Redhawk Caldera My social-meter is low.

Sebastian was a bit of a mindless wanderer again, within the borders of RHC, mind you. The grey tank of a male wasn't really looking for any trouble and rather preferred to stay on his home lands, especially after the attack of the Northerners. Still he felt like he was a bit floating, socially. He wasn't so stiff as he was in the beginning when he joined RHC and feeling very much at home now, though he didn't have many wolves to do things with. That last matter was probably because he was so immobile for the last month. Their pack had so many members but there wasn't anyone he could ask to do silly stuff with! Well maybe he could ask Elwood or Peregrine, maybe even Fox. But somehow he was still believing that the upper rank was too busy to play with him.

He decided to at least look for some of his fellow pack mates. This Gale-wolf was also new and maybe fun to hang out with, and he heard about some other new wolves too! Even older members that rejoined! He hadn't seen those last two 'newbies' yet. Sebastian was also tempted to look for Wildfire and maybe have some swimming/water fun with her or maybe a low-key hunt? Would his muscles be able to do that? Currently he was just in the mood for company and social interaction, so he let out a howl to see if anyone was around to greet him.

A large reddish ear flicked in response to the howl and Wildfire lifted her head from its resting spot on her feet. She yawned, then began slowly rising onto all fours. She had drowsed a little here beneath the young pine sapling but it was time to get up and moving again. She shook her head and stretched, then began walking in Sebastian's direction.

En route, she suddenly remembered the dream she'd had while catnapping. It had been about Ashton. Wildfire frowned a little. She hadn't seen much of him and her crush had faded significantly. She wondered if he was even around anymore. He had left once, so maybe he would do it again. Her parents would never let him back if that happened. Maybe it was for the best that her feelings for him had dwindled.

The sight of Sebastian's face chased away any lingering thoughts of the golden hippie. "Hey, Seb," Wildfire greeted with a sort of sleepy smile. "What're you up to?" When she reached him, she moved her smudged snout to bump it beneath his chin.

Sebastian waited patiently for any of the pack members to arrive. Once he was met with the red color of fur his tail started wagging. Wildfire had responded to his howl, he had hoped the female would respond to him. She was a good friend. Sebastian looked happy to see her and greeted her with the same friendly bump. "Hey Wifi," he created verbally. The girl had grown so much ever since he met her, and he couldn't help but feel proud, big brother proud. His tail thumped against the ground. 

"Nothing much. I was actually feeling lonely," he admitted, since he could admit that to the youngster. The young healer had gathered all the herbs he could find in the Caldera and he wasn't very keen on going outside those borders. Eventually he would have to if he wanted to find new herbs and learn more about being a doctor but for now he could still procrastinate. "Bet you know something fun to do," he smiled.

Sebastian mentioned feeling lonely, then smiled at her, hoping she might come up with something fun to do. Her lips parted to say something when Wildfire suddenly remembered a recent conversation with her mother, preceded by one with Saena. Her brow suddenly furrowed and her lips pursed momentarily before she opened her mouth again to speak at last.

"I've been doing a lot of exploring lately. I actually ran into Saena." She bit at her bottom lip, wondering what Sebastian would make of this information. "She didn't attack me the way she attacked you. My mom said you weren't even trespassing or anything. Why did she try to kill you... and leave me alone completely? All she did to me was rant."

Talking about this fell far short of something fun to do but Wildfire couldn't contain her curiosity. The whole encounter had really preoccupied her lately. Maybe once they talked about it, Sebastian would want to do some exploring with her. She'd been home for a few days and her feet were starting to itch. She doubted he would want to go very far, though maybe he would humor her by accompanying her to an adjacent territory.

Sebastian was mildly surprised about the fact that Wildfire disregarded his suggestion and started about another topic. A certain topic he didn't expect her to start on, but nevertheless, he was more than willing to share more information about it. He was surprised that the red dhole made it out alive from that wench of a female. Sebastian liked to keep his thoughts pure but then he thought back about that moment and how Saena ruined everything it made him back to being bitter. He felt being bitter was sometimes he second nature with his Father and Saena sometimes hogging his mind. 

