Redhawk Caldera giraffes are unable to cough.

It had been three weeks since her son's birth and though Fin could and would happily tell anyone and everyone every single little detail about her perfect little boy and all of his wonderful, lovable shenanigans (which included sleeping a lot and.. end), she quite suddenly one day realized that she would have had absolutely nothing whatsoever to say about herself.


The epiphany had come completely out of no where.  Her mate had just returned from fetching some dinner for his family and as Finley had tucked in, it had occurred to her that she hadn't hunted so much as a mouse since Eljay's birth.  Then she found herself wondering when the last time was that she'd left the den for more than the three minutes it took to relieve herself.

With a kiss to her mate's chin and about thirty or forty to Eljay's face, Finley strode from the den and wandered out again into the world.  She felt like a fawn climbing to its legs for the first time - she literally felt wobbly like her limbs had forgotten how to hold her upright for more than a few minutes at a time.  It became quite obvious that she really needed to ease herself into this...

But, not even having a baby (even the world's most perfect and precious baby) would stop Finley Blackthorn from being Finley Blackthorn.  Shrugging off her concern over the deterioration of her physical prowess from being cooped up at home, being sucked on endlessly for the past few weeks, Fin broke into a sprint, away from her den and out into the wild.  Her body was pissed as hell, but the freedom that suddenly burned within her set a fire in her soul that kepy all other feelings at bay.  She had forgotten about this, had forgotten about what it was not only to be a wolf, but to be her - wild, reckless, and carefree.

After about a half hour, Finley found herself near the center of the Caldera where she slowed.  She gave herself a good shake just before trotting curtly towards the water's edge so she could grab herself a drink.  When she lifted her head, she simply began to wander - her moment of exhilaration had passed, and now she quietly and contentedly refocused her energies on figuring out what to do with this little sliver of freedom she'd grabbed for herself.

Today saw Nightjar at the tip-top of the Caldera, where the land sloped down into the basin and the water lapped at the stony shore. After many, many weeks, the boy had finally run out of trees to mark, and now set his sights on other things, like rocks and ferns and pretty much anything he could pee on without falling over.

The lake, however, was proving to be a bit trickier than trees. No matter how many times he peed at the water's edge, the scent wouldn't persist. As he wasn't quite clever enough to realize it was because his urine was dispersing into the water, Nightjar continued to try, usually wobbling dangerously as he tried to balance on the decline. Standing on three legs was hard enough on flatter ground, but here it was especially difficult.

Still, the proud young Warrior was proving adept enough at it. He hadn't fallen yet, which was an accomplishment in and of itself. As he spritzed the lakeside and turned once more to investigate (and once more discovered that it hadn't worked), he caught sight of Finley striding along the inner basin. Never one to pass up an opportunity to train, Nightjar immediately returned his fourth leg to the ground and began to trot after her. As he drew closer, he did his very best impression of Peregrine by throwing his tail and ears skyward and tilting his snout up... but rather than speaking as his father would've done, Nightjar rumbled instead.

As much as Fin tried, her mind seemed determined to wander back to Eljay.  She had complete trust that he would be safe in Elwood's company for a few hours.  Her mate wouldn't let anything happen to their precious little one, especially not after all they'd been through to get to this point in their lives.  That, however, didn't mean that there wasn't the potential for some type of freak accident to happen... Like maybe a hawk were to swoop into the den, grab Eljay and make off with him before her mate could even get to his paws.  Rather unlikely, Fin realized.  Although... what if a weasel burrowed into their den without Elwood noticing, grabbed their son and disappeared right back the way it came when his back was turned...


Fin had quite nearly convinced herself to turn around and dash back home to make sure that nothing - bird nor mammal - had touched her precious boy when she was distracted by the sudden appearance of her nephew.  She turned at the sound of his growls and canted her head slightly at the sight of his display of dominance.  There was no denying it - Nightjar was going to be a formidable creature once he was grown.  Even now it was hard for Fin to imagine that the growing boy before her had once just been another potato suckling greedily at Fox's teets.

Fin's ears pressed forward as she lifted her own posture, recognizing the challenge.  A grin slipped across her muzzle as her tail wagged.  NJ still wasn't old enough or strong enough to be a real threat, and thus Fin saw his actions as little more than his usual bold, eager nature shining through.  The beta pressed her paws into the ground to ready herself, though it probably would have been wiser for her to discourage him from the challenge given the fact that this was her first time out at all since her son's birth. 

