Redhawk Caldera lying on the couch just chillin in my snuggie.

All welcome! But to continue my streak of random tagging... @Sebastian @Lagan @Coysevox @Phox

Doing stuff was the worst. Fin was over it. Unless it involved eating or cuddling, the alpha was currently of the opinion that it was a complete waste of her precious time. She was the alpha of this pack after all, and for the life of her she couldn't remember Fox having to do anything besides eating or cuddling when she was pregnant. It's possible that pregnancy brain could be blamed for that particular notion, but the matriarch had no fucks to give about that one. All her fucks were reserved for nothing whatsoever.

Life was beautiful.

The sun's fiendishly hot rays were all but vanquished by the horizon as Finley stretched out upon the flat surface of her most favorite sunning rock by the den she'd lived in when first they'd come to the Caldera. The little brook babbled quaintly along beneath the shelf she was sprawled upon, creating the perfect soundscape to the scene. With a happy growl, she snuggled into the rock as though it were a fluffy cloud instead of.. well, a rock. All that was missing was a good snuggle buddy, though as she curled onto her side and peered at her growing stomach, she supposed she wasn't completely without after all. She smiled.

MOMMY!

Lagan was bumbling through the small brook, kicking rocks and stomping the water, when he noticed a nearby scent. A weird one, but it was his mom. He was still having a hard time getting used to the baby smell that was coming from Finley's vag (that's what he decided to call it), because while it still smelled like his mom it was just sort of weird. He wondered if when he and Liffey were in her belly, they'd made her smell like that, and if Eljay had thought it was weird just like Lagan was now.

He ran through the river, breaking the peaceful air around Finley as he neared her. With one enormous splash he landed in the brook down below her rock, and stared up at her with his tail wagging. Hey mom! What're you doing? He asked, even though it was pretty obvious that she was just enjoying a nice sunbath.

As though on cue, a snuggle buddy appeared before her. Finley smiled as her youngest son splashed his way over to her, not at all minding how he interrupted her peace and quiet. She rolled onto her belly to watch him, grinning at her boy's happy face. It was amazing to her how very different her sons were from each other, and again how different they were from their sister. With a pang of remorse that would never fully go away, Fin wondered how different all three of them were from Lucy - her fourth, long lost, never for a single second forgotten, kid. She was probably just as different. The ones she carried now would be just as different as well. Hopefully she would never have to wonder just how different...

"I was just laying here, thinking about you," Fin said after a moment, offering a smile. She stretched out a bit and lifted her head to look at him, "You're cool with having more brothers and sisters, right?" She had always assumed he would be - he loved the firebirds. She'd never suspected that Liffey would have felt the way she did about her life in the Caldera, though. Maybe things would've been different if she'd thought to just check before making assumptions.

Lagan's mom looked super happy, and that made Lagan even happier. His face was stretched in a huge smile, his paws did a jig in the shallow water. He exerted joy, especially now. Everything about today was great! His mom was happy, it was sunny and nice, he was happy, and soon enough he was gonna have more siblings to babysit. What more could a teenager want! He giggled when she said she was lying there thinking about him. Shut up, really?! That's crazy cause Lagan was thinking about her too, about how much he loved her.

Finley asked if he was cool with having more brothers and sisters, and Lagan replied quickly, disbelief on his face. Are you kidding. I am not cool with it... I'm ultra mega super duper cool with it! It's gonna be so much fun! Me, you, the whole fam, and now like a BAJILLION more! What if you had like 20 pups! Wouldn't that be awesome! Lagan daydreamed out loud, imagining himself swimming in a pool of his brothers and sisters. He paused after that when a thought came into his head. He still didn't know how the babies had got into his mom! Maybe now would be a good time to ask again.

He climbed out of the creek and up onto the rock where his mom lay, and he plopped down beside her. So mom, remember that time when dad was supposed to tell me and Eljay about how the babies are made? Well we ended up not doing that, so could you explain it to me now? He asked.

There was brief second in which Fin's stomach dropped from the belief that Lagan was about to admit that he was not at all pleased with this arrangement. It was beyond too late to not have a third litter, but she could maybe give them away to another pack if it meant keeping her happy boy happy...

But by the time the second was over, the alpha found herself grinning and wagging her tail at the enthusiasm with which Lagan began to gush about his new siblings. "I don't know about a bajillion more - even twenty would be quite a lot of work," Fin commented with a laugh, "But yeah." She nodded her agreement - this was pretty awesome. And actually, with as many trustworthy wolves as they had in their ranks at that point, twenty might not even be too terribly unfeasible. Everyone could take two or three to be in charge of to ease the burden. Except no one else could nurse them, unless Raven got all messed up again.

