Redhawk Caldera I don't like it, I love it

"Room service," Elwood called out as he approached the den he shared with @Finley, his words muffled by the plump possum he held in his mouth. He tried not to think of the wild boar he had promised to bring to Tiger; he would never tell Finley about their little agreement. It wouldn't come to fruition, and it would likely just make her sad. Keeping her stress level low had become infinitely harder after Tiger's unexpected death, but Elwood was still trying his best to ensure that the mother-to-be was healthy, rested, and well-fed.

He dropped the carcass to the ground and slunk towards the entrance, his nose wriggling. Finley was inside; he could smell her. He paused outside the threshold, waiting for her to acknowledge his presence. Their new home was large enough for both of them to fit inside comfortably, and there was still plenty of space for the babies once they were born. But not only was her body changing -- specifically growing and becoming more round -- but her personality had become even more unpredictable, if that was possible. Elwood was never sure what to expect, so he was reluctant to intrude, especially if she wanted some alone time.

Fin was very lucky to have a mate like Elwood.  Patient, kind, thoughtful.. and very aware that he had promised to spend the rest of his like with ticking time bomb.  Fortunately for him, today was not the day for her to blow up.  In the wake of her sister's death, she actually felt unusually clear about it all.  It was cruel and terrible, but... that was the life they lived as wolves.  At the very least, she could always be thankful that they had been together for a while at the end.


Now, how long this current mood would last, god only knows.  Fingers crossed it hangs on till the end of this thread before she goes insane with rage and/or breaks down in heartbreak.

Finley was napping when she heard Elwood call out to her.  She rose slowly, yawning as she turned to see him peeking in at her.  Instantly, her mouth began to salivate as the stench of dead meat crept into her nostrils.  Eagerly, she stretched out her arms reaching towards him and murmuring "Waaaant..." like a needy zombie.

As he peered into the den, he could see Finley stirring. Even in the half-light that filtered in from outside, he was able to make out the curve of her belly and he smiled at the sight. She stretched and acknowledged him -- or, well, acknowledged the food he had brought. He grinned at the single word that she uttered; in addition to the weight gain and mood swings, she had also been insatiably hungry at times. This was apparently one of those instances.

"Just for you," Elwood promised, nudging the possum into the threshold with his nose. He pushed it between Finley's outstretched paws, then lowered himself to his stomach with only the front of his body in the den. His hindquarters and tail remained in the warm sunlight. He propped himself up on his elbows, yellow eyes bright as Finley presumably tucked into her meal.

"How are you feeling?" he asked after a moment, although he already knew the answer: famished!

Finley happily tore into the meat the moment it came near enough for her to snatch. She'd been quite ravenous lately due not only to the fact that she was pregnant but also that she'd been nearly starved during her weeks of the depression that had followed her miscarriage. Fin knew she had a lot of making up to do to her body and to the little Twiglets that were growing more and more each day inside of her.

After Fin had swallowed a few mouthfuls of possum, she finally slowed down in her feasting enough to give Elwood a grateful smile. She hesitated before answering his question. They both knew how she was doing; she suspected that he felt the same way. She'd been his sister too since the moment she'd arrived at the Caldera, after all. "oh.. y'know..." she answered awkwardly. The pain over losing her sister was not what she wanted to discuss, so she decided to push the conversation away then.

"I've been thinking...." she started after she'd had her fill of the possum and nudged the leftovers back to her mate, "Since you and I are all hitched now, does that mean I'm not a Blackthorn anymore?"

He was happy to see her eating eagerly. She and the puppies would need as much sustenance as they could get, and he was willing to provide for them around the clock. Even midnight cravings were something he would accommodate, although that usually consisted of digging up something from a nearby cache while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. They both knew how important Fin's health was at this point.

Her response to his question caused a twinge in his chest. The loss of Tiger had been a huge blow to them all, but the brave Finley had expressed her sentiments to him previously. She was sad, but simply thankful she had been given a short time with her sister. It was this outlook that made Elwood love her even more, if that was even possible.

