Redhawk Caldera today's not so bad

Fox knew that her children would come soon. The past few weeks had been incredibly rough on her, compared to her first pregnancy. Instead of carrying herself with ease, she struggled to move beyond the whelping den for more than pissing and fetching water. Much of her time was spent attempting to sleep (and miserably failing). Peregrine was, of course, diligent in his watch over her. He brought her food when she could keep it down, and stocked it away when she couldn't manage to look at it. Fox couldn't imagine that she was pleasant to be around, and yet he stuck to her side without failing.

Whatever wandering thoughts she'd had about other wolves had dissipated as time had gone on, and she had all but forgotten their little spat. In fact, she could not even remember if it had been properly resolved. Nor does Remedy recall whether or not @Peregrine informed Fox of his working nose. Let's pretend he eventually fessed up, and Kat can kick me if I got it wrong.

She lugged herself out of the whelping den, intending to stay out only long enough to lap up a few sips of water, pee, poop, and then go lay down again.

Eljay had brought Fox things a couple of times during her pregnancy, but he had mostly stayed out of the way. He hadn't yet hunted anything, anyway, so there was little to bring, but he had saved scraps from his own meals a couple of times and had asked his parents for some help. Over the past month or so Eljay had begun taking trips on his own more and more, although he had always stayed within Redhawk Caldera's confines. Eljay wished that he could hang out more often with Aunt Fox, but he felt intrusive and he was also kind of scared of Nightjar and afraid that Nightjar'd pop up and make fun of him or chase him off if he was around his aunt too much.

Today Eljay had collected some of the first flowers that grew, and just as he neared the place where Aunt Fox stayed, she came out of the den. What was more, Nightjar was nowhere to be seen, and it seemed like it was his lucky day altogether. "Aunt Fox! I brought you these!" Eljay called out enthusiastically as he approached, and as he spoke the flowers nearly fell from his mouth, so he quickly snatched them from the air again before they fell on the ground. Just before he reached Aunt Fox, however, Eljay clumsily tripped over a loose rock and he fell flat on his face, sending the flowers flying everywhere as he sprawled onto the ground, looking rather comical.

Having hunted earlier that day (with a little help from Nadie), the Alpha didn't feel the need to gather any more meat. Peregrine did, however, feel the need to defend his territory when he saw a mangy coyote roaming across the caldera's flank. With a savage snarl, he gave chase, absolutely refusing to give up ground until he caught up to the smaller canine and practically ripped a hole in its side. It went down yelping beneath him and the Alpha male was quick to kill it.

Now he lugged the carcass back toward the den site, dropping it with a grunt when he came within view of it. "Hey," he said, a bit surprised to find Fox outdoors. "Is everything ok—" he began to ask even as Eljay arrived on the scene with a mouthful of flowers and a shout of Fox's name. Peregrine's head jerked toward him right as the pup suddenly face-planted and he snorted without thinking.

"You okay there, Eljay?" Peregrine asked, trying to stifle the amusement in his voice even as he slowly closed the distance between himself and his mate. He threw her a questioning look, bending to touch his nose to her forehead, then her swollen side.

Shadow posted! Editing now. Finished. :)

Thanks for hopping in, y'all!

Fox spotted Peregrine first, which made sense in some way. She had seen him the most over these past several weeks, and he was the one she expected to show up. Eljay arrived just as she was about to answer Peregrine's cut-off question, flopping and crashing right into the ground with a mouthful of flowers. Unlike Peregrine, Fox didn't have the strength (nor the social awareness) to hold back a hearty chuckle. It was much-needed amusement in what had been some of the worst weeks of her life.

"Thanks for the flowers, kiddo," she said after a moment, still chuckling even though it caused her sides to ache. Her stomach clenched, but it was worth it.

Shame instantly flooded Eljay as he dove face first into the ground, the flowers flying everywhere. He felt like a clumsy idiot, but the fact that Uncle P and Aunt Fox were laughing made him feel a bit better about himself. They didn't make a big deal out of it, and so it was easier for Eljay himself to brush it off, too. Eljay only now noticed Uncle P, who had to have been there all along, and he quickly gathered himself off the ground. "Oh! Sorry, I'm — yes, I'm okay, just, uhm, clumsy," he said, feeling his cheeks flush, and he quickly went to gather the spread flowers. The stems were broken now and they looked kind of crummy, but Eljay hoped that Aunt Fox wouldn't mind too much.

