Dragoncrest Cliffs dope, my crew is ill,

tegan and @Niamh fuckin DID IT, motherfuckers. check them out!! all the way at drageda. tegan had almost gone around the cliffs, since it was sort of well hidden and there was another pack around it... but he managed, somehow. he was pretty darned proud of himself, and hopefully niamh wasn't super stressed out about his navigation-- he was actually doing pretty well. and! she'd kept him safe, no damage to lil ole tegan.

they were a respectful ways off from the border, which was good, definitely not trying to trespass. tegan looked to his friend happily(hopefully too, cause there was still the off chance that that other place was drageda and they were at some strangers door), and gave her a solemn nod. go time.

he tilted his head back and howled for @Wildfire.

The pups were a month old now. They were growing fast, totally mobile (if not very coordinated), with fully functioning eyes and ears. She and @Thuringwethil were beginning the weaning process. Wildfire was so happy that all four of them were still alive and well, even though it was sometimes challenging to corral so many rambunctious youngsters. It wasn't easy, though it was markedly easier than her first round of motherhood.

She felt confident enough to leave the den for an hour today, after asking @Tirgatao and one of the older kids (@Artaax or @Blixen) to keep watch over the pups, since the commander was otherwise preoccupied. Wildfire hadn't gone far from the den before a strange voice called her name from the borders. The Feisripa halted, blinking at the unexpected summons. She didn't recognize the voice.

Nonetheless, she made her way toward its source. There were two wolves waiting well outside the boundaries. Wildfire stayed within the territory as she studied them. One was silver, the other gold. After a brief assessment, the Feisripa barked for them to come closer. She didn't want to leave the relative protection of the pack's claim (she hadn't set foot outside Drageda since her return).

"I'm Wildfire," she said, glancing between the two of them, "and you must be a Blackthorn." Her chestnut gaze trailed over the yearling's telltale stripe. He was paler than his presumed relatives, though the resemblance was really unmistakable. "Are you from Redhawk Caldera?" she guessed, trying to figure out whether she might have met him during her stay. He looked young, so she was willing to bet he'd only been a pup then. That meant he was... "Lucca? Or Tegan?"

After roughly a week of travelling and hunting on the go, they finally made it. Niamh wasn't terribly tired- she'd lived this sort of life before, and keeping up her patrol at the Plateau had kept her in great condition, so the travel didn't have too much of a cost on her body even though she was young, still. Wolves were built to cover distances, especially when travelling at a moderate pace. They hadn't been rushed, but they stayed true to their path and made their way toward their destination. 

Niamh returned the nod, sitting down by his side as he called out for Wildfire, and she waited beside him, fairly patiently, until a wolf showed up. From a distance, she could see why the female had her name- her pelt was a bright, vibrant red, with darker points. She beckoned them closer and after casting a quick glance to Tegan- making sure this was actually who he'd been looking for, she stood and walked forward, ears turned back and tail swinging calmly between her heels. 

Her suspicions were confirmed as the female introduced herself, so Niamh glanced briefly to Tegan with a glint in her eye. Things were actually working out! God forbid they'd gone all that way only to find out that Wildfire herself had gone off on some mission or another. She obviously knew of the pack, formerly of the Caldera, and recognized Tegan's markings, giving Niamh the faint feeling that the Blackthorns were almost kind of famous. Tegan was the one with the task, though, after all, so rather than interject, Niamh simply hung back by her friend's side, allowing him to speak up and confirm his identity...Though it was already fairly likely that she could guess as much, simply by the pleased look on Niamh's face.

"yeah!!" exclaimed tegan, his tail wagging as wildfire recognized him right away, "bet, i'm tegan." he gave a respectful dip of his head, cause mama taught him well (sort of) and then raised it, motioning to his friend. "this is niamh! she's not a blackthorn or a red hawk but she's cool, promise." 

and then his head tilted curiously. cause, despite tegan's typical uselessness, he actually picked up on something. "you smell like my mom-- did you just have pups?" wait, shit, was he being too casual? wildfire was family-- kind of-- after all... but still... maybe he should tone it down. if anything, his posture(at least) remained respectful. he backtracked immediately, shaking his head.

"sorry-- that was outta pocket, i'm not trying to pry," he said with a small smile, ears lowering as he looked at her sheepishly, "your sister, raven, sent me to give you some news and stuff, if that's alright."

His excitement caught her off guard, though only for a beat, before she found herself laughing at his exuberance. "It's nice to meet you," Wildfire replied. She had seen Finley's pups back in the day, though she barely remembered them and surely Tegan didn't recall her, either, so she considered this a formal introduction. "Niamh," she added, turning to acknowledge the she-wolf with a dip of her smudged snout before her chestnut eyes drifted back to Tegan.

Her brows lifted at his comical question. "My pups are about a month old," she confirmed. "Aunt Flea had some new ones, I take it?" she picked up on the obvious thread, her black tail sweeping the humid spring air. She wanted to hear all about them and life at the caldera, then provide her own news, assuming that's why they were here.

