Phantom Hollow There's no place like home

"Nightjar!" Wildfire shouted when she swore she saw him sneak away from the group amidst all the chaos. Of course, it was difficult to see down here in the darkness. It was impossible to hear anything, either, between the roaring overhead and the echoing voices all around her. Aware that she definitely wouldn't be heard over the racket, Wildfire didn't attempt to tell anyone about her absconding brother. Instead, she decided to go after him herself.

Within five minutes, the pup realized she had made a terrible mistake. Not only did she not find Nightjar (had he even run off at all or was that just a hallucination?), she couldn't figure out how to find her way back to the group. Unable to shout loudly, she nonetheless tried to scream her family's names: "Mama! Dud! Nightjar! Rave!" No one replied. Only her own voice bounced back to her. Panic took seed in her heart when she realized she was effectively reduced to a single sense: touch. The darkness and silence pressed on her from all sides.

The fear got the best of her and Wildfire began to scramble through the dark belly of the earth, bumping roughly into earthen walls every few seconds but ignoring the pain. She stopped briefly when the passageway narrowed, forcing her to crawl, but she emerged into a much larger chamber on the other side. She couldn't see anything but she could feel wide open spaces around her. Her footsteps echoed. The ground was moist and occasionally her feet splashed in standing water.

After what felt like hours, she saw a gray light up ahead. Wildfire ran toward it, her heart thundering in her chest, when she collided suddenly with a stalactite suspended from the rocky ceiling. She lost consciousness immediately and sprawled on the cold, damp earth. She didn't stir for a long time, long enough for the storm to dissipate. The light in the distance went from gray to a warm, pale yellow. It brightened, then dimmed, and went dark. Then it slowly illuminated once more...

When she finally roused, Wildfire's head pounded. She reached a paw up and touched it against a tender spot on her right temple. There was a giant bump there and some dried blood crusted in her fur. Feeling woozy, she nonetheless climbed to her feet and began to trot toward the light again. Her whole body ached by this point, particularly her head. Hunger gnawed at her gut and thirst made her tongue feel heavy and thick in her mouth. She moved tirelessly toward the light as it grew from a speck to a dot to a hole to a portal through which she passed.

Wildfire's golden eyes squinted when she resurfaced from the bowels of the earth. She blinked, waiting for them to adjust, then sucked in a breath. Bare trees stretched as far as the eye could see, their torn and shredded foliage littering the forest floor. A thick mist hovered a few inches above the ground, partially obscuring the massive amounts of debris and giving the woodland a decidedly wintry feel. Wildfire shivered involuntarily as she stepped forth into this strange wilderness. Not only it was it spooky to behold, she had absolutely no idea where she was.

She glanced back at the small cave mouth behind her, wondering if she could go back the way she had come. She shuddered, violently this time. Not only would it be impossible to retrace her steps, she would never step foot in another cave as long as she lived. Wildfire forcibly turned away, then drew in a long breath to fight back against a renewed sense of panic. She started to move again, picking her way carefully through the wind-torn wilderness, searching desperately for water.

:) hope you don't mind me!

Dante fully intended to heed his own words and remain to their area of the wilds, having no desire to antagonize the others who made these lands home.  That being said, lasher had mentioned a new pack within their area, and it was investigation of this group that brought the silver alpha to these parts.  He'd found their claimed region, southwest of his own, and skirted it with a wide berth.  So far he had seen no one, but he did not intend to get closer.

The wolf who had shown up on their lands had been abrupt, rude even.  He doubted he would be well recieved.

Reaching about as far south as he wished to go, he made a loop, but before he went home, he would stop by the river he knew flowed nearby. He could follow that home and knew he would go through no stranger's home - a useful path. Upon finding the bank, he leaned down to drink his fill, then looked around.

The storms that had doused the plateau with rain seemed to have had a more destructive hand here. Interested in the change and the chaos around him, he wandered, unaware of his proximity to Peregrine's lost daughter.

Not at all! Thanks for joining. :)

She managed to find a puddle amidst all the detritus. Wildfire drank deeply, then lifted her head and surveyed her surroundings warily once more. She knew her directions (never eat soggy worms, she thought dimly) but since she had traveled underground, she was entirely disoriented. Even spinning slowly in a circle, she didn't recognize a single landmark. It didn't help that the storm had ravaged the lands, disguising them beneath strewn branches, fallen trees and other destruction.

Wildfire jumped when she spotted movement to her left. She crouched, squinting, then realized it was a wolf. She slowly rose again. Incapable of howling or even yelling, she unleashed a small bark to announce her presence, then began to pick her way toward the stranger, a male by scent. She lost sight of him momentarily between the towering, bare-branched trees and furling mists, but followed her nose and ultimately drew up in a small clearing, stopping about four yards from him.

