Redhawk Caldera kiss on your boo-boo's

AW /  @Peregrine , if you want a visit from minitwig? :D (daddy Elwood, I npc'd you - if anything needs changing, let me know!) if you want you are also welcome to pop in :3

It was quite a while since Uncle P. had visited, and so little Elwood had come to ask after his uncle's whereabouts. Upon finding out that Uncle P. had an accident, little Elwood did not understand much of it, but decided that he wanted to see Uncle P. anyway. If Peregrine could not come to him, then little Elwood would just have to go to Peregrine! But not alone, of course. That would be far too scary.

And so little Elwood set off, sticking close to @Elwood , who escorted him. On the way there, the pup watched the surroundings. With widened eyes did he see various bowled over trees and crumbled lands, way bigger on scale than what he had seen so far, near his parents' den. He did not understand that these were damages from the storm, however, thinking that this was simply what these areas always looked like.

Before they reached the rendezvous site, little Elwood made sure to stop so that he could find something to bring Uncle P., so that he might feel better quicker. He picked some frumpy-looking flowers that looked like the storm and rains hadn't done them much, their stems cracked and with only half the petals on the flower, after deciding: "Prilly!". Elwood had carefully suggested bringing flowers that looked better, but little Elwood had stared up at his dad, then said, "Nuh," and had waddled off in the direction they were going into, then waiting for his father to join him so that he could stick himself back to his father's side: with the crumpy storm-touched flowers in his mouth.

Upon reaching the rendezvous site, little Elwood looked up at his father and, with a bit of encouragement, he put down his flowers briefly and called out: "Nunkie Pee!", hoping that his uncle would make himself known. Little Elwood quickly grabbed his crummy bunch of flowers in his mouth again and waited for a response, hoping he'd soon find Nunkie Pee!

Good lord, he's adorable.

Day by day, he was improving both in his abilities and his mood. Peregrine wouldn't call himself happy by any means, but he was finally adjusting. As a matter of fact, he could walk around the rendezvous site without tripping or falling now. It was a matter of adapting to his lack of depth perception and memorizing the lay of the land. That's what he was doing now: strolling ever so slowly around the edge of the clearing, concentrating so hard that nary a thought drifted through his head.

"Nunkie Pee!" He looked up, turning his face sideways to watch Elwood and Elwood Jr stride into view. He shot his Beta male a quick smile, then managed a genuine grin for his little nephew (at least, that's what Peregrine considered him). He wanted to trot toward the boy, yet he let the pair come to him, lest he fall, maybe even on top of the puny pup himself. The Alpha didn't want to take that kind of risk.

"Hey, mini El. What'cha got there?" Peregrine asked, dropping his belly to the ground and keeping his head angled to better see the growing youngster.

*squishes Eljay*

Elwood had been pleasantly surprised when Eljay suggested that they go visit Peregrine. It had taken him a moment to interpret his son's nickname for the Alpha -- Nunkie Pee -- but once he had figured it out, he had been more than eager to accompany the boy. He wanted to see how little Elwood interacted with other adults -- and beyond that, it would provide him with the opportunity to check on the recently impaired Peregrine. The thought of the blood clot oozing out of Peregrine's eye still made him shudder, but he pushed the image out of his mind.

When they arrived at the rendezvous site and spotted the Redhawk leader, Elwood let Eljay take charge. He fell back a few steps, returning Peregrine's grin as they approached but remaining quiet for the time being. Elwood Jr had seemed particularly excited to visit Nunkie Pee and to present him with the flowers he had painstakingly gathered all by himself and big Elwood certainly wasn't going to overshadow that.

Little Elwood shot uncle Peregrine a funny look when he was greeted as 'Mini El', a new name in the line of many names that were given to the pup. For several weeks since discovering his tongue the pup had referred to himself as 'I' alone, not choosing a moniker, but since a few days he had started to use names for himself. They were not always the same, but Elwoof seemed to be one of his favourites. He would often swap however, and at times he would be found reciting all of his given names to himself, as though he were testing which one he liked the most, at times changing demeanor as he recited one that made him feel something, positive or negative.

Regardless, while Elwoof added mini El to the mental list of names, he picked up the battered-looking flowers, shot his father a quick look, and then waddled towards where Uncle P had just lain down on the ground. His little tail wiggled in rare excitement and he put down the flowers in front of his uncle. With ears flattened against skull in excitement Elwoof licked Uncle P's nose a couple of times before he seemed to calm down again and said: "Elwoof" -- this he said somewhat proudly, for he had recently learned his name and "I" were interreplaceable, "likee Nunkie Pee goodhur." The pup nudged the flowers, with their broken stems and half the petals missing, the remaining ones growing a little stale and brown because they were dying, forward with his nose. "Prilly fows!" And he looked expectantly at Uncle P, hoping he would like them as much as Elwoof liked them himself.

