Redhawk Caldera I'll watch over you.

It was a glorious early June day: blue skies, warm sunshine, pleasant breeze. Towhee wrapped up a patrol and then meandered back to the rendezvous site for a bite of lunch. She found @Phox with a fresh catch of rabbit, which he happily shared with her. Sated, the young Xi stretched out in a patch of sunlight and napped. When she woke, she saw a dozing @Finley nearby and smiled, imagining she saw the faintest curve to her godmother's figure.

Seeing evidence of her Alpha female's pregnancy promptly lit a fire under the guardian's butt. She rose, yawned, stretched and then padded downhill for yet another patrol. She bumped into Raven as the caregiver carried a mouthful of greens back to the badger den; they exchanged smiles and nods but did not otherwise speak. Towhee continued onward toward the borders, enjoying the delicious warmth of the late spring sun on her back.

Oh, great.

Spending time away from Redhawk Caldera wasn't something she'd actively sought out, but it sure as hell was a lot of fun to head off on her own little impromptu adventures.  So fun, in fact, that Ivy hadn't bothered to return home from yesterday's outing at Lake Rodney until.. well, just now.  She wasn't necessarily worried about it but a nagging voice in her head just knew that her father's disapproval was on the horizon.  Though not hurried, the young girl did manage to make good time back home despite her meandering path.  Direct routes apparently weren't her thing and this one had been as off the beaten path as possible.

Once she'd crossed the borders back into familiar territory, the grayscale girl made sure to lower her tail and ears just as she'd been taught.  Eight or so months of age meant that she was looking at the business end of the adult ranks pretty soon.  Might as well get in some practice while her youth was still an acceptable excuse.  With a small smile on her face Ivy hummed a nonsense tune and strolled briskly uphill, her attention on nothing but finding her family.

When Towhee spotted a gray figure with apple green eyes in the distance, she called out, "Lagan!" Only a few seconds later—as the gap between them shrank—did she realize her mistake. A wave of embarrassed heat crashed over her head as she dug in her feet and stopped, inwardly kicking herself. This most definitely wasn't her favorite older brother figure (sorry, Eljay); it was one of those outsiders newly clogging up the ranks. And now she would have to awkwardly acknowledge her mistake and engage the other youth... or would she?

Realizing that Lagan's lookalike wouldn't understand a word, Towhee signed, -I just really don't feel like trying to talk to you.- She peered around surreptitiously, just in case someone who knew ptero could "overhear," but the coast was clear. -Sorry not sorry.- She then fell still and stared at the other girl, wondering what she would say or do in reaction.

Ivy blinked and paused when she realized that one of the other pups was approaching her.  There had been a call of some sort - it kind of sounded like "Lagan", actually - but she hadn't really caught it.  Apparently it didn't matter anyway because the girl began doing.. something.  Honestly, she had no baseline to even begin describing what the hell she was seeing.  This girl, the grumpy one from the day the Broken Antler Fen pack had been welcomed here, began moving her mouth and.. twitching?  Ivy tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes a bit as though these actions gave her a better chance of figuring out what was going on.

They didn't.  Not even close.

When it seemed like the black and white and red girl had ceased her show, a single one of Ivy's ashy brows rose.  You're weird, she said flatly.

She got two words in reply: "You're weird." On one hand, this whole scenario amused her. She could call the other girl all sorts of terrible things and she wouldn't even know. On the other, those words rankled. It was the latter sentiment that manifested itself in a glare and low growl. Her lip lifted as she glowered at the older youth, the amusement slowly leeching from her features.

She didn't actually consider herself handicapped but Towhee couldn't resist saying, "I'm not weird. I'm hearing impaired. And you," she added, suddenly feinting toward the other wolf, brassy orange eyes boring into her face, "are a bitch."

;)

Lagan was taking a nice walk around the Caldera when he noticed two familiar scents. Ivy and Towhee he assumed. He knew that Towhee wasn't too fond of the newcomers, so he was curious as to what the two girls were doing. Maybe Towhee was making a new friend! Ivy was his friend too, so maybe all three of them could hang out! Excited with the idea of a group hang out, Lagan started off in their direction.

It didn't take long to find them, farther out from the rendezvous site and towards the border. When he arrived, the first thing he heard was, and you... are a bitch. WHOA! LANGUAGE! Lagan never called other people curse words, ever! Was that Towhee! Oh my gosh, wow. Lagan walked towards them swiftly, sauntering right up to them with disbelief on his face. UMM WHOA! Towhee! Don't call people... he leaned into whisper to his cousin, bitches! He then stepped back and looked between them.

Ok there's a lot of tension, I think we should all just take a deep breath. In, and out. He said, taking a deep breath as a demonstration.

K.

