Redhawk Caldera My "people skills" are "rusty."

The pups were outside today. In fact, they barely spent any time in the cave anymore, except to sleep at night. While the other three gamboled in the late February sunshine, Towhee broke away from the puppy pack and approached Raven, who was catnapping nearby. The Gamma quickly roused and lifted her head upon the Rho's approach, yellow eyes shrewd upon the Firebird's face.

-I'm hungry,- Towhee signed (a combination of mouthing the words and pointing at her mouth). She then looked pointedly at the caretaker's underside but when her blue eyes returned to Raven's face, she was shaking her head. The pup slumped a little, though she perked up a moment later when Raven procured a leg of deer seemingly out of nowhere. (In reality, @Elwood had dropped it off a few minutes ago while the puppies were otherwise preoccupied.)

"Come and get it!" Raven crowed over her head, though Towhee didn't notice her older sister's call as she fell upon the meat and began tearing off small chunks. When she felt the vibrations of approaching footsteps and then the jostling of her litter mates, growls began leaking out the sides of her mouth as the white-streaked fur along her shoulder blades prickled and her tail stiffened into an upward arch.

But the suppertime bickering did not persist and it wasn't long before a satiated Towhee took a few steps back and plopped onto her haunches with an explosive burp. -Thank-you,- she belatedly remembered to sign at Raven, who smiled in acknowledgement and said, "You're welcome, Towhee," slowly and clearly so that the Rho could easily read her lips.

Elwood had, indeed, made a delivery a few minutes before. Then, feeling an urgent need to relieve himself, he had slipped away from the shelter in order to do his business. By the time he returned with an empty bladder, most of the meat had been chewed clean off the leg; in some places, the bone was visible. He was impressed by the quick work the four puppies had made of the meal.

His attention was drawn to Towhee, who, despite her handicap, was growing right alongside her siblings and seemed to be adapting quickly. While they babbled around her, she had developed a system of reading lips and communicating with body language. Elwood wasn't an expert at interpreting her cues just yet -- her sister, Raven, was much more proficient -- but he wanted to make sure that he fostered his relationship with his deaf goddaughter.

He laughed at the sound of her raucous burp, realizing it was a shame that she couldn't hear it herself, then lowered himself to the ground near her. "Was it good?" he said slowly, exaggerating the shapes of the words with his lips. He couldn't help but feel a bit foolish, and glanced up at Raven for encouragement.

She was joined by her godfather and Towhee smiled as she continued to lick the last crumbs of her meal from her lips. Her eyes tracked Elwood's face as he lowered himself to the ground, then asked her a question. She nodded quickly, then prepared to sign something when he looked at Raven instead. Perhaps the question wasn't meant for her? The Rho's lips pursed thoughtfully, though Elwood quickly looked back to her in such a way that assured Towhee he had been talking to her after all.

-Yes,- she signed, smacking her lips. She then eagerly added, -Hi!- and then paused as she tried to recollect how to sign his name. (Raven had been teaching her a unique name sign for each member of their family.) It took her a moment—and her own glance in the Gamma's direction—before Towhee simultaneously mouthed his name and made the sign for, -Uncle Elwood!-

What do you think their name signs look like? :o Just out of curiosity!

Raven gave him a subtle nod, and Elwood shifted his gaze back to Towhee, who was looking up at him with bright eyes. She replied "yes," then greeted him by name. He liked the idea of having signs to represent each wolf important to Towhee, and it warmed his heart to see her address him.

Slowly and haltingly, he carefully signed back to her with the simple maneuvers that made up her name. -Towhee-, he said, and grinned, despite the fact that it was a bit out of context. Then, in the same slow, overemphasized manner he had used previously, he asked, "Want to go for a walk?" The other puppies were otherwise preoccupied -- at least for the moment -- and a few minutes alone with Towhee would be delightful.

...XD

She immediately recognized her own name (the only one she knew readily by heart, along with Phox's) and smiled brightly up at her uncle. -Towhee!- she mimicked him, the gesture so quick and fluid compared to the way she'd signed his name. Speaking of which, she gave it another whirl. -Uncle Elwood!- As her lips silently formed the letters, she puffed out her chest (like an Alpha male) and held up two toes in an "L" shape, just like Raven had shown her.

When her godfather invited her on a walk, Towhee immediately nodded, only to begin shaking her head a moment later. She did enjoy walking—even though it could make signaling a little more complicated, what with her forelimbs otherwise preoccupied—but she had an ever better idea. -Tag!- she insisted, not waiting for an answer before leaping forward to bat the Alpha male's nearest foreleg and then spinning and darting off with an earsplitting squeal.

