Hometown Glory

All welcome! :D Mild @Elwood PP so let me know if you want to change anything! 

Sebastian had gotten Elwood's message. The Beta had met up with his father, or ran it to him was more like it. He was surprised to hear that he had been... nice? He hadn't done anything to Elwood because the grey tank was pretty sure that Elwood wouldn't lie about such things. The young male trotted forward. His mind on the fact that his father invited him over. It had to be a trap. It had to be!! But then his mate that... Meldresi, dark woman, also invited him over to meet her mate. What if they were really nice and he was just a prejudiced fucktard of a wolf. Nope, no. Because he had also been here before with not so kind gestures. He was just luring him in. 

Sebastian let out a soft sigh. He started to go outside of the territory again since his wounds had healed, but now there was still some fear of running into the male. Didn't he have alpha things to do? Why was he coming here or running into Elwood for example. Sebastian stopped at the edge of the border, feeling like this scented line was his only safeguard. God, he felt like a coward. His pride had been rather shredded after Saena's attack, he had been stupid, there was no denying. So now he didn't want to be foolish again.

Sebastian was not the only one Elwood had told about the chance meeting he'd had with the delta's father.  He'd confided the information in his mate as well, and though Fin had bristled protectively for her baby daddy, that had been about the extent of it.  Her mate had walked away from it unscathed, and other than a few ominous words, it sounded like the man hadn't really said anything overly worrisome.  No threats to storm the Caldera, no promises to do any murdering of anybody...  When all was said and done, it had slipped to the back of Finley's mind, replaced instead by the seemingly insurmountable task of weaning her little Eljay.

Even that had slipped from Finley's mind as she made her way to the borders of the territory.  She had not actually left the safety of the Caldera since her son's birth, and the older Eljay got, the more restless his mother grew to get back to her most beloved pastime - outriding.  She still owed her goddaughter a trip to the waterfall by the Plateau, and though she was nearly ready to leave her son for a few days to go on the journey, she felt pretty rusty when it came to travel overall.

And so she headed to the borders to stretch her limbs for a few hours and to reintroduce herself with the wide, beautiful world beyond the Caldera.  She didn't get too far though before she spotted the grey titan wandering along to the West of her.  Fin paused, wanting to move on, but also feeling compelled to track him down for a quick chat.  She spent so much time those days doing nothing but trying to reason with a toddler, some grown-up talk would probably do her some good.

"'Lo there!" Fin chirped as she trotted hastily towards him, her tail wagging amiably in her wake.

Sebastian didn't know he had the same feeling as Finley, maybe both gray colored wolves had their fill of being in the Caldera. Sebastian didn't want his father to haunt his life. The immense male looked up when he heard someone. Instantly the male beamed and his large tail wagged too in greeting. He was glad that the female was close to the borders. Maybe they could have a cool adventure or do some scouting around the caldera. "Hey Fin," he greeted and licked her under her muzzle. 

His tail kept lightly swaying. "Want to go explore outside Caldera?," he asked, getting right to the point. He was itching to leave, and with Finley joining him then it might be the weight that tipped the scale of his father attacking him. Sebastian really dislikes to admit that he is scared for his father. He might have pushed too much of his buttons when he arrived in this area, he had been so mad and now he was paying the price. Finley was super though and a protective momma bear for Eljay so Sebastian was pretty sure she was super fierce like all females he met.

Fin hadn't really had any suspicions about what direction Sebastian would take the conversation.  A friendly how's-the-family?  A self-centered omg-so-my-dad?  Or a completely random have-you-ever-seen-a-giraffe?  All were possibilities, had she actually considered it.  None of them were the reality though.  The reality was even better.

"Yes," Fin answered shortly and promptly when her packmate asked if she wanted to explore outside the boundaries of their home, "That is exactly what I want to do.  Come on."  She turned abruptly then and set off at a leisurely canter.  She had no real direction in mind and after a few minutes, matched her pace with Sebastian's to allow him to guide their way if he had somewhere he wished to lead them.  She gave him a sidelong glance paired with a smile that she hoped would serve as an invitation for him to do so, though she saved her words for when they slowed a bit to a pace that was more conducive for conversation.

Sebastian was pleased to hear that Finley liked his idea. She came to the borders, so Sebastian figured that she wanted to get away from the Caldera, perfect to lift along. He followed her pace in the same canter, his huge strides following her smaller ones. Just because his steps were huge didn't make him faster since he had a lot of weight to transport. Sebastian was rather self-centered at times, only thinking about himself and what would happen to his being if his father would find him. 

Once Finley slowed down and ran next to him he took the lead. Sebastian wasn't one to take the lead but once in awhile he liked to do so. He didn't see himself as an alpha. He did saw himself as a protective mate, and sometimes that did require him to lead, if he would end up with a more timid female. Sebastian steered away from the direction BFW was located, and ran more towards bramble point. Running felt good now his shoulder was all healed and with his fur almost grown back. The male slowed down a bit. "We should do something crazy!," he let out. He wanted to be crazy and just live his life. He was young right?! He shouldn't live in fear.

Sebastian picked up on the hint pretty quick and lengthened his strides to take the lead.  Fin followed willingly, simply enjoying the exercise.  It seemed like ages since she'd really stretched her legs like this.  When was the last time she'd even gone on a hunt?  Like... a real hunt?  A hunt that only Finley Blackthorn would ever be idiotic enough to pursue.

We should do something crazy!

Fin slowed slightly as her gaze flickered over to Sebastian.  She spied the look of reckless abandon on his face, and instantly it ignoted the fire in her eyes.  She gave him a devilish grin and turned their trajectory slightly.  Elwood had spoken recently of a herd moving through the Wilderness on the edge of Bramblepoint upon the Prairie.  He said they were moving out towards the meadow, but Fin was pretty confident that the pair would be able to catch them.

