Golden Glade Shadowless.

Unsure of what exactly she would find and how the visit might play out, Towhee nonetheless headed out to make her long overdue call at the borders of her sister's new claim. The late June sun slanted through the treetops, beating down on her back, wet from the river. Her fur dried out quickly and she slowed, panting, as the trees thinned and the border markings filled her nose. From what she could tell, it wasn't altogether too different from the forest she'd just passed through or the grove for that matter. In other words, it was a good choice for a territory; even Towhee could admit that.

She stood there for a few minutes, hesitating. But Towhee finally threw back her head and howled for @Raven, well aware that it might be Quixote that came in his pregnant mate's stead. Or it was entirely possible she would be met by Lannoch and Riffey. No, that's not right, she thought, wrinkling her nose at herself, it's Rannoch and Liffey, bonehead... She sighed softly, trying not to fidget too much as she waited.

I am so tired and this is so bad but I saw this and COULD NOT resist replying!

Any day now, Raven thought as she walked -- no, waddled -- through the sun-dappled forest, directing her inner mom-voice to her unborn children. Feel free to gtfo anytime, dudes. This is getting uncomfortable. She enjoyed motherhood but late pregnancy was a hell of a cross to bear, even for her. Doing the math in her head, she knew the time had to be literally now, or darn close to it, and even though the thought of potentially going through another childbirth like last season scared the living daylights out of her, she was ready to yeet these fetuses if for no other reason than to be able to walk through a china shop without knocking literally everything off the shelves. Hugeness was NOT a thing Raven could ever really get used to.

She had taken to walking a lot, in the hopes of speeding up whatever biological kitchen timer it was that determined when the buns in the oven were done baking. She'd been out for most of the afternoon and was about to head back to find Quixote and see what, if anything, was for dinner when what did she hear on the afternoon air but a kEk from her dearly departed sister. Her emotions regarding Towhee and Phox were mixed, to say the least, but there was no containing the delight that rushed through her at the sound of that howl. A more dignified wolf might have been able to contain the squeak that burst from her lips as she took off running -- no, lumbering mammothlike -- toward that voice, but Raven, well...she was not a dignified wolf. I mean, look at her. What part of this blimp-esque ridiculousness was in any way dignified?

She found Towhee after some short while near the boundaries of her glade, and was a walking disaster of joy as she approached. Gleeful giddiness literally made her rotund body vibrate and her tail couldn't possibly wag any faster as she stepped close to greet her sister with kisses on the chin. Later she would probably look back and think good lord, a little over the top Raven, but in that moment she was simply overcome by how damn much she missed Towhee and how happy she was to see her. She didn't even speak a greeting, but honestly, were words even really needed?

Hehehe, so glad you joined!!! I really ought to be asleep but I had to toss this out into the universe first.

A dark figure came barreling out of the trees and every muscle in Towhee's body tensed, as she didn't recognize her sister right away. Within the space of a breath, recognition did hit her and her orange eyes widened. Raven was beyond pregnant, sides swelled out so far that the visiting mercenary honestly wondered if she was as wide as she was tall. But, just as importantly, Raven seemed happy to see her. As someone particularly adept at reading body language, Towhee quickly picked up on the fact that her sister was actually shaking with glee.

She had kept her distance for so long to give herself time to resolve whatever negative emotions lingered. And though it would be a lie to say they simply disappeared, their shadow grew very small in the light of Raven's radiant presence now. Towhee's tail swiped through the humid early summer air as she returned her sister's kisses in kind, her weight shifting from foot to foot not because she was fidgeting but because she was a little overcome herself.

There were a thousand things Towhee wanted to say to her sister: "holy shit, you're hell'a pregnant!" or "did you seriously take a new surname?" or even a general "how the hell are you?!" Instead, the Kilonova's orange eyes sought and locked on Raven's electric yellow gaze as she blurted, apropos of nothing, -"I think I might have a crush on Rye but I'm not sure because it's never happened before and I could really use some sisterly advice."- It all came out in a garbled, breathless rush and flurry of forelimbs before Towhee just as suddenly cringed at herself. -"Fuck, I mean, uh... it's really good to see you!"- And she hooked Raven into another hug, smashing her face into the other Alpha's neck even as she mouthed, What the fuck, Tow? at herself.

