Redhawk Caldera we're on the island of misfit toys

Raven had not expected to come home to such tragedy, misery and upheaval, yet it was a burden she was glad to bear. It served as fair penance for leaving the Redhawks in a lurch so long ago. She continued to work on her herb-gathering, though when she woke to find a thick frost crusting the grass and her breath curling visibly from her muzzle, she knew that was the end game. Everything would be dead now and she would just have to make do with what she'd managed to collect over the past several days.

With no other task to perform, the yearling decided to seek out her Uncle @Elwood. She had gotten the scoop from Eljay, between tears and sobs, and she knew she should catch up with her godfather as well as @Liffey and Lagan, his newest children with Finley along with the missing Lucy. Raven looked forward to meeting her little cousins and just hoped it was okay to come calling first thing in the morning, with nothing to offer except her presence.

When she reached the Blackthorns' corner of the rendezvous site, the black she-wolf paused and chuffed quietly, announcing said presence. Her tail swept the cold air for a moment before she sat, head bowed slightly as she waited.

*squeezes in a lunch break post*

Elwood was feeling frustrated, but he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. In just a matter of days, Redhawk Caldera had splintered; two of its core members were gone, not to mention the missing Finley and Lucy. He didn't understand the motive behind Fox's actions and resented that he had been unable to do anything to help Shrike. But even though he was disgruntled and the caldera was beginning to feel like it wasn't the home he had known, he didn't think confronting Fox would be the right thing to do. He didn't want to find himself booted from the pack like Shrike.

He was brooding at the rendezvous site, for the first time having something on his mind other than Finley and Lucy. There was a soft huff from nearby, indicating the presence of another wolf, and Elwood looked up. A short distance away stood a black she-wolf that he didn't immediately recognize. He peered at her for a long moment, then sniffed and triggered a memory. "Raven?" he asked, having missed the return of his niece in all the commotion of the last few days.

Liffey's welcome to pop in anytime, of course. :D

When the Beta male came forth, looking very much the same if a lot more careworn, Raven ducked her head even further. "Hi, Uncle Elwood," she greeted meekly, tail tentatively sweeping the brittle grass at her back. "I'm sorry for calling so early. I hope I didn't wake you." She licked her lips, yearning to reestablish a closeness with her godfather but feeling guilty for leaving and awkward about the long stretch of empty space and time between them. She knew she had missed so much more than just the end of her father's life.

"I talked to Eljay," the yearling began, "and I just wanted to stop by and check in with you. And Liffey and Lagan?" Their names came out as a question, as she wasn't one hundred percent sure she had remembered and pronounced them correctly. "You guys have all been through so much lately. I want to help," she explained a bit lamely.

I'll probably PP Lagan in my next post. :D

As soon as Raven greeted him, Elwood was transported back in time, remembering the firebirds' childhood. Although she was older, now that he was giving her a closer look he could see that she was still very much the same reserved, considerate girl she had always been. He stepped towards her, now smiling as he reached out to touch her shoulder with his nose.

"It's so good to see you. I didn't know you were back," he said, his tail swinging slowly behind him. Naturally, he wanted to know about where Raven had been in her time away from the caldera -- and what had brought her back -- but she carefully broached a sensitive subject, offering her assistance. "Thank you. Liffey and Lagan are doing okay -- in fact, I'm sure they'd love to meet you." He paused just long enough to tip his head back and call for the twins, before leveling his gaze at Raven once more. "Eljay, though...he's having a much harder time dealing with his mom not being here," he added. Truthfully, he wondered if Eljay missed Lucy, too -- or if he was wholly focused on Finley's absence.

Her tail wiggled at her uncle's welcoming touch, speeding up when Elwood stepped back and called for the twins. It fell still, though, when the Beta mentioned his older son. Raven reflected on her conversation with her fellow yearling. She nodded thoughtfully to acknowledge Elwood's implied concern.

"I'm not a full-blown medic yet," she said slowly, "so I'm not really qualified to go around making diagnoses. But I think Eljay might be struggling with situational depression. I'd like to help and I hope I can. I offered to take his mind off things by helping him learn more about medicine." Her head canted slightly to the left, wondering what Elwood would make of this information.

Despite Raven's preface that she hadn't yet officially earned the title of medic, Elwood thought she hit the nail on the head when speaking of Eljay. The deterioration of his mental state was no secret to anyone in the pack, but it pained him a little to realize how quickly Raven had been able to make her assessment. Elwood gnawed on the inside of his lip for a moment, nodding thoughtfully.

