Redhawk Caldera back on the job

Pantaleimon followed Elwood's gaze, as though expecting someone to be at the end of it, but there was no one there. Perhaps he hoped it was his mate returning home; things had to be tough for them. Elwood then asked how things were otherwise. Pan couldn't complain, since he had Perry and the firebirds, and great pack mates in Redhawk Caldera... But there was something missing.

"Things are good," Pantaleimon said, but his smile betrayed that there was a sharp edge to his happiness. "Well, I mean... I wonder when Perry and Fox are going to, uhm... pups. I guess sometimes I just wish that, y'know..." Pantaleimon's smile quavered a little, and he didn't want to really have to say it out loud. The possibility of pups, if ever, was still so very far away for Pantaleimon that he didn't dare hope. What with two healthy couples, the Alpha and Beta pair, even if Pan ever found a mate -- a mateship that'd be built upon a scam, on top of all other objections -- odds were slim that he'd get permission to breed, right?