Redhawk Caldera The Green is Great

@Fox :D



"Jeez, if I wanted to walk this much, I woulda trained under Santi. Why is there no grub?"

The golden 2 year old mumbled to himself, walking through lands he had never even seen before. He also had come across many different species of herberies, little delicacies the teen had to make sure to come back and ..'experiment' with.
So much to do.

Tearing his verde gaze up from the captivation of the grassy plains, the lean golden boy took a gander around where he was. High rocks, basin like, almost in the manner of some great bird, and he stood right in the middle of it.

"Pretty cool. "

For some forbidden reason, he continued walking, after staring at the rock bird for some time, until he came nose to nose with a scent that entralled him.

"A pack? Here? Why dont I see anybody?"

It was then, that he felt eyes upon his bright hide.

Ever vigilant in her limping patrols, Fox completed her second circle around the caldera. It had taken her a slow week to do it, but she had consistently kept up with it. Of course, the herbs that Blue and Finley had brought her helped a great deal. She had ingested some of those that Finley had given her that morning, and was already feeling the effects of it now. It did take the pain away, that was for certain. It also made her extremely sluggish to react to just about anything. Which was strange, considering she felt like the world took leaps and bounds around her whenever she shifted her vision to something new. It was like she was time-traveling in some sort of strange wavy pattern. Speed way up, slow way down.

Fox had just ended one of the speedy time travel sessions, and she realized she was staring at a wolf she did not recognize. Or did she? She couldn't remember. She took a step forward, entranced by him, and sniffed the air. No, that was not familiar at all. “You,” she called out, “Who are you?”

With peering emeralds, the sunny boy watched a shuffling figure make its way towards him, and by watching the lupines mobements, he assumed she was high. Or hurt.
High, more the likely.
But she spoke with more clarity, than slurrage.
And asked him for identification.

"Names Ashton. Or just Ash," he replied smoothly, offering the firegirl a charming smile.
"What's up?"

After a couple of inhales, he scented everything he could about the girl.
Pack. Mate. Numerous others. Age.
They were going at a decent pace, at the moment. At least the flare fae didn't rip his throat out.

Ashton. Ash. Ton. Fox mouthed these words, though no sound came from her throat. She closed her eyes for a moment, but it was too overwhelming. It made her feel like she was spinning, and she opened her eyes to refocus them on her subject. “Ashton,” she repeated, aloud this time. “I am Fox. I live here with my… mate, Peregrine.” Saying his name was incredibly hard, but she managed to force it out somehow. Blink. Blink. Blink. Longer blink.

“Why are you here?” she asked, not realizing she had completely ignored his question in the process. Even know, under the influence, Fox knew the motions that she was supposed to go through. Ask him his name. Ask him why he was here. Ask him what he had to offer to their pack, if he wished to join. Decide if he was worthy of her time.

The sun reflect coated teen observed her, her bodily actions, her speech, the fluidity of her words, just like that of a professional doctor.
Something was up with the girl.
At the speed of lightning, he took off, retracing his steps around the massive rock structure, until he came upon the very plant that sobered him out of his typical highs, usually the subspecies of a caffinated tea plant, some sort of ginseng.

Ashton snatched up the plant, though carefully extracting a single leaf, for its ominous potency. This was gonna make the fire girl feel real good.
He raced back to the hot hued female, and gently placed the small leaf at the base of her paw.

"If you eat that, you will be able to actually think, and sober up, little miss Fox. The way your goin, I feel like your running on fumes. "

After a second, the golden boy figured how suspicions it sounded. 'Eat the leaf, youll be ok.'
My god.
But as much as he knew it sounded off, he hoped the chick would down it, because he didn't want to see her in this state, and double hoped that tgis wasn't her natural state, then triple hoped that the state she was in, wasn't one she had been in for a long time.
After all, if someone had slipped her a painkiller or two, and she got attached, the girl could have brain damage.

When he had left, Fox had completely forgotten about him. In fact, when he reappeared, she was startled and shook her coat to soothe herself. Who was this, again? He placed a plant on her paw, and she stared at it, noting the way the little ridges around the edge reminded her of the tippy-top of the caldera. A voice told her to eat the leaf, and when she glanced up, she realized (again) that there was somebody there. Had she met him before?