"I've been trying to do the same -- keeping his mind off of things," he said. "But it's like he just can't focus on anything else." He opened his mouth to continue, but the arrival of Lagan stilled his tongue. The youth bounded onto the scene, tail wagging and eyes bright. Elwood couldn't help but smile. "Raven, this is Lagan," he said, then added for Lagan's benefit, "She's Whip and Gannet's sister. Your cousin."

Eagerly, the boy approached Raven and gave her a thorough sniffing, which caused Elwood to chuckle.

In a filing cabinet in the back of her mind, there was a medical record titled "Eljay." Raven jotted down her uncle's words in said file, right before putting it away as a distraction presented itself in the form of Lagan. He looked a lot like his dad and older brother, yet the difference between Eljay and Lagan here was like night and day. The yearling dropped her head to sniff noses with him, tail waving. Despite the issues troubling the Blackthorns, little Lagan looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, the perfect specimen of a healthy young boy.

"It's so nice to meet you, Lagan," the she-wolf said genuinely. "How old are you?" she wondered, tilting her head. It was no trouble at all to keep the smile pasted on her lips, as there was something innately cheerful about this young wolf's presence.

Lemme know if I've mis-characterized him! >>;

Elwood subconsciously took a step back, letting Lagan greet and interact with his cousin independently. Although they weren't truly related by blood, the bond of family seemed more important than ever now that Peregrine was gone. He hoped that the Blackthorns and Redhawks would remain close, no matter what happened in the future.

"Almost five months old," Lagan replied proudly, and Elwood was pleased to note that his lisp seemed to be less noticeable. It was bittersweet, since it indicated that his youngest son was growing up; but he couldn't complain about the way he was turning out. He was spunky, polite, and positive, and was sure to be a productive member of the pack as he got older. Elwood watched as the boy peered up at Raven and cheekily asked, "How old are you?"

If he was five months old, Raven idly noted that he'd almost reached his adult proportions. He was probably an adorable kid, she thought, her heart dipping as it always did when she considered all she'd missed. But before she could possibly start feeling down in the dumps, Lagan tossed the question right back at her.

"Somewhere between one and two. Closer to two now, I think," Raven answered with a switch of her black tail. "Hey, did you know your dad's not only my uncle but also my godfather?" She wondered if he'd know what that meant, if her parents might possibly be his godparents in turn (well, only Fox now).

"That's old!" Lagan commented, and Elwood rolled his eyes and cuffed him affectionately between the ears. The boy was then much more interested in Raven's comment about her godfather. "What's a godfather?" he asked, his gaze fixed on Raven. Elwood could have provided an answer, but he stayed quiet for the time being, curious to see how Raven would explain the relationship. It was kind of nice to see Lagan directing his seemingly never-ending questions at someone else.

Raven took no offense at Lagan's comment, simply nodding as if in agreement. It turned out he didn't know the meaning of the word, so the yearling shot her uncle a quick glance to make sure it was all right to answer before pausing to think of the right way to describe it without being too morbid.

"A godparent's role is to step up and take care of the pups in case anything happens to the parents. It's not that common for that to happen," Raven quickly explained, "but just in case..." She licked her lips. "It's meant to be an honor too, to denote that the godparent is a special fixture in the pups' lives. Your mom and dad helped raise me and my brother and sister, even though our parents were still around at the time," she finished.

She hoped the mention of his mom did not arouse any bad feelings in young Lagan. Although he was clearly more well-adjusted to her absence than his elder brother—probably due to his age—Raven knew it must be difficult for all involved. Heck, she missed Finley too. Raven had looked up to her Aunt Flea for as long as she could remember, envious of her boldness. And though the memories of her were now more than a little muzzy, she still loved her without a shadow of a doubt.

Elwood smiled as Raven replied to her nephew promptly and smoothly. Her explanation was appropriate as well as easy for him to understand; he noticed that the boy was nodding his head eagerly, soaking up the information like a sponge. Although he and Finley had never officially asked Fox and Peregrine to act as their own children's godparents, Elwood knew that if anything were to happen to either one of them -- heaven forbid -- the Redhawks would care for the youngest Blackthorns. Of course, with Peregrine now deceased, this left Fox with the sole responsibility; her recent behavior caused Elwood's stomach to shift slightly in worry. Would she be willing to step up if necessary?

He banished the thought from his mind. It wasn't something that would ever come to fruition; even if Finley never returned, he would remain steadfastly capable of raising the twins. Lagan roused him from his serious thoughts with a question that caused him to grin: "That's cool. Will you be my godfather?" He looked earnestly up at Raven, having no reason to expect her to decline.

