Redhawk Caldera Dear god, this parachute is a knapsack

Ramble post, ahoy!

Elwood tilted his head quizzically as Peregrine nonchalantly hinted that he wasn't completely straight. That was something he never would have expected, after seeing Peregrine's behavior when Fox was in heat. But there was a lot that Elwood didn't know about Peregrine and his life before Redhawk Caldera, so there was no reason not to believe him. He would have asked for an explanation, but Peregrine mentioned it so flippantly and then was on to the next subject before Elwood could really grasp it.

As though the Alpha had read his mind, he proceeded to ask how things were with Finley. Elwood's first reaction was a snort, and he couldn't stop himself from exhaling heavily through his nostrils. How did he feel about Finley? That was the million dollar question, and he wished that he had a clear cut answer. Had it not been for her comment last week -- "Don't fall in love with me." -- he probably wouldn't have given Peregrine's question a second thought. He would have answered with something along the lines of, "Oh, yeah, I love to annoy her and she does the same." It had been so simple before, and now...it wasn't. All because of that dumb thing she said.

He huffed, making the second breathless noise before even beginning to answer Peregrine. His chagrin was likely evident on his face, but he didn't try to hide it. Maybe talking to Peregrine would be therapeutic; a guy's perspective could be helpful. But where to begin? "I don't know," he said, inwardly rolling his own eyes at himself. That was a great start. "I mean, she and I have gotten really close. Like, spending a lot of time together, and physically close. Nothing sexual, but I act differently around her than I do with, say, Somnia," he said, trying to sort out his thoughts as he spoke. "And the other day, we were down in this ice cavern in the mountain, just goofing off. It was weird...out of the blue, she just turned and said, 'Don't fall in love with me.' And we actually haven't seen each other since then." It was a very abbreviated and biased version of the story, and he left out some details -- like the punch in the face -- but that was the moment that stood out the most in his mind.

With a shrug, he looked to Peregrine -- his gaze had been directed at the ground for most of his spiel -- and made a half-hearted joke. "Are all women that crazy?" he said, simultaneously wondering if he had made a mistake by talking about it at all.