Heron Lake Plateau here comes the drop

Bat was stuck between a rock and a hard place: she was too frightened to leave the territory but she still wanted to avoid her mother and sister. Although the plateau was vast, it felt like she came across their scents just about everywhere. She wound up slinking to The Roost and skulking there. Every hour she spent there, the feeling of entrapment heightened. She just wanted to get out of here... but she also wanted to live. Maybe her imagination was running away from her but she could picture Artaax hidden somewhere just outside the plateau, ready to ambush her the moment she set foot outside of its safety.

When Towhee appeared to visit Orca's grave and maybe take a nap following a long patrol, Bat spoke with the Beta for a moment, then finally left the little island, carefully picking across the ice and going in search of @Tegan. There was a question now burning in the back of her mind. It wasn't just that she didn't want to share space with Wildfire and Kiwi—unwanted reminders of the past she'd left behind—but her feet simply itched too. She was a wanderer by nature now. Bat chewed on that thought in particular as she sniffed about for her closest friend.

I know we already have a thread, so no obligations! I actually wouldn't mind if someone she didn't really know hopped in here? :)

It wasn't the first time her stupid ass brother had gotten himself thrown out, nor did Finley suspect it would be the last. Were she younger and less of an old cripple, she might have actually gone after him this time to drag him back herself. But, she also knew that there really wasn't any point. Colt would show up again eventually. He always did. He fucking better...

Fin brushed the line of thought from her mind as she continued along in search of some offspring to annoy. It did seem as though the Redhawks these days were always getting themselve into some drama or another and she was not feeling particularly eager to become any part of it. Being excused from it was the one nice thing she had found in her retirement. Everyone else could deal with the Blackfeathers and the lovers quarrels - she would leave it to them and focus her attention on pestering the youths. One of which she came across just then.

The Blackthorn recognized the long-eared ex-Dragon girl as one of Wildfire's - the one who had lied her way into their ranks. Angling her trajectory slightly, she moved to intercept the girl and strode up alongside her. "So what should we call you now - Rory or Bat?" Fin asked jovially, smirking sidelong at the greyscale girl.

She lifted her head when she heard footfalls, hoping it was Tegan coming her way. Just in case it was and he was hoping to pounce her, Bat whirled with a quiet, "Rwar!" And found herself face to face with a grinning Finley.

"Ah! Shit! Sorry!" the youth shouted before she could stop herself. "I thought you were Tegan," she tried to explain, belatedly registering the question. Feeling even more sheepish now, Bat said, "You can call me whatever you want." If she was anything like her son, she'd run with that.

Speaking of which, this was the first time Tegan's mother had ever approached her directly. Bat was immensely curious about the woman who had given birth to that abomination she loved so damn much, as well as a little afraid of what Finley might make of her. Bat figured she must be pretty cool despite her crazy crotch fruit; she was mated to Elwood, after all, easily the nicest wolf in the pack.

Fin jumped a little when Bat whirled on her, her face twisting in brief confusion before the girl burst into apologies and swears. She began to chuckle as the explanation poured forth. She could appreciate the desire to screw with Tegan. She certainly enjoyed screwing with him herself, because that's what good moms do.

"S'all good," she replied, pausing to consider the latest offer on the table. "Are you sure you want to give me that power?" Fin questioned, "I've come up with some reeeeeeeaaal embarassing nicknames in my day and I find it way too fun to abuse them."

Finley seemed pretty darn chill, if these first few moments of proper acquaintanceship were anything to go by. Bat cracked a grin and replied, "I don't think you could do much worse than Tegan already has. But you're welcome to try! The more embarrassing, the better!" She wasn't really the sort to get embarrassed easily and actually kinda sorta wanted her crush's mom to brand her. It seemed kind of like an important achievement to unlock.

Fin gave a laughing scoff at Bat's eager reply. A challenge, was it? "Ha! You actin' like I ain't the one who taught that boy everythang he know 'bout nicknamin'," she fired back in some odd accent I can't place and have no idea how or why I just came up with it. Her expression turned quizzical as she peered at Bat and slowly, she began to circle the girl as though trying to inspect her better.

"Seeing as I did teach Tegan everything he knows, I'm sure that he came up with something good, so I'll need to step up my game here," she said, then paused to add, "Wait, what does he call you anyway?"

Finley reminded her that her son had learned everything from her, of course. Bat grinned, her expression growing curious as the woman began to circle her. She had the distinct feeling she was being assessed, which was slightly intimidating. But it was all in good fun, of course.

When asked about some of the nicknames Tegan used, Bat cocked her head as if pondering. After a solid minute or two, she said, "Mostly 'pup' or 'motherfucker.'" There were others, though those were the two most frequent pet names he used.

Fin was expecting greatness in response to her question. Her son was one of the most verbally creative (read: outlandishly random) wolf she'd raised to date, so she had rather high expectations when it came to his naming abilities. That's why when Bat answered, she was a little flabbergasted.

"Seriously? Pup and motherfucker?" she replied, surprise and a bit of disappointment written on her face, "That's not even clever. I taught my kid way better than that. You should sue him, Flopsy."

