Redhawk Caldera Catharsis

OOC: Set following this thread. This technically will take place outside the borders, but close enough to be more or less home. @Peregrine @Fox @Finley @Elwood @Eljay @Hatshepsut @Sassafras @Nashoba

The sun was setting in the West by the time Shrike managed to drag the bedraggled corpse back to the Caldera with him. Covered in dirt, grass, blood and spittle, the murderer's body looked as though it had been dead for days when in fact it had only been a full day since he had come upon her. Shrike couldn't have imagined that it would take him so long to drag a wolf's corpse back to the pack, given that wolves were strong and able to drag other forms of prey a fair distance when necessary, but Shrike's journey had not gone as planned. 

It had stared with a general feeling of nausea, followed by a tickling in his throat. He'd stopped to drink a few times, and to rest to regain his strength, and at first he had convinced himself that he was simply tired and low on energy from the famine. But the tickle in his throat progressed to a cough, which, by the time he came near the borders, had deepened into sucking, rasping breaths which stung his throat and lungs. His vision was blurry and legs felt chilled, and he stopped dead in his tracks when he realized what he'd done. 

"My blood is poison."

Though he'd been careful, he must not have been careful enough, and he had come in contact at some point or another with Hedda's blood, thus transmitting the neurotoxin from her stiff corpse to infect himself, and he realized too late that he was bringing back not only one poisonous body to his homeland, but two. He refrained from breaching the borders of the pack, and would have dragged the body further away if only he had the strength. But the poison- albeit only a tiny amount- was wreaking havoc on his body. He lay down on the ground and tried to relax, but he could not simply allow the story to come to an end like this; he howled out for his packmates, a howl that was interrupted by coughs and barks before it was resumed again as a small drop of bloody spittle fell from his mouth onto the ground. 

He'd caught the murderer, finally, but he was fairly certain that she might have claimed another Caldera life in the process.

With food slowly becoming readily available, the puppies had more energy again and Peregrine spent the evening playfully wrestling with them to get them back to strength. But when Ferret bit him hard enough to tear a chunk out of his foreleg and leave him bleeding profusely, the Alpha male put a kibosh on playtime and sternly barked for all three of his sons to go to bed. When they obediently (if sullenly) piled up nearby, Peregrine moved away to tend his wound, cursing his eldest under his breath.

The damn thing had nearly stopped bleeding when Shrike's ululating howl broke through the darkening air. It shook tellingly and Peregrine jumped to his feet, favoring his stinging leg slightly as he made his way toward the caldera's borders. He expected to find Shrike there. Instead, he spotted his silhouette several hundred yards beyond. Peregrine's brow furrowed and he paused, his eyes taking in the slumped form at his pack mate's feet. His heart began to race as he hastened toward Shrike.

He didn't even notice the Gamma's sorry state, as his dead-eyed gaze immediately settled on the corpse. "This is her?" he asked, a savage edge to his voice. "This is the bitch who killed my son?" Unfortunately, she was already dead but already Peregrine began formulating plans to desecrate the corpse.

Sassafras was settling in nicely. She could often be found scouting out the hunting grounds within the Caldera’s reaches and making her own rounds of the extensive border and surrounding territories. While she still avoided the Rendezvous Site, which Fox had strictly placed off limits, she would leave her small kills near enough to be found by anyone who frequented the area. Despite offering most of her catches to the kids and Finley, Sassafras had gained back much of the weight she had previously lost during the famine. She hadn’t had much to lose in the first place.

The small, inky female had her eyes on a quietly rummaging rabbit on the grassy slopes when Shrike’s howl stole her attention away. She didn’t even notice when the bunny spooked and zipped off through the tall grass, because she was already on the move to the borders from where he called. The broken sound sent a small, but distinctly ominous shiver down her prickly spine, and she wasted no time in her approach.

When the latest Redhawk subordinate arrived, she found that the commanding alpha male was already on the scene. Her eyes went from Shrike to the corpse he had presumably dragged home just as she caught Peregrine’s last few words, then back to Shrike where they warily scrutinized his state. "Wait…" she cautioned softly. As an outsider to the events that had befallen the family, Sassafras had a clearer mind about her even though it raced in that moment. Something wasn’t right.

