Redhawk Caldera Put it in reverse, Terry!

The moment @Bridget broke the news, Towhee's heart dropped and she didn't just think she'd vomit, she actually did. She rinsed out her mouth in the stream and then tried to stand properly. Intent to overcome the pain and weakness, she ignored any protests the medic might be making as she began to walk. Bridget knew best but this... this changed everything.

She didn't get very far before her legs buckled. Towhee let out a cry that was more frustration than anything. She waited a few minutes, heart thundering in her chest, then tried again. She managed to stumble a good bit of the way back toward the caldera before she bit the dust again. This time, she stayed down, mostly because she'd landed on her injured paw and promptly passed out from the pain.

When she came around, the sun was in an entirely different position in the sky. Was that Bridget over there? Towhee groaned and tried to sit up. Her whole body throbbed, though she felt curiously well-rested. With a jolt, she remembered about Tierra. She jumped to her feet with a gasp, breaking into a run that carried her to the caldera's borders, quite possibly with an exasperated medic in tow.

She tried running uphill only to skid and fall again, eating dirt. Towhee exhaled and rolled onto her side, letting out an absolutely earsplitting shriek of agony.

In the end, it didn't matter that medically she knew Towhee shouldn't travel. Bridget didn't have the heart to lie to a mother about what she'd been told, and she knew that if she had kids, she'd have never forgiven someone who did that to her. That didn't stop her from lambasting Towhee's stupidity as she ignored her advice and attempted to make her way home without any help, of all things.

After checking to make sure she hadn't killed herself, Bridget managed to shove Towhee into a better position and treated her paw one more time while she was out. This wasn't how she'd have chosen her to get the additional rest but fuck, if it worked, it worked. Initially she watched, but lack of sleep was catching up to her... and next thing she knew, her fitful doze was broken when something next to her jolted and then abruptly took off.

The fucking hell! Still disoriented from sleep, she staggered off and took off after Towhee, trying to shake it. As a result, she was still trailing behind the obviously worry-crazed mother when she hit the dirt again as she crossed the Caldera border. She flinched at the cry, but her sympathy was curtailed by the annoyance that she was a medic, not a miracle worker.

Ignoring the border that she was now definitely trespassing on, Bridget came to stand square in front of Towhee, bristling. If you were worried about it not healing, then nice job, because there's shit I can do if you're going to treat it like that. Are you fucking kidding me?

Towhee's ear splitting shriek of pain sent Fennec running immediately. She did at least tell @Killdeer to stay, but she didn't stop to verify that he had listened.

It wasn't hard to find them - she heard the yelling from a ways off. She recognized the voice of the stranger, and that combined with the Towhee's pained cry and her placement within their borders set Fennec immediately on the offensive. She didn't care who this woman was, she needed to back off. And Fennec's blood was practically singing at the thought of making her. If there was even a chance she'd hurt her mom....

As she drew near, Fennec's approach was only really heralded by her snarl as she flung herself at where she heard the stranger to be, intent to take her down and get her away from Towhee.

Unfortunately for Fennec, Killer was not deaf, not blind, and not very inclined to mind his mother. Where there was "stay," he heard GO, especially given the scream that rattled the air, which sounded like—

OHH-EEEEE! the boy shrieked, bursting out of the brush behind Fennec in a grand imitation of an air-raid siren. Which then quickly evolved into a miniature lawnmower, as he spotted the stranger that had rounded upon his grandmother, and which his mother was now attacking, and, what—?

All his chocolate-and-vanilla fur bristled up as he placed himself between Towhee and the unfamiliar woman, emitting a small but fierce RRRRRRRRRRRR and staring up at her menacingly. 

He may not be any help to this situation in actuality, but within his own mind, Killdeer was the hero of the day, here to back up his Mom and save his Oh-ee from baddies. His growing tail thrashed, ears pinned back, lips revealing gleaming milk teeth.

After Meerkat updated her on the situation at home, Ruenna had hustled back toward the Caldera as quickly as her aching back would allow. Even so, it seemed that Towhee would beat her to it. From afar, Ruenna watched with relief as the Sovereign streaked towards her claim, just about to reach the sloping hill. At least that was one thing Ruenna didn't have to worry over. Towhee was not in fact, lost; she was home now, safe and sou--

Towhee hit the ground, hard, and a moment later, she let out a shriek of agony. Rue's heart leapt into her throat. From her faraway viewpoint, it looked like Towhee had taken a misstep, possibly snapping an ankle from the sound of that scream. 

