Redhawk Caldera Drink to find inspiration

The Firebirds were older (if not wiser) now, and Phox was itching for a bonafide hunt. He had been tracking the same herd of deer since he'd spotted them months ago, and now he was going to ask for something he thought might be rejected... since it had so many times before. He bounded toward @Lagan with an optimistic smile and put forth the question he had asked every day since he had started tracking the herd.

"Can we hunt them today?" Big, brown, pleading eyes looked to his mentor, and he paused for good effect. If the answer was yes, he'd call the others, too. He just really wanted to help bring down big prey, and hopefully today would be it!

As they grew older, Towhee and Phox spent more time apart, pursuing their individual interests. But today, the young guardian sought out her favorite sibling. When she found him, he was making a beeline across the territory. Intrigued, she cocked an eyebrow and fell into step a few dozen yards behind, tagging along for the ride.

She couldn't hear him when he came upon Lagan, though Towhee took in Phox's exuberant expression and gestures. Moving stealthily (not that she she realized it), she materialized at her brother's side, offering his shoulder a friendly nip before glancing between the two and querying, -What's up?-

OMG I forgot all about this I'm so sorry ahhh! If ever you tag me and I take a while to reply it's probably because I forgot so don't be afraid to bump me! So sorry!

Lagan sat on the ground, attempting to crack the most curious nut. At least he thought it was a nut. It was prickly and green and there was a large crack revealing the inside, which was full of small brown nut things (its a sweet chestnut). He'd seen them before but he was very young and he'd forgotten about them. It seemed they only came about around fall, so this one was very early. It'd fallen to the ground before him and naturally he wanted to figure it out.

It was spiky, so he didn't want to put it in his mouth. He tried sticking his paw in the rivet, but he couldn't hold it still. He couldn't figure it out and it frustrated him. He was so caught up in trying to get the contents of the weird nut, that he jumped when Phox appeared near him, and even more so when Towhee did. Ah! He yelped, accidentally kicking the nut across the clearing. He turned his head back towards it just in time to watch it soar then fall into a bush and disappear.

He huffed, sad to have lost his interesting find. But he smiled when he remembered there would likely be a ton more just like it soon. He turned to face Towhee and Phox, only catching a little bit of the other boy's question. Hunt who now? He asked, a confused expression on his face.

"The deer!" Phox replied emphatically, barely noticing Towhee's question. He signed it to her as well. -We're gonna hunt deer today.- Of course, Lagan hadn't agreed, but Phox was optimistic. They were nearly as big as the rest of the adults now, and Phox was eager to get out and really start hunting the bigger prey. (Little did he know they had moved on to greener pastures. They had slipped away since the last time he had spotted them in Redhawk Caldera.)

"Towhee and I are big enough now! And I've been tracking them every day. I don't think they're here anymore, but we can go find them." Phox was certain this plan would work. "Pretty please???" he asked, eyes once again widening as he pouted to show how truly desperate he was to hunt with the big dogs.

She felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation wash through her when she understood the gist of Phox's enthusiasm. He wanted to hunt some deer, insisting that they were both old enough to attempt taking on large game, with Lagan's help. Towhee swallowed. She wasn't even much of a small game hunter, so how would she fare with much larger prey? And how would her pack mates coordinate with her, considering her disability?

-How will it work?- she wondered, orange eyes drifting between Phox and Lagan. How would they strategize with a deaf wolf among them?

Lagan relented, and Phox spun around with joy. To Towhee's question, Phox replied with ease. -You got eyes!- Maybe it was a bit insensitive, but he was so preoccupied with the hunt he didn't really think too much of it. Lagan was eyeing them both, but Phox wasn't really catching on, instead, beginning to trek toward "his" herd, which was well outside the caldera's borders.

"C'mon! Let's gooooo!" he whined, nipping at Lagan's shoulders to get him to move faster.

Towhee blinked, then rolled said eyes at Phox's casual dismissal of her concerns. She didn't take it personally, though she exchanged a quick, inquisitive look with Lagan before trotting after the hunter. She caught up to him rather easily as he strode toward the borders and beyond, then glanced behind them. Lagan was bringing up the rear and didn't seem particularly concerned about catching up to them for the moment.

"Hey, Phox," Towhee whispered (or so she thought—it was rather sotto voce in reality), "did you know Lagan likes boys? Like, romantically?"

