Redhawk Caldera blake's got a new face.

Blake is playing Grand Theft Auto V and "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys just came on while he was driving, LOL. I made him keep it on instead of changing stations. *dances*

Had Elwood known that Finley considered him to be "dangerous" and that he should be "murdered dead," he might have turned tail and ran some time ago...but thankfully, the inner workings of her mind were still a secret.

The sudden breeze whisked a layer of delicate powder over Elwood, as well, and snowflakes settled in his fur and on his eyelashes. He blinked, feeling the droplets instantly begin to melt, and righted himself, returning to his former sphinx-like position in order to avoid being buried by the miniature snowstorm. One ear turned out, towards Finley, as she posed a question, concern evident on her face. Though he had discussed his plans at length with Peregrine, he realized that he hadn't really shared them with anyone else, save for FitzDutiful.

"Oh...well, Peregrine offered me a place to stay this winter," he said, his own voice softening for reasons he couldn't explain. "My original plan was to keep looking for my sister once spring rolls back around." But...did he want to leave Redhawk Caldera? More than once, he had considered the fact that maybe, just maybe, Avery didn't want to be found, and he would be wasting his time by continuing to search. Why should he give up the life that he made for himself just to chase a ghost? He frowned, still unsure of his future and what the coming months held for him.

umg BSB they have gotten me through so many long ass road trips

Fin felt her features drop sadly as he admitted that he had never intended to remain with the Caldera past Winter. She rolled her shoulders, shifting to nestle herself deeper into the snow. Part of her wanted to be angry with him for so obviously using the pack for his own gain. But somehow she couldn't believe that of him. Elwood was not one for ill intentions and devious schemes. He was honest and good... If he were to leave them, it would be for good reason. It was still a super bummer though.

But, Fin was not good at being sad, nor at discussing topics that made her sad. So... "Geez, gay much?" she retorted with a snort. Because that was... Yeah.

Finley, the queen of feelings and eloquence! She snorted, and for a moment, Elwood was almost offended. His sister was important to him; she was his twin, so she essentially held in her possession a piece of him. But his thoughts towards her fluctuated like the tide. One day he missed her so much that his bones ached, and the next, he was so mad that he would have been happy to have never seen her face again. Ah, the emotions of youth.

"Yeah, you're right," he replied gruffly, rolling his shoulders as though he was literally letting her words bounce off his back. "I dunno, it would be hard to leave Bad Ass Caldera..." he said, then paused. He tried to bite back the next words that sprung to his mind, but they forced themselves out of his mouth despite his best efforts. "You wouldn't miss me, anyway." His eyes met hers and he held her gaze in a challenge, of sorts; his lips twitched, threatening to give away the smile that he was trying to hide.

Fin hadn't been trying to offend him, of course. She was just. Well, she was being Fin. And being Fin meant saying the wrong things, feeling the wrong things and doing the wrong things pretty much 24/7. In truth, she couldn't exactly understand his desire to find his sister on a personal level. After all, if she strove to keep all of her siblings within reach, she'd have an entire freakin' herd to look after. No, Fin learned long ago that she was meant to be without her siblings, even though she loved them dearly. She was her own wolf and had her own future to pursue independent of whatever choices and paths they decided to make.

She felt his eyes on her as he made his closing remark. She met the gaze only briefly, knowing a pratfall when she saw one. There was an answer swimming in her head that she had no intention of sharing lest it be taken the wrong way. Fin had closed her heart off from the rest of herself with an iron barricade. She was fully determined that there would be no more romance for her in the foreseeable future, even as much as the thought of Elwood leaving the Caldera in the Spring troubled her.

"Well, you can't leave until you prove that you can actually fit 457 nuts in your mouth at the same time," she replied slowly while the corners of her lips turned upwards in a smile. It wasn't an admission, but nor was it denial. It was deflection at its finest, and she could only pray that Elwood wouldn't push the issue.

