The Heartwood i would go most anywhere to feel.

Though it had been a few days since she'd been asked to be the godmother of the Caldera's future litter, Finley was still rather... completely freaked out by it. She had never before considered the prospect of raising children. She'd never intended to have any of her own, nor had she expected to ever be somewhere long enough that she would earn the trust of a litter's mother. Fin was learning rather quickly though that her life was not meant to always be what she had expected. While that made it fun and exciting, events like this also made her a teensy bit nervous. What else would happen to her that she didn't intend?

Fin had passed outside of the territory's borders hours ago, and unfortunately, nothing exciting had yet to happen. She trotted steadily in the wake of a herd of buffalo she'd been keeping track of ever since she and her alpha had taken one of its youths. They were a strong bunch of animals, but even the strong grew weak under winter's influence, so Fin was determined to keep an eye on them just in case. She paused upon the landscape, her gaze suddenly ensnared by the Heartwood looming nearby. It wasn't likely the herd would have headed that way, but Finley knew that Whitefish River wound through the woods on its way to spill into Big Salmon Lake, which was where she had last seen the herd. Perhaps they had forded the river to the other side and were headed towards Greatwater.

Either way, Finley cantered off towards the woods, interested in finding a temporary shelter between the trees to rest, if only for a little while before she headed off again.

snagging this because I can >:) and I miss threading with youuu

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]The prospect of new life at the end of Winter was seemingly not a scary one to Cara alone.
Though the situations tormenting the two females and their respective roles in each of them were completely different, the yearling's feelings towards the upcoming challenges resembled the grey coated female's own fears more that she imagined. While The Caldera female worried for the unborn members welfare when they arrived, the Frost Queen could not help but worry about her own -- but before you come to any conclusions you must understand Cara's logic was not nearly as selfish as it sounded like.
Because didn't her unborn children's welfare depend on her own after all?

Unlike the worried Beta that scurried into the core of the Heartwood doubting whether she'd live up to the expectations, Cara worried she might not live to expect in the first place. Though the biological clock inside her organism had marked the timing as right, she wasn't sure if the ambient was. It was just now as she wandered alone across the Great Bear Wilderness that the excited bubbles that had lived in the mouth of her stomach died out, leaving her to really ponder in the quiet without emotions to interfere.

What was she afraid of?
Or better yet, what wasn't she afraid of?

Being a mother was not an award given by producing children like a copy machine, and unlike other things it didn't not come with an instruction manual. There was no one to prepare you for this, and having being been raised with out a mother, Cara out of all the wolves was desperately in need for some kind of guidance.

With her ears swiveling at the top of her cranium as she continued to walk, her head still lost in her internal monologue as she unknowingly began retracing the stranger female's steps. In fact it wasn't until she was practically stepping on her that she realized she was
[/size]

OMG Marie, your writing is so gorgeous I just. I can't even. Holy snaps. Gaze upon my massive pile of dung that I fling out next to your shining diamond O_____O

Fin too was lost in her thoughts, unaware that her steps were being closely replicated by a perfect stranger. It wasn't until she felt the girl's hot breath upon her rump that she suddenly realized that something was off, and she whirled around in surprise to face the yearling with a yip. Finley bounded backwards a few feet before she stood, stiff-legged and wide-eyed to gaze upon her too-close-for-comfort stalker.

"OH!" she barked at her, her breath frozen in her throat, "Um." It was all she could say until she let her chest settle, swiftly realizing that whoever this was, she was not a threat. At least, not at the moment. Maybe she would in the end attempt to make a meal of Finley's rump, but for now at least, she had put herself between the stranger and the prize (lol get it, cause she's facing her?). "You uh... Sup," she said after a beat, still not fully centered enough to make normal conversation. But at least she was trying, eh?

aws <3 having you say that warms up my heart because I actually love your writing best

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]In the same brusque manner the silver carpet female turned around, Cara jerked herself away from the girl, her own ears swiveling madly over her cranium as she watched the girl spin like a (slightly less graceful) ballerina to come face to face with her. While Cara would have naturally spatted a (completely hypocritical) 'watch where you are going' by know she remained silent -- which was a bit good considering it had to be her who should watch her own steps.
For once, her troubled mind had saved her from being a bitch; something that was what not needed during the times of exceptional frailty the leadership change and stressful thoughts brought.

