Redhawk Caldera the pink champagne on ice.

Finley crept silently along the lake's edge just at the base of the little peak that poked out of the inner Easter edge of the Caldera. The shore was rather sandy, but stiff and near frozen from the cold. The tall, faded grasses that sprang out in tufts along the beach were dry and rimmed with frost. They tickled her belly as she stepped over them, but she hardly noticed as she stared out across the waters at the little island that centered the lake like the iris of a giant blue eye.

The beta wanted to go there. It was like an itch that she couldn't scratch, her desire to place her paws upon that little piece of land. From where she stood upon the shore, it didn't seem all that far. If it was Summer, she definitely would already have made the swim, as unwise as it was even without the risk of freezing to death. Finley was smarter than to attempt such now, knowing full well that the foam that lapped at the shore was deathly cold.

Perhaps when it froze solid, she could take the risk and just run there. But for now, Finley was doomed to stare out longingly across the water as the morning sun crept up slowly towards the sky.

Post 100 for you!

FitzDutiful cautiously followed the trail up to the lake, mindful of the frozen ice that lay in dangerous places. The Caldera wasn't as accommodating in the winter but he wouldn't be anywhere else. It felt like good warden training to be able to navigate across uncertain terrain and, after all, the life of a wolf was never an easy on anyway.

As he approached the top, he spotted his beta staring across the water. Her back was to him so he couldn't see the longing look upon her face but it seemed to echo in her stance. As he moved closer, he was careful to make some noise as to not surprise her. The wind was behind him, helping to carry his scent and make himself known. As he approached earshot he talked to her, friendly and respectful.

"Hi Fin, how are you doing today?" A gust of cold wind swept across them and made FitzDutiful thankful for his warm winter fur. He had a new found gratitude towards Finley, ever grateful for her acceptance of Raissa into their pack.

Wat wat! <3

Fin's ears twitched at the sound of someone approaching. She didn't turn immediately to see who it was, confident that whoever it was meant her no harm. Her faith was soon proven well-placed as a familiar voice tickled her ears and she finally turned to set her eyes upon FitzDutiful. "Hey Fiddle," Fin replied with a smile. Apparently she was determined to call him something different every time they met.

"You and your woman finally come up for air?" she asked with a mischievous smirk. She hadn't seen him since accepting his little lady friend to the pack. She could only assume it was because they'd been canoodling ever since.

FitzDutiful laughed freely at Finley's question. "Indeed," he responded, his voice warm with the joy that he was feeling. "I've shown her around the Caldera lands and I think she's fully settled in now. I must admit, I was worried about her at Blackfeather Woods. She got her ankle broken at some point between me asking her to move here and her leaving. I suppose as long as she's safe now that's all that matters and I have no proof that they caused it..."

It was the first time Fitz had been able to air these troubles and a weight lifted from him by doing so as his words trailed off into silence. Until he realised he had monopolised the conversation anyway. "Anyhow, how have you been doing?" He was interested to get to know Finley more. Since they first moved here he hadn't had to opportunity to get closer to her. He'd take that chance now.

It made Fin heart happy to hear her friend so freely admit to his relations with the new kid on the block. It was nice to see wolves who were capable of expressing their feelings instead of denying them and hiding them out of fear and angst. Sometimes she envied such persons. At least she did until the angst caught back up to her and reminded her about the relationshackles. Those were definitely not for the wild, free-spirited beta.

"I have to admit, I kind of worry about everyone at Blackfeather Woods," she replied, "They're all a bunch of weirdos in my opinion for living in a place like that where they're liable to be eaten by spiders in their sleep..." Fin shivered involuntarily, remembering her visit to that giant black hole. "You probably saved her by bringing her here. If the creepers didn't get her, soon enough the crawlies would have." Fin wasn't overly concerned about the pack Raissa had come from. If they hadn't stopped her from leaving, she was doubtful that they'd come and drag her back. Even if they did, they'd have the Caldera to contend with. Raissa may not yet have become truly one of them, but FitzDutiful certainly had. Of she was important to him, then the Caldera would defend her.

Fin chanted her head thoughtfully when the counselor politely inquired about her well-being. The last time they'd spoken, she'd been coming to him for advice on what to do about Finn. "I'm good," she replied, pausing for a moment as she debated just leaving it at that. She supposed since he'd helped her with Finn, it would probably be right for her to fill him in on what had happened. "That guy and I from the Plateau... I did end up talking to him like you suggested, but it just didn't work out."

Finley echoed his sentiments about the Woodland pack and made him chuckle at the thought of them being eaten by spiders. It was just the kind of thing that nightmares were likely to tell you of. The entire place had been dingy, dull and nightmare-like. Fin's lack of worry did a lot to ease FitzDutiful's own worry at the situation and he happily packed away the thought into a neat box for storage along with the rest of the random thoughts that were ready to be stored long-term the next time he went to sleep.

