Redhawk Caldera The jig is up, the news is out

for anyone :D if anything needs changed or moved lemme know!

This was her second time standing on these borders for pretty much the same reason and she wondered briefly if her call would be recognized.  It had been a couple of weeks since she'd carted Pan back here.  Likely not.

She'd at first considered simply leaving it and moving on.  If the woman had thought to tug her heartstrings and give her a compelling reason to come, she should have appealed to her stomach, not her sentimentality.  But as she went, she found her path leading east regardless and put it to that being where she intended to head anyway.  Right.

This time she was going to press the damn issue though.  These stingy wolves could spare a bite for someone who had aided not one but two of their obviously accident-prone group.  A scrap. A morsel.  Something.  If not she sure as hell wasn't coming back for thirds.  She didn't care if it was Red herself begging.

With such lofty, sure thoughts heartening her, she lifted her muzzle and called.  It was a pressing summons that spoke of importance.  She hadn't exactly strained herself to get here, but she hadn't done her normal dallying either.  At least this time she could avoid on the retrieval step.  Let them do the heavy lifting and bring miss sunshine back.  Roz would be long gone by then.

She could still taste the elk's blood on her lips. It tasted like womanhood (erg, not the period kind). Last night's hunt was one of the final milestones on the path to adulthood and Wildfire had never felt more grown up. But there was a limit to the pleasure she could take in the experience. Finley hadn't been there. Her godmother still hadn't been found. The youth could tell that the pack was on the verge of giving up hope.

Well, she wouldn't stop looking. At the very least, she would make another sweep before accepting her aunt's fate. Sure, her paw was still bothering her somewhat and walking endlessly was just about the last thing she should do, yet the Outrider didn't care. Nourished by the blood of one of her first major kills and filled with a sense of familial duty, she headed energetically toward the borders, favoring her bad paw slightly.

She found someone waiting there. Wildfire paused perhaps half a mile away and squinted at the figure, watching as it raised its head and issued a howl. The voice was feminine... and familiar. Roz? Wildfire thought, head tilting as she began to jog in the she-wolf's direction. She was no Warden but, well, she was close by and she knew this wolf.

"Roz? What brings you here?" the juvenile wondered as she drew nearer, black tail arched but only slightly and ears pricked forward expectantly.

Another day, another call from a stranger at the borders. Elwood responded dutifully, his paws carrying him to his destination swiftly and efficiently, but without any gusto. There wasn't much pep in his step these days, although he often tried to fake it for Eljay. He didn't want the boy to see how unhappy he was.

His ears pricked when he spotted Wildfire beelining towards a dark-coated she-wolf. The outrider was a blur of red against the landscape, and Elwood was just close enough to hear her give the interloper a familiar greeting as he approached. Assuming that this was just someone that Wildfire knew from her travels, he came to a stop just behind his niece, yellow eyes resting expectantly on Roz as he waited for her answer.

Damn they were prompt.  She had barely shut her mouth when the start of her welcome party showed up, and she was pleased to see that it would be little red she'd be dealing with rather than tall, dark, and stingy.  As she greeted her by name, another came behind but remained silent.  Lucky that, she doubted that the young outrider could have gotten her packmate alone.  In fact, they might want to call in a few more.

What was her name again?  It was lost to her.  It didn't matter, she wasn't here on a social call anyway.  "I found another one of your wolves, a ways west of here.  Figured I should let you know.  She's a little rough, so will need help."  And not just physically, she thought wryly.  Have fun with that one.  Though maybe she wouldn't be so snappy with friends and family.  In which case Roz would be honored the acid was reserved for her sake.

"You might want to call in the calvary.  If you have to carry her, that won't be a cakewalk."  She sat down, her duty done and news delivered.  She'd probably have to give location details, see about a little something for her trouble, and scoot out double quick.  She wasn't keen on running into Red or Pan on their home turf... better if things stayed on neutral ground.

Unaware of Roz's involvement with Pan's return (she would have balked at the irony of Roz finding both wolves she'd personally failed to locate), Wildfire's brow furrowed slightly when she mentioned finding another of their wolves. Then what she'd said actually sank in and Wildfire's brows nearly shot off her face. The youth picked out the keywords: west, rough, needs help.

Wildfire spoke right over the she-wolf as she joked about a cavalry. "Finley? You found Finley?" she asked, hoping Roz would confirm the name. Her amber eyes darted to her uncle behind her, dark tail breaking into a hopeful wag before she looked to Roz again. "Small, gray, black stripe? And she's alive!?" she pressed, starting to dance on the spot even as she turned her smudged muzzle toward the west as if she might bolt at any moment.

Elwood regarded the she-wolf with mild disinterest until she expressed her reason for visiting. It took a moment for the words to sink in, but his eyes widened and he lifted his head with surprise. She had found one of their wolves -- a female -- it had to be Finley. He felt the strangest mixture of relief and panic swirling in his belly; "she's a little rough," Roz said, which indicated that Finley was injured. But she was alive, and from Roz's tone, it didn't seem that she had encountered too much harm.

