Heron Lake Plateau I'm not gonna run from the scars and within

@Towhee!

After being stopped by Raven, Rosalyn  grudgingly agreed that the best way to get home ASAP was to let the healing do its work.  It would be worse to injure herself further by leaving, and who knew what she'd run into?  Niamh had offered to accompany her, but Roz figured that didn't include dragging her sorry, injured ass for a good part of it.  Soooo waiting was about her only option.

She managed to hobble herself to a small nearby lake for a drink, and now hunkered down next to it, trying and failing to get the same calm from the still water as she did from the tide's swell.  Idly she knocked a small stone, watching it bounce and disappear with a "sploosh."  Better.

Her face itched something awful. Towhee ground her teeth together as she walked toward the lake, hoping that a quick dip might soothe the irritation. It was putting her in something of a temper, so if she noticed anyone as she walked along, she veered to avoid.

But when she reached the shore, she found she wasn't alone. The Beta didn't acknowledge Roz right away, instead pacing right up to the water's edge and practically smashing her face into the lake. She shook it back and forth to rinse the scabbed skin before withdrawing with a gasp.

Not bothering to shake herself, she turned toward Roz and began padding toward her, dripping everywhere. "How's the hip?" Towhee asked. Whatever irritation she might normally feel at finding an outsider plunked in the heart of Redhawks territory was smoothed over by Roz's sacrifice, as well as a sense of camaraderie, what with their respective "war" wounds.

Rosalyn didn't notice Towhee right away either, too caught up in reflection.  It wasn't until she heard the splash, and looked over to see her face shoved in the water, that she did... and she immediately recognized the 'stripes'.

If a wolf could whistle, Rosalyn would have, seeing the mess of gashes across the other wolf's face.  "Feels probably about like that.  I've had worse."  She shifted some, pushing herself upright again.  "Really wish we'd gotten some of our own in, but at least we aren't dead."  The lynx had made it off with likely barely even a scratch, but had fucked them over pretty well.

Lynx was out taking a patrol of the lands when she came across two wolves one of whom was familiar but she had never officially met her. "Oh hello." She says in greeting.

"Is it itchy as all hell?" Towhee wondered, trying to tone down the grumpy expression on her face. But Roz's reminder about their badly lost fight didn't do much to help. The Beta felt a flash of aggravation at her own impotence. At least the cat was gone from the plateau's fringes, hopefully never to return. But she agreed with Roz: they really should've gotten in more licks, considering the odds.

She opened her mouth to say something else when another wolf appeared. It took a moment to place her, though Towhee eventually remembered her name. "Lynx," she acknowledged, unable to muster much amiability at the moment.

"Itchy as hell, and stiff."  She attempted to stretch, but didn't push it, so ended up barely flexing.  She'd mindlessly scratched at it the other day, and then had the immediate regret that came with pain and reopening some of the gashes.  So now if it got too much to handle, she did exactly what Towhee did... shoved her ass in the lake.

A newcomer came, and unlike Towhee, Rosalyn smiled.  She couldn't afford to be inhospitable to any of their number.  Her ears twitched, though, at the name, and the irony of it made her double take.

"Hold on.... there's no way in hell your name is actually Lynx."  She looked back at Towhee.  Ok, c'mon.  This was funny.

Gonna skip and PP Lynx now that she's a PPC...

Lynx looked a little discomfited at the less than warm welcome, between Towhee's coldness and Roz's remark about her name. It wasn't long before she dismissed herself just as promptly as she'd arrived. The Beta gave her a quick glance, eyebrow arched slightly, but otherwise didn't react much.

"What do you do about the itching? The water only helps for a second," Towhee resumed the interrupted conversation, "and I think it's mostly the slap of the water, rather than the water itself. Maybe I should start slapping myself across the face," she thought aloud.

Too funny, but apparently her remark and Towhee's cold shoulder made the company less than desireable.  That was fine.  Towhee didn't acknowledge it, and Rosalyn wondered if it was their shared status that made her less inclined to freeze her out as well.  

"Ass in water.  Not much better, but scratching isn't an option."  She smirked.  "I'll slap yours if you slap mine?"  Now that was probably a bad idea, but hell if it didn't sound appealing.

The girl had some interesting inflection to her words, but Rosalyn didn't comment... she'd heard a good many dialects in her day, and while she couldn't pin it, she understood well enough.  "Y'know, I can't shake the feelin that this place is familiar."  She glanced across the lake, musing on it again.

Although the idea was amusing (and tempting), Towhee shook her head. Somehow, the thought of letting someone strike her didn't really appeal, nor did the idea of doing it to Roz. It was too big a risk; they could really hurt one another.

"Guess we just have to live with it," she said with a much too loud sigh.

Roz's next few words got her mind off it, at least for a few seconds. Head cocking slightly, Towhee queried, "Yeah? Where're you from anyway?"