Shrike breathed short breaths, and time seemed to drag by agonizingly as he waited for someone to show up. It was strange, but fear was what he felt first when he saw Peregrine, and he wasn't sure why. Some instinct told him to feel fear, but he couldn't exactly understand why he should feel afraid of the alpha. He knew Peregrine wouldn't hurt him, even if he had brought the murderer back dead when Peregrine had wanted to kill her himself. The sick creature was dead, and that was all that mattered. It was only when Sassafras showed up and cautioned the alpha that Shrike realized why he should be afraid. 

"It's her." He said. "She's poisonous. Found her dying." He said. Whatever he might have said next was delayed by a coughing fit, which caused stabing pain to his ribs and made him growl softly once the coughs had subsided, leaving him woozy and weak, with a trail of bloody spittle trailing from his lips to the ground. His lungs burned and he could feel the nerves in his body starting to vibrate, making the muscles in his shoulders and hips quiver slightly, off and on. "I'm poisonous." He wheezed quietly. He paused for a moment, seemingly struggling to find what it was that frightened him, and put it into words. 

"Gonna take her body an' go."

The scent matched the tuft of fur Shrike had brought him, so Peregrine already knew the answer. Besides, why would the Gamma drag back anyone else's sorry carcass? Still, he did not act on any of the violent impulses zinging through him. Instead, he lifted his gaze to regard the other male, waiting for verification and possibly an explanation for her state (not that the Alpha would beef over it).

Movement in his peripheral vision distracted him. Peregrine crowded the hideous corpse, not wanting anyone else to touch it until he and Fox decided what they wanted to do with it. But Sassafras's tone made him peer sharply at her face before his jade gaze cut sideways to Shrike again. His lips parted as the other male explained that not only was the dead wolf poisonous, he was also affected.

The Alpha male just gaped for a beat before asking, "What?" What did that even mean? How could a wolf, living or dead, be poisonous? Peregrine did not make a move, still looming possessively over Shrike's kill. When he said he would take it and go, the Alpha gruffly barked, "No," unwilling to relinquish his claim or obey the Gamma's command until he had some sort of explanation.

Her eyes didn’t stray from the steely Gamma; not even when the leonine Alpha cast his dusky jade gaze in her direction. She was worried primarily based on Shrike’s weakened state, but she also felt a nagging tension yanking at her because she had no idea what Peregrine was thinking. She trusted him implicitly, but he was only a wolf. Finally, and only when he gave a resounding refusal, Sassafras glanced at him tentatively. No? she thought. No, what? No, you can’t leave, or No, she’s not going anywhere? She whined quietly and looked back to Shrike, silently imploring him to clarify the situation.

Concern had edged across every feature of her refined, dark face, but her bright eyes displayed her distress most acutely. If it was really poison, she had seen something like this before. It was deadly. "You can’t go alone," she forewarned gently, turning her attention back to the smaller male. She wanted a clear-as-glass explanation as much as Peregrine did, but Shrike had to know, first and foremost, that he wasn’t going anywhere on his own. As much danger as he presented to the Caldera wolves in his current condition, it was a certain death sentence to go off on his own. He was a valuable packmate, and it would be a terrible blow to lose him. She flexed her toe-pads into the trodden earth and briefly bit her cheek.

"I’ll go with you."

Peregrine reacted negatively to Sassafras' presence, moving far too close to the corpse, prompting Shrike to release a low growl which was shortly thereafter stifled by a coughing fit so painful it made the hairs along the back of his neck stand up on end. "Stop," He croaked, licking his lips and tasting the metallic twang of blood on his teeth; his own blood. He tried to clear his throat a bit, and looked from the alpha to Sassafras, sensing the tension between the two of them. Peregrine did not want to back down from the corpse he so wanted to defile, but Sassafras had vision that was not clouded by hate, and could see the threat that the body could pose for the pack. He didn't want to disrespect his alpha, but Peregrine was too close to the corpse. 

"Step away. Please." He said. "Dunno what she had. But I got it now." He said, voice hoarse. His muscles ached, and continued to twinge beneath his pelt. "Can't let her hurt no one else." He said, looking up to Peregrine and imploring him with his sad and foggy gaze to step away from Hedda's body. 

He turned his eyes to Sassafras then, and sniffed lightly. "Can't stop you." He replied lamely, though secretly he was comforted by her offer and by the fact that he might have someone with him. At the same time, he didn't want to endanger her either. "Best if you didn't." He said quietly, and pushed himself up into a seated position. He cleared his throat again, struggling a  bit this time, and looked back to Peregrine. "She dead. We're safe." He said, and it was the only consolation he could really offer the alpha.

