Moonspear took a walk

Attn: @Wildfire. On the borders. ;)

After feeling mildly lost on at least four separate occasions, Fox thought she had finally found the place where Wildfire now resided. Her scent, what little was here, was so different from what it had once been. Fox would not have been able to articulate how it was different; it just was. She had not seen her lookalike daughter since she had departed (perhaps even a bit before), and the distance between them felt like it only grew greater. Stone-hearted Fox missed her daughter. So she'd taken directions from whoever would give them to her and had set off toward Moonspear.

And now, here she was, standing on somebody else's doorstep. It was such a strange, foreign feeling. The ruddy red wolf shook her coat to rid herself of some of the anxiety and stress that had built up on her way here, then called out for her brightest daughter. Then, she sat, waiting for that call to be answered.

The air was painfully cold, although Wildfire found that if she stayed on the move, her blood stayed hot, circulating to warm the rest of her body. She actually liked the brisk temperature. It was refreshing, even cleansing. She also enjoyed the way her breath furled from the tip of her snout like a wisp of smoke. Not to mention the snow! When she touched it to see if it was as soft as it looked, it melted. When she tried to sniff it, it melted. When she tried to taste it, it most certainly melted. It was ethereal, and oh so beautiful. Despite all the warnings about the harshness of the cold season, Wildfire was turning out to be a fan of winter.

Game was a bit scarcer, though, and it took longer than usual for the young she-wolf to find a scent. When she did, she traced a gopher to its underground burrow. When she arrived at its mouth, she thrust her muzzle inside and snuffled. Wildfire figured the rodent might be too deep to bother, yet she was rewarded with a painful bite to the soft tissue of her nose. She swallowed a yelp, then growled and began digging. Eventually, she exposed several inches of the small dugout and was able to snare the fat gopher even as it attempted to flee.

Her prize swinging from her jaws, Wildfire began to seek out the nearest cache. That was when a howl reached her ears, causing her to freeze in her tracks. Immediately, her heart leaped into her throat. Mom! she thought, gazing off into the distance. She hesitated, then began to trot toward the borders. She felt strangely jellylike as she made her way toward her mother. She had planned to visit the caldera when she was emotionally prepared. Somehow, she had never expected any of them to come to her.

As soon as she spotted the blazing red figure ahead, Wildfire suddenly broke into a sprint, then unceremoniously spat out the dead gopher when she closed the gap. "Hey!" she shouted a bit awkwardly. She expected an onslaught of varying emotions but the only one that really rose to the surface was pleasure at seeing her mother's familiar face. "How are you?" she asked with sudden and bright-eyed vehemence, thrusting her snout deep into the other female's ruff.

Fox tried to recall when, exactly, she had last seen Wildfire. As usual, she couldn't remember what had been going on last time she'd seen her (nor was it cause for concern). Her memory was never all that great when it came down to the tiny details. She was far better at remembering grand story arcs. Soon enough, the red-headed stepchild came running toward her, and Fox's grey eyes lit up, her tail wagging with delight. There were zero hard feelings on Fox's side, and she would hope that Wifi felt the same. Judging by her reaction, she'd have to guess that she was correct.

The Redhawk allowed Wildfire a second to process (something it looked like she clearly needed) before answering her question. Fox replied with an "oof!" first, surprised by the sudden weight of Wifi against her. "I'm just fine," she said, expression changing from surprise to contentment. "Your father and siblings are good, too. And the rest of the Redhawk clan, of course." That included Finley, Elwood, and the rest of the usual gang. "We had a bit of a nasty cold come through, but nothing too serious." She paused then, pulling back to look at Wifi. Maybe she hadn't grown up, but she'd certainly started to fill out. "And how are you?" she asked.

The instant Fox said the word "siblings," Wildfire's heart began fluttering in her chest. Her amber eyes immediately dropped to her mother's slender abdomen, then back up to her face. Had she given birth? Did Wildfire have little brothers and sisters back at the caldera? Somehow, she had been missing her parents, Nightjar and Raven (and the rest of them) too much to recollect about younger siblings. But her curiosity burned as bright as a flame, flicking in her chest.