Dude it's like 4 hours past my bedtime but lolol

Towhee's abrupt announcement didn't faze Raven a bit, so accustomed was she to her sister's occasional bouts of social clumsiness. She only had time to look surprised for a split second before her goofball sister realized her gaffe and blurted a more appropriate greeting. As Raven found herself caught up in a strangling hug, she laughed -- the first real, genuine belly laugh she'd had in a long time -- and hugged Towhee back just as vigorously. Whatever mixed feelings she'd had toward her sister, already so tenuous and ephemeral because she had never been much for holding grudges anyway, were swept away in the joy of their reunion. Raven knew nothing of the resentments her siblings had stewed over since their departure, but at least on her own end, everything was fine.

Some beats later they withdrew from their hug and Raven sat back to look at her sister. -"Wow,"- she breathed with a grin, shaking her head. -"Okay, first of all, it's DAMN good to see YOU!"- There it went again, that darn tail. It just wagged on its own, she had no control over it. She felt like her excitement might reach fever pitch and boil over, making her spontaneously combust or something. Good grief, she needed to get her shit together. -"Secondly...RYE? Really? OMG."- Who knows if she actually spelled out OMG or just said the words, it's late and Houkie's cat is barfing in the floor as we speak so OMG. She giggled, eyeing her sister conspiratorially. Rye was cute. She didn't know him super well but she could maybe see how the two of them might click. And Towhee? A crush? WHAT? As weird as it was to be having this conversation with her BAMF of a sister, Raven felt like she'd waited her whole life for this moment.

Her breath caught in her throat as she wondered if Rye had spoken to Raven and Quixote yet; whether they would be angry with her for stealing their member; if perhaps she should offer to send a grove wolf to them in exchange... Towhee shoved these thoughts aside and tightened her grip as Raven leaned into the embrace, her face still pressed into the other woman's neck. As she drew in her sister's smell, she realized she just wanted everything to be set to rights. There was no point stewing over changes in backdrops or surnames. They were still family and nothing could ever change that.

Eventually, they drew apart and Towhee's face flushed when Raven immediately seized on the subject of Rye, of course. -"Can we just ignore my random spate of verbal diarrhea?"- she said and signed weakly, laughing at Raven's obvious pleasure over the unbidden revelation. -"Can we talk about how pregnant you are instead? And how you're settling in? And how everything's hopefully going awesomely with you and yours...?"-

Towhee quickly changed the subject, and even though she totally wasn’t off the hook just yet (oh heck no), Raven allowed the conversation to shift directions for the time being. After all, they had a lot to catch up on. It had only been a few weeks but somehow, it felt like they’d been apart for so much longer. Running the pack without her younger sister around was still a bizarre thing for Raven and she wasn’t sure it was something she’d ever really get used to, but at some point she was sure she’d find a comfortable rhythm. They all would. Hopefully.

-“Man,”- she replied, blowing out a sigh as she sat her fat ass down because good lord her cankles were achin’. -“I feel like an overripe grape about to bust. Feels like I’m gonna give birth to a whole litter of full grown adults. Should be any day now though.”-

Moving on to her next few questions, she continued, -“Things are weird without you here. Feels like something’s missing. But we’re adjusting. What Phox said about not wanting to raise kids around cliffs kinda got me thinking, so I think this spot was a decent alternative.”- She wouldn’t insult Towhee by adding that she too had always disliked the plateau, but the logic in Phox’s comments couldn’t be denied either. Her brow furrowed slightly as she asked, -“When you moved us from the caldera to the plateau, did you have to deal with a lot of folks being butthurt about it? Just seems like there’s a lot of general angst in our ranks about the move, which....doesn’t really make sense since the plateau is still literally walking distance away.”- She could understand why Rannoch’s bunch were out of sorts, as they’d had to undergo one hell of a major upheaval and lengthy journey to make this move. But it was the frowny faces on the Redhawk wolves that made her go ???. They were literally still at the plateau, basically, only now they were all peeing at the bottom of it instead of on top of it.