But even now, tripping balls, Fox knew that she wasn't supposed to take candy from strangers. “Not gonna eat that,” she said, blinking at him. “Why are you here?” She didn't realize she had already asked this question, nor could she recall if he had answered it. Time was weird like that. In any case, she was fairly certain that he wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't one of them.

"You're losin' yourself firebird. If anything, I'm more worried for your safety, and I don't even know ya."

Ashton didn't know whether it would ease her messed up mind if he answered her questions, but until she was medically prescribed, he might as well ask a tree how it's day was.
The slur in her voice had become more noticeable, and the slower blinks she produced had shown her pupils dilating.

Each second passed, was another he worried for her. So instead of sit back and take the guilt, the golden dude threw his head up, and hesitated a bit. What did she say his..
Got it.

Ashton sent an SOS howl up to @Peregrine , 3 swift vocals, 3 longer howls, followed by another short 3, and sat back on his lean haunches, leeping his eyes on the flaming female.

"Imma throw you a straight one, Foxie girl, you need to stay awake. Keep your eyes on this ine, right here, got it?"
He thumped his face with a golden paw.
"Right here. Don't lose it, firebird. Keep with me till' your dude gets here. "

Despite her current condition, Fox felt like she was functioning completely fine. She was here, wasn't she? He still did not answer her question, causing her to furrow her brow. Had she actually asked it, or was she just imagining things? “Why are you here?” she asked again in a lazy voice. “Tell me.” Had she been sober, she would have been frustrated by the situation, likely chasing him off for not doing as she asked (at least as best as she could with her rib). Either that, or she would have called for Peregrine to do it for her.

But before she could protest, he was calling for somebody. Her somebody. “How do you know his...” she trailed off, suddenly remembering that she had told him a few moments ago. “Why are you here?” she asked. Shrugging, Fox slumped to the ground and awaited Peregrine, occasionally glancing at the wolf and being surprised that he was even still around.

When Peregrine heard a strange voice urgently requesting his presence, his eyes narrowed. He immediately thought of Fox and began loping in the caller's direction. He came around a bend in the caldera's wide base and spotted his mate lying at the feet of some strange male. Instinctively, the Alpha male charged forward, black fur bristling and teeth bared as he ground to a halt and stood protectively over Fox.

"Who are you and what the fuck's going on here?" Peregrine snapped at the stranger, his flinty eyes, body language and tone asking for immediate submission and answers.

Not too long after Ashton had sent the SOS, a inky tar colored buff dude loped around the rocky ridge. And he looks flashed from skeptical, to pissed.
Damnit.
Why hadn't he thought of what it looked like?
An alpha babe bending to some outsider?
If he escaped alive, maybe he'd remember this.

Taking a step back, the golden clad teen was quick to reassure the man, his ears canting backwards and his tail lowly swishing.

"Whoa there, dude, chillaxify yourself. I'm here to help."

The yellow boy arched his neck, his head held graceful, despite his young demeanor.

"Name's Ashton. I'm a botanic chemical engineer. Or just a botanist. Healer in training. I'm the one who sent you an SoS, because I was hoping you noticed...she's a bit doped up, dude, and for her to not be so..." again, he looked for a substitute for the word 'high' "medically affected, she needs to ingest a substantial chunk of freshities. "

Ashton gently nudged the green herb towards Peregrine, in hopes he had the same urgency for his mate.

"This is a subspecies of a tea like plant. It's a reverse effect of painkillers, but still sorta like a painkiller. Whatever she's got a hold of, she's getting a bit too much of it. This herb here, though its a hybrid, its potency hasn't decreased, and it has both characteristics of its parents. It'll give her relaxation and sober her up a bit, though its not an asprin. It'll take away the delusion effects that she is receiving right now, and keep her from further damaging her brain from being in this state. "

The yellow plaited male took a deep breath from him explaining the bible and back on a simple subject of a leaf and its effects.

"You gotta trust me, man. I don't have a reason to start anything with ya, so don't rub me the wrong way, eh? I just wanna help."

“Finley gave it to me,” Fox explained, stumped as to why everybody was so upset about everything. “You guys just need to chill.” The fireball licked her lips, feeling all of the sudden extremely hungry and thirsty. This tended to happen whenever she ate the plants Finley gave her, though she did not know why. As far as side-effects went, it was easier to handle than the upset stomach that Blue's plants gave her.

