Redhawk Caldera Sky Riser

Seal realize she hasn’t explored Teekon’s western valleys. Its prairies and meadows were unfamiliar, but beautiful. She found herself drifting southbound, though her mind was fixated on the memory of the stone cirlce.

It was only a few days of travel before she reached the Caldera. Once, she had arrived at its borders only to flee. But now, she called to announce her arrival.

Seal chewed her lip and waited.

Hotah answered the call without delay, emerging from the rise with an easy, unhurried stride. His dark coat caught the light as he came to a stop within polite distance, posture open and calm.

Hello, he greeted, voice warm and friendly, a faint smile touching the crease beside his eye.

He dipped his head in welcome, gaze curious but kind.

Peregrine’s fate would remain a mystery into perpetuity, much like Maxim’s. She thought about both her long-lost mate and her more recently wayward son as she stood at the top of the hillock over the Hobbit Hole. Marmot’s little bones rested somewhere beneath her feet; if only she could bury his brother beside him. Overhead, the bare branches of the dogwood tree stretched against a whitewashed sky. Towhee often felt morose these days, those today was glummer than most. She let out a long, windy sigh.

Eventually, she turned to look up the nearby slope and began walking in that direction. She crested the ridge line and peered outward first before Towhee’s orange eyes dropped to the caldera’s foot. She started slightly when she saw Hotah greeting a visitor there, her mouth falling open when recognition registered. She galloped downhill, nearly stumbling in her haste.

Seal, she shouted as she came closer, the word nearly unrecognizable due to her mangled—healed, but scarred—tongue further impeding her speech.

Towhee brushed past Hotah with a quick glance, moving to pull her granddaughter into a hug even as her mind raced. When was the last time they’d seen one another? Where had Seal been all this time? Did she know her parents’ and siblings’ whereabouts? These and so many more questions fluttered around her head as Seal’s familiar scent threaded into her nose.

A dark fellow met Seal at the Caldera’s borders. He had a kind way about him that immediately put Seal at ease. However, she did not recognize him… and for a moment the woman wondered if any of the Redhawks remained at their namesake territory.

“Hello,” Seal replied politely. “My name’s Seal… I’m-”

However, before she could complete her introduction, a backlit figure crested the horizon. It approached quickly. Sprinting, even! Seal’s head stretched out to the side as if to look around the male wolf to see who was on the way.

To her joyous surprise it was Towhee!

“Grandma!” the word spilled out of Seal’s mouth as her tail began to windmill in happiness.

Before she knew it, Seal was in Towhee’s strong arms. She pressed her face into her grandmother's shoulder and felt emotional tears begin to well in the corners of her eyes!

“I missed you!” she said into a patch of cadmium colored fur, paws too preoccupied with clinging to Towhee to sign anything.

skippable after this post unless he's mentioned <3!

Hotah had barely begun to answer when Towhee’s shout cut through the caldera. He turned just in time to see her break into a gallop, grief and urgency thrown aside in a rush of recognition.

He stepped back at once, giving her space as she swept past him and into Seal’s arms. The sight drew a genuine smile from him, soft and unguarded, the kind that came only when something right happened.

I am Hotah. he said warmly, voice gentle so as not to intrude on the moment. His eyes lingered on the two of them—grandmother and granddaughter locked together like no time had passed at all.

He dipped his head to Seal when she surfaced enough to notice him. You’re very welcome here, Hotah added simply. Then, quieter, with a glance toward Towhee that held more than words:

-Family’s always found its way back to her.-

She couldn’t hear Seal’s words, though she felt the familiar hum of speech where her granddaughter’s throat curved against her shoulder. Towhee smiled, then reluctantly pulled away so they could communicate properly. She caught Hotah’s words out of the corner of her eye and tossed him a warm smile.

-How have you been?- the Elder asked, holding Seal’s gaze. She was anxious to ask a dozen more questions, though she held her paws still except to add, -I hope as well as you look. You’re a full-grown woman now,- Towhee marveled.

She’d been an adult the last time they’d seen each other, of course, but in the interim, Seal had truly grown into herself. She was old enough to be a mother now. And Towhee wondered. But still she kept her limbs still to let her progeny speak, except when she reached out to smooth a paw lightly over Seal’s shoulder, the movement infused with affectionate pride.