Redhawk Caldera throw a log on the fire

Gasp! No active @Peregrine thread? This takes place tomorrow, when Fox is slightly less of a bitch. ;)

Satisfied was a word that accurately described how Fox was currently feeling. The past week had been spent in her lover's embrace, and hopefully all the coupling they had done would result in a dozen (or so) children. Of course, all that coupling had meant that Fox had been downright starving by the end of it. Even at the feast, she hadn't really had time to eat anything, considering Peregrine was pumping his load into her in front of everybody. Not that she was complaining, of course. It was the only week out of the year he'd be allowed to do that, though.

Fox had spent the morning gorging herself on whatever caches she could find, stuffing her face full of whatever meat had been stored there. When she finally felt her belly aching from too much food, she retired to the den, foodbabies and all. If everything had gone according to plan, she'd have actual babies in there as well. She touched her abdomen with her nose, wondering how they were doing in there. Although she didn't know it, they were just floating around trying to figure out which cells to split and which to keep together. Science is cool.

"Oh my gosh, Fox!" Peregrine screeched as he came thundering into the den, short of breath and eyes shining with excitement. "I just realized something: I can officially refer to you as a MILF!" His tail wagged so hard that it beat the walls on either side of him. With a chortle, he let his legs buckle so that he sprawled beside his lovely mate.

"Feel anything yet?" he asked, his tone playful. Of course it was too early for any pregnancy symptoms to crop up yet. "I think your boobs are getting bigger," he jested, staring at the one row of teats he could see from this angle. "You momshell you," he purled, brushing his tongue up and over her cheek.

"So I talked to some potential Caretakers," he said after a moment, "so we can proactively tackle the issue of time management. I figured I'd vet them for you, then send the promising ones your way. I feel like you should get final say in who we trust to sit them. I really like pretty much everyone here but since they're our babies and everything..." They wouldn't trust just anybody, would they?

“MILF?” Fox asked, unfamiliar with the term. Once Peregrine inevitably explained the acronym, Fox shot him an endearing look. “You really are adorable and stupid, you know that?” she said, lazily swatting a paw at his head. Her belly was too full of food to do much more than that, and the after-meal stasis had taken its hold of her. Then again, being referred to as such wasn't the worst thing in the world. It meant that she was a mother (to-be, if we're getting into technicalities) and Peregrine still found her attractive. Both of those things were high on her list of priorities.

When he mentioned that her boobs might be getting bigger, Fox glanced at them, then touched one with her nose. It felt no different than it had the day, the week, or the month before. Just a good ol' fashioned nipple. “Just foodbabies,” she replied with a grin, “I think they might be overshadowing the real babies for a little while.” Fox couldn't remember exactly when she'd start feeling the symptoms, but now seemed much too soon... even if Peregrine had managed to get her knocked up on the first day.

“Oh yeah,” she replied, “I heard the call go up, but I wasn’t sure if it was in my dream or not. Momma’s gotta rest, y’know.” Fox was certainly going to use her pregnancy to every advantage she could think of. If she wanted to sleep and eat all day and night, she would just blame it on the babies growing in her belly. Belly babies. “Finley said something about wanting to watch them,” she added, “And you know how fondly I feel about her, despite her, ah, reckless behavior. She's my best friend.” But that didn't mean that Finley would be the only wolf trusted with their forming children. “Who else?” Fox asked, curious to know who heeded Peregrine's summons.

He smiled gently at her when she mentioned getting her rest. Peregrine thought she should be able to get away with whatever she wanted—sleep all day, eat all the food, curbstomp some foos if necessary—because she was a pregnant Alpha female now. She was the ruler of the world, as far as he was concerned. Even he deferred to her now, and happily. He would wait on her hand and foot, even if she became a snarling ragebeast, to ensure she and the pups got the best of everything.

"Fin wasn't one of the ones who came, though I'm willing to bet she was out of hearing range, probably picking a fight with some bears. In any case, we can definitely touch base with her. I feel like I can trust her and Elwood, no questions asked. Maybe that's favoritism but I don't give a fuck. They're my kids, our kids." He bumped his snout against hers.

