Redhawk Caldera Coke is good for the soul. The soda, I mean.

He looked ashamed when she called him out, though Towhee still didn't feel any pity for him. He was a total stranger, an outsider and a deserter to boot. Her eyes remained fixed to his face as he began mumbling an explanation for his absence. She didn't make it past the word "painkillers" before giving up on keeping up with his tale. Towhee didn't interrupt, just returned to squinting as he rambled on and on to a (literally) deaf audience.

Finally, his mouth stopped moving. "I didn't—" she began to inform him only for him to add a few last words. She snorted at the interruption but said nothing. When he finished again, her lips parted only for Ashton to turn away, misery and defeat written into every line of his body as he retreated. Her eyeball twitched as she resisted the impulse to shout something rude at his back.

Instead, she said loudly, "You know, I can't hear you." She paused, thinking about Elwood's recent interaction with Gannet, then let him know, "I'm not going to pass on your message for you. If you want to talk to them, you have to wait here for them." As she spoke, she shifted a little restlessly. "You called for them, didn't you? It's really rude to waste their time by calling for them and then leaving," she pointed out with a grunt.