Redhawk Caldera There are a hundred boys and girls.

And another AW!

Dove huffed as she looked up at the mountain's craggy ridge, tracing the contour of the mountain's strange spine; she stared for a moment or two at the peak's concave shape, and then decided — maybe she wasn't a mountain-dweller, but she wouldn't let this silly place defeat her. She would investigate the center of the territory and see what all the fuss was about.

At first the pale girl was all hustle and bustle and enthusiasm; she made good time, hiking across the uneven terrain and towards the territory's namesake landmark. By the time she reached the center - and the lake which rested there - she was out of breath and panting madly. Her tongue hung loosely from her pointed face while she all but guzzled air, and she slouched uselessly upon the earth. God why did she decided to do this.

Finley and Elwood were on their own now; he had run all the interference he could and it was up to them where to go from here. He stole back to Fox's side, where he curled up and refused to move. He told her all about it, of course, then slept deeply through the next morning. When he rose, he felt refreshed. His mate was gone and he wondered if she had went looking for their Betas to see where they stood. Anticipating news later, he slunk to a nearby pool of water and drank deeply.

He was mulling over what to do today when he saw a white shape moving down near the lake. Peregrine squinted. He didn't recognize her for himself but he knew who it must be: Dove. Fox had mentioned yet another sister come this way. The Alpha sighed. Would Dove be as flighty as Fox's other, aptly named sisters? Before even starting to walk toward her, he decided to maintain low expectations.

"Hi," he said a bit tonelessly when he picked his way down the steep slope to the waterline. "I'm Perry. You're Dove, right?" His jade eyes pinned on her, judging her silently before she ever said a word.

It felt as if she had run a triathlon without a semblance of training; if she were human, her body would be rebelling to the point of throwing up - she was that unfit for duty. Or at least, for spontaneous hiking. So for a few moments she simply lay on her belly and breathed, tasting the metallic flavor in the back of her throat and the burn of her everything, until an urge to roll overtook her. Gravity pulled the lethargic little creature to one side, and she was feeling quite pleasant in that position (as compromising as it was) when a sudden voice spooked her back up again.

She rolled quickly, righted herself in to a partially-upright position, and shot a look towards the origin of the voice. As soon as her eyes fell upon the less than impressed expression of Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome, she could only stare —

(Why hello!)

— but then Fox's voice popped in to her head. She remembered the description of Peregrine, and all was right with the world (for the most part).

"That is me, yes." Gulp. What a way to meet her sister's beloved - sprawled out like fresh linen upon the ground. "You're Peregrine, right?" Blink. Blink. It took a few moments to realize that she'd parroted almost the exact phrase back at the Alpha.

"It's good to meet you. Fox... She seems very happy." With that said, Dove applied a smile to her face, but it was evidently strained by her sudden nervousness.

Her fur was a nearly pristine shade of white and he couldn't help but notice her eyes matched Fox's. She was small, like her sister, and... apparently rather out of shape. Peregrine made no remark on this, though his expression was quietly scrutinizing and he made no effort to mask it.

"I just—" he began to say, then bit his tongue. She mentioned Fox, which made his tail wag despite his hard expression. "I do my best to keep her that way. You're just in time to welcome our pups to the world," he remarked, leering a little bit now. Those tiny, innocent pups would fall in love with every adult they saw and if Dove made an impression on them, only to walk out on them... well, Peregrine would never forgive her, sister-in-law or not.

She nodded at the mention of the puppies, and it was as if her entire demeanor changed. "I'm very excited for her. It's actually really surprising —" Ah, but there it was, that awkward slip. "I mean, only because I never expected Fox to be the first mother out of all of us. She seemed far too wild for that kind of thing. This. That?" Oh, shut up already. He probably thinks you're some kind of dumb blond now.

How could Dove possibly remedy this situation? "But um, anyway... You were saying?" The girl's ears flicked back and held for a moment against her head, and Dove assumed a more submissive, apologetic stance after realizing she had cut him off (probably more than once). Jeeze, Fox really knew how to pick 'em!

Peregrine didn't sense the awkwardness in her statement, save for the strange pause. He wouldn't have ever guessed he and Fox would end up here, the picture of blissful domesticity, especially not considering their first meeting. His stony expression cleared for a moment as he recollected their long, tumultuous relationship, a rivalry turned romantic. God, he was so happy things had turned out this way.

"She's still wild," he assured Dove in an affectionate voice, "and she's going to make a fierce mother." He smiled proudly. Yes, he was proud of his young wife. "I wasn't saying anything specifically, though she is due in a week or two. I'm going to go right ahead and tell you something, Dove: I'm sick of wolves joining this pack just to dance off into the sunset. If you're going to do that, tell me now or at least give me notice when your toes start to twinkle. And if that is the plan, don't go out of your way to meet the pups. I don't want people waltzing in and out of their lives like it's nothing."

His warning was somewhat abrupt, and Dove was quite surprised by it. As soon as he mentioned the potential of her leaving her sister after taking so long to find her, her jaw slackened a bit and she looked dumbfounded; but the momentary lapse turned sharp, and a furrow caught upon her face.

She was agitated now - not at him, exactly, moreso the insinuation that she might bail at all - and Dove couldn't help but get a little prickly because of it. "I told her I would stay, and I intend to do that." Dove stated, her voice level yet sincere. Intense would work too. "I don't know you, Peregrine, and you don't know me - but I put family above all else. I have no idea why you might distrust me, but I mean what I say. I'm here for Fox."

