Redhawk Caldera ain't nobody love like you do.

For a split second, the smile dropped from Elwood's face. Finley practically made joking her profession, so she was quite good at it. She fooled him, if only momentarily, when she appeared to have changed her mind. But relief flooded him when she smirked and assured him that she was kidding, snuggling close to him once more.

"Okay, good," he replied, reaching out to wrap his foreleg around her shoulders and pull her to him. He had waited to hear those words for so long, and now it was real. Eljay would be just as excited as his father, if not more. And while he wanted to break the news to his son as soon as possible, he also wanted to enjoy this time with Finley.

He buried his snout in her scruff, breathing deeply, then began to nibble at the dark guard hairs there, the black stripe that was now a familial name. In a low voice, he murmured, "When do you want to start?" He was teasing, mostly -- there were other aspects to be discussed and permission to be granted by Fox and Peregrine, but even the logical Elwood could get swept up in his emotions from time to time.