Heron Lake Plateau i would swim the deepest, sharkiest oceans to be with you.

"That's much better, thank you," Fin replied, smiling at her mate as he convinced her to laugh at herself for being such a dumb. It wasn't like she'd wanted to argue or for this to be difficult at all really. The explanation of her reasons was more to ease her own guilty conscience than anything else, though it was also quite important to her to make sure that she and Elwood were in agreement on the matter as well. So.

"Well, I'm going to start with the selfish reasons and work my way up to the ones we would actually share with the public," Fin announced, deeming it better to end on an altruistic note, "First, I hate this place. It's wet and it's muddy and it's cold and I just don't like it. And, I'm a cripple, and let me tell you, it's real damn hard to get yourself unstuck from mud when you've got a bum hip."

"Second, and kind of along the same lines... What happened to Bat freaks me out. And I know it didn't happen here, but there's still so many areas here where it could happen. The kids are all old enough now to be smart enough to stay safe, but what if we have more little ones? Most of the wet areas around here, you don't even notice until you're standing in it. I just.. I don't like it. I never really saw it before Bat, but now I can't unsee it and I don't like it."

"Finally, I just feel like it's time to give the kids some space to grow up and figure things out on their own, without us hovering," she finished, her most altruistic reason being the one she liked the least. She liked her kids depending on her. She liked being there for them. The idea of not being where Tegan could come sneak into their den to sleep, or where where Cinder could entice her into bouncing around with him hurt her heart. But then she looked at Liffey with a family and a pack and a life all her own, and Towhee trying to bust out of the mold Fin was always trying to smash her into. Maybe it was better for them to not have their parents so close at hand so they could all learn to be their own selves.

Truth be told, she didn't actually start with her most selfish reason, which was just that she wanted to. Wildfire was so chill and so gracious and kind, and Fin was just damn old. The drama their current leadership got up to was just exhausting. It didn't feel like she really was or even could retire with being in such close proximity to it all and feeling guilty like she needed to insert herself into helping them work it out. She didn't actually do that most of the time, but still, the guilt over her inaction was aggravating. She thought fondly of Sun Spark and how he'd spent his last days just meandering around Blacktail Deer Plateau, telling stories and enjoying the company of his loved ones. She wanted that for herself and for Elwood, but she didn't see that happening at this Plateau.