Heron Lake Plateau You know I had heaven and hell in the palm of my hand.

It would take time for everyone to adjust to the recent changes in the upper tiers. Towhee had taken to the Beta role like a duck to water, though she knew that eventually she would face a situation where her step down from power might not go over so well. For instance, she wondered if Colt might make a comeback now that she was no longer in charge. And Raven liked Screech a whole lot more than anyone else in the pack did, so what if he ended up higher in the ranks, something Towhee wasn't sure he'd ever deserve? Then there was Quixote too. He seemed to love recruiting, so would the plateau soon be swarmed with outsiders?

Having effectively rained on her own parade, the Beta wrapped up her patrol, whistled for X and then began climbing back up to the plateau proper. She stopped just long enough for the raptor to settle on her shoulder, then began heading toward the lake and her little island, specifically. Halfway there, though, it occurred to her that getting lost in her own head would probably only put her further into a funk. She didn't need to be somewhere private right now. She needed a distraction. Towhee stopped abruptly (X let out an unheard squawk of protest) and then began scouring the territory for company of some kind.

She'd finally done it- she'd finally caught a heron. 

Well, it wasn't like it was one of the larger ones, but that didn't matter to Niamh. She'd been trying to catch one since Screech first pointed them out. She was very incapable of catching say a great blue heron, or an egret, but she had proudly been able to catch a black capped night heron- a much smaller version of the others, with dark feathers along the top of its head giving it sort of a grumpy look. It had been quick, but she'd been able to snatch it before it was able to lift off the ground where it had been wading in the shallows. 

The feathers had a nice sheen to them, so she plucked a few that had a blueish tint to them and buried the bird in a cache. Not that it was terribly important this time of year, but she still felt inclined to do so. Had the thought occurred to her that there might be puppies on the way, she might have had more reason to bury food in a cache- but such things still went over her head. With the few glossy black and blue feathers in her mouth, she climbed up the side of the plateau toward where her den was. At first, she thought the sound she heard was just the feathers flapping against the side of her face, until she realized that the sound actually belonged to another wolf, making their way up the plateau as well- one she recognized instantly. 

Seeing the red-tailed hawk with her, she instantly spat out the blueish black feathers, figuring it might offend the bird. She didn't even consider the fact that X was actually a predatory bird, and might not mind the feathers of a bird it might otherwise eat- but she decided to err on the side of caution. She approached her companion, and, with a grin she wasn't able to stifle one bit, she made sure she was in Towhee's line of vision before she signed. "Hey Towhee! I'm Niamh. How are you?" The introduction wasn't necessary- but she only knew so much, thus far, so she was going to use everything she had.

Although the plateau was huge, it didn't take long for Towhee to cross paths with another member of the pack. She gave Niamh a curious look as she watched the feathers drift from her mouth, then caught herself smiling as the woman signed a greeting at her. Although the introduction wasn't exactly necessary, Towhee nodded props to Niamh for her execution and form on her name sign, not to mention the rest of the phrase.

-I'm good, Niamh, thanks,- the Beta signed back, wondering if Niamh would require any translating. "How about you?" she added out loud before a pinch at her nape reminded her to say, "Have you met X yet?"

Towhee looked pleased, and she signed back, using a few more of the signs that Niamh did know. She’d learned the basics- basically what you’d learn in the first couple weeks of a university language course, but without all the random, and completely useless stuff they teach you like “The door is blue” that you’ll never use but is for some reason for another the only line you remember two years later. Den tur ist blau. Or something like that. 

”I’m good,” she said, nodding, and then her gaze was lifted to the bird at Towhee’s shoulders and her grin grew. ”Haven’t met him, but heard about him; he’s so cool!” She said, practically fangirling over the idea of having a personal hawk or falcon.

She felt X's weight shifting on her shoulder. He usually sat so still, so she craned her neck to glance at him. "What's up?" her expression said, orange eyes widening as she realized he was primping. Towhee huffed a laugh, then faced Niamh again. She opened her mouth to point out the hawk's silly behavior when a rush of air announced X's departure from her shoulder.

Instead of landing on the ground nearby, the hawk swooped directly toward Niamh, angling to perch on her shoulder. Towhee stared at this development with her jaw slightly agape. X never did this with other wolves, even Orca, his closest companion after Towhee.

"Wow, he must really like you," the Beta observed. "Do you have yourself a crush, X?" she teased the bird, who puffed up his feathers indignantly right before beginning to gently preen the golden furs on the back of Niamh's neck.

Hope the mild PP is all right, let me know if I need to edit anything! :)

Niamh’s sparkling gaze was captivated by the reddish bird of prey on Towhee’s shoulders. She had a thing for birds- mostly eating them, but birds of prey she generally left alone because they were badass. There was an unrelenting severity to their gaze that made them look uncompromising and angry all the time- and it was a cool look for a bird to have. They were basically dinosaurs with feathers- and had Niamh known what a dinosaur was, she would’ve been even more enamoured.

