Redhawk Caldera Five golden rings

O HAY fellow Beta! @Finley @Finley COME ON TAGS, WORK!

Beta male. Elwood couldn't have been more surprised to have been given the opportunity by Peregrine and Fox. They had both been equally excited for him, and seemed to genuinely think that he would be a good addition to their leadership team. This was obviously the young male's first experience with any sort of management, so he felt a bit like a deer in the headlights -- but if Finley could do be a Beta, so could he!

Being her co-leader was, perhaps, what he was most eager about. There were many reasons: he liked spending time with her, he got along really well with her, and -- best of all! -- he was looking forward to driving her absolutely crazy. From now on, he would likely be in close contact with the Alphas and his fellow Beta, and he already spent quite a bit of time with Finley. It wouldn't be long before she was sick of him, and the thought made him laugh.

With his nose to the ground, he busied himself with tracking the grey female. She wasn't hard to find, and once he started following her trail, he yelled out, "Finley! Where are you, my darling Beta-friend?!" His tail waved mischievously as he snuffled the snow, inhaling between chuckles.

YOUR TAGS WORKED GOSH <3

Not hard to find, was she?

Fin had been busying herself that day with tracking an unpleasantly familiar scent. She hadn't seen the damnable fox for quite a while. Certainly not since she'd moved to the Caldera, and not for a couple of weeks before then either. The beta hadn't at all missed the little bastard, but she had wondered if it had gotten itself killed somehow. Now that she likely would have regretted, but only because she wanted to do the murdering herself.

But I digress.

If she hadn't been paying to tracking the fox whose scent she unexpectedly come across while meandering through the wilds, Fin might not have realized in time that she too was being tracked. As it was, she had managed to spy Elwood trailing her steps quite a ways off, and so had taken advantage of the opportunity to turn the hunter into the hunted. Ducking into a copse of trees to hide herself, she had stumbled luckily upon what looked to be the entrance to some sort of cave that trailed deep into the Caldera's belly. She may have been more intrigued had she not immediately turned to await her prey at its mouth, her body tensing as he finally came into view and began to call for her.

With a devious grin, Finley waited until his back was turned before she darted out of her hiding place and pounced with a playful little snarl.

AUGH my dog won't stop farting x_x

Elwood thought that he was a good tracker -- he was quite proud of his recently earned gamekeeper trade -- but even the best hunters could be fooled sometimes. He followed Finley's scent along the slope of the mountain, focusing so much with his nose that he forgot to look up and glance around every now and then. The trail was getting warmer and warmer, and he knew that he would find her at any moment! Things could have not played out better for the Beta female, though: as Elwood sniffed, he turned his back to where she was presently located, completely unaware that she was hidden in the greenery right behind him.

There was a telltale rustling, and he started to turn around, but it was too late. The weight of Finley's body collided with him, knocking him to the ground -- this time not because he allowed her to have the upper hand, but because she actually had it. She had managed to completely surprise him, and he collapsed into the soft powder, sending snowflakes up in a spray.

"HEY!" Elwood cried, spitting out a mouthful of snow as he protested. "I was supposed to sneak up on you, dammit," he said, acting perturbed -- but in reality, he didn't care. Even if his plan hadn't panned out, he was still with her, which was just what he wanted.

omg pup toots are the worst

Finley cackled evilly as she smashed into her fellow beta and they fell to the ground in a tumble of grey, charcoal and alabaster. She was quick to roll away from him once they hit the ground, only so that she could spin back towards him with her rump in the air and innocently smiling face wedged between her forearms which were flat upon the ground. His grumblings only caused her tail to wag faster until her entire bum was wriggling with delight.

"Funny how that works out, eh?" the Blackthorn replied with a toothy grin.

Just as quickly as she had pounced him, Finley was releasing him, bouncing off and play-bowing in the snow. Elwood was a bit slower to move, propping himself up on his elbows and regarding her with an expression of disdain as she teased him. "You know, if this is what being Beta with you is gonna be like, I might have to tell Peregrine and Fox that I can't work under these conditions..." he said, his own tail thumping the snow behind him as he gathered his legs beneath him.

He stood, giving his fur a quick shake, then leaped towards Finley, snapping his teeth near her face. As soon as his paws hit the ground in front of her, his muscles coiled and he pivoted, churning up the snow as he raced away from her. He was a grey streak against the white backdrop, knowing that she would be hot on his heels in no time.

