Redhawk Caldera There's a neon light

For @Somnia <3

It had been a busy few days, full of visits to the Alphas' den in order to visit the caldera's youngest members. Elwood had darkened the Redleaf-DiSarinno doorstep at least three times, both with and without Finley. He was surprised at how enamored she was with the babes -- he would have expected such a flighty, unpredictable creature to be a little more wary of the tiny life forms. Instead, she was bordering on obsessed, and he couldn't help but think of their future...

With a grin on his face, the Beta male strode quickly across the wintry landscape. His destination was the ice cavern that he and Finley had skated in a few months ago. He and Somnia had decided that she would help him find a gem or jewel to give to Finley -- a (perhaps cheesy) symbol of his love. As he neared the rocky face of the squat mountain, he tilted his head back and howled: "Somnia, come here!"

As his call reverberated off the trees and slope, he waited excitedly, shifting his weight from paw to paw. Occasionally, he peeked into the cavern, then scanned his surroundings for any sign of his friend. At his feet lay a pile of the lightning bug leaves that he had taken from Ashton's den at Somnia's suggestion, which he had carried oh-so-carefully in his mouth -- he didn't want to crush their source of light before they even entered the cave.

I'm so sorry about the delay! My time management skills have been off after having a week off from school!

Somnia was doing some hunting when she heard Elwood call her. It seemed most of what she did now was hunt, for both Fox and the injured Magpie ninety percent of the time. She was more than happy to take a break from it. Forgetting the squirrel she had scented, Somnia took off in the direction of the howl's origin.

"What's up?" She asked as she stopped in front of her friend. However, the question answered itself as she spotted the firefly leaves, and she remembered her promise to help Elwood find a gem for Finley. Somnia hadn't expected the event to happen so soon, but she wasn't complaining. But, there was a different subject she wanted to touch upon briefly before searching for treasure.

"Have you seen the pups yet? They're so small and cute!"

That's okay! I know how you feel, we have been out for almost two weeks because of snow...going back on Monday is going to be so hard! D:

It didn't take long for Somnia to track him down, and though she asked what he wanted to do, he guessed that she already had a good idea. He saw her gaze skim over the firefly leaves, and why else would he have called her to the entrance of the cavern? Before they plunged into the depths of the mountain's belly, however, she brought up the current hot topic: the Redleaf-DiSarinno puppies.

"They're adorable," he agreed in a kind of un-Elwood way. "They're not much more than potatoes with legs right now, but they're already pretty feisty." Although the firebirds' abilities were limited to eating, sleeping, and pooping, some of them were beginning to show their personalities -- particularly little Wildfire and her big voice.

You teach Kindergarteners, right? Or was it pre-schoolers? Either way, at least you don't have to do a bunch of algebra homework. Getting re-adjusted will still suck a lot though! D:

"Yeah," Somnia agreed to Elwood's comments on the pups. They were just so small and cute! She envied Fox, for her friend got to cuddle them all day long as it was her right as a mother. At least she would be able to spend more time with them as they got older and Peregrine and Fox took more time to themselves. The privileges of being a(n aspiring) Caretaker!

Getting back to the main reason for her coming, Somnia took a step towards the cave entrance. This wasn't the one that they explored and found a crystal in, but rather the ice cave Finley had found. "So you think there are crystals in this section of the caverns?" It made sense that there could be, as what had created the other cave had probably also created this cave, but Somnia wanted to know why Elwood chose this cave over the one that they knew had a high chance of having other crystals.

Yeah, preschool! I do not miss doing homework, haha -- good luck with all of it! :)

It likely would have been possible for the two friends to gush over the puppies for much longer, but they kept the conversation short. Somnia quickly focused on the day's task: finding a gem for Finley. She was curious as to whether or not this particular cavern held the jewels that they wanted to find; he wasn't positive, but he felt fairly certain that they would be able to locate at least one. This cave held significance in his relationship with Finley, so he was hopeful that it would work out.

"I'm not sure, but I wanted to look here first. Finley and I found this place together," he said, unaware that Finley had later brought Somnia to this very cave. If they were unsuccessful, it would be kind of a pain to have to go to the other tunnel as well -- but he was willing to do it and was pretty sure that Somnia would accompany him.

With a wave of his tail, he took a step towards the entrance, ducking his head so he wouldn't bang his head on the rock above. "You ready?" he asked as he reached down to collect their makeshift nightlights.

Somnia gave a curt nod, signaling that she understood his reasoning. This place was more important to him, so the crystal would have more significance if it came from here. She bent down and grasped her share of the firefly leaves in her mouth. Somnia gave another nod of her head to show she was ready, then followed Elwood into the cave.

As they went deeper and deeper in, farther and farther away from the light of outside, the effects of the leaves with fireflies smushed to them gradually became apparent. They weren't too powerful of a light source, but they provided enough light for them to see the darkest areas that were too dark for their wolf-vision.

Somnia made sure to stay behind Elwood and let him guide the adventure. It was his gift to his lover after all. Even if Finley was Somnia's friend, the gift wouldn't be from Somnia. It would be from Elwood. Thus, he got to lead the expedition.

Once he was sure that Somnia was ready to dive into the depths of the mountain, Elwood forged ahead. The light given off by the leaves was not overly bright, but it cast a soft glow on his immediate surroundings. Perhaps they would come in handy when it was time to examine the rocky surfaces up close, in order to determine where they might find the precious gems that they were searching for.

Holding the lights in his mouth prohibited him from talking as they descended, though he occasionally looked over his shoulder and smiled at Somnia from around his mouthful. The terrain was a bit uneven, with a few sharp turns and steep drops that he navigated carefully, but he felt his heart rate increase with excitement when they reached their destination. In front of him, the tunnel opened up, revealing the natural skating rink in all its glory.

He stepped out onto the ice, moving slowly and carefully so as not to lose his balance. Dropping their artificial light source, he glanced at Somnia. "Why don't you take one," he suggested, reaching down to nudge a few leaves towards her, "and we can check out opposite sides of the place. I'm not sure what all we'll find." But he was eager to start looking.

---

A few hours later, the pair of friends emerged from the tunnel. Clasped in Elwood's mouth was the most beautiful jewel he had ever seen. With Somnia's help, he had found it -- and it had only involved minimal slipping and sliding on the ice. With a muffled yet emphatic expression of gratitude, he parted ways with Somnia, unaware that this would be one of the last times he saw her.