"Somnia, Tempest and Ashton all showed. Only the latter has any actual experience. But I want all three to have a fair chance. I gave them a project," he said with a bit of a proud smile. "I told each of them to come up with a game—preferably an educational one—and host some pack playtime. It'll be fun to see what each of them comes up with."

"I'll talk to Fin as soon as she again," Fox said, certain that Finley would have to come around the den sooner or later. That girl was always hanging around the Alphas' den, wanting to talk to them about something or another. Fox thought it was endearing, though she hadn't said that to Finley just yet. She would make an excellent godmother, even though Fox hadn't spoken of such things with Peregrine yet, she couldn't imagine him rejecting the idea. Maybe, once the kids were born, she'd bring it up again. Elwood would be the obvious choice for godfather.

"I'm not so sure about Tempest," Fox admitted. "I told you about her whole... family issues, and she was raised by coyotes, so how could she know anything about rearing wolf pups?" Fox wasn't even sure if Tempest would stick around or not. She'd only been here for a short time, and there was the looming possibility her father would come here and take her away (or worse, try and cause Redhawk Caldera harm). Perhaps if Tempest had been around longer and had gained the trust of both Peregrine and Fox, but that was something that just took time.

"Somnia, on the other hand," Fox went on, her expression morphing from uneasiness to contentment, "I like that girl." If Finley hadn't already scooped up the Beta female spot, Fox had a very good feeling that Somnia would have been in her place. The girl was smart, respectful, and friendly. And while her personality wasn't as wacky as some of the other caldera members, that was actually a good thing. Having one hundred percent weirdos could be exhausting, and Fox had found that diversity was important to a stable, well-balanced pack.

"I could see Ashton working out well, too," she added, not wanting to leave out the final contender.

Fox shared some misgivings about Tempest. Peregrine wanted to give her a fair chance, though he basically agreed with everything his mate said. She had the farthest to go when it came to proving herself and earning the Alphas' trust. Truthfully, he had forgotten about her back story. His brow furrowed when Fox reminded him of it.

"I'm pretty sure she can read minds," he said offhandedly. "I agree about Som, though. I keep wishing we had more leadership positions. I'm not about to unseat Elwood or Fin but she would make a great Beta. And I think Ashton has a lot of potential. Speaking of which, did you hear they're sort of hooking up?" Peregrine paused as a thought occurred to him. He bit his lip. "I wonder if those two will eventually leave to start their own pack. I hope not... but I wouldn't be surprised if that ended up happening."

He didn't want to linger on depressing thoughts, though. "Wanna talk baby names?" he asked, eyes shining in the den's dim light.

With Redhawk Caldera supporting as many wolves as it possibly could, Fox wouldn't be too terribly saddened to see Somnia and Ashton strike out on their own. Both of them seemed perfectly capable, and Fox would much rather they left than attempt to overthrow their current leaders or do what Ferdie had done. Even when Jinx had gone off and founded her own pack, Fox had not been too miffed. Weren't they supposed to nurture leaders and prepare them for a life of their own? "Would that be so bad?" Fox asked her mate. "Shouldn't they get what they so clearly deserve? Redhawk Caldera is more than full, and with our dozen babies growing into adults, the land simply won't be able to support us if everybody sticks around. I've never understood the hostility toward those who leave." Fox shrugged her shoulders, wondering if she was the only one who felt this way.

Peregrine had offered to talk baby names, but this seemed like a far more important topic. Fox would swing back around to the naming once she heard his opinion on the matter. No use in confusing things with multiple conversations going on at once.

Fox hung onto the subject of their members possibly departing. She asked him if it would really be so bad and he opened his mouth to answer but she kept talking for a moment, so he waited for her to finish. It was pretty clear where she stood. She had good points, though there was something she didn't address at all...

"I'd miss having them around," he said simply. "Now how about them baby names?"

Well, she supposed there was that, but Fox had seen so many wolves filter in and out of her life at this point, she felt like none of them were permanent. Except, of course, Peregrine. They were bound for life, and nothing would keep him away from her. If she had to cross a thousand rivers of lava, Fox would do it to get back to him. Maybe it was cheesy, but she really did feel that way about him. Besides, who was she to hold back somebody who clearly had the capability to lead a pack?

