Redhawk Caldera Gave the Salvation Army girl a squeeze

With nothing to do but wander the territory (avoiding responsibilities maybe, or at the very least upper management) Dingo felt an acute sense of boredom. He had been quite entertained by the little boy he'd found a day or so ago, and thought to return to him and teach him some more proper english, but then he realized how odd that sounded (it did sound a touch pervy), so he decided to nix that plan. As he wandered, Dingo found his way to the top of a narrow ridge. He surveyed what he could of the territory from there, making mental notes (which he'd forget in a minute) about where to go next; he marveled at the view, and just as he was making up his mind on where to go next — there was movement. He saw a glint of light upon fur through the trees, and felt compelled to duck out of the way, not realizing that he had been exposing himself out on the rocks (and not in a fun way).

After learning that the pack might have to move to another location if the herds did not return, Shrike had set about going through his collection of things and deciding which things he might bring with him and which things would get the axe. Unfortunately, he knew he wouldn't really be able to bring much of anything. No antlers, no bleached bones, no shiny rocks. He'd be too busy helping the alpha pair mind their pups if they did have to move, in particular that one with the striking markings- Ferret. With his paws that full, he knew he wouldn't be able to stuff something in his mouth to tote along with him as well. He looked over his coveted objects with disdain and then pushed them as far into his den as possible, hoping they might be a surprise to whoever took over his den after they left, if it came to that. 

He then set out trying to track down a meal of some sort- just something small, anything really. He'd begun to notice that his energy was flagging, due to the lack of food, so he set off tracking and scavenging, stopping to nip at some berries now and again, but due to the lack of leaves, they were few, far between and quite shriveled. Not much for a wolf. He found an old, dry bone and crunched on it for a bit, but the marrow was long gone. There wasn't much to be found. 

His senses sharpened, however, when he caught a familiar scent. Hairs prickling up along the back of his neck he followed it, knowing now that yes, someone had permitted the offending wolf to join the pack, but it surely couldn't have been Fox or Peregrine- not after he'd stolen from them. He tracked down the reddish male with every intention of making sure the greedy wolf wasn't sapping their supplies again, and when he saw the ruddy male in the distance he called out with a gruff bark, to get his attention, and continued to approach with a stiff gait and a raised tail.

He did not know what to expect, and was actually quite stunned when he wheeled about only to face Shrike, who seemed less than thrilled to see him. A dopey smile spread across his face, and though he felt his body stiffen defensively, he tread slowly towards his packmate. Hey! Nice to uh, see ya again. His voice rolled forth jovially but it was overly mirthful, like he had been caught doing something outrageous. As he sauntered nearer he felt his confidence begin to slip, so he over-emphasized by adding, I bet you're wondering what I'm doing here, eh? I swear I ain't borrowing anything. Nice dude at the borders let me in, actually - at this he laughed like it was some kind of joke, but the sound waned until he was vaguely honk-sighing nervously, and looked at the dirt at his feet. So uhhh, waddup?

Shrike anticipated a fearful reaction when he was spotted, but in response, the male who'd once been a trespasser, and who narrowly escaped being torn to shreds by the defensive grey male, donned a goofy grin and started walking toward him. This angered Shrike, who had hoped to see the male cower and show more submission toward someone who had once barely held himself back from giving him a thrashing. Dingo began to speak then, and there was something about the way he spoke that was far too brazen for Shrike's liking. He even laughed, which caused the hairs on the back of Shrike's neck to stick straight up. This was no way to greet someone who was not only a superior, but who had a distinct disliking for the male. 

Once Dingo had shut his trap and lowered his muzzle to look at the ground, Shrike lunged with a snarl, aiming to grab the male's muzzle so that he could force Dingo into a better show of submission, should he land the hit. Obviously Dingo had grown up somewhere that had not enforced proper pack laws, such as how wrong it was to trespass, and how to greet a wolf when it was quite clear they did not want to be greeted with humour. Shrike was not going to tolerate the wolf who continuously talked without showing proper behavior- and if Shrike wasn't the one to teach him the lesson, then Fox or Peregrine surely would in time...And Dingo wouldn't likely walk away from that encounter.

