Heron Lake Plateau fake happy

Clover was a little worse for wear after the scuffle, and despite the way things ended she was excited for their victory (nevermind her own personal results...)—up until the point Towhee elected to bring in that rude fucker into their fold. Now, she never, ever had a reason to question her big sister... but this? She was pretty pissed. Not only did he leave them once in the midst of the first war (Clover, spinning even her own previous perception to rationalize) but he had it in him to try and fight Towhee, and them, and be rude as hell to her. 

She didn't like it, not one bit. In fact, she hated it. Halfheartedly, Clover marked the borders and thought of her family here. Decidedly, Clover did not trust this Tit, and turned around to head toward the den of her mother and father to tell them as much. Trust your gut, that's what she was doing! Her little bros would not be under the influence of him, she wanted to make sure of that.

Screech's status was now known by herself and the rest of the pack. Probably like most of them, she harbored a lot of misgivings. In fact, Towhee was having those about most things in her life at present. She should have been enjoying their new stomping grounds, the beauty of this paradisaical area and the notion of a fresh start, but the Alpha took no pleasure in anything unfolding around her right now.

She, too, headed to find the Betas. On her way there, she came up behind Clover, who appeared to be going in the same direction. Towhee slowed and paused. She should probably have a conversation with Clover and her sister too, though maybe that was best left to Elwood and Finley at this point. With a sour stomach, Towhee picked up the pace again, calling out to get her little sister's attention.

"Are you going to see your mom and dad? Me too," she said simply in way of greeting.

Clover turned upon hearing the loud plod of her sister, ears twitching. Normally she would be overjoyed, but today she had some reservations. Clover trusted Towhee's judgment in all but this singular thing, and she wasn't shy about it; Towhee surely knew how she felt about Screech given their first interaction. -Yeah,- she responded, and then her lips paused and she spoke solely in ptero after a beat. -I don't get it. Why did you let him in? I don't trust him. He's bad news,- She did not want Screech to know she questioned her sister at all if he was around, lest he try and sow some further discourse between them. Really, she didn't care if he knew she didn't like him, but she didn't want him to know she did not like her sisters decision. And why did she think this? Well, had she heard how Screech was talking to her? Okay, no, but she could read his lips well enough—and Towhee wasn't blind, how about the way he looked at her?

She should have expected the frank question, especially from Clover, though it surprised Towhee into slowing to a stop as she considered how to answer. -I have reasons to believe we've been wrong about Screech,- she signed slowly. -He's still an asshat but I think he's been the victim of bad luck, bad timing and misunderstanding more than anything else. It's... complicated.- That felt like such a cop-out of an answer. Towhee's white-streaked shoulders sagged as she shot the girl an apologetic look.

"You don't have to trust him," she continued out loud after taking a breath, "although I'd argue we should all try to give him a chance to earn it." This time, she shrugged. "I don't know how this is going to shake out in the end. But trust your gut. Keep an eye on Screech, especially around your little brothers. Let me—ah, let the leaders—know if you see anything sketchy." Towhee wondered if that had come out sounding as fumbling as it had felt tripping out of her mouth.

Motioning at Clover, Towhee resumed walking toward where she knew the Betas were quartering with the puppies. "You were here first," she said to Clover, motioning toward the figures of @Elwood and @Finley as they approached. "Just don't keep them all day," she requested with a faint smirk that didn't reach her orange eyes. "I have something important I need to talk to them about."

Clover observed Towhee and shook her head. Bad timing and bad luck have zippo to do with it, at least for me. He... he turned around and left, when we planned to go after Blackfeather, she stated, he made a choice then to turn his back on us. All of us. How can you trust someone who could do that? She said with a shake of her head. Where did he even go? She didn't know, she just knew that her perspective of him had 180'd when he came at her sister. And Blackfeather had returned, and were sitting pretty in their residence, while they moved. And now he was conveniently back. Too convenient????

Clover really didn't have the mental capacity to think of subterfuge or anything of the sort, so her train of thought was more on the immediate issues, which was what she had seen for herself. As they arrived to her parents den, she sighed. I trust you, but I don't trust him. I think him being here is... not good. I'll stick by your side and your decision, but I don't care to know him. She candidly said, and nodded to her sisters words.

