Redhawk Caldera Out of student loans and treehouse homes, we all would take the latter

Things had gone to shit for a hot second but everything was more or less back to normal these days. The Alpha male was growing more and more excited for the upcoming litter, his joyful expectation swelling in direct proportion to Fox's belly. Even though his nose was all right now—better than ever, really—he left a lot of the hunting up to his fellow specialists and instead focused more of his time on prepping the den and basically doting on his mate all the time. He would (and could) still provide in the good old-fashioned away (with meat) but Peregrine was a dedicated family man now. He had done pretty well with the first batch of Firebirds but he was determined to do even better with the second, maybe win a Dad of the Year award or something to make up for all his past mistakes.

On the subject of Peregrine's nose, he still fancied he could smell them. He was still convinced there were four of them, all boys. He didn't really mention this to anyone, not even Fox, because it seemed a little crazy. Only time would tell if he was really that good or just totally nuts. Frankly, Peregrine didn't actually care about how many there were or if they were boys or girls. He just wanted a healthy litter. His nose told him that all was well on that front.

Just now, the Alpha sat just above the den's mouth, staring at a female cardinal on the bare branch of a nearby oak. She was preening her breast, then her wing. "Where's your mate?" the wolf asked her but the bird behaved as if she hadn't heard him. Probably she hadn't. She was a damn bird. "Where's my mate?" he abruptly asked the empty air, squinting his eyes and scanning the nearby territory. He hadn't seen her since she had left earlier that morning, waddling off to get some food and drink. He should probably go find her; he decided he would get off his ass and do so in a minute.

Redhawk Caldera was more or less a quiet place — or, that was what she felt, given she had barely met any of her pack mates. Allure had not yet struck out fully to do so, however, and despite feeling nervous apprehension at having to integrate herself in to a completely strange pack, the girl took the day to put her best foot forward and so so.

She loped forward, her pace quick only with the intent to reveal that she was attempting to remain busy, rather than lounging about, and yet her luck would strike when she came upon the familiar swarthy male who had first intercepted her at the borders. She had never gotten his name, and with only a stolen moment of hesitation, Allure began to amble forward, her posture lowering in deference to his rank. "Hi," she called out, her voice soft against the winter chill. "I um.. I never did get your name," she noted, pausing now to remain a respectful distance away from the male.

I was hoping you'd be the one to join! :D

He was just rising onto all fours and preparing to start tracking Fox when movement caught his eye, just barely. He turned to favor it with his good (right) eye, tail twitching as his gaze settled on a familiar form. Peregrine recollected their awkward encounter at the borders. She had unwittingly inserted herself into the middle of the Redhawks' melodrama. It had all blown over now, though, and if he felt any lingering embarrassment from that fiasco, he didn't show it.

Springing down from his perch atop the Alpha pair's den, he loped forward to meet her. "Allure, right?" he said after taking a few seconds to plumb his brain for her name. "The would-be hunter," he also recollected out loud, lips twitching into a bit of a smile. "I could use some help hunting down my wife." Allure would know her as the fiery red she-wolf who had blatantly ignored him the day of her acceptance. Oh, well. Peregrine gazed at her expectantly to see if she was game.

It's like I knew! :D

The swarthy male took her presence in stride – and while she now knew he was the Alpha Male of the pack, she had not quite pieced together the puzzle that had him acting otherwise upon the day they had met at the borders – aside from him potentially being in the doghouse with Fox. She made no comment on any of it – far too polite to do so, and far from holding the desire to become involved in something that did not concern her. The advisor trade was far from her list of specialties.

“Yes,” she offered, a small smile gracing her lips now as she eased at the notion he not only remembered her name, but their conversation. She could only hope he meant what he had said – that he was willing to take on a student.

Her smile quirked even wider at the mention of helping him hunt down his wife, and taking this as a good sign for the Alpha-pair, the girl tipped her muzzle down in quiet ascent.

He interpreted the bob of her snout to mean she was willing to play along. "You know her scent," he drawled, holding out a foreleg lazily. "Lead the way, Ms. Allure. And while we walk, tell me more about yourself." Peregrine knew nothing of the girl's family history, nor the ties to his mate. He had been a bit preoccupied with other things during that particular conversation, after all, and he had already left the scene by then. "Like, where did you come from? What do you hope to achieve here? Where do you see yourself in one year? Five years? Do you prefer morning or evening poops?"

Peregrine lifted his limb in a manner to suggest she was to lead the way, and with only a stolen moment of uncertainty, the girl squared her shoulders (figuratively) and pressed her nose closer to the Caldera floor, hoping to take in a fresh scent for Fox. How foolish would she look if she couldn’t even track her own Alpha Female?

Despite her nerves, she was pleased that the swarthy wolf was willing to make friendly conversation. His questions indicated that Fox had not informed him that apparently, Allure’s parents had snubbed her – and that her mother had stolen a pack from her. “I was born on Nova Peak in the Taiga,” she offered, her gaze drifting up to him to see his reaction. “Apparently Fox knew my parents – Scimitar and Bazi Frostfur.” She left the statement open, wondering if he had any thoughts on it – and at the mention of poops, she felt a slight blush creep tp her face, and she swung her muzzle down, moving forward a little more quickly, in hopes he would forget he had asked her that.

