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+--- Thread: Big Salmon Lake The wreckoning. (/showthread.php?tid=65894)
The wreckoning. - Towhee - May 01, 2025
Towhee hadn’t seen their fourth wheel for several days and his scent had begun to fade. She wrote him off and redoubled her patrols, preparing herself to head out on a short recruiting expedition soon. She was itching to get out anyway. She might swing by Moonglow to see Rodyn and check up on Kukutux.
After this morning’s patrol, Towhee decided to take advantage of the pleasant May weather and head out. She howled to let @Killdeer and @Amalia know where she was going. She promised to be back within a few days. She then embarked north, quickly cutting through Bramblepoint to head toward Big Salmon Lake.
She would stop there awhile. It was a watering hole, which meant it would attract all sorts. Towhee strode slowly along the shoreline, glancing every now and then at a blue heron fishing in the shallows on the lake’s westernmost bank.
RE: The wreckoning. - Alivia - May 01, 2025
Alivia kept to the edges of Bramblepoint for the most part, reluctant to venture in too far. She didn't want to get lost in there again. As much as she would like to write off the darky, thorny Hell-Wood for good, it was hard to walk away from an easy meal. The thicket was packed with mulberry bushes just begging to be devoured, and Alivia was all too willing to oblige them.
She wandered northward to Small Lake for a drink.
(Big Lake is south of the Hell-Wood, in case you were wondering).
Noting the Small Lake already had a visitor, she changed her bearing slightly so that her path would cross that of the wolf wandering the shoreline. When she drew near enough to converse, she flashed the stranger a sticky, purple smile. Alivia had yet to realize that she was sporting deep staining around her mouth and down her throat, plainly advertising her recent mulberry binge.
RE: The wreckoning. - Towhee - May 01, 2025
She grew bored with the birdwatching, particularly when something—someone—a lot more interesting appeared. Towhee halted her step and swiveled to face the she-wolf approaching her. The sight of a reddish liquid splashed over her mouth and chest tripped an internal alarm, though she quickly realized it wasn’t the color of blood. And one sniff explained its origins.
Towhee might’ve wondered why a wolf would be slathered in berry juice, though an assessing glance explained that in part: she looked considerably underfed. It was resourceful of her to find an alternative food source, though the Redhawk was curious about her condition. And why there was something very vaguely familiar about the scent beneath the sugary tang of mulberries.
Hey, I think you missed a spot,Towhee joshed, pointing a toe at a small white patch in the middle of the stain on the younger woman’s chest.
RE: The wreckoning. - Alivia - May 01, 2025
The stranger pointed to her chest, and Alivia looked down stupidly. For a split second, she expected the stranger to quickly zip her paw up and pop her in the nose. Stars, how many times had Nealy gotten her with that one when they were pups?
Alivia finally noticed that she was wearing some pretty incriminating evidence of her last meal. Heh. She flattened her ears sheepishly, looking like a naughty kid who'd been caught eating out of the jam jar.
"Oh, um.." She swallowed, took a breath, and recovered herself.
"Yeah.. my last prey was a real bleeder," she explained with an air of (laughably false) bravado.
It looked kind of like blood, right? She could totally pass it off as blood. Especially to a senile old lady.
RE: The wreckoning. - Towhee - May 01, 2025
Towhee laughed through her nose at the stranger’s retort. She eyeballed her for a few seconds, one brow mildly arched, and wondered why her eyes looked so familiar. There was nothing particularly special about their coloration…
Do berries really count as prey?she teased.
What kind were they? They must’ve tasted really good,Towhee posited, pointedly giving the pale she-wolf elevator eyes.
RE: The wreckoning. - Alivia - May 01, 2025
Oof, busted. Alivia was forced to quickly revise her "senile old lady" assumption.
"They were um.. a very rare, medicinal kind. You know, to boost energy and digestion and.. stuff." Look at her, sounding like a bona-fide medic.
"They must’ve tasted really good."
Alivia shrugged in what she was sure was a cool, nonchalant way. She could tell the stranger was teasing her, but she refused to give into embarrassment. She was going to ride this train of lies as far as she could take it.
"I only had a few." Right on cue, an enormous belch erupted from her.
RE: The wreckoning. - Towhee - May 01, 2025
Towhee’s bright eyes danced as she accused,
You ate them all, didn’t you?She laughed, then shook her head with a mock-disappointed face.
Here I was, hoping you’d be willing to share. But there’s nothing left, is there?
Soon, her lips curled into an easygoing smile. All jokes aside, she was still curious why this stranger was gorging on berries. Maybe they really did just taste good, though Towhee wondered if she was maybe on her own, lacking a support system and the meat that came along with it.
I’m Towhee,she offered. Too old to waste time, she added,
And I’m actually out here looking for recruits. Would you happen to be on the market for a pack?
