Redhawk Caldera spirits born from the not happened yet

Eljay wasn't sure whether he was relieved or disappointed that it wasn't Towhee who came to greet him. She was probably still resting, he told himself, and besides, he'd called specifically for Ruenna anyway. The caretaker smiled as Ruenna came into view with her usual limp. He was glad that she invited him to come up; he'd never cross the Caldera's borders without prompting, but he knew that for Ruenna it'd be a lot harder to head down than for him to come on up. It was one of the reasons he'd come here, as he wanted to spare her the journey to the Caldera. He knew how it was to be travel-impaired, even though his was of the mental sort rather than the physical sort.

Hi Ruenna, he said with a warm smile to mirror her own disposition. He was surprised when she congratulated him. Oh! Uh. Thanks. Eljay smiled sheepishly, feeling as though it wasn't really a thing to be congratulated for. But perhaps it was a little bit. We lost a lot of wolves, and uh — well, it just made sense, I guess, to the others. Eljay still didn't really understand how it had happened, but he had understood that someone needed to step up at the time, and so when they asked him, he'd stepped up. He didn't really know about the leadership situation in Redhawk Caldera, or he might've congratulated Ruenna as well. Already he felt like a babbling idiot, back here at Caldera borders, even though he also felt the tug of home and the regrets that he hadn't been able to raise Hymnal and Sylvie here. But if they'd moved here, then they would've stayed their family of four rather than adopting Ibis' three, so he knew that things were better this way. Besides... It felt better to be a respected friend who helped lead Brecheliant, rather than the uncertain, stammering caretaker he'd often felt like at Redhawk Caldera. It was hard to outgrow the dynamics of family, and whenever he saw Towhee, he could not help but feel his heart stiffen and a desire to impress her grow, which in turn made him not very impressive.

Even though it was right this way, Eljay still felt guilt creep up on him as he thought of Towhee's injury. Fennec could handle it, though, surely. I heard from Teya you wanted to visit us, so I thought I'd drop by myself, instead, and save you the journey, he offered kindly. He opened his mouth again to say something — an apology maybe, for leaving so suddenly at such a bad time — but he just couldn't find the words, so he saved them for later and exhaled with a tense sigh.