Redhawk Caldera the full moon dips its golden spoon.

@Elwood if you has time? :3

It was so ridiculously, wonderfully, absurdly splendid to be back home. Her days at the Plateau seemed like years ago. Or had it only been yesterday? Oh who gave a crap, she was home!

Finley wanted to run through the fields, along the streams and over the slopes, happy and free. Unfortunately, she was still quite broken. Her journey home had de-constructed the healing she'd been able to manage during her time spent at the Plateau. She wasn't back to square one, but square three or four was not much more pleasant.

At least she was able to walk on those squares, Fin supposed as she crippled her way down to a stream nearby where she had been staying. Dusk had settled upon the Caldera and with it came another light sprinkle of snow. After drinking her fill, she turned to climb up upon a flat rock that reached a foot or so over the edge. She curled up upon it in a little silver and black-streaked ball of wolf, simply watching the soft flakes as they lazily drifted to the ground.

Evening came, and with it a dusting of snow. The flakes fell like powder, soft and silent, and Elwood couldn't help but admire it. For whatever reason, he wasn't particularly tired; he should have been, considering he had spent the entire day building a cache near his new den (which he had carefully selected according to Somnia's advice, though it was nowhere near as expansive as Ashton's infirmary). He had managed to scrounge together a few squirrel carcasses that he had deposited in other places around the territory, and compiled them into one location. The work hadn't been exhausting, necessarily, but he had been moving up and down the caldera all day.

He took a deep breath of the frigid air and watched the steam rise from his nostrils as he exhaled. Snowflakes drifted around him, dancing against his eyelashes and sticking to the peppered fur along his shoulders. Hoping that a walk would tire him enough to make sleep a possibility, Elwood meandered away from his burrow, leaving a trail of pawprints in his wake.

The Delta made his way slowly through the trees until he came across a rocky path. He began to follow it, moving at a snail's pace as he took in his wintry surroundings. The trail led him to a stream, its bubbly surface not yet frozen over, and he began to follow its winding descent down the mountain, totally unaware of the she-wolf curled on a nearby rock.

Though it was not welcome, Fin couldn't stop her thoughts from wandering to him while she rested upon her perch. She was further tempted to regret the words shed said to him, and even more so those she hadn't said. But she knew it was no use--whatever they'd had, whatever had been growing between them, it was all over now. So, she contented herself with simply wondering what he was doing at that very moment, and wondering what they might've been doing had he come with her.

While staring idly across the frigid stream, her breath suddenly caught in her throat and her eyes went wide as a silver figure suddenly entered her periphery. "Finn?" she called out in surprise, only to regret it moments later when she realized her error. It wasn't Finn. Of course it wasn't. It was some new guy wearing the greyscale pelt that she and her doppleganger shared.

Elwood hummed softly to himself -- something resembling "Jingle Bells," because Kim convinced her fiancé to put up the Christmas tree tonight! But anyway, the Delta's voice rose and fell in his throat and he shuffled his paws in the snow, matching the rhythm of the melody. He wasn't getting tired as he had hoped, but he planned to walk a bit further down the creek before turning back and beginning to retrace his steps.

He almost didn't hear the "hidden" wolf call out, over the sound of his muffled singing and the crunching of the snow. But he paused nonetheless, ears swiveling sharply. Instinct told him to look back over his shoulder, and when he did, he spotted a large, flat rock with a head. Elwood blinked and turned his whole body, and only when he took a closer look did he realize that a grey she-wolf was curled up on top of the stone. She nearly blended in with her platform, save for a pair of bright, brown eyes. Those eyes seemed to pierce him as she stared, and he tipped his head quizzically to one side.

"I'm sorry?" he replied; had she called him Finn, or had she said something else entirely? Thinking that maybe she was talking to someone else, Elwood spun in a circle, surveying his surroundings, but it appeared that he was the only other wolf in the vicinity.

Fin was hoping that he wouldn't have heard her, so that maybe they could sidestep the whole awkwardness that was sure to come. In truth, it was an honest mistake, but as she had no desire to actually speak of the man who'd once captured her heart, she very much felt that she was better off avoiding it altogether. But, unfortunately, it turned out that the wolf was not deaf. He turned to her with curiosity etched upon his face and a question on his tongue. Quickly, her brain worked to try and cover up her faux pas.

"....is my name!" she barked out suddenly, "Fin is my name. ...What's yours?" A grin flashed upon her muzzle. That worked out, right? Totally normal way of introducing yourself to someone.

The girl seemed a little flustered, but quickly finished her sentence, proclaiming that her name was Fin and she had been introducing herself. Elwood hadn't seen her before, but she looked a little worse for the wear, so he swiftly made the connection that this was the missing Finley that Peregrine had told him about. This also meant that she was the pack's new Beta.