RE: The wreckoning. - Alivia - May 02, 2025
"You ate them all, didn’t you?"
Nothing got by this lady, huh? Alivia had clearly picked the wrong person to try to take for a ride.
"..But there’s nothing left, is there?"
Alivia caught herself smiling sheepishly, and she waved her tail like a white banner of surrender. She opened her mouth to speak. She may have been about to cop to her lies, or she may have been about to double down and spin even more nonsense. The world will never know, because Towhee chose that moment to give her name, and it changed everything.
Alivia's mouth went dry, and her feet began to sweat.
"...Aun Tee?" she asked incredulously, her voice small.
She probably shouldn't have been so surprised. She had known that Towhee lived around here. That was the entire reason Alivia had come here, after all.
"You're supposed to be deaf!" she spoke again, her voice much stronger this time and with an accusing edge.
RE: The wreckoning. - Towhee - May 02, 2025
Towhee had two seconds to wonder what she’d said to trigger the sudden shift in the stranger’s expression. Her own name, apparently. “Auntie,” the she-wolf suddenly blurted—at least, that’s what she saw on her lips. Then came an accusation, which made Towhee’s head rear back. Even though she couldn’t hear the words, she could tell they’d been delivered with some measure of passionate vehemence.
The Redhawk blinked a couple times, then squinted slightly as she looked past the distracting stain on the woman’s chest. It wasn’t just her eyes that were familiar, it was the face into which they were set. Towhee sucked in a breath. She would never forget that face, the one this she-wolf had inherited in part.
All she could think to say was,
Rue…
RE: The wreckoning. - Alivia - May 02, 2025
All of the steam whooshed out of Alivia when Towhee uttered her mother's name.
She stepped forward and tucked her head, pressing her shoulder into her long-lost auntie in a gentle embrace. Maybe Alivia needed the hug, or maybe Towhee did. Maybe she only offered the hug so she could turn her head and hide the tears that had sprung into her eyes at the mention of Ruenna's name.
When they stepped apart, Alivia sat back onto her haunches and swiped at her eyes with the back of her paw. "I have a message for you. From Mom."
-Hi Towhee. It's Ruenna.- Alivia signed. She paused, waiting for Towhee to bid her continue. Truly, Alivia was incredulous that anyone could actually communicate like this, and she waited for some sign that Towhee was understanding the rehearsed paw motions.
RE: The wreckoning. - Towhee - May 02, 2025
A warm, berry-scented breath washed over Towhee’s face. Two seconds later, the stranger was tucked against her. Except she wasn’t a stranger. The Redhawk didn’t hesitate to return the embrace, bringing up a foreleg to pull Ruenna’s daughter—Alivia? Valiria? Perhaps a younger one she hadn’t personally met?—against her broad chest. It hitched a little as she thought of her dear old friend.
When they slid apart, she of course wanted to ask all about Ruenna. The younger woman—Alivia, she was almost certain—said she had a message. Towhee’s heart clenched. It lodged in her throat when the pale wolf began signing, Rue speaking through her. Tears pricked in those orange eyes.
Struck dumb, Towhee smiled ruefully (lol) and signed, -Hi, Rue…-
RE: The wreckoning. - Alivia - May 03, 2025
Towhee signed the greeting back to her, which was encouraging. It caught Alivia in her feels just a bit to see her mother's name-sign formed by someone else's paws.
She sniffled and then continued.
-If you earwax this message, it means I'm dirt.-
Was that right? Alivia realized she was a little shaky on some of the signs. She hadn't rehearsed in ages... but it was probably close enough.
-Please don't eyeball. I was happy. I'm sending you my branch, Alivia.-
As Alivia made her own name-sign (one of the few signs in this message she actually knew), she wondered for the millionth time what Ruenna was saying about her. No matter how much she begged, her mother had refused to tell her.
-She has a good heartbeat, but she needs strong pawprints. The Caldera will be good for her. I love you. May the stars guide you both.-
Alivia heaved a sigh as she finished. It was a huge weight off her back to have finally delivered the message after so many months of holding onto it.
RE: The wreckoning. - Towhee - May 03, 2025
Towhee sucked her lips against her teeth as the message continued. She had to fight hard not to laugh, even as she attempted to piece together what Ruenna had actually intended to convey. As her daughter—indeed, Alivia—kept going, tears began gathering in the corners of her eyes: tears of joy, tears of mirth and tears of longing for one of her dearest friends in life. So much for “please don’t eyeball”…
Making no mention of the bumblings, Towhee said thickly,
Thanks, Alivia, you have no idea how much it means to me to hear from your mom. I’ve never been the mushy type but I hope she knows I love her too. And miss her every day. She’s doing well, I hope? She found someone to help her with the pain?
