Redhawk Caldera I've seen your flag on the marble arch

Hey, anyone is welcome!

In the depths of the caldera, Mikael felt a little out of place. Sure, he had been accepted into the pack and even was instated as Kappa but still he felt like he didn't belong in a place such as this. He hung on the outskirts, just on the edge of the area in which the pack was moving about and he hunkered down, eyes glancing up at the sky with a sigh and he rolled a little to the side, using a fallen branch on the ground to rub against. There was a peculiar itch along his spine and he was unsure if he'd been bitten by an insect of some sort or if something was watching him. Or someone.


He was a little uncertain of what to think of finally having a place to call home. Sure, the food and the security and the peace that came with it was all well and good, but somewhere out there was his sister and he knew not her fate. Was she alive? Dead, broken, injured, captive? Where was she? Was she okay... Did Rozari even know if he was alive? He hadn't even entertained that thought before but now it seemed the likeliest option. As he mused, he watched the sky above as the clouds moved and the gentle sway of the bare trees around him.

The new Kappa of Redhawk Caldera was indeed being watched. Somnia had spotted him, and decided to follow him as he had caught her interest. He looked somewhat like Ashton, but with a darker gold, with a bit of brown mixed in. He even had the same emerald eyes! At first, his similar appearance to her romantic interest had ruffled her feathers a bit, so to speak. But after observing him for a few moments, Somnia didn't know how to feel about him. Finally, she decided to reveal herself and initiate conversation. As long as the newcomer didn't speak and act like Ashton, she shouldn't have much of a problem with him.

Somnia stepped out of her hiding spot: a mixture of bushes, shadows, and trees that had managed to conceal her. "Hello," She started, her eyes analyzing his face for any expressions to portray how he was feeling. "My name is Somnia. Welcome to Redhawk Caldera." Her tone of voice and body posture was kept neutral, for she still wasn't sure how she felt about him.

I can't wait to see what happens when Mikael calls him "Twig"... :D

Returning from an unsuccessful hunt, Elwood was tired and annoyed. He trudged through the snow, tracing a familiar path that led him around the base of the mountain before taking him further up its slopes. The prey he had selected should have been easy to catch, but the hare had turned out to be faster than he anticipated -- and he was distracted, though he couldn't (or wouldn't) admit what (or whom) was on his mind.

When he rounded a bend half-obscured by snowy shrubbery, he came upon two very familiar figures: Somnia and Ashton. Instantly, the Beta perked up, glad to see his good friends. He was confident that they would be able to lift his spirits. As he drew nearer, though, he noticed that there was something different -- Ashton's scent was nowhere to be found. With a frown, he studied the cream-colored wolf that Somnia was speaking to, and soon realized that this wasn't Ashton, but some sort of doppelganger.

"Whoa," he said, drawing to a halt next to Somnia. He bumped his hip amiably against hers, then voiced the very thoughts that were racing through her head, as well. "You look just like Ashton, one of our other packmates. You new here?" The smell of the caldera was woven lightly into the male's pelt, along with Finley's -- which made him tense ever so slightly, but he quickly smoothed over his expression.

Tempest slid in beside the other to wolves, her posture neutral, but with some dominance. She was proud of her new position, but made sure her posture was still one of slight submissiveness to the other two. "Mikael, isn't it?" she asked. "I'm Tempest." Noticing that Elwood had not introduced himself, she added"This is Twiggy. He took a hit on the head, however, and thinks his name is Elwood. It's a shame, really.'

She kept her expression cool and her voice as well, proud of the fact that she could keep a straight face.

Post order so far: @Mikael, @Somnia, @Elwood, @Tempest

There was blood on the snow and the terrible grief that rose in him was cloying and the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh tore through his senses and all around him, he heard the echo of a dying wolf, burning in the depths of the den before him. The cloying smell lay heavy on his tongue, the bittersweet ash of revenge in his mouth. There were eyes on him and on the scowling fae that was his older sister, damning eyes but Mikael placed little trust in the wolves around him. Too many times had he felt the tear of their teeth and the burning pain of their claws.

And into the night they ran.

Traitor.

Oathbreaker.

Kinslayer.

Murderer.


Mikael blinked as he was drawn out of his dark memories, eyes quickly finding the grey fae that had appeared from the wooded areas behind him. Climbing to his feet, he shook the snow from his fur with a grin and yawned, before allowing the grin to sneak back onto his face. This fae looked like fun, even if her posture was sharp and deliberately neutral. He made sure his own was at least submissive enough for the three wolves. "Well, hello there! I am Mikael Igantyev, professional snake charmer and teller of future, only available on rainy days I'm afraid! And is your title 'In'? Because no wolf could sleep with you around!" Get it, In-somnia? He joked casually, his bright grin indicating that he was joking and meant no offence, especially if she was mated. "And thanks for the welcome, it's good... To finally have a home, after a long time without one."

To the other two wolves that had arrived, he grinned and nodded to their questions. "Yup, new as a baby bird I'm afraid. And hi, you must be Twig. Finley told me that you had a problem with a mix up of names, I am so sorry for that. But don't worry, your real name is Twig." He kept a straight face for a few moments, before a smirk crept on. "And, yes. It's Mikael, the snake charmer extraordinaire! Nice to meet you Tempest!"

Somnia watched the wolf get drawn out of his thoughts. Before he could reply, Elwood arrived, and voiced what had been on her mind. "I was thinking the same." She mentioned, feeling slightly relieved that she wouldn't be left to evaluate the newest pack-mate by herself.

Then, Tempest slid on in. She gave a name to the Ashton-imposter; Mikael. Somnia would remember that. She didn't expect, however, for Tempest to call Elwood 'Twiggy'. She gave Tempest a disapproving glance, for Somnia wasn't in on Finley's joke and just thought she was doing it for the heck of it.

