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+--- Thread: Heron Lake Plateau The Indie Queens are Waiting (/showthread.php?tid=26876)
The Indie Queens are Waiting - RIP Niamh - April 23, 2018
Something about being a part of a pack felt kind of odd. Her brother had chosen to join a bunch of yearlings and they'd establish a heirarchy amongst themselves- she'd hoped to do the same sort of thing, and had come so close to doing so with Screech and Redshank- but instead, they'd been enveloped into the Redhawks pack. Not that she resented it, necessarily- but she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about being at the absolute bottom of the pecking order- but nor did she feel particularly inclined to climb the ranks by pleasing others, either. She didn't know what to do with herself so she did the only thing she'd been doing for some time anyway- she patrolled the borders that she, Screech and Redshank had already established, but which had now grown to accomodate a lot more wolves.
She paused along the edge of the plateau when she finally caught sight of a heron, its white feathers reflecting the rosy sheen from the morning's sky. So that was what Screech was talking about when he mentioned seeing a tall bird; that was definitely not a partridge. This was probably a heron, or something like that. She sniffed, and uttered a soft chuff, which caused the tall bird to collect itself and then open its large, clean wings and take off, pulling its long legs close to its body though they trailed behind it like kite strings as it flew away.
She supposed that at some point she'd be confronted by one of her new packmates, and she wasn't sure how they'd feel about her, Screech and Redshank...Though apparently these were Screech's people, so she harboured a small hope that they would accept her simply because she was backing up one of their own family members.
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - Towhee - April 25, 2018
The sight made Towhee freeze in her tracks: a heron bursting upward like some elegant rocket, its scalloped wings, white as snow, sweeping gracefully through the April air. She watched it for a moment, then dropped her gaze and spotted the source of the bird's disturbance. She had seen Niamh recently, when dealing with Lynx at the borders. For obvious reasons, they hadn't gotten to interact much. But Towhee was intrigued by the other she-wolf and began walking straight toward her.
She couldn't imagine what Niamh must think of her. She'd first seen Towhee attacking her ringleader (Screech), then grilling their guest at the borders just hours ago. Probably thinks you're some kind of bitch, the Alpha mused with a slight snort. She's not wrong. Out loud, she said, "Hey. Niamh, right?"
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - RIP Niamh - April 25, 2018
Niamh’s teeth gritted together as soon as she caught Towhee’s scent, and she turned her head to see the alpha approaching. She lowered her head and turned her ears back, side-stepping slightly as the female joined her. She was asked for her name and Niamh nodded.
”That’s me.” She said, and hesitated, not quite sure what to say next. Sorry for being an asshole? She wasn’t. Sorry you’re such an asshole? That’d get her ass whooped. It took her a moment, but now that she actually had time to frame Towhee up, she finally noticed that they must be around the same age. She couldn’t imagine leading a pack just yet; a ragtag band of fools, but not a pack.
”So you’re...You’re Screech’s sister or something?” She asked, unsure of exactly Screech fit into the family.
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - Towhee - April 25, 2018
Especially after her conversation with her godparents, Towhee felt like maybe she should behave more assertively in the classic ways: by pulling rank, mostly. But when Niamh submitted, it simply didn't trigger any particular instinctual reaction. She expected—no, demanded—outsiders to acknowledge their place. But she'd never been one for pecking order within the ranks, unless overtly challenged in some way. Her ears and tail stiffened, though only for a moment. She sighed so lightly it surely went unheard.
"Yes, Screech—formerly known as Titmouse—is one of my many siblings," she affirmed. It was tempting to explain why they weren't close, though Towhee's teeth clicked shut against the words. She wasn't here to swing Niamh to her side. There weren't supposed to be sides anymore. They were all under the same roof now, so to speak. "I'm Towhee," she said, probably unnecessarily, then added, "So how'd you two meet?"
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - RIP Niamh - April 25, 2018
Titmouse? The name caught Niamh completely offguard, and in a brief but graceless moment, she smiled incredulously. ”Titmouse?” She asked. And she’d teased him for being called Screech- she’d definitely have to poke him about that one later. ”I didn’t know he had another name,” She admitted, composing herself.
Towhee introduced herself and she nodded in greeting. There was still something funny about the way Towhee spoke; having never met a deaf wolf before, Niamh hadn’t exactly picked up on the fact that Towhee couldn’t hear her. And so, when asked about Screech, she shrugged lightly and canted her head away from Towhee slightly. ”Just met him while hunting birds.” She said. ”I liked his style or something, I guess, so I decided to stick with him.”
