Redhawk Caldera Coke is good for the soul. The soda, I mean.

Mainly for le @Finley  and @Elwood 




It had literally been ages since he had been here.  Emeralds gave a good up-down of the canyons entrance as he stood in the very same spot he had been in when he came across a derpa doop but still flarin' Fire Bird, and her tankin' swank of a hubby, Per. The blonde hadn't expected much to change, but just the scents in the winds told him otherwise. The two head honchos's scents were nowhere on the nose-scans, and he couldn't even hear Fire babe's usual fury flashes if/when something went belly up down in the mountains. Where was everybody?

Plenty of scents were gone, but if there were any he did still recognize, it was the to scents of Finny Fin Fin, and his Electro, a bro and sis from plenty of past good times. They were the only nare players he could cash in on, and from what the story was that he could sniff out, they were the big ballers of this place now. How even...how long had he been down in that rabbit hole?

The older wolf felt just as young as he was since he had first come to the 'Dera, but those couple of years had taught the hippie plenty. And the that plenty was a humangously resounding: Don't do poppies, honey, and eat grass in the same night, no matter how bad of a headache you have.

So Ash waited, thick sun shaded tail curled over a pair of paws, and he threw his skull back, letting out a awesome set of barkie tunes at the borders of the chilled Fire Bird nest.

She watched him from her perch midway up the caldera, her slim black body screened by a misshapen shrub. As the interloper came closer and closer to the territory's edge, Towhee's fur prickled, her muscles coiling with tension. She didn't make a move, however, until she saw him stop and throw his head into the air. Although she couldn't hear the howl, she recognized the pattern of movement. Once, she had pressed up close to Phox while he howled and the resonance had been intense. Whoever this stranger was, he was making a lot of noise. Others would come but the mercenary wanted to get to him first.

Rapidly, Towhee picked her way down the slope, then made a beeline toward the golden male. Her ruff and tail both puffed as she approached, her lips skinning back from her teeth in a grimace. "Who are you and what do you want?" she demanded in a flat, gruff voice that would likely be hard for him to understand. She half-expected him to declare himself another relative. It seemed to be the trend lately.

Ash saw a smaller form scat right to him, and he didn't recognize any bit of the little dudette. A cute little thing, huffed and puffed at the taller male, but considering this one wasn't into flashy authority postures or 'I'm bigger than you, grr's, he lowered his crown to a polite height, though his ears flicked forward for the words coming from scamp.

"Oh, well, hey there. I'm just here for a good visit to friends. Is Flam- uh, Is Fox or Peregrine around? And if not, maybe Elwood, Or Finny-" 
He had almost gotten through it without a slip up, but he just couldn't see them as anything so formal as names. Everybody had a nickname, and he had already draped on on the little girl that came to rough him up. Lil' ole' Scamp.

"Finley?" he finished off, emeralds looking down at the unfamiliar but still kinda familiar in ways he hadn't comprehended, just yet.

She fought hard against the urge to roll her eyes when he mentioned her parents by name. Really? Why were all these weirdos coming out of the woodwork lately? Towhee sneered at him, letting a pregnant pause hang in between them for a moment as she finished processing everything he'd said. When it came to unfamiliar wolves, it required some extra time and effort to parse out the lipreading.

"Peregrine and Fox are dead," Towhee said tonelessly, her speech impediment likely a dead giveaway if he'd ever interacted with a deaf individual. If not, it was entirely possible he thought her dumb, not that she gave it any thought whatsoever. "Elwood and Finley are the leaders," she stated, then emphatically repeated, "Who are you? What do you want?" She wasn't going to bother her Alphas—especially since her aunt was otherwise indisposed—for something as stupid as a friendly chat with an outsider.

Oh.
The cold words hit the goldie with more effect than expected, as his previously jovial demeanor took a more solemn bask. Man, were they really? He hadn't been gone that long, had he? What happened?...
Guilt began climbing up his gut, settling coldly in what could only have been a massive swirl of 'You shoulda been here' and 'You coulda done somethin's. He couldn't speak for a second, and it easily could have been misread for him being the deaf one, if it hadn't had been for his sudden personality change.