Phox's ear flicked back when Towhee addressed him. Usually she only did that when they were having a ~serious~ conversation, so he braced himself for that. The way her voice dipped down also clued him in, and he listened as she spoke about Lagan, who was only a dozen or so paces behind them.

"Whatcha mean?" he asked, glancing back at Lagan and smiling at his mentor before returning his attention to Towhee. He didn't want to rouse any suspicion. At least not yet.

"I don't know," she admitted, pausing as Phox glanced backward at Lagan. Towhee was tempted to do the same, yet she resisted the impulse. When her brother's attention was back on her, she continued, "but he was telling Uncle Elwood about a cute boy. He was talking as if he has a... crush on him or something." She paused. "Isn't that weird? Like really weird?"

She glanced ahead for a moment, her heartbeat quickening when she saw the herd in the distance. But then Towhee moved her eyes back to Phox's face, awaiting his reaction.

Phox shrugged indifferently. Clearly he didn't find it that weird. Besides, it didn't change anything about the way he would treat Lagan. The guy was practically his uncle, and Phox had only good things to say about him. Lagan was family, as far as Phox was concerned. But another thought occurred to him. "Are you jealous?" he asked, wondering if Towhee had a crush on Lagan, and that's why she was upset. If he liked boys, maybe that meant he didn't like girls.

The herd—his herd—was still a ways off, but seeing them made Phox quicken his pace. He glanced back at Lagan, who wagged his tail and continued to let the two younger wolves take the lead.

"What?" Towhee blurted loudly, eyes screwing up in confusion and then disgust. "What?" she repeated, then emphatically added, "No! Why would you say that? Gross!" She shoved her shoulder against him, mostly playfully. "You don't think it's kind of weird that he likes other guys?" she pressed, a little taken aback by Phox's calm acceptance. Uncle Elwood had taken the news in stride too. It perplexed her.

But before the conversation could continue any further, Lagan suddenly pushed in between the pair of siblings. Towhee shot him a self-conscious glance—had he overheard?—but he was energetic and grinning, e.g., his usual self. And while his preferences struck her as highly unusual and a little gross (if she was honest with herself), she didn't like him any less or anything.

Still, she felt a little awkward, so Towhee quipped, "Are we there yet?" to break the likely self-contained tension.

Phox grinned at Towhee's response, which seemed perhaps more defensive than it needed to be. He still believed she had a crush on their uncle/mentor/friend. "Not any weirder than anything else," he replied with a shrug, casting her a "knowing" glance before throwing a wink her way as well.

Lagan had pushed his way between them, and Phox shot Towhee a "oooooh" glance, but he didn't do anything other than that. He was convinced her whole thing about boys was jealousy, but he wasn't about to reveal that to their mentor. Especially not on a quest as important as this one.

"Up there," said Lagan, zoning in on the herd, and Phox's full attention was brought to the deer, fully dismissing the conversation with Towhee (for now). His eyes widened, he crouched, and he awaited whatever instructions the mentor was about to give him.

The conversation came to a close as Lagan pointed out their targets and Phox reacted by immediately assuming the position. Towhee blinked at him, then did her best to mimic his behaviors. Simultaneously, she tried to keep Lagan in her view, so she could observe any instructions he might issue.

How the heck is this going to work? she thought a little grumpily to herself when she realized she could not simultaneously keep an eye on Phox and read their guide's lips. Hopefully Lagan would know to use ptero or other nonverbal signals so Towhee wouldn't be a totally lost cause on this hunting endeavor.

Lagan explained (via ptero) how things would work. Towhee would sneak up on the herd as best she could, and Phox would rush from the other direction and go in for the kill. Lagan would stay back with Towhee, making sure he was close enough that he could signal to her. Phox could always hear anything that Lagan needed to shout at him from afar, while Towhee was limited in that regard.

-Which one should I go for, y'think?- he asked, signing his question for the benefit of Towhee. Lagan grinned and signed back, pointing out a weaker-looking young deer, limping along. It was on the outskirts of the herd, and Phox nodded in agreement. He gave Towhee an encouraging nudge, then he skirted around the herd to take his place, crouching down and waiting for the herd to break.

The two more experienced hunters laid out a plan. Towhee didn't know how well she'd do—she wasn't exactly known for being a ninja, what with being unable to gauge how much noise she was making at any given moment—but if Lagan would be nearby, then perhaps there was a chance this could work. She shrugged her shoulders when Phox queried about a target, though he and Lagan quickly collaborated and chose one, so now it was time to execute.