“I see myself here, I think,” she spoke, attempting to hide the uncertainty in her tone. “Everyone seems nice.” Finally, the wind quickened for a moment, the breeze swaying past her nose, and with it, a hint of Fox’s trail. Triumphant, she flashed Peregrine another glance before nodding in a different path than they had stolen upon, indicating she felt Fox had gone this way recently.

Neither the mention of the peak nor the taiga stirred any particular familiarity, though that was no surprise; he was a homebody. Peregrine did recognize Bazi's name and suddenly he was remembering that night when he had heard a child screaming in the woods, only to come across that poor pup missing his eyes. He felt a little shiver pass through him and looked speculatively at Allure. Perhaps that had been her brother? The ages matched up, though he decided against mentioning it.

Allure pointedly looked away when faced with his toilet humor and the Alpha began to smile like a Cheshire cat. Then, for no particular reason, he abruptly realized he still hadn't given her his name. "Glad to hear that," he replied to both of her statements, before adding, "My name's Shithead, by the way." He pronounced it shith-heed and wondered if Allure would cotton onto him sooner or later.

The Alpha saw the moment the huntress caught Fox's scent (and he did too). "Speaking of poops," he drawled, pausing a moment in the hope of causing awkwardness, "she's due pretty soon. You got any experience with pups?" He doubted it—she was hardly older than one herself—but it was always possible she had younger siblings or cousins or something.

Gullible and naïve, Allure had no idea that Peregrine was stringing her along, and while she thought the name to be different, she instead offered only a polite nod, her bright eyes drifting away from the swarthy wolf and tipped back down to her task.

She began to circle slightly, noting Fox’s steps before pausing, her muzzle giving a light nod in a specific direction. She felt a sheepish smile turn her lips upward for a moment – feeling very much like she was a hound tracking on command. Shitheed asked her about puppies and her experience, and like a deer in headlights, she did glance sharply up to him. “None,” she admitted, a surge of guilt pressing over her, though she attempted to appear collected. “My mother was giving birth to my next siblings just as I left the pack,” she explained, her tone quieting.

The question appeared to make her uneasy, if the wide-eyed expression meant anything, but before Peregrine could think about teasing her about it, she said something that tickled his funny bone. "Literally? Like, they were popping out while you were peace-ing out?" He imagined Allure—maybe a little ticked off at being replaced, or something—taking one look at the newborns and marching off into the sunset. Then that thought made him think of Junior and he felt his jaw tighten suddenly.

Shaking his head to get thoughts of his traitorous daughter the hell out of it, Peregrine squinted and said, "Homing in yet?" He noted that they were headed in the direction of the caldera's namesake feature—the lake sunk into its center—and he was pretty sure he saw a smudge of red down by the shore. But he didn't mention it, letting Allure continue her tracking.

He seemed interested in her words – perhaps zeroing in on how just terrible a daughter she was when he asked if they had actually just been popping out of Bazi as she was flinging her waves and blowing kisses – it left interesting imagery for sure, and she gave a shake of her muzzle, warding away both the visual and the thought. “No, no,” she corrected, amusement pressing to her lips. “But they were born the day I left. Four of them – safe birth.” She paused then, her shoulders lifting in a small shrug. She knew their names – but that was about it. She wondered how they had begun to develop now? More than the little blobs they had been.

“I have three brothers. They’ll make sure they want for nothing.” Little did she know that Pasha had left – and even more disturbing, that her father had as well, with his new girlfriend.

The black Alpha squinted again when she mentioned four pups, then three bothers. His lips moved silently as he did the mental math. How did that add up? Then it dawned on him: she meant her own litter mates, who could help rear the younger puppies in her absence. Gotcha, the bob of his snout seemed to say, once more wondering if one of those brothers was missing his eyes.

Allure hadn't mentioned the figure in the distance yet but it was most definitely Fox. She looked like a beach ball with legs. Peregrine wondered how hard she would knock him upside the head if she could read minds. He was sure she felt weird and uncomfortable and probably unattractive. But Peregrine found her as foxy (haha) as ever, even heavily pregnant. He would totes do her right now—in front of Allure, even—if he wasn't afraid of poking his boys in the face. How traumatizing.

Her thoughts distracted her – the idle chit chat, while likely meant to be engaging, had taken her focus, and while she did track the scent of Fox, and a part of her did consider it was becoming significantly stronger, she had yet to look up.
 
Shitheed said nothing else, and she allowed the conversation to drift to the wayside. She was about to ask him more about the pack itself, her muzzle opening as she made to question its creation, but a flash of red caught her eyes, and her muzzle clipped shut with a snap. Fox was in pure sight now – and Shitheed was staring right at her – and for how long?
 
“Oh!” Her cheeks flushed red, though he wouldn’t be able to see it. “Well then,” she offered, swallowing the lump that formed in her throat from her embarrassment. “Ta-da?”

Allure seemed flustered, though Peregrine couldn't guess why. She had done exactly what he'd asked and helped him track his wife. "Thanks for your help, Allure. Allie? Lure? I like Lure," the Alpha decided out loud. Whether or not she agreed, it didn't matter; as with most of his subordinates, Peregrine chose the nicknames (or sometimes just the names, period) around here.

"Gonna go see whether she sinks or floats," the Alpha joked darkly, shooting the yearling a quick grin. "See you around, Lure." Peregrine trotted down the sloping shore toward the lake, second-guessing his decision not to bang his wife in her current state. She was so darn glowy, he would just have to stick it in her butt or something.

Thanks for the thread... hahaha.