Her tail fell still at his unusual slang, which was followed by a more serious remark about Raven. There wasn't anything particularly ominous about his statement, yet Wildfire suddenly found her heart beating a bit faster. "Is everything okay?" she asked right away, hoping the messengers would quickly allay her anxiety.

Niamh gave Tegan a small look when she was introduced. It was more than she might have expected- after all, she hadn't been sure that he might step up and introduce her at all, but as informal as it was, at least he'd done something of the like, and Wildfire greeted her in a more formal way. She dipped her head in greeting, still remaining quiet while the two spoke, thankful that Wildfire was patient and didn't seem too miffed by the informal and comewhat coarse way Tegan spoke. Maybe she'd have to talk to him afterwards about how to properly deliver a message in a formal way- but then again, was it her place to do that? Not really. Let Finley or Raven or Towhee deal with it. 

 Wildfire seemed concerned about Raven, so she didn't interject, but gave a small nod, looking to Tegan to explain.

tegan would have to tell raven that-- maybe he'd ask more later. curiously, tegan tilted his head. did she just call his mom aunt flea? had he heard that before? tegan couldn't recall but... well, whatever, who was he to judge nicknames? "yeah!" he responded with a wagging tail, "cinder and tywyll." and that was all the information she needed. they were boring, they looked like blackthorns. well, mostly, anyway...

"yeah everythings great, actually, that's why i'm here, raven wanted to pass along some good news," he said, quickly diving in. and some, well, not so great news... but it was still good news in the end.

"so we left the caldera-- moved to a lil plateau way way way west of here. raven said she wanted to keep good ties so we should let you know where we went," he explained, hoping that all made sense. and then, figuring if that news rocked her he could add some pillows real quick, tegan added, "and raven was promoted to alpha along with uh, her mate, which is also something she wanted me to tell you, his name is quixote, and they're expecting puppies later in the summer." was that everything? tegan glanced to niamh and then back to wildfire.

Niamh's nod reassured her, though it was Tegan's news that really put her at ease. She smiled at the names of her newest relatives, then perked her ears when Tegan said Raven's name again. Her expression faltered considerably when he revealed they'd left the caldera. In fact, Wildfire's mouth fell ajar. She missed part of what he said after that, though her focus sharpened like a laser again when Tegan went on to tell her that Raven was mated, expecting puppies and apparently now the leader of the Redhawks.

Wildfire gaped, feeling a wide range of emotions at this news. She had so many questions! Where should she even start? "Why did you guys move? What about Uncle Elwood and Aunt Finley? Did they retire?" Because guessing was her thing today. "Rave, an Alpha!" Wow! That was almost as unexpected as the notion of Wildfire becoming commander (although slightly less laughable). "And a mom!" As for her mate, Wildfire couldn't remember if she'd ever met a Quixote. But she didn't doubt that her sister had chosen the best possible man with which to spend her life and raise her children.

She stared eagerly at Tegan, anticipating more details. She was happy for her litter mate's good news, though decidedly—and strangely—homesick about the caldera. Wildfire didn't have any plans to leave Drageda anytime soon, though the idea that her birthplace was now empty, likely never to be visited again... and what of their parents' graves? It hurt her heart to think about it.

Wait one hot minute.

Wildfire's reaction mirrored what Niamh felt; though she and Tegan had been travelling together, she hadn't exactly pried to see what it was he needed to say. If he'd mentioned it before, she likely hadn't listened- Tegan did talk a lot, after all, and there were parts of their journey where she responded with nods and monosyllabic quips, but had actually turned her listener off to avoid it burning out from overload. Had she known that Quixote and Raven were mates? And that they were having pups? Surely not- by the way her heart reacted with shock. 

She wanted to run, but felt rooted to the spot. She felt Tegan's eyes on her, so she did her best to bring a flitting smile to her face and nod, albeit somewhat vaguely. Wildfire was excited about the news, so she- yet again- stayed silent, allowing Tegan to fill her in with the rest of the information.

for once in his life, tegan didn't actually mean to cause any trouble. of course, he didn't know that raven and quixote were mates. but like, that's how it worked, right? he was pretty sure it was. at least, with his parents and with easy's parents-- that's how it had been(even though easy's family life had been more confusing than his). he didn't have any other precedent. if you was bumpin nasties, you were prolly committed for life. 

or something more eloquent than that, whatever.

but anyway! no one made a comment about it so tegan glazed over it, not even thinking. but actually, wildfire's comment was a little more confusing. because... towhee had been the alpha, did she not know? how long ago had that happened? should he even bring it up? lol, no point in doing it now. but... ah what the hell, his job had been to inform.

"okay so, yeah, mom and dad retired but they're still around," he started, in case wildfire thought they, idk, d i e d or something. but, actually, tegan had never thought about his parents dying, and the thought was low-key sobering. "but," he continued, "they retired from beta, towhee had actually been leading. mom handed it over because the caldera was 'rightfully'--" he made a little air quote with one of his paws, "-- your families. and then towhee stepped down to beta and mom and dad retired. a little trade off, or something."