Whether he got near the Dera or not, he would hold a seperate funeral for them both, as he loved em, whether they chilled tight, or whether Flamin Babe still didn't trust his medi supplies. They were his family, where he had none, and it was hard forming a good pack in Teekon. Too many serious wolves, always with a chip on their shoulder.

Shaking his noggin' back into reality, Ash gazed down at the faintly inpaired bromiga, emeralds settling on that dark face of hers. Murmuring mainly to himself, but when your deaf, you don't need sound, do ya? Lips said it all, as he connected the dots.

"I was supposed to be there for ya birth. You're one of theirs...One of the ones I never got ta lay my eyes on."

Taking a deep breath, the hippie healer settled on answering her questions.

"I'm just here on a visit trip, doll. I'm not here for no blues. Honest, El and Fin were friends of mine, and I was just poppin' by ta bark a hi."

Another second to steele himself, his happy greeting tarnished by the bad news, but his polite smile remained all the same.

"Names Ashton, and I was once the main, well, only Healer of Caldera."

Towhee could see that the news hit him hard, though she didn't feel any particular sympathy. If her parents had meant so much to him, why hadn't he been here all along? She squinted when he mentioned being there for her birth, eyes narrowing with every subsequent word that came out of his mouth. Half of what he said didn't make sense and she was left wondering if she was misinterpreting him or if he simply spoke strangely.

"I am not a doll," she told him sharply. She paused as he finally introduced himself, then revealed the part he'd played in the caldera's history. "Was," she echoed. Her tone was, as ever, fairly flat, though there was accusation written into the lines around her rusty orange eyes. "You left." It was sort of a question but more of a statement. She leveled him with a scrutinizing look which silently demanded an explanation, not that Towhee was likely to accept it.

She may have been deaf, but he wasn't, and the accusation effectively drove needles into him. Ears flattened as the cold words in his tummy only got more and more frigid. Well, yea, he left, because he was so bonked out his mnd that he had gotten lost. Not too soon after, he had gotten attacked by a neighborhood pack of unfriendlies, hence his only marr on a once perfectly untouched body. If it hadn't have been for his speed and fear, he would have gotten something a bit worse than a scarred up left leg, and at the rememberance of it, his golden tail tucked closer to the scarred limb.

"I did, though it wasn't intentional. If there was one thing I was looking for, it was painkilers, as labor pains aren't all that nice, and basic poppys can't really cut it without an overdose. So I had to try it on myself, since I couldn't dare ask your mam ta down one of my random trys. It was wrong, as maybe I added a bit too much of the poppy to the honey, and it made me zoinked, leaving me hobbling brainless right out of the canyon. I didn't wake up till I was near in a whole 'nother stretch of land, Then I got snagged by some rude bros that didn't even ask me what for, chewed up and spit out, until I could nav my way back here. It took time, and healing, but I came back to the only place I knew home to be."

Ash hadn't exactly meant to get heartsy with it, but he just couldn't help himself. It was traumatic what went down with him, and to not only be informed that the top birds dropped coop, but to see one of the eggs tellin him how bad of a bro he was without even actually saying it, it just tore him up inside. He was a good dude, and he hadn't wanted to leave, but it was something that happened. He wasn't even here for forgiveness, as the only ones he could get closure from was the dead dude and his fireball of a dudette. But there the both of them were, staring him down with more strength than he could even retort levely back with.

Standing up, the handsome healer began backing away, despair threatening to engulf him if he hadn't just stopped. Stopped it all, like the thinking..why did thinking have to be invented? If he could find something to use to not think, maybe some guppie crunchies with clover and ashwood bark...that would do it. Good for taking a bit of silence for a good hour.

"Just, if anything, tell Electro and Finny that hippie boy Ash stopped by, ya? I...didn't mean any harm."

Then he turned, facing the forest, and tried heading away from the condeming eyes oh the future that passed him by.

