Redhawk Caldera Restart the game

The Alpha male returned from the successful hunt with a dismembered leg and meaty haunch clasped in his powerful jaws. He dropped the hunk of meat just outside the den, then ducked inside to check on Fox and the pups. Now that their eyes were open, they seemed less like mobile potatoes and more like miniature wolves. It seemed impossible but he loved them even more than before. The fact that Wildfire seemed to have quieted down significantly since finding her eyes—such a crazy shade of gold!—was also a massive relief for both parents.

"I'll be back soon," Peregrine promised, kissing his mate's and children's heads, then exiting the den. He hopped over the deer leg and trotted swiftly down the mountain. He hadn't done a real patrol in a while, just like he hadn't led a pack hunt in weeks until this morning. It felt good to start getting back to the daily rhythm, even though it was still hard to be away from his pups. In a few more weeks, they would begin eating meat and be able to leave the den, so he would be able to babysit in Fox's stead.

For now, he was the only mobile Alpha. Elwood and Finley had done a bang-up job of running the pack in their stead these past couple of weeks and as Peregrine roamed the borders, he tried to think of a way to thank them. There was the obvious choice: give them breeding permission. But were they even mates? Did they even want kids? He would have to wheedle this information out of his trusty Beta pair sometime in the near future.

Maybe @Finley wants to join us too? :) Also, I'm probably going to tag you for a Wildfire thread soon...

Unknowingly, Elwood had the same plan that Peregrine did. After the pack hunt earlier in the day, he had ventured to the outskirts, stopping to slake his thirst at Lake Rodney. He had then looped back around, meandering along the borders at a leisurely pace as his yellow gaze took in the signs of spring around him. Much of the snow had melted, leaving ugly patches of mud in its wake; but plants were starting to bloom. There were shocks of green here and there, a stark contrast to the monochromatic winter landscape.

This reminded Elwood that, had he not integrated himself so wholly into the pack, he would likely be planning his departure. So much had changed over the last four months -- he felt more at home at Redhawk Caldera than he could have ever imagined, and to give up his pack and his family felt wrong. Yes, he still hoped to see Avery again someday, but...his priorities were with Finley, with Peregrine and Fox, and with the firebirds.

When he spotted the Alpha's swarthy figure, a dark blemish against a bright background, he sped up with a sharp bark. "Hey, wait up!" he called, his tail flashing silver in the afternoon sunlight as he loped towards Peregrine.

"Well, speak of the devil!" Peregrine shouted when Elwood ranged into view, barking and racing toward him. The Alpha continued his own forward momentum and the two quickly closed the gap. Instead of pausing, Peregrine motioned for the Beta to swing around and fall into step with him. He spent a lot of time standing, sitting and lying around lately, so he wanted to stay on the move right now.

"I was just thinking about you," he revealed. Realizing how that sounded, he looked sideways and waggled his eyebrows at Elwood. "I know it's not my business but I admit I was wondering whether you and Fin had made anything official yet. No pressure," he stage-whispered, his tongue lolling from his black muzzle in a companionable laugh as he continued his jaunty trot around the caldera's base.

Once he was near enough to Peregrine, Elwood delivered a friendly nudge to the Alpha's shoulder and then pivoted so that he was facing the same direction. He quickly matched his pace to Peregrine's so that they were walking side by side with the caldera at their shoulders. With raised brows, he looked at Perry curiously. "Me?" he asked, wondering what, exactly, the Alpha had been thinking about.

Peregrine answered his unspoken question quickly, revealing that he was curious to know if there was an official relationship between Elwood and his co-Beta yet. Elwood grinned at the whispered addition -- "No pressure" his foot! Fox and Peregrine had both been steadily nudging the two towards each other since the beginning, though in a good-natured way. Had there been no natural connection between himself and Finley, he suspected that they would have left him alone.

"No, not yet," he replied with a small shake of his head. Maybe it was weird that they hadn't discussed it; truthfully, they were essentially "official" in every essence of the word. They just hadn't...actually used that word. "I mean, I feel like we're basically a couple. I've even been sleeping in her den. But we haven't talked about it," he elaborated.

Peregrine bent an ear toward Elwood, listening to his reply. They hadn't made anything official, yet they were living together and surely boning on the reg. Of course, sticking your dong in someone didn't make them your mate (just ask Grimm!). But it seemed they were on course for eventually tying the knot and the Alpha smiled, satisfied.