Usually rather reticent with strangers, the mildly battered youngster blurted, "I'm lost. Can you tell me where I am?" She almost went on to add something about helping her find her way home, yet Wildfire was by now conditioned not to offer up too much identifying information right off the bat. First, she would have to gauge whether she could trust this fellow at all... not that she had much of a choice, given the situation.

If he was naive to her presence earlier, he couldn't fail to notice when she addressed him directly. He was surprised to see one so young unaccompanied, but it wasn't unheard of. He was too far away to catch the Caldera scent, and the air was thick with rain and broken earth.

If this place had a name, he did not know it. But that did not mean he did not know where he was. "That depends, I think, on where you want to go." He looked at her curiously, but was not unfriendly. He hadn't been in a particularly good spot of late but that didn't mean he was going to verbally abuse strange adolescents.

"I do not know what this place is called. But I know the area, somewhat." He clarified, glancing down the river. He had been through once or twice, but once he visited an area, it tended to stick. His sense of direction was fairly solid, if his eye for detail a little lacking.

While she waited for a response of one sort or another, Wildfire made herself focus on the stranger, if only to calm her nerves. His fur color instantly reminded her of her godparents; it was a lustrous pewter color, with a dusting of black along his back that made her think of Finley in particular. His matching eyes made her think of her mother, which made her stomach hurt. Maybe she wasn't so much hungry as she was homesick. She wondered if her parents knew she was missing. Surely they would have realized right away and they were as eager to find her as she was to find her way home.

The male spoke and his answer confused her. Her destination had nothing to do with her current location. Then he elaborated, revealing that he didn't know the name of this place. He insisted he knew the area somewhat, though, so Wildfire just needed to plumb his knowledge. She still felt hesitant about revealing her loyalties—what if she was somewhere in the danger zone, the dread north?—but once again realized she really didn't have much choice. She could either take a chance with asking the gray stranger or attempt to find her way home by herself.

"I need to find my way back to Redhawk Caldera," she said, bracing herself for flight if the revelation of this information deemed it necessary. Her amber eyes remained shrewdly pinned to his face, gauging his reaction. "Do you know the way? My name," she continued, in the hope that familiarity would make him less likely to attack (unaware that it might actually make it more likely if he realized she was one of Peregrine's and Fox's children), "is Attica." Well, it was part of her name and all he needed to know for now.

Of course it would be the Caldera.  And the instant she said it, he knew who she was... The age was right, and as far as he could assume, Fox would have allowed no other children alongside her own.  The name, so similar to Peregrine's lost brother, was only confirmation.

It inspired no violence, for her age spared her. His anger was with those who he imagined responsible for Junior and Saena's treatment.  The thought of harming one so young was not something he could entertain, no matter whose child, even if it had occurred to him she might have been the reason for Junior's demise.  He was silent for a moment, considering.  He was not sure he knew the way well enough to describe it, nor was he certain she could follow the steps through and safely arrive home.  He could leave her to it, and avoid confrontation with any of her pack, or he could escort her partially to better ensure she would arrive.

His ears canted uncertainly, and he nodded.  "I have been there, and know the way."  He could only imagine what would happen if he was found with her... He doubted Perry or Fox would stop to ask questions.  Would he, if he was in their position?  Likely not.

"Have you traveled much of the surrounding area of the Caldera? Perhaps I could get you close enough and you could travel the rest.  It is easier to show you, since I am not often in these parts."  Easier, and safer, though the latter he withheld.  Younger wolves could be funny about their pride with statements like that.

She noticed the uncertain twitch of his ears, so when he admitted he knew the way to the caldera, she was not surprised. Wildfire felt a surge of relief and a disproportionate amount of gratitude toward him, despite the fact that he hadn't even helped her yet. She could tell that he intended to do so, for he began to detail a plan. She could only nod in assent. He was wise not to want to escort her the whole way, though Wildfire would have done whatever it took to let her pack know he was only helping her.

"I know, um, Big Salmon Lake and then Shy Deer Steppes. Oh, and Broken Antler Fen." She was pretty sure that covered most of the surrounding territories with which she was familiar. "And it's close to Lake Rodney and Haunted Wood," she added. Not so long ago, she had even mistakenly considered these two to be part of the Redhawks' claim; she had since gotten her facts straight.