"I'm glad she didn't attack you like she did with me. Probably because she didn't have her pack of misfits and bandits with her," he sounded grumpy when he said that. His pale eyes traveled to her face, almost guilty for talking to her like that. Wildfire wasn't the blame here. "She ranted to me too, but the difference was with me that I was in the North. I wasn't on her territory but that crazy witch decided that thew whole North was her territory," he explained. "The attack on junior was very fresh and she thought your father send me to assassinate her. Me.. of all wolves. I hardly look like an assassin. She is crazy Wildfire," he spoke. The wound on his shoulder almost closed up. "I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Sebastian's response begged the question, "What counts as the north then? I was at that big lake. I think it's called Greatwater Lake? It was definitely north of here..." But maybe it wasn't far enough north to bother Saena. It sounded like her half-sister's solo status might have been a factor, as well as the fact that Junior's death had been old news awhile. Wildfire balked at the idea of her parents sending an assassin to kill Saena. The idea struck her as absurd; her parents would never go that far out of their way to bother someone. They certainly went for blood on their own turf, yet they hardly cared about the world beyond their home or the wolves living in it.

"Crazy," she murmured. She supposed it was at least partially true. Saena had ranted like a madwoman, though there was at least some logic to her perspective. "You don't think you look like an assassin?" she asked, eyes brightening a little as she regarded Sebastian. "You look big and mean," Wildfire informed him with a gentle titter. That wasn't entirely true, of course, but he was an intimidating man. "Only caldera wolves know your secret: that you're really just a giant teddy bear," the youth quipped.

Sebastian looked surprised and terrified at the same time. "That is definitely the south," he growled lowly. He could have taken his revenge and he could have hurt her back! How could he not know that. Because he was being a coward and hiding in the Caldera that is why! The large male huffed, more at himself rather than anyone else. "Is see the mountains as the dividing part," he explained to the girl, clearly affected by the news. Sebastian shook his head, maybe he shouldn't hang around in the Caldera only, but also roam outside more. But did he want to face those dangers he was almost recovered.

Sebastian snorted at her replies and then shook his head. "I don't and I don't want to be looking like an assassin. Then I will be as worse as my father and I don't want that. I like being fluffy and nice on the inside. Only when someone hurts the wolves I see as family, then I allow myself to go in foster mode. I can tell you that it isn't pretty," he spoke to her. He had never really seen himself mad, but he had seen his father fight and since he looked like his father he pictured that being him when he was fighting.

No one had ever given her such a useful tip to make a distinction between the Teekon Wilds' northern and southern regions. Wildfire filed that information away in the filing cabinet at the back of her mind, then peered at Sebastian with concern. He seemed bothered by something, though she couldn't guess what, at least until he mentioned how badly he didn't want to look the part of an assassin. He mentioned his father, which caused Wildfire to exhale at the memory of Sebastian's "evil twin."

"Foster mode?" she repeated, not entirely sure what that meant. Then Wildfire assured him, "It's a good thing you look the way you do. You don't even have to touch the bad guys; the mere sight of you will send them running!" She offered him a cheesy grin. "Hey, do you feel up to a quick sparring match? My dad thinks I need more Warrior practice, since I'm going off on my own more these days."

Sebastian looked at the red haired figure before him. "I meant fighting mode," he spoke. "Sorry, I tend to speak more in mumble these days," he apologized and then chuckled. Sebastian smiled at the compliment and then nodded. "Sort of, but because I looked so dangerous Saena send her whole pack after me," he returned and that was something he didn't like. But had also been foolish with not running away in time. He had too much pride at the time. How could he be so stupid. He was lucky to recover.

Sebastian looked at the little girl and then nodded. "Sure! I wouldn't mind." He pushed himself up onto his all fours. He spread his paws a bit and made himself look bigger, touring over the girl before him even more so.

She still couldn't make sense of the fact that Saena and her band of merry men had brutalized Sebastian only to do absolutely nothing to her. She couldn't dwell on it much more now, as her pack mate was squaring up for a fight. It was tough not being intimidated by an opponent of his size and stature, yet it was perfect for some practice. Wildfire didn't only need to fear fellow wolves (many of them larger than herself) but cougars, bears and all manner of wild beasts. Even prey animals, like elk, could be very dangerous.

"You ready to get your butt kicked?" Wildfire leered playfully up at him, her dark tail lashing in rhythm with her smack talk. She then bounded forward with a growl, aiming to nip right at Sebastian's big, damp nose.

Sebastian chuckled and then nodded. "Oh yes," he returned. "Because you are a warrior and I am not, so I will most definitely get my butt kicked," he assured to give her a boost of confidence. It was what she deserved. He still saw her as that little girl. The big male moved his head back when Wifi instantly charged at him. He didn't want her sharp teeth in his nose. The male jumped sideways and then gave her a good nudge in her side to unbalance her. This was something Sebastian usually tried to do.

