Redhawk Caldera Never let me leave again.

I couldn't wait anymore! @Peregrine @Fox Or any other member :3

Sebastian was so grateful for the help from the two loners. They really patched him up, but that didn't mean he was all better. There was still dried blood in his fur, lots of it too. He was like a walking zombie. Walking hurt so much, frankly everything hurt. The wound on both sides of his neck finally stopped bleeding. He was limping because of the bite wound in his upper front leg and his ripped pad. It was only his determination to get home that made him keep walking, but frankly it wasn't the fastest pace. He had to rest several times, trying to reapply cobwebs to his wounds but it wasn't going to smoothly. He was still a bit of a klutz the web got everywhere but on his wounds.

The large male staggered forward, so close. Sebastian almost wanted to cry with all the distress he had been through. Why was it always him?! The tank stumbled forward, dragging himself forward until he let himself fall down over the marked border. He hoped that it would trigger some invisible alarm and that his pack members would come and fetch him. He really needed their support right now, being on the brink of death and slowly climbing back out that darkness.

Unfortunately for Sebastian, wolves didn't have a magic alarm system to tell them when there was somebody on their doorstep. What they did have, however, was a round-the-clock rotation of wardens who checked their borders on a semi-regular basis. Fox was one of those wardens, and when she picked up on the smell of blood and Sebastian, she sprinted to its source. "Holy fuck," was her first reaction when she saw Redhawk's Delta. He looked like total shit, and Fox sent up a call for @Peregrine. They were going to have to wake Sebastian. If that failed, somebody would have to stay here with him.

Knowing little about health, wellness, or healing, Fox did what she could. She began to clean the wounds around his neck, first. They did not look particularly fresh, and it did look as though somebody had cleaned them, but she couldn't really gather much besides that. Fox continued to work on him, tongue quickly smoothing over the fur and getting the dried blood and dirt away from the worst of his wounds. Fox could only hope that Perry would arrive sooner rather than later.

Peregrine bent over the water and flicked out his tongue, lapping several mouthfuls to quiet his burning thirst. Once he felt sated, he lifted his head and licked his damp chops, his jade eyes scanning the shore. That's when Fox's howl cut through the air, causing his ears to twist, then his entire head to swing in the direction of her call. His body soon followed suit as his broad paws began to thump against the ground, pushing him up and over the caldera's rim, then hurtling downhill toward the borders.

He found his mate nursing a slumped and bloodied Sebastian. "What happened?" he asked, buckling his knees and sinking down beside the two of them. "How can I help?" was his next question. Peregrine took stock of his pack mate's injuries, then began to lick the nearest wound clean without waiting for an answer to either question. He thought he smelled some familiar scents on Sebastian's torn body, yet he made no comment for several moments.

After about five minutes, he slowed and took a break before his tongue fell off. "I wonder if his lookalike, his dad, did this to him. Although I swear I smell Saena on him. I know he was traveling north. Maybe the locals didn't take kindly to a caldera wolf roaming in that direction." The Alpha male frowned thoughtfully at his smaller mate. "We can't let them wander so far anymore." Well, they wouldn't be able to stop their wolves from going where they pleased, yet there was no way they could protect their pack mates if they chose to venture so far from home, not during these controversial times.

Sebastian opened his eyes when he scented that familiar scent of Fox. Oh thank god. How long had he been on the ground? He let out a low grunt to make Fox know he was so happy to see her. His body ached, his heart skipping a beat since he was so happy he made it home. He realized how much he wanted to be home. The large male grunted when his wounds were licked. He did wanted to be clean again. He would take a dip in the lake or something. It didn't take long until he heard Peregrine approaching. Sebastian lifted his head a bit. He wasn't sure if he was mad at Peregrine or not. Should he be? Or had it been his own fault? No, he had been innocent in all of this. Though, he did had a big mouth to her.

Sebastian grunted and slowly pushed himself in a sitting position, clearly exhaust. It wasn't his father! Wait-- How did Peregrine know about his father. "How--?,' he croaked, throat raw. He was insanely hungry too. He decided to drop that question for later. "Is that... her name?," he growled, finally knowing the name of the female he wanted to see dead. Everything was ruined. Sebastian couldn't even see Nochtli again. "Your.. daughter... She .. message.. to you," Sebastian struggled to explain to them. He wanted them to know that he hadn't backed down from a fight. He hadn't hurt her but her pack attacked him. "I didn't.. attack. She thought... I was.. to assassinate her... Didn't touch her. Her pack.. they... wanted.. murder me..."

Grey eyes locked on Peregrine as he approached, though Fox did not stop her ministrations on Sebastian. He was a comrade, and she did not want him dying on her. He managed to right himself, and Fox took a step back, ears swiveling toward Peregrine as he spoke of Sebastian's father and Saena. Traveling north was probably the worst thing possible (although Fox had done the same just a week ago). She had been careful to avoid the plateau and any sight or scent of Saena, though.

