Fin gave a laugh at her alpha as he suggested she join him in the mud bath. She was certain that this was just a ploy to get her dirty, and then he'd point and laugh at her because she was all covered in mud when she didn't really need to be. She was onto his games. Little did he know, she played the same tricks on people all the time, so she knew how to spot hijinx. Peregrine turned to begin searching the creek bed for a good, muddy spot, and Fin parted her lips to give him a clever retort.

Then suddenly, she felt a little itch behind her ear. Which was nothing, just her mind screwing with her. And then there was another on her wrist. And then her back. And then her bum. And suddenly, though there wasn't a flea anywhere near her besides the ones making a feast of the ebony male's scrumptious blood, a mud bath seemed rather like a good idea.

"I think, you may be right, good sir... Here, this way," Fin called to him, turning to trot off in the opposite direction, "I saw a good spot over here earlier."

Fin walked steadily along the little stream, completely oblivious to the fact that it should feel a lot more odd being the one to lead her alpha and not the other way around. When it came to rank and related pack etiquette, Fin was always careful to not do anything that would get her kicked out of a pack, but if her antics sometimes ruffled a few feathers, she didn't fret over it. She really couldn't be too much bothered with the egos of the upper-ranked, not when she had her own inflated head to preoccupy her.

Fortunately for her, Peregrine was having a laid-back day. Or maybe it was more of a there-are-better-things-to-worry-about day. In either case, Finley's attention was absorbed with trying to remember exactly where it was she had spotted the muddy pool. She flicked an ear backwards only briefly when she heard the dark wolf mutter something to himself and allowed herself a prideful little grin as her mind jumped to the conclusion that he was probably complimenting her bum. She allowed her tail to sway as she walked, letting the handsome male catch glimpses of her thighs. In truth, she had no interest in him romantically. But she never missed an opportunity to flaunt her highly coveted features.

There we go! the silver woman chirped quite suddenly, picking up her pace to bound over to the opposite shore and wrestling her way through a wide thicket even though it would have been easier and just as quick to go around it. As she stepped out of the brush, her paw smushed into the muck she had been searching for.

The pool of mud stretched out a few yards along the edge of the stream, the remnants of a great rain that some large creature had once taken advantage of for its own messy bath. Tides and rain had kept the soil loose and easily re-satured with moisture over the months so that what had formed was a nice little tub for those who felt like they were just too darn clean.

The sterling female stepped gingerly into the mud a few feet until the muck was about halfway up her legs. A look of displeasure twisted her muzzle into a deep frown as she looked around for Peregrine. I somehow overlooked how gross this would feel. She wriggled her toes beneath the mud, both hating and somewhat enjoying the feeling of it squishing between them.

As Peregrine entered the squishy bath, Fin gingerly stepped deeper, her face contorting with immense displeasure. She stopped as the alpha posed a question, a single brow quirking. Do you really want me to answer that? she asked rhetorically as she moved slowly around the pool. She had no doubt that this was in fact mud, but whether or not there were other... unmentionable.. erm... "debris".. lurking somewhere beneath the surface was something she was trying very hard not to dwell on.

Fin watched her alpha as he immersed himself in the muck. She moved her gaze back slowly to the filth underneath which her once pristine white legs stood and gave a defeated sigh. She sucked in a deep breath as though about to dive under water and dropped onto her stomach with an awkward squelch like a hmhm thrusting into a hmhm if you know what I mean *eyebrow waggle*. Once lying down, she rolled very slightly from side to side while whimpering miserably, deciding then and there that she was never going near Peregrine again if this was what was going to come of it.

The swarthy male's murmuring caught her attention and she turned just in time to gasp in horror as he smashed his face into the mud. Horror turned swiftly to disgust, disgust to surprise, and then surprise to humor as she burst out laughing at how ridiculous he looked, and really how unbelievably horrible this entire escapade was in general.

Gods are you one sexy bitch, Fin said between laughs, No wonder you have two asses to hump at home. If there was a line there that Finley wasn't supposed to cross, she was completely unaware of it as she choked on her laughter.

Fin noted his surprise, but took it initially as a reaction to her bold remark. It brought a grin of pride to her face. She enjoyed being one from whom to expect the unexpected. She snickered at his correction, but went ahead and made a mental note of it. Apparently being a 'mother fucker' was preferable to being a 'bitch'. Men--always lining people up for a good thinking-with-your-penis joke.

When Peregrine spoke again, though, it was Fin who got to be surprised. The confession seemed to come out of left field to the feisty Blackthorn. She quirked a brow at him, still smiling good-naturedly but not even bothering to attempt the confusion that briefly showed on her face. He was quick to continue his explanation; clarifying for her that it was a familial sort of affection that stemmed from their mutual affinity for vulgarity and wit. She could tell by his facial expressions and tone that there was a weight to his words and an emotion he wasn't giving his voice to directly. In truth, it made Fin feel a bit uncomfortable, but not because she was the cause of her alpha's emotion, but only because she never had a clue how to react when people got all wishy-washy on her.

You know, you seem pretty alright too, Fin responded, snickering at his white teeth as they beamed through the filth on his face. And I will be glad to take any crap you give me in jest so long as I can mock you mercilessly when you screw up and knock you down a few pegs when I feel like you're just feeling too damn proud of yourself. She smiled. It felt like a pretty good deal to her.

I have to do my face, Fin barked at him suddenly, eager to distract from whatever touchy-feely junk that they were about to get into. She lifted a paw from the muck and patted it down on her face until there were two steaks going down from her eyebrows to the underside of her neck and a big glob on her chin. She then brushed another glob onto the top of her head, brushing her hair as forward as she could get it until it was sticking up in the air in twists and knots with chunks of mud tangled and dripping down the sides of her head.

Once the look was complete, she turned to him with a stoic expression on her face. If you don't tell me I look super bad ass right now, I will bite you, Fin claimed, fighting the tickle of the mud as it dripped uncomfortably into her ears.

Shitwit. That was a new one to be sure. Fin chuckled at the name and proceeded to doll herself up, only to laugh again as he responded to her request. She rolled her eyes at him and began to lower herself further into the mud. But in the next second, he called her attention again and she gave him a curious glance as she continued to sink.

Now that is terrifying, she replied with a grin, I've never seen the earth shit a wolf before, but it does make sense that you'd be the one. She squirmed a little as she sank down onto her stomach with her chin resting upon the surface of the pool. Psst... I'm calling you a piece of shit, she whispered with a mischievous little giggle.