Redhawk Caldera All my friends are heathens, take it slow

The sun was beginning to set by the time Peregrine and (not) @Stoic arrived at the caldera's borders. He exchanged a quick look with the youngster before breaching them, guiding him up the sloping mountain toward the rendezvous site. Instead of leading him right to its center, he motioned for the boy to stop and wait near its edge. The Alpha then proceeded a few feet into the clearing to tip his head back and howl for @Fox, Ferret, @Gannet and @Whip.

"While we wait," he said, returning to his new charge's side, "do you want anything to eat? There's a stockpile nearby. Once you've met them, I can show you around a bit... or maybe see if one of the boys wants to do it." His steady, casual voice betrayed none of his inner anxiety as he wondered how his family would react to the presence of the young stranger.

He had gone to Bramblepoint looking for Lasher. But the man was gone, he knew deep down inside. Just like Pan. Just like Peter. Just like many others before them. But here was someone who would hopefully stay, who needed the shelter and protection he could provide, and the Redhawk patriarch just hoped his loved ones understood that.

He declined the invitation to eat with a soft shake of his head, his nerves decreasing his appetite as of that moment. As Peregrine's call rose up for his family, Stoic knew that his choice had been made. There was no telling if this place would work out for him like it did for his father, but he would at least try. Plus, he knew Perry was his only way of learning about who his father was, and what he did, otherwise leaving now would close that door indefinatly.

His nimble legs had carried him up the rock, stopping where Perry told him to, and eventually collapsing beneath him as he sat. Peregrine had been right, the rock was much more than just a rock, he could tell as he fully took in the monument. Once he had the chance, he could not wait to inspect it, as he did with every new place he arrived. It's size was nothing compaired to the Silvertip Mountain, but it was incredible in it's own way. 

As he waited, his nerves only increased. There was always the possibility the other's would shun him, run him from their territory or try and eat him. Anything could happen, as he had learned so early in life. While he had been assured Peregrine would stick up for him, others had let him down in the past and he was not ready to face that kind of disappointment again.

I'm gonna NPC Ferret and Gannet. :)

He declined food and Peregrine wouldn't force the issue. He would eat once he was more settled and comfortable. It was probably a good thing he'd refused because a wild Ferret appeared, galloping straight at them like a freight train. The pup formerly known as Stoic would have made a very vulnerable target if he'd been mid-mouthful. Then again, he was pretty much a sitting duck regardless. Peregrine glided forward to block his eldest son's path, taking the brunt of it as the pup's hard skull collided with his shoulder.

"Jeezus fuck, Ferret," he grumbled, then glanced up to see Gannet loping in his bigger brother's shadow. "Gannet, hey. Both of you, c'mere. I want you to meet someone." As he spoke, he took a step back again, revealing the tawny pup to their view. "He doesn't have a name yet," Peregrine said, catching the boy's eye momentarily and shooting him a reassuring I've got you sort of grin before glancing at his curious sons. "But—" Before he could say anything more, Ferret jostled past him and promptly thrust his nose against the newcomer's shoulder, followed after by a slightly more aloof Gannet.

Fox was weary. She hadn't really taken the time she'd needed to process Peter's death, and it was beginning to show. She lagged about at times, wondering what she could have done better. Her heart sank whenever she found herself counting the boys playing nearby. Three, no longer four. She hadn't even been able to bring herself to visit the newest batch of Finley's children, her mind immediately turning to thoughts of one of them being lost, too.

Weary or not, she answered Peregrine's call with as much energy as she could muster, surprised to find an unfamiliar pup standing near Ferret and Gannet. "Who's this?" she asked, casting Peregrine a quizzical look, rather unsure how to process this... development.

He was taken back at the sight of a small, peculiar looking boy ran at him with his head forward, Stoic bracing himself for impact. His eyes winced, prepared, but when he opened them, Perry stood in the boy's way. Stoic glared at the boy named Ferret, from between Perry's legs. But his dislike of the boy was in an instant, pushed to the back of his mind as he hesitated fully expecting Peregrine to speak his discarded name. But he didn't. His facial expression turned to one of surprise, yet recovered, not wanting to arise further suspicion of his name. He looked to the male, a silent thank you in his eyes. Maybe Peregrine would be the best thing that ever happened to him.

Once again, he was assaulted by this Ferret, the boy sticking his nose in Stoic's shoulder like he was a hands-on display. No. He growled at the boy, scooting away from him with much dislike. Who did he think he was? One could not just violate someone's shoulder like that. "Stop it," He spoke up, making eyes contact with the boy; forgetting his timidness to interact. They would need to set some boundaries if they were going to coexist. Or they were going to have some problems. 

But his scope out of Peregrine's sons was halted as a much smaller but friendly looking woman came close behind. His head tilted, was this the Mother? She did not look like the weird one who stuffed his nose in Stoic's face. His head snapped to Peregrine as she asked her own question. He wasn't sure how to answer. Could he call himself a Silvertip? No, but if he was not a Silvertip and he was not a loner.. who was he?

He heard a growl and Peregrine positioned himself to intervene if necessary, though he would let things play out until then, allow the boys to figure it out among themselves. Ferret, of course, didn't take well to the noise and immediately began posturing, masked head held high and tail stiff as he attempted to prove his superiority. Gannet looked on with slightly squinted eyes, as if torn between backing up his brother and further investigating this curious newcomer. Actually, he was looking at (ex) Stoic as if he recognized him from somewhere but couldn't place him...