Dove's tail swished emphatically as her diatribe ended, and she relaxed a bit. Her expression softened considerably as well, but energy still sparked in her grey eyes. "Besides, Fox promised to introduce me to some pretty boys, so I have to stick around for that at the very least." She added with a smile in her voice, trying to remain civil despite the (perceived) insult to her intentions.

Of course, Dove probably didn't understand Peregrine's harshness whatsoever. He felt a twinge of guilt, though the mere thought of Robin, Magpie and the plethora of other wolves who'd more recently run off on them vaporized it. Sure, she probably didn't deserve the third degree but he wasn't going to sugarcoat his stance, not with the puppies in the mix soon.

"Several wolves—including a couple of your relatives—have left us," he told Dove, "and I'd be defensive about it anyway but now that I have the pups to think about, I'm going to be much worse. I get it that some will come and go. That's cool. It's just that I can't stand it when they just poof into thin air, leaving us all wondering. The puppies, they won't get it if and when that happens. They won't understand. It'll hurt them." His eyes grew flinty at the thought of anyone hurting his brood.

"Anyway," he said after a breath, "I'll hold you to your word, then. And I'm afraid there are not that many pretty boys around here, at least not available ones. I think our only standing bachelor is Theseus." Peregrine's tail switched. "Though you could always try recruiting some," he suggested.

Pleased to have everything settled, Dove accepted the rest of what Peregrine had to say without so much as a peep of protest; although, she raised her brows at the mention of her relatives. How many of her sisters had come through here? That'd be something to ask Fox, most likely. Something to bond over. She didn't particularly feel like talking to this guy for much longer, no matter his involvement in her sister's life.

Thus Dove focused upon the lack of male bodies. That was always a good distraction.

"So I've heard. Its a pity too, I thought that there'd be more than one person after my sister - but I see you've taken care of that, hm." She smirked at this, trying to sound pleasant, joking with her tone, but there was a smugness running through the core of her speech. As Dove turned towards the lake, she became dismissive, her tone playful but strained. "I've never seen Fox so, so... Round."

It was true though. Fox had a great big belly - a big red belly - swinging around like an exercise ball upon her middle. Dove found the mental image (and the physical one) to be quite entertaining.

"Fox had many suitors, I'm sure," Peregrine said, eyes flashing. His wife was hot, so of course other dudes wanted in on that. He knew of at least a few but he suspected there had been many more. "But only the worthiest could claim her," he said, puffing out his chest. He was somewhat joking, though in combination with his prior words, he probably looked to Dove like a prideful asshole.

He actually cracked a smile, which hung around, when Dove remarked on her sister's roundness. "I know. She's so cute, waddling around with that belly. She thought I would find her gross when she got bigger but I'm actually kind of going to miss the look when she gives birth," he quipped.

Peregrine could have sat and babbled about Fox for ages, especially with someone else who knew and loved her. But he wanted to get to know Dove better, so he veered back to the subject of bachelors and asked, "So, what sort of traits do you look for in a potential boy toy?"

Dove is being a butt. Huzzah, dove-butt.

Dove did not like Peregrine, she decided. Maybe it was natural for her to find him an unsuited partner to her sister, or maybe it was in namesake alone which made her want to recoil from his company and have no more to do with him. But she had to be amiable, she had to be charismatic and play nice even if he had rubbed her the wrong way. The words falling from Peregrine's mouth were idle platitudes to the pale girl, who was still disinterested - until he asked her about boys. If she could blush, perhaps her cheeks would have turned a ruddy pink.

Still, she wasn't exactly fond of the idea of sharing her deepest wishes and wants with this.. This... man. Huff. It was girl talk. Stuff she would readily share with her sisters, private and hidden away from the attention of actual people. "Tall, dark, handsome, maybe." She muttered without really thinking - describing Peregrine completely by accident in the process. "Oh you know, just any old boy wont do," Her tail frisked.

"But you don't really want to hear me ramble about girl stuff, do you? Where is Fox? Perhaps she needs you." Begone, commoner. Said the look in her eyes, as she turned her head and caught his dark shape in her periphery.

Perry's a dick. Together, they are a dickbutt! :D

"Of course not," he replied smoothly when she said that any old boy wouldn't do. "I'll keep an eye out for dudes that fit that description," he said lightly, his tail giving a twitch. "'Girl stuff'? Well, if you'd rather chat with fellow ladies, that's fine. But I don't mind keeping an eye out for attractive guys," he told her, wondering if she would pick up on the implication.

His ear flicked when she basically gave him an out, or else tried to get rid of him; he couldn't quite tell. Either way... "You're probably right. Let's catch up again soon, though. I feel like there's a lot more to learn about each other. Have you thought about trades, for instance? Maybe we can talk about it next time we see each other."

Peregrine tipped his head to Dove, then turned and padded back the way he'd come. He knew Fox wasn't at their den but Dove didn't know that. Anyway, he would probably bypass it and go for a long walk. With the resting period over, he was ready to get his healing shoulder muscles back to strength.

Loool fade!

She listened as attentively as any child would, humming pleasantly to herself when he finally chose to leave. When he was mid-stride on his way off, though, Dove's brain retraced the conversation and caught upon the hint; it was so strange, so alien and unnatural to her, that she sort of.. Stared straight ahead. And then turned, simultaneously searching for Peregrine's retreating figure and getting to her feet.

"Keep an eye out..?" She muttered, to nobody, since she was finally alone with her thoughts. But those thoughts were so muddled by the strange comment that Dove would spend the next twenty minutes just trying to decode what the heck had just happened. "Fox's boy... Likes... Boys... Too?" Blink. Blink blink.

"Ridiculous." Dove huffed, and shoved the very concept out of her mind. She turned towards the lake and began sauntering towards the bank, inspecting for the best area to go for a dip.