He looked ashamed when she called him out, though Towhee still didn't feel any pity for him. He was a total stranger, an outsider and a deserter to boot. Her eyes remained fixed to his face as he began mumbling an explanation for his absence. She didn't make it past the word "painkillers" before giving up on keeping up with his tale. Towhee didn't interrupt, just returned to squinting as he rambled on and on to a (literally) deaf audience.

Finally, his mouth stopped moving. "I didn't—" she began to inform him only for him to add a few last words. She snorted at the interruption but said nothing. When he finished again, her lips parted only for Ashton to turn away, misery and defeat written into every line of his body as he retreated. Her eyeball twitched as she resisted the impulse to shout something rude at his back.

Instead, she said loudly, "You know, I can't hear you." She paused, thinking about Elwood's recent interaction with Gannet, then let him know, "I'm not going to pass on your message for you. If you want to talk to them, you have to wait here for them." As she spoke, she shifted a little restlessly. "You called for them, didn't you? It's really rude to waste their time by calling for them and then leaving," she pointed out with a grunt.

Ashton didn't even really have the heart to talk to El of Fin, anymore. What if they felt the same way the little dudette did? Would they hate him for his leaving too? What if they blamed him, more than what he did to himself? He wouldn't be able to face the only ones he still had good memories of, only to watch them turn sour and sizzle right in front of him.
That would just kill him, dead.

"Turning back to the little pup, Ash nodded his knowledge of both anatomy and biology, along with botany and a host of multiple other organism based sciency terms. He may not have vocally said it, but was just as much as a Doc as he had always been. He noticed her not moving her ears to catch his words the way he majority of other wolves did, her eye movement over 35% more rapid with each facial and body movement he had done compared to other wolves.

Softly, he responded to the obvious. "Yea, I know you can't doll."

He sheepishly looked away from her, still contemplating how bad of a emotional lashin' he'd get from just seeing their faces again. Did they even hear his howl? He knew those two weren't deaf,  but would he really be brave enough to face those memories? Instead, he attempted to cheer himself up, atleast trying to get to know the little pup who had shredded him so easily.

"What is your name?"

Whatever her name was, he'd always end up mentally, before vocally calling her 'Scamp'. Usually, he just dubbed the name on them, not even trying to find out what their real names were, as he was just as comfortable in his friendliness as he was in being a drug dealer. But today was different, so he was too. Just a bit. For now.

Yet again, there was a familiar voice calling for him, and Elwood hastened to answer it. And once more, Towhee was there first. He could hear her distorted speech and it sounded like she was making up for her lack of clarity with volume. Although Elwood loved his goddaughter, her hostility towards outsiders was starting to wear on him. This was twice now in a short period that she had been unnecessarily abrasive towards wolves with good intentions.

"Towhee," he said, his voice sharper than usual. He gave her a long look, then strode past her to greet Ashton. His solemn expression disappeared as his face wreathed into a grin. "Long time no see, my friend. Where have you been?" While Ashton's abrupt departure had caused strife at the time -- particularly to Somnia, a wolf that Elwood hadn't thought about in much too long -- the Alpha harbored no hard feelings towards the hippie.

He gestured towards Towhee. "Is she giving you the run around? This is Towhee, one of Peregrine and Fox's kids, and my goddaughter," he introduced. Already, his annoyance at her was dissipating; Elwood couldn't stay mad at anyone for any length of time.

Her eye twitched again when he called her by the pet name. Had she not specifically rejected it just a moment ago? "My name is Towhee," she said even as he asked for it. She snorted dryly. "Call me 'doll' again and I'll rip off your face." There wasn't even a hint of mirth in her demeanor as she made the threat. In fact, her expression was still lined with derision and her lip lifted a little. Her tail also gave a telling lash, letting him know she meant business. She was younger and smaller but already collecting quite a few experience points as both a guardian and warrior in training.