Sebastian spoke in broken fragments, half of which Fox (frustratingly) couldn't understand. The only bit she caught was "her pack," which surprised her. What kind of fools would follow a yearling? Not to mention one who came looking for trouble. (Fox is being a bit hypocritical here, haha.) The newly-named Redhawk matriarch could only assume that Sebastian had gone up that way, Saena had spotted him, smelled Redhawk Caldera, and immediately called her wolves to attack and kill him. It was what Fox would have done, in her situation. Sebastian had been stupid enough to stick around and get caught.

"Can you walk?" Fox asked. "Maybe @Magpie can look after you while you recover."

Peregrine jumped slightly when Sebastian sat up and spoke. He had thought the other male unconscious. His ears flattened, then pricked again as the injured wolf talked in broken fragments. He mentioned a message from Peregrine's daughter, confirming Saena's involvement. He painted a grim picture. Peregrine was simultaneously surprised and somehow not surprised at all. Now he knew that his pale adopted daughter was capable of the same violence that Fox had wrought upon her.

Assuming Sebastian must have gone near Saena's territory (and not expecting that she would go so far out of her way to nail a wolf from the caldera), Peregrine said, "You shouldn't have gone so close to her territory. On that note, you shouldn't have gone so far from ours. I know I encouraged you to go and it's my bad as much as yours. It's become apparent recently that it's not safe to wander just anywhere anymore."

Fox asked if Sebastian could walk and Peregrine lapsed into silence, exchanging a glance with his mate over the tank's silver back. He assumed she probably agreed with him. They would help Sebastian, of course, but Peregrine would not be seeking vengeance or anything along those lines. The Alphas would have to make it very clear that their jurisdiction ended at their borders.

"What was the message?" Peregrine wondered after a moment, offering himself as support if Sebastian needed it.

Sebastian didn't mean to startle his alpha, his eyes fell on him for a moment. "I wasn't," he groaned. "I was in neutral territory," his voice rasped out. The male tried to speak in less broken sentences because it didn't seem that the alpha pair understood. He calmed himself down for a moment. He was so angry with the female. He hadn't done anything wrong except being in her father's pack. "I was in the North, Frost Fire Ridge... Visiting Nochtli, she came to tell me about Tiger's death," Sebastian tried to explain. "Ran into Saena. Thought I was there to assassinate her. She went mental... called her pack," Sebastian tried to explain again.

Sebastian nodded softly when Fox asked if he could walk. "I can but it hurts. It is my neck, and the pressure on my shoulder and wound on that same leg. I also ripped a pad while running, another paw. I will try to heal myself too... I still want to be a healer. I just... I just wanted to be home. I would never assassinate anyone! I was innocent," he let out in frustrated sadness. It sounded really sad how the wolf blubbered it all out. Sebastian had told Peregrine how there was a cruse on him, how bad stuff kept happening to him. It was harder to believe it wasn't true. Sebastian let out a sigh. "I meant.. I was the message. Murdering me would send a message to the Caldera that we aren't welcome in the North. Guess they still delivered that message now by injuring me."

Fox nodded in Peregrine's direction. Out there, even in neutral lands, Redhawk couldn't protect its own. They would need to stay close unless they wanted to put themselves in potential danger. Fox hoped that the others would learn this and stick close to their claim. She didn't bother to inquire about the original intent of his journey. It hardly mattered any longer. As for Saena and her claim, there wasn't much that Redhawk Caldera could (or should) do about it. If they wished to pick fights with straggling members of other packs, so be it. Fox would advise her comrades to stay close.

Sebastian insisted he would never assassinate anybody, which gave Fox pause, and she stepped in front of him. "I will kill anybody who comes close to harming my children," she said, eyes leveling with his own. That included her own children, should they grow to be like Peregrine's older daughters. Fox backed off then, allowing Sebastian to continue. If Sebastian had been murdered, it would have sent no message. Perhaps sending him back with severe wounds was intentional. It sent a rather clear message, one that Sebastian did not even need explain (although he did).

One word came to mind as Sebastian's story unfolded: vindictive. That was Saena in a nutshell, based on her actions as described. Peregrine shook his head, though he didn't comment, inwardly or outwardly. She was only doing what any wild, territorial wolf would do. Sure, her actions were also inspired by a vendetta against yours truly and all wolves from the caldera. She had originated at the plateau, after all, which churned out wolves of particular passion, sentimentality and personal grudges.

"Sorry you ran into trouble on our behalf," the Alpha said, still exchanging intermittent glances with Fox to assure himself they were on the same page about how to handle all of this. "It wasn't personal, not for you, and has nothing to do with anything you did... aside from being in the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess." His brow furrowed as he recollected the details about location. It sounded like Saena's wolves were guarding the north, so perhaps they would do well to enact on his half-serious plan to close off the entirety of the south.