"Tell me, you like buffalo wings?" she barked as they ran, her tail wagging with glee instead of simply with the force of the air they shot through.

Sebastian noticed that he sparked something on in Finley and only grew more excited because she followed him in his reckless mood. The young male wanted to do more crazy things, he always lived his life in fear and just have fun. It was too bad that Finley was already mated, Sebastian decided that he wanted a crazy female like her as a mate. That would make his life far more interesting. Every female he met was one feisty thing so he thought it wouldn't be a problem. Again his head was stuck on the female topic which seemed to happen more and more lately.

"Buffalo-Wings?," he asked. "LETS GO!," he howled, completely agreeing with whatever crazy plan the female had. Now his shoulder was healed it was perfect for him to go and have fun. With Finley he knew that good and crazy things would happen. He wasn't thinking about Blackfeather for once. He ran with the Beta female, his tail going just as crazy as hers. He followed her to the herd, very keen on trying to take one of those prey animals down.

Sebastian agreed to her suggestion with gusto, though Finley had a feeling he didn't fully get what she was saying.  That was perfectly fine with her - he'd get it soon enough.  She tore ahead, sprinting as quickly as she could in her excitement to get them to the herd as fast as possible.  In truth, she had no real hope of actually taking down any of the prey they sought.  All she really wanted was to run deep within the herb and to hear the thunder of their powerful hooves swarming all around them.

It was a sound that eventually Finley found to be just within her reach.  After a while, the pair came across the herd of buffalo, right where Elwood had said they would be.  Fin stared at them with fire in her eyes, but she held herself back to give her packmate a glance.  It was one thing to agree to hunting prey that could easily murder them with a well-placed kick while you were far away and shrieking playfully to the wind.  It was another to actually be looking at them, realizing just how huge they were.

But such "intimidation" would never stop Finley Blackthorn.  "Ready when you are," she said with a breathless grin.

Sebastian looked at the herd and then at Finley, to then look at the herd again. The male would normally think if this would be wise but he wanted to be more reckless and have fun. He didn't realize that he was already rather reckless when it came down to it. The male howled loudly and then nodded, signaling that he was most definitely ready. He looked at Fin and then started to speed forward. Howling once more to signal the herd to better start running because they were coming.

Even though he wasn't the fastest wolf around with his heavy bulk. But! He had fun and felt the wind rushing through his fur. That was the most important. He wasn't sure if they were actually going to catch one but hey, he would leave that over to Finley. Maybe they were lucky and stumbled upon an injured one. Who knows!

Sebastian gave her a glance before turning his attention to the herd.  It seemed he was teetering on the edge of a decision, one that Fin was desperately excited for him to make.  Fortunately, his debate lasted only a moment before he let loose a wild howl and took off running.  The beta laughed gleefully and set off after him without a second of hesitation.

The herd took off running at the sound of the approaching wolves.  It was a lazy run, though, Fin discovered soon enough upon approaching them.  They clearly felt the pair of wolves was no real threat to them, which was fairly accurate.  The beta wasn't completely interested in actually hunting them, which reinforced the case that they were no threat.  She just wanted to play.

Finley stormed up to stand face-to-face with an older bull that was stubbornly refusing to run.  She slid to a playful bow and snarled and snapped towards its face while it snorted and stamped in response.  Her tail wagged furiously as she dove forward a few feet, hopping backwards in time to avoid its swinging head as it attempted to murder her.  Barking happily and safely out of its reach, she danced in circles around it, snapping at its heels as it swung itself angrily about.

Sebastian had to admit that he didn't have so much fun in awhile. He ran with Finley making the bison run instead of hunting them. This was probably also what the Dorthran wolves would find a great thing to do, alas, Sebastian wasn't a Dorthran wolf and didn't know any. The large male was starting to tire so he was retreating. His body still needed to gain stamina from his few months of lying around with his shoulder. 

He let out a howl to Filey to let her know that he was retreating. It was the polite thing to do. Sebastian trotted casually to a hill, his tongue hanging out to release the heat from his body. Gosh this was a great idea from the beta female.

Fin didn't notice when Sebastian abandoned the game.  It wasn't until she heard his howl that she even thought to pay attention to him again.  She was quite wrapped up in her dance with the angry bull, but she took the first opportunity she had to dart away from her rival and from the rest of the herd to join her packmate on the hill.

She strode up to him, panting just as happily and tiredly as he.  She dropped to her haunches and took a moment to catch her breath before giving him a silly grin.  "No broken bones, but..." Fin said, "Crazy enough for ya?  Or do you want to go find a cliff to jump off?"

Sebastian watched Finley return and let out a soft sigh in relief. They had been rather reckless. After all the grey female was a mother now. The younger male let out a grin towards her and then quirked up his lips. "Yeah definitely," he spoke. He felt good going out of the territory. Even though he took Finley with him as a buffer it felt amazing to just feel alive. 

"We should this again soon," he returned. "I'm going back. Not sure if you want to do cliff jumping. I lived on a cliff before and let me tell you it is only fun for one time," he pointed out, since it would result in death.

 I'm gonna go ahead and wrap this one up :)

Slowly but surely, Fin's breathing began to steady.  She laughed at his response, but her interest was piqued.  "You lived on a cliff? she asked as she began to head back towards the Caldera at a brisk, but more leisurely pace.  It struck her then how little she knew about her packmate, but as they traveled back home, she learned plenty that encouraged her already growing like of her friend.