After nosing the cracked flowers together in front of Fox, Eljay glanced up to properly look at her, now no longer diverted by his task. "You're so big!" he blurted out, not realising that his words might be offensive — it was just the first thing that popped into his mind as he looked at Fox, who looked like she might explode and send puppies flying everywhere any moment now. Eljay was actually sort of looking forward to the new puppies, even though he imagined it would be a long time until he was allowed to actually play with them.

She appeared to be just fine, so Peregrine's attention returned to the pup as he collected himself. His comment made the Alpha think of Wildfire; she had always been (and likely still was) quite accident-prone. The funny thing was that, no matter how many times it happened, the sight of a fellow wolf falling on its ass (or face) never failed to tickle Peregrine's funny bone.

Fox thanked Eljay for the flowers and the boy reacted by commenting on her size. Peregrine snorted, gaze sliding to her face to see how she would take the remark. It was true—Fox looked a bit like she'd swallowed a beach ball or two—but would she roll with it or get upset? With pregnancy hormones at play, the father-to-be couldn't be sure.

"You're so big!" Eljay said, and Fox squinted at him for a moment or two, trying to decide if it was an insult or just an observation. Instead of making a decision, she decided to object entirely. "I'm not," she replied, "It's just that there are a bunch of kids hanging out in my belly, which makes me look big." She was not sure how many, nor would she be sure until they were brought into the world. Fox could only hope that would be sooner rather than later.

"You want to put those flowers by the entrance of the den?" she asked. Or rather, she requested. If they were placed there, instead of being strewn around, Peregrine could bring them in when the pups were a little bit older. Fox was fairly certain they could smell at that age.

Luckily Aunt Fox didn't take Eljay's comment poorly (only after the words left his mouth he realised it might've sounded kind of awful), and she described the puppies that were inside of her belly. Eljay stared at the belly incredulously, unable to believe that puppies were really growing inside of Aunt Fox. It was such a weird thought.

As she asked him to put the flowers elsewhere, he was quick to come into motion. While he reached to gather the flowers again, he asked, "Do you know what kind and how many puppies you're gonna have?" He kept his eyes on Aunt Fox and Uncle P while he collected the flowers and started bringing them towards the den's entrance.

Fox chose denial, earning a silent snort from her mate. While she and the gray pup continued their conversation, he sauntered back over to the coyote's carcass. It was small and mangy. He curled his lip, then bent to his task, tearing off the fur and skin to expose the glistening pink and red meat underneath. When that was done, he chewed through the tissues connecting one of the forelegs to the body, then carried the limb over to Fox. He dropped it beside her, to be consumed at her leisure.

"Help yourself," he said to Eljay, rolling a shoulder toward the remains. He had just asked for more details about the pups. Four boys, he inwardly answered, though he remained mum, letting Fox field the question intended for her.

Feel free to continue on without me. :)

"Nope," Fox replied to Eljay's question, "but I hope they're wolves." Look at that. Fox was doing a humor! She must've been in a good mood today. It helped that this was the first time she hadn't felt like walking death in weeks. Not that she was ready to run a marathon or anything like that, but she didn't feel like the reaper was about to take her soul. It was a nice change of pace.

She gave Perry a lick on the nose. "I'm gonna head down to the stream and then make my own stream. Maybe I'll make a little mountain, too." Ah, good ol' euphemisms. That had been her original plan, and she knew she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. Not expecting any reproach from either party, Fox departed.

Eljay looked a little confused when Aunt Fox said she hoped they'd be wolves, and he looked at Uncle P to see if he understood. Since they laughed, it was probably a joke, and Eljay chuckled along a little, though the confused expression remained. A short silence fell between them, and Aunt Fox instantly utilised it to excuse herself. The metaphores were lost on Eljay, whose confused expression returned while he said: "See ya later, Aunt Fox." He watched as his aunt departed and, assuming that Uncle P would stick around, he asked: "What's she mean, making a mountain?" Eljay imagined adults as all-powerful still, even though he would soon be a part of the adult ranks, and wondered if Aunt Fox was really going to be able to make a mountain.