"We'll get you back on your feet. Then you—and everyone in this pack—needs to stick close to home. We can only protect you here. You can only protect us here." If Sebastian chose to foray back to the north to visit his lady friend, well... he had been warned. They couldn't keep him safe out there. And they would be weaker without him too. "If you want to keep seeing this Nochtli, you should tell her to join us," he finished, then motioned for Sebastian to lift his paw so Peregrine could begin cleaning the torn pad.

Sebastian looked at Fox who leveled her grey eyes with his pale blue ones. He swallowed. Should he them them he did kill? Also for his family. He could kill and assassinate. But he liked that part of himself at bay. He would be too much like his dad or maybe even worse. He let that story slide, not in the mood to tell another story. Then Peregrine spoke again. Sebastian laid down again and rested his head on the ground. "Yeah. It really sucks. I told her I was innocent but she didn't believe me," he sighed. "But.. I try to fight for the Caldera. And well, I did realize that you guys really are my home. I'm not planning on leaving." 

Sebastian was serious about that. His like for Nochtli also lessened after what happened. He could understand that she wouldn't want any injuries herself for saving him, but it was still sour that he had to travel a long way to see her, and that in a territory that would be unavailable to him. It wasn't worth that at all. "It wasn't... like that. Or well, I don't know. Testing the waters. But it isn't worth it," Sebastian spoke, then a hint of a smile creeped a bit on his face. "No, Peregrine. You can recruit me a nice southern lady." His voice was done speaking, cracking and his breathing wheezing. 

Sebastian was curious about one thing though. His head was still resting on the ground and his eyes turned to Peregrine. "Is the Caldera going to do something about it? Or are we just going to stay like we were before? Protecting our lands? I am not sure if I want a war, though I do want to see this Saena in pain. Is that bad of me?," Sebastian's voice ended up sounding so small, his pale eyes glanced at Fox. He started to understand her hatred now. 

Fox saw little fault in Saena's actions. She was a fool to leave her lands unprotected and call an entire pack out where they did not belong, but she had been protecting her territory, just as Fox had done when Saena had shown up on her own doorstep. In fact, if Fox saw her anywhere in the south, she would have done the same. Peregrine's former children were to be killed on sight, as far as she was concerned. They were unstable and reckless, and they certainly couldn't be trusted. Saena had only further proven that with her most recent actions.

"We stay," said Fox, flashing Peregrine a knowing glance. She could not imagine him thinking anything different. They had children to think of, lands to protect, and they would not go out of their way to create mayhem. "If they come here, we will do as we have always done." They would protect their children, their comrades, the Redhawks. She did not say anything to respond to his last question. Saena had mauled him, but he would survive. It was natural to want to return the favor.

Peregrine didn't say much for several minutes, mostly because he was busy tending to his pack mate's wounds. He did acknowledge Sebastian's loyalty with a bob of his head and his subsequent quip about finding a lady with a quiet grunt. Only when the Delta posed questions about war did he cease his ministrations, sitting up straight and squaring his shoulders. He let Fox answer, though he wanted to elaborate on her brief reply.

"Like she says, we're not going to go out of our way to exact revenge or anything like that." His jade eyes flicked apologetically over Sebastian's face, in case he took any offense to that. "We have our land and wolves to protect. Should Saena or anyone unwelcome come this way, then we'll deal with them. Just as your presence in the north was perceived as and dealt with as a threat, so will her presence here in the south. But now we both know what happens when that line's crossed, so hopefully everybody just minds their own business... and turf."

With that subject put to rest, Peregrine queried, "Do you want to rest here or would you like Fox and I to help you to some shelter nearby?" Speaking of which, Peregrine's mind suddenly flew to their other recent invalid: Dove. Now the caldera had two injured wolves and still no formal medic. And there was no way he could reach out to Blue Willow any longer. Well, they would make do. He wasn't sure about Dove's prognosis but he saw a fighter in Sebastian.

I feel like becoming a healer is cursed in RHC. Like the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher spot in HP, haha!

Sebastian understood that they wouldn't have a full on war against the Rise wolves. The grey male wondered if they would even have the right numbers for it. Probably not. The thing he could do best now, was making sure he would survive from his injuries and become the healer of the pack! That was how he could make his life useful. Plus he never felt like fighting so he was secretly glad that he would get be safe within these borders. Maybe collecting some herbs would be a good thing to do once he could walk better again. "I understand," he returned, noticing that the talk about this topic had ended. Sebastian wasn't offended.

Sebastian thought about Peregrine's words. Did he want to rest here? No. "I want to be over the ridge. I feel like here some wolves can still snatch me," he admitted. Sebastian gathered his courage to face the pain of climbing up the Caldera. He gritted his teeth and then pushed himself up. He just wanted his journey to be over with and rest. He was so tired. Sebastian glanced at Peregrine. "I might need your support," he admitted. "I promise I will become a healer as fast as I can," Sebastian spoke, wanting to apologize for being injured. He wasn't really a functioning pack member. Once done he gathered his strength and forced himself over the Caldera ridge. Finally being back at his only home.

- fade end! -