"You and your names," she laughed, "You know I won't name them 'till I see them." And she meant it. They couldn't even be felt through the layers of muscle and fat, and Perry insisted on giving them a title. She had a feeling he'd been planning all of their names right from the get-go. "I think you talked about naming one after your brother, yeah?" If Peregrine wanted to name them right here and now, he was going to be on his own. Fox intended to call them exactly what they looked like.

"I know," he said, his mood too upbeat to feel discouraged. "They're just ideas. Plus, I thought—" She mentioned naming one after his brother and he nodded. "Yeah, I'd like to do that." He figured they could follow her naming convention for half the litter and his for the other. If they gave each pup a middle name, they needed to come up with twenty-four; they were having a dozen, after all!

"I was thinking Atticus Finch," he shared, having no clue about the pop culture reference, "to follow with the bird theme. I'm not sold on it, though. We could always call a girl Attica. I'm pretty sure my brother's name came from our Great Aunt Attica. My dad had two brothers, Cerberus and Crete, and that was his sister's name. At least, I think I'm remembering that correctly."

He could sit here and chatter all day about his ideas but if Fox wasn't going to throw any ideas onto the pile, Peregrine knew the conversation would be very one-sided. He sighed, deciding to give up for now. Maybe he could have this conversation with someone else. That someone would have to be open to listening to him blather endlessly. Finley came to mind...

Fox hadn't said much about the subject of Ashton's and Somnia's courtship. Peregrine said, "Have you noticed the sudden influx of pairings around here? It's not just Ash and Som. Evidently, Tempest has the hots for a newbie I have yet to meet called Mikael. I'm told he looks like Ashton's twin. I have no idea if there's any romantic chemistry between them but I think Finley and Elwood would be a cool pair. They would definitely leave if we didn't let them have children," he thought aloud.

Fox listened, happy to hear his thoughts on names, even if she wasn't going to partake in this (what she considered) madness of naming children before seeing them. She wondered if it would be appropriate to name a child who looked like another wolf after that other wolf. Now there was something she hadn't thought of, and it was a nice twist on her family's tradition.

Unlike Peregrine, Fox hadn't heard about Ashton and Somnia or Tempest and Mikael. The latter of which she hadn't even met. The last "couple" he mentioned were Finley and Elwood, a pairing that Fox had been shipping for quite some time. "I may or may not have told both Finley and Elwood to go for it," Fox said with a devilish grin. She was not about to call herself a matchmaker, but she did like to think that she'd pushed them toward what was eventually going to happen anyway.

When Peregrine mentioned that Elwood and Finley might leave them if they weren't allowed to have kids, Fox burst out laughing. Once she caught her breath, she said, "Sorry, the thought of those two having kids... I imagine they'd all grow up fighting bears or some such nonsense. Finley? A mother?" Fox gave another chuckle before setting a more serious tone. "But really, didn't we say we'd revisit that next year? If any of them are so eager to hook up and have babies right this second, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with that, no matter who it is." Peregrine and Fox had been planning their brood for months, and she would expect no less from their members who were serious about being parents.

"And besides," Fox added as a final note, "I'd be so happy for them if they wanted to start something of their own. I would want to support them if that's what they wanted to do. They're my friends, y'know?" She wished that the plateau had done that, at least for Peregrine.

He smiled lopsidedly when Fox laughed, then pointed out that Finley didn't seem the motherly sort. "Fox? A mother?" he mocked her affectionately, curling his foreleg to bump the knuckle of his paw against her cheek. "Both of you would—will, in your case—be great mothers because you're so crazy and fierce."

Peregrine bobbed his head a bit more soberly and agreed that, "I don't want anyone else breeding until our pups are at least juveniles." He met her eyes, wondering if that seemed like a fair timeline. "I can imagine us permitting Finley and Elwood, if they do end up together. Som and Ashton... I don't know. Maybe." But a lot could and would change before then, so he didn't bother mulling about it too much.