"Ugh," Bat replied instantly, "I don't want to sue him! That's gross." The young teenager blinked and added, "What does 'sue' mean?" And then... "Flopsy? Flopsy," she tested it out. She kinda liked it. It was adorable, just like her (and like Tegan thought he was). "Is it because of my ears?" she guessed.

Finley shrugged at Bat's question. "I dunno, just something my mom used to say," she answered because I can't figure out what the wolf equivalent of "sueing" someone would be. "I think it basically means you should kick his ass and demand he step up his name game," she concluded. Because that was a better plan of action anyway.

Bat picked up on the nickname Finley had dropped, bringing a smirk to the Blackthorn's lips. "How ever did you guess?" she asked, her tail wagging softly.

The more she thought about it, the more Bat liked it. She decided right then and there that she'd use Flopsy as an alias while out scouting. In the meantime, the woman's teasing about her son's inability to procure nicknames, as well as Finley's new moniker for her, got the youth's creative juices flowing a little bit.

"Well, now I just need a nickname for you," she observed. She didn't know Tegan's mom super well and was still a little intimidated about Finley's opinion of her. But so far, so good, and Bat thought this next bit might actually fly with her. "Maybe fuckermother?" Because Tegan was a fucker, all right. "Or... if I'm Flopsy, you can be Mopsy. I guess that makes Tegan Peter Rabbit and Uncle Elwood Cottontail." Yep, because that made sense.

Fin listened eagerly as Bat announced that it was time for her nickname. She couldn't begin to guess what it would end up being. She knew it wouldn't be as epic as what Fin had come up with, and prior to this conversation, she would've been fairly confident it wouldn't be as epic as what Tegan could come up with either. But apparently her son was a -- what did he call it? -- a lameboy? And couldn't come up with anything better than pup for a girl that was younger than him.

Step it UP, young man!

She wasn't necessarily disappointed when Bat unveiled her brilliant nicknaming abilities, but it certainly wasn't the wildly clever moniker Fin had come up with for her. The first was a wee bit plagiarized, and the second heavily influenced by the nickname already on the table. Still, Fin snorted with laughter at the idea of Uncle Elwood Cottontail, and over Bat's very unique form of sweet, eager moxy.

"I could get onboard with Mopsy," she said with a kindly smile, "The real trick to creative nicker-naming is to come up with something that's relatable to the individual in a kind of teasing way. Like I named you Flopsy because of your ears, and I named your Aunt Towhee 'Teehee' because she was this silly little thing when she was a pup and these days it's hilariously ironic because she's perpetually grumpy."

Stevie laffs.

"You gotta pick on me a little. It's okay, I can take it," Fin encouraged with a little uplift of her chin.

Finley didn't reject the nicknaming convention outright, though she gently encouraged Bat to try again, to try harder. The youth laughed at the woman's words. She regarded Tegan's mother thoughtfully for a long moment, attention drifting idly to her hip. She hadn't actually witnessed Finley's hobble for herself, though Tegan had mentioned it before.

"Okay, G.G.," Bat said at long last, really hoping Finley wouldn't clobber her upside the head for this gone. "That stands for Gimpy Geriatric."

Fin waited eagerly to hear what Bat would come up with next. She frowned thoughtfully for a beat as she was dubbed "G.G." - a name she assumed was some sort of mockery of Grandma? Which maybe earned her a B- when Fin was determined to help her get an A. But as it turned out, the lesson was over. Bat earned herself an A++ with that one.

She burst out laughing at the name she was given. "Now that's what I'm tallking about!" she exclaimed, leaning forward to nudge the girl's temple in her own wolfy version of a high-five, "Don't pull your punches and hit 'em where it hurts!" Finley smiled appreciatively, thinking that there might be a little bit of Peregrine in this daughter of Wildfire's.

"You ain't half bad, Flopsy," she added, "Now, as your homework assignment, I want you to come up with a really good one for Tegan and then smack him right in the face with it." Mom of the god damn year right here, everyone.

Bat couldn't help but beam at Finley's response. She could totally see why Tegan absolutely refused to separate from this woman. It didn't make her life (or the sacrifices she might have to make) easier in practice, though it definitely gave her some perspective.

"Thanks, G.G.," the youth said heartily before quickly saying, "I'm on it! Do you want to be there for the grand reveal?"

Finley smiled at how pleased Bat was by her praise. She was a cute kid, and very much Wildfire's. At the invitation, she shook her head to decline. She didn't want to be that mom who inserted herself into her kid's relationships. Teasing nicknaming seemed like it would turn into a flirtation, and it felt a little creepy to be directly active in that. Plus, she needed to get back to finding Eljay a mate.

"That's alright, you go get him," Fin encouraged her, "And if he asks where your sudden nicknaming genius came from, you tell him it was all you."

"'Kay," the youth replied when Finley told her to handle it on her own, plus take all the credit for it too. "Smell ya' later, G.G.," Bat added with a snap of her tail before running off to find Tegan. She'd forgotten all about the question she'd meant to ask him, as well as her earlier worries. That would all come back to her in time, though for now all she could think about was a hundred different terrible names for her favorite wolf in the world.