Finley was considering this when Lagan interrupted her thoughts with an innocently awkward question. Her eyes widened and she looked at him like a deer in the headlights. Had he really just asked that? But she and Elwood had made a deal - he would explain to the boys about mating and reproduction and she would... Not have to. It had been a pretty solid arrangement, and she was none too keen on doing anything different. But Lagan was here, asking the question to the only parent unfortunate enough to be around.

Fuck.

"Uh.. yeah, I can tell you about it..." she replied hesitantly. The alpha took a breath and resigned herself to having this talk. Putting it off and pushing him back towards Elwood was always an option, but she had a feeling that might send the message that sex was a dirty, disgusting thing that shouldn't be spoken of or that he should be ashamed of, which she certainly didn't want. So, it was up to her.

It shortly occurred to Fin that she had never even prepared for how she might go about this conversation. Should she be metaphorical and delicate like her older sister had been with her? Or should she be candid and matter-of-fact like her mother had been? Finley considered the way Marten had explained about flowers and bees and honey and weird things that had just confused the hell out of her. She wouldn't even know how to explain it that way. Which left...

"So. You know how boys have penises and girls don't?" Fin started abruptly, trying to forget the fact that this was Lagan she was talking to.

Lagan noticed the change in Finley as soon as he brought up the baby thing. She almost looked uncomfortable, that same kind of uncomfortable back when the Eljay incident had happened. Lagan really didn't want to mess up this time with his mom, besides, this might be one of the last times that he'd get to hang out with her before he wasn't her only son in the Caldera. Oh, like I can totally talk to dad, or we could talk another time. He said quietly.

But Finley continued, hesitantly but so. There was another pause, then finally she let it out. Her question was a bit anticlimactic. He'd been expecting something huge and life changing, but she was just asking if he knew something. And yes of course he knew it! Girl's have vagina's yeah. He replied, concentration furrowed in his eyebrows.

Lagan tried to back out of the conversation, but Fin shook her head reassuringly. Once she started something, the Blackthorn did not stop. Unless she got tired. Or bored. Or it wasn't as much fun as she thought it would be. But otherwise, she was a very determined woman. She had no idea what she was about to say to her youngest son, but once the conversation started, she was feeling much more confident about it in spite of her lack of direction.

"Yes, yes they do!" Fin responded, pleased that he knew some of this already. Only later would she stop to ask herself who the hell was telling her kids about vaginas, but for now she was just relieved. "Well, puppies are made when a male puts his dic--penis. Into a female's vagina. It's called mating," she explained. It was not lost on her how much she was leaving out, but that seemed to cover it pretty well. She'd provide the other details if he asked, which knowing her kid, would probably happen in about 26 seconds.

Finley seemed very pleased that Lagan already knew about vaginas, and so he smiled. It looked like he was doing good already! His mouth open as he focused on what she was saying, Finley's next sentence appalled him. His face turned into one of shock and almost disgust. That sounded so uncomfortable, and while he did have a billion more questions to ask, the most important one was blurted our immediately. But, but what if the PENIS gets SQUASHED when it's all up in there!? He said emphasizing those words, as they were his main worry with this whole puppy thing.

Lagan did not seem to appreciate the news about mating. She tried to not laugh at the look on his face, which became even more difficult a feat when he blurted out his query at her. Of all the questions he could have come up with, it was one she had never expected. That was sort of her youngest son's way though - she never really knew what his creative mind would come up with next. He never ceased to make her laugh.

"There's usually enough room for it," Fin reassured him, her squeamishness easing, "Actually, I'm told it feels better for guys when it's a little... tighter...." Okay, too comfortable. Now she was going a little too far.

Finley's next statement only confused Lagan more, but also put him a little at ease. So this was supposed to feel good? He couldn't imagine that it did, but if his mom said so then it must be. He nodded, as if he understood, then asked, So it feels good though? It doesn't feel painful or anything? His life plan had been to have as many babies as he possibly could, but if the process of making them hurt, maybe he could Angelina Jolie it up and adopt.

He still had more questions, so he went ahead and asked. So does the baby actually come out of the guy's penis? And it just grows up in the mom's stomach? Do I have a bunch of babies floating around inside me right now? He asked.