He began to move back toward her, taking slow steps as he inclined his chin to look at her. "Finley the bear fighter, I presume?" he asked with a twitch of his lips. "Wow, I didn't expect to be in the presence of a celebrity tonight. I'm Elwood," he continued playfully, coming to a halt next to her rocky throne.

The stranger seemed nonplussed by her unusual new way of greeting, so Fin relaxed into the conversation. She was surprised when he correctly guessed her as the "Bearfighter"--"My reputation precedes me," she said with a pleased little grin that only widened upon being referred to as a celebrity. She didn't know nearly getting herself murdered by a vicious predator for fun would earn her such renown. Maybe she needed to almost get murdered by vicious predators more often. Up it to twice a week instead of just once.

"Good to meet ya, Elwood," Fin replied, completely unaware that the very next day, her best friend would be telling her that this fellow was her "type" and that she would respond with "all men should fucking die". Despite her previous musings about the one who'd broken her heart most recently, she wasn't feeling too bitter towards that lesser gender. Especially this one, what with his calling her cool things and giving her ego good pets.

"Did you join the flock recently?" Fin questioned, changing her mind abruptly on what it was she wanted answered, "Wait, is it El Wood, like.. First name El, last name Wood? Or all one first name.. Elwood. El Wood. Elwood. Elwood?"

She played along with his teasing, though in the back of his mind Elwood wondered what kind of injuries she had sustained from her battle. From his vantage point, he couldn't see the lacerations on her back. He wasn't quite sure whether to think if she was brave or foolish, but that didn't matter; he was enjoying her company already, after only exchanging a few quips with her.

"Nice to meet you, too," he replied, reclining onto his haunches. He sat a foot or so away from the water's edge, next to the flat rock atop which she perched. His haunches immediately felt the chill of the snow, so he curled his tail around his paws as Finley addressed him with a series of questions that slowly deteriorated into silliness.

With a laugh, he explained, "It's Elwood. All one word. My last name is Grove." It was a plain surname, adopted by his great-great-grandparents for the woodsy area in which they lived. He then divulged a bit of information that he didn't often share with others. "It's actually a family name. My dad's name is Elwood, and so is his dad's, and so on and so forth. I used to hate it when I was little, but it's grown on me, I guess. Oh, and yeah, I've only been here for a few weeks. When I met Peregrine, he was looking for you, actually," he said, doubling back to answer her first query.

Fin listened quietly as Elwood spoke, smiling as he laughed. He had a nice laugh, she commented in her thoughts. A nice everything, actually. The other information he shared she took note of and tucked safely away in her memory. The thought of Peregrine searching for her was rather touching, though she could only assume the hunt started when he'd found a pit he wanted to trick her into falling down. Fin, however, was not quite done playing with his name.

"Elwood Grove," she repeated, furrowing her brows thoughtfully, "Is your middle name 'Forest' too? Elwood Forest Grove? Do you have another last name like 'Copse' or 'Jungle'?" Her tail wagged as she teased him, thoroughly enjoying herself. Everything had been so tense and serious at the Plateau--she was desperate for a conversation that didn't revolve around whether or not so-and-so was going to die.

In response to Finkey's teasing, Eleood adopted a playfully arrogant expression. He tipped his chin up, raising his eyebrows and pursing his lips in what he imagined to be an obnoxiously regal expression. Back home, Avery had always accused him of being a stick in the mud, but his playful interaction with Finley seemed to come naturally.

"Actually, it's Elwood Leaf Bush Evergreen Rainforest Grove," he said with a huff, and then, after a drawn out pause, he added, "the Fifth. Thank you very much. And I expect you to call me by my full name each time we speak." He glared at her, though there was a dangerous wiggle of the left side of his lips as a smile threatened to break through.

Fin gave him an appraising look as he responded, quirking a brow at his cheek. She knew well it was all done in jest, but she too had a part to play in this game and she wasn't about to be the first to break character.

The Blackthorn paused for a few moments, regarding him coolly as though not impressed with the haughty declaration of his expectations. After all, wasn't she the beta here? She could have gone the route of playing the rank card on him, but instead settled for a different tactic in the end. "I think I'll call you 'Twig'," Fin said finally with a little nod, "That seems to sum it all up nicely."

Elwood waited for Finley's response, struggling not to start laughing. He bit down on his lower lip to stifle a guffaw, but his attempt failed miserably when she proclaimed that, from then on, she would be calling him Twig. Though she remained stoic, his facade dissolved; she had managed to pick a wood-related nickname that was hilarious and demeaning at the same time, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

He nodded his head, indicating that she had "won" their little standoff. "Fair enough," he said, "Twig I shall be. Guess I should let the pack know about my name change." And then he threw his head back and howled -- not quite full force, but loud enough to make his point. "My name is Twig!" he cried.