He dodged her initial attack, then countered by nudging her. It didn't take much for Wildfire—both small and clumsy—to lose her balance. She went down onto her hip, though she jumped back onto her feet within two seconds. She wasted no time in refreshing her attack, though she went with a different approach. Even if she didn't succeed, she would sure as hell keep Sebastian on his toes!

She reared up like a wild filly, legs flailing in his face in the hopes of distracting him. She then dropped and snapped at his right ankle, though it was only a feint. Wildfire whipped her head sideways, counting on a slow reaction from Sebastian as her jaws aimed to grasp his left ankle instead.

Sebastian felt a wave of victory when Wildfire fell over, alas, it wasn't that difficult to do. The male was bigger and stronger. What he didn't expect was that the young female would be so quick for a counter attack. The male was distracted by the female rearing up. He looked at her paws and thought she was going to clash into his face. But she didn't because only moments later he felt a nip in his ankle. He wanted to grab her for that but before he got there she was by his other ankle. Sebastian whirled around and tried to nip her butt, close to her hip.

She managed to land the hit, which sent a bolt of adrenaline through her. She applied pressure, though not enough to break the skin. Wildfire growled, the noise growing in pitch when her pack mate responded by nipping at her exposed hindquarters. She released him immediately, scrambling backward, out of his reach. She glared at him, her eyes as hard as amber, though it was all in good fun.

It seemed that speed was a good tactic to use with such a large opponent, so Wildfire intended to use that to her advantage. Remembering how her flailing forelimbs had confused him, the youngster now darted to his side, then began running in circles around Sebastian. Maybe he would even get dizzy trying to follow her, making him easy prey! She grinned at the thought, though Wildfire's expression grew more serious as she concentrated on maintaining her speed and pattern without tripping over her own feet and eating dirt.

Sebastian was pleased his nip worked to alert her that one part of her body was exposed to his teeth, what Wildfire did next did confuse the male. His head followed for a moment as she was starting the url circles around him. It was funny to watch. Sebastian lowered himself a bit and then made a huge leap out of her perfectly ran circle. He wasn't going to wait for her to attack him! Sebastian landed and quickly turned around ready for another of Wildfire's speedy attacks. The male charged forwards at the girl, he knew she was quick so he limited his force behind his charge. Even though she was younger, she definitely had an advantage

Rather than wait for her to attack, Sebastian lunged, surprising a squawk from Wildfire. She dug her heels into the earth, only to realize he wasn't attacking her; he was only trying to break free of her circle. But then he did charge her, catching her completely off guard. Wildfire squealed again, trying to dive to her left to avoid the brunt of it, though she was fairly certain he was about to smash her like a pancake (playfully, of course).

Sebastian moved forward. Naturally the male would never inflict a serious injury to the girl. Once he came close he jumped up a bit and made sure none of his paws would hit her. He landed able here yes, but he wouldn't lower himself and break her ribcage for example. He looked under his belly between his front paws with a grin. His tail was wagging. "Gotcha!," he let out. He stepped off her, just in case the girl decided this wasn't an end yet and she would hit his sensitive tummy as a counter attack. She was a really good warrior. He had to give her that. But the male would compliment her on that later if she happen to present another attack to him.

As he came down on top of her, Wildfire rolled onto her back. According to Fox, this was like waving a white flag. But she wasn't ready to give up yet! She wriggled and squiggled even as Sebastian stepped away from her, darting quickly to her feet. She suddenly felt like she was humming with energy. Although it hadn't worked out well for her the first time, the young she-wolf began to run in circles around him again. This time, she moved much faster, her body practically a blur as she zoomed around Sebastian.

Sebastian wasn't surprised when the girl showed no sign of giving up just yet. Their friendly play was being continued by the quick red dhole. Sebastian sat down as she started to run even faster. Would jumping over her work. Nah, Sebastian was going to try something else. He just started to walk, this way she had to make her circle bigger and probably even stop her from going this fast. Sebastian's tail wagged though. This was just what he needed, even though the young girl was probably going to nip him in his ankled again.

For a blissful moment, she was flying, spinning around Sebastian like a graceful ballerina, fueled by a burst of frenetic energy. But then her target began to move and Wildfire suddenly became paranoid that she would trip, so she began to slow. In doing so, she broke the spell of elegance. She was so busy suddenly trying not to tangle her legs that she bowled right into Sebastian. Since he was so much larger and heavier, he barely moved, though Wildfire went down like a sack of potatoes.

