Redhawk Caldera going through life

aw, but hoping for an @Elwood ? :D

Though Eljay preferred to spend time with his siblings — and Uncle P's boys, of course — these days over the adults, he still sort of missed daddy-time now that they were always busy with the pups. Still, he wouldn't complain. His social anxieties had grown worse after the Peter-escalation too, and he was still confused often. He didn't speak of Peter that often anymore, at least not to the adults, but he still felt like Peter was there... Whether it was in the form of the new boy or some other way.

Taking a day off puppysitting, Eljay meandered around the borders of the Caldera. He thought back to the wolf he had seen at the lake. That'd been pretty scary, even if he was a doctor. Maybe he ought to ask mommy or daddy if they knew who this Sebastian wolf was. Though it might seem as if he was patrolling, Eljay was really just dragging himself along the borders, slumpily walking as his mind was elsewhere.

Elwood, too, was patrolling -- for the first time in quite a while. He missed the pups when he wasn't with them, but it was still nice to be earning back a bit of his freedom. They still needed their parents for sustenance and protection, but they were becoming more and more independent, which meant that Elwood was able to gradually settle back into his role as Beta male.

He circled around the outskirts of the caldera, keeping the slope at his shoulder, and when he spotted Eljay's lanky figure ahead he barked. He accelerated, closing the gap between himself and his eldest son. "You patrolling?" he asked, happy to see the boy out and about -- and so close to the edge of the territory. He and Finley had given up the battle of trying to convince him that the outside world wasn't dangerous, and he was learning to be content with Eljay's quirks. And it was also a good sign that Eljay was working, and not dwelling on the whole Peter situation anymore.

When he heard daddy's bark, Eljay looked over his shoulder and his tail wagged as he stopped to allow his father to catch up. He slowly started to walk again once he'd caught up, a soft smile on his face as he looked at daddy. He was glad everything had turned out sort of okay, and he nodded to confirm his dad's question. "Yeah... sorta." He wasn't very good at patrolling, so he wouldn't count himself as a full patrol person, but he was trying.

"Oh, uhm... I wanted to ask if you know about a guy named Sebastian," Eljay asked, a little awkwardly because he felt like he'd look a fool if daddy hadn't actually heard of this guy, ever.

"Sorta," Eljay replied, and Elwood nodded. He was used to his son's self-deprecating responses, so even if Eljay didn't think he was doing a good job of patrolling, he was still making an effort -- and that was enough to garner Elwood's respect.

He fell into step alongside his son, tail swaying loosely between his hind legs. There was no need for any displays of dominance; they were the only two wolves to be seen for miles. He blinked at Eljay's mention of Sebastion, though his face quickly softened into a smile. "Oh yeah, I know Sebastian. He lived here for a while -- I think you were just a kiddo -- but he left to do his own thing," he said, remembering the younger male and his quest for love and independence.

It seemed that Sebastian had been truthful and he really had known daddy and lived here at Redhawk Caldera. That was a relief, because it made the story that he was really a medic a lot more feasible, too. Eljay smiled and he said, "He was healing someone who'd got hurt really badly when I met him." It was good to know that his story had been truthful, and Eljay wondered to himself how the wolf was doing.

He wondered if he'd ever get to visit Sebastian at Broken Antler Fen. He didn't know how far away it was, and he wasn't sure he would ever gather the courage to go somewhere else. Maybe if mommy or daddy joined, but he was afraid to ask them because they would get all excited and what if he'd chicken out and disappoint them? It was better just to ignore the subject for now.

The boy appeared to be relieved when Elwood confirmed that he did, indeed, know Sebastian, and then supplemented more details about his encounter with the former Redhawk. Elwood nodded, a slight crease appearing between his brows at the mention of an injured wolf. Whoever it was, he or she was lucky to have encountered Sebastian -- even during his time at the caldera, he had shown an interest in becoming a healer. He expected that Sebastian was a practiced medic by now.

"That's good. Sebastian was working on earning his healer trade when he lived here," he commented, though he didn't ask for any further details on what had happened. Instead, he queried, "Do you know where Sebastian is living now?" Surely it was nearby -- otherwise, Eljay would never have met him. He realized then that this meant Eljay had left the safety of his home territory, which gave him a bit of a start, but he held his tongue, hoping that his son would speak more of his apparent adventure.

Eljay was glad that daddy seemed to like hearing about how his old friend was doing. He listened to daddy and nodded, then scrunched his nose in thought while he tried to recall the pack's name. "It's on the other side of Lake Rodney," said Eljay thoughtfully. "Antler, uhm... I don't remember." He felt his face grow hot as he tried to remember. He thought it was Broken Antler Fen or Field or something like that, but he wasn't sure, so decided to leave it out.

Although Eljay didn't provide him with a complete pack name, Elwood still committed the small amount of information to memory. Antler something-or-other, and they lived on the opposite shore of Lake Rodney. He was interested to find that Sebastian had settled so close, and it was with genuine interest that he made his next suggestion.

"We could go visit him sometime," he offered, and then segued into the inquiry that had been dancing in his mind. "Did you...meet him near his territory?" he asked, attempting to keep his tone casual.

Eljay knew exactly what was going on when daddy asked him so carefully where he'd seen Sebastian. Eljay just wasn't sure what it would add to their lives to go and see Sebastian in some far-away place. What would they gain? What good would it do the pack? He'd rather just stay here at the Caldera, and the weight of expectations was starting to push down on his shoulders when daddy suggested the visit. Maybe he shouldn't 've told, Eljay thought.

"Oh, uhm, maybe," he said off-handed and looked to the outside world as he further skimmed the borders, taking the opportunity to subtly look away from daddy. "Just, uh, just at the lake," he answered — he'd wanted to be brave and then he'd seen Sebastian and the other wolf there, so he'd gone to look from a distance.

Unsurprisingly, Eljay didn't seem all that interested in visiting Sebastian after Elwood suggested it. Elwood wouldn't hold it against him; it wasn't like the Beta himself ventured outside of Redhawk Caldera that often, so he certainly couldn't judge. He shrugged his shoulders and didn't comment further on the subject.

"How was the lake? Did you get to do any fishing while you were there?" he asked, keeping the conversation light in an attempt to refrain from putting any pressure on Eljay. He, too, looked away briefly, his gaze skimming the borders as though he would find some disturbance there -- but luckily there was none.

"No," Eljay replied to daddy's question, and he shook his head. "I saw the wolves there so I didn't get to it." He hadn't stuck around after either, ready to go home. The real answer was, of course, that he'd been afraid and the last he could do was focus his attention on something that required attention, like fishing. He looked at his paws, unable to hide his shame in that. He wished that he'd been able to fill in mommy and daddy's expectations, but somehow he always seemed to fall short.

Fade? You can post once more or archive if you want!"

"Gotcha," Elwood replied, and was content then to let the subject drop. Eljay's discomfort was becoming more obvious with each passing second, so he simply lengthened his stride and gestured with his snout, indicating for Eljay to keep walking with him.

They could continue to patrol in companionable silence, while Elwood thought about the information he had just gleaned from his son.