Fin couldn't help but join in on his laughter when it broke free from his throat. Her eyes danced with mirth as he accepted his name with grace, even going as far as to announce it to the pack. Her laughed out loud as he howled, shaking her head in disbelief and amusement. She batted at his muzzle from her perch to get him to shut his silly, foolish, quickly-growing-way-too-adorable face.

"You really gave up on 'Elwood' pretty quickly after that whole speech about having grown to like it in your old age," Fin said between laughs as he quieted back down. It wasn't exactly what he had said--in fact, I'm pretty sure he would never have said he was an old man. But still, clearly she got the gist of what he'd been saying.

She gave him just the reaction he had been looking for, dropping her own serious expression and beginning to laugh with him. Elwood -- er, Twig -- leaned back to avoid her swinging paw, though she still managed to cuff him gently on the tip of his nose. "What can I say? I like Twig -- I feel like it really describes me. You really hit the nail on the head," he quipped with a shrug and a lopsided grin.

He laughed again, then exhaled contentedly, kneading his paws idly in the snow. "So what are you doing out here all alone, Bearfighter?" he asked, shifting the conversation to a slightly more normal topic. He was curious to get to know her; what made Finley tick? More accurately, what made her want to fight with bears?

"What can I say, I just get people," Fin quipped back with a smirk and a roll of her eyes. She couldn't help but chuckle softly as she gazed at the humor in his face. Something about him laughing made her happy. It was really good to laugh, especially after being so far away from any semblance of happiness. It had been good to see her friends at the Plateau, that she couldn't argue. But some conversations she could have done without, and oddly that was the one that she remembered most vividly and had the hardest time forgetting.

Fin quirked a brow at him and shook her head when he questioned her motives for being where she was. "Looking for bears, obviously," she replied with exaggerated exasperation that quickly melted into a soft smile, "No, I just... Believe me, getting to sleep like actually sleep after all the crap I've been through has been amazing, but... Hot damn I could really do with a bear fight right about now. Naps get pretty damn boring after you've had... one or two of them."

When Elwood had decided to take a walk on this particular night, the last thing he expected was to meet an unfamiliar packmate. And beyond that, he would never have assumed that they would have clicked and gotten along so well. He wasn't a standoffish wolf, per se, but he was the more serious twin; Avery was always the one who was hamming it up and making other wolves laugh. But the banter with Finley was effortless, as evidenced by the easy laugh that rolled off his tongue as she assured him that she just "got" people.

She then enlightened him as to why she had been perched on the flat rock in the first place. Elwood raised his brows slightly, surprised to hear that she was ready for another bear fight. It was becoming evident to him that she was a feisty one, and just from her latest comment he imagined that being laid up with injuries was difficult for her. She seemed to be the kind of wolf that preferred to constantly be on the go. "Personally, I love naptime," he said with a shrug, "but I can see how it would be boring when you have a pastime as exciting as fighting bears." He didn't know the circumstances of her scuffle, just that it had involved one of the large, ferocious animals and that she had luckily escaped with her life. "Lucky for you," he said in the next moment, "in my spare time, I'm a bear. So. Yeah." He sat back on his hind legs, lifting his forepaws off the ground and baring his teeth in his best impression of a bear.

Elwood seemed to be a wolf that was full of surprises. It was a fact that he seemed effortlessly determined to prove to her over and over again in their encounter. She watched as he reared onto his haunches like a.... bear.... And. Like he said... Yeah.

She kept her composure for about four and a half seconds, only by biting her bottom lip to the point of nearly cutting the skin. But, in the end, she lost to her amusement and broke into a loud laugh. "Oh my god..." she gasped, "Have you ever even seen a bear before? They're way more like..." And although it pained her, she was determined to show her new friend that he failed, and thus she pushed herself up onto her haunches and lifted her own forelegs and snarled, in a way very similar to what Elwood had already accomplished. Only she was Fin, so she won. "...this!"

OOC: This is such a fun thread! Also, my Thanksgiving break started today, therefore WINE. :D

IC: Elwood flexed his toes, imagining that he had huge, bear-like claws. In his mind, his teeth grew to at least three times their actual size, and his fur became brown and shaggy. However, Finley then shattered his daydream with an impression that was way, WAY better than his (though in reality, they probably looked identical, considering their matching pelts and stances).