Ruenna had sent her daughter to find her and relay this message. Towhee let that sink in even as she waited for more details. Rue’s message had mentioned the caldera, which made a little shiver go down her spine. How had she known? It was obviously nothing more than a coincidence, though the Redhawk marveled, her chest aching as she inevitably blinked and the tears slid down her grizzled face.
RE: The wreckoning. - Alivia - May 04, 2025
Alivia accepted the thanks with a bob of her purple muzzle.
"Yeah um.. we found a good doctor, and Mom, she's good, she, she-"
She sucked a rattling breath in, trying not to choke up. Here was the moment of truth. Here was what she had been avoiding while she wandered in circles all winter, all the while getting thinner and thinner and more and more ashamed of herself.
"-Actually, she's gone. She passed last fall." Alivia's throat ached from holding in a sob. "I miss her every day too."
Saying it out loud made it real.
But real wasn't necessarily bad. After delivering the news, a sense of closure settled upon the young woman, and the ache in her heart dulled somewhat. She opened her mouth to speak again, but she didn't know what to say. Instead of words, a hiccup emerged. Another followed shortly after.
RE: The wreckoning. - Towhee - May 04, 2025
“Mom, she’s good,” Alivia said, untwisting a small knot deep in the pit of Towhee’s stomach. It only gnarled again a beat later when the pale she-wolf began stuttering. A wave of apprehension crashed through her seconds before Alivia admitted, “Actually, she’s gone.”
When she’d said goodbye to Ruenna more than two years ago, Towhee had known she likely wouldn’t ever see her again. Still, hearing that a reunion was now impossible—that her friend was no longer part of this world, however distantly placed—left her feeling hollow. She sagged to a sit, as if her legs could no longer hold up her weight.
Judging by the look on her face, the loss had been brutal for Alivia. Towhee’s heart went out to her, even as it broke for herself. Rue had been her best friend at one point. Losing her had been just as hard as losing a member of her family. The Redhawk would grieve Rue all over again.
I’m—fuck,Towhee rasped.
I’m really sorry to hear that,she said, the tears pouring down her face offsetting the otherwise hackneyed phrase.
For a moment, she couldn’t manage anything else. Towhee couldn’t even look at Alivia’s face, otherwise she would never be able to collect herself. And she tried to do that, wiping at her own face and taking deep, sniffling breaths.
When she felt capable, she said,
I want to hear all about her last couple years. Not today, but… would you come back to the caldera with me, Alivia? To stay?
RE: The wreckoning. - Alivia - May 06, 2025
Alivia had the benefit of adjusting to the news over the last several months, but of course Ruenna's death would be a fresh wound to Towhee. The Redhawk's bearing sagged as her words tumbled out, and then came the gush of tears. Alivia had to set her jaw hard to keep her own composure.
They spent the next few moments in silence, avoiding eye contact. Alivia's gaze found her Aun Tee's when she began to speak again.
"Stay at the caldera..?" she echoed, fighting through her emotional turmoil to slowly process the question. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that." She'd been traveling so long that a home base seemed an irresistible luxury.
Would it feel strange? She'd never known a home without her mother.
RE: The wreckoning. - Towhee - May 06, 2025
The invitation seemed to catch her off guard, though only for a moment. Towhee saw the acceptance in Alivia’s eyes a heartbeat before she agreed. The Redhawk couldn’t help but reflect on part of Rue’s last message to her: -The caldera will be good for her.-
It’s this way,she said, still a little gruffly, motioning with her head.
I’ll take you right to the caldera—the lake—itself. I’ll grab you something to eat while you get cleaned up. Sound good?
Towhee took a step, wondering if Alivia would want to live with them in the Hobbit Hole. Would Killer and Mal mind? She supposed they could discuss it later. For now, she shifted a little closer to Ruenna’s daughter, nudging her shoulder into hers and catching her eye, so like her mom’s. She then took another step, leading Alivia home.
RE: The wreckoning. - Alivia - May 07, 2025
Alivia almost argued with Towhee. Surely the Redhawk had some reason for being out here-- some activity or pursuit that Alivia had interrupted. An immediate escort into the caldera was unnecessary.
And yet.. something about Towhee's manner as she shared her plan had Alivia swallowing her protests. The gentle suggestion to clean herself up and the offer to provide food were both very mom-like, and if there was one thing Alivia missed, it was having a mom.
"..Sound good?"
"Yeah," she agreed after a beat, "It does." She must have still been reeling from how quickly her circumstances had shifted, because it took another nudge from Towhee to get her on her feet and moving. She returned Towhee's gaze with a small smile and fell into step with her, assuming her mother's old place so swiftly that one might wonder if it wasn't coded into her DNA somewhere.