The pup waddled toward him, presenting him with the makeshift bouquet and babbling a few babyish words at him. Peregrine smiled. He was fairly adept at translating baby speak after two litters, so he easily deciphered the boy's meaning and replied, "They're very prilly. Did you pick them yourself? Thanks, bud." He enjoyed the toddler's kisses, then responded with a single sloppy swipe of his tongue across the little Pi's head.

"Thanks for dropping by," he said to Elwood Sr, "and for undoubtedly picking up my slack," Peregrine added. He would ideally train Nightjar to succeed him, yet in the meantime, Elwood was the most capable stand-in, formally or otherwise. Peregrine knew all three of his co-leaders were doing more around the caldera in wake of his accident, yet there was probably a special kind of pressure on the Beta male in particular.

Elwood watched with amusement dancing on his features as "Elwoof" toddled up to Peregrine and expressed his preference for the Alpha male. He didn't realize it, but this was quite a milestone -- the boy was still timid and shy, but he had taken a lot of initiative so far, in wanting to visit Peregrine and now presenting him with a gift. Like a pro, Peregrine responded to the child's mispronounced statement as though he had spoken every word clearly, thanking him for the present and giving him a lick between the ears.

The Beta then perked up as he was addressed. "No problem," he replied, wondering just how he looked to Peregrine. He couldn't imagine losing half of his vision, although it seemed that the swarthy wolf was coping. Whatever the situation, Elwood was always willing to step up for his leaders and he appreciated the fact that Peregrine acknowledged that. Slowly, he sank onto his belly, his yellow gaze shifting back to "Elwoof" as he waited to see what the pup would do next.

When Uncle P asked if he'd picked them himself, little Elwoof nodded. "Yas!" he confirmed. He looked over his shoulder at daddy a moment, and then watched Uncle P and daddy as they engaged in conversation. Hopefully the pritty flowers would soon make Uncle P feel better! In response to the bigger, slobbery lick he received from his uncle, the pup giggled a short "heehee".

"Hungy," said little Elwood as he looked up at his daddy. They'd made quite the walk -- longer than the pup had travelled on foot before -- and mommy wasn't anywhere near. The pup looked around to see if there was any meat anywhere for him, so that his tummy hungy could be fixed.

Although the two Elwoods' company did cheer him, the boy's exclamation of "Hung'y!" caused a sharp pang in his chest. Normally, he wouldn't have thought twice about grabbing Elwood Jr a snack, something fresh to nourish him. The Alpha could barely hunt right now, though, and even the nearby caches were low. He grimaced to himself, then looked to Elwood, trying to avoid the burning sensation beneath the ashy fur of his cheeks.

To distract himself, Peregrine joked to Elwood Jr, "Hmmm, how hungry are you? Hungry enough to eat this?" and dangled a bearlike paw in the boy's face, toes wiggling.

"Hungy!" Elwoof suddenly exclaimed, and his father rolled his eyes playfully. He should have thought to feed the youngster before they left home. But perhaps this would be a good learning opportunity; the boy had been slow to accept meat and still seemed to prefer the taste of his mother's milk. Since Finley wasn't there, Elwoof would be forced to eat whatever Elwood and Peregrine provided to him.

Although he had just relaxed, he pushed himself up into a sitting position as Peregrine offered his paw for Elwoof to gnaw on. He chuckled, then quietly said, "I'll be right back," and slipped away. He felt completely comfortable leaving his son in the Alpha's care. He used his nose to locate a nearby cache, but soon found that there wasn't much there as he pawed away the dirt. The Beta made a mental note to step up his gamekeeping and try to replenish the stores near the rendezvous site, but for now was satisfied with the single rabbit leg he plucked from the soil. It would be enough to hold Elwoof over until they returned to the densite.

With the small appendage clutched safely in his jaws, he returned to his son and friend and deposited the meat near Elwoof.

The pup looked at daddy as he said he'd be right back, fully expecting him to go and get mommy for him. Little Elwood was distracted from his daddy's departure by Uncle Peregrine, who dangled a paw in front of him.

"Noooooo!" said little Elwood, the word coming out between chortled giggles, as if Uncle P. was the silliest wolf in the whole world for suggesting he eat a paw.

When daddy returned, the pup turned round, but he didn't see mommy anywhere. "Moomy?" he asked his father quizzically.

Elwood Jr vehemently denied Peregrine's proffered paw, which caused the Alpha to playfully scoff, "Well! You must not be that hungry then." His lips twitched into a smile and he wiggled his toes again as if to suggest, You sure you don't want to try a little bite?

Then the original Elwood showed up with some real food and Peregrine's eyes shifted to the rabbit leg, then back to the pup as he questioned, "Moomy?" Misunderstanding him, the swarthy wolf bobbed his head and said, "Yeah, moo meat. Mm-mm! Eat up. Remember: it makes you big and strong. Although my paw would have made you even stronger," he quipped with a wink of his good eye.

