Redhawk Caldera Rosebud

@Nightjar, maybe? Anyone's welcome, though! :)

Neither the badger den nor the small garden next to it had weathered the storm very well. Although her brother's scent lingered near the den, she didn't think to attribute the damage to him; she assumed the wind and rain had blown so hard that it had wrecked some of her collection. And it did not really surprise her that the little garden plot hadn't fared so well, either.

She spent the morning sprucing up the area, rescuing and replanting what she could, then tossing the rest into a compost heap of sorts at the corner of the earthen plot. She also picked through her heaps of odds and ends inside the den. She sorted them into two piles, adding the junk from one to her compost heap and taking the rest into a nearby stand of trees, where she buried them.

Afterward, Wildfire admired her handiwork, then helped herself to some lunch and then wandered downhill toward the borders. She wasn't interested in patrolling, though. Actually, she felt the surrounding wilderness calling out to her the closer she came to the edges of her homeland. She had gotten a real taste for her Outrider calling while out there on the road after the storm and she wanted very badly to go out there again.

For now, though, the five-month-old remained obedient to her parents' wishes that she not leave home. She plodded around the periphery awhile, hoping to catch sight of a pack mate, then gave up and sought some shade beneath a bent elm sapling near the caldera's base.

«Ashton would love to  W_^V  »




There was no doubt he had been trying to earn good grace back into the family, but Ash was more concerned over his lost love. Would she come back, like he had? Would she be let back in? When did she even leave? All the questions swirled in his golden noggin, and he would lose it even more, if they weren't answered.

Passing through the land was something he enjoyed doing, but something more fulfilling to him was running. Running worked wonders on his mood, and he needed a bit of 'pick me up'er as if that moment. 
So without even finishing his breakfast, he took off. Past the basin that was full of water, past the melted lake, past the mountains, then he stopped for rest. 
He had past'ed enough things. 

Maybe an hour or two past'ed him as he loped back, taking a relatively good shortcut through a forest. He had went herb shopping in this forest, grabbing all kinds of greenery that helped him in the Dera. 
Helped.

A bright red caught his eye on its outskirts, and originally the Doctor thought it was Fox. 
Tiny enough.
Wait a second...

"Hey there, dudette."

Thanks for joining! :)

They noticed each other at very nearly the same moment. Whereas he spotted a flash of red in his peripheral vision, she saw a blur of gold streaking along the borderline. He slowed and began to come closer, causing her to sit up straighter, body slightly rigid due to the lack of familiarity. As he came nearer and his handsome features took on more definition, she felt her breath catch nervously in her throat. She had no idea who he was, though she vaguely guessed it was one of the recently returned former members her parents had mentioned recently.

"Hey there, dudette," he greeted and the young girl felt like her insides were warm and melted. She felt a flicker in her belly, like a butterfly was trapped there. "Hi," she responded even more quietly than usual, a slight blush coloring her cheeks beneath her fur. "Are you... Ashton?" she found herself guessing, amber eyes staring at his handsome face longer than was appropriate before she caught herself and dropped her eyes to her own forepaws.

«not a prob, at all. Any others you want Ash to seeing by, just let me know. :P »



Well shit. 
So much for chatting with the alpha babe. 
Why did this girl look so much....

A series of blinks happened on the teens face, and he tilted his crown, golden locks of fur following the dance.
Was this one of the Hot Hawks?

"That's me, as good as gold, doll. Can I pippet though...how'd ya catch my name? I was ghosted before you were popped out."

Vivid emeralds studied the fire fae in front of him, catching every detail that went down. The cross of shadow and flames sitting right in his view.

The way he spoke, she could barely understand what he was saying. Somehow, this did not make him any less desirable. In fact, his deep, easygoing timbre made it feel like there were now two or three butterflies in her belly instead of just the one. She had felt a bit like this when conversing with Dante, yet not nearly on the same level. It seemed that gold would completely eclipse silver. Dante who?

"I... what? I know your name 'cause my parents are the Alphas," Wildfire said, feeling a bit awkward despite her attraction (or perhaps because of it). "Is that what you were asking?" she added meekly, blushing all the harder. Luckily, her flamed fur hid it well, though the fact that her eyes were now glued to her feet was probably a telltale sign of her bashfulness.

"No way! You are a Hot Hawk! You know how rad it is to be a kid of parents like that?"

His blond banner swished tick tockingly behind his rump, his interest in the flamin femme #2 all the more apparent. 
The Doctor didn't think he would even live to meet his own alphas kids. And if anything, the situation was cheering his little depression a bit, and shining a few rays of sunshine through the clouds. 

The hippie noticed how she kept her head low, eyes averted. 
Was it him? Well, he did run a bit. Coulda touched something nasty or somethin'....
So he began sniffing. After finding nothing but a pleasant scent of pines on his hide, Ash looked at the ember and asked, confusion on his face.