Before Peregrine could contemplate what that meant—that Gannet, perhaps, mistook the new puppy to be some strange reincarnation of Peter—and subsequently clear up any confusion, Fox appeared. With an almost audible gulp, Peregrine glanced at his newest recruit, then nosed the two Firebirds away from him and motioned for (ex) Stoic to take a few steps closer to Fox so he could begin making introductions (and maybe excuses).

"He's one of Duty's," Peregrine began, "but apparently both he and his mate have passed away. I found this lil' dude wandering by himself in Bramblepoint. It wouldn't have felt right to leave him there, so I told him I'd bring him here and make a hunter and warrior out of him. Supposing," he continued, peering at his young charge for a moment before meeting his mate's gray gaze, "that's okay with you too. And, uh, he would like for us to come up with a new name for him to signify, ah, his fresh start here."

She watched as Ferret continued to terrorize the stranger, unable to hold back a smirk. "Telling him to stop won't do anything," she offered. "He's just a little shit bag, and there's not a thing that's going to change that." Ferret gave her the stink-eye, and she winked at him. Two could play at that game, and Fox had a feeling she'd be playing it for a long time with her most rambunctious child. Gannet had perked up when she'd arrived, and she flashed him a warm smile.

Peregrine's explanation was a rough one, and she frowned sympathetically at the boy without a name. Before Perry had even posed the question, Fox had already made up her mind. She was a sucker for younglings out in the world on their own, especially the more independent ones. As for a name... "Jack," she replied, "short for Jackrabbit." His coat-coloration was spot-on with the very animals they regularly hunted. Fox ducked her head down so she was eye-level with him. "Whatcha think?" It wasn't often that a child got to yay or nay on their own name.

It was apparent The Ferret did not like him. The other boy's face has scrunched up, head held high as if to out-size him. Stoic simply looked at the boy with as much unamusement as ever, shooting him a look that said, really?. But suddenly, he had overcome with uncertainty. The two boys were older than him, slightly bigger, and with a more fearless attitude than he had expected. He edged closer to Peregrine but his eyes did not tear away from the masked boy named Ferret. In fact, eyes had narrowed as he did so, glaring at the Ferret, for he knew he had no other power than to do so. He stuck out his tongue, showing his immediate dissatisfaction with the other in that one swift move. If he could not beat him (yet) he would ignore him. And with that, he turned his attention to Fox, who stated what he had begun to realise. Perry's children were going to be a much bigger problem than he had anticipated.

He had not been listening as Perry spoke of his father, but he tuned in when the topic of his name came up. His eyes drifted from Peregrine to Fox, and back again, anticipation clear for his tail swung faster as they went on. Jack. Jackrabbit. He did not need to contemplate it further, it was perfect. "Much better," He agreed, with a firm nod of his head though this was the happiest he had been in some time. However, he was grateful that it had been Fox to name him, for he was sure whatever Perry came up was bound to make him sound like some sort of exotic leaf. "Thank goodness," He mumbled as an afterthought. He beamed up at Peregrine.

As it turned out, he needn't have worried at all. Fox both accepted and named the child, just like that. Peregrine let out a quiet breath of relief and grinned at Stoic Jackrabbit. Although he had hoped to name the boy himself, he wasn't about to argue. It was a good name and it fit him just fine.

"Welcome home, Jack," he declared officially before noticing that Ferret was about to pounce the newcomer. "Ferret, if you don't back off, I'm gonna fucking break your neck and throw your body in the lake," Peregrine rumbled in warning, earning him a death glare before the bandit sulked off somewhere else.

Gannet still lingered nearby, so the Alpha motioned between him and Jack. "He looks sort of like Petey, doesn't he?" he said softly, trying to make eye contact with his middle child so he could convey this properly. "He's the son of an old friend of ours," he explained, glancing at Fox, then back to his son, "and I want you boys to treat him nicely. You can roughhouse and whatever, just don't beat on him or I'll beat on you," he said with a bit of a cheeky look.

"You hungry yet?" he asked, facing Jack again.

Short post is short!

Jackrabbit, newly-named, took his new title like a champ. Fox smirked smirled at Perry's chiding of Ferret, glad that she wasn't the only one who wanted to throttle him on a regular basis. When Peregrine mentioned Petey, Fox frowned, but tried to keep her chin up and her emotions in check. "I'm hungry," Fox replied to the question directed at Jackrabbit. "Wanna go find some food, kid?" she asked, hoping to take it as an opportunity to get to know him a bit better.

sorry guys!

He nodded vigoursly as the name had been decided and the inquiry of food was again presented to him. Now that his settings set in, the need for nurishment became known to him; the last few meals had been mere scraps presented to him by a seeming odd coyote. Nevertheless, she had taken him away from the morbid mountain, so he had to give her some credit for her efforts. Yet a cache, he knew, was a glorious place with lots of delights! 

His feet bounced in an excitement he had not felt in quite a while. His eyes flickered back and forth between his new guardians. Perhaps this would not be a mistake, and he would come to realize that this place was indeed where he was meant to be. He wondered when, exactly, food would be presented to him, impatient to eat properly for the first time in many days.

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No worries! I hope your wifi gets fixed soon. In the meantime, I'll fade this for us and let's have another soon (both of you)! :D

Fox was hungry and Peregrine shot her a goofy look, then smiled when Jackrabbit finally agreed to some eats. "All right, kiddo, this way," the Alpha male said, exchanging a quick glance with his mate before scanning the area. Ferret had poofed off to who-knows-where but Gannet was still lingering, so he motioned for the Firebird to join them. When he appeared to hesitate, Peregrine rumbled, "C'mon, get your ass into gear." And so the two adults and two pups disappeared in the direction of some dead meat.