Eljay was old enough, he and Finley could join them, too; he knew that the Beta female would be eager to show her son the sights.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he then asked, "What do you like best about traveling? Is it seeing new places, meeting new wolves...?" The thrill of imminent danger? he thought with a smirk, Finley's voice echoing in his mind.

"Yes. I'd love to show you sometime," Wildfire replied with a smile. Maybe Finley and Elwood Jr could come along too, she thought. They could have a picnic or something. Hopefully none of their old pack mates would come to crash the party if they did that. The thought made her snort wryly.

Elwood narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and Wildfire playfully mimicked him, though her expression became thoughtful again at his next question. Like before, she weighed the question rather than answer immediately. She had never really given it too much thought before.

"I like the freedom and independence. I like seeing new places. I'm not the best at meeting people, though it can be fun too." Wildfire pursed her lips and made a thoughtful sound before adding, "I like that everything is really steady here at home, while the road is more unpredictable. I get the best of both worlds by traveling... but always coming home at the end of the day. It keeps life interesting." She blinked, wondering if that was a satisfactory answer.

Unbeknownst to Elwood, Wildfire had the same thought about inviting Finley and Eljay along on their little adventure. He would make sure to follow through with it in a few months, once Eljay had matured a little more -- both physically and mentally -- and they could take a day trip. He knew he wouldn't want to be away from the Caldera for any longer than that.

He tilted his head slightly to one side, listening as Wildfire described her affinity for scouting. She felt that she got to experience what the wilderness had to offer while knowing that she had a place to rest her head come nightfall, should she choose to return home at the end of the day. "It sounds interesting," Elwood agreed, before adding his own two cents. "It's not my cup of tea, but I'm glad that you've found something that you love doing." And he felt the same way about Finley; although he would always worry when she was gone, he would never want to keep her from her passion.

Wanna conclude this with your next post? :) <3

He accepted her response and Wildfire smiled modestly. She almost teased him by asking about his cup of tea but she figured she already knew the answer to that. Elwood was a family guy, dedicated to his mate and son, as well as the rest of the pack. Like her father, he was a provider and protector.

Forgetting that her godfather couldn't read her mind, she queried, "Where are Aunt Flea and Elwood Jr anyway?" She glanced around as if they might pop out from behind a bush with cries of, "Surprise!" "Can we go find 'em? I was thinkin' we could invite them on the lake trip too."

Yup! <3

"You read my mind!" Elwood exclaimed with a wave of his tail. "I was thinking that it would be fun to bring them along on our adventure, too. We'll have to wait until Eljay's a little older of course," he said, already beginning to move in the direction of the den. He gestured for Wildfire to follow, and when she fell into step alongside him, he led the way.

Conversation continued to flow easily between them until they reached their destination, where Eljay pounced excitedly at "Wifee" and Finley was relieved from being his sole caretaker for the time being.