If anything, Cara needed to be the opposite of a bitch.
Puppies didn't like bitchy parents right? Though she had vague memories of her own mother in her mind, she was certain she had never been bad to her, nor had her father -- which drove her to come to the conclusion that in order to be as good of a parental figure as they had been she needed to work on that..

It was at this second that the awkward muttering of the almost-trampled female pulled her back from her thoughts. While she had associated very little with the Caldera, she was well aware of its existence and relative proximity to the Spine -- and while the sole fact of having one of its elusive members finally facing her would have been enough for the Queen to raise her guard she did exactly the opposite.
Finley would be trial #1 at attempting to be a non-bitch and apparently Cara would be part Finley's own experiment at a normal conversation.

What a good day for first timers!
"Sorry for almost, um, stepping on you" She barked addressing their awkward encounter before focusing back onto other more 'conversationally normal' manners. "I am Cara, Alpha of the Ouroboros Spine" .She continued, her pale eyes lingering on Finley's own for a brief minute.
[/size]

Short post is short! sorry D:

The girl didn't seem to mean her any harm. At least, she didn't react to Fin's outburst with any sort of anger. She did the exact obvious actually by apologizing and introducing herself. Fin shook her head with a smile. "It's okay, I was doing my carpet impression, I should've been better prepared for the consequences," she replied with a grin, "I'm Finley, beta of Redhawk Caldera. Nice to meet ya."

:p

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]While it had been a long time since she had come across a wolf with a humor similar to Finley's, Cara knew to appreciate it just as well ; and as strange as the dusty female's words mightn't have been they still managed to pull a good chuckle from the Alpha. And it was a hell of an impression. She piped up, playing along to the female's innocent joke with a smile of her own.

A smile that slowly shifted into a curious smirk as she listened to her quick introduction. RedHawk Caldera.
"Well now I can finally say I've met a wolf of the Caldera" She barked, the top of her tail flicking in a cat-like manner. While she knew (by scent markers alone) that said pack had been established more than a few months ago, never had she managed to come across with their elusive members; until now.

"Nice to meet you too" She added with an amiable flash of her teeth towards the girl.
[/size]

Fin queried a brow at the girl's enthusiastic response at learning where she was from. It seemed the Caldera had earned itself a it of a reputation with the nearby packs. The beta couldn't help but grin at that revelation. She had always enjoyed the spotlight and to be recognized, so she went ahead and took some of the Caldera's glory and renown in that moment for herself.

"I didn't realize my pack was so famous," she replied with a pleased grin, "Hopefully you've heard good things about how awesome and good-looking all of its members are." She considered adding something on about how gross and smelly their alpha male was, but with little chance that Peregrine would ever actually meet the wolf before her, there wouldn't have been all that much fun in it.

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]To be honest, Cara had not heard anything at all.
The only knowledge she had had been passed to her by the lips of the mebers of their pack. As an Outrider as well as the leader of the neighbouring pack, Cara was instantly inclined to ask more about the Caldera; but still (and for once) she held her tongue to listen first to whatever piece of data the female would be willing to share.

Again, she was greeted by a joking remark, only this time Cara didn't play along as well as before. Despite the friendly atmosphere between them, it would be a lie not to say that Cara did not want to know actual facts of the female's pack.
"I have heard very little really, but I'll take your word for it." she barked as she flashed her teeth in a playful grin.

"Actually, I think I do not even know the name of it's leader" she barked as she sought to make contact with the female's eyes briefly. Though in another time she would have been using her viperine tongue to extract every minuscule piece of information and flaw from her companion, she did not hold more than mild interest towards the answer.

