Nocturne Summit should they catch us and dispatch us.

 All welcome!  Just some tags to let my loves know the terrible, vicious assumptions I'm making right now :P

Finley had set out at the crack of dawn that day.  She'd discussed it with @Elwood and he had agreed to take over parent duty for the day.  They'd still been having trouble weaning @Elwood Jr off of his mother's milk and the mated pair figured it might actually make it a little easier if he didn't actually have any access to it for a couple of days.  And so, Fin had metaphorically packed up her bags, kissed both of her boys good bye, and away she had gone, past the ridge of the Caldera and past the borders without looking back.

She had never intended to venture all too far.  Part of her was logical, knew that she was only going to be gone for two, three days at most and she couldn't get caught up in the adventure and lose track of time.  But part of her wanted to do exactly those things.  So, for day one at least, she decided to quit paying so much attention to where she was or what she was doing, and instead simply enjoyed the feeling of being out on her own again, exploring the base of a mountain she had never before laid foot upon.

There was something about this place that kept her here longer than she would usually spend at a territory outside her home. Wildfire found the cool, shadowy nooks and crannies cozy. In fact, she curled up at the base of a crooked tree growing amidst the crags and not only slept away the afternoon but the entire night as well. When she finally stirred and cracked open her golden eyes, she could see a sliver of morning sunlight overhead. It didn't penetrate through the summit's drowsy gloom, though, and for a long while she just lay there, totally warm, comfy and relaxed.

Eventually, nature called and drove her from her toasty bed. Once she relieved herself, she began to traipse around the short alp, picking up where she'd left off in yesterday's explorations. She found traces of Rosalyn's scent, as well as the mountain goat's, and her lips twitched a bit. Then another scent wafted up the mountain and Wildfire's eyes widened. She flew to one of the place's many overlooks and peered downward, her black tail wagging so fast it blurred when she saw a familiar figure down below.

"Aunt Flea! Up here!" she shouted, her soft voice carrying decently as it bounced off all the hard surfaces. But just in case Finley didn't hear her, she began to prance, making her flashy red coat more visible against the dreary backdrop.

Fellway, still childless, did as much mindless exploring as he damn well pleased - and urge to wander showed no signs of loosening its grip on his heart.

He spotted Finley from his perch in the mountains, and assessed her for all of 3.5 seconds before making his approach. This was the first wolf he had seen in days, and Fellway was desperate for interaction with something that wasn't a squirrel. It was all nuts and trees with those guys - extremely tedious after the first hour of stilted chatter.

"Ohaaay-ooo!" the broad Arctic wolf greeted in the most camp voice ever to exit a mouth, making his way down and into view with much noise and tail-waving. A second little lady had joined the first, but Fellway was too busy not breaking a leg to notice just yet.

Balls, shadow-posted. Edited!

Fin had been debated which direction to go next when a flash of red suddenly stoled her attention upwards.  She was quite surprised to spot Wildfire bouncing about happily at her from above.  It had been her intention to get her outrider legs back beneath her before she took her goddaughter on a trip, but she didn't mind in the least happening upon her in the process.  A broad smile slipped across her muzzle.

"Hey--!" she barked up to the fiery youth.  Only a split second passed after she'd called out that another voice sounded over hers and she was jerking her head towards a large white wolf instead.  "HEY!" she yelled a bit harsher than she'd intended out of surprise.  She spun to face him instead of Wildfire.  He was on a higher plane that Fin, so rushing to her goddaughter's defense was not exactly a possibility.  Also, his call had been rather... we'll go with 'not threatening'.  Her wariness ebbed slightly to make room for her curiosity.

"Who are you?" She queried with a cant of her head before adding, "And what the hell was that sound you just made?  Are you having a stroke?"  It was a logical conclusion, even though she couldn't see the deranged-looking avatar the arctic wolf was sporting.

Her godmother called out to her and Wildfire grinned, though the expression faltered when a third wolf inserted himself in between them. He was a stranger and from her vantage point, all the youth could see was a slightly dirty white pelt. He made a strange noise, a sort of yodel, and her aunt's attention turned to him. At first, Finley seemed ready to rush up the mountain and attack the interfering wolf, though her tone changed to one of amiable sarcasm.

Taking Finley's cue, Wildfire began to pick her way down to them and soon the trio of wolves was on roughly equal footing. "What's a stroke?" Wildfire asked innocently, speaking to her aunt, though her warm amber gaze remained fix on the wolf who put the strange in stranger.