Lagan stuck near enough to give Towhee a little jab if she was stepping too noisily. Their progress was painstakingly slow because of this, yet finally the two of them got into position. They had closed in on the herd and Towhee focused her attention on their chosen victim. It was a young deer that was walking a little funny. As the young she-wolf crouched, she couldn't help but muse philosophically about how she should feel about targeting the disabled one as the weakest link in the group.

When the herd broke, Phox knew it was only a matter of time. Towhee and Lagan came rushing out of their hiding spot, and soon the herd—his herd—scattered in every direction. By some miracle (or perhaps it was Towhee and Lagan's doing), the limping one was heading right toward him. The thing bleated pathetically, and Phox, inexperienced as he was, fumbled the whole thing up.

The first mistake he made was breaking from his low hiding spot too soon while trying to get a better look. The injured deer saw him right away, swerving to one side, leaving Phox out of breath by the time he was close enough to leap at the creature (mistake number two). He also didn't aim in the right spot, earning himself a good kick in the jaw rather than a mouthful of meat, which was mistake number three.

After that, he had to stop and cringe at the pain, which rattled him through-and-through. It was, well, embarrassing to mess things up so badly on the first try, and he felt pretty stupid. He was already dreading the moment when Towhee and Lagan caught up to him, which wouldn't be too long from now.

Towhee could feel the blood pounding in her ears in the split second before Lagan signaled for her to move. She kept glancing at him, trying to mimic what he was doing. When she realized it was slowing her down significantly, she clenched her teeth together and shifted her focus to the deer. She had one job: guide their limping quarry toward her brother.

When the deer zigged, Towhee zagged. She momentarily lost track of Lagan, though she saw Phox appear out of the corner of her eye. He made a flying leap at their prey, though he didn't land his hit properly. Towhee gasped loudly when she saw the ungulate's hoof connect with her brother's face. Her heart jumped into her throat and she dug her heels into the earth, letting the deer limp away as she rushed to Phox's side.

"Are you okay?!" Towhee bellowed loudly enough to frighten a nearby flock of birds into the air.

As expected, Towhee was at his side in a matter of seconds. He opened his jaw, wincing at the pain, but it wasn't as bad as he had expected it to be. -Hurts, but ok,- he signed to her. -Wish I'd gotten it.- He was furious that he had messed it all up. How could he have junked it up so bad? He frowned, looking in the direction where the deer had gone.

Lagan popped up not far behind Towhee, concern on his face, but Phox couldn't even bring himself to look his mentor in the eye. "I didn't get it," he said to Lagan, defeat in his voice. "I shoulda just let you do it."

"Oh, come on now, you'll get it next time!" Lagan replied, but Phox wasn't buying it. "I've been tracking them for months," he protested, "All I got was a kick in the face."

"Next time," Lagan repeated, coming closer to check on Phox's chin. He allowed the older wolf to look him over, though it didn't appear to be anything too serious. "You're gonna hurt for awhile, but I think you'll be okay. Go see Raven and let her have a look, too." Phox nodded begrudgingly, then turned to Towhee. -Wanna come see Raven with me?- he asked.

Although Phox looked okay—there was no blood, no obvious broken bones and he was quite clearly conscious—Towhee had to fight down the distinct urge to fret and fuss over him. As he and Lagan talked back and forth, she ignored the conversation and gingerly poked and prodded her litter mate, just to be quite certain there wasn't more damage than he was reporting.

-Yeah, that's a good idea,- she replied when Phox asked her along to see Raven. She shot a look at Lagan. -You coming too?- she questioned before facing the direction of the caldera and beginning to walk. -We'll get them next time,- she signed to her brother, seeing the downcast look on his face. -We'll make that piece of crap pay for kicking you in the face,- she solemnly swore.

Last one for me. :)

Lagan indicated that he'd stay back and let the two go on their own. Phox smiled when Towhee backed him up, promising to "make that piece of crap pay" for what he'd done to Phox. Then again, he couldn't really blame the deer for doing that. The distant bleats let him know that it was still alive and well, probably about to catch up to the rest of the herd. Phox knew he'd get another chance, and hopefully, that limping mother'ucker would get what was coming to him... by way of Phox, hopefully.

Phox began the walk back to the caldera, letting a quiet, comfortable silence settle between Towhee and himself.