Her reply delivered without missing a beat, Ivy cocked her head to the side and stood her ground in the face of the clearly agitated female.  It was one thing for her to engage in a spirited back and forth with boys, but she wasn't really having any of this.. attitude.  The opposite sex had a better track record with getting under her skin.  Hell if she knew why.

A familiar wolf appeared in her peripherial vision - Lagan looked a little alarmed.  The swiftness of his pace suggested he'd overheard their conversation.  Ah, well.  Lagan, she greeted, her tone still impassive.  Even though the look on her smoky face remained unimpressed, she regarded him with a nod after he'd suggested taking a deep breath.  Attention back on the younger female, Ivy shrugged and continued on anyway as though he hadn't said a thing.  And when you approached me, clearly knowing I couldn't understand you, were you speaking of sunshine and rainbows? she asked.  Seems to me like you're a bitch.  Insert analogy about similarly-colored cookware here.

"K," was the only reaction she got. Bewildered by this, Towhee's face contorted. But before she could decide on what to do or say next, something brushed against her. Growling sharply, the Xi whirled and blinked in surprise when she saw that it was, "Lagan!" Where had he come from? She hadn't heard anything he said, whether bellowed or whispered. And because she was looking at him now, she missed the other youth's eventual retort.

"Why are you breathing like that?" a very stumped Towhee said after a moment, for all intents and purposes ignoring the other young she-wolf as she eyed her older brother. Although she evidently remembered her enough to switch to ptero. -Are you okay, Lagan?-

Both females acknowledged him, though Ivy continued on talking as though he wasn't there. Neither of them employed his breathing tactic, Ivy just didn't seem to care, but Towhee hadn't understood at all. Ivy was still bashing his little sis, but luckily Towhee didn't get any of it, as she was now facing his direction. She started signing, and with a quick glance at Ivy, he signed back. -I'm fine, if you breathe more it makes you calm. I thought it help. You ok?- His ptero was a little rough, but it was translatable.

He then turned back to Ivy, who had just finished calling Towhee a bitch. Oh no! This was not going well! He stood there now, unsure of what to say and how to help.

was debating having Ivy come back, but I think it works better if she makes her exit here.  more dramaz, etc, etc <3

There wasn't any time to enjoy the look on Towhee's face, unfortunately, because the other two wolves were suddenly focused on each other and ignoring her.  Not that Ivy minded.  This whole interaction.. confrontation.. thing.. was beginng to bore her.  Still, she watched Lagan and the other female interact through mildly curious eyes.  It seemed to work just fine, whatever they were doing to communicate.

Lagan's attention turned to her once again and all she could do in response was shrug her shoulders.  Well, this has been fun, she remarked dryly, pale green eyes rolling for dramatic effect.  But I'll leave you two alone now.  With that the smoky girl turned and continued on her original path to find her family, not expecting for a moment that either one of them had strong enough feelings to stop her.

Her face scrunched at his answer and Towhee quickly rejoined, -Why do you need to calm down? What's going on?- Instead of answering her, however, Lagan turned toward the other youngster, who made a sarcastic remark before departing.

Towhee squinted at the girl's back, then faced Lagan once more and quickly said, -She started it. She said I was weird because of the signing.- Her feathers were visibly ruffled, so to speak: the fur along her spine bristled. -I don't know why Uncle Elwood and everyone else wants me to make nice with these wolves when they're such pieces of crap.- Once more, it came down to communication (or lack thereof), much to the Xi's annoyance.

She had already vented once to her godfather but Lagan was as empathetic as his father and Towhee couldn't resist the urge to blurt, "Do you know how hard it is? Not being able to communicate as easily? Why jerks like that"—she gestured indignantly in the direction their pack mate had gone—"make me not want to even bother?"

But just like her outburst with Elwood, Towhee immediately wanted to move onto something else. -Will you patrol with me? I figure we should do them more often now that Aunt Finley's pregnant.- Without waiting for an answer, she turned and began resuming her walk to the borders, simply expecting Lagan to follow suit.

I know this reads like a conclusion but I'd love to continue a few more rounds if you wanna!

i'd love to continue! <3

Lagan missed the last bit of Towhee's signing as he looked to Ivy. The other grey wolf made a sarcastic comment, rolled her eyes, and walked away. Ivy! He said, hoping maybe she'd come back and he could help work this out for them, but she was pretty much gone. He turned back to Towhee, just in time to see the end of her sentence. weird because of the signing. Lagan looked sad for a second; who had said that, Ivy? Ivy called Towhee weird? Maybe he'd have to go talk to Ivy alone later too, because he wouldn't accept anybody calling his sibling weird.