Finley sailed through the first few steps of encountering a stranger, mercifully choosing the Who Are You half of the fork. Fellway was relieved - he was in no of to fight; certainly not two ladies. He had sisters - women knew their way around battle, and theirs was a vicious style of combat.

Fellway inched his way a little further down the mountain, doing his best to appear small and harmless. When his laws touched grass, he started there, eyeing the adult wolf and her fox-like charge. "Stroke? be repeated, sounding a little offended. "In front of a kid? God no!"

Fin kept a wary eye on the stranger as her goddaughter picked her way down to them.  She heard Wifi's question and parted her lips to respond when the other wolf barked out his own response to her query.  She shot him an incredulous look, instantly picking up his vulgar meaning.  Her brows lifted in surprise that he could possibly make such a comment in front of her youthful goddaughter, and though she wanted to admonish him for it, a tiny smile twitched across her lips.

The beta forced it away a moment later, narrowed her eyes at the male, then turned to her Wiffle to explain.  "A stroke is a medical thing," she explained, shooting the man another glare as though to warn him against explaining what he had thought she meant by 'stroke', "You go all rigid and twitchy for a minute or two while your heart freaks out."

Turning then to the stranger, she canted her head.  "Were one to be speaking while having a stroke, I imagine it would sound something like whatever this weirdy was doing," she said abruptly, anticipating that he'd take this moment to explain himself and his weirdness.

He answered first, though his response only served to confuse her. There was a decidedly quizzical expression on her face as she stared at Finley. Her godmother did not leave her hanging, quickly explaining that a stroke was a medical malady.

This prompted her to look at the stranger warily. Was he having a stroke? He didn't look rigid or twitchy. "Are strokes contagious?" Wildfire asked out of the corner of her mouth, eyes never peeling away from the male's face.

The stranger seemed to sense that he was unwelcome, for he awkwardly took his leave of them shortly after being called a 'weirdy'.  Fin turned her attention fully to Wildfire before he'd even fully excused himself.  "No, they're not," she reassured the girl with a grin.  "Fortunately, stupid and bizarre are not either.." she added in a slightly quieter voice a beat later after the stranger had gone a more comfortable distance from them.

"So what're you doing out here all by your lonesome?" Fin asked conversationally with a wag of her tail.  She suspected there wasn't really any exact answer.  Most of her own wandering was done aimlessly.

Oops, I didn't realize Fellway dropped out!

A moment later, the oddball stranger left the two she-wolves alone. Wildfire blinked after him, then turned to fully face her godmother, a smile creeping back onto her youthful face. "Just exploring," she answered. "I actually spent the night here by accident. I like this place. It's cozy," she said, shrugging one reddish shoulder.

Wildfire just assumed Finley was here for the very same reason (she couldn't imagine the woman had any kind of official business here), so in the next breath, she suggested, "We should explore together!" They were both Outriders, after all, and the pup would be more than happy to show Finley all her favorite spots around the summit.

 Fin is so sad and boring and upsetting right now, can we have this thread forever???

Wildfire seemed ready enough to let the stranger's presence go, which made Fin quite happy indeed.  They were getting dangerously close to awkward subject matters, and though the beta was quite thrilled with being an Aunt, she really didn't have to pull the Auntly duty of "Intro to masturbation" - not that that was a thing.  Hopefully.  Moving on.

"It does seem pretty neat..." Fin commented as she looked around, excitement tingling in her heart, "I'm game if you are.  How about you lead?  Show me all of your outrider skills.  Impress your dear ol' aunty!"  The Blackthorn grinned broadly and wagged her tail.  She wasn't sure what it meant to show off outrider skills, besides running in a random direction and shouting OOO PRETTY, but she was interested in seeing how it translated anyway.

It can go on for as long as you want! :D

Finley enthusiastically agreed and Wildfire began glancing around, wondering where to start. A thought then struck her and she asked, "Have you ever been here before?" When her godmother answered negatively (I'm basing this off her threadlog, lol), the youngster grinned. This made it a little more exciting.

"Let's start at the top!" she suggested in the next beat, flouncing in the direction of a nearby footpath that wound slowly up the mountainside. "Maybe we'll run into the gassy goat," she thought out loud as she traipsed upward. Wildfire glanced over her shoulder, grimacing playfully at her cohort. "I met a loner here and we tried to chase down this mountain goat. He got away," she explained with a twitch of her silky black tail.