Back to the newest member. He was a bit of a joker, another quality of Ashton's, though without the unusual words Ashton had in his vocabulary. She wasn't exactly amused at his jokes, partly because Tempest had offed any good mood provided by Elwood. "Haha." She remarked dryly. When he got more serious with the next part, Somnia offered him a smile, as well as a nod of understanding. Wasn't she a moody brat today?

When Mikael also called Elwood Twig, and also mentioned Finley, Somnia gave Elwood a questioning look. "Twig?" She questioned with a good natured bump into his side.

It seemed that the pack's Welcome Wagon had assembled on this particular day, for Tempest soon joined the crowd. Elwood shot a friendly glance in her direction, keeping his ears trained on Mikael as the Ashton-lookalike introduced himself. He was a jokester, which Elwood appreciated -- little did he know that he had earned his reputation as snake-charmer from Finley, the very wolf that had also named him...

Twig. Elwood's jaw dropped as Tempest and Mikael simultaneously addressed him by the nickname Finley had given to him during their first interaction. What...? How...? He was stunned at first, but he slowly began to put the pieces together. There could only be one culprit: Finley.

He huffed softly; as the pack's new Beta male, he could very easily have pulled rank and put the two offenders in their place. That wasn't his style, however, and though it ruffled his feathers slightly to be called Twig, he knew it was all in good fun. "You got it, dudes," he replied with a wink. "Twig's the name, and...twigging's the game?" He shrugged, then glanced at Somnia, who seemed to have been left in the dark.

"Our illustrious Finley likes to call me Twig. And apparently, she has started instructing everyone else to do the same..." he explained with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. Maybe he would enlist Somnia to come up with an appropriate punishment for Fin.

Tempest grinned at Mikael's introduction. "Yes, Twiggy enjoys...twigging things. I am unsure, however, of exactly what twigging means. I can imagine many meaning for the word 'twigging' and none of them good."

She glanced at Elwood, noticing his handsome frame. His finely sculpted features, his bea-. "SHUT UP" she screamed mentally at herself. All the females seemed to be fighting over the single males, and Finley already seemed to 'own' Elwood. Finley, in other words, had dibs, and she did not want to be on the receiving end of Finley's anger.

Mikael grinned at the expressions crossing El- Twig's face and let a low laugh bubble out of him. "Let's hope you stay twigging then, Mr. Twig. And I believe perhaps I have been fooled here. Is Finley our resident trickster?" He grinned at the possible meanings for 'twigging' the small peppered wolf suggested at and nodded mockingly, in a sage-like manner. "Yes, for there are many meanings for 'twigging' in the ancient tongues of the wolf."

He attempted to keep a straight face and couldn't hold it in any longer, a smirk creeping across the edge of his muzzle and grew into a full blown grin. "So, wait. I have a doppelgänger? Cool, I've always wanted one of them. Is he anything like me? As verbose or is he the opposite?"

So Finley started all of this. Somnia could imagine her doing that. But when Elwood said twigging.... Somnia couldn't help but chuckle. One meaning immediately popped into her head.. "Not gonna ask you to prove those abilities...." She commented with an odd glance. Mikael and Tempest also expressed their uncertain thoughts on the term.

Somnia listened as Mikael asked about Ashton, aka his doppleganger. Somnia couldn't determine if he could be classified as verbose, with all the unusual slang words, so Elwood could answer that. She'd get the rest. "Well, Ashton looks a lot like you, but his fur is more of a golden sunshine color without the brown. You also have his emerald eyes. As for personality wise, he can be a bit of a jokester. He also uses a lot of slang terms, and declares that he holds the crown of awesometasticness. As long as you don't declare yourself the king of that and try to tickle me in an attempt to hold onto that crown, I'd say you're not completely dopplegangers personality-wise." Somnia found herself shifting her wait in giddiness with a large grin on her face. How could she not when thinking about Ashton.

Then her thoughts moved on to Mikael. He better not try to tickle her based off of her small joke. Ashton was the only one allowed to do that. Well, maybe Elwood could also get away with it, if in the correct scenario. But Ashton could get away with it anytime.

Edit 1/21: Since it's been 2 1/2 weeks since anyone has replied, I'm going to edit a conclusion and archive this thread. :) PM me if that is a problem for anyone.

Elwood shrugged as everyone agreed that they didn't know -- or want to know -- what the definition of "twigging" was. "Your loss," he quipped good-naturedly, his tail sweeping the air behind him. He shifted his gaze between the wolves gathered around him as each of them spoke, focusing on Mikael and Somnia as the topic of conversation changed to Ashton. He didn't notice Tempest's lingering look, though he would have been quick to tell her that he did not belong to Finley by any means.

He nodded his head in response to Mikael's question -- "So, wait. I have a doppelgänger?" He certainly did, and the resemblance was uncanny. As far as mannerisms, however, Ashton could not have been more different from the Kappa. Somnia took it upon herself to describe their friend, and Elwood couldn't help but smile. He thought that the two would make a cute couple, though he hadn't voiced it to her -- and was unaware of the flirting and tickle-fight that had recently happened.

"Yeah, Ashton's kind of a hippie. He's got a...unique way of speaking, that's for sure. He's our resident medic," Elwood added, wondering if Ashton would soon claim the healer trade officially.

The packmates conversed for a while longer before parting ways, with promises to see each other soon. As Elwood departed, he found himself hoping that the newcomers would stick around, but knew that only time would tell.

Tempest nodded as the wolves spoke, then burst "I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Mikael" She loped into the trees, where she was soon hidden from sight. She followed her nose to where a rabbit had tread recently, and busied herself following it's trail.