Aside from being elusive and secretive the so-called Caldera wolves had not caused trouble with the Spine, so Cara held no grudges against them.In fact all she held was a very vague idea of who they were. As even if a leader Cara preferred to have as little interaction or relation with other pack seeing that this could create a dependency, but she knew that not getting involved did not mean being ignorant.
With her ears pricking on top of her head she waited for Finley to illustrate her with her words, hoping they would give her a better picture of who she was living next to.
[/size]

The alpha admitted that she had heard little about the Caldera and Fin felt her pride wane. That was kind of a bummer. But, rumors and reputations had to start somewhere and here was a pretty good opportunity to plant the grapevine.

"Well, I'll make you a deal," Fin offered with a mischievous grin, "I'll tell you everything you want to know if you promise to pass along only the good stuff." It seemed like a pretty fair trade to Fin, even though she would have been happy to brag about her pack for free. Oh, hold on, brain caught up... "...not that there's any bad stuff, I mean."

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]With the mystery of the Caldera about to be revealed Cara decided to let her weight fall to her bottom as she took a seat, and invited the female to do the same by swishing her tail over the snowy surface. As surprised as she was that the female, the Beta, was so willing to speak she did nothing to protest -- curiosity had gotten the best of her. While Cara would have been more hesitant to let another wold reel information of the Spine from her she guessed that what Finley was doing was simply being a good diplomat -- something Cara herself needed to learn..

Whatever it was, it seemed fair, so with a smile and a wink the Spine Queen agreed. "Deal -- you've intrigued me enough she barked as she quirked a brow playfully at her last remark.
[/size]

In truth, there really wasn't anything negative Fin even could say about the pack. They were a strong pack, full of able bodies. Not one of them was at all a detriment to their overall strength. And with all of them covering so many different trades, they weren't lacking for anything in the way of intellectual property. If there was one bad thing to be said about them, it was that they were all a bunch of lunatics. But since Fin was one of them, she wasn't actually aware of that little detail.

"Bring on the interrogation, lady!" Fin replied with a chipper smile, plopping down onto her haunches. There was much she could tell the girl of their history, how they came to be, etc. But Fin had made a deal that she'd spill whatever Intel Cara asked of her. Not whatever random fun facts Fin felt like sharing.

that avatar is perfection *__*

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]Though the Spine Queen still held her reluctance about sharing information of her pack so casually, especially with a neighboor pack which she knew nothing about. Usually, Cara would be the first to boast to others, flaunting about the Spine and it's luxuries but right now she had to be especially careful with what came of her mouth. It was no secret, for the Spine wolves of course, that their had been thinning, and despite the fact the carpet female in front of her did not hold any malice in her brown eyes, Cara could never be too sure.

"Well, for starters, who leads the pack? she asked, her ears turning to face the female. Though she did not have many connections outside the Spine she did know a couple of names and a strories here and there.
[/size]

Omg I know, I love it so many

It didn't take the female long to come up with a question, even though it was a rather basic one that in iteself would not take long to explain. "Welp!" she began enthusiastically, "The pack's alphas are Peregrine and Fox DiSarinno. The betas are me and a guy named Elwood Grove. If you ever meet him, make sure to call him Twig. And to tell everyone you meet that his name is Twig." She gave Cara a cheeky grin. Hopefully Cara actually would spread the word that the Caldera's beta male was named Twig. That would be even worse than the pack calling him Twig...

"Peregrine and Fox were the alphas of Blacktail Deer Plateau before we left to found the pack at the Caldera," she added, unprompted. It didn't occur to her to clarify that only she and the alphas had been a part of the Plateau and not Elwood.

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]With her tail twitching idly over her black-tipped toes, the young Alpha prepared herself to listen to what, judging by her companion's undying excitement, would be a good story. As the silver female began to speak Cara's ears cupped forward, never wanting to miss a single syllable. The first two names that Finley began to list were carefully archived in the young Moretti's mind, they could prove to be useful in the future in case a situation arised.
Even with the Spine's natural aversion towards making allies, she knew that knowing the names of those at command wasn't any harm, au contraire it was simple courtesy.

The other name, however, did not rouse any interest in the young Alpha, who unlike the silver female did not consider the little nickname to be amusing but rather stupid..
And it was by the way the female asked her to make sure to call him by that name, Cara wrongly assumed it was him who made himself be called that way -- something which only made the whole thing seem more absurb.

