Redhawk Caldera i've never been great with peer pressure.

:DDD

Despite having been through this very situation two other times, it was still nerve-wracking for Elwood. As usual, Finley banished him from the whelping den; he wouldn't have expected anything less and knew that she was just following her instincts. But after Fin's brush with death last time, he was more nervous than usual. For those hours as the sun disappeared behind the caldera's scooped peak, he alternated between pacing outside of the den and perching stoically near its entrance, listening carefully for any signs of distress within.

Eventually, he was rewarded with the sound of Finley's voice as she quietly requested his presence. He released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and stood, peering into the burrow where his third litter of puppies had just joined the world. He let his eyes adjust to the shadows as his gaze fell to Finley's side, and he gasped audibly as he counted the little bodies gathered there. Four! It was their largest brood to date, and while that worried him -- because, to be honest, their track record hadn't been all that great so far -- he still felt a thrill of excitement.

"Who's who?" he asked quietly, studying each perfect gray puppy. Lucy was still their only child of a different color; he thought briefly of her, wondering if her dark fur had been a sign. He pushed those thoughts away, instead focusing on the new life squirming right in front of him.