"Don't tell me what to do," Peregrine snapped, irate at being given orders, especially at a time like this. He felt bad nearly the moment the words left his mouth, though he couldn't help it. "Safety isn't the issue," he continued in a strained voice. That wasn't quite true; she could have posed a continuing threat to the pack, especially its pups, despite their heightened defenses. "This bitch killed my son. I want to tear her apart," Peregrine said, his voice grating as his toes flexed into the earth beside the body. He breathed heavily, losing his composure but trying to regain it.

The Alpha stood there a few moments longer before letting out a long breath and saying to Shrike, "Did you know? Did you know you'd put yourself at risk?" Had the Gamma put himself in danger's way for the sake of revenge? "Why'd you bring the body here in the first place?" he added, his voice shaking somewhat. He was angry but it was clear as day what drove the anger: guilt, grief and loss. Somewhere deep down inside him, Peregrine hoped Shrike wasn't taking it personally.

"And no, no way," he continued, just now paying attention to Sassafras, his head swinging in her direction to leer at her, "you're not going anywhere with him. Just to get infected too? She already killed my son, I'm not going to let this stupid fucking bitch kill off half my pack!" He couldn't help it. The rage boiled over and he smashed a paw against the she-wolf's dead face, hard enough to audibly crack her jaw.

The dark Alpha’s assertion of his intentions made her step forward in haste, but she thought better of it a second later and half-stepped back. She cringed as one of his large paws cracked down on the lifeless skull. "Peregrine…" she pleaded as she fought to repress every sensible instinct to shrink back from his ire. It somehow both unnerved her and gave her hope that despite every protest he had made, he hadn’t made a fully-formed decision. He was rash with his words and feelings alone. She averted her eyes while she tried to think of what she could say, and instead focused her gaze on the heap of dead lupine flesh lying on the ground between the two males.

"I won’t touch either of them," she promised, "but this carcass is a threat to all of us. Shrike can’t… I don’t want him to go alone. I’ve seen the effects of poison before, and we can’t let him do this on his own." She said nothing of the fact that Shrike could very well die, but when she finally raised her worried mahogany eyes, she glanced sidelong at the Gamma and let forth a strained whine of defeat. She desperately wanted her efforts to appeal to her leader’s better nature, but there wasn’t a part of her that could blame Peregrine for feeling as he did then.

She took a breath. "What do you want us to do?" she asked quietly as she reached out to him with a lowered head and outstretched muzzle. It was the first time she noticed his bloodied leg, but she said nothing. She simply waited.

Peregrine's high emotions caused Shrike to go back into whatever little shell he had, and he more or less ignored the hostility he showed toward Sassafrass, and tuned out the alpha male's anger. Concentration was becoming increasingly more difficult as he focused primarily on keeping himself calm and tried to will away the sick feelings that were creeping up inside of him. He swallowed back spittle and only really responded when Peregrine asked him why he'd brought the corpse back, and if he'd known it was poisonous. He had- but truth be told, he didn't think he would have gotten it himself. He'd been as careful as possible while dragging her body, not to bite down too hard...But her body was heavy and it must have happened, either that or he'd inadvertantly come into contact with her spittle or blood. 

"Didn't think." He said, his voice cut off not by a lack of an answer, but by another round of coughs, and he averted his muzzle as quickly as he could, lest he should spray some spittle in their direction. Into the elbow, not on the paws, as he might have been taught in preschool, had he ever gone. He didn't think he'd actually get poisoned. He didn't think about what effect her corpse might have on their pack members. There were many things he didn't think about- he'd been overcome by the need to fulfill his task. "Needed it done. Wanted you to see." He said. He wouldn't have been satisfied with just leaving her body there. "Body might've poisoned the lake she was near. Dunno." He said, knowing it was a lame excuse, but it had passed his mind. 

Again, Sassafrass insisted that she come with him and his silver gaze was lifted to hers, noticing for perhaps the first time how valiant a young wolf she was. And when Peregrine smashed his paw across the wolf's face, sending a spatter of blood and spittle around, Shrike winced, instinctively turning his head away so as to avoid coming into contact with the female's fluids again, and cleared his throat. He didn't want to say it, but Peregrine was almost at the end of reason, and with his own life straggling, he felt no fear. What he wanted to say, was this:

It won't bring Peter back.