But anyways.
At the mention of the Plateu, the pale female's eyes filled with a shocked expression. She had heard of the Plateau and even encountered some of it's wolves when Jinx's reign still stood at Silvertip. "So is it the version 2.0 of the Plateau?" she asked, with a bit of humor laced in between the prying question of whether or not they considered themselves better than those they had seemingly left behind.

"I have not encountered many Plateau wolves since us, the Spine wolves, lived at Silvertip." she commented, rolling a shoulder back non-chalantly as she did so.
So far she liked Caldera wolves better.
[/size]

"Not.. exactly," Fin replied with a smirk as she asked about Plateau 2.0, "Peregrine and Fox wanted to find a new land all their own where they could raise their children. They're trying for their first litter, probably as we speak actually..."

She canted her head lightly as Cara mentioned Silvertip. She had been aware that there was a pack in that area before, but she'd been new to Teekon at the time and hadn't paid too much attention. "Did I get your name?" Fin asked suddenly as it occurred to her. She remembered introducing herself, but had her companion done the same? Were Fin not fully aware of how flawed her short-term (and long-term) memory were, she would have found it odd that the girl hadn't already shared her name. As it was, she was pretty confident that she just hadn't been paying attention.

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]If the tables had been turned, Cara would have not wasted the opportunity to say --or boast rather-- the superiority her pack held over those small, petty, packs that had branched out of Silvertip's core when they had moved. Though some of the members of the Spine, herself included, still held the longevity, others had fallen off the train in between the Spine's turbulent establishment.
Firstly were those who had branched off with the traitor, Majesty, towards their own suicide to an Isle. Then, after that pack had been left in ruins and the traitor was killed another wolf had the guts to leave. This time however the deserters had at least had the decency of doing it quietly.

Among the darkest shadows of a forest not to far away, lived the wolves that had followed the crazy dark witch that had once stood alongside the members of the Spine. Cara, for once, was not as bothered by this event. Despite the fact it had costed them a few good members of their ranks the freaks had not bothered the pack, and besides, the miraculous healing of Sitri was due to them -- and for that, Cara would be, reluctanctly, grateful.

Finley's words caused little reaction in the pale yearling, that until the word 'litter' reached her ears. While the usually territorial female would have seen this as a potential threat for her own upcoming brood (under the logic more babies = more food) she was flooded instead with a strange feeling of pure curiosity. Like them, she was planning for her first litter..
And unlike them, she had no idea what she was doing.

"What a coincidence!" she interjected before catching the unexpected (and subtly annoying) question made by the seemingly amnesiac woman. "Yes, Cara" she clarified quickly before shifting her focus back on the female's previous sentence.

"The Spine is also hoping to have their first litter soon" she barked, not noticing she had said failed to clear that the to-be mother was going to be 'her'.
The title of mother (or mother-to-be) didn't stick as easily as the one of Queen had..
[/size]

Cara! Suddenly, the light flickered back on in Finley's head. Cara. That was completely familiar. Fin was a dumb ass. Recognition gleamed upon her face quite obviously after the female reminded her of her name, and it was soon replaced by an apologetic grin that Fin failed to partner with an actual spoken apology.

CARA - which was totally her name and Fin totally wasn't going to forget again - went on to share news of the Spine's plan to also soon have a litter. She felt a broad smile trickle across her lips in spite of herself. "Really? Exciting!" she replied enthusiastically. As freaked out as she was at the prospect of actually interacting with Fox's newborns, she couldn't have been more excited for them to come. "Are you pregnant?" she asked suddenly, completely oblivious to the fact that you're not supposed to ask women that. It wasn't that she actually looked or seemed pregnant at all. She just... she was the alpha, and so she was the obvious choice for who it was that would be pregnant in the pack.

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]The female's apology was dismissed as easily as the fault.
Following Finley's own example, no verbal mention of the little slip came from the yearling's lips afterwards. As bothered as she might've gotten by the female's lack of memory she could relate -- names were sometimes petty details that Cara rathered not to waste her time on.
Though to be honest, the mistake in this case seemed not to hold any ill-intentions.

