@Towhee
Wraen did not do in the hot weather well. She was most active around dawn, spent the majority of her day in one of her secret hiding places and then went out for a second round at dusk. She found that she enjoyed these moments of solitude and oneness with her surroundings and not for the first time recently she mused, what if she let herself be persuaded by Maia and leave everything behind to head into the unknown.
More aware than before she was of the passing time - it was her fourth year already, she was half-way through the lifespan that had been given to her on this Earth. And this made her wonder, whether Firebirds were here final destination, where she would grow old and eventually her mound would join those of others in the little graveyard. Or was there more to life, more for her to do and learn. All she needed to do was to make that first step and find out.
Yet she was hesitant - the wisdom that came with old age and comforts that she was used to and which she did not want to change for the unpredictable life on the road. Not yet anyway. With all this on her mind, Wraen's path led to the rendezvous site, where Towhee and the rest of the group had recently relocated. She was not particularly looking forward to playing a nanny to the four kids, but she did feel that there was time and place for a conversation with her fellow leader.
Wraen would find Towhee shamelessly snuggling a sleeping Primrose near the edge of the rendezvous site, the two of them removed from the rowdier pups as they played nearby. Sometimes, it worried her that Prim seemed so... well, inert. But right now, she didn't mind it at all. With Fig's departure so fresh in her mind and heart, she would take all the cuddling she could get. Mostly it came from Meerkat, though she was happy to hold any of the babies that would allow it.
Her orange eyes lifted when the Sovereign approached, her tail tapping gently on the ground to invite her closer. -"Hey. Don't worry, we won't wake him,"- she assured after shifting the snoozing Prim to a spot nearer her belly, freeing her anterior for better communication. -"How're you doin', Wraen?"-
"Oh, I am fine, I am fine," Wraen replied, regarding the little Niamh-look-alike fondly, then lifted her muzzle to smile at Towhee. Not for the first time did she feel amazed by, how quickly the children grew and how very little time she had spent in their company. Her younger self had been all for baby-sitting, whereas her older-now preferred to observe the joys and pains of parenthood from afar. Entertaining kids did not have the same appeal as it had been in the past.
"The heat is quite unbearable though," she added, because, what better way was there to start a conversation if not about weather. "What about you? How are you doing?"
-"That's,"- Towhee replied without missing a beat, -"what she said."- She cracked a grin at her own joke, hoping Wraen got it. It was particularly funny to her, considering their history around the Regent's infamous behaviors during estrus.
Her smile fell a little as she gave the question some serious contemplation in the following moment. -"I'm okay. I miss Fig. I know he's not far and he'll be back soon. But..."- Well, she didn't mean to be negative or doubt her son's promise but she felt like she'd heard these words countless times before. -"I'm glad I have these guys to distract me,"- she continued in the next breath, gently nudging the sleeping Prim before glancing at the others in the distance.
Attention returning to the Sovereign, Towhee queried, -"Everything good with management?"- Surely Wraen would've gotten straight to the point if there were any important leadership issues to discuss, though maybe she was taking her time today.
"Boring is good, I guess?" Wraen joked back, serious though - nothing of grave importance had happened around the place for several months now. She enjoyed the peace and truly hoped that it would last longer, if not forever.
"I thought though that I should elaborate a bit on Arcturus and, where that leaves us in regards of Moonspear," she said. "I do not know, what he has told anyone else around here, but he did not leave on good terms," Wraen explained.
"And I am definitely not their favourite person either - first, because I trespassed. Second - they might blame me for, why Arcturus left in the first place," she went on. "I know that you and Hydra are old friends, but I want you to be careful, if you decide to go on a reunion visit. When it comes to family members leaving, she is not very reasonable."
It turned out to be the latter. Towhee's face scrunched in mild confusion at the total non sequitur before she caught herself and smoothed out her expression. She watched Wraen's lips move, following every word. She knew much of this; if she hadn't been told outright, she'd picked up the contextual clues along the way. The Regent couldn't help but wonder why the Sovereign was bringing this up now. Did she somehow know about her regular rendezvous with Hydra? She supposed it was possible, since she wasn't particularly secretive about them. Fig could've mentioned them (before he left) or, much more likely, Meerkat had probably regaled Wraen with her tales of scouting.
-"I've known Hydra most of my life. She's my sister-in-arms, so I see her regularly,"- Towhee said, pretty sure she'd already informed Wraen of this but it definitely bore repeating now. -"Well, a few times a year, usually. She's definitely..."- She tried to think of the right word to describe Hydra but, of course, it was impossible. Towhee laughed fondly. -"I understand your concerns, don't think I don't. I have my own crazy history with Arcturus, remember? I ask that you trust my judgment on the matter."- She finished by catching Wraen's eye and offering her a reassuring look.
"Oh, I do not question your judgement in the matter," Wraen shook her head lightly, "and neither I want to deter you from meeting her as often as possible, if you two are still on good terms. I just do not wish that Hydra's animosity towards me stands in the way... or causes you any harm."
On the other hand - maybe her warning had not been necessary at all. Towhee was made of different material than Wraen and she would probably have a say, if anyone even attempted to touch a hair on her head. "I sometimes wish that there was less hate and bitterness in the world," she said after a pause. "Wouldn't that make life so much easier?"
-"We somehow manage to keep politics out of it when we meet up,"- Towhee mused, not really sure exactly how they accomplished that, just that they did. She couldn't imagine there was anything that could truly drive a wedge between them, though she hoped never to test that theory.
Wraen's next remark hit as another non sequitur, though Towhee didn't mind the shift. -"Easier? Probably. But possibly a lot more boring. Don't you like a good confrontation from time to time, Wraen?"- the Regent bantered.
"Not particularly," Wraen shook her head in denial. "I try to keep that beast in me in check and in the past months you have been the only one, who has suffered from it. Before that I think it was calm for two years or so," she mused half-serious.
"It is good that you manage to do so. May it never change," she wished it sincerely, because it had taken so very little for things to alter between her and Hydra. And to think that there had been a time, when they had been almost friends.
She chuckled under her breath at the inevitable mention of their altercation last spring. Towhee couldn't know how loud it sounded, though evidently it was noisy enough that it made Primrose stir in his sleep. Her gaze dropped to him and she smoothed a paw down his spine until the little boy calmed and went still again.
Attention returning to Wraen, Towhee thought aloud, -"If you or even Arcturus ever wanted to pass a message to her or, hell, even try to talk to her, I could always be the middleman, I suppose. And I'm no good at that shit, nor do I like doing it, so I don't make that offer lightly."-
"I don't think that there is anything me and Hydra have to talk about," Wraen shook her head. "To her I am as good as dead. And for me... we are worse than strangers. We cannot even pretend that we haven't known each other in the past," she said with a cryptic expression.
"And as for Arcturus - I doubt that presently he wants to have anything to do with Moonspear or his sister. They left on very bad terms and, when I spoke to him last, that wound was still raw and painful," she explained, though she kind of did not like to talk on her friend's behalf. What did she know really?
Wraen declined her offer, which was honestly relieving. It all sounded like something Towhee didn't really want to touch. Maybe it was weird for her to be so tight with her pack mates' nemesis... but she'd known and loved Hydra much longer than Wraen or Arcturus. And since they were all adults, she liked to think they could all remain civil and respectful of one another's relationships, without dragging any further conflict and drama into it.
-"Understood,"- the Regent rumbled, nodding before adding, -"I think I'm gonna take Prim's example and rack out for a bit. It's too hot to do much of anything else. You're welcome to hang."- Leaving that decision up to the Sovereign, Towhee shifted, stretched and made herself comfortable beside her dozy role model.