Fin picked up her head a bit, ears perked to hear her companion's comment. Before she could hit him with a scathing reply, he was jumping at her, launching his own counterattack. Fin backpedaled quickly to avoid the bite that he clearly hadn't intended to land, only to take off after him as he sped away.

Elwood was quite the speed demon, but Fin pushed herself to keep up with him as the pair of steel-furred wolves raced across the bright landscape like a pair of bullets shot from a gun. In only a few seconds of running, it had somehow turned into a race in Finley's mind. Although Fin had no idea where or what the finish line was, she was pretty intent on beating him there as her legs churned powerfully beneath her.

Elwood angled his ears back towards Finley, listening for the pounding of her paws that would indicate that she was taking up the chase. He was rewarded momentarily, and that only inspired him to run harder, digging his feet deeper into the snow to propel himself forward. If she was at full strength, she likely would be faster than him, due to her lighter bone structure; but it wouldn't be a fair race until she had completely healed.

Even so, she was quickly gaining on him. He couldn't let her win, now could he? Abruptly, Elwood slammed on the brakes, his haunches sliding beneath him so that he was nearly in a sitting position as he skidded to a halt. He intended to let Finley fly past him, and as she did, he called out, "First is the worst, second is the best!" What did that even mean? Didn't matter, he was just looking for any opportunity to get under her skin.

Fin had not expected Elwood to park himself to suddenly, and so she shot straight past him when he did. She'd barely even noticed he was no longer racing at her side before he'd called out to her. His voice caused her to slow, turning her head to look backwards over her shoulder and then swivel in the snow to face him, her head canted slightly. "Since when!" Fin barked out at him, confused until it finally clicked that he was just trying to save face since she was so clearly kicking his ass.

Pulling on her best superior-face, she haughtily pranced backwards towards him with her head and tail held high. Once she was near enough, she pulled her bottom lip out in a little pouty face. "Aw, did Fin Fin hurt little Twiggy's feelings by being so much better than him at everything ever?" she asked, doing her best to look and sound sympathetic in spite of the laughter in her eyes.

He laughed as she zoomed past him and then slowed once his words hit her ears, giving a raucous protest as she spun to face him. Elwood replied only by sticking out his tongue, simultaneously planting all four paws beneath him now that his forward motion had ceased. His yellow eyes sparkled with mirth, watching as Finley made his way back to him, her head and tail thrown high. Once she was right in front of him, she delivered a sharply-edged taunt, poking fun at his antics.

"You can't say that anymore, Fin Fin," he replied, putting emphasis on the ridiculous name she had given herself. "Now that we're the same rank, that means I'm just as good as you...at everything," he added, reaching out with a paw to touch her chest and give her a shove. Did other Betas have a relationship like this, he wondered? A little competition was good for the soul, but sometimes he thought that they might find themselves leaping off the top of the caldera just to see who could jump higher. And that certainly wouldn't end well for anyone involved.

Fin felt her ears flatten upon her head as Elwood made his bold statement about them being equals in every way now that they were equals in one way. She quirked a brow as he prodded her, not sure whether she should grab his muzzle in her teeth or just laugh at him. The ashen male could easily have taken her--he was much larger and boxier while she was tiny and petite. But that didn't mean she had any qualms about leaping head first into battle.

"Oh, Elwood," Fin sighed with a smile, "I'm gonna let you go ahead and think that cause it clearly makes you happy to do so, but just don't forget which one of us has kicked a bear's ass and which one hasn't." with that, she lifted a paw and slapped it lightly against his chest, turning away with a soft chuckle.

He listened as she replied, her voice smooth as silk and laced with condescension. She certainly could put on a show when she wanted to, couldn't she? One pewter ear twitched as Finley reminded him that she was the one that had battled a bear and won, and he did have to give her that. Now, he wouldn't admit it to her, but he was of the opinion that it was sheer luck that had allowed her to survive the attack. Either way, whether it was luck or skill, he was glad that she had lived to tell the tail.