"You're right," he told her, picking up on Fox's hint. "Flightless Falcons was all about fealty. Being ousted by my own brother was a punch right in the guts. Thinking back on it, it's sort of strange how we all stuck around after we grew up. I feel like I didn't have any ambitions until Tyrannus cut me loose." He hummed thoughtfully under his breath. "And I agree that sometimes we all make too big a deal out of wolves leaving. I guess, as long as they don't vanish into thin air, I can't hold it against them... if all they're trying to do is what's best for them. I followed my heart, it would be hypocritical to judge others for doing the same," he finished, nuzzling his mate's temple.

Fox thought that was fair enough, and she gave a nod of her head. By six months, her children would be well on their way to being adults. And Fox had no intentions of having more than one brood each year. Once per year was about as much as she could handle, and she had a feeling her body would feel the same way and act accordingly. That was all speculation, of course. However, if it did work out that the next pair didn't breed until the Firebirds were six months, it could put them on a nice little rotation of having children around all the time. That could be awesome or terrible.

She smiled fondly when Peregrine explained his thoughts on wolves leaving their pack. Fox had left her birth pack because it was overflowing and they no longer needed her help. She had wanted to strike out on her own, and she'd done that quite well. Although it hadn't been until the death of Lethe that she'd realized what potential she actually had.

“Kinda makes me wonder what Robin’s up to,” Fox mused. The girl had always been a bit of a flake, and even after promising again and again to stick around, she'd vanish without a word. It was troublesome, and Fox wondered if Peregrine thought poorly of her for that reason. “And my other siblings, for that matter.” Fox hadn't heard from anybody aside from Robin since she'd left home, and she wondered if they were off living their own lives as leaders of various packs.

Peregrine hadn't thought of Robin in a long time. He hadn't known her well enough to miss her and even had a hard time grasping that she was Fox's sister. Obviously, he couldn't say what had become of her, nor of her other siblings, nor even his own. Atticus would always be a gigantic question mark. So would Crete. Over the years, it was becoming clearer to him that it wasn't unusual for your natal family to fall away in favor of the family you chose, the one you made.

He licked his lips and mused, "Maybe one of my brothers or sisters has met up with one of yours and they're making a batch of sprogs too. It's a shame 'cause I never got to know Robin at all. There have been a few like that, like Magpie too. See, that's what I don't like: the ones that take advantage of our home, then vanish without so much as a goodbye. If you're gonna leave, okay... just say something before you run off into the sunset."

A thought occurred to him and he finished by quipping, "Maybe we should avoid bird names. I think it might make them flighty." Oh my, wasn't he clever? Of course, it didn't apply to, say, himself or his sister, Osprey. But having just talked about a Robin and a Magpie taking wing, he couldn't really help himself.

Her head bobbed up and down as Peregrine spoke. They seemed to be on the same page as far as comings and goings went. Magpie had never seemed really at home here, so perhaps it was for the best that she moved on. And maybe Robin was out there trying to put down roots of her own. Fox just wished they had some magical way of communicating with one another. Where were the wolf cell phones?

"Hah!" Fox replied when he made the most wonderful pun. "If we all acted like our names, I would have been out there trying to get it on with a completely different species." The thought was, well, unnatural. Fox had never had any intentions of shacking up with a fox. They were too small, and instinct never would have let her do it, anyway. "And you'd be flying off into the sunset..." she mused, quite glad that he was doing nothing of the sort.

"I was thinking the other day," she said, turning the topic away from names, "that maybe we could choose godparents for the kids. They'd just be like extra-close family, I guess." Fox's own godparents had been the Beta pair back home, and she thought it would make sense for Finley and Elwood to take that role with their own children. But first, she wanted to get Perry's take on the idea and see if it was something he wanted to name outright, or if he'd rather just go with the flow.

His ear began to itch, so Peregrine sat up partway to lift his hind leg and scratch it. As his claws scraped at the fur behind his left, he kept it and the other open to whatever Fox had to say next. It turned out to be something about godparents. He had heard the term before but didn't know what it meant, not really.

"What are they, exactly? Are they the ones who teach the kids about religion? Do we want them to...?" Peregrine asked. He must be mistaken. He looked at his mate as he settled back down next to her, waiting for her to correct him and provide a more accurate explanation of their roles.