Dizzy and winded, she blinked her amber eyes up at him in bewilderment for a moment, then recovered and cracked a smile. Panting now, she propped herself up on and elbow and said, "That was fun! I dunno what got into me. I felt like I could fly." She chuckled, then rolled upright onto her haunches. "You're the best, Seb, do you know that?" She was still a little high from all the endorphins. "You're like the best uncle... brother... thing." Wildfire chuckled again.

Once she caught her breath a bit better, she said slightly more soberly, "But seriously, can I call you my big brother?" He might have been better suited as an uncle figure. Her relationship with him was quite similar to her relationship with Elwood. But she had never had a bigger brother (that she'd met) and never really would, so she saw this as her chance to get that experience. "Like, can I adopt you?"

You melt me every time. Damn it. Wildfire is so cute!

Sebastian slowly sat down, just in time to branch himself as Wildfire barreled into him. He laughed softly at the younger girl, looking down on her after her crash landing. His tail thumped against the ground. "I agree, that was incredibly fun. See! You always know nice things to do," he praised. Sebastian almost felt humbled when the girl called him the best. That was really sweet and the let out an appreciative smile towards her. His pale eyes beaming with excitement. He also realized that his shoulder hadn't hurt. He decided that today he had fully recovered from all his wounds only the fur needed to fully grow back now. "Uncle-Brother-thing?," he laughed out loud.

It was great to see the girl so ecstatic. Sebastian's tail thumped only harder against the ground since her excitement was contagious. "I already saw you as my little sis, Wildfire!," he assured. "When I got my warden trade your father named me a Redhawk officially. So yes. You can adopt me or well, technically I am already your big brother!," he laughed, it was a strange idea but a fun one.

^_^

"Oh, yeah!" she chirped when he reminded her of their shared surname. "Good," she added, smiling and bobbing her head. Wildfire stretched out her foreleg to bat at him like she figured a little sister would a big brother. Technically, she had one in Nightjar but they were the same age, so the dynamic with Sebastian was a bit different.

"Well, now my Warrior batteries are charged," Wildfire mused. "I think I'll go exploring again soon... maybe to the east. I haven't gone that way in a while." She didn't mention why: she and Magpie had been confronted by a cougar the last time. She figured that, as her elder brother, Sebastian might feel protective and try to stop her. But even Peregrine couldn't stop her. She was really coming into her own, particularly as an Outrider (and Warrior!).

Sebastian gave her a quick nod in agreement. "Mine are too,' he agreed with her and sat down. He looked at his little sister, and he could somehow picture her as his little sister. It fitted with his whole image that Peregrine was his father. He did frown when Wildfire spoke about going east. He wasn't thinking that she meant the valley after the mountains, but he felt like Black Feather was sort of North-East from them. "Don't get too close to the dark forest and swamps if you go east," he then warned. "The pack that lives there is not a nice one. I know you are becoming an awesome warrior princess but... don't look for the danger okay?," he wanted her to promise him that. 

Sebastian still didn't have the answers he came for. He traveled here to confront his father and he hadn't. He felt a bit like a coward, but then again, he had his injuries. He wasn't going to confront his father while he had a struggle walking. He felt the tension of the dark male breathing down his neck, something he wanted to do to his father. Make his father scared of him. He heard his mind laugh at him because that had been one of his most absurd fantasies. Burke being scared of him. He was one ball of fluff, even Wildfire saw it. Hearing that Burke had been at the Caldera Borders kind of scared him.

Fade? :)

Sebastian warned her about the local packs. "I know," she replied simply, then assured him, "I don't look for trouble. I mostly explore and then try to learn stuff if I bump into other wolves. Mostly everybody's been pretty nice so far, even the northern wolves," she admitted to him, nibbling at her bottom lip. Obviously, she had already mentioned Saena but there was Dante and even Taltos. Nobody had been particularly nasty to her, save for Sebastian's own father... and she hadn't even been out exploring very far during that encounter.

Pushing that thought aside (and oblivious to the fact that Sebastian was also thinking of that evil man), Wildfire declared, "I'm gonna go find something to eat, then rest up for my trip. Wanna come eat with me... bro?" she invited, amber eyes twinkling as she readied to take off in the direction of the nearest stockpile.

definitely! I will send it to the archives!

Sebastian was glad to hear that everyone had been nice to her, she was now old enough to go out exploring and he was glad the shy girl he met was slowly growing and becoming more confident. It was great to see her grow and develop like that. He was a proud brother. "I'm glad. You are a good learner,' he hummed and then nudged her in a friendly matter. The big male perked up his ears once the girl invited him for a meal. He would have nothing rather. "Oh yes, thank you, sis," he grinned. It felt good to have a family.