Redhawk Caldera Everything you do is a balloon

AW but tagging @Robin and/or @FitzDutiful. :)

The sky was a sprawling, endless blue overhead as Peregrine ran around the base of the caldera. The five of them — Fox, Finley, FitzDutiful, Robin and himself — had done a good job staking their claim. Every inch of the perimeter was drenched in their scent. It would not be long before they were ready to declare their status as an official pack, though some additional preparations had to be made... like establishing and padding the territory's caches, for instance.

He happened across a small flock of Canadian geese in the stretch of land between the crater and the shore of Lake Rodney. Ignoring their angry hisses, he launched into their midst and snapped his jaws until his teeth closed on something soft and feathery. As the other geese took flight, he closed his jaws around a slender black neck and throttled the life from the bird left behind by its comrades. He then began to drag it back toward the nearby slopes.

The assassin paced along the border of the forming pack, scowling as he looked over the newly scenting barrier. It annoyed him that all of these new packs were here now. Of all times! Why not form during the good seasons so you could prepare for winter?!

Kaname snarled, pacing a few more times before he tipped his head back, howling for any of his new neighbors to come and meet him to answer his questions. The assassin sat close to the piss-covered border, waiting for any of them to answer his call.

Upon reaching the mountain's base, he dug a hole and quickly buried the goose. He moved hastily because he noticed the stranger approaching and wanted the food put away before he came too close. By the time the dark stranger parked nearby and howled for attention, Peregrine was ready to meet him.

Head and tail held so there was no mistake about his rank, Peregrine strode up to the black male. "State your name and business, stranger," the swarthy Warden said. This might be a potential recruit or he might just be a nosy neighbor. How Peregrine dealt with him highly depended on the category where he belonged.

His call was soon answered, quite quickly, by a dark male, similar to himself, like the doppelganger he fought a few months ago? Was this him? Regardless, he answered the alpha (his posture was clue enough) male's question promptly. "Kaname, Beta of Ouroboros Spine." He said, ice-hued eyes focusing on the male. "I came to say 'hi' to my new neighbors."

Peregrine's black fur ruffled at the male's response. His demeanor changed almost immediately as he closed off to the wolf. This was no potential recruit, this was his competition. At least the spine was nowhere near the caldera... though that begged several questions, which he would fire at Kaname at will.

"What are you doing so far from home? Let me establish something right off the bat: I don't do neighbors. You leave us alone and we'll leave you alone." The swarthy Alpha's nostrils flared and he met Kaname's eyes, demanding that the other male drop his gaze with a low growl. "We are wolves from different packs — rivals, in other words — and have no business making nice with one another." The only exception in his book was, of course, the plateau.

A part of him wanted to defiantly hold his gaze, but the last time that he had defied a wolf on his own turf he had gotten thoroughly beaten. He flicked his eyes down, but answered with a rumble in his own throat. "I was doing my job: patrolling. Scouting for food. Then I scented your borders." He hissed, his tail lashing a bit indignantly. "I'm not here to make nice with you. I just want to know who you are."

11/2: I'm concluding this due to lack of replies.

Peregrine had half a mind to refuse his name, yet instead he replied, "Peregrine Redleaf-DiSarinno. And this is Redhawk Caldera." He hoped the names would stick in Kaname's mind, resonating there. He spoke in a tone that said, Don't trifle with me, or us.

"Fair enough. Now you know to avoid this area, particularly for hunting," Peregrine rejoined. "Like I said, if you mind your own business, we'll mind ours." His onyx tail flicked, wondering if the spine's Beta male would have anything else to say.

Kaname moved away without another word, leaving Peregrine to peer after him until he disappeared. The Alpha eventually turned, deciding to return to the goose's burial site to make sure it was suitably concealed.