Redhawk Caldera Rockin' on top of the world

While his mate took another catnap between sessions, Peregrine unburied a shinbone and sprawled on the snowy ground just beyond the den's mouth, holding it between his forepaws so he could gnaw at it. He smirked to himself when he had to readjust his weight because his hips were sore from so much use. He had really lost count over the past few days. But Fox had to be knocked up by now. They wouldn't slow down until her heat ended, yet Peregrine felt absolutely confident that in just about nine weeks, they would be welcoming no less than one hundred and one dalmatians firebirds to the world.

He was unusually relaxed at the moment, particularly because his back faced the den and no one could possibly get past him unnoticed. Hell, he might not even mind some company. Aside from Somnia's short visit and their brief and "X"-rated cameo at the Christmas feast, he and Fox had kept to themselves for several days now. He would never, ever get tired of his mate's company and he knew the pack was in good hands between Finley and Elwood. Still...

Still lying sphinx-like in the snow, the Alpha male raised his muzzle into the air and let out a low, ululating howl requesting company. He wouldn't let anyone, male or female, anywhere near the den, of course, but he just wanted to talk to someone and see how everybody was doing beyond the Alpha pair's little honeymoon bubble.

We're tied for 2nd place behind Stevie for crazy writers this month, haha. (Or at least we were when I started typing this post!)

Well, Elwood would certainly be giving it some thought before he initiated another pack activity. He was glad that some of his packmates had been in attendance, but there had been more than one...strange occurrence, starting with the Alphas', um, bold entrance. It had been shocking to say the least, but Elwood, for one, hadn't been able to stifle his laughter after his initial surprise. Peregrine and Fox certainly knew how to keep things interesting, both for themselves and for their subordinates.

Despite all of that, Elwood was still eager to take on more responsibility as the caldera's new Beta male. Somnia had told him behind the scenes that she was bringing food to the Alpha pair, since they were reluctant to leave their den these days, and he jumped at the opportunity to do the same. After scouting the borders briefly, he visited a cache near his own burrow and plucked out a fat duck carcass that he had deposited there only the day before.

With the bird clasped firmly in his mouth, Elwood trekked towards the Redleaf-DiSarinno homestead, marching confidently through the snow. As he neared his destination, he heard a howl and quickly identified it as belonging to Peregrine. By coincidence, the swarthy leader was looking for company, so Elwood hurried his steps. Once Peregrine was in his line of vision, a smudge of black against the crisp powder, he woofed a greeting around his mouthful of feathers.

And here comes Onyx, ruining everything! I kid, I kid.

Despite asking for company, Peregrine's eyes momentarily narrowed when Elwood crested the horizon. Only when he saw the duck held in his Beta's mouth did the Alpha male relax again. He's not going to try anything! he told himself, dropping the shinbone and hoisting himself into a seated position to receive his co-leader. He woofed to welcome Elwood closer.

"If that fiasco of a festive feast was any indication," Peregrine drawled a bit like Dr. Seuss, "you and Fin are letting this place become a madhouse." He winked, though it wasn't really necessary; it was clearly a joke. The Alphas fully trusted their Betas to hold down the fort while they got busy.

Speaking of which, Peregrine experienced a momentary flashback to aforementioned feast. It was the Alphas' fault it had been a bit of a fiasco. Peregrine snickered under his breath but then assumed a bit of a sheepish expression as he said, "Sorry... sorry I'm a dick." He paused. "And for the, uh, prolonged eye contact..."

Elwood quickly closed the gap between himself and Peregrine, though he was careful not to crowd the Alpha and not to stray too close to his den. Even though Fox was nowhere to be seen, Elwood could smell her. Luckily, Peregrine didn't have anything to worry about, as the younger male hadn't yet reached sexual maturity and there was, perhaps, another female in the pack that he had his eye on.

The charcoal Beta dropped the duck at Peregrine's feet, then lowered himself onto his haunches. A stray feather stuck to the corner of his leathery lips, and he used a paw to remove it. Maybe he should have stripped the bird of its quills before bringing it to the leaders; realizing his mistake, he began to do so, holding the duck down with a forepaw while he plucked the feathers individually from its body. His ears tilted towards Peregrine so that he could listen while he worked.