Elwood couldn't help but frown slightly as Eljay's first request upon his return was for Finley. He wasn't surprised, but he had hoped that Nunkie Pee would be enough of a distraction. Peregrine played along, however, encouraging little Elwoof to eat, and big Elwood quickly changed his demeanor. He adopted a more positive expression and tone of voice as he reached down to nudge the small piece of meat towards his son.

"No, Moomy's not here, but look! Don't you want to eat some so you can grow big and strong like Uncle Peregrine -- Nunkie Pee?" he said brightly, giving Peregrine a cheeky grin as he spoke the Alpha's nickname aloud.

Peregrine said something about the food, though the little Elwoof didn't really feel like it much. He wanted mommy-milk, because it was much tastier and he loved mommy and wanted to be with her. But she wasn't here; why hadn't daddy gone to fetch her instead of this meat?

Little Elwoof looked at the meat, looking a little disgruntled. He looked back at Uncle Peregrine when said wolf was mentioned, as though to confirm how big and strong his uncle really was, then back to the meat with a pondering look on his face. He really wanted mommy-drinks, but maybe this would do, for now. They could go home soon to mommy.

He didn't even really wanted to be big and strong. He just wanted mommy. "Moomy," mumbled little Elwoof while he looked at the piece of meat and started to nibble on it with a grumbly face. He wasn't even that hungry anymore.

The pup didn't seem particularly amused by his uncle's antics or the meat proffered to him. The second time he asked for moomy, it clicked in Peregrine's head. He glanced up at the pup's father even as the Beta male strongly encouraged his boy to try the meat. Peregrine hadn't really realized how much trouble the pair was having weaning Elwood Jr off not only his mother's milk but his mother, period.

"You're a big boy, Elwood," the Alpha complemented Elwood Sr's coaxing, "and the more meat you eat, the bigger you'll get. Maybe one day you can be a big, strong leader like your mom and dad. What do you think?"

The pup reluctantly started to nibble at the meat, even as the older males encouraged him. Elwood reclined back onto his haunches, pleased that his son was giving any effort at all. He was learning to pick his battles, but this was something that he had to stand his ground on. His ears twisted towards Peregrine as the Alpha male suggested that Elwood Jr might grow up to be a leader someday, and he nodded his head enthusiastically.

"And Moomy will be so happy to see how big and strong you got while she was gone," he said, hoping to play off of Eljay's strong preference for his mother.

The grouchy look on little Elwoof's face remained while he nibbled on the meat, looking like he was barely giving it a chance. He didn't want this, but nobody was going to give him anything else, it seemed. Maybe if Nunkie P hadn't been here, Elwoof would've resorted to crying and begging and shouting for mommy, but as things were, at least a little part of him wanted to prove that he was as big and strong as Nunkie P said he was, and so the tantrum didn't happen.

"Elwoof want moomy," he said then, as though he didn't realise that it was clear to the adults that that was what he wanted. "Howoo moomy-hyyy!" he continued on, now looking at his father imploringly with big watery eyes as he pleaded for him to call mommy to their very location right this instant. He'd been fine being without mommy before, when he was busy picking the flowers and bringing them to Nunkie P, but now that that was all good and done, he suddenly found the urge to be with mommy again.

The Alpha recognized an incoming temper tantrum when he saw one. Unsure of how Elwood would handle it—was he the type to give his son his way or would he employ tough love? Somehow, Peregrine couldn't imagine the latter—he would say nothing until the Beta gave him some sort of cue. He neither soothed nor scolded Elwood Jr as he began to wail for his mother, just looked at him and hoped that this whole thing would blow over quickly—for the boy's sake, as well as his father's and uncle's.

It's naptime at school and one of my kids isn't sleeping...he just looked up at me with big, sad Elwoof eyes and said, "I want my mommy." Perfect timing as I'm writing this post, haha!

It seemed that the more they mentioned Finley, the more upset Elwood Jr got. Obviously, that wasn't the appropriate tactic; Elwood winced as the boy started to whine for his mother, tears forming quickly in his eyes. How was he ever going to learn to be away from her if he couldn't even bear being separated for an hour or two?

"Moomy's busy right now, Elwood, but when we are done visiting with Uncle Peregrine we will go find her," he said, keeping his voice calm yet firm. He gazed down at his son, hoping that setting up something of a schedule would help him cope with his feelings. "Would you like to take a walk with Uncle Peregrine, or do you want to pick more flowers?" he asked; maybe providing Elwoof with some choices -- that had nothing to do with meat, milk, or Moomy -- would make the pup feel as though he had some control over the situation (when in reality, he didn't!).

