Redhawk Caldera where you lead.

While Finley and Magpie had gotten off on a rather rocky start, the months since the birth of the firebirds had closed the distance between the two of them enough that finally, finally, finally, the beta had acquiesced to allowing the Corvidae to watch over her precious little Eljay while she and Elwood spent some time just the two of them.


Of course, Elwood still had no idea that Finley had come up with this little plot of hers.  He'd left to take care of his beta-ly responsibilities that morning and Fin, knowing he wouldn't be back for a number of hours, had Magpie lined up to swoop in and play babysitter so that she could enact her devious plot.  She tracked his scent along the inner slopes of the Caldera, pleased as hell when she realized he had traced a line just nearby where she'd wanted to lure him to in the first place.

Finley tucked into the mountainside along the familiar hallway that lead to that wide ballroom beneath the cliffs.  The pool that maintained constant residence there was a good foot and a half at that point - not surprising considering the amount of rain they'd had recently.  Unperturbed, Fin waded into it a few yards before she stopped under one of the long slivers of light that shone down from the wide cracks in the ceiling.  With a smile, she tilted her head back and sent a call out to her @Elwood, knowing that he'd know exactly where to find her once he heard.

Yay! <3

Elwood was on his way back from the borders when he heard Finley's call. He was eager to return to the den and steal some snuggles from his still-sightless son, but he stopped in his tracks and tilted his head inquisitively. Her voice sounded somewhat muffled, and there was no tone of urgency or warning; so it was with curiosity, rather than dread, that he started to track his mate.

A slow smile curved his lips as he approached the entrance to what had become their rendezvous spot -- the ice cavern which had melted into an underground lake with the warmer temperatures. Without hesitation, he plunged into the shadows, his paws carrying him swiftly down the path that he had become familiar with over the past few months.

Soon, the tunnel opened up and there was Finley, standing in the shallow water. Her silver fur glistened in a shaft of hazy light streaming from the ceiling, and Elwood's heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. He wasted no time in wading towards her, pressing his head against her neck as soon as he was close enough. "Who's with Eljay?" was his first question as he nipped her chin.

Finley lowered her muzzle as her voice echoed about the walls of the cave.  With little else to do then but wait for her mate to arrive, she began to wade slowly about.  Her gaze traveled to the dark corners of the room while her mind wandered to the last time she'd been there.  Her memories of the Somnia still remained tainted with paranoia and misgivings about the female's feelings towards Elwood, and yet Fin found herself growing less and less angry each time she thought of her.  After all - in the end, she was the one who had won the heart of the handsome beta, not the scheming gamma.


Speaking of which...

Fin's muzzle broke into a soft smile as her mate entered the cave and swiftly closed the distance between them.  She closed her eyes happily and leaned into his touch.  It seemed like ages since they'd spent any time together just the two of them, and suddenly Fin was quite aware of how terribly she'd missed moments like these.

His question made her chuckle and she gave him a grin.  "With him?" she responded with a light shake of her head, "No one.  He's almost a month old, Twig - cut the umbilical chord, would ya?"  She stepped towards him then, running the length of her head from the tip of her nose to the back of her neck right along beneath his muzzle.  "I'm kidding, I asked Magpie," she told him as she turned her head back to nip at his snout, "None of the firebirds have walked off any cliffs under her watch, so I think he'll be safe for a couple of hours at least."

There was a moment of silence before Finley answered his question, in which the two wolves simply enjoyed each other's presence and touch. But when she did speak, Elwood withdrew slightly, his brows knitting together with mild concern. Finley wouldn't really have left Eljay alone, would she...?

She quickly put his brief bout of worry to rest as he recognized the teasing tone of her voice, and then she insisted that he needed to "cut the umbilical cord." He laughed, lowering his head to bump his crown affectionately against her shoulder. It turned out that Magpie was watching Elwood Jr. and he nodded, pleased with the caliber of their babysitter. If she had been able to put up with the much more active firebirds, then Eljay would be a piece of cake.

"Well, I'm glad you asked her," he said, grinning at Finley and taking a few steps away from her. He moved through the shallow water then turned back to face her, using a forepaw to flick a few harmless drops in her direction. "I've missed you." No truer words had been spoken; although they were almost always within close proximity of one another, the nature of their relationship had changed as soon as Eljay was born. They were never alone, and their own requirements had been put on the back burner in order to tend to their son. This "adult time" was much needed.

Fin's tail began to wag as her mate gave his approval of her choice of babysitter.  She made to follow him when he stepped away from her, but shrunk only seconds later as he swatted some water towards her.  She frowned playfully at him, but her expression softened quickly when he told her he'd missed her.  With a quiet whine, she closed the gap between them again and tucked her muzzle beneath his chin.

"You like my choice of rendezvous spot?" she asked conversationally when she pulled away and began again to wade around in the shallow water.  It was another hot day and the water felt very nice against her skin.