As she turned away from him, she patted him with her forepaw. Elwood allowed her to fully pivot, and then as she stepped away from him, he lunged forward. He clamped his teeth around the end of her tail -- not hard enough to cause pain, but with enough force to prevent her from going anywhere. Then, he planted his feet firmly against the ground, his own tail whipping to and fro behind him as he waited to see her reaction.

lil bit o' powerplay but this looked really cute in my mind so it had to be done :3

Fin had barely taken a full step away from him before the beta male had struck. She felt his teeth clamp down upon her tail and tug lightly backwards, causing her to stop in her tracks. She stood still for a moment, taking in a deep breath before she suddenly snapped her head backwards to give him a feisty glare.

She stared him down then as a little growl bubbled in her throat. She held his gaze for only a moment before suddenly twisting and lunging back at him, landing alongside of him and snapping her own jaws onto his tail. Fin turned her head enough to look backwards at him, a cheeky grin on her face. They stood with each other's tails both clenched in their mouths like a two person ouroboros, neither likely to willingly be the first to let go.

Worth it for the cuteness! :D Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Elwood wiggled his brows at Finley as she craned her head around to look at him, wondering what her reaction would be. He thought he was pretty clever for having instigated such a maneuver, but he would soon see that she was just as ingenious. The Beta male was deciding what he would do with his captive -- he could tug her around by her tail, or even attempt to tie her up by it, if he was feeling really ambitious -- when she suddenly leaped towards him.

He was startled by the abrupt motion of his silver counterpart, and couldn't respond quickly enough. Before he could even process what was happening, she had landed directly next to him and caught his tail with her own teeth. They now formed something of a lopsided circle, and Elwood couldn't help but laugh out loud around the fur in his mouth.

"Touché!" he crowed, careful not to release Finley's tail as he spoke. He gave his appendage a little shake, though it was obvious that she would not be letting him go, either. "We find ourselves at an impasse," he then commented, his words muffled as he contemplated his next action.

I'm supposed to be playing WoW with Alex WHOOPS <3 Merry Christmas :D

Fin felt him trying to shake his tail and responded with tightening her grip. She grinned at him through his fur, finding it a little frustrating that she could swish her tail as she wanted to. "Stho we are," she parroted, her tongue slobbering all over his tail as she attempted to speak. She was quite confident that she would end up winning this little war of theirs--after all, she had to prove that she was the top beta around these parts. And also, she always won. Why would she stop now?

But.... How the hell to do it....

The Blackthorn's brows furrowed slightly as she pondered what to do next. There really wasn't a whole lot she could attempt what with her tail being just as trapped as his. After a moment, she gave another little smirk before she made a move to reach a foreleg up against Elwood's stomach. She twisted awkwardly to be able to reach, but once she felt his soft underbelly against the pads of her paw, she began to scratch at it. Perhaps with tickles, she could win this battle!

I was in a bad mood until I started writing this post, haha. I got kind of carried away, but hey, you and Fin can have the credit for cheering me up. :D

How would they get out of this tricky predicament? Both wolves were rather stubborn; Finley wasn't one to turn down a challenge, and Elwood could be just as difficult at times. This was one such instance where he wouldn't be giving an inch, which meant that they could be in for a very long game of improvised tug of war.

He looked at her smugly, his lips closed firmly around the tip of her tail. He felt confident that she wasn't going anywhere, even if that meant that they would be frozen in place overnight, and someone would stumble onto their frigid bodies in the morning. Finley, however, had something else in mind -- as per usual. Elwood had learned to expect the unexpected in regards to Fin, although she still managed to surprise him consistently.

Yellow eyes widened as she began to move, inching closer to him. His gaze followed the motion of her paw as she reached towards his underbelly, and he instinctively tensed, rounding his back and arching his tummy away from her. "NO!" he yelped through gritted teeth, not yet relinquishing his grasp on her. But once her toes began to feather across his stomach, he knew he was done for. She had found his weakness -- now it was just a matter of how long he could resist.

His laughter began first as gentle snorts exhaled from his nose, but soon his whole body began to shake with the effort. Still, he held on to her tail, though it was becoming more difficult as he tried to dance away from her devious paw. Not only was his skin crawling in the simultaneously pleasant and unpleasant manner of being tickled, but he distinctly felt a peculiar knot in his stomach, accompanied by an acceleration of his heartbeat. What the hell?

ilu I'm glad I could improve your night :D <3<3

The two of them freezing in place overnight was actually a very real possibility. Little did Finley know that she had met a personality that tended to be just as stubborn as she was. It was rare that she came across a specimen with as much determination as she had, but she had yet to recognize it when she did. And so, she kept twitching her paw fervently against his belly, finding it difficult even to keep herself from laughing as Elwood's resolve slowly faded and he burst into a fit of laughter.

