Redhawk Caldera slow motion daylight.

Being a cripple had many, many, many disadvantages. The only good thing about it actually seemed to be the fact that she could hide in her den and sleep however long she wanted to. At the same token, she was Finley Blackthorn. She could sleep a full 45 minutes a night and be up and ready for a full day of bear-baiting and cliff-diving. So, her one plus was barely significant. Even more so, this all just sucked.

But, Finley was determined. Boredom did not suit the Blackthorn at all, so her entire morning had been spent in action. A sad, rather boring action, but it promised to ensure.... Well, probably even more long hours of boredom. BUT! Eventually, it might be exciting. For a second. And she'd be helping her pack out, and Finley did like feeling significant.

The hours that passed found Finley crouched upon the top of the ridge that stretched nearby her den, peeking over the ledge at a pile of acorns that she'd collected and meticulously placed below. Any moment now, a squirrel or a mouse or something would creep by for a bite, and then... Then Fin would have something to add to the cache!

.....being a cripple did not suit her.

Somnia's still in the process of getting to know everyone in the caldera. Hope you don't mind that I'm jumping at the chance for her to meet Fin. :)

It turned out, that Finley's plan to attract a squirrel would work out... But in a way that no one could expect.

Somnia was hunting once again. There had been too many failed hunts recently for the aspiring gamekeeper to lounge around. There had been recent herds of elk and deer passing through, but none had dared to venture through since a couple days ago. That left small game. There were many advantages to small game. You didn't have to find others to help bring it down. It was much easier to catch. There was often more small game. Etc.

Well, this time Somnia was after a squirrel. She had scented it, located it, and was currently chasing it.... Right through Finley's acorn pile. Somnia hadn't meant to send Finley's acorns flying, she hadn't even noticed the small Beta in the thrill of the hunt. Somnia didn't notice much of anything, until the squirrel ran up a tree. "Next time I see your sorry butt, you're going to be dead!" She barked angrily at the squirrel, even though it didn't help at all.

Of course not! Thanks for joining :D

Well... She had wanted something interesting to happen.

Fin barked out in irritation as one of her precariously collected acorns shot up in the air in the wake of a passing, barking blur and smacked her right in the chin. She shook her head and bolted up onto her haunches, whirling rapidly to spot what she could only assume was a packmate, shouting threats at a fleeing squirrel--HER fleeing squirrel, to be exact.

"Ever thought of watching your own butt?!" Fin barked at her incredulously, canting her head. Her gaze was quick to trail off after their prey's disappearing form, her look of irritation melting into a disappointed pout.

Having heard Finley's comment, Somnia realized that she had ran right past the other wolf. She went back and sat where the acorn pile had been. This pack mate that Somnia had run past was obviously irritated with her, although she had not the slightest clue as to why. She had a fleeting thought of getting snarky with the the older girl, but quickly dismissed it. That left being polite in hopes to sort things out.

"I'm sorry...?" It held the note of a question, for she was confused about the whole ordeal, but the apology was profound. Whatever she did to this wolf, Somnia would make sure not to do it again.

She quickly added in an introduction, hoping to keep things from escalating. "I'm Somnia, a newer member of the Caldera."

The girl acted as though she had no idea what it was she'd done wrong when it was SO obvious. A wolf perched on a ledge? A scattered pile of acorns below? What did she think this was, the start of a diving contest? Obviously, the pack cripple was trying to contribute to her home by catching them a damn squirrel, how was that so difficult to see??

"I'm Finley Blackthorn," Fin replied, lifting her head proudly, "Beta of this pack." She was not one to pull rank usually, but to her this case warranted it. Which truly was a testament to just how desperately she needed to get out more. Boredom addled the crap out of her already loosely knit brains.

So this was the Finley who liked to challenge bears... Probably should've been assumed from the scars on her back. She was also the Beta, a leader of authority over Somnia. Immediate posture transition. Down on the ground, ears pinned to the back of her head, tail flat against the ground. She usually didn't lay on the ground for Fox and Peregrine, as they had deemed it unnecessary, as long as she showed some smaller form of respect for Peregrine.