Anyways.
At the female's joyful reaction, any attempts to keep a smile from climbing upon her own face were useless. "Um.. not yet.. I don't think so" she admitted, biting her lip thoughtfully as she recalled the first night she had spent with the brown Beta.
Though their encounters had not been as numerous as Fox and Peregrine's, there was still a slim possibility she was also pregnant.

Only that she wasn't.
Not yet anyways.
With her brows furrowed and her lips pursed in thought the Spine Queen realized she had no idea of what to expect when expecting when the time did come.

"Sorry, to ask but, is your Alpha pregnant?" she ventured, tilting her head and cupping her ears towards the silver female. If she was, hopefully Finley would remember some of the symptoms..
[/size]

The smile told it all even if Cara herself kept (most of) her composure. Fin shared the girl's joy, not in that she herself was pregnant, but just that she too knew very well the excitement that came with impending puppies. The female admitted she wasn't pregnant yet and Fin wasn't too surprised. She didn't look pregnant, although given the beta's experience with signs of pregnancy, she probably would have asked to see Cara's nipples. Luckily they had sidestepped that awkwardness. For now.

Of course, that hadn't actually happened yet. I just checked her threadlog. WHOOPS!

"It's okay," Fin replied with a light shake of her head, "I don't really know, she just came out of heat a few days ago. Considering she and her mate spent an entire week banging each others' brains out, I would suspect that she probably is."

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]While unlike Finley, Cara was not one to bounce all around happily like a squealing fan girl, she did hold the same excitement within the broad, shiny, smile that took hold of her face. An amiable wag of her tail was later added as the silver Caldera took no defensive rections against her prying inquiry. While Cara tried hard to be a respectful diplomat, Finley held no qualms against letting her words lean towards what could be considered careless vulgarity.

"Oh", was the Queen's reaction to the uncensored revelation of the Caldera Alphas' schedule: more than a week's worth of hardcore fucking. Thankfully for her own sanity (and her more delicate frame) Kaname and her kept their own schedules busy with other activities.

"And you say it's her first litter right?" she barked, steering the conversation to (hopefully) other focus than the Alphas' intimacy. "I have literally never been around pregnant females... so I have no idea... but.." she barked, begining to introduce one of the million questions she had on the subject.

"Does it hurt? " Does it happen all at once? Will I die? Is it gross to have squirming things in you?, she blabbered deciding to chose first the least disturbing one.
[/size]

While Cara pondered her vulgar explanation of why she thought the alpha female was likely pregnant, Fin took a moment to daydream for the billionth time about her future godchildren. Good god, there would one day soon be little ones running around that would be her kids! She knew god kids weren't thru same as real kids, but still! She'd never really considered herself being a mom one day, of her own pups or otherwise. To be a mother in any sense... just frickin' weird.

The girl was speaking again, and Finley was casting her a rather ponderous stare after nodding to confirm his query about whether or not this would be Fox's first litter. Does it hurt? Does what hurt? Getting pregnant? Cara seemed rather young, but not so young that she'd never... I mean, Fin had list her virginity when she was.... Was she about to have the birds and the bees talk with this chick?

"Well I mean.. I guess yeah the first time," Fin replied slowly, "But it gets way better after that. I mean damn by my fifth time I was begging for it, it feels so good." Fin was a little slutty back in the day, which was evidenced not only by what she'd said but also in that her mind went straight to the sex-having part of the pregnancy, not the being pregnant part.

eep i could have sworn i answered this :o also cara still thinks they're talking pregnancy

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]Cara could lack experience in many things, and while leading a pack had been among them, it had gotten of her list as she rose to the throne -- well in the same sense another of of her listed inexperiences had been ticked off the night she had taken Kaname as her mate. It had been an eventful night, but not one she would ever think of speaking of, not with a stranger, not with Kaname himself.

Sexuality was a tool Cara had many times used and abused, but always for the wrong reasons and in the wrong ways. While she had used her charm and attractive looks to manipulate others countless times she had never gone as far as she had with the brown Beta. For this reason it was that the young Queen had so many questions regarding the subject flooding her mind.
Too bad Finley didn't have the right answers -- or at least not the ones belonging to her questions.