As she growled menacingly at him, he toppled backward, feigning fear in an over-exaggerated attempt to escape the bear attack. His paws scuffled against the snow and he allowed himself to roll onto his pack, kicking his feet like a helpless turtle stuck on its back. With a yelp, he ducked and covered his face with his forepaws. "Oh, oh, please don't hurt me!" he yipped, cowering away from the Finleybear.

omg I know!! I usually go to bed at 9 and that was.. two hours ago. I blame both you AND wine :D I made me some spritzers 2nite

Regardless of what Elwood saw himself morphing into, Fin only saw a dorky, very cute, very silly, and very dangerous young male acting like a total dweeb to make her smile. She broke into another laugh as he cowered away and fell down onto her forelegs again. She gasped in the midst of her laughter as she landed, wincing from the pain it had caused her to move in such a dramatic way. She held her breath for a moment while the pain savaged her back and shoulder, gritting her teeth in the least noticeable way she could manage before releasing a deep exhale.

She opened her eyes without realizing they had snapped shut, immediately forcing herself to switch back to playful, fun, BearFin mode. "Alright, alright, I won't hurt you," she quipped, still grimacing despite the fact that her expression was taken a majority by her smile, "But only because you make a really shitty bear and thus are not worth my time."

OOC: Wine wine wine wine

IC: As the two silver wolves dissolved into a fit of laughter yet again, Elwood flipped over onto his stomach and propped himself up on his elbows. He took a moment, with eyes closed, to try and catch his breath and stop laughing, but even as he did all of this, he noticed the subtle and brief pause and change in Finley's demeanor. She was still smiling, though there was a certain gritting of her teeth that expressed her discomfort no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

"You okay, Bear?" he asked, his brows knitting together with mild concern as he looked up at her. He certainly didn't want to be the wolf that caused the injured Beta to reopen her wounds; in fact, he had hoped that his silly antics would have had the opposite effect.

I has empty bottle! .....but.. there is another *yoda voice*

Fin didn't want anyone to know the pain she was in. She didn't want anyone to see her weakness, whether it be the physical pain of her bear-inflicted wounds or the emotional pain of the Finn-inflicted. She shook her head stubbornly when Elwood asked, refusing any recognition to her hurt.

"I'm good, Bear," she quipped back swiftly, "You okay, Bear? You're the one who tripped over himself. Something, I have to admit I've never seen a bear do." Her mind scanned back through the memories to make certain that what she'd said was true. Only to realize... "...except that one time I tripped one." She pursed her lips and glanced up at the sky innocently.

OOC: I'm on my last glass, and there's no more after this! D:

IC: Elwood raised his brows, in a motion that was simultaneous to the raising of Finley's defenses. She insisted that she was fine, that nothing was ailing her, and instead turned the spotlight back on the Delta. "Well," he said, playing along with her game but still feeling a bit skeptical, "not all bears are as coordinated as you, I guess."

He paused and studied her expression for a moment -- she was stubborn, wasn't she? -- then continued, "So, you defeated the bear by tripping it? That's a new tactic I hadn't heard of." He smirked at her, though his gaze was drawn briefly to her back, where the majority of her injuries seemed to have been inflicted.

There was truth in Elwood's statement, she surmised with a nod. Fin was definitely coordinated. She'd been dead a hundred times over if she wasn't skilled at her assinine extra-curriculars. She still believe her most recent scrape with the bear had only gone poorly because of Lasher's involvement. If he hadn't charged in unexpectedly and thrown off her groove, she felt confident that she would've escaped without a scratch.

"Yeah, a friend and I were bear-tipping," Fin replied with a devious little smile, "It was an old bear. Probably would've fallen over soon without our help, but it was still fun." She wondered then about the dark-furred female to the Southeast, completely unaware that she was dead now by the teeth of one of her packmates. She frowned slightly, wishing she could go hunt the woman down for another round of bear-baiting but knowing well she wasn't making any long trips for quite a while.

OOC: Wanna wrap up soon-ish and have another thread? :)

IC: "Ah, bear-tipping," Elwood said in a knowing voice, as if it was something that all wolves engaged in at one point or another. "A dangerous sport, but so rewarding." In reality, it was probably one of the last things that level-headed Elwood would ever participate in; he tended to err on the side of caution, and unless he was persuaded by an enthusiastic wolf like Finley, he likely would avoid something like that at all costs.

He flexed his toes and yawned, glancing up at the sky. He had hardly noticed the passing of time and it had darkened considerably. "It's getting late," he commented idly, flopping over onto his side.

Sounds good to me! <3





Elwood didn't strike her as the type who'd enjoy a good bear tip, but she appreciated his bravado. Oh the trouble she could get this good, sweet boy into.

"And you're afraid of the dark, eh?" Fin replied when he commented on the lateness of the hour, a teasing smirk playing across her lips. It was late, and admittedly since her injury she'd been sleeping far more than was typical. A healthy Fin could go and go and go for hours. An injured Fin was far more easily exhausted. "Well, I won't keep you if you have a teddy bear you need to get back to," she said with a tired smile.