For a moment, she thought she’d offended the bird who’d preened his feathers momentarily before he crouched and took off. Ahe was slightly startled, then, when he flew the short distance between them, and settled on her shoulders. She stayed as still as she could, bewildered gaze lifting to Towhee to see if that was OK. He was lighter than she’d expected, and used his talons to grip the loose skin and fur at her shoulders only as tightly as he needed to, to stay there. She felt him rake his beak through the fur at the nape of her neck which made shivers go down her spine.

Towhee, surprisingly, seemed pleased. Niamh could hardly contain herself; her eyes shimmered with tears that hit her unexpectedly. ”This. Is. Amaaazing!” She said in a half whisper. ”I’ve never looked or felt so badass in my whole life!” Safe to say, if X had a crush, he wasn’t the only one.

The Beta chortled under her breath and rolled her eyes a little at the two of them. Despite her initial surprise, she didn't mind that X had taken to Niamh. In fact, it made her glad, especially because the she-wolf certainly seemed to reciprocate. Some members of the pack were lukewarm at best toward the raptor, so it meant a lot to Towhee when he was readily accepted.

The bird groomed Niamh for a moment longer, then beat his wings and hopped down from her back. He landed near the feathers she'd dropped. His head cocked from side to side before he chose one and then bounced to the patch of ground just in front of the she-wolf and bowed, presenting the feather. He twirled it in his beak, then let it drift lightly to her paws.

"Ugh," Towhee joked behind him, "get a room, you two."

Niamh practically glowed, and Towhee looked pretty impressed as well, which made her feel even better. When she felt the weight lift from her shoulders, she watched him wing over to where she'd dropped the feathers, glossy and black. Her ears flicked back- would he be offended that she ate birds? She could always tell him she only ate lame birds- partridges and grouse, and now herons- but would he understand? He picked one up, and brought it back to her. There was something somewhat accusatory in his stare- but that was simply because hawks, falcons and eagles always looked angry, she told herself. He dropped the feather in front of her, after twirling it for a moment, and it wasn't until Towhee spoke that she understood why he'd brought it back for her. 

It was a gift. Niamh practically melted. 

"For me?!" She asked, having just realized that he wasn't trying to get her to confess to being a birdkiller, but had brought her that as a gift. "Here- can you put it in my fur?" She asked, bowing her head, hoping he'd get the picture.

Towhee rolled her eyes at the two lovebirds a few more times, even turning away as if looking at them was too much. It was all in good fun, of course, and especially because she couldn't hear anything happening behind her, she soon faced forward again.

"Hey, X," she called to the bird, who ignored her momentarily as he positioned the feather in Niamh's nape. "X!" He finally looked up, looking severer than usual. "Want to show Niamh the roost?" The raptor immediately bobbed his head like an excited parrot, then launched into the air with a whoosh of wings and swept off toward the lake.

"Come on!" the Beta shouted, galloping after the hawk's shadow.

She had to grin when she felt the bird pushing the feather into the fur at the nape of her neck, knowing it wouldn't stay there long but it was the gesture that counted, okay? This was a bird- one of her favourite things- giving her a feather. Who else could say a badass falcon or eagle or hawk or whatever he was (so she liked birds but had no idea which species was which) had presented them with a feather and tucked it into their fur as though to say 'we are one' in a silent but ominous voice?

It took Niamh a second or two to pick up on Towhee's voice too, but once X took off on the way to the Roost- whatever that was- and Towhee invited her along, Niamh lunged forward with a smile, long legs helping her catch up with Towhee and follow the shadow of the hawk flying above them, to wherever he took her.

She couldn't hear her paws beating a tattoo against the earth, though she could feel her heart drumming in her chest as she chased X's fleeting shadow across the plateau. Towhee spared a single glance backward to make sure Niamh was coming, then faced forward and accelerated to her top speed. She felt like she was flying. And when the lake appeared, she didn't slow. Instead, she leaped right at the water's edge and soared over the shallows before crashing into the cold water.

She emerged a moment later, whooping loudly, and then began paddling. By the time she reached the shore of the little islet, X was already roosting on a low-hanging limb in the copse of trees at its center. Towhee barked playfully at him, then spun to see if Niamh was still right behind her. She then gave herself a mighty shake, sending droplets of water spraying across the small forest floor.

"Welcome," she said, "to The Roost." Even as the words rolled off her tongue, she realized that it was a proper name now. Her sopping tail waved.

Having not had her brother as a playmate for months now, Niamh had not taken the opportunity to stretch out and run at her full speed, except for hunting- and even then, it was simply a sprint which usually ended with a leap and required a lot of concentration. She caught a glimpse of one of Towhee's eyes- a sparkling dare if there ever was one- before she accelerated and shot forward. Digging in, Niamh did too, taking advantage of the moment to stretch her legs out and gallop across the field like a golden arrow. She veered away from Towhee, laughing as the grasses tickled her cheeks. She looked up, to see X soaring overhead, effortlessly, as the two wolves raced below.