Besides, “Why are you here?” she asked of the unfamiliar wolf. Had she asked that? She was fairly certain she had, but she couldn't remember if it had been in her head or aloud. “I think I already asked him that,” she whispered to Peregrine. “Do you remember?” Her squinty eyes looked to her mate, hoping somebody would give her an answer to something.

Although the stranger quickly submitted, his command for Peregrine to chill was met with a deep growl. Keeping both eyes on him, he bent his head down to nose his mate. It didn't take him more than a minute to figure out his wife was as high as a kite. He rolled his eyes at her, then glared at the golden-furred male again.

"I don't gotta trust you, man," the swarthy Alpha replied with heavy sarcasm. "You're a perfect fucking stranger. My mate clearly already overdosed on something; I'm not about to stuff any more weird herbs in her. She'll be fine in a few hours, with some food and water in her system," he noted, almost as if reading Fox's mind.

"Hush, you," he murmured into his mate's ear, then regarded the stranger a little more coolly now. Aloud, he added, "Maybe if I knew the first thing about you, I'd think about trusting you." He sounded like he knew what he was talking about, Peregrine had to admit. He suddenly wished he'd paid enough attention to Blue Willow's remedies to quiz this guy and vet him for membership. The caldera could definitely use a medic, after all, especially right now.

"So, tell me about yourself, starting with your name. Why are you here, so close to our borders?"

Casting a emerald gaze between the fire fox and the dark dude, Ashton furrowed his brow with thought.
The way this Peregrine treated his sweetheart, she must have had episodes like this, before. That could have been both a bad thing, or a good thing. The good being she knew each and every time she took whatever prescription that was assigned to her, she prepared herself for the effects. The bad, was if the ember threw herself into such, hoping it would solve whatever ailment was getting to her, and her doc didn't give her something for the side effects. Why take such risk?

"Again, like I said, names Ashton. I'm a botanist. I got a thing for plants, medicines, prescriptions, small remedies, and large takes of that stuff. I'm not sure whether I was in a pack, or it was just a faction, but it was more like..." Ashton did a 'so-so' indication with his golden head, tilting it from side to side, "a hippie group full of Healers and Naturalists. They didnt believe on eating meat, and were kinda vegan, so I hauled ass outta there after they tried to shove another salad down my throat."

Ashton shuddered at the mere thought of the constant consumptions of the various leaves.

"Anyway, I wanna say I'm just a mellow dude who's out and about, lookin' for a nice place to call home. No need to be huge or small, I just want something to call my home, while helping with any sick or hurt dudes, or dudettes. I'm not a hostile sort of bro, so if you dont want me here, I'll leave. All I did was notice the chick was a bit out of it, so I naturally sought to help her.."

With a visible movement, the sun pelted teen shrugged.

"Its something I like doing. Helping. But if you wanna have me haul ass, no probs. Just trust me when I say the green is good. "

Ashton pointed a paw at the potent leaf at the front of the charcoal pelted mans foot.

I learned the other day that weed actually has little effect if you eat it fresh. Yay for fiction!

Fox had begun to doze off, but when Peregrine mentioned food and water, she perked up. Those things sounded good, she had decided, but she was fairly certain she was supposed to lay here and wait for somebody to bring things to her. Instead, Peregrine and Ashton continued jabbering on about this and that while she took in the fine details of one particular claw on her front foot. It had the most amazing speck of dirt on it.

Even in her impaired state, Fox would not accept healing. Especially not from strangers. It was only because she knew Blue and Finley enough that she had ever accepted any from them. For the most part, the fireball preferred to let nature run its course until she was well again. However, after the first couple doses of whatever Finley had given her, she found the effects quite relaxing.

Struggling to her feet, Fox leaned up against Peregrine, nibbling at his ribcage. “It’s like your whole body is covered in black grass,” she commented, amused at the thought. “I guess that would make me covered in red grass.”

Ha! I really, really like Ashton's character, by the way. :D

Peregrine's nostrils flared when his oversight was pointed out to him. Maybe I'd have caught it if you hadn't been babbling, he thought with irritation, though he let it pass. He listened as Ashton (re)introduced himself, then explained a little of his back story and experience. The Alpha male listened in attentive silence, liking the sound of this dude's skills.

