Redhawk Caldera as i walked through that storybook life.

Ima backdate this to just before the thundersnow and try to be vague about what's going on with the den move cause reasons :D

The world had changed.

Liffey was used to it changing by now, but in more metaphorical ways. It changed when Lucy had been kidnapped. It changed again when Finley had left. It changed when her uncle and then her aunt had died. It changed when her mom came back. It had even changed that day she and Lagan had gotten Eljay to truly smile after so long. But this was a change unlike the others. This was a physical change in the comfortable world she had always known. This was a drastic change. This was a dangerous change.

The wind picked up again sending a violent shiver down Liffey's already trembling frame. The temperature had plummeted a few days prior, but there was something in the air that spoke of yet another blow to come. Liffey knew little about the sky that had always so fascinated her for there was no one at the Caldera to teach her, but instinctively she knew that something was coming. The sky was changing in a way that reminded her of when the rains would come in during the late summer. But this was winter. They hadn't seen rain in days, and though she could almost taste the coming snow in the wind, something just seemed off.

Liffey's ears fell back and she whined softly, her eyes ever trained upon the clouds that loomed overhead.

amended bc I finally read your ooc note heh #fail

He'd run, initially, straight into his sister's presence the day he'd received the news from Elwood, and their talk (if you could call it that) had helped.  So much had happened while he was gone, but the boy was resilient in both body and spirit.  Nothing kept him down for too long.

He'd been by to see his new siblings at some point (I assume, probably?) and watched them with a sort of fascination.  Yet squirming blobs only held so much interest.  It was more fun to hunt and guard for them than it was to play just now.

For one usually astute to such things, Gannet was not at all bothered by the weather on hand.  The cold was abrupt, but there was little w could do about it save try to find some sort of shelter when it reached its worst.  

Currently he was out, though, looking for Liffey- he hadn't seen much of her since coming back, partly his own fault.  He'd been down, but with the lift in spirits slowly coming came a desire to spend time with friends.  Hopefully she would be game for a run! Thrilled at the idea, he followed where he thought she might have gone, tracking by scent as well as what he knew of the Caldera.  Likely she wouldnt be far.

Liffey  had never really considered Gannet gone in the time he'd spent away. She hadn't quite gotten over the rather naive belief that just because someone was gone didn't mean they were never coming back. She knew that was true of Peregrine and Fox, of course, but when it came to everyone else who had disappeared, she just didn't feel their absence with any sort of finality. Maybe she never would see them again, but maybe that was okay too so long as they were happy wherever they were.

That being said, it didn't mean that Liffey hadn't been a little heartbroken when he'd left, and it definitely didn't mean that she wasn't over the moon about his return.

The young Blackthorn heard her friend before she saw him and smelled his scent shortly thereafter. Only his presence could tear her gaze from the skies and cause her nerves to flutter for a reason other than her anxiety over the looming weather. A smile slipped across her muzzle as she turned and looked for him. She stood after a moment, frowning at the terrain around her. He was hard to spot with the snow everywhere, but when eventually she saw his black socks shifting across the plains. With a playful growl, she ducked down and sprang forward to meet him.

She landed in a play bow before him, shooting snow in his direction. She gave him a toothy grin while her tail wagged wildly.

It was with great delight that Gannet spotted his friend rising from the frozen ground in the distance; and that glee only grew when it seemed she didn't spot him at first.  Snow really was a delightful thing!  He began to speed up, wondering just how far he could get without her seeing.  This game could become an ambush!

But she noticed before he arrived, and instead of surprising her, he got to greet her face to face.  Well... face to snow.  She ducked into an effective bow that plowed a good amount of snow into his waiting and eager nose, and he blinked as the cold wet splattered over his muzzle.  

He began to laugh, near-silently (as usual), and swept a paw in an attempt to perhaps give some back.  He was so down for this game!  He playfully returned a growl, though it hardly sounded like it.  Too much laughter behind to really be effective.

Liffey laughed through her playfully bared teeth as Gannet cleared the snow off of his face and attempted to throw some back at her. She leaped away to the side to try and avoid it, but still felt it splash against her flank. Her wagging tail swiped through the clumps as they flew, making them burst into clouds of white flakes as they broke apart. She jumped towards him again and lifted a paw to bat at his nose before turning to run again. She slowed though just as soon as she'd begun and glanced back, trying to make sure he would chase before she began to really run.