"Anyway, the reason I was asking is because I was thinking of some way Fox and I could show our appreciation for basically running the ship while we're taking care of the pups. The first thing that sprang to mind was giving you two breeding permission yourselves... if you even want it. Do you two want kids?" He pondered how Finley had reacted when they'd asked her to play the role of godmother, then how she'd behaved around the pups themselves. "I'll admit I'm having a bit of trouble seeing Fin as a mom... but, I mean, if Fox and I can do it, so can you two! Right?"

Had Peregrine posed that question -- "Do you two want kids?" -- to Finley, he likely would have gotten a much more frazzled reaction. Elwood, however, was a bit more level-headed than his romantic interest. Though they obviously hadn't discussed the prospect of children if they couldn't even call each other "girlfriend" and "boyfriend," it was something that had crossed Elwood's mind with more frequency after the birth of the firebirds. He hoped to someday have children with Finley, but that conversation didn't quite fit into their plan to "take it slow."

"I know that I want kids at some point, but that's something else we haven't talked about yet," he replied with a laugh. He was grateful for the sentiment behind Peregrine's words, though -- the Alpha was giving them a privilege that he knew wasn't easy to earn. "Right now, I think she's more concerned with assembling an army of bears," he chuckled. The thought of Finley as a mother could be humorous, but it really wasn't that outrageous -- he had seen a new and nurturing side of her recently when she interacted with Peregrine's pups.

With a more serious tone, he added, "I really appreciate that, though. You'll be the first to know when we start making any decisions."

The black Alpha rolled his eyes upon receiving words about Finley's army of bears. "Of course," he muttered playfully, then bobbed his snout. "No pressure on that front either, of course. Fox and I would like to raise up the Firebirds a bit more anyway. I just feel like... it would be awesome for them to have cousins someday. You two deserve the honor." This time, he didn't add if you want it because it was pretty clear Elwood, at least, envisioned little gray puppies in his future.

"It's really the least we could do," he said when Elwood thanked him. "So, the Firebirds hadn't scared you off from future fatherhood, huh?" he quipped in the next beat, maintaining his swift but leisurely pace. "Even Wildfire and all that screaming...?" Even as the word screaming left his mouth, a loud noise of just such a nature tore through the air, causing Peregrine to freeze and veer slightly into the Beta's path to halt him too.

When he saw the lynx from a distance, the scars on his shoulders twinged as if he was Harry Potter and the cat was He Who Must Not Be Named. He winced, though he just as quickly began to growl. The noise flowed from him in a savage burble, not wavering once, not even when Peregrine realized the wildcat was missing an eye...

It would be awesome to raise their potential future puppies here -- not only would they have the firebirds as their "cousins," but they would be a part of what was essentially the best pack in all of Teekon Wilds. Well, in Elwood's opinion, anyway. But honestly -- they had become such a tight-knit group, for the most part, and he trusted many of his packmates with his life. There would always be those that came and went with the changing seasons, but he knew that the core of his "family" would stay put for a long time to come.

He had to laugh at the mention of Wildfire's...er, lung capacity. The girl could certainly make herself be heard, there was no doubt about that! "I dunno, maybe our kids will be a little quieter..." Elwood said, wincing as Wildfire's shriek echoed in his mind. He then shook his head. "But probably not. They'll probably take after Finley more than..."

The Beta wasn't given a chance to finish his sentence before there was a bloodcurdling sound that almost matched the pitch of Wildfire's voice. He ground to a halt, prompted by the way Peregrine shifted slightly in front of him, and then he followed his friend's gaze. His upper lip curled when he saw the cat, and he, too, snarled, the charcoal fur along his shoulders standing in a ridge.

The lynx stopped moving, its lips peeling back from its fangs in a loud hiss. This did not in any way deter Peregrine. He was territorial at the best of times and now he had young pups to protect. Threateningly, he began to prowl toward the wildcat, intent on either chasing it away yet again or, better yet, killing it this time.

"Didn't you learn your lesson last time, you fucking cat?" he snapped sharply at it, unsure as to whether it would understand him. He bared his own teeth, his savage growl resuming. He lowered his head to cover his throat but puffed out his fur and hiked his tail into the air, trying to flaunt his power.