She moved towards him, unfazed by the water he had splashed in her direction, and briefly embraced him. Elwood leaned into her touch, closing his eyes momentarily. His lids opened once more when Finley separated and stepped away, her movements slowed by the thickness of the water.

He followed her, moving in her wake and letting the cool liquid lap against his legs. One ear flicked as she voiced a question, and he answered promptly. "Of course," he replied, changing his course and moving into slightly deeper water. "I can't decide what I like better, though -- the ice rink, or the swimming pool," he added truthfully. The place had an ethereal appearance when it was frozen over, but it was calming and relaxing in the summer. Each season had its benefits.

"Hmmm..." Fin replied thoughtfully when Elwood brought up an interesting question - what was better?  The ice rink or the pool?  "I dunno, I did like sliding around on the ice.  But you can't do this..." Without warning, the beta threw herself down into the water and began to wriggle about, flopping and splashing about like a fish until she was thoroughly soaked, at which point she hopped back up onto all fours and turned to her mate with a grin, "...in the ice."

With a predatory gleam in her eye, she prowled towards her mate.  He was far too dry and she was just soaked enough to fix that for him.

Elwood nodded as Finley puzzled over the decision with him. He, too, liked ice skating -- and truth be told the place would always have more meaning to him when it was frozen over. Their relationship had basically started on the ice, and he would certainly never forget the punch he had received there.

While he was reminiscing, Fin flung herself down into the water and began to thrash and flail, effectively soaking herself to the bone and sending up quite a shower in the process. Elwood laughed and backpedaled, escaping with only a few droplets on his head and shoulders, but then Finley straightened. He knew that all-too-familiar expression on her face as she started to move towards him.

"Get outta here!" he cried, splashing away from her. But it was hard to move very quickly in the water -- oh, and he wasn't really trying that hard...

It didn't take long for alarm to shoot through her mate, but Fin dove forward regardless of whether or not he was ready for it.  Try as he might, Elwood wasn't quite able to avoid her with the density of the water to hold him back, and so Fin thrust forward towards him with a laugh at his outcry and fire in her eyes at the excitement of a game that they had not played together in so long.

It would have been more expected of her to leap at him to wrap her arms around his neck and drag him down from above, but Fin was feeling feisty and clever.  So in a move not quite her regular style, she ducked her head low as she collided with him, attempting to run him over like a tiny bulldozer even though she didn't quite have the weight behind her to do so.  Her intention was to knock him over and then clamber on top of him and worry his face and neck with nips and nibbles until he admitted defeat - not that doing so would deter her onslaught, but she did enjoy being declared victorious nonetheless.

It was clear that the mated wolves had long since learned each other's techniques when it came to play fighting. Although Finley used a different tactic than usual, Elwood responded in the exact way that she had anticipated: she was small, but he pretended as if her momentum was enough to bowl him over. With a splash, he let his body fall into the water, feeling it cushion his landing. That gave Finley the perfect opportunity to finish out her attack by pinning him down and harassing him with kisses.

He turned his face side to side in a half-hearted attempt to avoid the swipes of her tongue, laughing all along. After a few seconds, he cried out, "Uncle! Uncle!" In reality, he wouldn't have minded at all if she continued her onslaught.

As much as Fin thoroughly enjoyed bombarding him with kisses (even well after he'd cried out his defeat), she did eventually tire.  She settled her lower half down into the water beside him, leaving the rest of herself laying upon him so that their chests were pressed against each other.  She tucked her muzzle between her paws she leaned forward to reach her nose to his in that familiar way they always did.  

"Sorry about punching you in the face all that time ago," Fin said randomly, a sheepish grin flitting across her muzzle.  It was a moment that should have been exciting and wonderful, but the Blackthorn had instead made it super awkward and awful.  She remembered how he had kept away from her after that, but they'd eventually come back around to each other again.  It was actually quite reminiscent of how they'd gotten together in the first place.  Always trying to stay away for one reason or another, but soon enough, they were back together again.  It was simply impossible to stay apart.

Elwood's laughter subsided as Finley stopped her attacks, choosing instead to snuggle up against him. The water lapped gently against his shoulders as she reached towards him, letting the tip of her nose connect with his. The brief touch was enough to cause a soft smile to spread across Elwood's face, and his tail stirred, sending ripples across the water's surface. He tilted his head up just enough to keep his ears from getting too wet, his yellow eyes fixated on Finley's face as she apologized to him.

He chuckled. The punch had been painful in more ways than one, but that simple action had set the rest of their relationship into motion. There had been an awareness that wasn't there before, and although there had been other bumps in the road -- namely Grimm -- everything that had happened had led them to each other and to the creation of Elwood Jr. "I think I can forgive you for that," he replied teasingly, his tongue flicking out to kiss her snout.