Even though Finley was a rank lower than Alpha, she got more submission from Somnia because, well... Finley fought bears! Somnia was truly worried about her life right now. If Finley the Beta fought bears, what was to say that she wouldn't try to maim Somnia for irritating her? She would probably have much difficulty in her crippled state, but Somnia didn't doubt that it wasn't impossible.

Fin watched as Somnia crumpled into submission before her, and immediately her resolve faded. She shrank down against her perch and flattened her cheek against the cold face of the ground. "Awh, no, don't do that," she moaned, "I'm sorry, please stand up it's okay." She squirmed and shuffled until she was laying on her belly, her head placed between her two front paws.

"I was trying to catch squirrels 'cause I'm all broken and useless and bored and..." she whined and then paused with a heavy sigh, "Just a tip... If you ever fight a bear, don't let it hit you." Because then you were broken and lame and useless and bored and got mad at strangers for knocking over your perfect squirrel traps.

"Okay..." Somnia said, a bit weirded out, but standing up as Finley requested. This complex puzzle of a wolf was just getting more confusing. First, she's getting irritated with Somnia and so Somnia submits. If anything, the Beta should've been happy, but instead she gets all sad and depressed. Wasn't this how serial killers started out? Mental, bipolar problems that get worse and lead to worse problems?

Even with the thought that her Beta could be a future serial killer, she felt bad for the girl who was going through this emotional bipolar-ness. After all, whether someone was a serial killer or not, if they acted sad, Somnia would feel horrible. So, she walked up to Finley and nudged the Beta's paw with her cold wet nose. It was her way of showing that she was trying to be understanding.

If she had been less sick with cabin fever, Fin might've realized how insane she seemed to the poor girl before her. As it was, Fin typically wasn't the most self-aware. At least not when it came to her faults. She picked up her head at Somnia's touch and peered at her thoughtfully, a smiling eventually breaking across her muzzle.

"Sorry," she said, shutting her eyes and shaking her head, "I have been couped up for far too long with this injury." The Blackthorn opened her eyes again to gaze upon the female, forcing herself to be curious about her new packmate instead of so absorbed in her own issues. "You said you're new here?"

The mental issues seemed to have resolved themself. That was a good thing. Maybe now Finley would be a bit more... Predictable? Not that being unpredictable was a bad thing, but Somnia had enough of it for the rest of the day.

She accepted the apology with a small grin, along with an, "It's all right." Then the Beta asked about Somnia. "Yeah, I joined about two or three weeks ago -sometime during your absence."

The mental issues were far from over, but this thread isn't about that, so moving on. Fin canted her head as the girl responded to her, finding it interesting that she too had joined in her absence. Had she somehow inadvertently been warding the newbies off with her presence and that's why they'd all flocked there while she was away? Odd.

"I seem to be hearing that a lot these days," Fin commented idly with a thoughtful smile, "You liking it here?"

Somnia hadn't linked the large flocks of immigrants to Finley. Maybe it was just that she knew that Finley couldn't logically ward off recruits. It made more sense to think of it as a time period. Redhawk Caldera was a relatively new pack, but it has already became stable. It's been around long enough for outsiders to hear of it, but not long enough for too much if a reputation to spread around.

Now, to answer Finley's question. "Yeah, I like it here. Some already feel like family. While they may not be like my blood-related family, it's probably for the best that they aren't." Her response would probably raise questions, but Somnia didn't mind.

Fin was glad to hear that the girl was settling in well and bonding with her packmates--although her jealousy did flare up for a moment when she thought of Fox liking her more than she liked Fin. The Blackthorn was not overly prone to jealousy (maybe), but she did get wildly friendship-jealous at times. She settled down almost instantly, her expression not even showing the brief flicker of turmoil.