Truly, his posturing had almost nothing to do with rank and everything to do with inciting Finley. Nightjar didn't care so much where on the totem pole he was, so long as he got to do what he enjoyed doing. That seemed to be the case most of the time. So as soon as his godmother responded to his challenge with one of her own, the boy sank his chest to the ground and waved his tail high in the air above him.

It took only moments to go from this to defensive. His hindquarters dropped and he morphed seamlessly into the picture of a defensive wolf, with his head low and his neck well protected by his squared shoulders. He flashed his teeth threateningly, knowing Finley well enough to know she would take no offence to this display, and the skin on the bridge of his nose wrinkled back. His eyes were not as wide as they would've been if this was a real fight, but still they blazed with a fighter's passion.

For once, the young Redhawk gave Finley the first move.

Instead of barreling towards her with reckless abandon as he usually did, Nightjar crouched defensively, allowing Fin to make the first move.  It was quite un-Ninja like, but that made it all the more impressive.  He was certainly growing as a fighter and learning more and more along the way.  Fin's heart swelled with pride for a moment, though it was hardly her doing alone.  She knew well that Nightjar picked fights with just about everyone he could find and she was not the only warrior amongst them.

Deciding it might be fun to try one of Nightjar's own moves on him, Fin sprang suddenly forward at the boy, taking a far more direct approach than she usually did in hopes of surprising him.  All she needed was a moment of hesitation and she could snatch him up by the scruff of his neck and try to drag him down that way.

Finley wasted no time in charging forward, a shock to Nightjar, who was expecting something more subtle. Most of the adults fought in that manner: tactical, with strategic moves. Not him. He didn't care what damage he took so long as he won, and he found the most direct route to be the best one.

But when Finley turned his own style against him, Nightjar didn't falter as expected. He was getting older and therefore smarter, however marginally. He lumbered forward as well, meeting her head on in a clash that would vibrate every bone in his body. He was like a bear—a big, stupid bear that came at others time and time again from the front and always the front. Predictable, but that didn't matter with the amount of strength he had. A wolf could predict what he would do all day, but if Nightjar caught them, it would still be game over for them (so he believed).

His jaws yawned wide as he closed the gap between himself and Finley, and when he was close enough—when the two bull-like charges brought them into close proximity—he lashed out for her muzzle with restrained teeth. He would grasp but not cut, as he always did with pack mates.

Nightjar's moment of hesitation was even more short-lived than she'd expected, for with a speed quite unlike him, he had steeled himself against her attack and barreled forward to meet her.  Fin twisted her head to reach for the nape of his neck as she'd intended, but was met with the slam of his shoulder to her chest and the scrape of his own muzzle against her cheek.  She bounced backward against the force of the collision, but quickly enough found her footing again and darted back towards him, hoping to overtake him with her speed where she struggled to with her strength.

Finley did manage to graze the side of his neck with her teeth before he was able to slam her back, leaving a smarting welt. But Nightjar was a master of putting feelings aside and pain was nothing but a feeling to him. Only the most severe pain would stop his charge. The collision slowed him but he pressed on, eager to close the gap between himself and the beta female once more. Again his jaws gaped and again his throat reverberated with the force of a snarl, not malicious toward her but called from the depths of his ancestry, a sound of battle.

Finley was faster than him, though, and he would no doubt succumb to it. He was getting better at knowing when to keep charging and when to hold his ground, but right now he charged, hoping that she would make a misstep so that he could pummel her into the ground (kindly, of course).

Fin's charge lead her right into a pair of gaping jaws and another forward thrust of his bulky body.  She ducked her head again to avoid getting her throat chomped on, even though she knew Nightjar well enough to know that he would never actually harm her.  She also foolishly believed that he wasn't physically capable of it yet, but she sometimes thought that about bears and cougars, so maybe we don't read too much into that.

Finley twisted as they collided again and felt his jaws close upon her ruff just above her shoulder.  Knowing he would likely take the advantage to try and push her down, she attempted to thrust upwards to knock him off of his feet, not completely convinced that it would really work out the way she envisioned.  She was kinda small.

The thunder of their clash reverberated through Nightjar's breast, but somehow he managed to take Finley's acrobatics and use them to his advantage. The female ducked her head out of the way but the large Redhawk went instead for the scruff of her neck, and managed to hit his mark. Score! he might've cheered if he was into that sort of thing.

The only sort of thing Nightjar was into was winning.

As predicted, he shifted his bulk to try to press her down into the ground. Nightjar felt assured in his victory now, but he was far from it. Finley's attempt to shove him over completely didn't work, he was much too heavy, but her thrust did serve its purpose in taking him off balance. He tried to hold on, though, knowing if he fell she would too... but he didn't want to hurt his aunt either, so his grip was still loose as he struggled to regain his balance, probably loose enough that she could slip right out if she tried.