Lagan's brows furrowed as Towhee continued on, calling the new wolves crap and such. Dad wants us to get along because we're gonna be living together for who knows how long. We have to at least try. And they aren't all bad I think, I don't mind Ivy. He said, his thoughts drifting back to his first meeting with the girl. Then Towhee stopped signing for a moment, and out loud explained how she felt. Lagan pitied her, because he had no idea how hard it must be. He wished he could just blink his eyes and be able to make Towhee hear things, but that wouldn't happen.

Thoughtfully he signed, I don't know how hard it is, and I probably won't ever. But I love you Teehee, and I can promise you that I'll always be there for you. I'll talk to Ivy, and tell her not to mess with you anymore. But you have to promise me that you won't mess with her either. Ok? Soon after that, Towhee moved on to another subject, asking if Lagan wanted to patrol with her. The Blackthorn smiled and nodded, then hurried after her as she walked.

Although it rankled that Lagan spoke well of Ivy after she had clearly crossed Towhee, the Xi didn't react to her brother's musings for a few beats. She led the way to the borders, then fell into the brisk but easy pace that worked best for patrols. As she trotted along the territory's edge, she turned over Lagan's words in her head, mulling over his proposal.

-Fine,- she signed eventually, a bit of moodiness injected into the gesture. -But I didn't really mess with her,- she insisted, which was only partially true. She had signed, knowing Ivy wouldn't understand, but she hadn't said anything rude so much as... frank. Towhee sighed. -Whatever, though. I don't want to think about this stuff anymore. Let's focus on the patrol.-

As luck would have it, an effective distraction cropped up in the form of a young, malnourished coyote lurking just inside the boundary. "Have you seen my m—" it began to say but Towhee didn't even bother trying to read its lips. She sprang at the smaller, weaker canine, easily grabbing it by the back of the neck and pressing it to the ground. It wriggled and screamed, though the sound was choked off when the Xi clenched her jaws, mutilating the prairie wolf's neck.

Towhee agreed to Lagan's proposal, for the two wolves not to mess with each other. He smiled, pleased with himself, even though he'd only done half his job. The other half had already stomped away, and probably didn't want to see him very much at the moment. Lagan nodded when Towhee said she didn't want to talk about it anymore. He shrugged and signed back, -ok,- then mumbled out loud, though Towhee probably didn't notice, but just saying, I don't really know how to patrol.

Soon enough the two wolves were stopped by a small coyote. It looked weak and tired and young. It started to speak, and Lagan's immediate instinct was to smile and help it. Towhee's however was not. She leaped towards the small canine and tore it practically to shreds. Lagan watched with confusion and almost horror. When had his little baby gotten so big and kind of scary?! His big green eyes stayed transfixed on the creatures body, though he spoke to Towhee. What'd you do that for?

She looked up triumphantly, blood glistening on her teeth, quite proud of her accomplishment. Her brow furrowed at Lagan's odd reaction. "Uhhh." She didn't even realize she was making the sound; it just sort of fell out of her mouth. Towhee's face contorted in confusion. "It was trespassing. It was probably going to go after our food." Although she didn't know why she should have to explain this to someone older than her, the Xi found herself feeling rather justified even as she explained. "You know, the food that should be going to your mom and her pups..."

If Lagan took an issue with how she dealt with trespassers on their borders, he probably wasn't going to much enjoy patrolling with her. "Maybe you should go," she said, not unkindly, her tail switching. "If you don't wanna see stuff like this," she added, sweeping a paw over the maimed coyote. She looked down at the carcass, which she normally would've left to the birds. But perhaps she should store it, in case Finley or another pack mate needed it. It seemed such a waste otherwise and meat was meat, even though Towhee personally didn't enjoy the taste of coyote much.

Towhee said that it was probably gonna steal their food, but Lagan doubted it. It had been trying to say something, and it looked so sad. While he understood Towhee's reasoning, the boy felt there had to have been a better way to deal with it. He nodded when his little sis said that the food should be going to his mom. He'd been hunting a little extra lately, specifically for her. She was the priority. That Lagan could agree with, but killing that coyote pup, he just couldn't.

Towhee said that maybe he should leave, if he didn't want to see anymore. Lagan felt bad about leaving her, but he did think it might be best. He gave her a friendly smile and a lick on her forehead. I guess your right. I'll let you get back to your maiming. He teased, then turned to leave. He'd talk to Towhee again some other times, hopefully when patrolling wasn't involved.

you can archive or post again, thanks for the thread!

Hehe, Lagan. <3

Something about his parting word and gestures earned an affectionate snort from Towhee. She bumped his chin with her muzzle, her eyes following him as he turned to leave. But soon her attention returned to the carcass. After a moment, she lowered her head and closed her jaws around the thing's scruff. She hefted it and began to carry the dead weight toward the nearest cache. She would drop it off there for whoever needed and then resume her patrol, flying solo now.