Redhawk Caldera Wendigo

The threads I start will be named after the episodes of Supernatural because 1. I do not want to spend 10 minutes thinking of a thread name and 2. It's what Dean is based off of, so why not? This is also after Dean gets accepted into RHC.

Dean had liked to be alone, and the when he had joined he had stayed like that. He had found a nice little place to stay until he wanted to go out. Today was that day. He got up off of his makeshift bed that was a pile of leaves. His so called home was underneath a willow tree that had looked beautiful in the sunlight. He squinted his eyes when he moved outside the shade. The sun had been harsh on his eyes and he shook his head.

He went out to find someone he would like to talk to since isolating himself had made him a little lonely. He went over to a small creek that wasn't too far away so he could get some water in him. He liked the feeling of cold water going down his throat. He shook his fur and started to lick it the way it should go instead of having patches of flat fur and other patches that were going straight up. He had always told himself that he should look good when meeting someone new.

After finishing his grooming he shook his body and the fur had went the way he wanted it to. The sunlight hit Dean's fur in a way that made him look stunning. He could now go out without looking like a slob. He smiled and looked at his reflection in the water. The smile looked real, real enough to cover his true feelings inside. He stretched and started his way to go find a new wolf to talk to other than his brothers.

She did not linger following her tragic discovery in the bypass. Wildfire headed home, then stayed put. She would have to come up with a schedule for her forays. For instance, perhaps she would stay home all week and then let herself go on short weekend trips. She was turning this idea over in her mind as she wandered in the direction of the caldera's namesake feature to slake her thirst on this cool, crisp September afternoon.

When she reached it, she saw that she was not alone. Wildfire knew about her uncles but hadn't seen them much herself. Her dad had told her they might be having a tough time adjusting to pack life after nearly two years on the road. Bearing this in mind, the juvenile moved closer with a quiet, "Hey," and then bent down to take a long drink.

When she was done, she lifted her head and peered at the pale, silvery male. "Are you Dean or Ray?" she asked. He might be neither one, though she was pretty sure that, even with all her traveling, she knew everyone else in the pack. "I'm Wildfire." If he was who she thought he was, Wildfire could hardly wait to ask her uncle all about his previously nomadic lifestyle.

That two newcomers that arrived a little while ago had passed Nightjar by, maybe because they were so good at hiding themselves that only the alpha male had met them so far. Their scents had touched the borders once and the young guardian had noted it, but the smell had since faded and with it, his concern over them. As far as Nightjar was concerned, there were no new wolves in Redhawk Caldera. Peregrine might've mentioned them but, with no sign of them anywhere, the young male decided they were not here anymore.

So when during a walk his eyes caught the flash of white as Dean examined himself in the pool, it was with all out aggression that he approached. The only white wolf in the entire pack was Pantaleimon and Nightjar knew the male had gone out hunting that morning, so this was certainly not him. The adolescent thrust his ears forward, flared his hackles and snarled as he made his approach. Wildfire was already there, kindly addressing the white male, but Nightjar was all about getting down to business so he spared his sister nothing more than an acknowledging glance.

His first task was to assess whether or not Dean was supposed to be here. His second was to establish himself as higher ranked, something he thought Wildfire would join in on once Dean showed signs of submission. The pups were quickly approaching their ninth month, when they would enter in the ranks, and Nightjar had no intention of being beneath many of the adults in the pack. Certainly not a new one.

Dean turned around and saw a male coming closer to him that didn't look too happy to see him there and another that seemed very calm about the situation."I'm Dean. It's a pleasure to meet you Wildfire. What is your name?" He looked over at the male that looked like he was just about ready to pounce onto him and kill him before he had any chance of fighting back.

He smiled, even though his instincts told him to either get out of there or fight back. Maybe he could get him to warm up to Dean. That seemed unlikely at the current moment. A chill went up his spine as he could see the ferocious look in the male's eyes.

She saw a blur of red, black and white out of the corner of her eye and turned only to be met with a snarling, bristling Nightjar. Wildfire took a step back, even though she sensed the display wasn't meant for her. Her lips formed a questioning "o" shape as she wondered at her brother's aggressive approach. Had Dean done something to displease him?

Her amber eyes flicked to their uncle, who seemed entirely unflappable about the whole thing. Wildfire stared at him, wondering if he was oblivious. Then she saw the way he was carefully controlling himself. She found herself admiring his ability to smile and speak politely when faced with such hostility.

"NJ," Wildfire said, her voice firm, "this is our Uncle Dean. He and our other uncle, Ray, joined not long ago. Right?" She looked to Dean, willing him to placate her brother. Perhaps Nightjar's unfriendliness was due to the fact that neither of the new recruits had bothered integrating yet. Wildfire couldn't exactly blame Nightjar for his agitation and looked to Dean, hoping he might explain himself.

His throat reverberated with a sustained growl that only grew in pitch when the older wolf finally acknowledged him. Dean smiled. Nightjar did not. From this distance he could smell Peregrine and determined that the unfamiliar white wolf was indeed a recruit. The hostility left his display and his growl lost its sharp edge, but he remained bristling and tall with his tail arced high over his hindquarters. His stare remained level with the dog's own, an open challenge.