When she finished eating she addressed him with a rather curious inquiry. It was something he truthfully hadn't given much thought to, but was willing to discuss. "You'll always be a Blackthorn," he said with a small smile; he couldn't ask her to strip herself of her maiden name. "But if you want to take my last name, you can. Finley Grove." His smile grew as he tested out the moniker. "I like it! Or...Finley Blackthorn-Grove," he suggested.

Finley Grove.  It didn't sound too bad, really.  It wasn't Blackthorn - a name she had always prided herself on carrying - but if it would solidify their commitment to one another even further, she certainly wanted to at least consider changing it.  Consider being the operative word.  Fin was a stubborn lady that was quite used to getting her way, and that wasn't likely to change just because she was a mate and soon-to-be mom.

Blackthorn-Grove was an interesting idea, but she quickly decided it wasn't for her.  "Blackthorn-Grove is too long," she replied with a little frown, "Finley Grove...  What if we just smashed them into one name like Grovethorn or Blackgrove?"  The idea made her smile slightly.  "Or better yet, why don't you be the girl and take my last name?  Elwood Blackthorn.  Ain't it pretty?"  There was definitely humor in her eyes as she made the suggestion.

Although Finley made her suggestion in jest, Elwood actually stopped to consider it. He didn't have a particularly strong tie to his last name and there weren't any other Groves in the area. In all reality, it was his first name that was more meaningful to him, as it had been passed down among the males in his family for generations. He still wasn't yet sure if he wanted to carry on that tradition, but it was something he and Finley would address together.

"You know, I kinda like that," he said with a smirk. "Elwood Blackthorn. I mean, it's not like anything else about our relationship has been conventional," he added, his brows raising and his expression growing slightly more serious to show her that he meant what he said.

Of all the suggestions she'd made, the last one Finley expected her mate to go for was the one she'd made in jest.  She quirked a brow as he repeated the moniker, stating first that he liked it.  Was it possible that even when not trying to get her way, she could still end up getting her way?  Fin gave him a calculating glance, plotting what to say next to make him fall into her trap and agree to taking her surname.  Fortunately, just before she said a word, her better half reclaimed dominance in her mind and she altered her words.


"As much as I would love to make little Blackthorns to carry on the family name, I'd feel bad taking that away from the Groves," she admitted with a smile that quickly turned into a frown as she changed her mind yet again, "It does sound dashing though...  And I was always jealous when my father gave my brothers those talks about carrying on the family name...  But your dad probably wants you to do the same for your name, so we should probably just be Groves.  ........unless... do you have brothers?  No, I'm sorry, nevermind........ maybe..."  Argh.  It was hard being a good person.

Finley started to assure him that it wasn't necessary for him to go so far as to take her last name, but her sentence structure quickly deteriorated into classic, jumbled Fin-isms. He laughed, reaching out to give her a nudge with his snout as he turned over their options in his mind. It would be difficult to make a decision, but he would sure they would come to a compromise.

"Well, funnily enough, it's not my last name that is so important," he said, choosing to address the thought that had crossed his mind only seconds before. "I mean, we are all Groves, but the family tradition is to name the firstborn son Elwood. So if I took your last name and we have a boy," he explained, pausing at that moment to shift his gaze to Finley's round stomach with a fond smile, "then it would be the best of both worlds, right?" Never mind the fact that there was at least a 50/50 chance that they would have a girl (or multiple girls!). They could come up with a backup plan in that case. He looked back to Finley's face, his head tilted slightly to one side as he awaited her response.

Elwood was - as usual - perfectly good-natured about her conflict as she babbled on about her decision, back and forth and back and forth again, trying to decide what it was she wanted.  Fortunately,  Elwood interrupted her confused thoughts to share his own opinion on the matter.


Fin listened as he explained that the connection he felt to his name was to his first name, not really the last.  She had known from the beginning that 'Elwood' was a family name and that generations of Grove men had been given it.  It probably should have occurred to her sooner that were they to ever have a son together, he would want him to be named 'Elwood'.  She had always liked his name, even though she insisted on referring to him as 'Twig'.  Maybe this was a win-win...