She chuffed into the den, first waiting to see if her mom and dad would let her inside.

Tags for reference :D

Fin still found it hard to believe how far they had traveled with such young children in tow. She initially had felt almost as though she ought to just move them to a rendezvous site now rather than go through the hassle of locating a suitable den. But, they were still too young and too vulnerable to be kept out in the open just yet - as proven by Tywyll's more recent fling with an eagle - so a den they had found. Finley wasn't convinced that she would make use of it for her next litter, but she was too exhausted and in pain to keep looking. It would do.

The beta was quietly tending to a messy bum when she heard voices and approaching footsteps. She turned to peer out the "door" (I have no idea what they live in right now), watching two full sets of legs striding across the ground, heading her direction. She prodded the pair of boys together and gave them a very stern look to say don't you dare move you little... before she stood and moved out into the open air.

"Hello girls," she greeted gently, trying not to cringe as she stepped down on her still throbbing back leg, "You're both looking very serious today." She shot a glance back then at @Tywyll and @Cinder, another don't you dare move you little... message on her face. Just for good measure.

It was curious, in a way, how Clover's opinion differed so much from Raven's. Towhee's fell somewhere in the middle, of course, and was tinged with doubt. She didn't know the answer to her younger sister's question, so she shook her head lightly. Clover's trust in her judgment was appreciated, even if it made her sigh inwardly. Did she deserve that? Whether or not she did, she couldn't help but reach out and touch her nose to the youth's cheek, a gesture of gratitude for the support, as well as acceptance of Clover's reasonable objections.

Soon, Finley emerged from the den. Towhee immediately wanted to tell her godmother what was on her mind. But she had said Clover could go first. In the meantime, her orange eyes cast about for any sign of her uncle. Ideally, she wanted to discuss her thoughts with both godparents. Then again, Elwood hadn't been there for her promotion to Alpha, so perhaps he didn't need to be present when Towhee passed those reigns right back to the Blackthorns.

Her mother appeared right on cue, and her tail waved as she moved to nip her chin fondly when she was not glaring at her baby brothers. Her ears pricked as she spoke, and Clover got straight to it. I don't trust Tit, she expressed. He might be family, but he was family that walked out on them. I... I don't want him near them, she explained, her ears melting atop her crown. She got that it wasn't her decision to make, but she was nothing if not a protective big sister. Part of the reason she fought was for them, after all. For Towhee's pride and for her family and their future, here. So she'd gotten the smackdown, that had nothing to do with her dislike of him!!!

Clover stepped up to greet her and Fin turned to do the same in kind, planting an obnoxious lick intentionally on the girl's eye socket. She looked at Towhee then, noting that her other daughter did not greet her, but instead was looking around as though she had expected some other company. Fin frowned thoughtfully at this, but looked attentively at Clover when the tattooed youth abruptly spoke her mind.

Finley blinked at her daughter, her expression blank for a moment. She was surprised to hear Clover express that opinion with such passion, but not because she disagreed. Quite the opposite. "Okay," she answered simply. After all, she had no intention of allowing Titmouse or any of his band anywhere near her pups as she didn't trust him at all either. It was actually a little gratifying that Clover had come to the same conclusion as she knew at least some amongst them must not be on the same page, seeing as he had been made pack once again.

That matter settled (in Fin's mind anyway), the beta looked at Towhee, wondering if she was here to play devil's advocate on the Titmouse situation.

Gonna try to keep up but if I'm too slow then please feel free to skip me!

Elwood was somewhere nearby, and the sound of voices near his family's temporary den drew his attention. He approached to find Clover, Towhee, and Finley conversing just outside the mouth of the burrow, and a quick glance told him that Tywyll and Cinder were safely ensconced inside. It was unlikely that either of them would be able to make any sort of escape, as both parents were keeping a close eye on the boys after the eagle incident.

He was able to hear what Clover said as he came to a halt, and while he didn't say anything just yet, he nodded his understanding with a frown. Finley gave a simple reply, and then they both shifted their gaze to Towhee, who looked like she had something to say but hadn't spoken up yet.