"we moved cause of blackfeather woods. they returned to the forest and towhee just didn't want to deal with another war, especially since mom had tywyll and cinder." but thankfully wildfire seemed real happy about raven, so he moved on from the history lesson to comment on that. "yeah! i think she's doin a good job, not that i know how to lead shit, but she seems real happy about being pregnant. we're all super stoked, cause like, it's another red hawk generation with us, ya know?" did tegan really care about that though? idk, you decide.

Tegan explained about the recent shifts in the Redhawks' leadership, Wildfire listening astutely. She didn't know Towhee that well but she could see her as a leader, despite her handicap. She frowned inwardly at the idea that the Blackthorns felt as though the pack belonged to the Redhawks, as if they weren't totally part of one big blended family. She didn't comment, though she wondered about that and why the yearling Alpha had risen and fallen so quickly.

The Feisripa's spine stiffened when Tegan mentioned Blackfeather Woods. Although Tegan delivered the news ever so casually, Wildfire felt her blood chill to ice. Despite that monumental war effort, they'd simply returned as if none of it had ever happened? She felt bile rising in her throat and swallowed thickly. She heard nothing Tegan added about Raven's upcoming brood, mostly because of the sudden ringing in her ears. She should probably call the commander...

At least the Redhawks were safe, even if Wildfire now felt doubly heartbroken at their relocation. Expression now more strained, Wildfire attempted to shift back to a lighter attitude by rewinding Tegan's last few words in her mind and then saying, "I'm very excited for her, for all of you guys. And I'm so happy you're safe. It definitely wasn't worth the risk of another war." Her breath caught in her throat before she thought to ask, "Would you like some news to take back to her?"

Most of what went on next went over Niamh's head- and it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, considering that she really didn't have much to add, nor had she been tasked with talking. She was primarily Tegan's bodyguard (a laughable thing, really) and escort. Tegan was the one with the mission- she simply had to make sure the mission worked. And at least Tegan knew where they were going, and wasn't hard to deal with whatsoever. So while they talked, she mulled, until the topic of Blackfeather came back up, and she noted Wildfire's response; she didn't look pleased that the Blackfeather wolves- whoever they were- were back at the forest, but hopefully, since they'd moved, they'd be left alone, right?

Niamh nodded silently, when Wildfire asked if they'd like a message to take back, and she glanced to Tegan- this would probably be his game, not hers. She wasn't going for the scout trade anyway, so she stayed silent, still, and let him handle the situation.

tegan nodded quickly. "if you've got some!! i bet raven would love to hear back," he said to her, tail a-wagging. yeah! hit him with some more info, he could totally do some more info relay. he was smart and cool and calm and collected and had the worlds best memory.

at least, when he wanted to.

Despite being mated to its leader, Wildfire didn't know a whole lot about the goings-on in and around Drageda lately. She never visited Hougeda and the puppies occupied 99% of her time. But that was exactly the sort of news she thought Raven might appreciate.

"Could you tell her that Heda and I had a second litter? Two girls, Bat and Kiwi, and two boys, Silkie and Tux. We're all doing great." She paused. "Let her know I've recovered well but that I'll no longer be traveling, even when the kids are older." A meetup or a play date sounded wonderful in theory, though Wildfire was pretty sure Raven wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon either, especially considering her track history with getting lost.

There was another, longer pause as Wildfire tried to decide what else to include in the message. "Give her my best wishes, of course, and if you could tell the rest of the family 'hello' from me, that would be great. Thank you, Tegan, Niamh."

Still slightly distracted by the news of Raven and Quixote being mates, Niamh listened a bit absent-mindedly as Wildfire gave Tegan a message to take back to Raven. She swallowed, trying to regain her composure, which she'd managed to keep off her face quite well. Any shock she'd felt- and jealousy that filtered in thereafter- had mostly remained secret. She had to tell herself to keep her voice steady when she finally did speak up, giving Wildfire a small smile before she left. "Congratulations; those...Your pup names are very sweet," She said, particularly finding the name 'Silkie' intriguing. 

Wildfire bid them adieu, and Niamh, ready to get going and return the message- as well as return home, so she could dwell by herself on the fact that Quixote was going to be a father- gave Wildfire a respectful nod. "Thanks for your time, Wildfire- it was nice meeting you." She looked to Tegan then, to follow his lead.

tegan was quiet (a blessing to all ears) as wildfire explained her message. and when she'd finished he gave a deep dip of his head and a wave of his tail. "yes ma'am, can do, thanks for giving something back-- i know raven is dying to hear how you're doing," he said, maybe stretching the truth but whatever. he wondered why wildfire wouldn't want to travel anymore-- who wouldn't? traveling was great.

but whatever. 

"thanks wildfire!" he chirped, nosing niamh before giving another dip of his head as goodbye, and then placing outta there.