Redhawk Caldera Reactivity

As soon as he returned to the caldera Reyes did not stop, but went directly to the den. He was surprised to find that @Towhee wasn't there - and neither were the kids. He hadn't considered that they would have moved somewhere else by this point in their life - and was immediately heartbroken to find their once-shared hobbit hole void of their presence.

All Reyes wanted was to see his kids. Their scents weren't totally gone, so he sought out traces in the grass and roamed in search of them - picking up the pace as @Tierra and @Sphyra's scents became stronger, and then out of the corner of his eye came a zooming golden @Caracal.

As soon as the boy collided with Reyes, the air whooshed from his lungs. Agitation swiftly replaced the concern Reyes felt and something else - a snap of uncontrollable aggression - powered his next reaction. He grabbed his son by the back of the neck and thrust him hard against the dirt.

Caracal, meanwhile, was obviously shocked by the immediate, desperate violence and didn't even have time to cry out; but then he began to squirm and protest, earning a look of shock from Reyes and finally, freedom.

Towhee felt a rush of relief when she spotted her mate approaching from a distance. She didn't possess the energy to run to him, not after the last two days, but he really was a sight for sore eyes. The Sovereign rose to all fours beneath the dogwood tree to watch him coming closer, wondering when the kids would notice him. The instant Caracal spotted his father and began racing toward him, Towhee tried to get the twins' attention and usher them behind the tree, so the three of them could leap out and surprise the prodigal Reyes.

Before any of that could happen, Caracal collided with Reyes, who responded by wrapping his jaws around the back of his son's neck and pressing him into the dirt. It wasn't simply a dominant wolf putting his subordinate in his place; it was a disproportionate and violent attack against a vulnerable puppy. That's what Towhee saw, and there was no time for benefits of the doubt or explanations.

She reacted just as ferociously, charging out from behind the tree and rushing at Reyes. Even when he let go of Caracal, Towhee didn't slow. Like a homing missile, she was there to seek and destroy the threat to her son.

if y'all wanna spree this, she is def skippable!

Da.... Tierra was about to go full excited shriek mode, but was quickly (and thankfully) hushed for the surprise by Towhee. Instead she giggled conspiratorially, but let out an extended heyyyYYYYYYYY when Caracal darted out from behind the tree regardless. She wanted to be the one to surprise daddy!

Anything she might have said was cut off when she saw her dad grab Caracal, and then watched as Towhee immediately went for him in a not-seeming-to-be-playing fashion. She'd never seen a fight before, not like this, and her eyes widened with shock as she just stood next to the tree and watched. It wasn't clear yet if it was fear or fascination that kept her glued to it. Honestly, it was probably a mix of both.

She should have been concerned for her brother, maybe, but there was just too much happening. And there wasn't a single fiber of her little being that could imagine Reyes hurting them... though that may have changed if she were the one who was pinned.

The moment passed him by in a flash. One second concerned for his children, the next feeling something collide with his ribs, turning, grabbing - Caracal was on the ground and that was when Reyes had effectively returned to himself. 

Then there was Towhee. As hastily as Reyes released the boy (looking just as stunned as his son), there was no avoiding the oncoming freight train that was his mate. She arrived with a snarl and was quick to tower over the still-recovering Caracal.

Reyes hadn't meant to do it; he had no idea why he had reacted, but the issue was that he had and now Towhee bore down on him with all the maternal instinct of a mother bear. He backed down immediately and did not put up a defense for whatever was coming for him.

Caracal may have unwittingly saved his father's life by darting underneath Towhee, tripping up his mother and significantly slowing her momentum. In case she had any notions of stepping over him and continuing her attack, the pup clung fiercely to her foreleg. She could feel the way he quivered and it ratcheted up her fury, though the weight prevented her from lunging forward and ripping out Reyes's throat like she wanted.

She breathed hard as she brought up her free leg to drape over Caracal's trembling back, orange eyes full of fire as she leered at Reyes. In the absence of a physical attack, she went after him with her words. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Towhee bellowed loudly enough for likely all of the Teekon Wilds to overhear. "HE'S A FUCKING BABY, REYES! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

For some inexplicable reason—perhaps because Wraen had been the only thing on her mind for some forty-eight hours—she pictured her friend asking, "How has Reyes grown into the role of a father?" The recollection thrust a spear right through her heart, leaving her with little to do but clutch her little boy and choke.