"Do you not like pines, sweets? I mean..I could dash through a lemon shrub or somethin' for ya, if I stink?...."

The teen thought pines were pretty chill, and was a bit sad of she consented to him dashing through another greenery, and getting off one of his favorite scents.

Hot Hawk? she thought, baffled but somehow flattered by the nickname. "I guess, yeah," she replied timidly, smiling and peeking up through her eyelashes. Her parents weren't perfect (something that became clearer as she aged) but they were pretty rad. She supposed she was pretty lucky to have been born to them.

"Pines?" she echoed him, confusion persisting. "You don't stink!" she was quick to say, a little horrified that her behavior had made him think that. "But I'm actually allergic to pine. Well, pine cones." It was a random tidbit about her, though to be fair, this entire conversation was proving entirely random.

"My name's Wildfire," she said in the next breath, finally looking up at him for a second or two before averting her gaze again. "You can call me Wifi, though. You just came back, didn't you? Why did you leave?" the pup asked, trying to make conversation.

And she needed to inject some normalcy into this situation. She didn't mind his weird manner of speaking, per se, it was just making her more nervous than usual, especially because she found him so fetching. Wildfire was already an introvert by nature and Ashton was like the perfect storm to play all the notes of her anxiety. All the same, she definitely wanted to continue talking to him and get to know him better.

«Its because of WiFi, that in talking to WiFi. ~cue bad pun sounds and tomatoe throwing»



Ash grinned when she said he didn't stink, then gave him a valuable shard of info about herself.
Pinecones, eh? Seeing how the hippie knew quite a bit of green things, the scaley obstructs were no foe to him. 

"That's a pretty chill name, Wifi. You can dub me Ash."

Then she asked on his leaving, and that grin dimmed down a bit. 
Ducking famnit, Wifi.

"Well, I was the Doctor of this Dera, Wifi.  It was winter when I chose to trot out, and I thought it was gonna be shorter than the time that I dipped. Honest to Green. It was supposed to be a quick herb trip, and the ones I needed wernt budding in the borders. I knew where they were, so i set out to get em. However, on my way both there and back, I had met many wolves that were hurt, and needed a good guy like me. So i helped em. Took me a long time, but I did what my heart barked at me, and I helped em. On my way back, I was so close to hom, then Mother Nature delayed my welcome with that massive storm. Some of the wolves i passed needed even more help, but with the wounds i saw, nothing could be done. There was a bear that had a broken back, and 42 bones that were snapped in it. I have his hide in my infirmary."

The teen turned his verde stare to his own paws, his soft voice refusing to break at the memories.

"I'm grateful to be back, but then again Wifi, sometimes I wished I had never left, at all."

He spun quite a tale, some of which was hard to follow. You talk so weird! she wanted to tell him but, of course, Wildfire was neither that forthcoming nor that rude. At least she was already getting better at discerning his meaning. It only took a few contextual clues to deduce what terms like dera and honest to green meant.

"Really?" she asked when he mentioned the bear. He was not only handsome, he was a badass. The story reminded her of her Aunt Finley, another badass. "Do you know Finley? She's my godmother. She hunts bears too." Well, he hadn't hunted it, so to speak, but she was still rather impressed.

But the word infirmary was equally as interesting, as well as his references to herbs and healing. "Are you a Healer?" It seemed rather obvious, which caused her to flush again, but hopefully Ashton wouldn't mind confirming. "I'm not a Healer but I'm a Naturalist. My sister, Raven, is one, though... or she will be, someday." As far as she knew, her black sister was still working on the apprenticeship.

" Pshh, yea I know that fierce babe, doll. I'm the one who treated her after her brawl with the bear. Left a mean decker on her, but she pulled through better than anyone with the same story. "

Ash remembered the very first healing mission he did in behalf of the greyscale girl. Little miss Finney Fin Fin. She was pretty tough, and had a good head on her shoulders. The teen knew she was topping off well. 

"Yup, both popped out and sent off by a pack of Healers, Wifi. Very peaceful folk, I was brought from." 

He sent the girl a gentle smile, which broadened at the redfur telling him of a sister.

"That's interesting. I might have to show her a thing or two. "

With that, he sent the amber child a wink.
Being a doc was relatively easy, as long as you knew what you were doing. 
Ok, not so easy. 
Telling the difference between a redberry and a chick berry was life and death for the ones unfortunate enough to choose wrong. 
Hell, he was surprised he was even still alive, all those experiments he did on himself.

When he mentioned tutoring Raven, Wildfire felt a small stab of jealousy, which was wiped out by the flame that licked at her innards when Ashton winked at her. It was so strange for her to feel so drawn so quickly to a stranger, yet the child didn't stop to question it. She found her eyes wandering upward for longer and longer periods, mostly because it was hard to look away from that shining face. When she caught his eye, she stared into those emerald depths for a breathless moment before remembering herself again. She was still just a youth and didn't want to challenge an adult, accidentally or otherwise.