THE NEVERENDING THREAD.  Wildfire will be on her fourth litter of puppies and Fin dead as hell by the time we finish this lol

Fin watched her niece as she decided where to lead them, amused that she was actually putting thought into it (though she probably should have been pleased to see that Wildfire was more careful than her).  Shortly, she announced that they should start at the top, and Fin tilted her muzzle skyward to peer at the high peaks in the distance.  Her eyes widened in surprise, and in completely irresponsible respect.  She was impressed that her goddaughter would shoot so high as the tip of the Spear itself.  It wasn't likely an achievable goal, but the Blackthorn was happy to roll with it anyway.

"Uhhh..." was all Fin could say when Wildfire suggested running into a goat of obviously significant flatulence.  The girl went on to explain a bit, but not quite to Fin's satisfactory, though it was another tidbit in her comment that intrigued the Aunt enough to pursue.  "A loner, eh?  Hopefully someone not as off his rocker as whoever that was a bit ago.."  Reckless as she was, Fin did not like the thought of her niece frolicking about with crazies (except for herself, of course).

I think it would be hilarious if we just took our time and let this thread go on for eternity. It goes on and on, my friends...

Finley seemed more intrigued by the mention of a lone wolf rather than a gaseous goat. "She seemed pretty cool," the youth reported even as they ascended, Wildfire slightly ahead of her godmother as she led the way up a winding footpath. "Her name was Roz," she shared absently, intuiting that the name would be of no particular significance to Finley. But she was an Outrider too, so perhaps they'd met somewhere along the way.

There were no signs of goats, gassy or otherwise, but Wildfire spotted a bent pine that caught her eye. Exchanging a quick glance with Finley, she veered off the trail and went to inspect it. Her muzzle dropped to sniff at the roots, then a bit further up the trunk. The rough bark tickled her nose. Beyond it, she spotted several more, all of them growing at odd angles due to the rocky slopes. She wondered why they had bothered trying to grow here at all. She supposed the trees had had no more say in where they'd been planted than she'd had in choosing her parents or the caldera.

"Going up!" she announced after a few moments, doubling back to resume their trek up the foot trail.

I am completely game for that lol

The comment about her being cool stung Finley for no reason at all.  She had a bad habit of feeling jealous towards any other female Fox deemed to be a friend (or any female she seemed even a little bit as though she liked, truth be told).  Apparently she was going to have the same issue with her god daughter.  It was completely stupid; it wasn't as though Finley didn't have other friends herself (lol cause she actually doesn't).  But still.. It irked her that her loved ones might love someone better than her.

"Roz, eh?" Fin commented idly as they walked, "She the kind of friend who'd help you if you fell down a mountain or the kind who'd jump down it with you?"  She snickered.  Finley knew what kind of friend she would prefer; the latter, though unwittingly she would eventually consider herself very fortunate that Roz was the former.  

She didn't follow when Wildfire averted her path to explore a funny looking tree.  Instead, she lifted her nose to test the air for anything interesting.  It would be fun to find a neat cave or a tarn or something.  Maybe they would stumble upon some exciting prey to chase around, like some turkey or a yeti.  Yeahhh.. a yeti would be fun!

As her imagination wandered, Wildfire appeared at her side.  Finley smiled and wagged her tail calmly, but before she could take a single step, she lifted a paw and thwapped her neice quite suddenly on the shoulder before barking "TAG!" and shooting up along the trail with a bit less caution than was probably wise.

Seeing as the question was both rhetorical and a joke, Wildfire only smirked in response. She wondered how long it would take them to reach the very top. It was funny to think that they'd intended to start there when it was very clear there were fun and games to be had the whole way upward.

Speaking of which, Finley tagged her abruptly and then took off up the trail, throwing caution to the wind as she Tokyo drifted around a bend. "Hey!" Wildfire yelled as loud as she could (which wasn't loud at all), playful indignation coloring her tone. "Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater!" she accused even as she broke into a laugh and a run simultaneously, tailing her wily aunt.

It didn't take long for Wildfire's legs to get tangled. She stumbled and came precariously close to tipping right off the edge, only to swerve in a very ungainly manner and avoid plummeting to her death. She buckled her legs and tumbled to her belly, staying down for a moment to catch her breath before leaping onto all fours again and fearlessly (and recklessly) resuming her pursuit.