"What do you mean? You don't trust your bear fighter and me to take care of things?" he joked in return. Though he and Finley could often be found goofing off, he felt that they could shoulder the responsibility of the pack should the need arise. Elwood continued to de-feather the duck, only pausing when Peregrine's voice became slightly more serious and he apologized for his behavior at the feast. "You're not a dick," he assured the Alpha with a shake of his head, then added, "But if Fox isn't not pregnant after that...I might be a little annoyed." He laughed, then flipped over the duck and began tending to its other side.

Elwood replied good-naturedly, assuring Peregrine that he wasn't a dick and didn't he have faith in his trusty Betas? "I know you guys are keeping the spirit alive in our absence," the Alpha male replied to that with a slow grin. "By the way, that bump at the end of the gathering was meant to be, like, a fist-bump. Despite the timing and my behavior, I actually thought it was pretty rad that you took it upon yourself to host something like that. In fact, it made me absolutely positive that we made the right decision in promoting you," he finished on a serious note, still smiling.

Meanwhile, Elwood was plucking the duck and Peregrine dropped his gaze to watch a moment, then deadpanned, "If Fox isn't pregnant, my dick and balls will fall off in shock and horror." That sounded sort of poetic. "I've no doubt that she is, though," he added, his smile now taking on more of a self-satisfied nature for a second before his dusky eyes began to sparkle. "I can't believe the time's finally come. Puppies in just, what, nine weeks...? Oh, man."

"I...was wondering about that," Elwood admitted as Peregrine apologized for the rough bump he had delivered at the end of the pack gathering. At the time, he hadn't given it too much thought -- many of the wolves communicated with each other through touch, and he often found himself nudging his friends by way of greeting or farewell. Peregrine's action, however, had been more like a shove, and once everyone had departed, Elwood had spent too much time thinking about what he had done wrong to draw the Alpha's ire.

He was glad to hear now, though, that Peregrine appreciated his ambition. The Beta bobbed his head in response, then joked, "Next time, I'll make sure to check everyone's calendars before I plan something like that." Fox and Peregrine hadn't been the only ones who seemed off that day.

As the subject changed naturally to Peregrine's soon-to-arrive puppies, Elwood put a pin in his feather-plucking. This was a topic that deserved his full attention, and he smiled as he noticed his leader's expression. It was easy to see that he was anticipating the arrival of the pups, and that he was ready to start a family with Fox. Elwood hoped to find love like theirs someday, but that wasn't currently on his mind. "They'll be here in no time," he commented, his tail brushing against the snow behind him.

Peregrine's lips twitched. He was glad to put Elwood's mind to rest, though he also found it funny that the Beta had been wondering. He could picture the yellow-eyed male staring at his ceiling all night, wondering what that shove from the Alpha meant... it made Peregrine chortle on the inside.

But with pups on the brain, there was little room for anything else. "I know. I know they'll be here soon and, hell, they'll be grown in the blink of an eye! Still, it feels like for-ev-er when you're waiting for them to be born." He knew this from experience. "It's worth the wait, though. In the meantime, Fox and I get to cook up kooky names like Fuzzbutt and Furball and Elwood..." He smirked.

The mottled grey male laughed out loud when Peregrine proposed the name "Elwood" for one of their pups. In a way, he would be honored, but at the same time he wasn't sure he would wish his own name on anyone. After a conversation with Siv, he didn't know whether he would be continuing his family's naming tradition or if he would be taking a different route.

"No, no, if you're going to use my name, it sounds a lot better backwards: Doowle," he replied with a thump of his tail. Siv was the one that had turned his moniker around, and it really did sound kooky -- so if that was the type of name Peregrine and Fox were looking for, Doowle fit the bill. "That was Siv's suggestion, but I won't mind if you guys want to borrow it," he said as though he was making the most generous offer imaginable.

"Sounds like duel," Peregrine remarked. The name's reversal elicited a strange reaction from him; he felt a lump forming in his throat. It took him a minute to swallow it and then he said, "My sister, Osprey, likes to turn names backward. Apparently her namesake, our uncle, did it too. I never met him but... I really miss her. I didn't even realize how bad until just now." His lips fell. He missed a lot of plateau wolves, though his sister was at the top of the list.

"Anyway," he said after a moment, "I think you should definitely save both Elwood and Doowle for your own litter someday. On a more serious note, we have a couple names picked out that we like, though Fox wants to give at least some of them names based on what they look like. It's a tradition in her family," he explained. "Whereas mine is all about the birds... I'm really liking Nightjar so far. I'm debating whether it suits a boy or girl."