When he turned the conversation back onto Finley she responded that she was well and Fitz nodded, as you do. Though thinking about it he couldn't think of one reason why it was worthy of being nodded at. A pause occurred and Fitz was almost about to take the conversation elsewhere when Finley continued it back to their very first Caldera conversation.

"It doesn't always work." he said with understanding on his voice. "It's a shame that we sometimes have to leave others behind but it leaves an open space for someone else to fill." A smile was brought to his lips as the topic made him think of Raissa before he quickly pulled his thoughts back from that. "I'm glad that you managed to get some sort of closure to it - even if it wasn't what you wanted all those months ago." And how long ago it had been. It was strange to think they'd been at the Caldera this long. "Any potential candidates worth of your heart?"

Fin felt sorrow seeping into her heart as FitzDutiful responded to her news. She didn't want to leave Finn behind. She wanted him there with her now, playing together, laughing together like they used to. But what was done was done, and there was no going back after she'd hurt him so deeply. She did miss him, though.. More now than she had when she'd first left the Caldera. At least then she had known that their friendship endured. Now she didn't even have that; all that was left was the sinking feeling that her doppleganger was out there, hating her and wishing he'd never been aware of her existence. It served her right and she knew it, but that didn't make it any easier to swallow.

Fin considered his words thoughtfully. He spoke of closure while the sudden removal of Finn from her life still felt like an open wound, but before she couldn't correct him, he asked a question that gave her pause if only for a moment before she determinedly shook her head to deny anything of the sort. "No, no other candidates for me," she insisted with a small smile, "Romance is all well and good for you folks, but I have no interest in it. Too much work, too much drama." Elwood made a brief appearance in her thoughts before she kicked him right back out--they weren't on speaking terms at the moment and it wasn't like he would have been a consideration anyway or you know maybe whatever arrgh.

FitzDutiful nodded in understanding. "Yes, I agree. I have found that I counsel more on matters of the heart than any other kind! It's strange how something that can be so compelling can be a cause of so much worry too." The conversation about love and laughter appeared to be coming to a natural close and he felt that it was his turn to make a conversation point. He felt like he was thinking for hours before he came up with anything to say, but in truth it had only been a matter of seconds. Just long enough for the topic to close.

"Finley..." he began, "Do you know what Perry and Fox would require of a pack naturalist?" He had been trying to gain experience in this area for a long time now, and had yet to actually grasp what it was that a naturalist did for their pack. Finley was a beta and surely she must have some idea of what they expected. At the very least she would have her own expectations - surely.

Fin rolled her eyes as her friend spoke. Not at him of course, but at romance. It really was all just a pain in the ass. Companionship was nice, including the cuddly, sexy types of companionship. Especially those types. If such things could come without all of the commitment and feelings and crap, Fin would be a happy, happy gal. But, there was no such thing as far as she could tell. The only way of getting around the feels was making a run for it once the cuddles and the sexy were done with. Being the beta of a pack sort of made that far more difficult. So! No more cuddles and sexy for Fin.

That's why she fought bears instead!

Anyway.

She cast a curious gaze upon the pale wolf as he changed the subject to a trade that she could only assume he was intrigued by. In truth, she didn't really know much about it. As the beta, she probably ought to have. But as Finley, it didn't even occur to her that she should know. "I don't really know, I've never really thought about it," she answered honestly, pausing a few moments with a furrowed brow to consider, "I suppose maybe having an understanding of the land and weather and crap so that you know where to find prey or where different herbs might grow to help out the gamekeepers and Ashton, that would be helpful."

She nibbled on her lip as she pondered. A light suddenly glimmered in her eyes as her ears perked up and she smiled. "It'd be awesome if you could start predicting earthquakes and tornadoes and shit too," she added. Peregrine and Fox would probably love to know that sort of thing so that they could make sure the pack stayed out of harm's way. Fin wanted to know so that she could play with them.

Land and weather. Those two made perfect sense. Fitz nodded along quite happily and Finley mentioned her requirements for a naturalist. He was deep in thought about the different ways that weather affected prey or herbs and failed to notice the gleam in Fin's eyes. Had FitzDutiful any idea the full extent of Finley's daredevil behaviour he would have been astonished. It never occurred to him that the beta of his pack would indulge in such reckless behaviour.

"I've never known a tornado to hit our valley, but Earthquakes and Volcanoes seem especially worthwhile knowing for our pack." he took a quick look towards their local volcano that they lived on. "I think I might head there now to monitor it for any changes. I'm not quite sure what changes would happen before it blew but if I know exactly what it is like now then I'll know any changes!" He took a few steps before looking towards Finley again. "Wanting to come along?"

Last post for meee! <3

Though she really hadn't had any idea what she was talking about, her packmate seemed to take to her suggestions pretty well. Maybe she'd actually managed to make some real ones. Weirder things had happened.

"Explore a volcano that may or may not be about to explode?" she asked when Fitz invited her along on a little adventure, "I am so in!" She bounded up onto all fours and trotted eagerly after him. Though there wasn't a chance that the Caldera was about to blow after so many years of dormancy, a Blackthorn could still dream.