"Do you think you could help me with Naturalism?" she blurted after correcting the angle of her amber gaze. "I just planted a garden for the first time. The storm wrecked it a little but I fixed it this morning. Maybe you could help me out with that...?" Wildfire felt a bit like she was grasping at straws but if Ashton was going to spend time with Raven, she wanted a little bit of his time as well. Heck, right now, she wished she could spend all her time just looking at him and listening to that hippie drawl...

She was a timid thing, wasn't she? It was rather cute, her little peeks and hides. Adorable.

"Only know so much on deciphering the green, but I brain it ain't too hard to get the green to grow. I picked up a few tid bits about it, anyways, so I guess what i don't know, we can learn together, eh?"

The doc chuckled a smidge at the prospect. He had to start somewhere in the life, so giving back to Mother Nature after taking so much from her , seemed like a good way to dog it.

Now that it summed up like a good remedy, he got rather optimistic and enthusiastic about the prospect. A series of tassel swings, he asked,

"Would ya happen to know what plants you put to bed, sweets? We can study their properties and figure out what it takes to make them grow, if you did'"

He confessed he didn't know a ton about cultivating plants, yet he proposed they learn together, which warmed Wildfire's heart (and belly). "Okay," she agreed readily. Even if she had to share him with Raven, at least she would get first dibs. That jealous thought took her by surprise, though before Wildfire could concern herself with it long, Ashton posed another question.

"I can show you," she offered quickly, rising onto her feet and nearly tipping over as she lost her balance. Laughing nervously at herself, she said, "I'm not sure of all the names." Anything she didn't know, Raven most likely would, though Wildfire didn't mention her sister's name again. She wanted the man's attention to herself right now. "Come this way?" she invited in a timorous tone, hoping he would want to accompany her but uncertain that he would be interested enough.

Seems the Hot Hawk was eager herself, nearly starting her own garden right infront, starting with almost planting her cute little face. The teen darted forward to catch her, but she proved him wrong. 
Well, ok then. 

"Lead the way, doll. I'm right behind ya. "

Emerald gaze looked around them, his intellect picking out various plants and remembering their whereabouts for when he would need to come back. 

A naturalist, huh? He had never thought being a naturalist could be useful with a Healer trade, but if you could grow your own plants, there would be no need to go out and forage for them. 
They just might be paw in paw in this boat.

Not only was he interested, he called her a doll. Wildfire felt that fluttering sensation all over her body now. Trying not to grin like an idiot, she faced forward and began loping in the direction of the rendezvous site, as ever unaware that the newcomer wasn't welcome there. She found herself hoping that Raven wasn't around when they got there. She felt less and less like sharing Ashton with her sister in any capacity. She recognized the selfishness of her own thoughts but it wouldn't change her mind.

Fortunately, nobody appeared to be at the rendezvous site when they arrived. "It's this way," she said a bit breathlessly, leading Ashton right across the clearing to the badger den on the far side. "This is the rendezvous site," she informed him absently as they made their way there, glancing over her shoulder to smile shyly at him. Maybe one day, if he proved himself, Ashton could sleep here, beside her...

That thought was as alluring as it was strangely uncomfortable. Wildfire banished it to the back of her mind as they reached the badger den. "This is it. I keep my collection in there," she told him, motioning toward the squat little den, "and here's the garden." The scent of freshly churned earth was thick in her nose as she moved to stand beside the little plot of ground. She had been so proud of her work just an hour ago, though now all she could see were the droopy, uneven, half-dead survivors of the storm. She frowned lightly.

Then she blurted, "Maybe I should start over. Maybe you can suggest some good plants to replant?" Wildfire asked, already beginning to uproot the few pathetic plants in the dirt and toss them onto the compost heap at the corner. She and Raven had done the planting the first time around, a thought which caused a prick of guilt. But then she reminded herself she was about to do the entire thing over with Ashton's help and she only felt fluttery again.

It was as if Ash hit a brick wall. Rendezvous site. That word echoed in his golden little handsome head, and simply stopped moving. 
He couldn't go.
He wasn't allowed to. 

Calling up ahead to the ember as she walked up to the badger den, the hippie reluctantly said to her,

"Well, I hate to be a downcast on your forecast sweetheart, but I'm not allowed somewhere near the rendezvous site. Dark Dude told me to keep off of em till I got a good pop in the Dera stop. "

Realizing it might hurt the feelings of the girl, he added a bit more helpfully,

"You wouldn't have been able ta grow anything in the den anyway, doll. Plants need air, sunlight, and water source. The den barely had air."