Towhee's teeth didn't touch him but the lance of her words stung just as hotly, erupting from her to carry throughout the territory. Reyes was left to stare at the sight of Caracal hunched beneath his mother - flanked by Tierra looking stunned - and he slowly processed what had just unfolded.

I'm sorry, I didn't -- he began to say, but there was no point, Towhee was still shouting over him. Seeing his kids from a distance like this, fearful and confused, burned in to Reyes' vision. They had gotten so much bigger while he had been away - that was no excuse for his erratic reaction though.

He came out of nowhere! It happened, okay? He's -- he's fine, Reyes wanted to protest against the feeling of alienation he was experiencing in that moment, the accusatory tone of Towhee, the image of his terrified kids; but he knew he had fucked up.

His answers didn't actually matter; the questions were rhetorical. Towhee only said the words because she couldn't throttle the life out of him and there was no other outlet for her wrath. But she did watch for his answers, orange eyes watering as he apologized and then dared try to downplay what he'd done.

"FINE? FINE?! DOES HE LOOK 'FINE' TO YOU?!" she shrieked at him, flicking her nose against the top of Caracal's head. She felt him wrap all the tighter around her leg, his face pressing into the crook between it and her chest. Towhee knew she must be terrifying him further with her shouting but she couldn't help herself.

They had been right about him: Niamh, Phox and everyone else who'd expressed doubt or skepticism about Reyes. It didn't matter why he'd done it, just that he had. He might do it again. Towhee's chest heaved as bitter, scorching tears streamed down her face. Even if she wanted to, how could she ever trust him around the kids again, with the image of him burying his teeth in Caracal's neck burned into her mind forever? She couldn't.

"Get out," Towhee growled. "Get. Out. GET. OUT. GET OUT. GET OUT! GET OUT!! GET OUT!!! GET!!!!! OUT!!!!! NOW!!!!!!!!!!"

Things spiraled out of control from there. The minor misstep of frightening the boy transformed Towhee in to a frothing, screaming mess; but Reyes wasn't like that, he told himself. He loved his kids. He wanted to be a father to them - even if he wasn't perfect - and right now Towhee was anchored to the spot, giving Reyes some room to negotiate.

That's how he saw the moment: an angry woman who wanted to protect her kids, who he loved, and had promised to support. The fact she was demanding he leave hurt the most but Reyes wouldn't do it - not unless it was a last resort.

Towhee-- he tried to winnow through the tirade, TOWHEE LISTEN TO ME, he ended up booming back at her pointlessly, further frightening the kids by the look of things. Reyes passed them an apologetic look, pathetic, but needed to get through to his wife.

I'm not going anywhere Towhee, stop fucking yelling at me! Fuck! He couldn't help the bristling of his nape or the bellow of his own voice; I'm their father and I fucked up once -- I'm sorry! They are my kids Towhee!

Reyes didn't get out. Instead, he stood his ground and told her to stop yelling and listen to him. Towhee would've gone apoplectic if not for the shivering puppy attached to her leg. With movements that were at once gentle and mechanical, she started to pry Caracal off her leg. He was shaking but she was shaking now too. Keeping her eyes on Reyes, Towhee pressed a kiss to the top of Caracal's head and muttered something into his ear as she tried to ease out of his grip.

This arguably wasn't his first fuck-up, though Towhee didn't bother to point that out to him as she finally loosened their frightened child from her leg. Caracal skittered toward one of his sisters and she glanced at them, then returned her attention to Reyes. She wanted to leap at him, bury her fangs in his neck and shove him into the dirt like he'd done to Caracal.

But she realized she was trembling horribly from head to toe. She hadn't had the energy to run to him when he'd returned—if she'd mustered it, would they have avoided this whole scenario?—because she hadn't eaten or slept since finding out about Wraen's death. If she did attack him and he fought back, Towhee might actually lose that fight. And considering his impudence so far, she imagined he would fight back.

"Once is one too many," Towhee snarled at him. Her throat was so hoarse, her words came out at a more reasonable volume now. "What the ever loving fuck is wrong with you, Reyes? Why the fuck would you do that? He was excited to see you!" She shuddered all the worse, so goddamn angry that Reyes would lash out at their excitable little boy like that. Despite her weariness, the adrenaline rushed. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip out your innards," Towhee seethed, knowing there wasn't one.