Fin responded to the next couple of questions by nodding and then shaking her head. Her first time had been painful, but not since then, and the way she understood it was that it never caused pain in men. She hadn't surveyed all of them, of course. She had only ever asked her first - Hawkin. His answer had been kind and understanding. He had been, if nothing else, very sweet in the beginning. Until he went terrible... But her memories didn't need to take her so far from the conversation at hand just now.

His final flurry of questions made her pause. She frowned thoughtfully. Finley had never considered reproduction at length. Sex was great, and sometimes babies happened after. That's about all she had ever felt the need to know. But these kids lately were asking so many questions it had never even occured to her to consider, and it left her almost completely without a response. "I... Guess? I don't really know, to be honest," she answered.

"Here's something you need to remember though, kid," Fin started quickly, trying to get her words in before he could hit her with another tidal wave of curiosity, "Mating can feel really good, and it can be really fun. But it can also mean something. It's a way of connecting with someone on a really deep level, and sometimes it can mean more to one wolf than it does the other. So when you do it, you want to make sure you're doing it with the right wolf. You can really hurt someone if it's fun for you, but it means something more to the one you're with." She paused for a few seconds before adding, "Or vice versa." Fin couldn't imagine her son ever acting in a way that might hurt someone else, but it was not difficult at all for her to envision a scenario where he - with that giant heart of his - was the one getting hurt.

Whoa. Lagan said quietly, thinking about the babies that apparently were just there inside of him. The questions he wanted to ask were more about the anatomy, like in the babies came out his penis and so did his pee, did that mean his babies were floating in the pee? Another dreaded thought popped into his head, and opened his mouth to ask it but his mom cut him off. He closed his mouth and listened as she spoke. What she said made sense to him, and he would take heed of it too.

Ok mom. I got it. I will only risk getting my pee pee squashed for someone I really care about. On it. He said teasingly, scooting forwards to give his mom a lick under her chin. He only had one more question, but he wasn't sure or not whether he wanted to ask it or not. He didn't know what his mom would think of it, what she would say, if she would even know the answer. But it was important to him. What if... you really care about a boy? How can you connect and have babies with him if you're also a boy? He asked, serious once again.

Finley smiled at her son's comedic conclusion, but it wasn't entirely satisfying to her. She suspected (perhaps erroneously) that he still thought it all a bit of a joke - far less significant than she was attempting to impress upon him. But, he was young, and he would learn in time. Hopefully not in a way that caused him heartbreak. Otherwise she'd have to choke a bitch.

Or.. a dick?

Her brows lifted only slightly when Lagan posed his final question. It took her by surprise, there was no doubt about that. But her reaction was a quiet, thoughtful one. Homosexuality was not a bizarre, derranged or uncomfortable thing for her. She had known many to take lovers of the same gender, including her best friend and Lagan's uncle. She had not ever judged him or anyone else for their attraction, even though she had never felt that way toward another woman. Considering all of the fairly radical ways she had sought enjoyment and excitement in her life, she simply couldn't fault anyone for what it was that made them feel fulfilled and happy. Truth be told, rubbing up on another woman would probably have been less insane than say teasing a venomous rattlesnake for fun.

But still. She was a mother and she had always seen in her son the desire to have children of his own. The twinge of pain she felt in her heart over hearing this news was not at all for the connection he felt to one of his own gender, but for what it meant he would never have. Fin had always deeply appreciated the fact that her children were such perfect amalgamations of herself and Elwood. Every piece of them was some bit of one or the other, swept up together to create this entirely new and unique being. Liffey, with Fin's fire and Elwood's logic. Lagan, with Elwood's kind heart and Fin's humor. Eljay.... was a mystery, but he did look an awful lot like them both. Lagan would never be able to create children like that - perfect mixes of himself and the one he cherished most. Not if the one he cherished most was equipped with the same parts.

"There are ways of connecting with anyone. Being the same gender doesn't limit the way you can connect physically, or emotionally, or anything," Fin replied, wanting to be honest, "But having babies with another boy just isn't possible. Boys can't get pregnant - only girls. It takes a boy and a girl to make puppies. Two of the same gender just don't work." Again, Finley was lacking in the science behind it all. Hell, I don't even know how exactly she knew this for a fact at all, but we'll call it instinct. In any case, she was certain in what she told him.