A lake glistened in the distance, drawing nearer and nearer with each stride, and she veered back toward Towhee then, keeping pace with the dark leader and watching her carefully to read her body language should she veer one way or another once they reached the lake- but she did not. As soon as Niamh was certain Towhee was committed to vaulting into the lake, she turned her eyes forward, flattened her ears, and put on an extra, final burst of speed. 

Because of her velocity, she didn't jump terribly high when she leapt into the water- but her speed carried her forward and across the surface quite some distance, toes barely skimming the surface before gravity pulled her down and the water splashed at her chest. She closed her eyes and held her breath as the water swept over her, and she started paddling almost as soon as she began to sink in so she was still moving forward. Once she bobbed back to the surface she expelled air explosively and breathed in with a hefty gasp, paddling back in a circle to see where it was that Towhee had landed. She wasn't far away, but was paddling toward a small island, so Niamh followed suit, revelling in the feeling of the cool water after a mad dash like that. 

She pulled herself ashore and shook her coat out, blonde and caramel hairs sticking up like spikes. X was up, happily perched in a tree, and she looked around to see maybe if there were others, or nests. Surely a roost would be home to more than one bird- and she caught sight of a couple nests nearby, likely belonging to ospreys who would live there and fish in the waters. She nodded when Towhee spoke, and turned toward her friend with a smile on her face. "I like it!" She said breathlessly. "I hadn't checked this out before...I guess I've mostly been hanging around the borders, rather than the interior parts of the plateau- but this is pretty cool!"

Niamh seemed sort of taken with the place, which pleased Towhee. It wasn't solely hers, of course, but she'd begun spending most of her time here when not patrolling or visiting with pack mates. As she gave her companion a moment to explore the small getaway, the Beta gave another bodily wiggle. She also wagged her head and then tipped it to the side, sighing in relief when some water trickled down her jawbone.

"It's pretty quiet here," she remarked to Niamh, wondering if she would get the joke. Smirking, Towhee swept the small island with her eyes, then sought out a small patch of sunlight near the base of a tree and plopped to a sit. "You're welcome to hang out anytime. I thought about suggesting it as a rendezvous site but I kinda like having it at least mostly to myself. Plus, I think the whole surrounded-by-water thing isn't the best idea for keeping pups safe..."

100th post goes to you! <3

Niamh continued to gaze around, to the trees that dappled the small forest's floor with shade, to the nests in the branches, and out over the lake which surrounded them. Island life was actually kind of interesting- it was secluded, but it might be inaccessible in the early or late winter when the ice wouldn't hold a wolf and could potentially break and have them fall in. Other than that, though, she liked the idea that the pack had an island- kind of like a secret fortress in the middle of their packlands. 

She snorted and laughed- checking herself for a minute when Towhee pointed out that it was quiet- but she relaxed as soon as she realized Towhee had intended the joke. It was easy to forget, though, that the beta was deaf- Niamh found it quite easy to interact with her, and with X as her ears, she could be summoned if necessary. 

She moved alongside Towhee to the patch of sunlight and flopped down on the ground, fishing at her ear with one hind foot as the fur began to dry and itch a bit. Towhee mentioned the possibility of the island being a rendezvous site, but decided against it, for the sake of the pups. Niamh nodded. "Might be hard to get to when there's thin ice, too." She said, verbalizing the thoughts she'd had earlier. "Thanks for sharing your sort-of-secret place with me, though!" She said, recognizing that if this was a place Towhee wanted kept under wraps, there weren't likely many others who would know about it.

Woo, congrats! :)

Truthfully, she hadn't even considered winter conditions. Towhee frowned thoughtfully, though a smile found its way back to her lips when Niamh thanked her. It was so out of the ordinary for her to take to someone this quickly, though a lot had changed lately. The towheaded she-wolf had two major bonuses going for her: she was actively trying to learn ptero and she was befriending X. How could Towhee help but like her?

-No problem,- she signed, then repeated it out loud and added, "You're welcome anytime." Her wet tail thumped the ground before Towhee bent in half and began licking her fur dry, with a little bit of help from the sun on her back.

No problem; Niamh mimicked the action, making sure that she got it right, and signed -Thanks- to Towhee when she welcomed Niamh to use the island. As Towhee began to lick the water from her fur, Niamh lay down, scratching her back in the grass, and rolled over onto her back, writhing from side to side to scratch along her spine, and once that itch was satisfied, she simply lay there, gazing up into the tree where X was perched. It would have been pretty awesome to be a bird, she thought, and yawned, flicking her tongue over her teeth. 

Content, warm and full of fresh air, Niamh slowly allowed her eyelids to close as she lay in the sun that warmed and dried the fur along her belly. When she awoke, of course, she have an aweful hairdo from falling asleep on her back with wet hair, but that was something for later Niamh to worry about. For now, all was good in the world- she was safe, warm and happy on an island and had just made friends with the baddest bird on the planet.