"But speaking of birds, is that duck ready or what?" he added with a teasing smile.

Elwood's ears splayed out to either side as Peregrine spoke of his estranged sister. Truth be told, the Beta hadn't thought about the tension with Blacktail Deer Plateau in some time -- it seemed distant, somehow. Perhaps he had been hoping that things between the two packs were healing, but judging by the pain in Peregrine's voice, that wasn't the case. "I'm sorry," he murmured, then added optimistically, "Maybe once your pups are born she'll be able to come see them." Though he wasn't an outrider by trade, he would be willing to act as a messenger if Peregrine wished, though that wasn't something he would offer until later.

The Alpha quickly moved on, however, evidently not wanting to dwell on thoughts of Osprey and the plateau. Elwood was happy to oblige as Peregrine began talking about his offspring's names again. Nightjar was unique, and he was interested to see what Fox would come up with, as well. "I like Nightjar," he said, turning his attention back to the duck. Was it ready? "Just about!" Elwood replied, quickly removing the last three feathers from its body. There was a decent sized pile to his left; he hadn't realized how much progress he had made while they were talking. He nudged the carcass towards Peregrine, indicating that the Alpha could consume it now or take it to share with Fox.

Peregrine didn't say anything in reply to Elwood's comment, mostly because he didn't know what to say. The last time Osprey had come here, she had behaved strangely, despite coming to make amends. She hadn't come by since, as far as he knew. He had made a general promise to himself not to concern himself with the plateau's wolves anymore. He'd even asked Blue Willow to stay away from him. But could he really just forget his sister like that...? He couldn't say. He didn't want to think about it too much.

Elwood finished prepping the duck and nudged the featherless body to him. Peregrine did not eat it; he would share it with Fox later. He set it aside and gave his Beta a grateful growl and thump of his tail. He then wondered where to turn the conversation next. He wasn't ready yet for his second-in-command to leave. Besides, Fox was still asleep. The instant he heard movement in the den, though, he would probably headbutt Elwood down the mountain.

"Have we had any new joiners lately? Had a chance to stretch those Warden muscles?" he wondered, folding his forelegs over one another.

As Elwood had expected, Peregrine moved the duck to the side with the obvious intention to save it for later. It wasn't a huge portion, but he was glad to see that the Alpha would be sharing it with his mate. That had been Elwood's plan, and over the next few weeks, he would be sure to bring more food to the Redleaf-DiSarinno den.

He stretched his legs in front of him, his toes separating momentarily. He then tucked his right foreleg back against his chest, shifting his weight so that he was leaning more comfortably on one hip. Elwood then addressed Peregrine's question, thinking back over the last couple of days. "Not since Tempest," he replied, though soon he would meet both Grimm and Mikael, the pack's newest recruits. "I've been spending more time near the borders, though. It gets a little boring, so I try to break my patrols up into shorter segments," he said, knowing that the Alpha male would agree with him on the excitement level of guarding the territory.

Tempest's name did not immediately register as familiar, then Peregrine remembered her brief introduction at the pack meeting. He smirked, recalling how he had dragged Fox around to greet everyone personally. He had cut off Tempest, he thought, but he had still managed to catch her name somehow. In time, he would get to know her better. As far as he could tell, she was a decent addition to the ranks. She didn't seem to care that her Alphas were horny lunatics anyway.

"Boring? Patrolling?" Peregrine quipped. "I know, man. And the caldera is so damn... girthy too. It takes ages. I wish we could, like, post sentinels at strategic locations to keep a constant eye on everything... like that could be a full-time trade. Those poor wolves would rot, though," the Alpha male mused.

"What about the whole Beta thing?" he asked next. "Having fun working alongside Fin? Gone on any sweet power trips yet?" he queried with a wink.

Elwood bobbed his head as Peregrine commiserated with him on how lame scouring the borders could be. The idea of posting sentinels around the base of the mountain was a good one in theory, but it would be difficult to try in practice. The Alpha was thinking out loud, but soon engaged Elwood again with a series of questions.

