Redhawk Caldera let's run, not walk.

Come play with Finny Fin!

It had been a long, hard road, and it was not nearly over.  And yet, as Finley trailed at a meandering trot along the slopes of the Caldera, she couldn't help but feel... okay.  It wasn't much in truth, but for a woman who had spent the last couple of months feeling broken and empty, it was something akin to heavenly.

The beta grinned slightly through the still twitching fish clenched between her teeth.  It had been quite a lucky find - trapped under a sheet of ice in one of the streams that stretched across the territory.  All she'd had to do was break through and pluck it right out.  She'd barely even gotten wet.  There had been a time when Finley was not happy with a kill unless she had wrestled it from the jaws of a raging, bloodthirsty bear.  Seeing as it had been weeks since she'd actually had even perfectly average hunt, she was happy just to be able to say she had caught it all by herself.

She was still a couple of miles from the densite she and Elwood had moved to with their son, and though she intended for the fish to be a present for her beloved pair of Elwoods, she was in no real hurry to get back right away.  Instead, she was simply enjoying her guilt-free jaunt - something she had not been able to do in a long, long time.

I haven't played with Fin in a long time! :(

Somnia was out doing wolf stuff. Peeing on any tree that didn't smell enough like the Caldera, barking at any squirrels that taunted her from their safe positions in tree branches, and sniffing the ground in hopes of stumbling upon something interesting, whether it be the scent of prey, or another wolf. After about an hour or so of doing this, Somnia finally found the scent of Finley on the ground. Lifting her snout out of some weird clump of dirt and half-dead grass, she sniffed the air, which also smelled of Finley. The Beta had to be somewhere nearby.

Thoughts of Somnia's conversation with Elwood popped into mind as she located Finley. Finley had been hurt not too long ago, and she had a son that was vastly different from her, and didn't like to leave her side. Pausing for a moment to sniff the air, she determined that while Finley's scent did carry some traces of other wolves' scents, none of them were strong enough to indicate that they were with her right now. A bit disappointing, as Somnia did want to meet Eljay, but there would be time for that later.

A couple moments later she spotted Finley. Like she had determined, there was no pup tagging along. It was noted that she had a fish in her mouth, but that was quickly deemed insignificant as Somnia rushed towards her with a few barks to reveal her presence. She stopped right in front of Finley, her tail wagging while doing some weird prancing in place thing due to excitement.

While Finley wasn't always Somnia's best friend, especially when the hormones were running high, Finley was still her friend. And secretly, Finley was her favorite when it came to spunky fun stuff. "I haven't seen you in forever!" Somnia said, suddenly colliding with Finley's side in some weird wolf equivalent of a hug. "Do you know how boring normal wolves are?" During her absence, Somnia had learned that the pack she had become an indentured servant in was dull and boring. In contrast, Redhawk Caldera was quite abnormal and interesting and unique, all in a good way.

OMG I'M SO EXCITED!  Fin is terrible and I apologize for her.

She hadn't known that Somnia was back.  Well, Elwood probably had said something about it to her, but paying attention and remembering things had never been talents of hers.  It took her a minute to realize who it was approaching her, and then running into her in a wolfish hug and exclaiming happily at her.  Fin stood still, staring blankly at the girl as though she were some harmless curiosity - like a snail that could sing showtunes.  After a few seconds, the scent of the girl triggered the memory in her mind, and Finley... Well, she actually didn't change her expression at all.

Somnia.

The last time Fin had spoken of the former gamma was an angry, accusatory rant about how she had tried to undermine her and make a fool of her before the entire pack in an effort to steal Elwood from her.  It had been ugly.  Ugly words had been said, ugly feelings confessed.  That was a long time ago though, and Somnia had disappeared allowing Finley many months to get over her insecurities.  She had Elwood now, and she had Eljay.  They were a family, solid, unbreakable.  Plus, Fin had matured.  She was a mother now for gods sake! Somnia meant no harm, and even if she did, Finley Blackthorn would rise above with grace and confidence.  Or she'd try anyway.

"Well, whaddya know..." Fin murmured, giving her tail a light wag before dropping her catch to the ground at her paws.  "I had heard that about normal wolves," she commented, her grin broadening, "It's an unfortunate truth."  She settled onto her haunches, fixing Somnia with a friendly gaze.  "It's good to have you back," she said, though in the dark, insecure and wildly imaginative corners of her mind, she pictured Somnia luring Elwood into a deep dark cave and flaunting her goodies at him in a rather terrible-to-have-you-back sort of way...  I wonder if it's possible to mature in 30 seconds.  Fin resolved to give it a shot right then.

Finley did not reciprocate as expected. Somnia's tail dropped from it's wagging actions. While it was true that she had not been on good terms with Finley when she disappeared, she hadn't been expecting those things to still effect them. While Finley was being friendly, it just wasn't the type of enthusiasm Somnia had expected, especially seeing how it was Finley. Somnia settled into a sitting position of her own, letting Finley's unenthusiastic attitude slip from her mind for now as the Beta responded to her comment on normal wolves. The momentary tension between them had seemed to disperse, where hopefully it would remain and not come back.

"Thanks." Somnia replied to Finley's welcome. "I heard you're a mom. Congratulations!" She continued, a smile appearing on her face. "I heard from Elwood that your son takes more after him when it comes to wild daredevil plots. Speaking of which, I heard you got injured a while back. How are you doing?" Finley looked visibly fine, but it was still a nice gesture to ask.

Somnia sensed Fin's discomfort.  It was obvious, but Finley was... Finley.  She was too busy playing it cool to look too far into whether or not her companion was doing the same.  She listened intently to what the former gamma had to say and found herself smiling softly and sincerely.  It didn't take much to remind her of why she had once upon a time truly liked this woman.  But it also didn't take her suspicions long to remind her that they were not so easily silenced.

"I'm alright," Fin replied, knowing full well that she'd have said so even if she was standing before Somnia in two completely separate pieces instead of one, "No permanent damage."  She turned her head away slightly, though it already had been angled away to hide the side of her face that was scarred from the quills the porcupine had planted upon her, just below her cheek and down the side of her neck towards her shoulder.  The fur there was still gruff and had had a difficult time growing back as smooth and thick as it had been.  Fin had learned very well how to minimize how noticeable it was, but a full on glimpse of it would have left no doubt that something had happened to scar her once immaculate facade so deeply.

"Eljay does thankfully take more after my mate," Fin said, ever so subtly enforcing Elwood's status of belonging to her without overstating it, "Even moreso since I got hurt.  I'm hoping to break him of it once he's older, though."  She grinned fiendishly, though she wasn't completely serious about her intentions.  There was no denying the boy needed to get out of his shell, but the motherly part of her was not at all keen on her child behaving as recklessly as she always had.  She had no desire to suffer from anxiety like her poor mother likely had.