She seemed to know exactly why he'd come without his even having to ask - but wasn't that the way of best friends? With a final boop to his snoot she was off, and immediately he eagerly gave chase.  

When he saw her glance back he grinned and sped up, figuring she would do the same.  He wasn't as fast as she was (he knew this already) but he wasn't really trying to catch her.  Then the running would be over, and he just wanted to run.

Unfortunately, snow wasn't something he had much experience running full-tilt on.  So when his paw happened to catch a particularly slick spot, it shot sideways, and he ended up sliding into a half-face plant in the snow.

Gannet was quick on the uptake, and so Liffey had only to pause for a split second before putting her limbs to work. She darted away from him, but was reminded quickly enough that fast was not exactly an option when the ground was covered in so much snow. She felt like a frog as she bounded forward and over the mounds of white and the game seemed to turn into one of just running as opposed to chase. She felt silly, and so she laughed in spite of the fact that she was looking so absurd in front of her crush.

She didn't notice at first when Gannet slipped as she was a bit ahead of him still, but the sound of him crashing into the snow made her bound to a stop and turn around. She was met with a spray of snow slapping her right in the face. Liffey shook her coat  to throw the wet from her muzzle. It was a pointless endeavor, particularly because the moment she had cleared the stuff, she was leaping through it again towards Gannet, intent on giving him a good tackle while he was already down.

He ended up with a sore nose and a mouthful of snow, and with a bemused expression he spat some of it out.  He wasn't ready for Liffey's follow up (obviously) but it didn't startle him; he was too used to playing like this.

When she tackled him he rolled over onto his side with a broad grin, raising a front paw to try and hook over her shoulders to pull her down too.  It wasn't a very advantaged position from  the ground but he didn't try to get himself up quite yet.

Liffey tumbled right along with him after her tackle, pulled down by the arm he managed to get around her. Her heart thrilled at the touch, so much that part of her collapse onto him was done purposefully. She might have been able to hold herself up, and she might have been able to wriggle out of his grip. But why would she do that when she liked being near him so much?

She laughed as she scrambled against him, wrestling about until she could find at least some sense of purchase to vault herself against him again, trying to knock him down beneath her. Her jaws worried his face and shoulders as they moved, teasing as though she actually intended to grasp his muzzle in her teeth when it was all just done in play.

Liffey had barely grazed the bridge of his nose with her teeth when thundered boomed overhead. Her head snapped up to the sky, wonder in her eyes as she watched the clouds billowing. In seconds, Gannet had moved and she was falling into the snow again. He growled at her and she shot him a nervous glance as she gathered herself, putting an end to their play. Something was happening, and it suddenly struck Liffey that they ought to get home before it really began.

Finley didn't like the look of the weather. She was no naturalist, but her time spent travelling the wild had taught her plenty about how to judge the look of the sky and taste of the wind. Trouble was brewing up there - more than what the Wilds had seen already. Cold was one thing, but there was something else coming. It made Finley nervous, and so the alpha prowled out of the cave to set her eyes across the slopes that stretched out around her.

Her eyes were open as she tilted her muzzle back and howled, calling in those who were not already safely inside the cave. Not too many were out wandering, but she knew those who were away. As her song ended, she settled onto her haunches at the mouth of the den and waited. She would not retreat back inside until all were accounted for - her daughter first and foremost amongst them since her sons were already safely tucked away.

As though Finley somehow knew it was time to call their thread adventure to an end, Liffey heard her mom's voice rising above the Caldera. She turned her gaze skyward once more to peer at the clouds, feeling anxious. Gannet stole her attention and she found him smiling comfortingly at her. She felt her cheeks warm at this look. He was so handsome. If they walked slow enough, maybe they would get caught in the storm and they'd have to hole up together somewhere. Just the two of them...

Gannet was turning though, and Liffey found herself cantering along at his side, keeping his quickened pace. They were home within minutes, Finley giving them each a loving nuzzle as they skirted her on their way into the den. Liffey paused just inside the mouth of the cave, however, as thunder rolled again. She was inside now, she was safe enough. And so, Liffey settled down to watch the show, her heart warming when Gannet reappeared to lie down alongside her to share the view.