Redhawk Caldera Now turn us loose

Last year's thread for reference! @Fox @Ferret @Gannet @Whip @Peter

Not that Peregrine kept a calendar or anything but his instincts told him the pups weren't due to relocate to the rendezvous site for another week. The bum leg thing sort of threw a wrench into their regularly scheduled milestones, though. If they kept trying to stuff their family of six into the den, with four growing boys crawling all over him all day every day, his leg would never heal. Hell, they might break the other three, as well as his tail and probably his neck too. They needed more room to roam and run and other wolves to ram (in Ferret's case).

But the Alpha did not arrive at this conclusion consciously. It happened like this: "Okay, okay." He stood abruptly, balancing precariously on three legs while the four little dickbutts scrambled around his feet, trying to jump on and bite at him. "Fuck this shit. We're moving, now. Get your asses outside." Despite the epithets, there was no heat in the father's voice as he shooed the puppies outside to join Fox, who was out there getting some air.

"We gotta take them to the rendezvous site before they break any more body parts," he informed his mate in a tone of fond exasperation. "C'mon, you lil' shits. Say goodbye to the den. We're moving onto bigger and better things." And without further adieu, Peregrine began leading the way. When he'd envisioned this moment, he'd pictured himself heading the group at a stately march, the caravan of Firebirds behind him like a neat little row of obedient ducklings. But of course he hobbled like an invalid instead, the lost boys surely rambling off in random directions.

Ferret was neither particularly inclined to follow nor particularly inclined to lead. He did whatever seemed most interesting at the time, which was usually his own thing. So, when his father beckoned the family out of the den to follow him, Ferret did so only in lieu of anything else to grab his attention. He plodded along, not in a straight line, but in a weaving path as he sniffed the ground and looked around at the new sights as they passed them. Boredom quickly settled in, and he sought to cure it by making a sudden grab for his father's tail.

The whelping den had once felt so big. It had, at one point, been Whip's entire world. However, the memory of those moments was already hazy at best. Now, however, Whip found it nearly impossible to breath with his brothers and mother crammed inside the crudely dug cavern. When it was finally time to move, the pup made no protest and exited the old den on his father's command.  

Whip took his place beside his mother and crippled father and looked back at the den to do as he was told. "Buh den," he muttered. With his goodbyes said, Whip turned away from what had always been his home to follow his parents and brothers on to the next chapter of his life.

"Fakin' sheet!!!" Peter, who had not yet learned to say either "mama" or "dada", seemed to be set on repeating the two words he had spontaneously learned and which he heard more frequently than the rest. So, whenever Perry or anyone else happened to swear and include those two words and IF Peter was present there too, he would happily repeat them and then look proudly from one adult to the other, as if expecting a praise and cuddle, if possible. However, much to his confusion... people seemed to be either amused or... not impressed. Anyway - that did not mean he stopped trying. 

Little of what his dad was saying made sense to Peter, therefore he did, what he could do the best - follow the group. Often he would go after Ferret, having chosen him as sort of leader-figure aside from the parents - and sometimes he would hurry up to his dad's side "eeping" and pouncing at his moving feet in a kitten-like manner.

The pups were surprisingly cooperative, perhaps too caught up in the excitement of the caravan to make a break for it. Of course, the peaceful procession didn't last forever. Ferret swiped at his father's tail, which Peregrine needed more than usual to maintain balance on only three legs. He flicked it out of the pup's grasp, then whirled and licked the little bandit's face so emphatically, he would be surprised if it didn't bowl him over.

Facing forward again, the decrepit Alpha male continued leading the march and it wasn't long before they arrived at the top of the sweeping slope with its stunning view of Lake Rodney. It felt like coming home, which made sense considering this was where they lived ten months out of the year. The sudden nostalgia that struck him took Peregrine a bit by surprise, though. He suddenly remembered the day they'd brought the last three Firebirds here and he felt his chest throb with a dull ache. He missed them so much.

Shaking his head and clearing his throat, Peregrine distracted himself by bellowing, "WELCOME HOME, BOYS!" and then plopping onto his haunches, using his good leg to motion them forward. Go play!

Ew! would be the perfect word to describe the appalled grimace and subsequent sneer that rose on his face as his father licked him, enough to throw him into a stumble. He made to swat at Peregrine's nose, but missed because the nose was no longer in the space he thought it was when he clenched his eyes against the disgust.

Eventually, the clan reached their new grounds, and Ferret wasted no time dropping his nose to the ground and sniffing about, separating from his family cluster to investigate the new turf and probably find some trouble. But, the bandit was not actually on the move too long, before he found a comfortable clod of dirt to drape himself across and nap.

Ext Ferret

Whip did not need any prompting to go play. As soon as the firebirds 2.0 set foot in the Rendezvous Site, Whip bolted away from his parents and brothers to run, jump, and play to his little heart's content in the rolling hills of the caldera. He set off down a hill, tumbling clumsily as he went, until he settled at the bottom in a heap with his tongue lolling dumbly out of the side of his mouth. His sides heaved with childish excitement.

Surely, the rendezvous site beat the whelping den by a long-shot. Though he had been a bit nervous to leave the home he knew behind, Whip was sure he would get used to the new diggs real fast.

While Peter's siblings were more keen on exploring the new playground, the youngest son was more cautious and rather than dashing after Ferret and Whip, he seated himself next to his father and watched the place with curiousity, but never daring to take a step further. Call it cowardice or the instinct of self preservation in it's simplest form.

When his brothers held no interest to him anymore, Peter looked up at his dad (which meant him craning his neck back as far as he could) and let out a quiet: "Woo-woo-woo!" That way asking for his attention.

Two of the four boys didn't need to be told twice; they took off like rockets, gamboling across the wide expanses of the gently sloping rendezvous site. Peregrine watched them, grinning at their enthusiasm, his heart dropping only slightly when they raced out of view. He couldn't keep up with them to keep an eye on them, of course, so he shot Fox a look. She loped after their two more energetic children. The idea was to eventually stop helicoptering over them but it would be a gradual process.

Meanwhile, Gannet and Peter stuck close to their invalid father. "Don't you want to explore too?" he coaxed them, though he was secretly glad that half the litter was sticking by him and not running around like chickens with their heads cut off. "C'mon," he added, nudging the wailing Peter and glancing at the quieter Gannet, "I'll show you where we sleep, where we eat, where we piss and shit..." Slowly, he hobbled off to start the tour.

I think this will be my final post. Y'all are welcome to post again and/or archive it. ^_^

Peter didn't get a hug, but a nudge would do for now. He beamed at his father and made an attempt to wrap his tiny paws around his rump (and not managing that, of course). That was okay, because he would have Gannet to hug later and he was the perfect size for that. 

Though not understanding a single word his father told, Peter got to his feet and followed him right away, curiously looking around, but keeping close to the larger wolf's heels. Over time he would learn everything there was to know about the rules of this place.