"Did you have them? The pups, I mean?" she asked breathlessly without answering Fox's question. She tittered sheepishly, then added, "I'm good. Really good, actually. Things have been going well here. I got my adult rank not too long ago. Oh, and I switched my trades up some. I'm a hunter now." Her chest puffed up ever so slightly. Surely her mother would take that nugget of information back to Peregrine, who would hopefully be proud of his little redhead.

"Oh gosh, no," Fox replied. "It didn't take. And thank goodness for that. They wouldn't have had a good chance at life like you and your brother and sister did." Fox had been ever-so-relieved when the signs had not come. It was better this way. In the springtime, her body permitting, she and Peregrine would try again. For now, they needed to focus on getting through the toughest season of them all: winter. This was her third winter that she could recall, and she knew what to expect from it: scarce prey, freezing nights, and short days.

"Just like Dud," Fox noted when Wildfire rattled off her latest accomplishment. Peregrine would be proud, and Fox would most certainly let him know when she returned to Redhawk Caldera. "I'm glad you're fitting in here, even if we miss you back home. I swear I'm not trying to guilt trip you"—okay, maybe a little—"or convince you to come back. It's just not the same without my mini-me around." Nor would it ever be. But Fox knew better than to drag her daughter off when she was doing just fine here. Besides, it wasn't that far away. "You can come visit us, though. Not on the inside, but like this."

Wildfire's heart skipped a beat at her mother's reply, not sure what she meant at first. Fox explained that the pregnancy hadn't taken. She didn't seem perturbed by this development; in fact, she confessed relief. The young adult blinked and let out a quiet breath. She felt a pang of disappointment. Then she remembered a previous conversation, where her mother had indicated that she would birth another litter come springtime. Hopefully the puppies were still in the plan for her parents.

Her head bobbed when Fox pointed out that she had taken after her father by picking up the trade. "Yeah, I guess I sort of rebooted a bit when I came here. I figure he'll be happy to hear about that part, though," she said humbly, amber gaze dropping to her paws momentarily before lifting again. Her lips twitched at Fox's comment. "I miss you—all of you—too. And the caldera." But her place was at Moonspear now, though that was understood, so she didn't say it.

She experienced another pang when Fox gently reminded her that she could pay a visit at their borders. "I know. I've been meaning to come by. I just wanted to make sure I was ready. I, um... did NJ tell you about the day I left...?" She had asked her brother to come clean to their parents and he had said he would. Wildfire figured he had kept his word. "It was hard at first. I'm sorry it's been so long, though. It really is good to see you." And she couldn't help but go in for another embrace, burying her face in her dam's red, silken ruff.

"He told Dud," Fox replied with a small frown. She had not exactly condoned Nightjar's actions, but she could understand where he was coming from. He was young and still learning the finer aspects of interacting with others. Fox would have behaved much the same at his age, and even older. It was only after meeting Peregrine that she had softened a bit (although Junior had reversed some of that). Now, Fox hoped that Nightjar understood that he couldn't just go chasing out whichever pack members he thought should be gone. Those decisions were to be left to Fox and the other three leaders. Trespassers, of course, were always fair game.

Wildfire pressed into her again, and Fox let out a heavy, happy sigh. Out of all three of her surviving children, she'd always been closest to Wildfire. Maybe it was because they looked so similar, or maybe because Wifi reminded her so much of Peregrine in a lot of ways. Or, maybe, she just liked the (not-so-)little squirt.

"Did you say you had a couple of friends here before you even moved? Tell me about 'em." Fox said, wanting to hear more about Wifi's life outside of the caldera. Peregrine had met them (sought them out, even), but Fox had not accompanied him.

Fox didn't seem thrilled about the way Nightjar had treated Wildfire. But it was all water under the bridge now and the young adult didn't intend to linger on the subject. It seemed her mother would rather discuss more pleasant things anyway, like Wildfire's friends here. A little grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. She had probably mentioned them to Fox a while ago but her relationships had certainly developed more since coming here and she would be more than happy to update her mother on the goings-on of her social life.