Thought this was an appropriate time as any to hop in. :B

The thought of leaving Redhawk Caldera filled Fox with dread, but she kept her chin up. Her eye was healing, though it hadn't made any progress since it had opened a tiny sliver the day she called everybody together. She still couldn't see anything to her right, and that bothered her to no end, even if she was slowly learning to adapt. Though she hadn't mentioned it, let alone shown it, Fox felt deeply insecure with her handicap. She'd once had thoughts of murdering her own mate because he had lacked certain senses, and how was she any better?

Leaving the rendezvous site behind for the day, Fox took a stroll and noted a familiar sandy figure—the one she had chased out—skulking in their territory yet again. Before she had a chance to investigate the situation on her own, Shrike was, once again, proving himself a worthy member of Redhawk Caldera. A smile spread across the alpha's face as she watched Shrike dart toward the intruder. It was too bad Elwood had forgotten to mention he'd admitted the little shit back into their pack. And even worse that he'd done such a thing in the first place.

Fox strode toward the pair, giving them plenty of space to duke it out while she observed from ten or so yards away.

Instead of the playful banter he had been anticipating — as that was the way things worked back in the Crestwood Clan, for all he could remember — Dingo was met not by words, but by the sharpness of incisors. The gray male sank his teeth in to the boy's unobstructed snout, and in an instant Dingo felt his head (and really his whole upper body) being thrust in to the dirt. It hurt, sure. He squeaked after a delay, simply because his body had never experienced such treatment before, and he was entirely stunned by it. With his chest dragging against the rough-hewn ledge, Dingo became acutely aware of his thumping heart, and the heat of the guard's breath as it passed over his hot blood; the pain was there too of course. He just didn't know what to do about it except continue to grovel.

Dingo's eyes squeezed shut when he was brought down to earth, and now they squinted up at the menacing features of the too-close teeth; he let out a pitiful little whine, or something close to it, and tried to speak around the wolf currently attached to his own face. Mnn - hnng, lemme goh, he pleaded, aligning his raised rear-end with his shoulders by slumping his entire body down upon the stones. His tail tucked unevenly against his belly. Dingo tried tugging back by moving his head, straining his neck, but the tug of his flesh in Shrike's maw only made everything hurt more, so he stopped with a whimper, and sat prone. He couldn't explain if the guy had his head in a -- well, a face lock!

Shrike growled as he snagged a hold of the reddish male's muzzle, forcing him down to the ground and into submission. Dingo made noises of pain and tried to move away but seemed to realize that the more he moved, the more Shrike's teeth were going to hurt him. Shrike was pleased that he'd finally been able to force the inferior male into submission, and had to fight against the urge to shake his head and injure the male further. He continued to growl, snarling louder when the male begged for him to let go, before he gave the male's muzzle one final squeeze with his jaws, just enough to get the point across, before he let go, but kept his muzzle hovering just over Dingo's. 

He'd let go because Fox had showed up, and Dingo had claimed that someone had let him in the pack. She looked mildly interested in their engagement, but hadn't stopped him. "He a part of our pack now?" He asked, somewhat confused that he claimed some nice male had let him in at the borders. Fox would know the answer, surely, but just in case, he didn't move any further away from Dingo- just to keep him at bay if necessary.

They went at it, and Fox leaned back with a smirk of amusement. The intruder (as far as Fox was aware) simpered some stupid words of pity, but Fox felt no remorse for what Shrike was doing. "Not as far as I'm concerned, no," she replied. "Looks like he tried his luck again and got somebody else." Since Fox couldn't imagine Peregrine letting him in, she had to guess that it was either Finley or Elwood. The disconnect between the leaders had been very real lately, mostly due to everybody having their own set of problems to deal with.

"Listen up, whelp," Fox said, taking a step closer to the small, tan creature, "you stole from us, so that makes you an enemy. Did you really think you wouldn't run into me again?" But Fox didn't wait for (or want) an answer. "Shrike, get him out of my sight. I don't care how you do it." Not only had this one intruded on Redhawk Caldera's lands and stolen their food, but he'd also snuck back in, and Fox would have none of it. "If I see you again, you're dead." A single eye burned into the stranger's features, memorizing them so she could let the rest of the pack know that he was to be killed on sight (should he show up here again).

