Redhawk Caldera Who are these folks?

AW!! I forgot if Valette knows about the fact Caldera was in a war. So keeping vague about it :'D

Valette came upon a pack but she wasn't sure if she ever come across it before. The female wondered if this was Moonspear. Her son had told her that it was a large mountain but in a mountain range. This seemed to be a lone mountain standing there by itself. Valette didn't believe this was the right pack with her ranger skills. But it couldn't hurt to ask if she was close and to learn more about other packs in Teekon.

Valette stopped a respectful distance from the pack grounds. Their scent seemed strong and settled. The female howled for an audience with any of the pack members. Anyone who had time. She didn't howl for the leadership specifically just for anyone in general. She hoped they would be friendly enough to help but she would never know. Hence why the alpha female stayed a respectful distance away carrying a neutral stance.

The upcoming arrival of a new batch of siblings helped keep Towhee steady in the face of adversity: @Fiadh's strange new growth, @Sebastian's mental instability and the thinning ranks were among the things currently eating at her. She had so much still to prove as an Alpha. She knew leadership wasn't ever going to be easy, that challenges like this would present themselves more often than not, and Towhee just hoped she wouldn't fail abysmally at guiding the Redhawks.

She found peace in patrols as well, the familiarity of the borders and X's trailing shadow a calming comfort. There was no shadow just now; the sun was hidden behind a gunmetal gray sky and the hawk had settled on her shoulder when the first few raindrops fell. The rain stayed light, however, and Towhee continued her patrol with the bird's weight shifting on her shoulder blade.

Towhee started when he suddenly pecked at the nape of her neck. She turned and saw a gray figure about half a mile behind them, its head tipped toward the dreary sky. She immediately pivoted and began trotting back in that direction, X holding on tightly as he bounced, her neck stiffening and her tail raising as she closed the distance between herself and the gray she-wolf.

"State your name and business," she said brusquely, grinding to a halt, orange eyes boring into the stranger's face.

Valette was soon met with a young female, though it was quite the sight to be seen as she was not alone. She had a bird of prey on the nape of her neck. Valette was in shock for a moment as she had never seen a relationship between two different species like this. She could see the advantage from such an alliance though. Valette then focussed on the female. "I'm Valette. Alpha of Easthollow. You might not know it," she then spoke. "Nevertheless, I was on route to another destination and came across your lands," she explained to the female with a calm tone.

"I was wondering what your pack was called as I am a ranger and like to know more about other packs," she spoke politely. "Unless you don't want to then I will be on my way again," she added. She looked with some expectancy at the female. She hoped that she wouldn't be sent away.

Towhee smirked inwardly at the surprised look on the stranger's face. Outwardly, her face remained blank, her eyes focusing on the woman's—Valette's—lips. After introducing herself, she mentioned a pack Towhee had neither heard of nor cared about, then explained how she'd stumbled across the caldera's claim en route to somewhere else. She evidently liked to collect knowledge about other packs, which of course triggered a sense of protectiveness in the guardian's chest. But there was also a sentiment of pride there too.

She almost told Valette to go right ahead and be on her way, though Towhee reminded herself that she represented all of Redhawk Caldera now. She would never be an ambassador, yet she could practice some diplomacy, she supposed. Possibly she could gather her own intelligence too, for the benefit of the pack. She couldn't imagine any situation where they'd engage in an interaction outside of war, though a little information never hurt anybody.

"This is Redhawk Caldera," she said in her slow, clunky cadence, "and I am Towhee, its Alpha. What would you like to know?"

Valette was pleased when she wasn't instantly sent away. Her tail wagged briefly. Valette didn't really hide her emotions. She didn't mind that the other female knew she was glad to talk to her. This was Redhawk Caldera then. She wasn't sure if she ever heard about it. "Thank you for speaking to me, Towhee," she spoke with a polite nod.

"This is a very curious mountain. I've never seen a sole mountain like this," she commented as she saved it as a landmark. As a ranger, she often worked with landmarks to find her way. She was definitely going to remember this. "Were you in the war as well? Or hasn't it happened yet? A scout warned us about a war brewing against Blackfeather,' she spoke then. "If you could give me any information on that it would be welcomed. Then I know if we should stay alert or not," she admitted.

Valette pointed out the strangeness of the caldera's appearance before shifting gears and talking about the war. She wondered how the visitor knew about it, though she didn't leave Towhee wondering long. She wanted information about it. The young Alpha's ears shifted backward slightly in consideration.

At length, she spoke. "Yes, I fought in the war. We won. But we didn't kill all of them." We should've... she thought with a note of bitterness. "They fled the immediate area but I can't say where they went. It's always a good idea to stay vigilant." She paused, then added with a touch of reluctance, "I have heard of attacks since the battle," but did not elaborate.

