Redhawk Caldera you did not break me

Allure had been ambitious when she had parted ways with her parents. Her mother had birthed another litter by her father despite their constant bickering and insistence that they were not in a relationship. While she kept her comments to herself, she had looked upon her new baby siblings and mentally wished them the best of luck in dealing with her parents antics, and with an extra kiss planted upon Swift’s cheek, Allure swept away in what she claimed as exploring the world.

Except she had no true interest in that. Her pale paws were quick to lead her back to the Teekon Wilds – to home. But fatigue had quickly clawed at her ambition, and winter was a poor time to decide her homesick woes could only be cured at visiting her old stomping grounds. Young, and still learning, the Frostfur girl found herself at a pack border – the scent was vaguely familiar in a sense – and little did she know that the pack belonged to the dark male who had helped herself, her mother and brother at one point.

Having learned the boundaries of respect from her ever vigilant father, Allure settled herself a decent length from the pack’s borders, waiting for someone to come find her.

Accepting newcomers was no longer his business, yet he had no intentions of retiring as one of the pack's primary guardians. It was certainly more difficult to patrol and mark effectively without a sense of smell to guide him, not to mention his blind side... but Peregrine had long since adapted to the latter and so his eye and ears were his dominant senses now as he wore a path around the squat mountain's base. Just to play it safe, he made a point to renew the scent markers here and there. Maybe they needed to be refreshed, maybe they didn't. If it was overkill, well, it would be all the more effective.

Even without his nose, he managed to detect the stranger loitering near the borders and hastily went to her. Although he was no longer the Alpha of these lands, he approached even more aggressively than usual. It was perhaps due to his lost sense of smell that he felt more defensive of the caldera. Or maybe he just knew he had a lot to prove. He would show himself, his pack and most especially this stranger that he was still a force to be dealt with at the borders.

"State your name and business," he demanded the instant he closed the gap, eyeballing her and making note of her youthful appearance. If it was up to him, he would not have even considered her, especially with new puppies arriving soon. But Peregrine reminded himself that he wasn't in charge anymore. It was a tough pillow to swallow but swallow it he would.

Never once had it occurred to her that she might be turned away on merit of her youthful age – instead, she feared she would botch up any chances she had of joining a pack by saying something wrong.
 
The moment the ebony male came to view, the girl lowered herself instantly – her tail tucked delicately behind her, her ears splayed back and her eyes found their way to his paws. She was completely at his mercy should he choose to attack, and she managed to withhold a wince as his tone broke the silence. “Allure Frostfur,” she offered, her own tone softer in comparison. “I’m looking to join a pack.”
 
She paused then, knowing her father did not like strangers who took forever to get to their point – but it had always seemed impatient to her. Still, it was unlikely he would let her in the pack with her name alone, and attempting to lower herself even more to the ground, the girl continued. “I’m young, but I’m looking to take on a hunter role – and my brother has taught me a few things about plants and medicines,” she finished, only then realizing how absolutely unimpressive her resume was.

Nothing about her struck him as familiar as Peregrine leered at the young she-wolf, though she readily showed submission and that appeased him. She also got straight to the point, which he also appreciated. While he did not relax, he took a step backward so that he didn't loom so much. The mention of hunting piqued his interest, of course, and also made his heart squeeze in his chest. The caldera had just lost its most prized hunter, so the timing was critical.

"'Looking to'? Do you have any experience?" he pressed. At that very moment, it occurred to him that here was one more opportunity to contribute, particularly in the capacity of a caregiver: he could mentor younger hunters. Wasn't there even a saying about that? "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach"? His lips drew into a grim smile.

If she could blush, she would have. She gave a gentle shake of her muzzle, her eyes remaining fixated upon his paws, though she was so desperately tempted to look at his face to see his reaction to what she was saying – but she was still here, and had not been chased off yet, so that was something.

“Only hunting with my family back home. I want to continue to learn more about the skill so I can lead my own hunts for the pack. I find it exhilarating,” she replied, attempting to be as honest as she could without sounding like she was a complete write off to his pack.

Never before had she sought to join a pack, and her heart gave a nervous flutter in her chest. If he turned her away, hopefully he would do so gracefully without harming her – and then she would simply have to hunker down somewhere for the night and find somewhere else in the morning.after a good night's rest.

