Towhee looked down at her handiwork and could only think,
Overkill much? She had pretty much
obliterated the rabbit; she would be eating pulpy mush rather than meat. She sighed and dropped heavily to her haunches as she caught her breath. She felt a little less angry for the exertion, though she could still feel the resentment simmering inside her.
Quixote (and Raven, although Towhee held
him responsible) had left the plateau, shed the Redhawks name and found a new set of co-leaders, all within the past week. Never mind that Towhee was guilty of all these things as well. Honestly, Towhee wouldn't have minded most of it so much, if not for Rannoch and Liffey. Hearing that they were equals to her sister and milquetoast-in-law
rankled. How could he replace her so swiftly and absolutely? And why hadn't an equal leadership role ever been an option for Towhee? And Phox as well?
It's fine, it'll be fine, everything's how it should be, just chill the fuck out out, she told herself even as she exhaled a seething breath through clenched teeth and smashed her paw in the puddle of rabbit organ soup.
She had been settling in rather well. The place was even prettier in the daylight. There was a river that she was determined to explore more of, perhaps catch a thing or two even. But all of that could wait. Phox had given her a big list of names and she needed to start checking them off. So when she spotted a figure up ahead she saw an opportunity.
Her dainty form practically bounced ahead until she was roughly a yard in front of them. They were...smashing what looked to be the remains of some kind of small animal. Definitely not what she had been expecting. Do you, uh, want something else to eat?
Vero found that she enjoyed walking along the river, listening to the soft chuckle of water falling over the rocks, the rush of it flowing downstream. She could hide in the tall grasses that grew along the banks, concealing her dark coat in what she deemed the best manner other than the shadows of night.
A soft squelching noise perked her ears straight upright and she paused abruptly. Her narrow head lifted to see not one, but two females gathered roughly together, although that sqelching sound was thus far lost on her. It was not until she reached the pair that she realized that the darker-furred of the two females seemed to be angrily pawing at the remains of a dead rabbit. Puzzled, Verochka tilted her head as she crept nearer.
The second woman, whose fur was the color of smoke and cream, had offered to give the first something else to eat. The entire situation caused Vero extreme confusion, and so she sat on her haunches and simply observed them from a respectable, yet audible distance.
Uh - hello.
She looked up when she sensed movement, ears sweeping backward as an unfamiliar wolf bounded up to her. Towhee bristled as she opened her mouth to demand the she-wolf's identity. Before she could get the words out, a second stranger appeared.
She was on her feet, head held low to protect her throat even as her tail arched rigidly behind her. "This is claimed territory," Towhee snapped in her gruff timbre, "identify yourselves." Because it wasn't lost on her that this might be Nebula and Ruenna, the two newest members she hadn't yet met.
She hadn't expected the second stranger but she had no clue who it might be. With a whole list of names and little to no faces known, she had to be pretty open. But the one who had been squashing meat snapped for identities. Her ears flipped back to lay slick on her skull as her tail slunk between her legs.
Nebula.
The dainty female softly responded as her gaze drifted between the other two wolves present.
the she-wolf whose fur was painted black and auburn took on a dominant stance, causing Vero to wonder if she had unknowingly stumbled upon something she shouldn't, or if the scent of packlands had somehow slipped her mind.
the second female, the daintier one, followed the orders given and spoke her name. the pitch-furred wolfess darted her gaze from one of the other women to another before doing as she had been asked.
I am Verochka... she was tense, scenarios of all sorts playing through her mind as to how this entire encounter would end.
The first, paler stranger offered a familiar name: Nebula. Towhee's fiery gaze swung toward the darker of the two. And that makes you— The thought cut off in surprise when the black she-wolf introduced herself as Verochka, not Ruenna.
"This is Asterism Grove and I'm Towhee, one of the leaders," she spoke brusquely, head raising slightly, a subtle sign of dominance. "My brother mentioned you," Towhee said to Nebula, then she turned her narrowed eyes to Verochka, "but I have no idea who you are. I suggest you leave, unless you intend to pledge loyalty to us." And just because she was in a foul temper, she didn't attempt to stifle the warning growl that followed.
Asterism Grove. Check, knew that. Towhee. Check, heard about her from Phox. Verochka? Definitely no clue who that was as it had not been presented to her on the list of names Phox had given. So it shouldn't have been surprising when her own face seemed to contort into confusion as her gaze settled on the stranger amongst them.
It was cool to know that she had been mentioned to Towhee (while kind of expected it was still cool) but she could think more about that later. Right now they had to figure out what to do with Verochka.
It seemed that Vero had come upon the unfortunate circumstance of meeting two canines who were already familiar with each other, while she remained the stranger of the trio. There was familiarity between the woman called Towhee and the one named Nebula, but there was also familiarity in what they spoke of as far as Verochka was concerned.