"Well, I met Charon first, a long time ago. Then he and his younger brother—who's maybe a month or two younger than me—helped me search for Aunt Flea when she was missing. His name is Floki." As she spoke his name, her amber eyes grew shinier than usual. "He and I, we're sort of involved. It's nothing official but we're really close. I can sort of picture building a future with him, maybe." But there was no rush, no pressure from either side or from any outside forces either, for that matter. Wildfire rather enjoyed that about her fellowship with Floki. Maybe one day they would have "the talk," though presently they both seemed content to go with the flow and just enjoy each other's company.

Fox was smart enough to know that look in Wildfire's eye. She'd seen it a few times before, and she'd even had it herself. In fact, it was the same look that she gave Peregrine on occasion. You know, when she was feeling extra lovey. It was a little strange seeing that look coming from Dhole, if only because Fox still thought of her as the little girl that was colicky and screamed half of her childhood. Hell, she was still a child.

"Floki, huh?" Fox asked with a pointed look. "I sure hope he's not an idiot." Then again, if he'd picked Wifi to be his "something involved," he couldn't be that stupid. Either that or he had no idea what he had.

"Mom," Wildfire admonished with a laugh, shaking her head lightly. "Of course he isn't. He's... wonderful, actually. You'd like him. He's really sweet. And we're both into hunting and scouting." Sharing interests was important, right? Especially if they wanted to build a life together someday. "He's Ragnar and Thistle's son. Don't know if you know of them. He's dead but she lives here with us too," she shared, then realized she was rambling a bit.

"Hey, how are NJ and Rave doing? And Eljay? And, well, everybody?" she requested in the next breath, feeling her heart throb dully. Most of the time these days, she didn't think about how much she missed her day-to-day life in Redhawk Caldera. But Fox's presence here was a stark reminder of everything she had given up to come here.

Fox grinned at Wildfire's laugh, pricking her ears forward to listen to a bit more about this... sort-of-boyfriend that her daughter had run off with. Although Fox had actually met Ragnar once upon a time, he'd been known by a different name, and that had been ages and ages ago. Even if he'd been described to her in detail, Fox wouldn't have known that he was the same wolf that Wifi was referring to. As for Thistle, well... who knows if Fox had ever run into her. There were dozens (if not hundreds) of wolves running around these parts at any given time.

"Everybody's getting by just fine," Fox replied, "Life's been quiet, but definitely not bad." It was a nice change from the utter chaos that had enveloped Fox's life for roughly two years straight. Aside from the cold (which hadn't been life-threatening), life had been moving at a slow and steady pace. "I know it won't last forever, though. Never does." At some point, a wrench would be thrown into the system and things would go haywire. It had never gone any other way.

It sounded like nothing of import had happened over the past month or so, which was difficult to believe. But Wildfire didn't for an instant think her mother would keep things from her. If anything had gone amiss, Fox would inform her and she wouldn't sugarcoat it either. No news was good news in Wildfire's book. She smiled softly, happy to hear that nothing had gone terribly awry lately, then snorted quietly when her mother told her it was only a matter of time.

"Maybe, with that attitude..." she teased her dam, leaning forward to nip at her ruff. "I think things have been pretty much the same way here, though. I haven't experienced any significant drama since coming here. Oh!" She abruptly remembered the bears. "We do have a bear infestation. I, um... that's part of why I decided I wasn't cut out to be a warrior, actually," Wildfire admitted sheepishly, feeling her cheeks burn slightly. She had already mentioned switching trades, yet she wondered how her mother would take this news in particular. "But so far, nothing much has happened with that. They're still here but they aren't bothering anyone, as far as I can tell. I think the leaders are working on a plan to get rid of them. You should have brought Aunt Flea so I could get some pro-tips from her," Wildfire quipped.