While she waited to see if he would recognize any of those, Wildfire inquired, "What's your name? Do you know the Redhawk wolves...?" If he did, it was quite likely he was not on good terms with them, as it seemed her parents and pack got along with very few outsiders, if any at all. If that was the case, then she wondered why he was helping her. Perhaps he was like that mountain lion, who had pretended to be friendly at first, only to turn on her... or, hell, like Junior, who had greeted her so amiably only to try to tear out her throat.

The lake was the first she mentioned, and really the only he recognized. He had silently hoped for it, as he knew from his two treks down that the nearby river ran right into it. In fact, he would almost be confident enough to just inform her of this fact... if it weren't for the uncertain nature of who she would meet along the way. Regardless of consequence, he couldn't release responsibility like that.

He considered lying for a moment, but saw no point in it in the end. He would not get close enough to the Caldera to be in the wrong, nor would he lay a paw on the child who asked. It made no difference if they knew it was he who had escorted her. He hadn't wanted to appear that he was hanging about the region, but the hollow where he'd found her was far enough away that he wasn't worried about that. "Dante. I did know them, once. A few of them, at least." He indicated the direction of the stream where he'd only briefly before stopped to drink. "There's a river over here we can follow. It can take us to Salmon Lake." He stepped off, presumably with her beside him.

Thinking of how far north they were made him wonder. "How did you end up all the way out here?" She was nearly halfway to the plateau, no small journey for one so young. How did she get out there all alone? They'd had some heavy storms in the plateau, but last he knew, storms didn't generally snatch young wolves away from home. At least, not that he was aware of.

His name was Dante and, somehow, the introduction allayed her fears. Wildfire thought she actually recognized that name, yet she couldn't place it. He distracted her from her thoughts by mentioning a river that led to Big Salmon Lake. She found herself heaving a sigh of relief. Once they arrived at the lake, the young Outrider was confident she could find her way home from there. If memory served, she would actually be able to see the caldera from the shoreline.

He could have pointed her in the right direction (or just mentioned which direction the lake lay) but Wildfire hoped he would take there personally. She took a few steps, then paused, waiting for him to fall into step beside her and potentially lead the way. Meanwhile, maybe she would get to know a little more about this Dante, who knew of the Redhawk wolves but didn't seem to hold anything against her for her affiliation.

Before she could ask him any more questions, he sprung one on her. "I'm not sure. I mean, we went into the caves beneath the caldera when the storm hit. Then I thought I saw Nigh—uh, my brother, I mean—sneak off. I went after him. But either I imagined it or he went a different way, 'cause I didn't find him. I got lost down there." Her breath hitched in her throat and she shuddered. "It was really dark and quiet. It freaked me out, so I ran... then I think I must've hit my head because I woke up with this." She paused long enough to lift a foreleg to point out the goose egg above her eye.

She resumed not only walking but talking as she finished, "Then I followed a light and came out to find myself in this creepy forest." Phantom Hollow (not that she knew its name at the moment) was already receding behind them as they roved in what she loosely guessed was a southwestern direction, assuming it was the morning after the storm. So far, Wildfire didn't even realize it was actually a whole day later than she thought.

She did follow willingly enough, which did not surprise Dante, though it perhaps should have. He could not contemplate harming the child, but if the thought had crossed his mind, he might have found it odd Peregrine hadn't given his children a list of wolves to take steps to avoid. They had been packmates a while, though... Maybe he would know well enough that, no matter what their relationship was like, there were lines that could not be crossed.

That there was a tunnel that stretched so far was a surprising bit of news. "Those must be some caves." He hadn't known something like that lay under the caldera, as he and her parents had never really been in a sharing position during their conversations. If he had ever held plans of taking aggressive action, he might have sought the entrance she spoke of... But since this was exactly what he wished to avoid, he kept it as an interesting point, nothing more. Likely the caves grew too small for any but a pup anyway.

He thought back to his first meeting with Mordecai, and their haste to leave the cave they had entered when suddenly the atmosphere had turned malevolent. He could definitely relate. Underground was not his cup of tea in any way. "Give me a creepy forest over a tunnel any day. Good thing you found your way out." Talking with her, he was able to forget whose child she was, where they were headed... And he let himself. For the first time in days, he focused on nothing but conversation.

I think my young female characters are destined to fall for Dante. *gestures at avatar*

Wildfire could only nod dumbly, then crack a small smile at Dante's remarks. "Yeah, I'm lucky," she agreed. "I knew about the caves underneath the caldera but I didn't know the tunnels went so far." And had she not just had a terrible experience down there, she might have enjoyed the spelunking opportunity. However, she declared, "I'm never going underground again, not even if it storms like that again." She shook her head almost defiantly.