Lmao, perfect <3

Elwoof turned to look between Nunkie P and daddy. Nunkie P seemed like he didn't want to have anything to do with this, and anyway, daddy was the one who could make mommy reappear, so Elwoof focussed his attention on daddy for now. He said that they'd go see mommy later, but Elwoof wanted to see her right "Noooow!", he demanded with an unhappy frown.

Daddy then offered two different options, and although neither were options the upset child wanted, he was easily distracted, as children were, by them. He sniffled the tears away and, after a brief moment of contemplation, the pup said: "Flows wif Nunkie Pee." His hunger was momentarily forgotten, and although mommy was not, for now picking flowers with daddy and Nunkie P would do.

Elwood tried to distract his mini-me by giving him a few options (none of which had to do with finding moomy). He promised his son they could go look for Finley afterward. Peregrine peered at Elwood Jr a bit pensively, wondering how he would react. Beyond a solitary wail of complaint, the tactic appeared to work on him. After a sniff, he declared he wanted to pick flowers with Peregrine, which caused the Alpha's face to break into a grin.

"I'm down. Maybe..." His voice trailed away into thoughtful silence for a moment before he suggested, "Maybe we could somehow make an eye patch out of some of them? I dunno how," he admitted, glancing at Elwood Sr before dropping his gaze back down to the little boy's level, "but I'd be like some sort of fierce, flowery pirate. What do you think?" He wondered if Elwood Jr would think anything of it. Although acknowledging his new handicap was tough, he wouldn't mind explaining to the youngster if he inquired.

Although Eljay was still upset, he was successfully distracted from thoughts of Moomy by the activities Elwood had offered. He sniffled and then decided that he wanted to pick more flowers. Elwood smiled, his tail waving over his back. "Good choice, buddy!" he praised, shifting his gaze to Peregrine as the Alpha elaborated on the task.

He chuckled. Surely Elwood Jr would be up for making his uncle into a "fierce, flowery pirate." He had refrained from really mentioning Peregrine's handicap to him, as he wasn't sure how he was coping with it, but it was good to see that he was able to refer to it in a lighthearted manner. He then glanced at Eljay, waiting for him to take the lead; there were plenty of flowers scattered throughout the nearby grasses, so it would be up to the pup to select the prettiest for Peregrine's eyepatch.

The pup looked confused when Nunkie P suggested they could make an 'eyepatch' to make him a 'pirate'. There were so many questions, and the confusion was evident on Elwoof's face. Daddy seemed amused by this notion -- not his son being confused, but the pirate-eyepatch thing -- and Elwoof frowned while he considered whether or not to ask.

Eventually he asked carefully: "Wha's ipad?" Of course mauling up the word completely in the process.

Before anyone could answer, Elwoof got distracted by a nearby flower, which looked perfect for using. Elwoof was quick to clumsily gallop over to a pink flower with a broken stem which was beginning to look a little crummy already; probably snapped during the storms too. It was perfect, and so Elwoof picked it dilligently and retrieved it towards his uncle and daddy to show them.

Peregrine wanted to laugh at Elwood's bungled question. Instead, he tipped his head as if seriously contemplating the answer. He then broke into a smile and simply said, "We have to find a bunch of flowers, then I'll show you." Hopefully that promise would compel the boy to cooperate.

It worked like magic. No sooner were those words out of the Alpha's mouth than the pup zeroed in on a flower with a broken stem. Peregrine shadowed him, then beamed broadly when the youngster came back to present it. "Awesome find! Now I need about, hm... maybe eleventy-two more of these. Think we can find that many?"

The pup seemed to be momentarily confused by the idea of an eyepatch -- or "ipad" -- but didn't give either adult a chance to answer his question. Instead, a particular flower caught his eye, and he pounced for it, making it hard to believe that he had been upset only a few seconds before. He plucked the flower and proudly carried it back towards his father and uncle, little tail waving over his back.

Elwood grinned as Peregrine complimented the boy on his find, then urged him to find more. "Eleventy-two" was a big enough number to keep Elwoof busy for a short while, at least until he got tired enough that his father could hopefully carry him home with little to no protest. "I'll help you," Elwood offered, lowering his nose to the ground and moving slowly towards the patch of brightly colored blooms.

Elwoof looked at Nunkie Pee, but it looked like they would need a lot more flowers to make whatever they needed to make. Elwoof put down the flower by Nunkie P's side, and then he rushed towards a nearby patch of flowers. Daddy followed suit, saying he would help.

While picking out flowers, Elwoof retrieved a variety of them: some pretty, some broken, one dead one. If daddy tried to pick one himself, Elwoof would say "No, duhddy!" because obviously daddy knew nothing about picking flowers, and then he would continue to pick them out himself, refusing any flowers daddy might pick out, until he had a bunch laying by Nunkie Pee's side.