mother'd gone back to drageda without her. she'd explained why (though blixen didn't really understand most of it she'd gotten the gist - she's probably due for a birds and the bees talk by now) but it still stung. and with artaax off doing whatever it is nomi asked him to do, and furi... she's feeling more than a little disjointed and isolated. she doesn't know any of the redhawk clan she travels with - @Raven, @Ben, @Lagan, and @Orca - though they seem fine, she hasn't talked to them much, taking up post more as a silent guard, consumed by her own worries. 

she misses furi. she should be there too, fighting with her. she could ditch the kids -- they don't need her, they have their family -- and be there. how mad would nomi be? despite her impulsiveness, she does the job she's assigned, but -- being here in limbo, away from mother in drageda and furi in potential danger is twisting her up inside. she could go back to drageda too -- but she thinks about what might happen if she's not back to make sure everyone is okay and that stops her. 

frustrated, the teen looks up to realise they've made it to their destination. she looks at the redhawks and sighs. she'll just have to figure out a way to get through this on her own.

blixen is broken out of her self-pitying reverie by movement and the weird sensation of being watched. blinking, she looks and spots the boy amongst the trees. he doesn't look dangerous and they're far enough away from blackfeather that it should be fine but the gona puffs up defensively anyway. she's about to call him out when one of the baby cousins catches up to her, pulling her attention away. "hey squirt," she says, ignoring his mispronunciation of her name, and finally glances away from the trees. she's hesitant to let the stranger go completely, but - the other kids are with their packmates presumably and anyway, she's good at her job. if he lingers, she'll deal with him (and she shoots him a look as she decides this, wondering if he'll call out to her or keep moving). "whatcha up to?" blixen says to -- which one is this, again? she doesn't actually know. let's go with little redhawk one.

when he brushes off the nickname she can't help but laugh, even though she hadn't really been trying to insult him. "well, sure," she says, and sighs, "but it's kinda boring, isn't it?" her eyes flick over to where the stranger had stood. the shape is gone and so she puts it out of her mind for now, instead making a show of crouching next to little redhawk one. "sha," blix says, "sure." why not? she doesn't have anything else better going on.

as far as useless baby cousins go, this one isn't bad. they'd all been pretty scrappy, ready to go fight, and she didn't blame 'em one bit -- she'd been the exact same way. though it had taken mother's kidnapping to wake up that side of her. sometimes she wonders what she'd have been like if mother'd never been taken by blackfeather -- would she have stayed the sort of airheaded naturalist puppy she'd been? just hanging out and looking at the stars? (furi likes stargazing, so maybe that wouldn't be so bad, either.)

anyway. little redhawk one starts a story about a cougar that .. had red fur like her. and - hey! "oh, yeah? i bet he was secretly way cool," she challenges, settling with her paws crossed as he talks.

ugh, this little kid has such a smart mouth! blix is not the sort that can keep up with clever quips -- she's not stupid but she is kind of a dumb jock. she makes a face but doesn't respond, letting him continue his little story or whatever. 

he talks about something falling out of the sky and she immediately thinks back to stargazing with furi, when the girl had insisted on stars falling. "stars can't fall," the gona scoffs, "and there aren't like, rocks in the sky, that's just dumb." (of course that she has no idea what she's talking about -- her specialty is plants not the sky -- has no bearing on her firm opinion that little redhawk one is full of shit in this moment.)

stars cant fall! blixen refuses to buy it. she scoffs at the boy but ceases her interruptions, her brows creased as she listens to the next part with a dubious expression. but really, he's testing the limits of her ... it's just a dumb story! "a rock made the weather change?" the gona snorts before she can help herself, then mutters "sorry" hastily lest little redhawk one start scolding her again.

although she still finds the entire story unbelievable at this point blixen keeps her mouth shut, not wanting to be scolded again by her baby cousin. 

but the ending leaves much to be desired. "that's it? a big space rock kills them -- which totally doesnt happen -- and then happily ever after?" the redhead scowls, unimpressed -- but well, hey, she's not depressed about being stranded out here all alone anymore. sighing, she bops the boy with her snout and says, "thanks, little redhawk one," before picking herself up to do one final patrol and then sleep.