Bear infestation, eh? That did sound like something that Finley would have been interested in! There was a time when Fox would have been interested as well, but those days had passed. She had children to think about now. Wifi was one of them, of course, but there would be yet another batch in the springtime if things went according to plan. Hopefully, this year would be easier than the last.

"Maybe I'll drag her with me next time I come visit," Fox replied, "Unless you're quicker than me and visit us first." The Redhawk matriarch certainly wouldn't turn Wifi away for a visit. She was still an outsider, but that didn't mean they had to cut off all contact and never speak to one another again. In fact, Fox wondered if having children scattered about the Teekon Wilds might be of some use. It may even mean less conflict in the long run.

Fox didn't comment on her dropped trade, which was a bit of a relief. Wildfire still felt a bit self-conscious about it, even though she had made up for it in other areas. All thoughts about her trades were set aside as the conversation with her mother flowed, now touching on subsequent visits. It would make her happy if Fox came out here to visit her regularly, though she knew she should definitely return the favor.

"When do you think you'll have them? And how old will they have to be before I can visit them?" Wildfire wondered aloud, forgetting to specify that she was referring to her younger brothers and sisters. She could think of no better excuse to visit Redhawk Caldera than to see them, though of course there were other wolves to see too. "I mean, I'll stop by before then. I just really want to meet them when they get here." Or as soon as possible afterward, of course, considering they wouldn't exactly be able to come to the borders on day one.

"I can't say for sure," Fox replied in all honesty. "Kinda hard to tell until we've done the deed." If she remembered correctly, it was about two spins of the moon from when she and Peregrine had tried for kids that they'd had them. "They probably won't get to accompany anybody to the borders until they're a few months old at least," she added, answering Wifi's second question. Perhaps that would seem like an excruciatingly long time to Dhole, but that was something Fox wasn't willing to budge on, especially after the Junior fiasco.

"I'm sure they'll want to meet you, too." Fox had every intention of giving her younger children the lowdown on their older sibling. Nightjar and Raven would get to meet them sooner, but Fox didn't think that would make them like Wifi any less. "If you want, I can send a messenger when they're born. Even if you don't get to see them right away, I can tell you all about them."

It occurred to her that she had asked Fox this very question many times before. If her mother minded repeating herself, she didn't show it. She confirmed Wildfire's suspicions, which caused a small pang in her heart. She wouldn't quite call it a regret, yet being unable to witness the birth of her younger siblings or help raise them was definitely one of the hardest parts about her relocation to Moonspear. She would miss out on so much. Her mother's plans reassured her, though, that she would still be a part of their lives.

"I'd like that," she replied in a soft voice. "You'll tell them about me?" she added. "Hopefully just the good things?" Wildfire quipped.

Feel free to fade out with your next one. ;)

"Of course I'll tell them about you!" Fox replied. That would not be all she would tell them, of course. There would be lessons on her origin, Peregrine's origin, Redhawk Caldera's origin, their other siblings, and so on. Those would all come in time, and Fox was already planning all the other things she would teach her next round of kiddos. "I'll tell them the good and the bad. But there's not too much bad, so don't you worry 'bout a thing." Fox gave her reddest child a grin and a wink. Wifi had next to nothing to worry about. Even though she had left, Fox still held her in high regard, and she'd be welcomed back to the caldera if she ever wanted to return.

"I need to get back," Fox said with a sigh, glancing back toward the mountain that was her (and once was Dhole's) home. "Come visit sometime?" she suggested again, arching her neck out to lick Wifi on the top of her head.

It pleased her, knowing Fox would make such a point to acquaint the little ones with her, even if she couldn't be there in person. She bit her lip and laughed when her mother insisted on sharing the bad, although she said there wasn't much of that. The smile then slipped and fell, if only because this whole scenario made Wildfire realize just how much she missed this woman, not to mention the rest of her Redhawk family.

Before Fox left, Wildfire made a fuss over her, littering her with loose-legged hugs and sloppy kisses, all while assuring, "I'll come see you soon, I promise!" She then sat and watched until the Redhawk matriarch disappeared into the distance, definitely taking a piece of Wildfire's heart back home with her.