Even so, he did not relinquish his hold on her tail. Which was just ridiculous. Fin paused a moment during her attack to wonder at how he could possibly still have retained his hold, only to feel herself even further spurred at his prowess. In a daring move, she lifted her back leg as well to scratch at his tummy with two paws instead of one. She placed all of her faith on her balance, which could easily be her downfall, but for the moment it remained to be seen.

Finley's tickling did make it difficult for Elwood to continue to hold onto her tail, but he persisted. By now, his laughter was loud and uncontrollable, and despite his best efforts, he couldn't get away from her dangerous toes. Every time he tried to evade her, he was stopped by both of their tails -- they both refused to release the other's appendage, which severely restricted their range of motion.

But Elwood would soon have an opportunity to gain the upper hand. He watched as Finley daringly lifted her hind leg and attempted to use it to tickle him further. This tactic wasn't the most well thought out, for it was difficult for her to reach her target with her back paw and implement the most effective tickles. It did, however, compromise her balance -- and Elwood wanted to take advantage of that.

In the midst of his laughter, he managed to lean heavily towards Finley. He hoped to knock her off balance and, as a result, cause her to let go of his tail. He wasn't sure if it was going to work, though; if there was one wolf who would fight against the natural force of gravity, it would be Finley.

It seemed the risk had not been worth it for the Blackthorn as Elwood cleverly took advantage of her situation and pushed his weight against her. She bounced to the left on two legs, but before she could place the others beneath her, she was falling with a surprised little squeak. She attempted to keep her hold on his tail even as she fell, but it slipped straight through her teeth as she collided with the ground and cried out a heartfelt "DAMNIT".

With a flail of her limbs, Fin centered herself on her belly and glared up at Elwood. As ridiculous as it was, she actually felt a bit of resentment towards him for beating her, and so it was with a tiny bit of sincerity that she let out a huff and turned away from him. "You're just.. You just..." she stuttered, "You just got lucky." She knew that wasn't really the case. She had placed her bet and come up with squat and now she was lying on the ground. Luck had nothing to do with it.

The result could not have turned out better for Elwood. He watched gleefully, yellow eyes wide, as Finley lost her balance -- and subsequently, her grip on his tail. It did hurt a little bit as her teeth were unceremoniously removed, but it was all worth it to see the expression on her face as she toppled into the snow. She cursed loudly, and Elwood released her tail as well -- he made sure that she had officially conceded before doing so.

He whooped, doing a jig that involved ducking his head and crow-hopping to the left and then to the right. "Lucky, maybe...but a lucky winner!" he replied, pausing in his victory dance to stick his tongue out at her. She seemed to be a sore loser, and while he was enjoying his success, he didn't want to rub it in too much -- he remembered how terrible it felt when his sister would tease him.

So he lowered himself to the ground in front of her, reaching forward to touch his nose to her scruff. She had turned her face away from him, and he whined softly. "You put up a good fight," he said, though he was sure that a consolation prize wouldn't be enough.

Fin watched Elwood taking his victory lap, unable to help but smile a little at how much he was enjoying the win. Apparently this wasn't something that happened to him all too often considering how overjoyed he was. It was endearing, and though she really was typically a very sore loser, losing to Elwood wasn't as bad an experience as it was when she lost to others.

She did need to at least keep up the act if only to torment him, so she continued to look away from him until she felt his muzzle against the back of her neck. She gave him a sidelong glance and nibbled gently on her bottom lip, debating on how to respond. Finally, she allowed a small smile to grow across her muzzle. "I really did, didn't I?" she said after a moment, her tail beginning to wag softly.

Fading! :)

"Yes, you did," Elwood replied, his ears pressing forward as Finley finally turned to look at him. The moment was tender and sweet -- he had to do something to ruin it.

Abruptly, the Beta male leaped to his feet. His tail lashed the air behind him as he looked down at Finley with a glint in his eye. "Betcha can't catch me," he proposed, and as soon as the words were out of his mouth he took off running, zigging and zagging through the trees. Presumably, Fin followed him, and the Beta pair continued their antics for a bit longer before retiring.