Then she stilled, though her paws kept moving, of course. "Where were you when it hit?" Wildfire couldn't help but wonder, amber eyes fixing on the side of Dante's face. Seeing him in profile like this, she suddenly realized he was rather easy on the eyes. Handsome, she thought to herself, then grew suddenly bashful and forced her eyes to the road ahead even as her cheeks warmed.

dying a little XD I kinda love it

He smiled as she declared with such sureness she would never shelter underground again.  Doubtless that would hold until the sky broke loose again, as he couldn't imagine her guardians taking no as an answer.  He'd personally drag Eilidh or her brothers underground before letting them risk themselves to destruction like this.

"I was back home.  We got some storms, and a few fallen branches, but nothing like this."  After the fire, this was a major blessing.  They were strong, but there had been enough destruction.  He'd sheltered near the mountain to watch the storm blow by.  He'd always been fond of rain and thunder, but he'd grown a new distaste for lightning and the danger it brought.  He could feel her eyes as he kept walking, and glanced back, unaware of the effect he was once again having on Peregrine's daughter.  If he'd known, likely he would have found the entire situation hilarious, thinking how thrilled Peregrine would be at this development.  Instead, he merely turned his own eyes to the road as well.

Did I say "young female"? Strike that. I'm pretty sure even Perry had a fleeting crush on him!

He mentioned a home, so Wildfire guessed he must be part of a pack. She slowly looked at him again, deciding he looked like a Beta, if not an Alpha. He looked to be the same age as her parents, possibly older than Fox and younger than Peregrine. Again, she wondered if Dante knew them. Something told her not to bring up that particular subject. Her parents were not friendly with anyone beyond the caldera, so it was best not to go there.

"Where's home?" she asked, wondering if Dante would be forthcoming or prefer not to reveal his own allegiance. After all, Wildfire had only shared hers out of necessity. "Is it—" she began to ask, about to inquire whether he lived to the north, when she suddenly found the ground rushing up to smack her in the face. In reality, she had been so busy staring at him that she had tripped right over a fallen sapling.

still killing it I guess ;D unexpected but ngl i could ship it. Age difference aside :P
*shamelessly compares to Memoirs of a Geisha*

When she asked about home, Dante saw no reason to withold. Telling his name had been enough to reveal all. He opened his mouth to respond, but instead watched as in his periphery she face planted straight into the ground. He had to hide an involuntary smile, his first real one since the fire, but there was no laugh in his tone when he asked "you alright?"

When she had (presumably) regained her feet, he continued. "Blacktail deer plateau." He looked at her for recognition this time. He wasn't sure if she would have heard of the place. "It is somewhat north of here, next to the mountains. Your.." He had been about to say 'dad', but stopped. Like her, he wondered if avoiding the subject altogether was better. The instant he thought it, he felt his mood darken. Too soon, and too much.

"It seems like most of the storm came down here." He wondered briefly what she would find when she returned home. Would there still be a home there to find? Unlike him to wish misfortune on one he was conversing so well with, but he couldn't stop the ugly voice in his head that hoped not.

She'll only be jailbait until November! ;)

She rose, grimacing in embarrassment. She felt something on her cheek and swiped a paw across it. It was just a smudge of dirt. "Yeah," she answered Dante's question, unable to bring herself to look at him for a moment. Then she forced a quiet laugh and admitted, "I'm really clumsy. I'm always tripping over something... usually my own legs." And now that the storm had chewed up and spat out the wilderness, there were plenty more obstacles to trip over.

After resuming their walk, Wildfire had a chance to process Dante's answer. "Oh," was all she said. She knew about Blacktail Deer Plateau and the word north was a giant red flag. She wondered what her parents would make of the camaraderie between herself and her hoary escort. Would they be angry with her for not upholding their grudge against northerners? Or perhaps Dante's assistance would change their minds about northern wolves altogether?

She wondered but she didn't mention any of these thoughts to Dante. It seemed they were in mutual agreement to avoid the subject. He made an observation about the storm damage being centralized here in the south. Wildfire frowned and unwittingly picked up on his train of thought. When she found her way home, what shape would the caldera be in? Would everyone be safe and unharmed? The caves had seemed pretty safe...

"What's that?" she asked suddenly, stopping and pointing her smudged muzzle to their left. It looked like a meadow, just flattened somehow. Of course, meadows were typically flat by definition but if the Naturalist had a guess, she would say that the storm had trampled this one a little bit further than normal.

When she said she was clumsy, he had to smile again, and the dark mood lifted. The statement took him back before, to when he still traveled with Helena. She to had been clumsy, tripping over herself often in her rush to get to where she was going. Eagerness to go with that spitfire personality... something told him Attica was similar.