Ruenna picked up her pace to the gentlest lope she could muster. It was her top speed, nowadays. Tears of pain streamed down her face as she closed the distance between herself and Towhee. Another wolf, one Ruenna didn't recognize, made it to Towhee's side considerably faster. Presumably the cinnamon-pelted wolf meant to help; Ruenna was one to always expect the best of people. Shouts met Ruenna's ears, but she was unable to make out the words. 

Fennec also appeared overtop the lip of the caldera, bolting down the hill towards her fallen mother. Good. More help was a good thing...

Ruenna could hardly believe her eyes when Fennec threw herself at the cinnamon wolf. Fennec was decidedly not a wolf who always expected the best of people, but even so, she would not initiate a fight without reason. There must be something more going on here. 

When Ruenna finally arrived on the scene, she meant to go straight to Towhee. However, at that point, a tiny, shrill little creature had made his appearance, war-crying all the way down the hill toward the fray. In her frantic state, Rue thought it was one of the twins, even though the colors were off and it had been months since either of them were that small. Instead of going to Towhee's side, Ruenna went to the child, attempting to place herself between the fight and the pup.

Rue may be gently powerplayed next round in whatever way makes sense for how the drama unfolds. Her top priority is protecting/shielding/blocking Killer from the fighting.

Moaning, Towhee twitched her foreleg outward, away from her body. She'd landed on it again and the pain was unreal. She tried to breathe through it, her eyes watering. It felt like her whole leg was throbbing and she crazily wondered if it was possible to tear it off. She was sure that would be less agonizing.

A shadow fell across her. Towhee couldn't find the strength to even lift her head, though she rolled blurry eyes upward to see Bridget standing there. She was saying something, though the Sovereign couldn't possibly catch any of it. She blinked hard, trying to clear her vision a little, and that was when chaos really erupted.

Fennec came flying out of nowhere, shoving Bridget out of Towhee's view. She tried to turn her head but then she spotted Killdeer. "Killer," she gasped, slowly realizing he was trying to defend her against Bridget, just like his mother was doing. Fortunately, Auntie Woo came to the rescue there, shielding the small boy.

"Wait, no," Towhee said feebly, grimacing as she twisted her body and tried to push upright with only her left foreleg to support her. Her entire body shook as she turned her head to look over her shoulder at Bridget and Fennec. If she didn't intervene, the medic might lose her life.

Drawing in a shuddering breath, Towhee bellowed, "FENNEC, WAIT." But before she could say what for, she slumped back to the ground, swimming in and out of consciousness.

When the blind wolf came at her, Bridget's repeated Are you - was cut off. She remembered the girl, knew she was blind, and wasn't at all expecting to be hit. Let alone for the girl's fangs to sink directly in between her shoulder and neck, chomping down on the sensitive area with zero hesitation.

The medic was knocked over backwards with a sharp cry of pained surprise. Fucking bitch!

She shoved Fennec off, tearing herself away painfully from the blind woman's grasp, and ran a few stumbling steps. Glancing back, she couldn't really tell what was going on with Towhee, and with her menacing daughter cutting between them, she wasn't going to be able to find out. Not without a fight.

If she were fresh, she might have tried it. She might have at least tried to get a word in, explain why the fuck she was here (seriously?) and why this was absolutely horse shit. But no, she was tired and (now) hurt and fuck it. She did her job, she got Towhee home, hopefully they wouldn't kill her.

Might kill herself, but that was another story.

Bridget spun and took off, fast as she was able, a light trail of blood spattering behind.

She ignored her mom until the stranger left, only then turning to them. She was VERY aware that Killdeer was here as well, and let out a small growl. Ohhhh was he in trouble. She'd told him to stay and he hadn't - didn't matter why. She wasn't one to not listen to and he was about to learn that the hard way.

First, though, she began to carefully check Towhee out. Mom? She's gone. Don't worry, she didn't hurt anyone. Thanks to her. She didn't know what made the woman think she could just waltz across their scent lines but she'd been pretty easily set straight at least. Disappointingly easy, actually. Fennec licked blood from her lips, then nosed her mom's cheek.

She didn't know exactly what was wrong, but her ears flicked towards Ruenna. We can't just leave her here. We should try and get her home. Between the two of them maybe they could manage it

HE DID IT!

Well. They did it. But still—HE DID IT!

He yipped in triumph as the intruder retreated, peering through Rue's legs to catch a glimpse of her running with her tail between her legs. He was grinning, giggling, staring at Towhee with a self-important look on his face.

