He’s looking for Towhee but I don’t want to thread with myself again, so anybody else is welcome!
The first time he called at the vale, nobody answered. Feeling
really crestfallen by this point, Caracal considered doubling back to the canyon to try seeing Killdeer again. Instead, he parked on a nearby outcropping to give his sore feet a break. And then he fell asleep.
When he woke, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and realized it must be the next day. Feeling well rested, Caracal bounced to his feet and decided to try calling at Epoch’s border again. He mentioned Towhee by name, begging anyone else who might overhear to grant him an audience in his deaf mother’s stead.
vague ofc but i always want maxim to see family
he heard the call for towhee, but he was away from her side for the moment. perched upon a higher slope of epoch. he realized he had seen this figure before! it had been sometime but —
caracal,
his voice was warm, even if his features perhaps shined through some of his exhaustion. it's good to see you.
in these not so good times.
ah, should he...say something? instead he lingered in silence for now, wondering if towhee's son had come for something specific or just a visit.
He was so relieved to see someone, Caracal’s face was like a goddamn ray of sunshine the instant Maxim appeared. His expression only brightened when he realized he knew this wolf. He honestly couldn’t have asked for a better envoy than his mom’s sidepiece!
Dad, hey!
Caracal shouted with a playful laugh, scooting closer to Maxim with a boy am I glad to see you air. I was hoping to see mom. Icarus told me y’all live here in Epoch now,
he gushed, head tilting questioningly.
dad, he was called. a soft snort of humor escaped him. caracal felt like a fresh breath of air around here for the moment. he welcomed the young man into epoch, knowing that arsenio and tamar would not mind.
how often had redhawks come visiting? near weekly.
i don't know an icarus, but he's right.
a little nod. but, um...
he should say it first. before they got too far along or before they might find towhee.
there is something you should know, before we go find towhee.
somehow maxim felt even more boyish in the face of caracal.
His one working eye scanned Maxim’s face. Did he look older or was it just Caracal’s imagination? His brow furrowed as he noticed a certain haggardness to him about three seconds before he made a seriously ominous remark regarding Towhee.
Caracal’s heart began to sink as he asked, What?
Had something more nefarious than a change of pace brought the two of them out of Mereo and into what looked like—based on the glimpse of it he could get from here—a slice of paradise?
out with it, maxim!
it felt like a stone had settled in his gut. we...lost leo recently, our daughter.
he licked his lips with a sinking nervousness. a gentle sag to his shoulders and face now. had caracal ever been able to meet his own half-sister? now the opportunity was gone all together.
it felt like a new pain now.
it's been difficult, but i think you'd be a very welcomed face for your mother.
Caracal’s first and admittedly disingenuous thought was, Who the fuck is Leo? But it was wiped out two seconds later when Maxim said she was—or had been—their daughter. The way Maxim’s shoulders sagged really drove home the sort of loss this meant. Caracal’s heart sank all the way into his stomach, which felt like it dropped into his feet.
Oh, shit,
he mumbled, staring hard at Maxim’s face. Dude, I’m sorry. Are you…
Well, no, he wasn’t okay. Of course he wasn’t. Just looking at him, Caracal could tell that. The question died on his lips as he blinked stupidly for a second. He then raised his forelegs, letting his stepdad know a big ole hug was on offer if he wanted it.
he had never pictured himself as a stepfather, nor did he think he would have such a sprawling family. it mattered not if it was through marriage. they all treated him with an unmatched kindness that he had not seen anywhere else.
so, still raw with his emotions, he accepted the affection offer from caracal.
content to linger there for a moment before he pulled away. misty-eyed.
you know,
he raised a paw to wipe at his face sheepishly. phox is here too — and you have a brother, jack, who might welcome a new brother at a time like this.
and more in the spring! yet he felt that might be good news for them to share as a family.
Maxim tilted toward him and Caracal swooped in like a great bird of prey, his wingspan tucking around the man’s charcoal shoulders and pulling him in with feeling. He thumped Towhee’s partner on the back, trying to infuse both comfort and strength into their embrace.
When they pulled back in tandem, he saw Maxim’s face had crumpled. Caracal felt a ridiculous impulse to brush away his tears, though he stayed his hand. That would be weird, wouldn’t it? Maxim was a handsome guy—and Caracal could admit that to himself—but he belonged to his mother! And a lot of men would feel very awkward about that sort of intimacy. He would resist.
I’m glad Uncle Ph is here for you guys,
Caracal said.
I’m here now too,
he added unnecessarily.
Take me to her. If you thought what I gave you was a good hug, I’m gonna squeeze her like a thousand times harder,
he said, trying to inject some levity into a very heavy exchange.
He had a feeling he might linger here longer than planned. Caracal would hang as long as Towhee needed him. If that took him past the schedule he’d given his soon-to-be girlfriend, well, he would just pray for Heda’s forgiveness and understanding.
Thank you for the kudos, “dad”!
Towhee finished fussing with the latest trimmings someone had lovingly left on Leona’s grave, then sat back to admire her handiwork. She had a sneaking suspicion that the resident porcupine kept ruffling around here, leaving all the decorations akimbo. She would need to seek out and destroy that interfering little pincushion, then maybe fashion a new piece of decor out of its quills.
Her lips twitched faintly and she snorted, though soon Towhee’s face fell into a mask of tired grief. The pups in her belly—now protruding quite uncomfortably, especially when she sat like this—quickened as if they’d read their mother’s mind and approved of her murderous plan to avenge their older sister. She rested a foreleg over the swell of it, feeling those little kicks right through her own abdomen. One actually hit her square in the elbow.
Yo, junior, lay off the wenis,
she muttered, rubbing at it with her other paw and glancing absently skyward when she saw a flock of birds explode from a bare treetop nearby.
Sixth sense tingling, Towhee glanced over her shoulder.
I wanted to get this in her thread log, though it’ll be my only post with her!
could be a fade? :)
he was a sweet boy. kind and thoughtful. loving to his family! it endeared maxim deeply to the young man who had once jarred him by yelling dad.
ah, not...too hard, hm?
he teased warmly. a hint of a brighter future in their darkness! but he would let them announce this properly when they stood as a family together with towhee.
he missed deeply the patrolling figure of leona who might have gone ahead to warn her mother.
Maxim teased him in return. Caracal smirked, though his face softened as they ventured deeper into the vale. He could not begin to imagine the pain they felt over this sort of loss. He hoped he would
never understand it.
They walked along a streambed toward what looked like a willow grove surrounding a small lake. Caracal made a curious noise in his throat as they passed the spring and approached a field on the far side. It didn’t look like much now, though he thought it would look and smell splendid come spring, like the lavender field on the island.
It’s really beautiful here,
he remarked, the sound of his voice frightening a bunch of birds out of a tree.
Caracal watched them a moment. When he dropped his eyes, he spotted Towhee looking over her shoulder at them. The world around him faded away as he kicked up his heels and ran to his mom. He minded her round belly as he threw his arms around Towhee, marveling at the peculiar sensation of his baby siblings kicking him through their mom’s belly.
Aye, thanks for threading!