Slowly, Caracal came free from where he clung to Towhee and then hurried to his sisters, his little whippy tail (which usually blurred behind his body) now curled tightly to his belly. Reyes had done that. Reyes had caused fear and pain in his own son.

Well, he should have had a greater understanding of personal space; he should have had some modicum of respect for his father. Pitiful excuses mentally levied against a child.

Towhee wanted him gone. Reyes tensed as soon as Caracal was free and grew extra cautious as his wife drew closer; while she did not attack him outright, he did not know whether to expect verbal derision, a shouting match, or something else yet.

Because -- because you care about me. Reyes thought this to be true. Then he began to doubt, seeing rage etched in her face where before there had been warmth. 

Because I am their father, and I swore I would stay. You know me, Towhee. This was one moment -- one accident. You would break apart their family over this? Yes, switch the blame. Reyes wanted to stay, to be better, and it was now Towhee that was hell bent on breaking things. This wasn't his fault anymore.

I love you. Please don't do this.

She wanted to scream in his face that no, she didn't. But despite what she'd just witnessed, Towhee's feelings didn't simply stop right then and there. Moments ago, she'd been so happy to see him making his way home. Now she was on the verge of banishing him from it forever, if she didn't try to kill him outright.

"You throttled our son!" she roared at him, voice going thready and throat burning. "How was that an accident?" Towhee countered, truly bewildered by his motivations. But she reminded herself: they didn't matter. Reyes had attacked their baby and there was no excuse, so there would be no pardon.

"What the fuck do you expect me to do, Reyes? I gave you the benefit of the doubt once and look what you did with it! You. Attacked. Our. Child." He could try to downplay it all he wanted but Towhee wouldn't budge from her zero tolerance policy on harming children. "You assaulted a three-month-old puppy, Reyes!"

Maybe she didn't have the strength to fight him herself, though Towhee knew she could call for backup if it proved necessary. Despite everything, she found herself hesitating. Her eyes cut over to the children, then back to their father, fully aware that this must be very traumatic not just for Caracal but for the twins too.

"You're a threat to them, whether you meant to do it or not. If you love them, if you love me, you'll get away before anyone else gets hurt."

No. Not if that someone else is them Towhee! Look at them -- look at what you are doing! Reyes countered to her demands, motioning to the twins and their cowering brother.

People make mistakes! I made one mistake and when that happens you fix it. Let me fix it!

Reyes knew that she wasn't going to change her mind. It was the kind of person she was, just like he knew he wouldn't be leaving unless she made the effort to force him away. Both stubborn and both wanting what was best for their children.

Even after this, Reyes believed they would be better off with a father than without.

You've been waiting for a moment like this, haven't you. he comments next, exasperated. His tone is low, full of the new hurt of her denial. Waiting to see how long before I fuck up. Well here you go! Here is your excuse to take my family away from me!

With a snarl he lunged away from Towhee and the kids where they clustered, snapping angrily at air, clawing and kicking the ground, pacing some steps; releasing the pent up frustration and best he could and in a direction that wouldn't catch them in the cross fire.

He rounded back to stare at Towhee with a grimace of teeth, a look which softened immediately. When Reyes glanced at the kids his teeth were hidden again while tension coiled in his shoulders.

I am not like my father. I won't abandon them, or you. I don't care how much you hate me for that.

Towhee didn't catch anything Reyes said after he accused her of causing their children fear. He was right, in a sense; she was exacerbating the problem and she wanted to mitigate any further trauma as much as possible. But he was also dead wrong to try placing that blame on her.

Despite knowing full well this may end very badly for her, Towhee geared up to attack, after all. At the same moment, Reyes decided to throw a temper tantrum not unlike the one she'd thrown days before, at the fen's borders. Although he moved away from both herself and the kids, there was an inherent threat in his aggressive movements that triggered her.

Instead of launching at him like originally planned, the Sovereign darted over to stand between him and the kids, blocking them with her body. Despite her earlier misgivings, she sent up a shaky call for help. Her voice didn't carry very far, as a result of all her shouting earlier.

Abruptly, Towhee wondered if Reyes was sick. Maybe he had rabies. Her heart filled with terror for herself and her children. Had he broken Caracal's skin? Would he come at her? Would he lay her out and go after them next? Whatever was going on here, Towhee would absolutely die before she let any more harm come to her pups.