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - Towhee - April 25, 2018
It pleased Towhee when Niamh laughed at her brother's true name, though she carefully controlled her expression. "Yeah," she said, bobbing her head, "didn't you notice the resemblance?" Maybe she'd never seen a titmouse or simply hadn't made the connection. "Most of us are named after birds or other animals. Those of us that came out of Peregrine and Fox anyway. Uncle Elwood and Aunt Finley go the route of impossible-to-pronounce..."
She fell quiet as Niamh described her meet-cute with Screech, though she turned away abruptly, preventing Towhee from catching the story. Her ears pulled back impatiently, though her voice was entirely level when she quite likely interrupted Niamh to say, "Hey, could you look at me when you speak? I need to be able to read your lips." Although it was probably a foregone conclusion, she did added an explanatory, "I'm deaf."
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - RIP Niamh - April 25, 2018
Wow- so after having left a family pack, she’d joined another one. It seemed as though everyone in the pack was related- she had no idea who any of the wolves named were, but she tried to make a mental note so she could remember them when she met them.
At first, Niamh thought Towhee was asking if she saw the resemblance between herself and her brother, which provoked a confused expression. It was then explained that a titmouse was a bird, but she couldn’t recall ever seeing one of those. ”So you look like a Towhee?” She asked, then, and decided to keep an eye out for birds with a bit of reddish orange on them.
Towhee’s annoyance rang through in her voice, whether she was aware the tone translated or not, and Niamh’s surprise showed plainly on her face. ”Oh shit! I’m sorry!” She said, apologizing for turning her head- not because Towhee was deaf; she didn’t think that was the kind of thing one apologized for. ”I didn’t know...Have you always been deaf?” She asked tentatively, wondering how else Towhee would have learned to speak had she not been able to hear at some point.
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - Towhee - April 26, 2018
For some reason, Niamh's overreaction tickled Towhee's funny bone instead of irritating her. "Yes, to both of your questions," she replied. "I can read lips, no problem," she explained, "most of the time. I have no trouble reading yours. But you have to be facing me, naturally. So, you were saying...?"
After she presumably repeated her story, the Alpha quipped, "I met him in the womb. And he's been a shitbag as long as I've known him." Towhee's eyes twinkled and her lips twitched, indicating that Niamh needn't take offense at the (granted, quite serious) sibling rivalry. "I wonder if he remembers anything about ptero. It's a sign language my sister and I developed when we were kids."
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - RIP Niamh - April 26, 2018
As Towhee spoke, Niamh dd her best to watch her lips and try to see how one might read them, rather than listening to words. It actually helped her a bit, given that Towhee’s words weren’t terribly clear, but then again, some of the mispronunciations and garbles were due to the way she formed the words so she found it difficult to split her attention between watching and listening.
”Sounds tricky,” She said. ”It must be annoying when someone mutters then, eh?” She commented, making a mental note to avoid doing just that. Towhee didn’t seem like the kind of wolf who would tolerate someone who always muttered, especially if they knew she wouldn’t be able to read their lips.
The topic switched back to Screech, and after retelling her story, Towhee actually showed her humorous side, causing Niamh to crack a crooked smile and laugh. She could imagine Screech being difficult as a child, so she nodded. ”He’s a bit stubborn, isn’t he?” She said. It seemed to be something that ran in the family- but she kept herself from saying so.
Towhee went on to describe a language she and her sister had invented, and Niamh tilted her head to the side. ”Terro?” she asked, not recognizing the word. ”Is it just like...Body language, but..More?”
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - Towhee - April 26, 2018
"Oh yeah," Towhee rejoined, seizing this opportunity to vent about the challenges she faced and that no one ever seemed to contemplate, much less understand. "I can't do accents or stutters either. We actually have a wolf here, Nev, who stutters a lot. I make him talk slowly so that I can understand him. But I should really teach him ptero. I should teach everyone here ptero."
Niamh seemed curious about the conlang, which pleased the Alpha even more. "Yeah, it's a mix of facial expressions, body language and signing, like this." Knowing full well the other she-wolf wouldn't understand, she nonetheless demonstrated by signing, -Hi, my name is Screech. I'm an asshat.- "Some of that should be easy to guess," she added out loud, since "hi" was more or less a universal wave and she'd pointed at her butt for the slur, "but I said, 'hi, my name is Screech and I'm an asshat.'"
