Heron Lake Plateau Sometimes we're only flying for a while

Elwood's eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed at Finley, listening to her hem and haw before finally admitting that Towhee was the Redhawks' new Beta. His first thought was that he was glad she hadn't abandoned leadership completely -- maybe the second-hand position would be a better fit for her. But then realization hit him: the Beta ranks were already filled, by himself and Finley. Or, well, they had been.

Fin rushed ahead with her explanation, ensuring that Elwood didn't have to ask any further questions to nudge the truth out of her. She had stepped down from her rank after Towhee had passed the crown to Raven, and, to be honest, everything that she said following her admission made perfect sense. They had both been in charge of the pack in some capacity for the last three and a half years, and neither one of them were spring chickens anymore. Stress and time had worn them down, and it wasn't until that moment that Elwood recognized it. He could suddenly feel the ache of years of mental and physical effort manifesting itself deep in his bones. And while this hadn't come about in a way that he had anticipated (nothing in this situation had, really), he found himself thinking that Finley had made the right choice.

He sighed. "You're right, Bear. I'm tired too. I think that's partially why we wanted Towhee to be Alpha; so someone else could take the reins, right?" And, truthfully, despite their misgivings about Raven and Quixote, they seemed to fit the role in their own imperfect ways. Fox and Peregrine hadn't been perfect Alphas, and neither had Elwood and Finley. The new Alpha pair would find their foothold. He shook his head gently. "What's done is done, I guess. Are you going to be okay with the new arrangements?" he asked; because even if she wasn't particularly happy with how things had gone down, there didn't seem to be much they could do about it, save for accepting it.