:D

Elwood couldn't help but laugh as Towhee repeated his name sign. He sometimes wondered who had helped her come up with each symbol; he could see Raven and Finley both getting a big kick out of the chest-puffing that had become a part of his moniker.

She fell into step alongside him and he meandered along slowly, listening to the pitter-patter of her paws as she kept up with him. He didn't see her initial sign for the game she wanted to play, but when she planted a foot against his foreleg and then darted away, her intentions were clear. "I'm it?!" Elwood cried, pivoting to follow her.

He moved at a slow trot, grinning as he carefully let Towhee put a considerable amount of distance between them before he accelerated and began to gradually close the gap.

She didn't catch her godfather's response, though that's how it usually went with games: with her legs and paws usually quite busy, active communication ceased and Towhee fell back on expressions and body language. It wasn't difficult to read Elwood's intent when she glanced backward and saw him trotting behind her. She tossed him a grin, then shrieked absurdly loudly when she saw him accelerate.

Facing forward again, Towhee released another earsplitting scream as she dove forward. In her haste to outrun her uncle, she tripped over her own forepaws and went sprawling to the ground, snout hitting the dirt hard enough that she sprouted an immediate nosebleed.

Once he reached his normal pace, Elwood bore down on Towhee quickly. Her giggling screams elicited a laugh from her godfather, and when he was close enough, he reached out with a forepaw to tag her -- just as she misstepped and suddenly tumbled head over heels. Elwood slammed on the brakes and halted, still chuckling, until he realized that she was bleeding.

"Oh no," he said, and he leaned close to examine Towhee's nose. Forgetting to sign or speak slowly so that she could read his lips, he asked, "Are you okay?"

She sat up slowly, blinking up at Elwood's concerned face as he godfather hovered. He spoke too quickly for her to catch what he said, though she could read his expression well enough. She winced as if to say, "Ow." But she nodded a beat later to add, "I'm okay." The movement caused several thick drops of blood to splatter on the ground at her feet; she felt one drip onto her toes. She glanced down, fascinated, and felt even more of the warm fluid pouring from her nose.

There was a dull, aching throb in her snoot but otherwise it didn't hurt very much. Oddly, Towhee could smell it and it was somehow very different from the blood of prey. Her initial preoccupation swiftly turned into something else entirely. The pup felt strangely lightheaded all of a sudden. There was an inexplicable numb sensation in all four of her feet. And her mouth began to water tellingly.

Before she could faint or vomit, Towhee squeezed her eyes shut against the sight of her own blood. Two senses down, she whimpered loudly and blindly tried to make Elwood's name sign in a general plea for help.

*powerplays Raven because Elwood is useless* :D

Towhee insisted she was okay -- or at least, Elwood thought that was what she had signed. He made a mental note to practice more, finding it frustrating that his own limitations were impairing his ability to effectively communicate with her. She seemed calm, at least, despite the blood dripping from her nose, and Elwood glanced up at Raven to gauge the caretaker's level of concern.

In that instant, Towhee whimpered. Elwood shifted his gaze quickly back to his goddaughter and found her swaying uneasily, as though she was dizzy. "It's okay," Elwood said, moving to stand alongside Towhee instead of in front of her. He offered his own body as a support for her, hoping to help stop the world from spinning around her. He looked in Raven's direction again and barked loudly to draw her attention.

The medic began to make her way briskly towards them, brow knitted as she approached.

*tag-teams* :D

She didn't hear Elwood's soft words, though she latched onto him when he brushed against her. With her eyes still squeezed shut, she pressed her face into his fur, drawing comfort from his soft warmth. Unbeknownst to her, she smeared blood all over his pelt, a sight which earned a sharp intake of breath from the approaching medic. Towhee remained momentarily oblivious of Raven's looming presence, effectively blind and deaf to the world at the moment. Everything was currently anchored to her sense of touch.

The Pi felt a gentle tap to her back and slowly withdrew her face to blink up at Raven. Her elder sister crowded up close, causing Towhee's eyes to cross. She winced a little when Raven's tongue darted out to clean up the blood, then inspect her again afterward. "It's not bleeding anymore," she said to Elwood, although her yellow gaze remained fixed on the pup's face. "Does it hurt?" she spoke and signed simultaneously.