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - RIP Niamh - April 26, 2018
That all made sense- accents would make different shapes with the mouth, and stutters would definitely screw things up too. Towhee seemed to have a fairly normal vocabulary and grasp of grammar, for someone who couldn’t hear, leading Niamh to believe that whoever had taught her had basically taught her the same as they’d taught most pups to speak, without coddling her or letting her get away with being mute simply because she was deaf. But it would take a wolf with a lot of intelligence to pick up on language the way Towhee had.
She watched, fascinated, when Towhee signed something. Niamh tried to sort it out, understanding that there was a greeting in there, as well as a reference to self, plus something involving either her tail or rear end. When Towhee explained, she nodded and laughed. ”That’s so cool! I thought it was something like that- hi, me,” She said, trying to imitate some of Towhee’s signs, ”I didn’t catch how you sign Screech’s name though- but I did get asshat,” She said, mimicking the gesture for the word with a laugh. ”What would my name be? And what’s your name?”
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - Towhee - April 26, 2018
She had a name sign for Titmouse, of course, and was fortunate that he'd chosen a common word for his new moniker. Towhee repeated the sign for "screech," which was essentially interchangeable with "scream," "shout" or "yell" as far as her purposes went: she opened her mouth wide and put a toe to her throat, as if to imply volume. It would only be differentiated by its context, of course. She did the motions rather fluidly, though hopefully slowly enough that Niamh caught it this time.
"As for my name..." -Towhee,- she signed, mouthing the word rather than saying it out loud as she made the mini series of gestures. "And as for you," she added out loud, "since your name isn't a word I'm familiar with, I'll spell it." -N-I-A-M.- That was her best guess anyway. "Until we come up for a name sign for you, anyway. It can be anything you want, so you're welcome to come up with it yourself."
She finished the demonstration with a grin, an expression which didn't find its way onto Towhee's face all too easily or often, especially in the company of outsiders. But Niamh's authentic interest in ptero made the Alpha like her immediately. There was no quicker way into her heart than though this particular door.
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - RIP Niamh - April 26, 2018
The sign word for Screech was actually kind of funny- and made sense, now that she got to see it a second time. She chuckled, and mimed the word back to Towhee- though her movements weren’t quite as fluid and she couldn’t help herself but chuckle when she pointed to her own throat and opened her mouth as wide as she could. It certainly wasn’t a very discreet sign.
Towhee’s wasn’t quite as plain and simple as Screech’s was, but she caught onto the idea of silently mouthing the name, as well as making up signs to go with it. It seemed that Towhee could spell too, but Niamh was more interested in gestures, rather than writing. ”Sooooo...What if I did this?” She asked, mouting her name and at the same time, she lifted her right foreleg and softly ran it over her ear and down her muzzle, the way a cat might while cleaning itself, before setting it down on the ground. A monosyllabic name- well, it would have two syllables if she pronounced it right, but she often slurred it into a compact “Neev” rather than “Nee-iv”- should have a short sign, or so she though. She hesitated for a second, expression going blank when a sudden realization hit her. ”Or does that already mean something? Oh, watch it mean like shit-head or something, hahaha!”
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - Towhee - April 26, 2018
Towhee pulled a face at Niamh's suggested sign, then smirked at the question. "Actually, it's very close to the sign for bathing," she shared, "but distinct enough that it could work. Was it like this?" She emulated the she-wolf's gestures slowly, wanting to make sure she'd caught the nuance of each gesture, simple and straightforward as they were. "I think it'll work. Some who're not quite as fluent might think you're just very clean," she said, huffing a laugh, "but, yeah, it should work."
Although she could talk about this stuff for hours and was happy to teach Niamh more about ptero, she was sincerely curious as she asked, "Are you settling in okay?" Was it presumptuous to ask that, seeing as Niamh had technically been here first? "With the pack, I mean," Towhee clarified. She imagined Screech's presence would be controversial but hopefully the Redhawks wouldn't have a hard time accepting his cohort. After all, if Towhee could welcome an outsider like this, then so could the rest of the family.
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - RIP Niamh - April 27, 2018
Well, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Towhee informed her that her sign was close to the sign for bathing which, in retrospect, she could totally see it. Towhee mirrored her gesture perfectly- she was a quick learner, that was for sure- and she nodded. ”Yep. Haha, if that’ll work? I don’t want people thinking I’m telling them that they need a bath! How could we change it just a bit so it’s a bit more distinct?” She asked, figuring that Towhee would be the expert to ask.