Careful not to appear threatening in any way, the inky-furred woman addressed them both, recalling an encounter she had experienced quite recently. I have met and introduced myself to one of your number, Phox. I expressed to him my intentions to follow you, she explained calmly. I am a healer, and I would be happy to offer my skills to you.
Verochka probably didn't realize it but she said the magic word ("Phox"). Towhee slowly sheathed her fangs and calmed, though she maintained her rigid posture. Her brother hadn't gotten the chance to mention this latest addition to her yet, though if she knew him by name, doubtless she was telling the truth. She should've been thrilled by yet another able body in the ranks, as it meant their pack was growing in numbers and strength. But Towhee just felt sour about being surrounded by strangers.
Hell, even her own family was strangers to her now. Although Towhee blamed Quixote for making all these sudden changes, it suddenly occurred to her that her sister wasn't some sort of pushover. Sure, she was gentle and kind to a fault, yet she wouldn't have just gone without these changes if she hadn't wanted them too. Bitter rage surged within Towhee and she growled loudly again, for no apparent reason as far as Nebula and Verochka were concerned.
She had the presence of mind to calm herself down and say, "I'm sorry, that wasn't meant for either one of you. I'm just having a... day." Towhee was not about to unload any of her burdens on two near strangers. "My shit mood aside, it's good to meet you both. Tell me about yourselves. And feel free to help yourselves to this," she added, grimacing a little as she pointed a toe at the smashed rabbit remains.
@Nebula I skipped you, totally by accident! if this isn;t okay, please let me know and I will delete my post. I'm so sorry!
Verochka's chest heaved a small sigh as Towhee's fangs returned beneath her lips. The regal woman's tension remained, however, and the raven she-wolf's discomfort had yet to depart. She felt singled out, a stranger amidst two canines who had obviously already met and conjured up a rapport of sorts.
as if to add to Vero's unsettling emotions, a growl emitted from the dominant woman's breath. Bloody eyes widened as her mind searched desperately for something that she had done to further the woman's resentment. It seemed that Towhee knew of Phox, knew him well enough to ease herself into a somewhat calmer state, but it hardly seemed to be enough as evidenced by the rumble in her throat
quickly, though, Towhee explained away her mood as just... a bad day. Oh it's... it's okay. Towhee continued on in what seemed an effort to redeem herself, asking them about themselves. It was here that Verochka at last began to relax a bit. Her eyes flitted towards the seemingly good-natured Nebula, but when she offered up no immediate answer, Vero began her own response to the question posed by Towhee.
but first, Verochka eyed the remnants of the dead rabbit, already taking on a slight odor due to the growing heat of the day, and shook her head kindly. I ate a bit earlier, thank you miss. she lied with a smile. I come from a bit east of here, but not far. I was trained as a healer - I already told Phox about that. I am happy to follow you, and provide my skills wherever needed.
she offered a half-smile, again averting her gaze towards Nebula, curious herself to learn more about the smoke-furred young woman.
Nebula had been ready to say something but it seemed the other was eager to jump in. Which might be for the best seeing as neither one of them (Towhee and Nebula) were familiar with the stranger. There wasn't much to the strangers story which was fine by her. It meant less things to remember.
I've wandered for a while but got tired of it. Phox was kind enough to let me settle in with you all.
Her tail swished with ease as she looked in Towhee's direction, giving away her positive feelings about being here. It was nice to not be alone. I'm not very good at anything in particular but I know some things about plants and I can hunt pretty well!
She chirped before silencing herself. She didn't want to begin to ramble.
Looks like we lost Verochka, so I'll nudge this toward a conclusion. Feel free to post again or just archive, of course. :)
They obliged her request in turns, their stories striking her as fairly similar: they had both been welcomed by Phox and they knew a little about healing and plants. At least, Towhee lumped those two together in her mind, having always associated Raven's field with a variety of leafy green herbs. The reminder of her sister had her gut clenching unpleasantly all over again.
"It will be good to have some skilled healers around," the mercenary acknowledged, realizing as she spoke that there was nothing for her mood. She shouldn't keep subjecting these newcomers to it.
"It was nice to meet you but I'm going to head off to patrol. I swear I'll be less of an angry whackass the next time we meet." As
that word slipped out, unbidden and reminding her of Tegan, her jaw clenched so hard it creaked.
"See you both later," were her final words before Towhee prowled away into the strath.
It seemed things were wrapping up and as the two wolves departed and Nebula found herself rather bored, she decided to take off too. She bounded off through the woods with the desire to see something else worthwhile. Perhaps she'd bump into someone else who was more friendly or maybe she'd lounge about to watch the skies.