Sun Mote Copse Edge of Saturday night.

Set after this, so a few days in the future!

Towhee thought of @Fennec as she stood in Mercy’s Garden, eyeballing all the various plants growing there. She thought she remembered which ones were good for pain—she’d woken up with a backache—though she hesitated. What if she was wrong? It wasn’t that bad, probably not worth the risk…

She stepped out of the garden, walking east toward the nearby stream, then north. Towhee crossed at the step stones, stopping at Ray’s Beach. The current was sluggish here at the widest part of the riverbed. She waded in until the water reached most of the way up her legs, then eased down into a Sphinx position. She hissed as the water first touched her belly, then closed over her back.

Towhee relaxed with only her head and shoulders showing, facing the far bank. She glanced upstream, then downstream, before her orange eyes drifted upward. She caught a glimpse of a hawk circling against a backdrop of clear blue and sent up a little yip. If it was Ghost, perhaps he would alert @Towhee Jr and lead her here.

ghost flies down upon jr's shoulder and finds his favored perch before offering her a sharp pinch of his beak at her ear. she hisses in pain and her head snaps to the side as he takes to the skies again, circling once before leading her forward.

a low huff leaves her lips as she thinks to herself that he didn't have to pinch her ear so hard; steps slowing as she comes upon her mother, a glimpse skyward showing ghost taking up sentry duty on a branch — far out of her reach.

smart bird.

she loved ghost but she also liked her ears without the stinging that accompanied his attempts to get her attention.

her mother was lingering in the stream, shoulders and head exposed.

-are you okay?- asks jr in ptero as she slows to a stop at the stream's bank.

The hawk winged out of sight, presumably to fetch her daughter. Towhee smiled to herself and sank a little deeper into the water. While she waited for Jr to arrive, she let herself reminisce about X. That inevitably made her think of Orca, the two of them buried side by side on the plateau. Maybe once Reyson et al arrived, she could travel some again…

-Hey,- she said when the yearling approached. Emerging from the water like her reflection come to life, Towhee said, -Yeah, I’m fine. My back hurts. Kind of par for the course at my age.-

It was a little hard to sign at this depth, so Towhee bobbed a little closer to the shoreline. She paused ponderously before taking a seat, submerging her posterior but leaving her anterior end—namely, her forelegs—free. She grimaced slightly when her lower back tweaked and shifted her weight onto one hip, which seemed to help.

-I was just thinking about how nice it’ll be when Reyson and Meadow get here. Do you remember them very well at all?- Towhee asked conversationally.

for a moment, towhee jr's paws are still as she considers her mother's question as she comes out of the water. did she remember meadow and reyson? a little, but not really if she was being truthful.

-not really,- admits jr, truthfully but a bit sheepishly as well. the awful truth was, there were days she struggled to remember sable's personality and he was her littermate! what kind of man had he become? would she recognize him or would he be a stranger wearing a familiar face? was he even alive?

-what are the circumstances that they are coming to live with us?- jr is curious more than anything else, though far from judgmental. she was glad for wolves that she knew ( by name at least ) and grateful for the addition to the copse.

Sensing some sheepishness in her daughter’s reply, Towhee reminded her, -You were still very young when we left Epoch, so I’m not surprised. I think you’ll like them, particularly Sunshine. That’s what I call Reyson.-

Her daughter was curious about the circumstances taking them from their current home and bringing them here. Towhee had been too delighted to press for much detail, though she pondered what he’d told her about the situation as she did her level best to ignore the dull jolts of pain in her posterior.

-He said they left the vale with Tamar and Arsenio, but those two left and the pack they all joined is dwindling,- Towhee shared what she knew, frowning slightly. -Their loss is our gain, I guess. I know we could’ve held steady on our own but having them here will make things a good deal easier. And they’re bringing some of their kids, who are your age.-

Her brows raised a little as she regarded Jr’s face. What would she think about this particular detail? Towhee tried to remember their names: Rhone and Lotus, perhaps? If she had to guess, they were a boy and a girl. She wondered if her daughter might enjoy having some peers besides her niece… particularly if one of them was a young man.

their current pack was dwindling, jr is told. her mind works to fill in the rest: that they thought it better to jump ship before it sank entirely. it was a wise move. one that jr herself had employed a time or two. -i see,- jr muses in ptero, a thoughtful expression on her face.

in truth, on the news of 'kids her age' she really couldn't be ... fussed. while it was perhaps admirable that their children followed them, they were also adults. just as she was. as someone whom had struck out on her own young at least once ( definitely more than once ) she finds it a bit strange that others didn't.

unable to follow her mother's train of thought, jr sort of deadpans a -ok.- not real sure what to say to that.

Jr didn’t seem to find this information particularly compelling. Towhee raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment further for the moment, partly distracted by a fresh surge of pain. Was it getting worse? She bit back a sigh and pushed onto all fours, water dripping as she stepped onto the bank beside her daughter.

-Maybe walking will help,- she mused aloud, orange eyes drifting before landing on her lookalike’s face. -Want to patrol together? Don’t mind me if I’m a little slower than usual…-

Towhee stepped away from the yearling to give herself a proper shake. I bet you’re just constipated, she suddenly thought as she flung water every which way. Her lips parted as she glanced at Jr again, though she spared her daughter from this particular brainwave.