"I like being Beta," he said quickly, though as soon as the words were out of his mouth he realized how juvenile they sounded. It was the truth, though; he never would have expected to be awarded so much power and responsibility, having come to the pack as a wayward wanderer in search of his sister. But he felt like he fit in with the wolves of the caldera, and with each passing day, he wanted more and more to make a difference. "Finley and I have had fun together -- or, at least, I've had fun harassing her," Elwood admitted with a grin. It was easy to ruffle the Beta female's feathers, so that had become one of his favorite pastimes.

Elwood blurted that he liked being Beta and Peregrine grinned. He waited until he finished and said, "You know... I never got to be a Beta. Maybe one day we can trade for a day or two so I can get the experience and you can try on Alpha for size to see what you think of it."

"Harassing Finley is my favorite sport," Peregrine quipped, then added the obligatory, "You two make a great pair. You know, we only picked you because you're a matching set. It has nothing at all do with your qualifications or anything."

The thought of switching places with Peregrine for a day was enough to give Elwood pause for a moment. Peregrine made it look easy, but he was sure there were a lot more responsibilities that came with being an Alpha. He knew that he wasn't ready for such a commitment long term -- hell, he hadn't even expected to become a Beta so soon, or at all -- but at the same time, he was curious to see what it would be like. "We could all trade -- Fox and Finley, too. Although the place might be overrun with bears by the time we're done with it," he said. He and Finley were both trustworthy Betas, but it was fun to pretend that they weren't.

He glanced at Peregrine with a bit of a skeptical expression as he "admitted" that he was only picked to be Finley's co-leader because they had matching coats. "We do look good together, don't we?" Elwood quipped, the other implication of his words lost on him.

"That sounds like fun... until you two use the bears to overthrow us when you realize you want all the power for yourselves permanently," Peregrine quipped in response. But seriously, that might be fun to do in an official capacity. They had more or less left the Betas in charge during their honeymoon heat, so they could definitely do it again if they ever needed a temporary hiatus or something.

"Yeah, you really do. You're just a couple'a hoars." Peregrine chortled at his own joke, like a total lamer. "I think Fox ships the two of you too. I think I sort of do too. That would be cute, though, you two as an actual Beta pair rather than just 'the Betas.'"

Elwood laughed; Peregrine had hit it right on the money. If there was any chance of Finley and Elwood usurping the current Alphas' power, it would definitely involve bears in some capacity. "That's a good idea. I think I'll keep that in mind..." he commented, making a mental note to present the concept to Finley. She would get a kick out of it.

Then, the darker male made a comment that would soon be repeated by Fox, herself. His eyes widened slightly as he digested what Peregrine said. At first, he was a bit confused by the language that the leader used -- Fox wanted to ship them somewhere? -- but as he continued, it made more sense. The Alpha pair apparently thought that he and Finley would make a cute couple.

In a manner that likely resembled Finley, Elwood deflected. He shook his head, trying to play it off as though he had no interest his counterpart and lookalike. His reaction to Fox in a few days' time would be much different. "Nah, I think we would just drive each other crazy," he said, which was partially true. But underneath the teasing and the taunting, he and Finley had struck a deeper level of friendship, something that could potentially blossom into something more -- if either of them gave it a chance.

The dark Alpha merely smirked in response at the deflection. He wasn't in the mood to passionately match make anyone (except his pelvis with Fox's), so he wasn't about to press the issue. If they remained friends forevermore, Peregrine would still be happy with the leadership set. If they hooked up eventually, that would be cool too. Really, either situation had its pros and cons and, well, he wasn't going to dwell on it much at this time.

Peregrine's right ear twitched and swiveled almost completely backward when he heard a sneeze from the den. His eyes widened slightly. "That's your cue to get lost, my friend, unless you want to watch again," the black wolf quipped as he hastily climbed to his feet. "Thanks for the duck, we're gonna go fuck... now." What a poet.

Without another word or glance in Elwood's direction, the Alpha male slipped into the den to help his wife wake up so they could get back to business time.

The sound of a sneeze from within the Alphas' den drew Elwood's attention, too. He perked up, looking in the direction of the burrow where Fox was hiding. It seemed that she was awake, and as if on cue, Peregrine excused himself. "One show was enough for me," Elwood replied in a good-natured tone, watching as Peregrine disappeared into his home.

He didn't linger for long, not wishing to even hear the commotion that would start momentarily. Quietly, the Beta padded away, content to leave Fox and Peregrine to their own devices while he busied himself elsewhere.