The Doctor waited patiently by the entrance of the site for her opinion on the matter.
Yea, little chickadee was adorable, but he paps wrath wasn't. Not only that, if he got caught, he couldn't just point his paw at the darkies daughter, and say 'she made me do it!'
Just wasn't right, let alone chill.

She was so caught up in uprooting her garden that she didn't realize Ashton wasn't even there until he called out to her. The pup lifted her head, ears twisting backward in surprise when he told her he wasn't welcome at the rendezvous site. Her brow furrowed at his next comment as her eyes dropped to her garden. Maybe he couldn't see it from where he was standing.

Hopping over the toiled earth, she jogged back up to him. "Did my parents tell you that? Well, it's at the edge, so it should be fine. I'm not trying to grow them in the den, they're just outside. Come see... please?" She didn't think her parents would mind if he stuck to the outskirts of the clearing and she really, really wanted to show him the raw earth and see what he had to say about it.

Ash mulled over the ordeal, his little clockwork touching in his head. Well, she did say it was the outskirts...
You're gonna do it, aren't you?
Well..
Didn't you just say you didn't wanna get nabbed?
She said it was the border. If it's border, everything should be ok, ya? 
Hurry up and get this over with.

Ash trotted over to the miniature wolf, and kept the anxiety at bay. As long as he got this over with quick, everything would be good. 
God, the worry.

The teen wiped it from his face as he came over. A grin on his new and a friendly tail wag were offered to get, and then he proceeded to inspect the dirt patch.

"That right there is a wild onion. Pretty good for stuffy noses, despite its strong smell. That over there is tree sailing. From the look of its little leaf, I think it's birch. I have no idea what that one is, or that one, but that little bundle over there is wild spinach. "

The golden dude pointed paw and nose at the corresponding plants, his medical expertise helping him along the way. He gave a verde glance to Wifi to see if she kept up with his explanations.
Didn't wanna diggy down the girl on something as minor as plant types.

He agreed to accompany her after all and Wildfire shot him a quick, bright smile before leading him to the little garden plot. Only one corner remained untouched and she moved toward it, preparing to uproot the rest of the pathetic plants there as quickly as possible. Then the male's deep timbre arrested her and she looked up at him, amber eyes curious as he identified the birch and wild onion and spinach. At least one of those rung a bell—likely one of Raven's clever contributions—but the others were news to her.

"Should I leave them?" she wondered, taking a step back. They were the only survivors of her unearthing. The rest lay in the compost heap. "I was gonna replant the whole thing, 'cause the storm pretty much ruined it," she explained to Ashton, the tip of her black tail twitching to and fro. "You can help me find some new stuff to put in here, right?" He already seemed very knowledgeable.

His little golden anxious butt was rewarded with a smile, and although it didnt erase the nervousness he had completely, it took a bit of the edge off. He was grateful for that, at least. 

After a swift look over the plants, he noted how the spinach was healthier than the rest of its green comrades, and made mind to save that one. The onions were beginning to wilt, and the other two were unchanged. The tree could survive several minutes out of dirt, it seemed.

"Yea, I got a couple of places that we can plant em in, and i'm kinda blue at the storm wrecking the plants crib like that. It sucks you gotta do all this to crib greens, but its gonna be worth it."

Ash said this without knowing how important the greens were gonna be in the future. 

"Lavender is something we can add to the collection, but they're over by my den. There were some Carrot roots north of that spot, and some really pretty tulip bulbs over by the caves.  Thats it, as far as i know of. "

Honestly, he felt better, talking to this amber eyed dudette. She helped him box up the turmoil in his chest, and push it aside for a moment. Got  him focused on something more...productive. Produce. 
He. Hehe.

I was thinkin' we could fade this here and have an updated one soon? :)

If she wouldn't have outed herself in the process, she would have told Ashton that she didn't care at all about replanting the garden, because it gave her time to get to know him better. She didn't mention this, of course, but she did say, "Stuff happens," and shrug to show him she wasn't overly bothered about it. "We'll plant an even better garden," she added optimistically.

He mentioned lavenders, carrots and tulips, then mapped out their specific locations. It sounded like she would get a lot of time with Ashton. Feeling giddy on the inside and trying her best not to give herself away, Wildfire said, "Will you show me?" The pup took a step toward him, hoping he would turn and lead the way, starting with the lavenders by his den. She wouldn't mind getting a peek at his crib, as he called it.

<< I definitely dont mind. :P  And ill be sending html links for Healer, now that i connected a usb keyboard to a tablet. xD     Last post. >>


The doctor was still unaware of her devious little background plans, and showed such with an enthusiastic grin. 
Poor Ash. 

"Rad, little Wifi. Let's paw the dusty trail, then."

He appreciated how understanding she was on the predicament to replanting, so he grabbed the plants gently in his maw, and began walking in the direction of the den.

Ladies weren't supposed to carry heavy burdens, anyway.  

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