Fox chuckled at his response, only because it was a slight misunderstanding. "They're basically... well, if anything should ever happen to us, they would become the Firebirds' guardians." Now that she thought about it, it felt a lot more morbid than she'd ever realized. They were essentially backup parents who would take over if both of them died. Still, Fox thought it was a good idea to plan ahead. Who knew what the next year would bring? Even if she and Peregrine weren't around—absolute worst case scenario—the fiery Alpha wanted to ensure that her children had the best chance possible.

"I just want our kids to be safe and happy, no matter what happens," she confessed, hoping that Peregrine would understand. Maybe he would find the whole idea completely absurd.

He didn't find the notion absurd, though it made him uneasy because it opened the door to a grim possible future. Something could happen to him or Fox or both. Just look at what had happened to the parents of last year's two plateau litters: Pied had died in childbirth; Kisu had turned into a shadow, then vanished altogether; Hawkeye had become distant and eventually disappeared too; and he had been left to rear the pups. He'd done his best and, to his credit, they had survived. But now he was almost entirely estranged from them and their family had been chewed up and spat out by destiny or fate or whatever you wanted to call it.

He swallowed. "Nothing had better happen to us." He caught Fox's eye and stared deep into her silver gaze. Would something eventually tear them apart, some twist of fate or change of heart? He felt almost faint at the thought. He had put everything into building this family and it would be a cruel joke for it all to crumble right after they reached the culmination of their happiness. But was that what was destined to happen; could it only go downhill from here?

"Jeez," he mumbled after a moment, shaking his head lightly. "My head just went down a very dark path. Um, I don't mind picking out godparents, even if I hope it never becomes anything other than a title. Shouldn't we ask them, rather than, like, assign them? I mean, that's a huge undertaking... not that it's gonna happen..." Not over my dead body, Peregrine thought, then grimaced at his own poor word choices.

Concern washed over her face as Peregrine's expression changed from a lighter, happier one to one that was closer to terror. "Of course we'd ask them, silly," she said, once he'd come back to the bright, happy reality that was theirs. "But we'd have to figure out who we'd want to ask first, right?" Of course, Fox already had ideas, but she was still keen to hear his thoughts, first. Perhaps he would want to entrust them to a different set of caldera members. Then again, Peregrine had said that Finley would make a good mother.

Somnia was another option... but Fox didn't feel nearly as close to her compared to Finley. Finley had come with them from the plateau, something only one other wolf (FitzDutiful) could boast. Finley and Fox had been friends even before they had come here, even though their friendship had been fresh when they arrived. Perhaps that was what had made it so solid.

"Right, right," he said, nodding as Fox further clarified the situation. "Well... what if we asked Fin and then leave the godfather role open to whoever becomes her mate? Would that make sense? I mean, if we made Elwood the godfather and they don't wind up together, wouldn't that be weird? Besides, I trust Elwood but I know Finley a lot better. I think we should ask her, then go from there. I bet she'll freak out," he predicted, "but hopefully it'll be an honor too. Anyway, she can blame herself. She was the first one to call them 'Firebirds.'" It made sense to him, at least.

"Were you hoping to sleep off those foodbabies or would you wanna go on a walk with me? I'm feeling a bit restless," Peregrine said next, changing gears smoothly. He hoped she would come with him but he wouldn't blame her if she would rather stay put. "You can get some waddling practice in," he coaxed playfully.

Last post for me! We should have another with Finley. :o

For the second time in their conversation today, the girl's lady wolf's head bobbed up and down in agreement. They would ask Finley, and if she was down, her mate would take up the title of the godfather. Both Fox and Peregrine trusted her more than anybody else right now, so it made sense. Sometimes, she forgot that Elwood was new compared to some of the rest of the pack.

Peregrine suggested a walk, and after she managed to get to her feet, she glided up next to him. "It'll be our first walk as a family," she said, "You, me, and the foodbabies." Chuckling, Fox ambled on ahead of him, fully expecting him to catch up with no more than three of his long strides.

I tagged you... ^_~

Fox glided up to him, svelte as ever despite her gut load. "Does this mean you're going to name them things like Cow Pie and Hershey Squirt when they come out?" he teased in reference to her foodbabies. Chuckling under his breath, he nipped her ear and trotted after her when she took the lead.