Redhawk Caldera I'm on my dumb shit

Killdeer was growing up fine and strong, nearly weaned from his mother and learning a new word every minute, it seemed. No longer a pudgy little infant, but a young man, legs lengthening, ears straightening, eyes beginning their slow change from deep blue to gold.

His writer had planned for him to be a daddy's boy and manly man, and though the latter was still possible, the former had slipped away. Not that Killer had noticed much. He'd been raised primarily by a series of women—Fennec, Towhee, Ruenna—and their presence had been so great as to block out any other adult figures in the periphery.

A young man, surrounded by strong female role models. We love to see it!

But even that strong start didn't make him infallible to the whims of youth. This hot, muggy afternoon, he snuck past his mother and set off, exploring the caldera—and how much there was to explore! He traipsed 'round the lake at its center, admiring the deep blue waves, the vast, impossible stretch.

And then—a growl, and not Caracal's friendly one.

Shit, Killer remarked (thanks, Towhee!) as he found himself face-to-face with a very hungry, horny, and hopping mad male wolverine.

set for tomorrow afternoon! I will give this a few days for people to jump in as wanted/needed

The Ursine-like she-wolf trotted along a grassy trail ‘carved’ out through the forest from months of use. Aliana was still relatively new to the Caldera, new enough that most likely that Towhee didn’t know of her existence just yet. So she just kept her head low, did what she usually does, and caused no trouble. Today she was making her way to do her daily border patrol until her ears twitched, picking up a loud snarl. Her head turned, spotting two figures by the lake - one she made out immediately to be Wolverine, she knew what they looked like both from afar and up close as she had a few brushes with them here and there. And the other...was one of the pups, she hadn’t met them fully as they were usually with their mothers but now…

She didn’t think, she didn’t waste time. Aliana rushed towards the scene, barreling headfirst towards the Wolverine to defend the pup and their land as creatures such as this Wolverine is a threat. To the pup, if they see her coming she would for a split moment look like a charging bear before the small details came into view. Coming up from behind, she lunged forwards digging her fangs deep into the back of the Wolverine’s neck. If it wants to attack something, it’ll attack her!

A funny scent tickled Sphyra's nostrils as she was wandering around the lake that day and she decided to check it out. Her tail twitched tensely as she came closer and closer and realised that the scent was a hostile of some sort. Just as she came into view of the funny scent, she saw one of her pack mates attack it and Killdeer very close to it.

Not wasting any time, Sphyrapicus rushed forward and she dashed to move herself in between Killdeer and the wolverine with teeth bared. If it'd head this way, it would face her instead of Killdeer. Her hackles were raised and her tail lifted above her back. It looked a lot smaller than her pack mate, so Sphyra thought she might be able to handle it herself, but if it looked as though she was in trouble the young aspiring guardian would lunge forward to help her pack mate attack as well.

Perhaps this was the beginning of Killdeer having his ass saved by strong women. Either way, it was probably good that they showed up when they did. First a large brown woman who reminded him of Towhee, surging forward to take the wolverine head-on. And then—

Oh, yeah, it was one of the older kids—like, Caracal's sister or something? She came, too, and Killdeer watched as she inserted herself between himself and the fray. Guarding him.

He should be grateful. Instead, his curiosity got the better of him, and, irritated, he shoved past her to stare down the wolverine with gimlet eyes.

WADDAYOUWANT?! he demanded loudly, baring his teeth.

In response, the wolverine writhed within Aliana's grasp, jaws snapping in desperate effort to get to the vulnerable pup—well, now pair of pups.

Wolverines - nasty little things, annoyingly bold despite their size, and Killer of pups if not stopped. She admired the Pup's bravado but Wolverines cared little about that, what they cared for was the fresh, young meat of a whelp. She wouldn't allow that. Aliana continued to pull the Wolverine away from the pups as it struggled to reach them. She pulled it far enough away that if it even managed to escape her grasp she would be able to snatch it up by the foot. 

Aliana maneuvered her body, placing her paws upon the Wolverine's back to try and pin it under her weight while she moved her jaw further onto the Wolverine's neck and pressed harder into it, tasting blood on her tongue. Whether she choked it to death or broke its neck didn't matter to her, it trespassed their borders, threatened their young thus this creature must die. She looked back at the pups and gestured with her eyes to the treeline, ' Go! Run! Get others if you can! ' Aliana didn't doubt her ability to kill this creature but more fangs would assure its death faster and that it would not escape.

As Killdeer moved past her, Sphyra snapped her teeth at him and shouted, Stay back, idiot! Of course, he did not listen. She was trying to protect him here, and instead he just shoved past her to get hurt?! It made Sphyra's blood boil (no wonder Killdeer was such good friends with Caracal) but if he was intent to get himself hurt, there wasn't a lot she could do.

The other pack mate meanwhile shouted at them to run, but Sphyra already knew that if Killdeer was here shouting to this creature rather than enjoying the protection she offered, then he wasn't going to run. Get back, stupid! she called out to him, the frustration of him not listening seeping through. Rather than running to get help — no way she was leaving her pack mate to juggle both keeping Killdeer back and having to fight the creature — Sphyra decided to stay. She considered calling for more help, but despite the urgency in the pack mate's tone Sphyra still could not help but think that it was smaller than the pack mate, so surely she'd be able to handle this one enemy? Besides, she seemed to have things under control pretty much as the wolverine was in het grasp now.

Feeling like quite the adult herself, Sphyra did not consider herself a wolverine-treat and she did not see the danger of the situation entirely (well, for herself, anyway). Sphyra ran towards Killdeer and tried to headbutt him further away from the wolverine; if she managed, she'd try to jump between him and the wolverine again, to keep him out of harm's way. If he didn't want to be protected, well, tough luck.

Being called 'stupid' and 'idiot' in the span of minutes did not help Sphyra's case. He bristled at the insults, ignoring Aliana's command to instead muscle his way back toward the wolverine. But Caracal's sister was forcing him back, roughly, and his face contorted in affronted fury.

LEMME HELP! Killdeer snapped, trying to shrug off the older girl. He trundled toward the creature, gnashing his jaws in a series of loud, sharp clacks that he hoped would intimidate their enemy.

Perhaps if Sphyra hadn't intervened, he would have followed the older wolf's orders without question. Now, though, his pride was hurt, and he was blind in his need to prove himself once more.