Niamh could have gone for hours, learning Ptero, and possibly inventing more signs once she got the hang of it. There was something very appealing about being able to speak a secret language- she would have asked Towhee to show her more swear words had she not changed the subject.
How was she settling in? Well, she hadn’t exactly met too many others just yet. She bobbed her head a bit. ”Eh, alright I guess. I don’t think that Finley’s daughters like Screech and I much. I’ll win them over, I’m sure- not sure about Screech though, but I’ll work on him.” She said, giving Towhee a wink.
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - Towhee - April 27, 2018
Towhee couldn't describe how much she appreciated Niamh's attempts to communicate clearly. When asked for a suggestion on how to differentiate the name sign, the Alpha cocked her head for a moment, thinking. The instant the proverbial light bulb flashed over her head, her whole face lit up quite transparently. "Add this," she said, making a quick sign, "it means gold." That should set it apart a bit from the simple sign for washing up.
Further discourse on ptero was set aside for the moment as Niamh answered her question. Towhee drew in a breath. It didn't surprise her in the least to hear as much. She was sure there might even be some within the ranks who would never fully accept Screech in particular. And she wasn't going to vouch for him or go to any special effort to change their minds, not when her own wasn't even made up either. He would have to tough it out and earn it entirely on his own.
"I don't usually get along with outsiders so quickly," the Alpha revealed, "but it means a lot that you're so interested in ptero. I'll teach you some more words and phrases that you can use around the girls. I think it'll score you some brownie points. Otherwise, all you can do is stick around and prove that you're a good egg, despite your choice of friends," Towhee finished with a smirl.
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - RIP Niamh - April 27, 2018
When Towhee suggested adding another gesture, Niamh nodded, and eagerly tried the gesture out for herself, finding her enthusiasm buoyed when she found out the addition meant gold. ”Gold and clean; I like it,” She said, tail waving behind her.
It didn’t surprise her when Towhee said she wasn’t terribly fond of outsiders- given the way she’d been at the altercation over what was now their shared home turf. She was flattered, though, that Towhee seemed to like her. ”It’s really cool- teach me everything you know!” She said. ”And if it’d help me get through to the girls too, that’d be great. They’re just protective, I think; and maybe a bit guarded since Screech left and then came back, they don’t know whether to trust him or not.”
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - Towhee - April 28, 2018
The Alpha bobbed her head in acknowledgement. She would be more than happy to continue tutoring Niamh in ptero. And Towhee certainly agreed with her assessment about Clover and Fiadh. It was tempting to explain the whole history of it, though it would put Screech in a bad light. Normally Towhee wouldn't have cared, yet for the sake of fresh starts and second (third? fourth? eleventieth?) chances, she kept her mouth shut.
Except when she opened it to say, "Speaking of guarding and protection, are you a mercenary?" They'd bumped into one another at the borders earlier, after all, and it was just about time for yet another patrol. Towhee always liked to hear that someone was pursuing this particular trade, though right at this moment, it was more about the desire for company on an otherwise dry errand.
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - RIP Niamh - April 28, 2018
A mercenary? Niamh loved the word- it made her grin to think of herself as such. It was a well known DeMonte trait, afterall, to be a wanderer. She tilted her head from one side to the other in consideration before she shrugged, and nodded.
”I don’t like to be still,” She said. ”So I’m happy to guard, or scout, so I guess you could call me a mercenary,” She said. ”Does the pack have need for one?”
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - Towhee - April 29, 2018
"Yeah, we could always use more of them," Towhee replied, "especially more guardians, given the plateau's size. Speaking of which, wanna come along with me on a patrol?" It felt a tiny bit tacky, considering the circumstances of the claim—Niamh had been here longer and probably knew the lay of the land better than the young Alpha—but she just reminded herself of what she'd told Screech (which was the truth): the plateau didn't belong to any one wolf, but to the collective Redhawks.
Wanna fade with your post? And have another soon? :)
RE: The Indie Queens are Waiting - RIP Niamh - May 03, 2018
Sounds good to me :)
Niamh nodded, and with that, more or less accepted the challenge of becoming a mercenary and guardian for the Redhawks. It didn't even occur to her how odd it might have been for her to take on that position, considering she'd once had to defend the same territory from the Redhawks. It was prime territory, and she was becoming more comfortable with living there and being a part of a pack.