Finley smiled at his response and tilted her head as he licked her muzzle.  After their little foray in the cave the first time, she had always wondered a few things that she'd never dared voice.  Now that they had been together a while and their relationship seemed pretty permanent (I mean... babies, right?), it seemed like it would probably be alright to ask them now.

"Were you going to kiss me?" Fin asked, feeling weirdly coy even though it was ridiculous, "Before I hit you?  Were you gonna do it?"

There was a moment of silence, and then Finley spoke, drawing Elwood's gaze to her face. He looked at her quizzically for a beat until she finished her thought. Would he have kissed her all those moons ago? He pursed his lips thoughtfully, thinking back to that day. It had been the first time that he had toyed with the idea of having feelings for Finley, but she had been adamant to chase the thought from his mind. She had sucker punched him and told him not to fall in love with her.

"Maybe," he replied in a tone equally as coy as hers. Truthfully, he wasn't sure what he would have done; had the timing been right he might have taken advantage of the situation. The more he thought on it, the more he realized he probably would have, had she given him the green light. "But -- what if I had kissed you then, and things had turned out differently?" he suddenly wondered, eyes widening. Who knew what would have happened had that flirtation played out properly.

"So I guess I should be glad you punched me," he concluded.

Finley felt the butterflies stirring in the pit of her stomach when he responded, saying he might have been about to kiss her;.  She gave him a little pout, but there was mirth in her eyes.  He posed an excellent question then.  What would have happened to them had he done it?

Her immediate thought was what wouldn't have happened - Grimm.  The thought made her stomach clench unpleasantly.  She rarely allowed herself to think of that terrible moment.  It had certainly been one of the worst in her life, though it was difficult to deny that they may never had faced their feelings for each other had it not happened.  But no, no, no.. they would've figured it out - Fin was not about to give that whore any credit for their relationship.

But that was besides the point.  The Blackthorn smiled softly as her mate admitted to being glad that she'd hit him.  Her tongue flicked out gently against the tip of her nose as her tail wriggled.  "You really ought to be thanking that moth that showed up," Fin quipped with a sagely nod and a smirk.  She'd already admitted to him long ago that there had never been a moth, but it still made her laugh to joke about it.

Her response was that he owed their relationship to the moth -- the moth that he now knew had never even existed. But he grinned anyway, especially when she nodded so wisely as she spoke. Although he didn't necessarily want to separate from her at that moment, he wiggled until he was free from the weight of her body against his chest, then stood. His fur was drenched and he took a moment to give himself a shake, then padded away from Finley.

"I'm going to find him," Elwood said, looking over his shoulder at his mate, "and thank him right now." And he sloshed through the water, head tipped back and eyes roving over the cavernous ceiling. "Here, mothy, mothy, moth...I've got something to tell you!" he called out, his voice echoing against the rocky walls and bouncing back to him.

Fin felt content as she laid against her mate.  They had grown quite a bit together in the time they had known each other, and though she had known many in her life, no one had ever had the effect on her that Elwood had.  He'd tamed her, in a way.  She had been wild and reckless, independent, and completely guarded against romance and relationships.  After what she'd gone through, she'd never wanted anything to do with that aspect of her life again.  But Elwood had stepped right over that wall, barely even noticing it was there.  And until the dramatic climax of their courtship, neither of them had ever even realized he'd done it.  But there he'd been, right inside the wall, and she hadn't been able to force him back over even when she'd tried.

Finley was about to give him another kiss, just because, when he was up on his paws and calling out for their dear friend, the "moth".  Fin laughed at him before pulling herself up onto her own four feet and trailing after him.  "You're such a dope," she said adoringly with a light shake of her head.  He continued to move away, pretending to search, and so Fin picked up her pace to pull herself up next to him.  "Hey, so..." she started shyly, as though coy, and completely taken by the romance of the secluded cave, "You wanna do it super hard and nasty a whole bunch and then head home to our lovechild?"  She batted her eyelashes at him sweetly.

Want to fade? Maybe we can has a new one after Finley comes back from her little adventure? :)

He laughed and turned to look at her as she chided him. It was only a few seconds before she closed the gap between them, moving through the ankle-deep water to stand at his side once more. He reached down to nip at the tip of her ear even as she made a suggestion -- one that caused his brows to quirk. The shy, innocent tone of her voice didn't match her words; but when did it ever?

"How can I resist that kind of invitation?" he replied with a heated growl, then turned towards her. It didn't take much effort for Finley to ignite that familiar fire in his belly. He nibbled at her chest, slowly moving to her shoulders and then along the length of her side.

Wrapping up!

Elwood made it clear pretty quickly that he liked her suggestion, which elicited a sultry smirk from Finley.  He stepped in to get the show started and Fin met him with ministrations of her own.  Soon enough it would lead to some major boinking, and the pair would eventually leave feeling mighty satisfied.  Then it would be back to reality, to he-who-would-not-be-weaned and the other trials and tribulations of their new lives as parents.