Things were still up in the air, but life went on no matter what. Fox found herself meandering about the borders, looking for something to keep her mind off the reoccuring thoughts of murdering her own husband. Unfortunately for her (and possibly him), it was his scent that trickled into her nostrils as she moved forward. A sinking sensation pulsed in her stomach, but she swallowed hard. Had it not been for the other, unrecognized, voice, she would have turned around and gone elsewhere. But a leader could do no such thing, so she marched on proudly.

She gave Peregrine a swift glance without emotion, if only because she wasn't sure what emotion would surface if she allowed any of them through. Her attention then turned toward the black and white girl, sizing her up. She was young; there was no doubting that.

"Who are you, and what are you good for?" Fox asked briskly. It was possible Peregrine had already collected this information, but the red alpha was suspicious of his ability to do anything now.

He didn't know whether to be disappointed or hopeful when she cited her lack of experience, now that he had this idea in his head that he could instruct the next generations of hunters as a sort of full-time job. Peregrine stood there ponderously, chewing over her answer and taking in her youthful appearance again. The pack was about to have several more helpless mouths to feed. If they gave this young woman a chance and she didn't catch on quickly, they would have to punt her out mercilessly. But if she did prove up to scratch, it would benefit the caldera greatly, especially now.

"We could use some hunters," he admitted. What pack couldn't, really? But they could use them now, more than ever, even young and uninitiated ones. "And I could teach you myself." He paused, his throat burning as the next few words bubbled to his lips. "But it's not up to me whether you're welcome h—" Before he could mention calling for one of the leaders, one appeared.

His heart leaped into his throat as Fox appeared on the scene. He made to greet her with a nuzzle to the chin, only for her to brush past him as if he wasn't even there. Peregrine stood there, awkward and bewildered. Had his mate just snubbed him? He understood that his condition had changed things and that his dismissal from leadership was particularly hard to accept... but this, he hadn't anticipated at all. His heart began beating rapidly in his chest, wondering if he had misunderstood that parting kiss entirely.

He felt a mix of anger, disbelief, sadness and horror, all of which played out on his face in front of their youthful audience. Reality hit him like a steel whip, biting right through to the bone. After everything they had been through together—most importantly, their children born and unborn—was she simply throwing him away like a piece of trash?

She allowed a flicker of hope to burn in her chest, their conversation seeming to drift toward a more positive light, rather than her absolute inexperience in the world. She would be old enough for the adult ranks soon – but that did not change much. “I would love that –“ she began, her enthusiasm reflecting in her tone before she cut her words off. A fiery she-wolf strode past the ebony wolf, and while he made to greet her, she seemed completely despondent to his affections – it was much like watching her own parents once more.

Blinking, the regal asked her for her name and her talent, and Allure suddenly realized that her fleeting ‘skills’ were not very likely up to this woman’s expectations, given her brusque nature. Uncomfortably allowing her eyes to drift from the ebony male’s shocked and upset form, she allowed her aqua eyes to drift to the woman’s forelimb, remaining in her submission. “Allure Frostfur – I’d like to join your pack,” she offered, withholding herself form nervously licking at her lips. “I’m young, but I want to learn more of the hunter role – and I have a small bit of medicinal knowledge from my brother.”

She had no flowery speech. No years of experience. Just the desire to learn – and as she held her breath and waited for the redhead to respond, she was almost positive her chance had drifted away now.

Fox continued to ignore Peregrine. She couldn't look at him without her stomach flipping something fierce, and she felt this was the only way to keep from breaking down in front of a potential new recruit. That was the last thing she wanted, so she paid him no attention, pinpointing her focus on the girl.

"...Frostfur..." was the only thing Fox really heard, though. While she didn't have an excellent memory, she did know that name. She stared quizzicly at the black and white female, wondering how she was related to her old "friend." Whatever other information she had given had been glossed over. "How are you related to Scimitar?" she asked. The older male Frostfur had all but snubbed her back in Swiftcurrent Creek.

She continued to ignore him and Peregrine felt his stomach clench, then turn to stone. He had been through a lot in his life, yet never before had something hurt him as badly as this. It left him breathless with pain and unable to speak, to move, to think. He was broken, a shell of his former self in many ways... but why should Fox abandon him so absolutely in his time of need and strife?