Towhee thought about it a second, then signed, -No.- It ached a little but that was all. Demonstrating both a short attention span and youthful ability to bounce back, she turned her attention to her godfather again and signed, -Tag?- Now that the yucky bloody was gone, she hoped Uncle Elwood would resume their game. ...except that she abruptly saw the patch of drying blood she had left on him and sucked in a loud breath even as she grimaced.

In the seconds before Raven's arrival, Elwood simply provided a calm, quiet presence for Towhee. His yellow eyes immediately shifted to watch Raven as she carefully examined her young charge, using her own tongue to clean Towhee's face. It didn't seem to take her very long, and Elwood was relieved when the caregiver announced that Towhee's nose was no longer bleeding.

"Thanks," he murmured quietly, even as Raven signed to Towhee to make sure that she was okay. The girl signaled back that she wasn't in any pain, and Elwood readied himself to head back to the shelter, assuming that their playtime had come to an end. But Towhee surprised him and invited him to continue their game, only pausing when her gaze was drawn to a spot on Elwood's pelt. He craned his neck to look at himself and spotted the smeared, drying blood. He gave a shrug to show her that it was alright.

"It's okay, I'll get cleaned up later," he said, making a halting gesture for "later." He reached out to gently tap her shoulder, saying and signing, "Your turn!" as he trotted away, watching her over his shoulder.

Her godfather didn't appear perturbed by his bloody bib. He jumped up to play but Towhee recoiled at the touch to her shoulder, head shaking. Elwood began moving but she jumped in his way. -No!- she signed jerkily, pointing at the smear and frowning deeply. She paused for a moment, thinking (complete with endearing head tilt), then added, -YUCK!- There was something particularly emphatic about the movements, the deaf pup's very own rendition of screaming.

And just like any shouting child, she almost immediately felt bad for "yelling" at her uncle. She gave him an apologetic and beseeching look, trying to convey to him that she literally couldn't bear the sight of the blood. If he wanted to play, he needed to get rid of it, stat. In case Towhee's signing didn't get her point across, her eyes grew wide and pleading.

Elwood stopped short when Towhee suddenly blocked his progression with her small body. He looked down at her, observing the way her expression was contorted as she signed emphatically at him. He blinked, then peered at the blood on his own pelt again -- and, putting two and two together, realized that Towhee wanted him to clean himself up now.

"Oh," he said. "You don't like the blood," he added, using a paw to point to the stained fur. He dutifully began to lick at it with his tongue, slowly but steadily removing it from his coat. He did pause long enough to glance at Towhee and assure her, "It's okay," after noticing the regretful hunch of her shoulders.

Once the patch of hair had been returned to its monochromatic hue, he asked, "Is that better?" He accompanied the question with a shrug of his shoulders and lifting of his eyebrows, waiting for Towhee's judgment.

If Elwood found her revulsion strange, he didn't say anything. He quickly cottoned onto what she wanted and began to clean the red stain from his gray pelt. Towhee felt an immediate sense of relief as he began to wash himself. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest but her pulse slowed as the blood began to disappear under his careful ministrations. She felt even better when he shot her a reassuring glance.

He waited for her assessment after he was finished. The blood was gone, so Towhee grinned and signed for him to, -Now run!-

He didn't have to wait long to see if Towhee approved of his cleanliness; her gaze swept quickly over his fur, then she gave him an eager instruction with her sign language. Obediently, Elwood pivoted and dug his paws into the soft earth, propelling himself forward and away from Towhee.

He glanced over his shoulder long enough to grin and stick out his tongue -- a playful gesture that she would surely recognize -- but didn't break his stride. He loped along at a pace that was just slow enough to ensure that she would catch up to him shortly.

I wanted to wrap this up since it's a bit dated, hope that's OK! :)

She didn't need to tell him twice. Her godfather took off at a canter, with Towhee bounding after him a second later, laughing loudly. It wasn't really possible to sign while running, though she could certainly mouth things and make faces. Elwood certainly did these things, sticking his tongue out at her and prompting the puppy to curl her nose in false indignation and then admonish him with an earsplitting bark she, of course, couldn't hear.

When she caught up to him a few moments later, she tackled his feet until the Alpha male collapsed to the ground, then laughingly bounced atop him, where she proclaimed her position as queen of the "mountain." Afterward, she slid off her uncle and they took turns chasing each other until little Towhee's legs were shaking so much she couldn't sign anymore and instead slumped to the ground and rather unwittingly slipped into a catnap.