Although she was pretty sure she could howl, Towhee had never actually tried and was much too self-conscious to make an attempt in front of this Ashton guy. They would just have to rely on his earlier call summoning the leaders. In the meantime, the young mercenary backpedaled a few feet and took a seat, brassy gaze still fixed on him. She had no desire to make small talk or even really interact at all but there was no way in hell she would leave him unattended at the borders. Towhee would only leave if and when one of her godparents made their way here.

Elwood didn't leave them hanging. When her godfather appeared, Towhee took to her feet again with a sense of relief. She didn't hear her uncle's sharp tone when he said her name, though she blinked in response to his lingering look and furrowed her brow down at her own forepaws for an instant. When she looked back up, she saw Elwood regarding Ashton with not just familiarity but affection. The Xi steeled her jaw, a little baffled and exasperated by his apparent lack of protective instincts. Could anyone just waltz in and out of the Redhawk fold at will?

With a parting woof, Towhee turned. Instead of returning to her earlier perch, she decided to pick up a patrol. As she wended along the familiar footpath, she couldn't stop thinking about her godfather's long look and what it meant. Perhaps she should touch base with him and ask, though first she would have to work out some of her mixed feelings. With a huff, she picked up the pace until she was galloping swiftly along the territory's outer fringes.

Ash chuckled at Scamp's ferocity, her blatant distrust showing well with her mom's features, but he pushed it away before the iceberg could come crashing back to his heart. Just as he had come to terms with the silence, something broke it firner than a juice bowl; a voice he knew well from the back of his head.

He watched as the sterling gaited past the smaller wolf, and settled before him, and Ash almost couldn't contain his happiness. He almost blooped right up to the silver and chest bumped the bro, but the hippies elation wasn't that high, just yet. It was really nice to know he hadn't been labeled as a 'Kill this guy on sight'.

"Man, Electro, it's been a long one. Too long," he said, pointing a slender snout towards the youth.

"Towhee here was makin' my heart hip hot hoops, bro. It was gettin' a bit heated. But it's fine, knowing where her boilin' blood was born."

The hippie shook his head, light mane wafting from the movement, but he began his tale all over again, this time in a better aspect to a wolf that could keep up with the majority of his lingo.

"There Fire Babe was, heavin' pups and she was like a few months from the big bang, but I wanted to get her something that would ease her pain, knowin how smart baby fartin' was. I help bore em, quite a few times in the Aspens, but too many times I saw that go down, and I didn't want the chance heading up Fox's way. So I came up with some stuff, some Poppy seeds with honey for flavor and easy downing, with Ash Bark to stick to the gut, that way it the seeds would have an easier time doin the chem dance with the honey as it would not only taste better, but the after toxins of the seeds wouldn't harm the lil one's. I had been working on it down in my den, and I had come to be a bit close to it, but with the recipe, I got looped up because I didn't take a break. I still had the effects from the last dosage in me, and considering I was my own test dummy, I kinda had no other choice. But I was zoinked out, and I wound up tipsyin' out of the ' Dera into unknown lands, like near a whole Wilds over, man. Then when I woke up, of COURSE I was in the flails of enemy tails, and they weren't so nice, so I got a bit manged up on my leg, and luck was on me since I knew what took out infections since it had burned up bad. But that took time to heal, and after the muscle damage was down and own, I spunked myself back up, and tried to find my way back home. Here. "

Emeralds took in the sterling before him, awaiting the reaction the the like 1-2 years of story, and his blood bumper banged about in his chest, thumpin' a faster beat as he awaited a response from his old joe bro.

Without a word, Towhee departed from their company. Elwood watched her go, frowning slightly, then shook his head and returned his attention to Ashton. He failed to realize how confusing it must have been for Towhee, when two wolves in just a short amount of time had been allowed to approach their borders freely and receive a warm welcome from the Alpha, while most other trespassers -- like the black wolf only a few weeks prior -- were chased away without hesitation.

As Ashton began to explain where he had been, Elwood felt like he had stepped into a time warp. Nothing had changed as far as the hippie's pattern of speech; he was still as loquacious as ever, and his story took quite a long time to unravel. Were he not used to Ashton's personality -- or if he had little patience, like Fox -- Elwood might have tuned him out, but he listened raptly, nodding to show that he was paying attention.