There was another question on his mind as he asked: "Do you think I could visit the puppies, when they're there?" He wasn't sure if he could, or if he had to wait. He remembered Wifi and Raven visiting all the time when he was little, but would he be able to do the same? Eljay knew he was clumsy and might not be the safest wolf to be around little puppies, though, so he could understand if he'd have to wait.

A bemused smirk followed his mate as she sidled away to take care of business. Only when she disappeared from view did Peregrine's attention shift back to their nephew. He huffed a laugh at Eljay's confused question, appreciating his naïveté for a solid twelve seconds before happily corrupting him.

"She's going to take a shit," he drawled. "Of course," he added in reply to the boy's second question. "You're gonna help raise them. Although, we won't allow many guests right at first. They're born pretty small and they need to grow up a little before they're ready to party." Peregrine mulled for a second, then clarified, "You can probably start visiting regularly when they're a few—two or three—weeks old."

"Oh!" Eljay said in response to Uncle P's candid answer, and had he not been a fuzzy wolf, his face would've been the colour of a raspberry about now. Luckily there was the subject of puppies to divert him from his awkwardness.

Luckily he could visit, though he had to wait a couple weeks. That made sense, and Eljay wondered if it was because he wasn't yet an adult, and he would be in a few weeks' time. Sorta, anyway; in rank. He would much rather have stayed in the puppy ranks a bit longer, truthfully, because there was so much pressure on his shoulders (or so it felt) to be good at stuff, even moreso when he was an adult; but he knew that he couldn't.

"Yeah, I guess I might squish them if I get clumsy again and trip on them," Eljay commented softly. "And 'cause I'm still a puppy for a couple more weeks." He wished that when he'd become an adult officially, in rank, that he would also be one in behaviour and would no longer feel quite this clumsy and awkward, but Eljay feared that life wouldn't be that easy. How'd all these other adults ever learn how to adult?

Eljay didn't seem bothered by the wait period. He appeared to be quite understanding, actually, though his comment caused the Alpha to quirk a brow in curiosity. His age had nothing to do with it, of course. Even his parents—who were adults, more or less—wouldn't necessarily be welcome in the den right away. That made Peregrine suddenly wonder whether they would ask the Blackthorns to be godparents again. He'd have to run it by Fox when she came back.

"It's less about you than it is about us being jealous and possessive," Peregrine quipped. "We want them all to ourselves at first, you see. But eventually we get tired of their crying and pooping and puking, so we shove them off on everybody else." His lips twitched into a joking smile. "You excited about that? Joining the adult ranks?" he asked in the next breath.

Eljay was confused when Uncle P said that he and Fox were just jealous and possessive; they didn't seem that way at all to him. "Oh," answered Eljay, the confusion clear in his voice. Soon the subject shifted to his ascension to the adult ranks, something Eljay wasn't all that sure about. He shifted his weight and looked a little unsure while he answered: "I guess it's special and stuff. I just hope I'll do good." He had still not hunted anything and felt like he only took from the pack, rather than contributing properly. He kept telling himself that he would get better at it, but it was just so hard.

"You'll be fine," Peregrine answered, sounding perhaps slightly dismissive. He knew about the pup's, er, neurotic tendencies—he was his nephew, after all—but with Elwood, Finley, Fox and himself as role models, the Alpha didn't doubt Eljay would grow into himself, discover his strengths and use them to establish himself as a contributing member of their small society.

"Hey, who knows—maybe you'll end up being the sitter type," the Alpha said lightly. He would definitely get a lot of opportunity to learn about rearing pups in the near future. "In the meantime, you gonna eat any of that? If not, I'm going to cache it." Peregrine paused, glancing at the rendered carcass. "Or you could." He still had hopes that the boy would take up hunting (which included caching).

It helped Eljay that Uncle P was so dismissive, as though nothing was really as important as Eljay made it. Mommy and daddy often made him feel more nervous by responding to his panic, but Uncle P just made everything seem so breezy. Eljay felt more at ease about becoming an adult already, knowing that Uncle P didn't put much stock into whether or not he would be. Whether it was because he was used to Eljay being useless or if he really thought that it'd be fine didn't even matter.

When Uncle P mentioned the carcass, Eljay quickly looked down to the carcass. He'd forgotten all about it, since he'd eaten earlier and he'd been so engulfed in their conversation. "Oh!" he said, and after a short, pregnant pause he offered: "I could, uhm... or maybe together?" Then at least he'd know for sure that he was doing it right. Not that there was super much that he could do wrong when caching, but, y'know...