By the time Towhee's gaze returned to Finley's face, Clover had evidently already spoken. Whatever she'd said, the Beta female replied with a simple, "Okay." She then looked expectantly at the Alpha, just as Elwood did when he materialized. It suddenly occurred to her that she'd been spacing out a little bit and promptly blinked and frowned in apology.

"Sorry, um." She glanced at Clover, wondering if she was going to say more. Perhaps she'd simply needed to vent her thoughts about Screech to a wider audience. Judging by the way everyone seemed to be looking at her now, it was her turn already. Towhee deliberated a moment. Did she want Clover to overhear what she was about to say?

Deciding she'd find out sooner or later, just like the rest of the pack, Towhee cleared her throat overly loudly before slowly saying, "I'm stepping down as Alpha. I just don't think I'm cutting it. And now X is gone." She rolled her shoulders in a sort of self-conscious shrug, face crumpling a little as she added another, "Sorry." For dropping this bomb on them in the middle of so much drama, for which she was also sorry... and, of course, for not living up to their expectations as the head of the pack.

At her sisters new declaration, it took her only a minute to process. While she dug the idea of her parents ruling, she had no issue with Towhee herself. Cutting it? You led us to this cool ass place. And, you helped lead the way to kick Blackfeathers ass. I'd say you're cutting it, she retorted, though she peered at her parents and wondered what they thought. But before anything else, she looked back to Towhee and said: if you wanted to kick out Tit though, that'd be class. Third best move as alpha, she determined, gaze shifting back to mom and dad.

Finley watched Towhee with just as blank an expression as she'd carried when Clover had spoken her peace, even though this comment was far more earth-shattering than the other. She considered her goddaughter silently for a few moments even while Clover was rejected the idea whole-heartedly. She looked for all the world to see as though she were merely debating on whether to go for a walk or take a nap. She was considering something far more important than that, though. Not because she had a question about how she felt, but because she just wasn't sure what attitude to take when responding to it.

"No," she replied, just as simply as she had to Clover. In this case though, she decided to say a little more. "Towhee, if you think that making mistakes means you're somehow not fit to lead then I didn't raise you nearly as well as I thought," she continued calmly, "If your parents stepped down after every perceived mistake, it would've been called Blackthorn Caldera. For like a day. Because your uncle and I would've made our first mistake an hour later and handed the pack off to someone else. We'd've been Ashton Caldera in a heartbeat, and if you knew that guy, you'd know that there would've been no hope for wolf-kind as a whole at that point." 

She was getting away from the point. Gods she was tired as fuck still. Fin shook her head lightly, glancing briefly at her mate before looking again at her goddaughter. "The point is, it isn't your mistakes that make you an alpha, Towhee," Fin said, "It's what you do after those mistakes. If you're going to throw in the towel and give up now just because you think you screwed up somehow, then you're right - you're not cutting it as an alpha. An alpha steps up when shit gets tough. They don't quit on their pack."

"So what's it going to be?" Fin looked expectantly at her goddaughter, hoping her little speech would inspire her rather than make her feel even more awful. Truth be told, the Blackthorn didn't even understand what exactly had happened that Towhee considered to be a mistake. There was nothing she could think of that would've counted, unless it was allowing Titmouse and his hooligan friends to join their ranks. Even that was probably a wise decision - the whole keep your enemies closer deal or whatever. But when it came down to it, Fin didn't particularly care what the mistake was. The only mistake she cared about was the one Towhee was attempting to make now; the one she was hoping to talk her out of.

Whatever he had expected Towhee to say, it wasn't that. In a rather un-Elwood way, he opened his mouth as though to reply, then snapped it shut a second later when nothing came out. It wasn't just that she wanted to resign from her position of Alpha -- it was her body language, and the obvious defeat she felt, even if she couldn't convey it in the tone of her voice. Elwood felt like he had failed her.

He glanced at Clover and Finley as they replied. Finley had almost pulled the words from his head -- it was everything he wanted to say to Towhee but had been unable to a moment ago. He nodded, and while he didn't feel like he needed add much to what had already been said, he wanted her to know that he believed in her, too.

"Fin's right -- about all of it," he said. "It's not going to be easy, and you're not going to make everyone happy all of the time. But you're not doing it alone; we're here to support you." He considered telling her about Colt and Quixote, but worried that hearing about their dissent would only convince her further that she wasn't capable of leadership. Maybe that would be something he discussed first with Finley. For now, he fixed his concerned gaze on Towhee's downtrodden face.