It seemed to work. The cat's haunches dropped and it took two step backwards as if unsure of itself. Spurred by this development, Peregrine decided to go for the kill. He sprang forward, teeth gnashing. The cat hissed but crouched and spun, then took off at a run. Unwilling to simply let it escape, the Alpha wolf gave chase.

Feel free to PP the kitty in any way! :D

As Peregrine moved forward, so did Elwood, though he stayed a step behind his leader. His sharp yellow gaze did not leave the lynx's face as it hissed and spat at them, seemingly unwilling to give up any ground. But after a moment, it perhaps realized that it was outnumbered as the wolves prowled towards it. The instant that the cat showed a sign of weakness, Peregrine leaped forward, causing it to turn and flee.

Following Peregrine's lead, Elwood accelerated, prepared to chase the animal for as long as was necessary. The two wolves were streaks of black and silver, steadily closing the gap between themselves and the feline intruder. The landscape blurred past, shrubbery and trees blending into one big brushstroke of greenery.

The lynx jumped atop a rocky outcropping then turned to leer down at its canine pursuers, emitting an eery screech that was quite similar to the first. Elwood slowed his pace and loped away from Peregrine, circling around the base of the small plateau as he sized up their options.

The pair of wolves gave chase but the lynx managed to outpace them. It eventually reached an outcropping and leaped upward, emitting a shrill scream that really did remind Peregrine of his little fireball back home. As his pup's face flashed through his head, he charged up to the base of the plateau and snarled. He didn't want to just chase away this threat; he wanted to eliminate it.

He studied the rocky outgrowth, trying to figure out how he and Elwood could get an advantage. The cat only had one eye, so maybe if one of them distracted it, the other could charge up the rocks and attack it. Peregrine wanted that role for himself, of course. He had a bone to pick with this particular cat, an old score to settle. Plus, he didn't want to put his Beta in harm's way any more than necessary.

"Elwood!" the Alpha barked, summoning his second-in-command's attention. He closed the gap between them. "Go over there to the corner and get its attention. I'm going to bum rush it and hopefully shove the damn thing over the edge." Hopefully it wouldn't magically land on its damn feet. If he took it by surprise, it would probably break some bones in the fall. Then the two could pounce it and dispatch the one-eyed lynx once and for all.

Elwood's ears flicked back at the sound of Peregrine's command, and he halted immediately. The Alpha approached him quickly, giving instructions which Elwood would heed without question. He didn't necessarily recognize the significance of the one-eyed cat -- Peregrine would likely have to explain that once the ordeal was over -- but he was willing to let the more experienced warden take the lead.

With an obedient bob of his head, he stalked around the side of the outcropping, to the corner that Peregrine had indicated. His task was to distract the lynx; he was confident he could do this easily. The cat was pivoting on top of the rocks, trying to divide its attention between the grey wolf and the black wolf and hissing all the while.

When he reached his designated location, he reared back on his hind legs and planted his front paws on the slope, snarling and snapping his teeth at the cat. It yowled in response, leaning towards him and reaching out to bat at him with a paw. Luckily, he was just outside of its range.

His trusty Beta obeyed his command without question or hesitation, allowing Peregrine to assume his own role. While Elwood distracted the wildcat, the black Alpha wolf charged up the rockery, moving as swiftly and as stealthily as possible, hoping that lynx wouldn't notice him until it was too late. He stumbled slightly in his haste, though made no noise to indicate the slight twinge as he twisted his ankle on the uneven ground.

In spite of the wolves' best effort, the cat was nothing if not an intuitive and instinctive creature. It sensed Peregrine's approach at its rear and whirled, swiping a paw even as the large wolf lowered his head and rushed the cat. He felt claws digging painfully into his earlobe, though it didn't stop his forward momentum. He shoved hard enough to cause his neck to creak, forcing the lynx over the ledge. Its claws tore at his ear, lost purchase and whisked past his cheek as the creature fell with a loud hiss.

It did flip in midair, though it wasn't fully able to right itself and slammed to the ground on its left hip. The lynx almost immediately tried to stand, limping half a step before Peregrine took a risky leap from above to land on its back. Although he further twisted his ankle, the lynx's body cushioned his fall. He crushed it to the ground, then rolled off it and lunged for the side of its neck.