"Well, she would be a godmother -- but she and your Aunt Fox would both take good care of you if anything ever happened to me," Elwood said, chuckling despite the solemn topic. "But I'm not going anywhere," he quickly added, jostling his son playfully with his elbow.

Raven had to bite the inside of her cheek to avoid bursting into laughter at Lagan's query. Her yellow eyes danced and as soon as she trusted herself to speak without giggling, she replied, "Of course." Elwood took the opportunity to gently correct the boy, though the mirthful look on the yearling's face didn't falter. Semantics aside, she was thrilled that her little cousin was so welcoming of her to ask such a thing. Everyone had been so wonderful to her so far, it was almost breathtaking at times.

"Like he said," Raven picked up where Elwood had left off, "he isn't going anywhere anytime soon. And your mom will be back soon too. But everyone in this pack will look out for you. We're all family here, that's what we do," she concluded, exchanging a look with her uncle over the boy's head.

She spared a moment to wonder about Liffey's whereabouts—perhaps she was simply still asleep? It was early—before shifting gears slightly and asking, "So, Lagan, has anyone talked to you about trades yet?"

Lagan seemed satisfied by the answers provided by both adults. "Mmkay," he agreed pleasantly, which left Elwood wondering if he would, from now on, associate Raven as his "godfather." Either way, he was glad that his niece had returned to the pack and that Liffey and Lagan would grow up with an older role model to look up to, aside from Eljay.

His brows lifted as Raven asked Lagan a question. The boy shook his head, eyes wide with unasked questions and brimming with curiosity. Elwood's lips twitched. "We haven't talked too much about trades, no. He knows that I'm a guardian and that his mom is a scout -- but I'm sure he would love to hear about your specialties, Raven," he said. Soon enough, it would be time for the youngest Blackthorns to start pulling their weight as they approached the adult ranks. Elwood was reminded of a conversation he had had with Peregrine long ago about their children's future trades, and whether or not they should influence them to be like their parents. Perhaps Lagan wouldn't want to be a scout or a guardian -- maybe he would end up wanting to take after his older brother and his "godfather" and become a caregiver of some sort. Only time would tell.

Lagan shook his head and Elwood stepped in to explain. Raven nodded her head, then looked at her cousin godson again, yellow eyes twinkling. Although she had never really given any thought to a family of her own someday, she liked pups and was just sad she'd missed out on the earliest days of both her cousins' and younger brothers' lives. If Fox was indeed pregnant, she would hopefully make up for her earlier disappearing act by being the best dang old sister that ever lived.

In the meantime... "I'd love to show you all about being a caregiver and medic," she said to Lagan. "Would you happen to have any booboos right now, by any chance? Even the tiniest one?" Raven questioned, knowing it was likely for someone so young and uncoordinated to have at least one minor cut or scrape somewhere on his body at any given time. She had gained much of her hands-on experience patching her own litter mates when they were growing up.

Want to kind of fade out with your post? I wanna wrap this up since I'm PPing Lagan and he has a new player now. :D

Elwood grinned. Raven's request for a booboo was met quickly by Lagan. The boy wasted no time in examining his own body, lifting each of his front paws to investigate before turning around to look at his own rump. "Righ' here," he said, pointing out a small nick hidden in the fur on his hip. "I bumped into a tree," he explained, prompting a chuckle from his father.

Curious to hear Raven's expertise himself, Elwood pricked his ears towards her. He knew next to nothing about medicine, but maybe he would be able to remember something basic, even if he only used it to treat his own kids' booboos.

'Course! I had the same thought. :)

Whether or not his interest persisted beyond this conversation, Raven couldn't guess, but Lagan quite enthusiastically played along by searching himself for any sign of a cut. He pointed out a scrape on his haunch, claiming that he had run into a tree. The yearling looked at him quickly, lips curling and eyes dancing. How had he managed to bump into something as large and obvious as a tree? It reminded her of her sister; Wildfire had been the same way: a lovable klutz.

"Let me have a look," she said in a low murmur, pressing her nose toward the broken flesh. It was already healing nicely, with a thick scab mostly hidden by gray fur. "That's quite a scrape, Lagan. What'd you ever do to that tree, anyway?" Raven mused, yellow eyes dancing even more. "It looks like you're doing a good job healing it all on your own but I'm going to recommend an antibiotic, just in case. Follow me."

Only after exchanging a glance with Elwood—which also silently invited him to accompany them, of course—did Raven begin walking, in the direction of the badger den. There were a few odds and ends in there that she could give Lagan, as something as simple as a leaf to chew to boost his immunity and help him fight off infection. It was quite likely totally unnecessary but Raven Redhawk would rather be safe than sorry, especially when it came to pups.