The way Towhee moved to protect the three kids served to deflate Reyes of all his energy. He saw the look upon her face, drawn by the howl she sent out for help.

Was this all he was ever going to get? A wife who didn't trust him, children who feared him? Parents who didn't know what to do around him. A pack that didn't know or care who he was?

He wanted to say something to convince Towhee he was good. Or at least say something and have her listen; but she had made up her mind and didn't care about him at all. 

The torn grass and furrowed dirt were expressions of his self-directed anger as much as his frustration over the situation; but it was the look upon Reyes now as he saw Towhee fully for perhaps the first time: a frightened matriarch protecting her brood, himself some vile beast as worthy of their love as he was his own absent father's.

Fine. he choked out, staring at his ex-wife while she glowered protectively back, I'll... go. 

A final kick to a cold of dirt as he turned away from them, beginning to stride stiffly away. Reyes wondered about what it would feel like to Tierra, Sphyra, and Caracal to see the shape of him diminish - and felt bile rise at the back of his throat.

Maybe there was a valid explanation for his inexplicable behavior and that was it: illness. Although that downshifted Towhee's anger, it ratcheted up her fear. And it still didn't truly matter. Regardless, Reyes was a threat who couldn't be trusted around the children... or anyone else, for that matter. Suddenly, she hoped nobody came to her aid, thus putting themselves at risk. If he really did have rabies, it was up to her to put him down for everyone's safety.

But Towhee didn't get that far. Suddenly, Reyes turned and left. She urged herself to go after him, in case he might threaten someone else if he really was rabid. But she was so relieved by his departure that Towhee could only sag, boneless, and try to gather her three kids in her arms. She couldn't possibly leave them right now, not for anyone or anything.

While she clutched at them, trying very hard not to totally lose control of herself, she had the presence of mind to nose at Caracal's neck. Anguish and terror ripped through her in equal measure when she found two small punctures where Reyes's teeth had in fact broken the skin. Towhee could only lick gently at the wounds and hope Reyes was not sick, just a monster.

I'm assuming this is being closed soon? So I'll just have him pop in for a post just in case. If not just let me know and I'll delete <3

Noise.

It was all he heard from his position at the boarders -- and as the Tundrian left his post to tread into the Caldera and investigate, an array of screams and discord scratched unpleasantly at his eardrums. 

The Phoenix's pace picked up as the scrambling became louder, and the incoherent words grew clearer. The sound of Towhee's name being spilled from a voice he did not recognize, and from this same voice spilled the only clear words he could make out on his way; "Fine....I'll go."

Go where? Who was going? Just what in the blue hell was going on?

By the time he arrived, the coiled form of his Sovereign was wrapped around her trio of pups, one of which had the faintest scent of blood fuming off their tiny body. "The fuck......what the fuck?" Āzon mumbled beneath his breath, which was a bit shakey with adrenaline fuled concern. A step was taken to draw closer, then another -- but he stopped with the caution of not wanting to get too close, lest it trigger an unwanted reaction out of Towhee.

Instead, his attention drifted towards the scent trail of the red silhouette that had left -- 'A trespasser?' his mind raced. How the fuck did he miss the sight of someone trespassing their borders? Was he stupid? But no....this couldn't have been the scent of some rouge -- Ignis couldn't shake the feeling that it was one that had chained itself to the Caldera already.

But what did he know?

The Phoenix had given up on trying to figure out what happened on his own at this point, and his mismatched gaze would instead direct itself behind. His brows furrowed in concern as his gaze flitted from the Sovereign to the pups, and after a moment of hesitation, Ignis questioned. "What happened here, Towhee?"

oop lol

Tierra couldn't believe her ears. Why was mom telling him to go? Why was she yelling like that?

Tierra's shouted NO! Was punctuated with an emphatic sign, but it was drowned out by the adults yelling. She glared at them both, getting more and more upset about it, until finally Reyes was leaving.

There was no way she was going to let him. This was all dumb Caracal's fault, ruining the surprise! Why should she have to be punished for it?

DADDYY!! She essentially screamed it after him, trying her hardest to take off and follow. NOOOOOOOO, ISNA FAIIIIRRR!

Towhee likely would stop her before she got far, but if she did, she'd get a huge fit as repayment. She was fairly set in her decision that all of this sat squarely to blame with her brother and nothing anyone said would be likely to convince her otherwise right now.