"The caldera is not a mountain," she added in the next breath, "it's an extinct volcano."

Valette perked up her ears when then other spoke about the war. This pack won the war. It made sense to her now, and the reason why her father visited her borders. He had been in that pack. So that meant that they had been on the run at that time? Interesting. "We will stay alert, thank you," she spoke. "I wish we could help, if you are in need of healers that is, though we are unfortunately lacking a healer ourselves," she admitted. Otherwise Valette would be friendly enough to offer a healer to this pack.

"Where have these attacks been? Do you know?," she asked curiously. The female really was going to keep her mercenaries alert. Valette's attention perked up when the female explained that this wasn't a mountain but a volcano. The ranger eyed at it. A super interesting landmark to learn about! "A volcano? I never heard about it! Can you tell me about it?," she asked in wonder.

Although she knew Valette meant well, Towhee frowned and shook her head at the mention of help. "We don't need help from other packs," she said firmly. She didn't feel the need to mention that they had a veritable handful of caretakers, with Raven at the head of the pack.

She licked her lips and made to answer the next question, when X distracted her by suddenly spreading his wings, bounding off her shoulder and sweeping into a glide, the tips of his wings practically brushing the ground before he gained some altitude. Towhee watched him cruise higher and higher before returning her attention to Valette.

"—tell me about it?" she was saying and the Alpha had to explain, "I'm deaf, so I missed what you just said. Can you repeat it?"

Valette nodded in return. She only wanted to be friendly. But they didn't have healers in the first place and this female didn't seem to want help so then she wouldn't have it. Valette just gave her a firm nod. She wouldn't want to deny help that quickly but perhaps they did have good healers already. Who knew. She didn't know this pack so she wouldn't judge them.

Valette cleared her throat. "I'm sorry," she apologized first. "I wondered where the attacks were, and I wondered if you could tell me what a volcano is?," she spoke a bit more slowly but not harder, as the female said that she was deaf. She didn't feel like she should talk louder. A deaf alpha and so young. How curious!

Valette took her request in stride, repeating herself. Towhee didn't reply right away, weighing things in her mind. Should she share the news of the attack on Hydra's younger sister? She could see no way Valette could use it against herself or her friend. And though she likely wouldn't think of this visitor or her pack again after this, Towhee didn't want anyone else to fall victim to the Blackfeathers.

"It happened near Moonspear," she answered. "I don't know much beyond that. All I know is that the Blackfeathers are still at large somewhere, so it's safest to stay vigilant." She paused before addressing Valette's other inquiry. "I'm not one hundred percent sure but I'm under the impression that the lake at its center was one boiling hot and would explode from time to time. But it's dead now, so that doesn't happen anymore, making it habitable."

Valette's brows raised when the female revealed that there was an attack at Moonspear. Valette looked shocked. "Oh no! I hope they are okay. I am headed to Moonspear for my son," she admitted to the alpha female. She looked worried for a moment and realized for the first time that she perhaps shouldn't have headed out alone. Maybe she could always play the 'my-father-is-in-your-pack' card even though she didn't see her as her father. "I will be careful," she spoke with a decisive nod.

"I understand that Moonspear is West of here?," she then inquired. It seemed this female knew about this pack, so she could probably help locate it. Valette was super fascinated when she heard about this strange mountain. She looked rather entertained and wide-eyed. She never heard of such a thing before! Neat! "Thank you for explaining," she spoke with a respectful dip of her head. Now she knew a new landmark and learned about it as well. This would be good for her visual map of the land she lived in. She could tell other scouts about this landmark.

When the rain picked up abruptly, Towhee understood why X had disembarked a few moments ago. She shifted her weight, squinting through the sudden downpour at Valette, doing her best to read her lips. But it was just too hard. She didn't catch anything the other she-wolf said.

"I'm sorry, there's no way I can read your lips in this. I'm going to find some cover," Towhee said. But she didn't move; she wouldn't depart until Valette was gone from the borders. "Best of luck in your travels," she said with forced politeness, feeling rather proud of herself for avoiding simply telling the visitor to get lost.

Valette was never too bothered with rain but she could tell when she wasn't welcome anymore. The female just dipped her head respectfully and gave the alpha female more space. She had gotten some information. Plus she was good at scouting. She made it her job. She would be able to find Moonspear. It might take her a bit longer but the female didn't mind that. She still knew her way home. "Thank you," she spoke but she was pretty sure the other didn't hear it. With that said, she turned around and left the Caldera's borders.


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