Redhawk Caldera in the midst of sailing ships.

In the week and a half she had known her son, Finley had come to notice a few things about him.  One, @Elwood Jr was very quiet.  She might have been constantly finding herself fearing that he had died were it not for the fact that she was at all times so in tune with the sound of his little heartbeat.  After experiencing the howling hurricane that was baby Wildfire, she was constantly in wonder at how very mild and subdued her son was.  The only time he ever made a peep was when he found himself too far away from the comfort of her warmth.

Which lead to factoid number two: this little boy did NOT like the world, or so Finley often found herself wondering.  Or maybe it was just the earth...  Whatever the case, he often seemed unhappy whenever he was lying directly on the ground.  Again, it didn't bother Fin too much since she was happy to be his pillow 24/7.  She did wonder from time to time if he would grow out of it, though.  After all, he wouldn't be this tiny little peanut forever.  She imagined trying to keep Nightjar snuggled cozily between her arms or tucked atop her tail against her belly.  Yeah, no.. eventually this just wasn't going to work anymore.

Eljay was asleep in her arms as Fin peered down at him.  She was trying to imagine what it would be like when he grew up.  It took her all of eight seconds to decide that she was completely against that ever happening - he was just so cute and widdle.  Besides, when he was like this, she didn't have to try too hard to be the overbearing, protective mother she'd become since his birth.  If she didn't like where he was, she just picked him up and moved him back to safety.  It wouldn't be quite that simple when he got bigger and she was unable to be in constant control of his surroundings and the creatures he came in contact with.  She leaned down to snuffle at his wiggly little ears, innately knowing he was about to be done with his nap (though truthfully, it was probably less maternal instinct and more just Finley being impatient and wanting to see him twitching his little nose up at her).

The pup, unaware of its mother's astute realisations, lay fast asleep, dreaming a dreamless sleep. In its sleep it was still, as it often was -- awake or asleep -- and only his heartbeat thudding against his mother's fur, and his tiny body moving slightly from its breathing showed that he was still alive.

The pup awoke when something touched its ears, and he let out a squirm of surprise. The pup did not often scream or yelp: he often just let out grunts and other squirmy sounds to show its pleasure or displeasure with a situation.

He tilted his little head and bobbed it into the air while sniffing, trying to establish what it was that had tickled his ears.

Little Eljay awoke with a high-pitched grunt, wriggling around in place to search up towards her face with twitching nostrils and a bobbing head.  Finley grinned down at him, reaching until she very gently tapped the tip of her nose against the little boy's snout.  He didn't seem to be too put out over his abrupt wake up call, which Fin immediately recognized as an opportunity to push him a little further.  Dutifully, she set about running her tongue all along him to make certain that he was just as perfectly clean as he had been when he'd fallen asleep.  Then, she just leaned back to watch him wriggle about, exploring the world in his own quiet, reserved way.


"You know, Little Jay," Fin said to him conversationally, completely aware that he couldn't hear her at all, "Your mama loves the crap out of you.  Actually, it's more like she's totally obsessed with you.  It's a little out of hand, so don't you go around telling anyone - they will judge me sooo hard."  She paused to look at him as though giving him an opportunity to reply.  It was only polite, after all.

The pup smelled its mother's scent, and it knew that all was well. He fell back again, still, unaware of the conversations that were being had over his head, with him. The pup was happy when his mother's tongue ran over his fur, a pleased mewl escaping from his lips before he was silent once more.

*barges in*

With a fat hare clutched in his jaws, Elwood made haste in returning to the den. He had slipped out momentarily, promising to bring food for Finley, and he kept the trip short and quick. The new father sometimes felt as though any time spent away from his son was time wasted -- even though Elwood Jr usually wasn't up to much. Despite his quiet, lethargic nature, Elwood couldn't have loved him more.

He slipped back into the den with nary a sound, lowering himself to the ground and depositing the rabbit near Finley. He reached out to lick the tip of her nose, then looked at Eljay, who was laying quietly between his mother's forelegs. "How's the little guy?" he asked, not surprised to see that the pup was nearly motionless, though the subtle quivering of his nose indicated that he was, indeed, awake.

Eljay responded with little more than a happy little squeak, which was all the response Fin really needed.  She chuckled softly before leaning down to prod at him once more.  "Come on, get up and amuse your mother," she murmured with a wag of her tail.


Fortunately, where Elwood Number Two seemed determined to fail, Elwood Number One stepped in to save the day.  Fin's gaze slipped to his as he entered and she smiled, leaning forward to return his kiss.  With a glance back to Eljay, she gave a little frown.  "He's being boring," she whined with a little smile, "I keep trying to make him get up and play with me, but he's being stubborn."  Making another attempt to get what she wanted, Fin leaned down to begin snuffling obnoxiously in her son's ear, hoping it might rouse him.

The pup was unaware of the unhappiness that he caused by being unresponsive. He just sat and stared. The pup did not notice its mother's request nor its father's entrance into the den.

It did, however, notice the new scent that came into the den with the arrival of its father. The pup turned its head towards the scent of blood and meat, but before it had a chance to make its way there, there was a discomforting feeling in its ear.

The pup turned its head back towards the source of the discomfort, although there was nothing to say he was actually discomforted: he did not squeak or mewl or scream, merely looked, trying to find that which had irritated it.