Sphyra had been asleep through most of the spat. Actually, she'd awoken pretty early through it, but spent most of the time after that to try and fall back asleep. Her father and Caracal messing about, Caracal being a little pussy, Tierra yelling; none of it really interested her. Even when her mother showed up and started to yell Sphyra initially didn't really understand any of the intricate things that were going on. Sphyra wasn't particularly sensitive to these kind of fights, and she was used to either parent yelling. Probably just Tierra being a little bitch again or Caracal exaggerating how rough Tierra was playing, or something.

It wasn't until far into their shouting match, when her mother's form suddenly towered over her, that Sphyra realised that was pretty weird. Why was mom so closeby? She couldn't really follow what was going on between the pair of them and where normally, Sphyra was pretty eager to get into the spotlight, now she just watched the back-and-forth until eventually, Reyes left.

Tierra dramatically shouted that he couldn't leave, but Sphyra took it in stride. Mom left all the time, dad left all the time. He'd only recently returned anyway, so he was probably just going to be gone for another few days or whatever. Sphyra shot Caracal a disappointed glance because he was clearly the cause of all this commotion (he could be such a baby) and then she yawned and looked at her mother. Is dad goin' on a trip again? she asked, surprisingly calm for her doing today. Well, she had just properly woken up.

Dirt didn't taste as tasty when you ate it against your will. Playtime didn't feel very playful for the same reason.

Caracal had been playing with his twin sisters until he had caught sight of a third ruddy form, raced over, and ate dirt. Maybe he should have known better - their dad wasn't the most physically affectionate parent - but he was so gosh darn excited to see him!

Not now, though. Now the boy crowded under his mother. His chin hurt. His teeth had snapped together hard when he had gone down. There was a pinched feeling to his scruff that was only beginning to come through his field of awareness - through the shouting, then the rattled silence after.

Tierra was shouting and running.

Mom was there, holding him. Caracal didn't even cry. He burrowed against her quietly and did not want to let go, realizing that he was shivering. It was his first experience with adrenaline and the uncontrollable quaking was a decidedly unnatural sensation.

With Reyes gone, it allowed Towhee to properly pay attention not only to Caracal but the twins. Tierra tried to run after her wayward father and the Sovereign instinctively released her clutches on the other two to go after her. She didn't get far before Towhee caught up to her and herded her back toward her siblings, deaf but not blind to the child's upset about the matter.

She missed Sphyra's sleepy query entirely as her eyes darted back to her son. She reached out for him again, tugging him close. If the girls wanted the same, she would provide it. If they'd prefer to process in other ways, Towhee wouldn't have much choice to allow them that agency, so long as they didn't try to run off after Reyes.

She tried to think of what to say to them to soothe everyone's raw nerves, not to mention explain why Reyes wasn't coming back. But maybe Towhee didn't need to go over all that just now. Maybe she just needed to give everyone a chance—herself included—some time to process what the hell had just happened.

Of course, someone else came demanding answers, giving Towhee no choice but to report in a wooden mutter, "Reyes is... sick." She couldn't bring herself to think of him as rabid, otherwise that meant Caracal might be lost to her too. "He attacked Caracal. I made him leave." Her orange eyes connected with the white giant's as she hoped he understood exactly what she meant.

Utterly shell-shocked otherwise—this had all come so unexpectedly on the heels of Wraen's loss—Towhee could only hope Āzon did understand and would send word to the rest of the pack in her stead. All the Sovereign was capable of at the moment was trying to comfort her children.

This may work as my final, depending on subsequent replies!

I'll have him exit here <3

Towhee did not confirm what he suspected when he'd walk in, but something else he wasn't expecting. Who Reyes was, Ignis did not know -- but by the scent that had trailed the direction from where the male left...was he a part of this pack as well?

What was more alarming was the mention of his attack on Caracal, and the mention of him being sick only made the guard fret more over the safety of the children and his leader.

The Tundrian wanted to press further -- about what Reyes' history was here in the Caldera, confirmation that he was sick, and if her children were okay -- but the way Towhee looked right now...he didn't wish to dig further at the wrong time. Her children were just exposed to danger, and he assumed staying to tend to them was her only wish right about now.

With this -- "I'll go warn the others..." the Phoenix would cast one more glance at her and the pups before turning to make his way back to camp.