He squinted, trying to remember the time of year that Ashton had last been with the pack. He couldn't quite recall, but chalked it up to being not long before Fox gave birth to Gannet, Whip, Peter and Ferret. "Sounds like a pretty bad trip," Elwood said, referring to the effects of Ashton's high as well as the trouble he had gotten himself into afterward. "I'm glad you're alright, though, and you'll be happy to know that Fox gave birth to four healthy sons. And then another litter of six puppies, this past January. That's where Towhee came from. Unfortunately, Fox passed away after giving birth," he said, sharing the good news with the bad.

After the goldie had given the entire gusto of his flusto, he took a deep breath, replenishing the huge hank of air he just worded to the monochro bro of his. It was a biggie, and he tanked the entire story as much as he could without blabbin' Electro's ears clean to the green.

"Yea man, it was wild. I swear I saw about 3 trees that looked like there were rabbits buckin' rodeos on the backs of boars, but by the time the oinks and boinks went back to their cribs, I had already waddled my high yellow ass outta Teekon. And I was kinda hungry. Definitely had some munchies after that. "

Ash crabbed his jab and listened to the new Alpha of the Dera he once served, and his grin flew to the stars and beyond. Yellow banner swung joyiously with the news, flying about like some rabbid tornado on steroids. Flamin' babe had 2 sets of dudes and dudettes! Holy hollyhocks, the Dera was a stockpile of pups, at that point.

The mention of Towhee slowed his banner a bit, and the return of the deaditude of the Fire Fox and the Peri-bro brought the flag to a slow, then eventual stop. Man, really had ta kill the vibe, didn'tcha, dude. Ash kept up a smaller smile, though it was a pained thing. Hurt a bit. Was kinda tight, nothing like the natural times he blew pearls in everybody's direction. It was just...just painful.

"Yea...baby girl Scamp barked it bad on me...But I don't put a blame on her boogie. Not one bit. I kinda did a bad while tryin' ta do a good, and it just glued to the back of a hangry hippo hoof. "

Wait, ...Ash...do you even know what a Hippo is?
Kinda?
It's not chill to lie, bro.
Well, I was told it was one of those big ol'-
Get back to the story.
But wait, do hippo's have hooves, doe?
What did I just say.
But-

"Well, I don't mind stickin' around a bit on the Dera side. No need ta tick me down on the list; I'll just try and stick nearby in case ya need a flash bang fast bromigo to do the dingo with ya hurts and harms. I would think you dudes would be burstin' top line with the numbers, so I don't wanna burn you guys over. I'll den down nearby or somethin, show ya where once I get a chop shop stop. Or you can just play a round of 'Where's Hippie' and sniff me out one day. I flair the same perfume as I always have, Electro."

Elwood laughed as Ashton elaborated on his hallucinations. They sounded crazy to begin with, but Ashton's flair for speaking made it sound even more psychedelic. He tried to remember if Raven and Eljay had ever met Ashton, and wondered what the young caregivers would think of him. There was probably a lot that they could learn from the older medic, although interpreting his teachings was another story.

"I'm glad to hear you'll be sticking around," he replied with a wave of his tail. "It'll be nice knowing that my favorite medic is nearby if we need you." Not quite ready to depart from Ashton's company just yet, Elwood backtracked. "Tell me about these 'enemy tails' you ran into," he prompted. He was interested just for curiosity's sake, and as an Alpha, as well. Most of the wolves in these parts were peaceable, so he hoped that the strangers Ashton had tangled with would keep their distance.

"Most def, chef," Ash agreed. Last thng he ever wanted was anything to happen to his fam, whether he knew all of em or not. He had all the love to share, and he was gonna do it, damnit!