Wildfire was already springing into action, pressing the chocolate-coated female for more details. "Where is she?" he asked, his heart rate accelerating. It sounded as though they would need more assistance; his mind whirled as he started to put together a plan. Maybe he could recruit Pan or Raven to stay with Eljay, as he didn't know how long this excursion would take, and perhaps Peregrine would come along with them. He briefly found himself wishing that Sebastian was still around, because the bulky male's size and strength certainly would have been an asset, but the thought was fleeting.

"How much help does she need?" he then questioned, taking an anxious step towards Roz.

Finley.  Had she gotten a name?  If she had, it was as lost as little red's was to the Rivaini.  But the description fit, so she nodded.  How likely was it that there were two small, grey, missing wolves with that sort of stripe?  The younger one seemed ready to dart off without further ado, but her older compadre gave the expected response.  More questions.  She'd have been more annoyed if she hadn't been expecting them.

"Due west, at the base of the mountains.  And I'm no doctor."  She shrugged.  "I just know she probably isn't going anywhere fast."  Her golden eyes locked onto him and she knew if she was going to get anything from this encounter, now was the chance.  As soon as they called, she'd need to make herself scarce.  "Look, maybe you guys could spare something for my trouble?  It was a trip and I didn't really stop to hunt."  She delivered the request in a somewhat offhand manner, but her ears and eyes were sharp for the response.  If they took offense, she'd have to book it out.... though maybe, when they went to retrieve their packmate, she'd have time to take a look around.  Sometimes you had to make your own luck.

But more likely was the fact she'd wind up empty.  Packs weren't quite the suckers lone predators were when it came to snatching spoils.  She wasn't even sure she'd risk it should the opportunity arise.

If Wildfire had been wearing pants, she might have wet them. She was so eager to go find her aunt, she was trembling slightly. Her attention span had dropped by half. Only when Roz made an offhand comment about food did the youth even look at her again. She blinked as if perplexed by the mundane request, then forced a smile onto her face. Of course the pack could spare a hunk of meat for her effort. If Roz wanted a whole leg of bison, Wildfire would have dragged one out for her, if not for the fact that she was about to burst at the seams.

"Sure, I'll grab something real quick," she said a bit distractedly, then shot a glance at her uncle. "If that's okay with you?" Her parents probably would have minded, yet Wildfire wouldn't begrudge Roz a bite. Still, Elwood was her superior and a Gamekeeper to boot, so she would defer to his judgment call on the matter.

Elwood nodded as Roz gave a slightly more detailed description of Finley's location. He glanced at Wildfire, knowing that she would undoubtedly have the best route to take them to their destination. Before they could leave, however, Roz had one more request. He flicked an ear as he regarded her. It wasn't an unreasonable one, and he nodded his head at Wildfire.

"Yes, of course. Go ahead. Quick," he said. She would be able to pluck a little something from a nearby cache, and then they could be on their way. He shifted his gaze back to Roz. "I can't thank you enough," he said, mostly speaking to fill the silence while Wildfire was gone. "Finley is my mate. How did you find her?" he asked. He flexed his toes into the earth, feeling antsy as adrenaline pumped through his veins.

They agreed readily and she sat down, now at ease with the situation.  Yes, victory!  A spot to eat and a decent welcome.  Maybe this wasn't such a bad day after all.  Her golden eyes followed the younger one as she went to fetch something, but she couldn't hide her small bit of surprise that this agreeable guy was her mate. That must be a pair.

"She wasn't too hard to find. Howling loud enough to wake half the territory. Figured if I wanted any peace I should probably get her gone." Against the alternative of silencing her, of course, but Roz didn't bring up that offer she'd given. This was her mate and she wasn't stupid.

As soon as Elwood gave her the green light, Wildfire dashed off in the direction of the nearest cache. It was hard to focus once she got there, as her mind was spinning. A bit absently, she grabbed whatever was on top—it happened to be most of a raccoon carcass—and quickly spun on her heel to gallop back to where Roz and her uncle stood waiting.

She dropped the meat at Roz's feet, shot her a quick and slightly breathless smile, then looked to Elwood. "Let's go...?" she said to him, already taking a step.

Elwood's lips nearly twitched into a smile as Roz answered his question. Finley was a loudmouth even when she was in one piece, so he imagined she had make quite a ruckus once she got hurt. He half wondered why they hadn't been able to hear her, though the caldera itself was likely too far from Moonspear for the sound to carry. And, unfortunately, her cries for help hadn't coincided with Wildfire's search.

As soon as his niece returned and deposited Roz's reward at her feet, he was ready to go. "Yeah," he replied to Wildfire, then quickly turned back to Roz. He was certain that she would take her meat and go; she didn't seem the type to linger on someone else's borders or cause any trouble. He got the impression that she liked to keep to herself and that it was only Finley's persistence that had resulted in her help. "Thank you again, Roz," he said with with a quick dip of his muzzle, then he turned and gestured to Wildfire to lead the way. As soon as she took off, he would be hot on her heels.

my last post!

She licked her lips eagerly as Wildfire approached with her prize, and her tail gave a light wave of satisfied happiness as it was laid before her.  Tipping her head to them both, she delivered a single "Good luck!"  before grabbing it and trotting away.  She'd put some distance between herself and their claim before settling in to enjoy the treat, figuring they'd appreciate it.  Least she could do, being in such a congenial mood now.  She could hardly wait, the meat filling her sense with a heady sort of high.  The hungrier one was, it seemed, the better everything tasted.