"Your family not that great, or you just want to avoid incest?" Fin asked, curious, and barely aware that her question was at all inappropriately worded. At least she hadn't said something about wanting to mate with everyone which is what I originally typed. It was a legitimate question in her mind, anyway. Maybe Somnia was determined to find a mate and start shooting out puppies. Fin knew that she herself would have a hard time shacking up with a guy that reminded her too much of her brother, for instance, even if she was bent on baby-making.

Somnia laughed at the incest part. "Nah, no incest for my pack. My parents were strict with dominance and repsect. I had... have three older brothers. I was the lowest ranking, so they liked to abuse the fact that I had no dominance over them. They made me do stuff, like moving fox poop for them with no logical reason behind it. They also thought that trapping me in my den was funny."

Hmmm.... Would she be allowed to fire questions right back at the Beta? Time to find out. "What about you? What was your blood-related family like?" Somnia hoped that this wasn't were the incest question came from.

Fin listened wordlessly to the girl's story, making all of the appropriate facial expressions in all the right places. "Dear god," she replied, shaking her head incredulously at their cruelty (albeit... kinda funny...), "Let me know if they ever show up here, I'd love to feed them their own asses." She may not have known Somnia very well, but she was pack now, and that meant whoever had wronged her needed bitch slapping.

Fin canted her head when the question was turned upon her. How best to answer... "They were... like all kinds of things," she replied, shaking her head with a smile, "I come from a very large family. Lots of personalities, lots of stories, but... Lots of love too." She was quite happy with where she'd come from, even though she'd left them all behind, it wasn't because she didn't love them as truly as she did.

Somnia didn't think of them as bad... It was more of them just taking advantage of the pack's lifestyle. If she wanted to blame anyone for it, her parents would be a better choice. They saw that she was lower in the dominance ladder, and allowed the poor behavior to happen. Somnia could probably blame herself too. If she had been really angry at the antics, she could've challenged her brothers for the higher position again and again.

She also doubted that they would ever come here. They wanted to be the alphas of their own pack and start a family last time Somnia saw them. If they joined a pack, they would most likely be dissatisfied without the top position. Although, it could be nice if they were the ones being bossed around for fun. At least for a little while.

"That must be very eventful." Somnia commented, thinking up some possible scenarios. All the conflicts that must've happened from different wolves having different opinions because of their personalities!

To Fin, dominance and submission was pretty straight forward. There wasn't a single rank to be held in a pack that gave one the right to disrespect and humiliate their packmates. Pack was family, no matter what blood was shared between wolves. And you did not treat family with undeserved cruelty.

"It sure was," Fin replied with a smile, "There was always so much going on. But, as much as I love them, I'm much happier here." It was the truth. She never would have become the beta in her old pack, there were simply far too many vying for the position who were better suited than her. Plus, her parents had never given her the sort of trust or serious consideration that Fox and Peregrine had. They had watched her grow from a loud-mouthed obnoxious pup to... An adult version of that same thing.

Wanna wrap this up? ^.^

Somnia could agree with Finley on her last statement. Even though she loved and missed her family, she had never felt like she had friends. Plus, with all the Caldera wolves, life was much more interesting than with her old family.

Then she realized she had completely forgotten about what she had been doing before she met Finley. "Nice conversation and all, but the caches won't fill themselves. We'll have to have another encounter soon. See you soon! Hope you heal well!" Somnia barked before sprinting off to find more food.

Sure thing!

Fin's own mind had begun to wander along the same path as Somnia's, only the other female was quicker to voice it. Before Fin could even reply, she was darting off into the depths of the territory, barking a farewell and wish for good fortune. "Yeah, get back to work, you!" she called after the girl, knowing full well that she probably wouldn't be able to hear her but wanting to do her best Beta-impression nevertheless.

She gave herself a pleased grin before casting her gaze back down to the acorns that were scattered across the ground, her smile fading into a ponderous frown. She debated for a moment before giving a disheartened shrug and pulling herself up onto all fours. She was pretty much useless being injured like she was, and so she ducked back into her den to curl up and rest, praying that maybe this one would be the nap she woke up from fully healed.