Cedar Sweep she wore her scars as best attire

towhee jr follows the winding riverbank when she finally reaches it, after having marched through the maze of trunks of the cedar trees the sweep was named for. she does not deign to stray far from the copse and keeps close enough to the borders to return in a hurry if needed, all the same.

ghost flies a bit ahead of her as scout: always her ears ... and eyes from the sky.

a glimpse towards the peregrine falcon tells towhee jr that he is lazily riding the wind currents; gliding more than he is actually flying.

a soft smile tugs at her lips before she returns her attention to the riverbank, pausing for a brief respite, only to lap at the cool water.

Dwin had made a little detour in order to find her old hag-friend's witchy hut, but realized too late that she had never actually been to the place and knew only very vague descriptions and directions. Therefore no wonder that she missed the Sun Mote copse and went right past it far deeper in the Tuktu hinterlands than she had anticipated. By the time she realized that she was already hopelessly lost, she had arrived at a riverbank and decided to sit down and plan her next move. 

Trees all looked the same to her and a recent rainfall had washed her scent trails away, therefore she was not really sure, which way she would have to turn to go back to the coast. The only hope now was to wait and see, if anyone else appeared. If not - then she would have to ponder about spending the rest of her life in this isolated place all on her own, going slowly crazy and talking to trees, rocks and other species. While this prospect was not too horrible, Dwin had planned to have her "crazy-old-person" stage of life at a later time. 

Then - as if on cue - a familiar shape and form appeared a bit further away on the riverbank. From the distance the junior version of Towhee was nearly impossible to tell from the older one. And only upon coming closer, did Dwin understand that, while the two she-wolves had striking resemblance to one another, they were two different people. "Hi!" she greeted the other, approaching cautiously, but her body language expressed calm and friendly interest. "Either you are my old hag-friend Towhee, who has drank from the fountain of youth, or you are her doppelganger," she began. "Which one is it?"

the woman's approach is calm, her body betraying nothing to towhee but friendliness; but she is a stranger and there is a familiar prickle of uncertainty and her natural tendency towards hostility. she feels it at the nape of her neck as ghost takes up his perch there; claws digging sharply into her flesh.

it reminds her that there is no such hostility in the approaching stranger but a comfortableness that towhee herself could never muster.

though, the younger towhee cannot help but wonder if it is simply because she looks so very much like her namesake, brought to her attention by the stranger who's lips towhee reads.

though it is hard to forget her mother and her are mirrors of one another, she doesn't dwell upon the fact often. at least, not until it is brought to her attention.

-i am towhee junior.- she signs in ptero, naturally assuming ( right or wrong ) that any friend of her mother knows it.

"A clone then," Dwin accepted the reply and scrutinized the girl before her up and down. "You promise not to tell to the original - buy you look much prettier than her. It is probably because you do not scowl," she added with a cheeky grin, but the remark was not a malicious one. Were this relayed to her hag-friend, she was sure the older she-wolf would have good laugh and pass on some crafty insults of her own to Dwin. 

"Name's Dwin and I am a friend of Towhee - the elder, I guess?" she introduced herself and dipped her muzzle politely. "I suppose you reside nearby? Because, if you do, you might just help me to find my way back to the coast. As you see - my intended shortcut has become quite a... unintended detour," she grinned. "To put it bluntly - I am hopelessly lost."

there is a small sag of relief in jr's shoulders as the woman appears to be able to read ptero; though by now jr was used to trying to craftily construct her body language and answer with nods or head shakes to those who did not, though it had been some time since she'd been without a translator.

a soft snort is given as the flattering words settle over her shoulders like a cape. -i scowl plenty, trust me.- she signs back.

-i call the sun mote copse home,- towhee jr signs next. -if you are hungry or thirsty or even need to rest you are welcome to accompany me back. towhee the elder is there, too.- at directions to the coast, however, jr hesitates.

-it has been a long time since i was on the coast. i can try to direct you, but i am not super confident in my directions.- jr admits, the twitch of her lips apologetic.

"Yeah, I owe elder Towhee a visit," Dwin replied, though her way of communication to the other wolf was by no means perfect and her signs probably lost (or gained) more meaning than her words did. She had picked up some things from Towhee during their chance meetings, but it was probably a matter of practice. Likewise her knowledge of signing was not enough to understand every single thing the girl had told her. Therefore she nodded and "ahaa"d and "mhm"d, where appropriate. 

"Lead the way," she stepped back, looked expectantly at the younger wolf and waited for her to lead. Had she got the "there is a chance that I get lost too" part of the message, it would not have bothered her too much. That would make two of them. She looked up and noticed the bird and pointed this out to the younger Towhee: "Cool, eh?"

to jr's relief, ceridwen agrees. there is no doubt in jr's mind that her mother could offer the other woman the directions to the coast she sought. to jr, this seems like a win win. jr wouldn't have to fret over giving bad directions and ceridwen would get directions to the coast and see an old friend.

at the motion skyward, jr's gaze cuts up. her eyes track ghost in the sky; riding the air currents that only he can see.

-that is ghost,- signs jr with a soft smile. -he is my companion.-

"Really?" Dwin asked in awe and disbelief. She followed the majestic bird with her gaze for a while. There were a ton of questions she would have wanted to ask right there and then, had her vocabulary in ptero been more than just the very basic level. 

"How did you tame him?" she asked, next catching up with the younger wolf and dividing her attention between her companion and keeping track of the bird above. "I do not know anyone, who has had a bird as a friend," she explained. "They have always felt like aliens to me." 

Since her signing was not very good, she hoped Towhee 2.0 could read some of, what she had tried to convey, from her lips.