The guard let his face go and then turned to address someone else, someone that Dingo hadn't noticed. His face smarted from where the teeth had landed, and he was absently wanting someone to come on by and tend to him, comfort him and -- wait. The red woman was closer and she started talking, and her tone made Dingo snap to attention. It was the same woman who had chased after him before! Crap, that meant -- Fox? He peeped, the word garbled by his frayed nerves as well as a slight inflammation already setting in to his face. She kept talking though, so he must've been too quiet.

Her threat was very real, and he wanted to combat it in some manner, but one look at the guard (Shrike, he'd just learned) and he knew. He'd have to run, there was no time to talk. Dingo's ears fell back upon his head and his tail, usually curved and high because of his endlessly expansive ego, swayed at his hocks and then curled across his belly. He shrank down, his limbs tensing and ready to spring away if Shrike were to turn on him — and yet he still tried to explain himself, to plead, with a hasty slurring of words: But I've been working to redeem myself for you and for Panther; I'm your brother; Panther's my brother too -- Please, he would've grovelled if he had time, but the longer he lingered the more nervous he became of the snap-happy guard.

With Fox's command given, Shrike felt a surge of satisfaction knowing that he was given full permission to get this male out of the pack in any way he was able to do so. Fox stepped forward, making direct threats to the male who was held at bay by Shrike's hovering muzzle, and though he didn't have a hold on the russet male, he stayed quite still regardless, which was probably one of the smartest moves the male would make on that day. Of course, though, he felt the need to talk, and though he shrank down further, to show submission and appease the alpha, Shrike doubted very much that it would work. His eyebrows lifted slightly at the claim that he was Fox's brother, but he made an important assumption at that moment- even if this male was her brother by blood, he was an idiot. And he doubted she would tolerate an idiotic male in the pack, even if he claimed to be her brother and know some wolf called Panther. 

Shrike growled menacingly, and began to fill out his orders. Should Fox want him to stop, he would at the slightest movement or word- but she'd already told him to chase Dingo out of the pack, so he lunged toward the male, clicking his teeth together in an angry snap. That was his first and only warning- for a moment later, he lunged again, with the intention of biting Dingo's near foreleg should he land the attack if the male chose not to move out of the way.

"Panther isn't an idiot," Fox smirked, watching as Shrike went in for the attack. Blood relations mattered very little to Fox. A thief was a thief, and it didn't matter if they shared a mother and father. It was a shame that their parents hadn't taught him better, but that was no fault of Fox's (nor was she quick to place the blame on her parents). No, this was his dilemma, and Fox couldn't waste time or resources on teaching somebody how not to trespass. She had four young boys to teach, and they hadn't picked up any bad habits (yet, that she was aware of).

She would stick around to watch Shrike take care of the little shit.

Gonna have him flee here and conclude if yall are ok with that. I was gonna do a trespass roll but IDK what rolly thing to do. 1d2? Shrug!

He couldn't reason with her, but he shouldn't have been stupid enough to think he could. The guard - Shrike - lunged repeatedly for him. All that he could do was duck and weave haphazardly away from the oncoming assault; he was hardly successful, receiving some nice blows to his already ruined face, sharp clips to his short scruff, and the tearing of his skin as he spun and tried to escape. He skittered, sprawling with his steps, stumbling down off the ledge and away, as fast as he could.

It was with great relief and satisfaction that Shrike snapped at the air between himself and Dingo once Fox had spoken. He did not think she would coddle the trespasser simply because he was family, but he did not know Fox well enough to have made that call confidently. Fortunately, it seemed like he had a good read on the alpha, and the way they treated trespassers- whether they were kin or not, and Shrike was more than happy to chase the bugger out of the packlands, fulfilling his duty as a guardian. It was even more satisfying, given that he didn't give a shit about Dingo, as harmless as he might be.

Nips and snaps here and there landed some sharp bites on the male's hide, and Shrike held fast to the male's heels, growling and snarling the whole way until the pesky intruder was long gone past the borders. He'd left Fox far behind in doing so, but didn't mind, terribly- he was just happy to get to chase this intruder away from the pack- without him protesting again- for what he hoped would be the last time. Once he figured he'd spent enough energy chasing Dingo away he slowed to a stop, snorted vehemently, and walked stiff-leggedly back to his packlands.