He'd thought she might ask more questions about his home, but she seemed content to leave it at that. So maybe she had heard about it... and perhaps not the best of words. Or maybe she, like him, saw little point in learning specifics of a place they'd likely never see. He wasn't really seeking info about the Caldera either, after all.

He turned to where she pointed, accepting the subject change easily. "The meadow..." He slowed a bit as they passed it, eyeing the grasses curiously. "Wonder how it happened." Last he knew, wind blew sideways, not down. Had the rain been so heavy? He knew nothing of tornadoes, so the idea of a wind acting so strangely was foreign to him. "Did you see any of the storm?" He imagined not, with her being underground, but asked regardless.

Dante didn't seem to know what had caused the grass to flatten like that. Wildfire continued to study the view. Once she got back home and recovered from her unexpected field trip, she would have to make a point to study the aftermath of the storm. It was part of her field of study as a Naturalist, after all. Maybe she could learn something from the damage it had wrought or maybe she would only walk away with an even greater respect for Mother Nature's unpredictable ferocity.

"No," she replied when he asked if she had witnessed the storm. "As soon as we knew what was happening, we took shelter underground. I was actually the one who warned the pack that it was gonna be worse than normal," Wildfire said, somehow both proudly and modestly. "I'm a Naturalist apprentice. Warrior and Outrider too," she decided to share.

It was as he'd figured initially, though he bet the storm was a sight to see. "Probably wise. Good instincts you have, then." He was impressed to hear she had three roles under her belt already... No small feat and definitely not an easy task. "I guess between us we about cover the range then." They didn't share a single one in common.

"I'm just glad this didn't come around our parts. I'm not much of a naturalist. Hunting, patrolling, and counseling are more my speed." The counseling one less lately. He briefly wondered if he should even still consider himself as such. His own head was such a mess he couldn't imagine dealing with another's issues, at least not now.

"What tipped you off to the storm?" He asked, curious. He had his own tells for a storm, of course, but how did she know it would be worse than usual?

In a roundabout way, Dante shared his own trades: Gamekeeper, Warden and Counselor, by the sound of it. The latter was something Wildfire had contemplated once or twice. It sort of suited her nature. She was soft-spoken and a good listener. She liked offering a shoulder to those in need too. But her three callings had done just that: called to her.

"Instincts," she replied when he asked how she'd predicted the storm's unseasonable ferocity. She smiled at him because Dante had just mentioned them himself. "Also, the sky was a strange color and the clouds were doing weird stuff. But mostly I just had a really bad feeling. I think it's called a hunch, right?" She took a glimpse at his face.

When her golden eyes faced forward again, she saw a shifting light ahead and realized after a moment that she was staring at a glare off water. "The lake!" she cried, itching to gallop there and then past it, all the way home. Wildfire barely resisted the urge, though there was definitely a new eagerness to her demeanor and haste in her step as they made their way toward the distant shore.

Her return of his own statement was accurate, and humorous, but the elaboration was what he had been getting at. Instincts normally were triggered by signs, either visual or internal... A feeling of dread, a headache, a peculiar sky or wind. He hadn't noticed anything different personally, but then, the Plateau had recieved nothkng but a common storm. Her description was one he filed away though... If the alpha ever experienced similar, he would know to inform his pack to take shelter as well.

"Good to know. Thanks." It wasn't a ton to go on but it was more than he'd known that morning. The lake rose up before them and she got an extra spring in her step, obviously ready to be home. Dante on the other hand slowed, and nodded to her.

"I believe this is where we part ways. Good luck on your way home." He meant it, but he did not wish to stick any closer to the lake. If he recalled, it was a place frequently visited by Redhawk wolves, whom he had no desire of meeting. He didn't trust himself to leave it alone should he happen across them.

Thanks for the thread! :)

The first whiffs of an awful stench hit her with half a mile left to go. Nearly at the same moment, Dante announced that it was time for him to depart. Wildfire halted in her tracks, squinting at the lake up ahead. Did it look different or was it just because she had never approached it from this angle? She pondered that, then looked at Dante. He didn't seem to think anything of it. In fact, he clearly believed it to be Big Salmon Lake, which was why he was comfortable parting ways.

Part of her didn't want him to go, yet Wildfire could come up with no reason to make him stay with her any longer. Quietly, she said, "Bye, Dante. Thanks for walking me home." She dipped her muzzle to him, then slowly faced the lake once more. She began to trot again and soon forgot all about Dante as she locked horns with her gag reflex. She had half a mind to give the lake a wide berth but when she spotted the caldera in the distance beyond, Wildfire kept moving straight ahead.