"The caldera could use a Healer," he said, flicking his head in Fox's direction when she nibbled him. "Hey, that tickles." Facing Ashton again, he said, "I'm still not going to let you treat my wife like a guinea pig. If you promise to formally pursue the trade in exchange for membership, you can use it to get your medicine cache started here. Capisce?"

Thanks guys, ♡ I based him off of a good novel I fell in love with. Ashton is Triston. W_^V

"Intenso (Understood), " the hippie replied. With a crooked grin, the golden soon-to-be healer reponded to the Alpha's comment.

"I wouldn't treat anyone like they're a little pig, bro. The only experiments I do, are on myself. That's why I get such guaranteed and factual results."

Ashton turned his verde orbs to the matching colored fresh grass that the lupines stood on.

"It's a shitty way to live, a constant life of tryin' different plants on yourself, hopin' you dont fall over dead, or somethin'..but I've made it this far, so why stop, ya know? Maybe one day," Ashton smiled at bright future in the green blades, the vivid images flickering before him, "maybe I can pass my noggins of to some pups, ya know? After I settle down sugar up a girl that got hearts for me, have a family of smart little docs and nurses, great little hippies,..."

Ashton looked up, a sheepish and abashed look overcame his golden features, his yellow plaited tail swishing left to right in quick little swipes.

"My bad, dude..when you get lonely, all you want is something good to come by you, ya know? This is probably the best thing thats happened so far. "

With a softer look in his foresty irises, the yellow boy gave a faint nod to the black wolf.
He didn't mind being humble. Who was he to have pride? Pride was silly. Pride didn't make you friends. Learning how to accept life was shitty, and laughing at your own mistakes, was how you made friends. Learning how to be a friend, washow you made friends.

"Thanks for this, Peregrine. You got my kudos, for this. "

Last post for me. :)

Fox mumbled something inaudibly about food and water, then began to wobble away from her mate and the latest recruit. She knew there had to be a stream somewhere close by. “Mountain piss,” she mused, giggling to herself. “I’m gonna go drink some mountain piss.” Maybe she could scrounge up some food while she was over this way. Or maybe a fish would hop right into her mouth. That would be a hoot and a half. But it would also be tasty.

The poor girl didn't make it to the stream. Instead, she plopped down on the ground just a few minutes after she'd left Peregrine and Ashton and fell into a deep, snoring sleep.

Mine too! :)

If Fox had been sober, she surely would've told Ashton to stop yapping. He certainly talked a lot. His ramblings briefly reminded Peregrine of his little pet project before leaving the plateau. Hell, he knew all too well how his mate must feel right now, having ingested his fair share of questionable objects for science.

"I don't want your kudos. I want your loyalty and your contributions. If you don't deliver, you won't last long," Peregrine said, eyes following Fox as she began to meander away. "I'm sure we'll see you around," he added distractedly before trotting after her and then standing over her when Fox slumped to the ground.

Kissing her brow, Peregrine loped away to fetch some meat so that his silly wife would have something to eat when she woke.

Same here, whew! Thanks for the allowance, guys. Great thread!

With a raised brow, he watched the red girl wander off, and stiffled a laugh.
THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR LAUGHS, ASH.
Got it. We're good. Going strong. Not dead yet.

When the dark brute disregarded his kudos, desiring to replace it with loyalty, Ash almost added 'kudos is loyalty points, bro', but decided to keep mouth hardwired shut. The teen was sure he had done enough narrating for the day, and from judgement of the bored expressions of his compatriots, they were intensely excited about his bible length speeches.
Nice bibliography, dude.

The bright furred little dude watched the dark alpha stalk off after his babe, and the ash pelt laughed. More for relief, than humor.
He had made it! Sorta.
Step one, owned.

With a relaxed breath, he already planned his move to his den, seeing a pretty hardcore looking mound of dirt lodged in the side of an awesome cliff, and began heading that way.
But, it was then he remembered...the dynamic duo forgot the leaf.

"Hey dude, wait, you forgot your green!" He half shouted, as he picked up the little leaf gingerly, and raced off in the direction of the midnight and sunrise wolves.