He somehow coaxed his nerves to fire just enough to begin walking away, leaving the Alpha female to resume her interrogation of the newcomer. Peregrine went several steps before recollecting himself enough to eke out, "I'd like to talk to you, please, when you're done here." His heart broke into an anxious sprint—reality had only just hit him, was he ready to deal with it?—and he felt jellylike as he moved out of sight to wait.

The bi-toned girl youth tried to ignore whatever was happening (or not happening?) between the two adults. The fiery wolf regarded her coolly, completely ignoring the wolf who had intercepted her at the borders. he requested her presence when she was done -- and with a sinking heart, the young Frostfur wondered just how quickly it would be for this meeting to be over.

The conversation took a direction she hadn't expected, and blinking her bright eyes, Allure felt her ears twitch at the familiar name. "He's my father," she answered, not attempting to engage further on the topic -- the relation was self explanatory.. but the girl could not help but wonder how this woman knew of him.

She winced as he left, but managed to keep her composure. "No fuckin' way," Fox replied, temporarily pushing any remaining thoughts of Peregrine aside. "You're Bazi's kid?" Fox could kinda see it now... sorta. She had to admit, both Scimitar and Bazi had her beat on looks. Maybe that was why they'd shacked up together. They just wanted to make beautiful babies.

"What are you doing down here, then? Didn't like it at the ol' creek-a-roo?" she asked, unaware that Swiftcurrent Creek had long since disbanded. Something about her frenemies' daughter being here was both oddly pleasing and refreshing. Not only that, but it kept her mind off more presssing, serious matters.

Apparently, the woman knew her mother too, and Allure’s form shifted as she tried to determine what kind of relationship they all had together. Her parents weren’t exactly charismatic – her father was not openly friendly to those outside of their pack.. and her mother? She just didn’t seem to like other women much at all.

When Fox mentioned something about a creek, the smallest insight gave Allure an assumption she could pull from, and a small smile pressed to her muzzle and she gave a shake of her head. “You knew them when they were in Swiftcurrent Creek?” Scimitar had told her of their history within Teekon Wilds – though he had left a few parts out. “They’ve moved to three different areas since then,” she offered, her eyes drifting back to the woman’s cheek.

"Knew them? Hell, I was the one who greeted them at the borders when they were looking to join," Fox replied, "I was their leader." The little red wolf smirked a bit, feeling smug about the whole thing. Here was this girl, probably thinking she was hot shit for being the daughter of an alpha pair. But Fox had been their superior before they'd even been together. Sure, she might've been younger than Scimitar (and possibly Bazi), but she'd always been more ambitious, more driven.

She made no comment on the fact that Scimitar and Bazi had moved several times since then, though it did delight her to know they had failed. Well, at least in Fox's mind. "Bazi stole Swiftcurrent Creek from me," Fox added, "and your father chose her over me." She realized that the young Frostfur probably didn't even know who she was. It was unlikely that her parents would have mentioned her name. If they had, it would have been said with malice, she assumed. "I'm Fox Redhawk." Back then, she hadn't had a surname. At one point, she'd been a Redleaf-DiSarinno, but that name had been shed for a more suitable one.

She had heard a bit about the previous Alpha to Swiftcurrent Creek – but only in terms that Bazi had taken the reigns from her when she had disappeared for a few days and her father considered her an acquaintance. It would seem the fiery woman before her had a different aspect to the story she had briefly been given and in all of her wonderful naivety, Allure found herself at a loss of what to say. She had never considered her mother the type to steal a pack – but Bazi was rather hotheaded in her own right.

“Dad has mentioned you were an acquaintance of theirs,” she offered then, her slender muzzle giving a light shake. “But they never talked about you much.” She paused then, wondering just where she stood given the she-wolf before her seemed to hold a certain grudge to her parents. “Is that when you.. formed this place?”

*crawls back into writing*

Fox settled for a hmph in response to Allure's parents' description of her. She had expected them to trash talk her to the moon. Allure was quick to ask another question, which Fox was happy to answer. "No," she replied, "I was with Blacktail Deer Plateau for a time. Peregrine and I moved to Redhawk Caldera after I was injured here." There was, of course, more to that story.

"I don't have anything against the daughter of my nemeses, so you're welcome to stay if you'd like. I have... things to attend to." Fox knew that a child of Bazi and Scimitar would likely be raised with their ideals. And while Fox didn't have a great relationship with either of them, she knew that they were smart, capable wolves. Allure would probably have some of those traits.