"Okay, you're on!" Finley said with a grin, "Elwood Blackthorn, and his son, Elwood Blackthorn.. Junior?  What number are you even on?"  Her tail wagged happily as she asked.

Elwood laughed. "I have no idea. I think, technically, he'd be something like Elwood the 27th. But let's just go with Elwood Junior," he said. In all honesty, he had lost track of how many Elwoods there were in his bloodline. But the idea of using the name grew on him more and more with each passing moment. For a long time, he hadn't been sure if he really wanted to continue the family tradition; there were positives and negatives, as there were with all things. He had never disliked his name, although he could see how resentment could begin to grow if the next Elwood didn't like the lack of creativity. But, at the same time, it showed the strength of the family -- and he did enjoy the thought of continuing his kin's heritage here in the Teekon Wilds.

"So what's our option for a girl? Finley Junior?" he teased. Neither one of them knew how many puppies they would be blessed with or whether they would have boys, girls, or both. Even one baby would be enough for the new Blackthorn family after their pregnancy scare. But, as was his way, Elwood wanted to be prepared for either circumstance.

I'm a little drunk and on my phone so forgive all the mistakes

Fin's brows lifted when Elwood told her that he was the 27th or so of his name. To think that It had survived that many generations was quite impressive. As selfish as she tended to be, even she thought that it would be wrong to break such a tradition. She was quite glad when he said they could have a "Junior" instead of a "28" though. Her muzzle broke into a soft smile as she scooted towards him, whining quietly - q request for him to wrap around her so that they court cuddle and snuggle and snuggle and cuddl.

Elwood's question caused her to pause. Immediately she was reminded of Wildfire and the sweet suggestion that the little girl had made. Fun but her lip lightly before she spoke. She still didn't want to drudge up any painful moments but she couldn't help herself. "I actually... If we have a daughter, I want to make her Caolfhionn, after Tiger," she said, pausing for aomeny as she realized she needed to explain little more of her own family's traditions. "in my family, every member is given a name at their birth and then they earn a nickname tha typically they're more often known by, unless they're me and get named something stupid... I could never name my daughter Tiger because they'd have to earn that name, but I'd love to name one Caolfhionn after her."

<3

Elwood obliged Finley's request, curling his larger body securely around hers. He tucked his chin against her shoulder and sighed, the sound speaking of his contentment as his ears pricked towards her. He was simultaneously surprised and pleased by the knowledge that she wanted to name a daughter after Tiger, in a way. At the mention of Tiger's real name -- Caolfhionn -- he realized that he hadn't known her as anything but Tiger, but Finley soon reminded him of the naming tradition in her family. Their little Caolfhionn would earn a nickname of her own.

"I would love that," he agreed, nuzzling into the soft fur of her cheek. "And I don't think your nickname is stupid, Frog," he murmured teasingly as his tail thumped the ground.

Elwood stepped further into the den and settled down around her.  She snuggled closer to him once he grew still, reaching for him with her muzzle so that she could nuzzle the base of his ears affectionately.  It made her happy to be able to share some of her family's traditions with him, and even happier to know that he was all in for following them with their own litter.  So happy that all she did when he referred to her as "Frog" was to give him a playful scowl and a nip on the cheek.


Her playfulness dissipated quickly enough as her thoughts went back to Tiger.  She slumped against her mate as she sighed, melancholy sweeping over her once again.  "I miss her," she murmured as she dug her nose into Elwood's fur, drinking in his scent for comfort.

Gonna go ahead and fade! I don't want to leave any old threads hanging when I go on absence in a few days (WEDDING OMG). :)

"I do, too," Elwood agreed. He hadn't known Tiger nearly as well as Finley had, but he had grown fond of her during the short time she had spent with the pack. Although she was gone, he knew that her spirit would live on in her sister -- and, perhaps, in their children. If they didn't have a little girl in this litter, he was certain that Finley would still want to honor Caolfhionn by passing on the name in the future.

The parents-to-be conversed quietly for some time, until the warm summer heat lulled them both into a peaceful afternoon nap.