Clover spoke first and Towhee managed a watery smile for her sister. Then her attention shifted to the two wolves whose say mattered more. She refused to blink during Finley's entire speech, causing her eyes to burn and water. At least, that's what she would tell anyone who asked why there was a single tear running down her cheek, a la Dean Winchester:



Elwood corroborated his mate and all Towhee could do for several moments was stand there and try to breathe through the immense waves of emotion rolling over her. She didn't trust her voice just yet. Plus, she wanted to give herself a moment to process and gather her thoughts.

"Okay," she finally said, her answer as simple and succinct as Finley's earlier response to Clover's rant. "I won't quit. I'll step up," she embellished slightly, still a little too overwhelmed to add much more.

In lieu of words, she stepped forward and offered up the greeting she'd neglected to give earlier. She first bumped her nose to her uncle's cheek, then turned to Finley and simply pressed her entire upper half into her godmother's neck. In case Clover didn't get her unspoken cue, Towhee waved at her to join the group hug too.

"Thanks guys," she muttered into the small space in between them, "for believing in me even when I don't believe in myself." With that, her throat closed and she didn't say anything else, just clinging weakly—and gratefully—to the best support system an imperfect young Alpha could possibly ask for.

Towhee's emotional response surprised Clover who had never seen her in such a way. It was curious, to see the typical stone cold child of fox get weepy eyed. For a prolonged moment, she stared, a little bewildered herself at the sight of it, before smiling happily. After all, the desired result was acheived. Clover needed no unspoken cue to throw herself into the family hug, never one to shy away from assaulting others in any capacity herself. Her tail waved as she sat mutely in their tight little huddle.

Elwood was quick to voice his support as well, which Fin had expected. He always had her back, just as she always had his. She watched as Towhee's face contorted with emotion until finally, she did just as Finley expected of her - she stepped up. And then forward, to embrace her god parents and begin a nice, wolfy group hug.

When the snuggle subsided, Fin turned her head back to the other matter. She was awake enough now to actually address it more appropriately. "Regarding Titmouse though," she said, "I don't want him near the kids. Not now. Or not yet, I guess. I'll give him a chance, but he needs to stay away. Him and whatever friends he brought here with him."

Likely, she should've been more descriptive of how she felt the boy needed to be treated if he did inadvertently come too near before being told of the decree. But if she'd done that, the other thread wouldn't make as much sense. So she was vague, and perhaps still more tired than she even realized.

It was moving to see such an emotional reaction from Towhee. The girl didn't often wear her feelings on her sleeve, both because of her personality and the lack of intonation in her voice. Elwood moved readily to embrace his family as they hugged, already storing this memory in his mind as an important moment in their history together.

When the four wolves separated a moment later, Finley returned to the previous topic that Clover had mentioned earlier. His daughter's request had been a reasonable one, and there was no surprise in Elwood's expression when his mate agreed with her. Titmouse -- or Screech, as he now seemed to be called -- was still family, but he had a lot of work to do to prove himself to them again. "I agree," he added with a bob of his head. "At least until the boys are older and more independent." There would come a time when Tywyll and Cinder began to make their own decisions, under the adults' guidance, and hopefully by that time Screech would have earned the Redhawks' trust once more.

She felt a little silly by the time they drew apart, though Towhee still looked fondly between the three of them before her orange eyes settled on Finley in particular. She didn't want Screech near the pups, at least for now. The Alpha's wet eyes flicked to Clover, then back to her aunt as she gave a firm nod.

"I absolutely agree. If Screech comes anywhere near them, he'll find himself with a new asshole," Towhee said gruffly. It was the parents' call, of course, but she wanted to know she'd support them and defend the boys too. She blew out a breath, then added, "Thanks again, guys. I should go do some more marking and patrolling. I'm sure I'll catch you later."

She made a point to bump the Betas' necks with her nose, then slightly more playfully head-butted Clover's shoulder. She was still reining in her emotions as she trotted away toward the plateau's fringes, grateful she still bore her title and glad for her loved ones' support, though still a little shook from all the recent events.