The ensuing action happened quickly over the next few seconds. As Elwood evaded the cat's claws, Peregrine stormed up the embankment behind it; but not before his approach was noticed. The lynx whirled and from his vantage point on the ground Elwood couldn't see exactly what happened. But he didn't linger in that spot for long -- he returned all four feet to the ground and darted around the circumference of the outcropping, just in time for the feline and Peregrine to come crashing down.

The cat landed first, then Peregrine slammed his own body on top of it. As Elwood gathered himself, the Alpha jumped up and attacked, seeking to seize the enemy's throat in his mouth. Aiming for its unarmed hindquarters, Elwood sunk his teeth into its flank with the goal of maiming it enough that it would be greatly weakened and Peregrine would be able to finish it off once and for all.

He managed to land his hit and knew the satisfaction of his jaws wrapping around the lynx's throat. The cat didn't yield easily, however. It twisted in his grip, doing damage to itself even as it lashed out a paw to strike his cheek. He was surprised when he took a blow to the cheekbone that did not carve open his flesh. Perhaps the cat had retracted its claws in its panic. Whatever the case, Peregrine was incredibly lucky. He seized on his good fortune and delivered a crushing bite.

The cat nearly gave him another swipe, claws fully drawn now, yet its entire body went limp almost immediately when he severed its spine with his powerful jaws. He growled savagely through the folds of fur and flesh in his maw, then spat out the cat's mangled neck and backpedaled a few feet. He panted lightly, glancing at Elwood to make sure his Beta was no worse for wear. Save for his smarting cheek, sore neck and throbbing ankle, the swarthy wolf had come out of this fight in much better shape than the previous one. The lynx hadn't spilled a drop of his blood this time.

"Fucking cat," he spat, repeating his earlier words. "We don't have to worry about it anymore, at least," he added with a note of triumph, his tail stirring the air. Peregrine sucked in a breath, then reached out a paw to fist bump Elwood. "Great teamwork, man."

The cat didn't go down without a fight, but it was obviously overwhelmed by the two wolves. Elwood threw himself against its haunch, sinking his teeth deeper into its flesh as he kept it from moving with his own body weight. Meanwhile, Peregrine scuffled with the feline's fangs and front claws, eventually managing to snap its neck with a triumphant crack.

When its body went limp, Elwood released his hold, revealing a bloodied flank that he had torn to shreds. The lynx was in bad shape; luckily, neither he nor Peregrine seemed to have suffered any major injuries. Elwood's muzzle and chest were spattered with the animal's blood, but there was none of his own -- or Peregrine's -- to be seen. He was tired, though adrenaline continued to course through his veins as he looked to his leader.

He raised a paw to return the fist bump, then gave his head a shake as he glanced back at the dead cat. "A repeat offender?" he guessed, in that moment glad that they had ended its life before it could do any real damage to the pack -- or its precious puppies.

Final post from me!

After Elwood returned the bump, Peregrine placed his paws back on the ground and surveyed the carcass. Although it was technically the execution of an enemy, not the felling of prey, he knew he was staring at a heap of meat. While it would be fun to further desecrate the body—pissing all over it seemed like a fun idea—he knew they should drag it back to the caldera to cache it.

Peregrine nodded grimly at his Beta's question. "It gave me these," he said, shrugging his shoulders. His scars weren't very noticeable at all beneath his dark fur, yet there were jagged lines and bare patches where the cat's claws had dug deep gouges on either side. "And I took its eye and now its life. Fucking cat," he said a final time.

"Let's drag it back," he said a moment later, exchanging a glance with his fellow leader before grabbing one of the cat's big, padded paws and unceremoniously starting to drag its broken, bleeding body back toward the mountain.

:D

Elwood's gaze trailed to Peregrine's shoulder, where he could just barely make out the faint lines of scars beneath the Alpha's thick, dark fur. It was only appropriate, then, that he had been the one to kill the beast. "Fucking cat," Elwood agreed, then positioned himself to help Peregrine pull the carcass back to the heart of the territory.

He, too, grabbed one of its paws, grimacing at the texture of its rough pads against his tongue, but didn't complain as they dragged it away. The hefty animal would provide a good amount of food for the pack; they had essentially killed two birds with one stone. They had gotten rid of a pest, and now would be able to feed off of it.