At the inquiry of the snappin lappins'. he thought back a bit to anything he could trace on them. "Well, they were nothin I ever ran into, their aroma's weren't all that homely either, if bein' all of the honest. Can't say I recognize any of the faces till I got back in Teekon. A another bro of mine, a big darkie dude I slipped as Slasher helped me out with em cuz we go waaaaaaaaaaay back. I think he mighta had a bad day, himself, tellin' me somethin about finding out his crush died, needed some stress relievin' so I said 'yoyoyo, homie, there's like a whole pack of gnashers on my ashers, so if ya could help a homie out', and he was all  'gg, I gotchu' and traced em. Son't know how it went down, but I saw him again after I got back into familiar pieces of the Wilds, and he didn't even look like he had a scratch on him! Dude coulda hid it well, but he looked like he just didn't get enough. "

Ashton chuckled at the idea of his friend, just goin' barbarian on a whole 5 wolves, inhaling them, then coming back for a cup o' joe.

"I asked him if he needed any medz, and he said he was good, and I didn't have to worry about seein' anymore of em here. Then he went back to his crib in that one place, brainin' it called BlackFlyers, or somethin' like that. He dens down in there. Good dude. But yea, long story short, no worryin' about them gnashers, since Slasher got to em' first."

Ashton gave a detailed account of what had happened with the unfriendly wolves and Elwood listened attentively. Not only was he interested, he was also captivated by his friend's manner of storytelling. The hippie concluded by affirming that the hostility had been taken care of by his acquaintance named Slasher, and Elwood nodded.

"Well, good," he said, "I'm glad we won't have to deal with any gnashers around here." Glancing over his shoulder in the direction that Towhee had gone, Elwood took a step back and said, "I should probably get going. I want to get a word in with Towhee. I'll let her know that if she sees you hanging around, she doesn't have to give you the cold shoulder." He chuckled, then reached out to touch Ashton's shoulder with his nose before he departed. "It's really good to have you back around here, Ash. Let me know if you need anything!"

The hippie nodded his appreciation of the heads up, tail swingin' appropriately. Just as everything was concluding up, Ashton thought well if there was anything else he had to ask from the swaggin' wolfo.

Eyebrows perking at the mentionin his mind, Ash leaned forward as if it were some kinda secret.

"Yo, is...Is Somnia still roamin' with ya, El?"

He actually hadn't forgotten about the girl, but he highly doubted he would be able t tell her he was trying out drugs in his basement. What girl even wanted anything to do with a druggie? Since he was the one who made them, would that make him a drug dealer? To himself? Ashton, the Drug Dealer. It had a hardcore ring to it, but he wasn't that cool. Just Hippie Boy sounded chill enough for him.

He had taken the first step away when Ashton called something after him that made him pause. Elwood turned back towards his old friend, his head already moving side-to-side to indicate a negative response to the question. He hadn't seen Somnia in quite some time, and she had disappeared after going through a tough situation. To be honest, she hadn't been on his mind recently, but he found that hearing her name caused old worries and concerns to resurface. He hoped that she was okay, wherever she was.

"No...she was here for a while, winter before last, but she moved on without telling me where she was headed," he said solemnly. He hated to deliver the bad news to Ashton, but knew that sugar-coating it would not be in his best interest. It didn't change the fact that Somnia was gone.

"Oh..."

Well, shitter sticks.

"Thank ya, bro. I'll be ghost now."

Ash had gotten enough pain for the day. It was time to retire to den-makin. He could atleast numb his mind with some labor, ya? Or atleast try to.
Turning from the greyscale main male, Ash made his way back off the property, and towards somewhere unseen.

Ily, be seeing you soon. Ty, Kimmie Kim Kim.

Though Ashton didn't say much, Elwood could see the disappointment and regret etched in his face. He frowned as he watched Ashton go, giving a soft chuff of farewell as the blonde male stepped away from the caldera. Elwood believed in happy endings, so he wanted to hope that Ashton and Somnia would be reunited someday, but he also recognized that it was unlikely that they would be so lucky.

Once Ashton had disappeared from sight, Elwood retreated into his own territory, toying with the idea of talking to Towhee about what had happened.