Redhawk Caldera Don't tell me it tastes like chicken.

The breadth and depth of her new role was still sinking in for Towhee. It was strange to think that she alone called the shots around here now. Of course, she wasn't likely to make any big decisions without consulting her godparents. In theory, however, she could do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Feel the power flow through you, she joked to herself as she walked the borders. A lot of things had changed in the past month, yet her patrolling remained the same, and it was as comforting as it was boring.

Her orange eyes glanced upward, tracking X's movement overhead. They dropped again as she scanned her surroundings. It was a white winter wasteland, with nary a movement other than the quivering of the naked treetops in the distance. Coughing out a slight tickle in her throat, Towhee kept moving, happy that her wounds had knitted well enough to stop hurting her with every step.

tegan was thrilled to be back in the territory. it wasn't as cool as exploring the outside, but the pups were so heavily guarded that it wasn't even fun to be out and about. but back home? they had free reign once more, and tegan took advantage of all opportunities. 

though, none of those opportunities included actual work. 

he was out causing mischief when he spotted towhee. towhee was newly named *alpha* ! tegan didn't care much for that kind of stuff (meaning he would gladly stay bottom their of the pack for the rest of his life) but he knew it made towhee happy, and towhee was cool. she deserved to be happy. though he was going to yell for her attention, he remembered quickly she wouldn't hear, and instead opted to pick up his pace and move towards her, tail wagging. then, for once in tegan's life, he consciously chose to respect her rank, and when he got close enough dipped his head low in greeting, posture low and respectful.

"towhee!" he then exclaimed, popping back up, "congrats, dude!"

Colt wasn't sure how he felt when he heard about Finley and Elwood stepping down.  He still remembered his first impression of Towhee; not to mention how he felt about her disability.  But he wasn't about to hit the road again just yet, and if Finley wanted to do this, he supposed he didn't really need to agree with it.  He trusted her and Elwood enough to let it be.

When he saw the newly named leader out and about, with her bizarre bird circling overhead, he approached from the side.  Forgetting her deafness, he greeted her before he was actually probably in her sights.  "Hear there's a new sheriff.". He gave his nephew a smile in greeting as well.

X alerted her to her younger sibling's approach by swooping low to catch her eye. Towhee immediately turned and found herself face-to-face with Tegan. -Hey, bro,- she greeted casually, appraising his respectful posture. It wasn't really necessary, although she appreciated the sentiment. -Thanks, dude,- she said, tail waving.

Another dive bomb caused her to glance over her shoulder to see Colt walking up to them. She hadn't heard his greeting but she supplied one of her own. "Hey, Colt. Yeah, I guess there is," Towhee concurred with a dip of her head, a small smile playing about her mouth.

"I know I'm the Alpha now and all," she quipped in the next breath, peering between the two, "but I don't think I need bodyguards." Towhee huffed a dry laugh, then added more sincerely, "Could always use company though. It's pretty slow out here today."

right away tegan perked back up. he wasn't one for stiff shoulders and high heads, so he'd never accidentally offend anyone (though it apparently wasn't a problem now) since his natural posture was casual. tail wagging, he greeted colt with a 'sup' nod of his head, and though he longed to shoot out the smart nickname 'dolt', he decided he'd save that for another day. 

he gave an unruly snort at towhee's comment. he would neeeeeeevver be put in charge of guarding someone. what, are you kidding? that's so much trouble to go through-- and tegan had much better things to do. and though he'd never admit it out loud-- because he was fully functional and very capable thank you very much-- towhee wouldn't ever need much of his help. -what? no assholes swarming the borders?- he asked with a loud huff, ears pricking. nice curse word, tegan, he thought to himself.

Not privy to their own brand of language, but somewhat aware now that it was a language, of sorts, he largely ignored the twitches and gestures and stuck to Towhee's greeting.  "Who said anything about bodyguard?" He asked, grinning.  "I'm just here to get to know the new head honcho a bit better.  Seeing as we hit it off so well the first time.". He also didn't mind the chance to hang a bit with Tegan; he'd never wanted kids much himself, but uncle? Uncle he could handle.

She probably shouldn't be surprised that the pups were cursing like sailors these days, considering her own recent uptick in swearing. Towhee playfully quirked a brow and then joked, -Yo, watch your mouth.- It was funny (to her, anyway) because he hadn't spoken the epithet. Would Tegan get the joke?

The yearling could see Colt's mouth moving out of the corner of her eye so she turned to him in time to catch everything after "head honcho." His remark made her pause and reflect back to their first encounter. He was clearly being sarcastic (something she picked up on fairly well despite her disability) but she didn't consider their meet-cute particularly memorable.

"I never hit it off with anyone the first time," Towhee quipped dryly. "You're still here," she pointed out to him, remembering her promise to give him the boot if he didn't prove his worth. She couldn't really say she knew much about him and his contributions other than his participation in the war. But as far as she was concerned, anyone who'd been there on the front lines was worthy of respect, full stop.

Facing Tegan again, Towhee signed, -No assholes besides these ones.- She grinned as she gestured at him, Colt and herself. Out loud, she added, "But X told me he spotted a weird half-bird, half-rabbit critter about half a mile from here. Think it might be a yamalam, Teg?"

Skipping with permission!  since he's ducking out <3 haha

Her response was dry and, big surprise, completely humorless.  Colt felt a sharp spike of annoyance; if there was one type of person he couldn't stand, it was the type unable to make light of any given situation.  Further cementing that his style and hers likely weren't going to match all that well.

"Sounds like something the two of you can handle.  I gotta be off."  He'd intended to go hunting anyway, and honestly, he felt at the moment intruding wasn't much worth it.  He smiled and, with a nod to each, was off.  As he departed, he thought on it... he still wasn't sure what Finley was thinking, handing the reins over to this young wolf.  And he didn't much like it, not one bit.

Wrapping up!

Colt's abrupt departure genuinely surprised Towhee. "Thought you wanted to get to know the head honcho better?" she shouted after him, unaware that it was her inability to convey tone that had caused him to disembark so abruptly. She frowned deeply at his retreating back.

Turning back to Tegan, she shrugged. Colt's rudeness bothered her but she didn't want to let it spoil this time with her younger brother. "C'mon, let's go track that yamalam," she said, flicking out a forepaw to playfully bat the youth's shoulder before breaking into a slow trot, mindful of her mostly healed wounds.