But he couldn't. There was a tremor in Peregrine's voice, and he couldn't do it. Though he didn't hold back due to fear, he chose to avoid those words not for his own safety- as it mattered very litle now- but out of compassion. He looked up to the alpha, those words lingering in his sad gaze before he sighed gently. He stood but did not make a move toward the corpse. Peregrine stood over it too protectively, and he could not try to take it from the alpha; he would need Peregrine to come to reason and give it up.

"Keep the pack safe." He said. "She dead." He repeated. "Pack's safe. Now she's gotta go." He said. "Me too."

It didn't make him feel better. Actually, he felt worse, as he'd used his wounded leg to strike and now it throbbed angrily in protest at all the abuse. Peregrine's teeth clenched, his anger not draining away but simmering heatedly inside him as both Shrike and Sassafras tried to simultaneously placate and convince him. He began shaking his head, finding himself suddenly unable to think for the wrath building inside him. Suddenly, he knew that if he didn't leave, he was going to strike out again, this time at living, breathing flesh that didn't in the least deserve it.

Rather than answer Sassafras's question or respond to Shrike's insistence, the Alpha backed away from the corpse a few steps. He wanted to urinate all over it but had the wherewithal to refrain for his pack mates' sake. Still, he couldn't resist spitting on the body, right before he spun and walked deliberately away from the scene. There were things he wanted and should say, to Shrike especially, but Peregrine didn't trust himself, so he simply left the two of them to do whatever needed to be done.

ooc: Just needed to wrap this up so I can do a continuing thread. Last post from me :) If Sass follows him, I'll put that in my next post, if not, then I know what to write. 

ic:

Peregrine couldn't handle the information that was being given to him, but Shrike could sense the fact that the alpha left not because he was angry with Shrike and Sassafras, but because he wouldn't be able to control himself any longer. He wished that Peregrine would simply be satisfied with the fact that the murderer was dead. Shrike longed to know that Peregrine was pleased, otherwise he felt like he might have doomed his own life for no reason. If only he'd seen some kind of relief on Peregrine's features when he'd brought the corpse back...Perhaps he would have been better off simply telling Peregrine that the murderer was dead, rather than bringing her body back, but it was too late for that now. 

He looked to Sassafras with cloudy eyes and moved toward the corpse. The hairs along his spine stood on end, to warn her off should she try to help him or get too close. "Gonna get rid of it." He said. "Shouldn't come." He warned, lifting his gaze to hold hers for one steely moment before he lowered his head, grabbed the corpse's nape where the flesh hadn't been torn, and began to move away, dragging the black furred body with him. If Sassafras decided to go aginst his wishes, he couldn't and wouldn't stop her. He wished she'd heed his warning,. but at the same time, did not wish to make the journey by himself. Should his end approach, he would push her away, but he still had time and strength yet, time and strength enough to drag the body away from the pack's borders, leaving behind the home where he'd once been safe and welcome.

Sassafras drilled her eyes so deeply into Shrike’s skull as she thought about what his explanation might mean that her eyes began to narrow at him. She began trying to piece together and make sense of the bits of conversation that repeated in her mind out of chronological order, but she was left feeling as though she simply couldn’t hold onto any of them in her strained emotional state. The dark Eta completely missed the significance of the words the two males exchanged, but she was lacking observational awareness. She searched the face of the fading Gamma as she struggled mentally for something to hold onto.

She couldn’t focus on just one thing for long, though. Peregrine’s jaw seemed to clench down hard as he shook his head, and Sassafras shrunk back very slightly in a barely visible motion as she braced for however her Alpha might react. He wasn’t going to answer her, which she supposed she had already expected, but he didn’t physically strike out, either. He simply, albeit heatedly, walked away, and the little black female watched after him in quiet disbelief as he went. There was a part of her that had truly wanted him to make a decision as their leader, if not even for their own benefit, then for his. Whether or not it would have helped matters, Sassafras would never know. She took a breath to steady her thoughts as she turned to Shrike.

This was the quintessential it.

He verbally and physically warned her with raised hackles as he moved towards the poisoned carcass. She listened as he spoke and nodded as though she would obey, but in truth, she was nodding only in acknowledgement that she had heard him correctly. She didn’t know how she felt about defying him — he was still her superior, after all — but she took language very precisely when it suited her, and he hadn’t said "don’t come". He locked his gaze with hers for just a moment and she held it until he let go as if it was a highly prized possession. Tears began to form in the tiny corners of her eyes as she followed him, but she fought back hard against them to keep herself together. If Shrike couldn’t get the corpse far enough away from the caldera, then Sassafras would take it upon herself to finish his task.