<3 <3 <3

When Elwood had proposed that they take their conversation down a more serious path, he hadn't imagined that it would turn out this way. Frankly, it was a bit too heavy even for him, despite the fact that neither of them was really saying that much. There was an inexplicable tension in the air, and try as he might, he couldn't put a finger on its cause.

Finley couldn't hold his gaze, but Elwood found himself unable to take his eyes off of her. He watched as she looked away, seeming to consider her response thoroughly before delivering it. And when she did, a broad smile unfurled on his face. Yet again, she had surprised him and lived up to his expectations at the same time. He hadn't gotten a straight answer -- had he really wanted one? -- but already the mood felt lighter. He couldn't say why, but he didn't like a troubled Finley.

"You have no idea," he laughed, crossing one forepaw over the other and tilting his head at her. "It's really too bad that there aren't any acorns around here, or I'd show you right now," he said; secretly, he was thankful that autumn had passed and that there were no nuts to be found, because he wasn't really looking forward to the day that Finley would force him to live up to his farce. His cheeks ached at just the thought.

The somber tone their conversation had taken did an abrupt 180 in the opposite direction, much to Fin's delight. She was not one to put much thought into plans for the future. She lived one day at a time, taking a "whatever will be" attitude towards what the future would hold. And in times when it looked like the future would hold something less than happy for her, she held tight even harder to the present. Firstly because she didn't want to waste the time she had left, and secondly because she just plain did not like to dwell on sad things.

"I'm sure if we tried hard enough we could find a squirrel's cache to raid," Fin suggested eagerly, not wanting to let him slip out of this too easily, "I bet you could find one easily. Acorns aren't much different than pinecones, are they? They're all tree debris, right?" See how he weaseled his way out of it now.

If Finley was anything, she was persistent. Elwood rolled his eyes as she tried to think of a way to have him show off his "talent" right then and there. Had he actually been attempting to impress her with a real skill, he might have taken to his feet and began searching immediately. However, the thought of trying to shove 457 nuts in his mouth was just...not ideal, and he was starting to wish he had never said that in the first place.

"I mean, if you have a secret collection of 'tree debris' somewhere, be my guest," he said, gesturing with a paw that she could take her leave if she really wanted him to do his acorn trick. "But I'm awfully comfy right...here," he commented with a broad grin, and promptly rolled to one side -- leaning against Finley and effectively using her as a pillow. Their grey fur entwined, merging into one tapestry of pewter, and though he wasn't putting enough weight on her to prevent her from moving, he kind of hoped that she stayed put.

You wanna fade and maybe we has new? <3

Elwood again dodged the challenge yet again. This time, Fin was happy to let it go as he leaned in and snuggled close. The warning sirens should have been going off again in her head, but the Blackthorn was sort of a sucker for cuddles. Thus, she gave him a playful frown and leaned right back against him, reassuring herself that it was all just friendliness. Sharing such closeness with him was just the same as it was were it Fox or Peregrine at her side, despite how the alpha female would tease were she to find out about this.

"I totally called dibs on this point, jerkface," Fin replied, turning her muzzle to nip gently at the soft fur just behind the ear closest to her, "I'll be nice and share though, just as long as I can pester you all I want." She grinned, shoving her muzzle into his ear so that her cold, wet nose sniffled obnoxiously against it.

We already has new, mwahaha! But yes, I'll fade this. :)

She didn't protest when he propped himself against her, instead leaning into his weight. Elwood smiled, feeling the warmth radiating from her body. It was a completely harmless move, and he certainly didn't think anything of it -- though he found her attractive, both in appearance and personality, he was much too naive to jump to any sort of romantic conclusions. Yet.

Elwood flicked his ear as Finley nipped at it, then snorted gently at his pewter fur. "Not like you weren't already pestering me," he quipped playfully, then lowered his head to his paws with a content sigh. The two friends remained that way for the next hour or so, until it was finally time for them to part ways.