With her thin ears swivelling forward to hear her answer Cara could not help but let her jaw drop as the words continued to flow of the Caldera Beta's mouth. The first time...? What in the fucking hell? Fifth time. WHAT THE ACTUAL F-.
An incredulous snort escaped from her nose as she watched the female (who she could NOT believe had just said that) with eyes as wide as the moon. "You have given birth more than five times...?" she blurted, not being able to hide her shock anymore. While Finley didn't look as she had been pregnant not once or ever, Cara could prevent her eyes from falling to the female's sides.

How could a wolf bloat up five times and not burst like a piñata?
HOW THE FUCKING FUCK?
".. How did you not explode,dude?" she asked then, the brain-mouth filter being to overwhelmed to do anything about the slurring questions that now flowed out of her mouth like drool.


[/size]

LOL Fin really should have figured it out, but it's so much more fun that she doesn't XD

The amiable, conversational look on her companion's face quickly turned to one of incredulous confusion. Fin watched her, the confusion apparently growing infectious as she quirked a brow. What was she so worked up about? Was sex really that taboo of a concept to her? Damn did this chick need to get laid.

The awkwardz suddenly grew even greater as Cara said something about Fin having given birth more than five times. Given birth? Was that some sort of new age slang? Confounded kids and their loud rock and roll music, all speaking in tongues. The fact that they were clearly having some sort of misunderstanding went completely over Fin's head. To her, the topic had been clear from the start. How Cara could have gotten confused over it was beyond her understanding, and thus was not even an option that occurred to her to explain what was going on.

How did she not explode? By. What? "Well, they were never all that.. big," Fin sputtered, trying to explain the best way she could to ease Cara's distress, "I mean, a couple were pretty big... But like, the good kind of big, not the... split you in half and ruin you forever kind." TMI, Finley!

at least we can still have finleyxcara threads so we got that going for us ;_;

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]Whether Finley thought her to be a creepy nun whose closest experience with a male had been having a father--duh-- or a really consrvative female who was too uptight to sit to sex-ed or sex related topics was out of Cara's concern right now. It was more than clear that their mutual perceptions of one another had been warped uncontrollably by their small misunderstanding. While the Caldera wolf now thought of the Spine Queen as an untouched saint, Cara was looking at Finley as she was the complete opposite..

Still, all of the confusion and sudden awkwarness her answer brought was kept well concealed under a smile that despite not wavering, looked about as existent as Finley's alleged kids --many, many, kids. Even if she physically did not look as a female who had given birth (not five times or even one to be honest) the vague pieces of their conversation somehow clicked together to make the Queen believe the legitimacy of her words. She had hinted something about the upcoming litter of her Alpha being her first -- but she had not specified it would be the pack's first too, had she? Plus she seemed to have an expertise on the whole 'banging'' thing by the way she kept describing how her Alphas' were literally doing it for a week straigth.

In an unconcious twist of her lips she turned her ears again to hear the female's next response. This time, her fake smile did not last -- with the same quickness Finley explained how size was a factor than was somehow related to pleasure, Cara's jaws dropped to the floor. The mental image of a fat ass headed baby ripping bottom apart was inevitable.
And so were the creeped out shudders that suddenly rocked the young Queen's body.

"How do you handle them all at a time thought?" she continued to ask, not knowing that all of her questions were bound to be interpreted in another way. "It must be exhausting.." she added, her connecting with Finley's own chocolate orbs briefly before tipping her head to the side to await for her answer.

Oh god.
[/size]

This was just getting more and more bewildering. This girl clearly needed to get laid, then she wouldn't have so many questions anymore. Unfortunately, Fin didn't have the parts to help her with that, nor did she have any men nearby that she was currently blackmailing (if only two or three of her brothers were around...)

Fin shook her head at the Spine wolf's next question, this time a little offended as well as confused as hell. "I didn't have them all at one time!" she replied, "I'm not that huge of a slut..." Fin was all for excitement, but she was definitely not into orgies.