"Which isn't to say you can't have kids. I mean, look at the firebirds - your dad and I didn't create them, but they're ours just the same as you and your siblings. Maybe you could find a surrogate - a female to mate with that would have pups for you, and you and her and your boy could raise them together." It wasn't the same. But what Fin had said about the firebirds made her realize that it really didn't need to be. Yes, the kids she and Elwood had made together were incredibly special and it was amazing to see them grow into unique combinations of the two of them. But it was just as amazing to be handed kids without a drop of your own blood in them and love them just as fiercely and proudly as if they too had black stripes stretching all the way down their spines.

Finley looked surprised at his question, and that worried Lagan a little bit. Was it abnormal to like a boy instead of a girl? Was there something wrong with him? He waited expectantly, wishing she would say something soon because he was getting nervous now. She did, and explained that he could still connect with a boy. He relaxed at that, relief written on his face. But that relief was soon taken away when she told him that he couldn't have babies with another boy. He sat there for a minute and let that sink in.

A look of sadness found it's way onto his face now, Why not? He asked, wanting more of an explanation than just that he couldn't. She went on to tell him that he could still have kids, via a surrogate or adoption. But he and his boyfriend could never have babies together. He didn't like that, but he understood that there were still other ways. Adoption could get him babies like Towhee and Orca and Phox. He could still raise them just like they were his own. Or his could use a surrogate.

A thoughtful frown on his face, he didn't say anything yet. He was just thinking. Finally he spoke again, after coming to a conclusion. Well that's ok I guess. As long as I love my babies, I don't care whether or not they came out of my penis or a different guy's. He said, a slight smile tugging at his lips again.

The look of disappointment on Lagan's face made her heart hurt. If she could have, she would have changed the laws of science to make it so that two boys could make cute little puppies together. It wasn't really fair that they couldn't, and not actually knowing the reason why made it all the more frustrating. But, it was what it was, and fortunately Lagan did seem open to the alternative option that Fin had presented.

"That's the spirit," she said, poking him affectionately in the temple with her nose. She paused then as something occurred to her, and she looked at her son with new curiosity in her gaze. "So, who's the boy?" Fin asked, shrewdly deducting that one must exist for him to even come up with the question. Was it someone in the pack? Was it Gannet? Did Gannet like boys? She'd always thought he would choose Liffey as his mate. Lagan was kinda the closest thing to her, since she had left...

Lagan chuckled at his mom's comment, and he squirmed as her nose poked his side. Like her husband, Finley knew how to make Lagan feel better. He looked to the ground, thinking for a moment about what she'd just told him, and coming to terms with it. Then his mom popped another question. His eyes widened and he turned to look at her again. Oh! No- umm nobody. I've met some boys though that I thought were pretty. I think girls are pretty too but I don't know. Boys are different for me I guess.

He shrugged, and decided to ask another question. Have you ever liked a girl? He asked, wondering if there had ever been a special someone before his dad.

Lagan said there was no one in particular that had his interest, but Fin still wondered. Her son seemed to have taken a liking for the trade she had recently abandoned - one that took him often out of the packlands. She wondered who he had met in his travels that had brought him to realize this about himself. And again, the nagging curiosity of there perhaps being someone within. Or maybe it was less a curiosity than a hope. A boy outside of the pack had once stolen her daughter from her. A boy inside of the pack would perhaps help her keep Lagan right where he was.

His follow-up question took her slightly by surprise, but she handled it with the same level of honesty as before. Of course, this truth was not difficult to share as there was really nothing bad about it. "Not romantically, no," Fin answered, "I've known girls who have preferred their own gender, but I've never felt that way before."

Lagan's mom said that she had never loved another girl before, and he nodded. He was kind of glad to hear it, because he didn't like the idea of his mom loving anyone who wasn't his dad. He had always thought of them as the couple to beat, the power couple of the century. Nobody could ever be more in love than Finley and Elwood. That's what he thought at least. He shifted his legs and rolled over onto his side, letting the sunlight soak this side of his body now.

After a few moments of quiet, Lagan felt himself getting sleepy. Sunlight usually did it to him, the warmth always put him right to sleep. He let out a loud and very big yawn, then licked his lips. Mom leth take a nap. He said sleepily, a hint of his past lisp in that sentence. He closed his eyes and began to drift off.

What a cute thread! Last post for me <3

Lagan said nothing in response, but he seemed pleased somehow. Fin smiled at him as he settled onto his side, allowing the conversation to fall into comfortable silence. She scootched nearer to him and laid her head down across his shoulder when he announced that it was naptime. The heat was inconsequential when it came to naptime with her snuggle buddy, and soon Fin too was drifting off to sleep.