Eljay wanted to do it together. "Sure," the Alpha replied, knowing full well that the boy lacked confidence in himself. But he was in his awkward teenage phase. He would grow out of it. Even if he still had some quirks here and there, Peregrine truly felt that the Blackthorns' firstborn would find his footing as an adult and member of the pack. Hopefully as a hunter, to boot.

Stepping over to the skinned coyote, Peregrine said, "You carry it and I'll lead you to a stockpile." He then paused, waiting, just in case the boy needed some help. The coyote wasn't very heavy but it could still be cumbersome, what with the three remaining legs, the bleeding and all that...

As it was his task to carry the to-be-cached coyote corse, Eljay awkwardly wandered around it a couple of circles, as though try to find the right angle to carry it. It was a little scary how much the coyote looked like a wolf, like he might look were he dead (and a lot smaller and pointier-feature'd), but he tried not to think of it too much. Eventually he grabbed the coyote's scruff, as it seemed the easiest way to go about this, and started to drag it. It was a really slow process and he let go multiple times because he lost purchase while following Uncle P; even though it was not that heavy, it was still not really convenient to drag.

He resisted the urge to reach out and help the pup carry his burden. There was no rush and Eljay needed to learn how to best handle such large remains. Peregrine paused patiently whenever the boy lost his grip, tail flicking until the youth grabbed on and began heaving again. In stops and starts, they made their way to a cache dug into a hole between the roots of a slender, bare-branched chinkapin.

There was a carpet of smooth, brown leaves and spiny burrs covering what equated to a shallow grave. While Eljay presumably parked nearby, the Alpha swept his broad paws over the litter, moving it aside to reveal a few carcass already stashed within. An insipid stench hit his nose, though it really wasn't bad. Peregrine turned to face the pup across the coyote's body.

"Just set it here, then cover it back up when you're done," the Alpha instructed, stepping back out of the way.

After what felt like a really long journey, the pair eventually arrived at one of the caches. Eljay put down the carcass and panted from the exertion of dragging it while he watched Uncle P dig the shallow cache up. His nose wrinkled when the smelly corpses were unearthed, and Eljay waited expectantly for instructions from Uncle P before he did anything.

As instructed, Eljay took the coyote carcass and started dragging it towards the cache. He put it on top of the other carcasses already in there and then started to dig back the earth that Uncle P had unearthed. When he first looked over his shoulder Eljay noticed that some of it had gone over the hole instead of on top of it, and once he was done he thus trotted to the other side to fix his error and cover up the last bit of sand, too.

Once done he dug the leaves back over the cache too and carefully put a paw on top of it, as though to test if it was good. He looked up at expectantly at Uncle P, waiting for approval or rejection of his work.

Peregrine silently observed as Eljay stored the carcass, then covered it again. He nodded his swarthy head in approval when the youth finished. "Thanks, El," he said, hiking up a leg to urinate on the tree's roots to mark the spot and warn away any small scavengers that might happen across the stockpile. The pungent odor would also cover some of the smell.

Putting all four feet back on the ground, he announced, "I'm gonna go catch some Zs with Fox. Thanks for the flowers, bud. See you later." He offered Eljay a small smile and a paternal sort of nudge, then turned and swept back in the direction of the den, knowing his mate would soon waddle back to join him for a nap.

Eljay's tail wagged a few beats as Uncle P offered him a thank-you for his work done. Being around Uncle P always seemed so effortless, for some reason. When he was around mommy and daddy Eljay always felt like a constant disappointment, like he wasn't good or fast enough, especially when they tried to coax him into doing things he didn't want to do (like crossing the borders). Uncle P seemed to just focus on the good stuff most of the time, and without even trying Eljay felt like he was doing things right most of the time.

"What's a —" Eljay asked, but he stopped himself mid-sentence before he said something dumb. Catching Zees. Z's. Sleeping, probably. "Bye, Uncle P!" He didn't wish Uncle P any good night's rest of any sort, because Eljay was still not a hundred percent sure he was correct about the meaning of the Z's anyway. Eljay yawned after all this thought of sleeping and then started to go back home to mommy and daddy, where he would excitedly tell them about all the helpful things he did, in hopes of eleviating their disappointment a little.