Then he shifted and saw Fennec's face. Yuh-oh. She didn't look happy.

Well, she had told him to stay.

But look what he'd done! He'd protected his grandma!

Killdeer gave her a sheepish look, ears folding back, lip pouting slightly. A true "have pity on me" expression, even though he knew Mom would give him no such mercy.

Ruenna managed to get to the child in time to hold him back. Almost as soon as the fighting had begun, it concluded. The cinnamon stranger took off at the first opportunity. 

The child did not seem keen on removing himself from behind Ruenna-- it occurred to the Redfern that he might see her as some protection from a very pissed-off looking Fennec. Now that all was quiet, Rue had connected the dots and figured out that this must be one of Fennec's. 

Ruenna nodded, agreeing with Fennec's gameplan. The border was no place for their injured Sovereign. 

She approached Towhee's side, peering dubiously down at the Redhawk. Her grasp on consciousness seemed tenuous at best; she would be difficult to move in this state. 

Rue shifted her gaze to Towhee's ankles. The injured one limb was easy to identify-- it was already swollen, which in Ruenna's experience indicated a break. "She was running like a bat out of hell, and then she just collapsed. A broken ankle, maybe? Stars, I wonder if that wolf was chasing her..." Thank the stars Fennec had been here to intercept Towhee's aggressor.

Ruenna sniffed at the wound, and surprise etched across her features. Something about the smell of the injury seemed off. There was an herbal scent.. had the wound already been treated with medicine? How could that be? This wasn't making sense to Rue. 

The Redfern backed away, giving Fennec room to make her own assessment. Rue was out of her depth here. This called for the experienced eye of a trained medic.

She drifted for a few minutes, coming to momentarily to see Fennec and Ruenna hovering over her. Towhee parted her lips to say something but judging by their lack of reaction, she was pretty sure they hadn't caught it. Probably she hadn't even actually formed words. The edges of her vision started going black again and she couldn't decide whether to fight to stay awake or just let herself escape into unconsciousness now that she was in safe hands back home.

The choice was an illusion. Maybe later, she would get the chance to explain that Bridget had been helping her—had, in fact, saved her ass—but that wasn't going to happen right now. The Sovereign's head lolled sideways, affording her a view of Killdeer bracketed by Auntie Woo's legs. He looked an endearing combination of fierce and sheepish. Towhee unwittingly smiled despite her predicament, just before blacking out.

Y'all are welcome to power-play her from here. :)

The lack of an answer worried her, but she could feel her mom breathing.  Fennec nosed the wound, feather-light, and detected some trace of herbs.  She didn't bother to form the connection to whatever the other wolf might have done, though - in her mind, her mom was here in this state because she'd been entrusted to a stranger, one who was gladly gone now.  Run off before she could do any more harm.

Maybe we should call a few others, Fennec conceded.  She and Rue likely wouldn't be able to carry the Sovereign themselves, but she didn't want her out here any longer than necessary.  Azon would be helpful, as would Eshe if she was around.  She doubted Bronco was nearby... she'd have seen him.

As soon as she got her into a safer, cooler place, she'd treat the wound and assess further.  There wasn't much she could do here without her supplies.

This can be her last! if we wanna assume they get her carried off <3

From the corner of his eye, he caught Towhee's smile. See, she was proud of him! 

But then she seemed to, like, completely conk out, and Fennec's ire was forgotten as he rushed toward her, licking at her face. Oh-ee, Ohhhh-eeee! he chirped, trying to rouse her.

His eyes darted, seeking another trusted adult. Mom and Rue. They would know what to do.

He would carry his grandmother's tail as they traveled back into the heart of the territory, so that it did not drag along in the dirt. It was the least he could do.

Ruenna nodded. It was insanely hot out here, and there was no way that was helping whatever was going on with Towhee. She lifted her voice to call for their able-bodied packmates, recognizing with chagrin that she would be of little help here. Rue was capable at a great many things, but treating complicated injuries and carrying heavy things were two tasks that were simply beyond her. 

She did know children, though, and she recognized the look of uncertainty in Killdeer's expression. She bent to give the boy a few reassuring licks on the top of his head. "That was very sweet," she encouraged him, referring to his gesture of licking Towhee's face, "But Grandma needs her rest now. Mom is going to get her all fixed up." 

On the way into the Caldera, she would walk behind the crowd carrying Towhee, alongside Killer-- to stay out of the way, but also to distract the boy from his worries with conversation. She wasn't certain how much language he understood at this point, but at least the attention would be reassuring, she hoped.