Nightjar didn't move as Fin had thought he would.  She had clearly underestimated his strength as he stood solid against her push.  She did at least manage to knock him off his center, and though she hesitated out of surprise at her lack of total victory, she recovered quickly enough.  She felt his grip loosen upon her and with a twist of her head to try and snare the boy's scruff, she shoved against him again in hopes of knocking him further back where she could try again to overtake him then.

Finley proved herself the better combatant by taking her brief advantage and running with it. Nightjar was still too inexperienced to be able to react appropriately, and so instead of countering her push with a shove of his own, the pup tried to move to the side, and only managed to aid the beta female. She pushed and his balance overturned completely; he stumbled, then fell on his left haunch with a surprised yelp. It bubbled into a snarl as he thrashed on the spot, hoping to throw her off or at least warn her back so he could stand again without being in the compromising position of being pinned to the ground. He'd already lost, but it was in his nature to keep on fighting anyway, at least until he could stand proudly once more.

With any other enemy, Fin would not likely have been quite as gracious of a winner.  Nightjar's thrashing as she finally knocked him down spurred her adrenaline and made her want to pin him and rub his face in the ground.  She certainly would have done that with her own brothers - hell, if it had been Colt, she probably would have pissed on him too to REALLY rub it in.  But this was Nightjar, and the godmother was good enough to back away when he snarled, knowing well enough that they were both aware that he had lost.

"You're getting better, Ninja," Fin complimented as she panted, trying to regain her breath.  She withheld from vocalizing the thought that one day soon, he'd be big enough and likely strong enough to give her a real challenge - it was rather condescending.  For a moment, she wanted to scoop him up and give him a loving kiss on his brow like she used to when he was a pup, or like she did now with Eljay.  But he was getting older, and Fin was not about to slip into the role of being the lame, embarrassing Aunt that babied him.

Finley relented, much to Nightjar's relief. There was no telling how he would've reacted to bragging. Probably very negatively. Neither of them would find out, though, as Finley had the sense (or the heart) to back away and let him up. He found his feet immediately, feeling uncomfortable on the ground, and turned to face her just as she complimented him.

His tail waved behind him and his features, previously pinched with tension, relaxed. He even parted his jaws in a wolfish grin that seemed to say, thanks, aunt Fin! He didn't need words, though, and didn't use them. Conversation was more confusing than this more primal form of communication, which Nightjar reverted to more and more the older he got. It suited him, being as instinctive as he was.

He padded closer to his godmother, reaching out with his neck to rub the side of his face against the nape of her neck, if he would let her. A comforting gesture, or at least one that said all is well, and a gesture of thanks for sparring with him.

Wrap up? :D

Though Fin held back, her godson did not.  He gave her a smile that spoke of his gratitude and the affection he held for her before stepping forward to nuzzle sweetly against her neck.  A little smile slipped across her lips as she turned her own head to press her cheek against the back of his head.  In spite of her prior reservations, she let her tongue flick out very gently and very briefly against the base of his ear.

After a moment, Fin stepped back and smiled at him.  Taking a page from Nightjar's book, she remained quiet - instead she pulled her head back to sniffle affectionately at the tip of his nose before giving the side of his snout a nudge and turning away.  It was a wolfish way of saying good bye.  She had gotten a good stretch of her legs and an even better workout after weeks of being cooped up in the den with her newborn.  She was grateful for it, even though she would undoubtedly be quite sore the next day.  In either case, she had a baby to get back to - a baby that, as she walked, she began to hope might one day soon get to spar and learn from his older cousin.

The faint scent of Finley's young child was woven delicately through her fur, so when she moved her head he briefly caught it and his muscles tightened ever-so-slightly. That he hadn't been to visit Elwood Jr. wasn't a mistake; in fact, Nightjar disliked the thought of a child that wasn't part of his bloodline, instinctively in-tune with the way things were meant to be when an alpha pair ruled the land, and had avoided him solely for that reason. The thought of him bothered Nightjar even though they'd never once laid eyes on each other. That Finley and Elwood were the betas didn't change anything, for if it was Nightjar's pack to rule, any non-blood children would be gutted.

But nobody knew about his thoughts on it, and if anyone was offended that Nightjar showed no interest in the pack's youngest member, they never voiced it. So instead of dwelling on the scent, he parted from his aunt with a chuff and headed away in the direction of the borders. After a spar like that he was in the mood to stretch his legs and a good run around the perimeter was the best way, in his opinion.