Finley laughed as she ran along. A more responsible adult would have slowed down to make sure that their niece wasn't left behind. Fortunately, Wildfire didn't need her Aunt to slow down to keep a good pace with her - a fact Fin noticed with a twinge of pride, followed shortly by a fuck really? of selfishness when she grew irritated that a kid was just as fast as her.

Fin forgot it after a moment. She glanced back with a laugh on her face when she heard the slip. While she had managed the briefest flares of jealousy over her goddaughter's skill, she didn't even bat an eyelash at the fact that her stumble nearly caused her to fall from the cliff. Let's call it unflinching faith that Fin had in her beloved Wiffle's athletic skill.  Not.. other things.

The flat wall beside her opened up suddenly, and Finley took the opportunity to dart away from the rather precarious Cliffside and into the mountain, which was rather just as precarious. Instead of fairly flat sloping ground, Fin brought them now to even more drastically sloping ground that was made almost entirely of boulders piled on top of each other. Fin grinned fiendishly as she leaped up onto the first, then darted up and onto the second. Wildfire could run, but could she jump?

This thread is officially over 6 months old! :o

Wildfire skidded to a stop at the bottom of the boulder pile, eyes widening as she watched Finley begin leaping from one boulder to the next. What if one came loose and the entire lot of them went sliding down the mountain? The youth's heart fluttered in her chest at the thought but it didn't stop her from jumping at the closest stone, paws scrambling for purchase as she hoisted herself atop it. With a grunt, she then sprang for the next one, her godmother leading her in a zig-zag pattern up the rocky terrain.

She made it more than halfway up without a single incident. Of course, Wildfire's luck wouldn't hold out forever. She went to make a relatively parallel leap across the gap between two enormous boulders and instead kicked her own ankle out from beneath herself and went tumbling into the gap instead. Luckily, she only fell a few feet. Unluckily, the juvenile found herself tightly wedged in the cleft and unable to wriggle free.

"Aunt Flea! Halp!"

Back in her younger days when she was mateless and happily carefree, she could have so easily bounced from rock to rock all the way up the slope. She hadn't been as active since Eljay's birth, though as she began to huff and puff on her way up the mountainside, she decided to go ahead and work out more.

Fin was already slowing to a stop after pulling herself up onto a shelf that was rather taller than the rest had been thus far when she heard Wildfire cry out. Her ears shot forward as she snapped her head back, eyes wide and searching. "Wiffle?" she called as she cast her gaze across the rocks. Fin could see nothing but rocks, rocks, bush, rocks, no Wildfire.  Fuck fuck fuck...

It didn't take her too long to follow the sound of Wildfire's voice and locate her wedged down between the rocks.  "Wiffle! There you are, are you okay?" Fin swept her gaze across her niece's petite frame, searching for any injuries. It didn't appear that she had any, but Fin wouldn't be convinced until Wildfire reassured her.

She grunted and groaned as she attempted to squirm her way out of the tight squeeze. Somehow, Wildfire only managed to get herself more stuck. The pup huffed, falling still. Only her eyes moved, lifting when her aunt suddenly arrived and gazed down at her predicament.

"I'm okay," she assured, "just stuck." She tried to wriggle, only to exemplify how little wiggle room she actually had. "Can you pull me out?" she requested in a slightly breathless voice. Her lungs were being compressed a bit, after all. "Maybe by the scruff...?"

She was okay. Fin sighed in relief as the girl confirmed this. She had no desire to see her niece injured due to her foolhardiness, and maybe even less to have to explain to her parents what had happened. With any luck, the incident would never even come up and they could keep it between the two of them. Although... Wildfire did look kind of silly stuck down there. And now that she wasn't hurt, this was starting to seem rather amusing.


Finley nodded and stepped around the edges of the crevice in search of the best angle. She was a little bit far down there for her to reach, but after hopping to the other side and lowering onto her belly, Fin spotted a small ledge a bit further down where she could reach Wifi and get some leverage. She scooted her back paws nearer to the edge and hopped down with her front to get into position. It took a bit of twisting with her neck to bring her teeth to Wildfire's scruff, but she managed to grab on with a grunt.

After a bit of huffing and puffing and a couple of slips, Finley finally managed to pull her out of the wedge and help her up onto flat land. She fell back onto her haunched once the pup was completely free and panted to catch her breath. "Okay, it's official," Fin announced after a beat, "You are NOT as small now as you were as a pup."