Wildfire's words caused him to tilt an ear toward her and he slid his gaze in her direction, but said nothing. He had no doubt his sister would now understand the purpose of his approach. Now it was unrelated to Dean's presence here. It had everything to do with his rank, which Nightjar had already decided was below him. That meant it was below Wildfire, too, whether or not his sister participate in the ritual dominance display. Nightjar would enforce it for the both of them.

He set a heavy paw forward, gauging Dean's reaction as his ears stiffened and his upper lip lifted silently over his teeth in an ambivalence display. He did not flash his tongue. No threat. It was all about the mind and Nightjar knew he was one hell of an intimidating wolf, being as large as his father and thickly built to boot. One or the other would back down under the perceived strength of their opponent and he didn't intend to be it.

Dean's instincts kicked in as the male wolf decided not to think about what Wildfire told him. His lips moved on their own and lifted over to show his pearl whites that looked more threat than the smile he had made before. His snow white fur puffed up and his body decided the right thing to do was fight. Dean had fought before, but that was long ago and when he was in a different pack with different rules. He could hear the blood in his head as adrenaline pumped through his veins.

A small growl escaped his throat."Why are you doing this? This is the first time I've met you." He looked over at Nightjar.

Although Wildfire read the implicit message in Nightjar's body language, it seemed Dean did not. At least, his question led her to believe he didn't understand, though he responded by adopting a threatening pose of his own. Perhaps he did realize that this was a pissing contest then and not some sort of personal attack.

Wildfire felt like the monkey in the middle. She took a few more steps backward, not wishing to interfere as the two males figured out their ranks among themselves. Although she looked forward to joining the adult ranks, Wildfire wasn't particularly concerned about where she fell in the scheme of things, at least not yet.

The young female did not leave the scene. Rather, she took a seat nearby, a little fascinated as she watched her brother's perhaps first actual attempt to jockey for rank among the pack's adult members. Although her parents had never named him an official heir, Wildfire silently supported his right to assert himself over almost anyone in the pack, save for their parents.

Dean's words fell on deaf ears, half-literally. His good ear didn't even turn in response to the male's voice. He was singularly focused on this, his assertion of his place, and missed the implication that this was some kind of fight scene or that Dean didn't deserve it. It wasn't so much about what Dean didn't deserve as it was about what Nightjar did deserve, or at least felt he deserved. Rank wasn't something he typically was concerned with—those who stood at the pack's head were well deserving of it and he hadn't dreamed of challenging any of them before—but when it came to newbies like Dean, there was a definite drive there and he rose to it.

Wildfire had nothing to say, and wasn't joining in. Though a little disappointed that his sister would happily settle below some newcomer, Nightjar didn't take his attention off Dean, who finally responded by bristling and growling. The adolescent rumbled back, pricking his ears as high as they would go and canting his head upward to demonstrate superiority. He glowered into the other male's eyes, using all the ferocity he could muster to pierce through the other wolf's determined gaze, and his lips wrinkled back. Again he kept his tongue behind his teeth, displaying no threat. Nothing but intimidation here, but it was surely a lot of it.

Her tongue ran slowly over her lips as Wildfire observed the face-off. She was biased in Nightjar's favor, although she had nothing against Dean, of course. It was nothing personal. She just believed her brother deserved to be recognized as an esteemed member of the pack. He was nearly an adult (they both were, along with Raven) and he didn't belong at the bottom of the heap simply by default anymore.

She idly wondered if it would come to blows. If it did, would one of them back down to avoid getting hurt unnecessarily? Wildfire held her breath without realizing it, amber eyes fixed on the uncle and nephew.

Sorry to skip and to make assumptions, but Dean's last post here was 20 days ago, so I'm just going to wrap this one up. Feel free to make your own wrap up posts, but this is Nightjar's exit.

The older male's ears faltered and that was all the encouragement Nightjar needed. He stepped forward, lifted his head even higher, and affirmed his place above Dean on the totem pole. The other male made no move to contest this and Nightjar, satisfied, dropped the posturing. In his eyes, he had won.

He shot Wildfire another glance, this time with a bit of a smile in it, and then turned and trotted away. Now that he'd confirmed Dean was a member of the caldera pack and had established their respective ranks, he had no further beef with the older male, and conversing wasn't really his forte. He had things to do, so he would leave Wildfire and their uncle to their chat.

Oops, I didn't even realize I posted out of turn until now! Well, I'll wrap this up for us. :)

The confrontation ended as abruptly as it had started, with Nightjar flashing her a quick smile before making his exit. Wildfire dipped her head before her amber eyes slowly returned to Dean's face. He looked a little put out but surely he would get over it quickly. The life if a wolf was defined by its rank and it was fairly typical to jockey for it, old and new members alike. She offered him a small smile to remind him that it was nothing personal and that the encounter shouldn't color his whole take on Redhawk Caldera.

Offering diplomacy where her brother hadn't, Wildfire said, "Hey, let's go for a tour. I'll keep it short, I promise. We'll just hit the hot spots. Come on." Gesturing for her pale uncle to follow her, she began to walk, inquiring about his travels and his darker brother even as they vanished into the caldera's interior.