Rosalyn was looking off, but turned back when Towhee asked.  Fortunately for their conversation, Rosalyn had the ingrained behavior of looking at a wolf when she spoke with them, for the most part.  She knew something was obviously up... the loud sighs, the strange inflection, the direction of gaze.  But Rosalyn had never met a deaf wolf, so did not know what to compare it to.  Missing eyes, missing ears, yes.  But the blind and the deaf likely wouldn't have been allowed to survive long in her previous crews.

"Ironsea."  Now it was her turn to sigh.  "Along the coast.  It's a beautiful little cove, an a good crew." One of the better she'd met.  "Hard to rest easy here, without the sound of the waves."  Their white noise was natural by this point, and without it, the quiet set her fur on edge.

She described a territory nearer the coast. Towhee's head tilted at the mention of waves. Of course, it was impossible for her to conceptualize what Roz meant. But it prodded at her curiosity nonetheless. And she was happy to explore any option that took her mind off her fiercely itching face.

"The waves?" she wondered, then thought to inform Roz, "I don't know anything about sounds. I was born deaf. But what's the sea like, compared to, say, this lake?"

"Deaf?"  She was taken aback a moment, then her expression grew impressed.  "Doesn't seem to stop you from knowin what we're talkin about."  She'd known something was off, but not what, and the other wolf not being able to hear definitely hadn't crossed her mind.

"It's hard to describe... like an ever-present heartbeat almost.  Calming.  The lake doesn't have waves like the ocean.. it's like the water's always trying to get on shore, but only makes it so far.  Over and over again, hitting the sand."  She made a gesture, like the repetetive motion of the waves.  "How is it you can understand?"  She was curious, having never heard of such a thing.  If she couldn't hear the words, how was she, well, hearing her?

She simply bobbed her head to confirm: "Yep, I'm deaf." Towhee then stilled and watched as Rosalyn did her best to describe the rhythm of the surf. It was all so beyond the Beta, though she appreciated the she-wolf's attempt to explain the inexplicable.

"I read lips pretty well," she answered when prompted. "I also use a sign language," she added, not bothering to demonstrate. Rosalyn didn't need to know anything about that.

"Did Raven give you a timeline?" she wondered in the next breath. "How long you can expect to be stuck here before it's safe to go home?"

Ah.  Now that had to be a handy skill, she thought, impressed and intrigued equally.  Towhee didn't respond to her mimicry, so Rosalyn assumed she got the point or didn't care.  Either way, the next subject was one she latched on.  She was restless about it.

"No.  I assume soon as I can walk, though.  Gotta get back and check in."  She didn't often flaunt her own importance (outwardly) but she felt she was at least assisting in keeping the place afloat.  She didn't necessarily think it'd fall apart without her, but she itched to be back anyway.  "Smokestep is understandin enough, but he isn't a fan of deserters.  Especially if it's his First Mate doin it."

The Beta bobbed her head, understanding completely. If she was in Roz's proverbial shoes, she would take off the instant she was physically able to do so. Towhee took Smokestep to be a name, which clicked with the context. But the invalid's next few words gave her pause, causing the yearling's features to scrunch.

"First mate? How many mates does he have?" she wanted to know, making no effort to disguise her incredulity.

She stopped short at the other woman's incredulity, and then laughed.  That was a good one, honestly.  She'd never heard the joke put honestly before.

"Eight," she said, with sincerity.  "But seein as I'm first, the other seven don't much matter to me."  Picturing Smoke trying to appeal to the wants of eight women was a hilarious thought.

Rosalyn seemed amused by Towhee's question. The Beta couldn't guess what laughter sounded like, though the way it looked never failed to tickle her funny bone: eyes crinkled, mouth open wide, sides often heaving. Ridiculous, she thought, fighting the smile that threatened to take over her face.

"Seriously?" she pressed, getting the distinct feeling Roz was yanking her chain. "Gross," she surmised, smirking slightly now.

Whatever entertainment she had garnered from the conversation was stolen by another bout of severe itching. "Damn it, I can't take it anymore. I'm getting in again," she declared, swinging away from Roz and thrusting herself forcefully into the water.

The first contact soothed it somewhat, though the only thing she could do beyond that was stand in the shallows and continuously fling her face into the water. It probably looked even more ridiculous than laughter.

Wanna wrap? :)

sounds good! Feel free to fade and archive or just archive!

She seemed to see through the jest, and Roz winked before laughing at the 'gross' she received.  There was really no reason she needed to know, but she did clarify, if only because it helped to express to a further degree why she needed to return ASAP. "No, means I'm his second.  Right hand, so to speak."  She wasn't sure of their term for it.

She laughed again when Towhee flung herself at the water, enjoying the feel of it.  It had been a while since she'd laughed like this, honestly.  Y'know what, they'd manage.  She was going to try not to dwell on that for a day.  Limping to her feet, she made her way on three legs into the water as well, entering with a splash and shimmying back so that her own itches were submerged.  She'd hang here a while and enjoy this girl's company, maybe learn a thing or two more about how she went about with no sound.