Finley took a few moments to assess the situation and how best to approach Wildfire in order to free her. The youngster huffed, not due to impatience but because breathing was becoming increasingly more difficult. If her aunt didn't get her out soon, she might pass out or even suffocate. Luckily, she wasn't exactly aware of the imminent threat of death; she only knew she was growing increasingly uncomfortable down here.

But it was all over soon, as the Beta pried her loose and dragged her to flat ground. Wildfire sucked in several expansive breaths. "I still am a pup," she teasingly reminded Finley once she caught her wind. Her amber eyes glittered. She understood what Finley meant, of course; at six months old, she was nearly full grown. "What now?" she added in the next breath, still keen to explore if Finley was too.

Fin rolled her eyes as Wildfire corrected her. "Technicality," she insisted matter-of-factly. A six-month-old she may be, but every day she was seeming more and more like an adult. In three months time, she would enter their ranks. Probably she would rise to gamma within the week. Maybe when she was a little older, she could take Finley's place as beta. Fin could see that being what Peregrine and Fox would want, and Wildfire would probably do a far better job that Fin ever did. Not that she'd ever done anything terrible... Not yet, anyway.

"Wanna keep climbing?" Fin asked, "We can go slower. Be a little more careful, maybe." She gave a shrug, clearly unenthused about the idea. Though it did have its merits - one of which being her goddaughter would be less likely to fall down anymore holes. And she'd be safer... Finley did like her Wiffle being safe.

When her godmother seemed partial to continuing (at least, that's how Wildfire chose to interpret the question), Wildfire immediately replied with an enthusiastic, "Yeah!" Despite the recent mishap, she was having a wonderful time, exploring with one of the most beloved wolves in her life. She would always treasure this memory and would even come to develop a particular and deep affinity for the summit.

Finley suggested they go slower and be more careful. Wildfire grinned but did not protest. She was already clumsy enough without tempting fate with unnecessary recklessness. Still, there was a definite pep to her step as she bounded ahead, continuing ever upward, determined to climb to the alp's tallest peak, even if it took all day.

It didn't take all day—it was still light out—but by the time the pair reached the uppermost part of Nocturne Summit, Wildfire was decidedly weary and out of breath. She didn't even have the energy to declare herself queen of the mountain or anything silly like that. She just swapped an exhausted grin with her fellow explorer before collapsing unceremoniously, face momentarily buried in the crook of a red elbow as she rested.

Then she lifted her head, amber eyes growing wide in the fading light of late afternoon as she surveyed the view. It was a bit foggy (or maybe they were just low-hanging clouds?) up here but she could see the entire wilderness stretched out below, looking small enough to be inhabited by ants. Wildfire laughed in disbelief, pushing partially upright to scoot closer to the edge, staring in awe at the incredible view.

Wildfire was happy to continue, which pleased her godmother greatly. It was nice that she wasn't so easily put off by a little mishap like falling down a hole. She turned to lead the way, listening to the fiery girl's pawsteps as they sounded in her wake. For a very strange  moment, she considered how nice it would be if Wildfire had been her own daughter, following in her footsteps as she was. It was odd for the fact that the only reason she was on this mountain was because she was trying to escape motherhood. And now here she was, thinking of how nice it would be to have a daughter of her own... Fuck was it weird being a woman.

Time seemed to pass smoothly as the pair climbed, chatting on and off about this and that as they went. When finally they reached the Summit, Fin stood behind as Wildfire surged forward to the edge. It wasn't because she was at all afraid, but for the fact that she wanted to watch Wildfire in that moment. Maybe what she was doing was ill-conceived. Maybe motherhood was worth it. All of the frustration, the stress, the anxiety... Maybe it was worth it, because of eventual moments like this - seeing a little one you so love so deeply discovering the world and finding awe and excitement in it. Maybe these were the moments that were worth suffering through all the rest for.

Finley crept up towards Wildfire's side after a second, reaching to sniffle affectionately at a long, red ear before gazing out herself. She sucked in a breath and stilled at the view. The Blackthorn had seen many things in her day - she had gone out of her way to make sure of it. But still, the view from the near top of a mountain was a rare thing, even in the eyes of someone who had spent most of her life seeking the rare. It was breathtaking, and Fin quite suddenly remembered exactly why she was running away from her family.

Mothers never saw views like this. Mothers never had this feeling. Mothers missed amazing sights, incredible moments, and humbling emotions like this. Only free wolves got to experience this.

And all Fin's life as a mother so far had taught her was that you could not have both. It was one or the other.

A tear slipped down her cheek as she stared.