Elwood couldn't help but smile at Finley's playful protests. It was no secret that Eljay was a particularly quiet pup, which couldn't have been more opposite from his mother's personality. He would have expected the boy to be more like his cousin Wildfire -- loud and raucous from the start -- but maybe it was good for Finley's first child to be so placid. Otherwise, she might have already been off trying to teach him how to fight bears.

"That'll wake him up," he laughed as she stuck her nose in Elwood Jr's ear, but a glance at the grey cub revealed that he was hardly perturbed by his mom's actions. He turned his little face towards Finley, his miniature brow furrowed ever so slightly, but didn't even voice his concern. "He's patient, that's for sure," Elwood commented.

Eljay did little more than turn his head about to locate the source of whatever was tormenting his ear.  After a moment, Fin relented, knowing her son wasn't likely to up and start doing dances for her anytime soon.  With a kiss to the side of his head, she gave her attention to Elwood Senior - also unlikely to dance for her, but definitely carried a greater potential for it than her little potato.


Fin smirked at Elwood's comment.  He certainly was patient.  Either that or he was exceedingly dumb, but having all the faith in the world that her kid was absolutely perfect, the latter wasn't even a thought that crossed her mind.  "He is," she replied, gazing down at the little boy, "I'm sure he gets that from me.  The quiet and sleepy probably comes from me too."  The corners of her lips twitched up in a grin as she spoke, her eyes flickering to her mate's face.

feel free to skip me since eljay is just being a boring potato. xD

The pup kept its head lifted for another minute or so, its nose wriggling as it tried to find the source of its discomfort. It moved its head around slowly in a circle, but found nothing. Having found nothing, the pup simply set back to the ground again, deciding not to bother.

It lay its head down on the ground without a sound. Although it stayed awake, it was hard to tell if the pup was actually awake or sleeping, what with its closed eyes and apathetic behaviour.

Elwood chortled, his gaze hovering on Eljay's little body. Under his gaze, the boy seemed to fall asleep -- or at least, that's the way it appeared to his father. It was hard to tell, although Elwood thought he was getting better at reading his son's signs. Maybe he still needed some more practice.

"Yeah, he's just like you," he teased, glancing up at Finley. Perhaps once Eljay grew up and became more independent, he would turn out to have the reckless Blackthorn streak that ran so rampant in his mother's veins. He hoped so -- Finley's feisty personality and zest for life was why he loved her so much -- but at the same time, he had to admit that he would be content with a more quiet, reserved, and cautious son. Dealing with Finley's bear hunting tendencies was enough; he wasn't sure if he could keep track of the two of them.

In truth, Fin was perfectly happy that her son didn't seem to be anything like her.  She was a chaotic creature with poor judgment and a lust for "excitement" that was just plain troubling.  These were not things she was unaware of about herself, nor was she unaware of the dangers in her own personality.  She was confident in her own ability to overcome whatever trouble she brought on herself.  When it came to her precious little boy though, Fin would allow no such risks to his well-being.  It was hypocritical and could possibly become an issue as Eljay began to outgrew his mother's fiercely protective attitude towards him, but for now it seemed to be working just fine.

"What do you think he'll be when he grows up?" she asked randomly as the thought popped into her head.  She leaned down to groom him with her tongue - an unnecessary task at that particular moment, but he certainly couldn't get over-clean, could he?

Elwood pursed his lips thoughtfully, studying the little potato of a wolf that was his son. It was hard to guess what his future would hold; if his personality was more apparent, it would've been easier to predict. But Elwood Jr didn't really seem to like to do much of anything, and there wasn't a trade that required excessive sleeping, or lying as still as a rock for long periods of time.

"I dunno," the father finally answered truthfully. "I guess we'll have to wait and see." He thought of something Peregrine had said before the firebirds were born -- or perhaps shortly after their birth, he couldn't remember. The Alpha hadn't wanted to assign expectations to his pups and instead wanted to give them the freedom to grow and develop their own interests and goals. He couldn't help but wonder, though -- how would Eljay turn out?

Eljay remained just as quiet as ever in her arms, even as his parents shared their thoughts about his future.  Fin smiled fondly at her little lump - almost lifeless, but not in the proud mama's eyes.

"I bet he'll be a warden like you," she said thoughtfully, the idea making her heart swell, "Or maybe he'll be interested in naturalist.  Wildfire could teach him... They'd be so cute together, picking leaves and... well, whatever naturalists do."

Wrapping this one up since it's kinda old! :)

The Beta male nodded and smiled; he would like nothing more than for his son to follow in his footsteps. He wondered how big Eljay would grow to be -- Finley was petite and he was of average size, so he likely wouldn't be a hulking big wolf, but that wouldn't stop him from helping to protect his family and packmates. Finley's next suggestion drew a chuckle from her mate; it sounded as though she had an ulterior motive in her desires for Eljay to become a naturalist alongside Wildfire.

"Are you already planning out his romantic life?" he teased. They weren't technically related by blood, but he was pretty sure that the firebirds would think of Eljay as their cousin. "Wildfire would be a good teacher, though," he conceded, guiding the conversation away from the topic of incest-but-not-really. A yawn suddenly seized him and he threw his mouth open wide, then cuddled closer to Finley.

"Naptime for Mommy and Daddy?" he said in a babyish voice, then tucked his snout into her downy fur and drifted into dreamland.