She let out a relieved breath when Raven seized the opportunity to talk about goings-on here rather than whatever was going on between Towhee and Rye. As her sister signed and spoke, she found herself smiling for the most part, though she did toss out apologetic and sympathetic frowns in turn. She snorted unattractively when Raven used the word "butthurt" but didn't interrupt, letting her sibling finish before she spoke.

-"Yes, I'm sure there was contention,"- Towhee replied, although it had been quite some time and she couldn't recall specifically. They'd also arrived at the plateau only to fight a turf war, so that had taken up most of her attention at the time. -"Some people don't do well with change, even if it's relatively small. I'm sorry I'm not around to tell them to shut the fuck up,"- she quipped with a sardonic smile. -"Although, I mean, we're sister packs, so if you need me to beat up anyone, I'm still here for it."-

Glancing beyond the sable Alpha's shoulder, Towhee observed, -"I can't see why anybody would bitch about this place."- Her orange eyes settled on Raven's face as she added, -"Did you inform them their opinion is wrong?"- She gave another snort, quieter this time before admitting, -"When I heard the news about the move, I kinda didn't like the thought, even though it was none of my business. I think it just caught me off guard."- She rolled her snow-dappled shoulders. -"But I was wrong. And you know what? I like that the plateau is open for everyone to visit. I actually went by Orca's grave the other day... and ran into Whip, crazily enough."-

Sorry it's short -- on mobile and autocorrect is really being a bitch today.

Raven snorted along with Towhee at some of her comments, enjoying her sister's brash sense of humor after so many days without it. Sometimes she wondered what life might be like without the heavy burden of social tact that she carried, without having to worry about people's feelings every time she said or did something. Perhaps that was why Towhee had been born into her family -- so she wouldn't have to find out for herself. ;)

Her sister's final comment caught her by surprise and her eyebrows shot up. "Whip?!" she blurted almost involuntarily. Now there was a face she hadn't seen in ages. -"Damn,"- she replied, shifting where she sat as one of the incumbent jerks in her belly kicked her squarely in the freaking bladder. -"I wish I could have seen him. How's he doing? Is he going to join up with you guys?"-

"Right?!" Towhee's expression said when Raven expressed surprise at their prodigal brother's reappearance. She wasn't sure she could answer either one of her sister's questions, due in part to the fact that that thread hasn't progressed that far yet (oops).

But a thought came to her and Towhee found herself spewing words again, limbs flurrying. -"I should send him your way, in exchange for Rye."- Her face looked a little pinched but she hurried on, wanting to get it out as well as defend the situation if necessary. -"I asked him if he'd join me at the grove. I never intended to steal any of your members and made a point not to ask anyone to go with us when we first left. But Rye, he's..."-

Well, what was Rye to her? They'd banged; they were each other's firsts, in fact. But Towhee had also boned several other dudes. Of course, she wasn't sure Raven knew about that. Did anyone know about that, except the guys in question... and her little cock blocking niece? It seemed to her like nobody had been paying attention to her comings (lol...) and goings at the time. And there had been nothing emotional about those trysts, they'd been pure, lust-driven fucking, not to put too fine a point on it.

But since then, she'd grown kind of fond of Rye, inexplicably and unexpectedly. And Towhee said as much. -"We're not involved or anything but... I don't know. I've never had these feelings before and they really don't make sense. I do know that we totally banged, back when I was in heat."- And in case that set alarm bells off for Raven, as it should, Towhee said more slowly, -"That's actually when I found out: I don't think I can have kids. So that's another complication in this whole sitch..."-

So much for changing the subject.

Confusion flashed briefly over Raven's face at her sister's mention of "in exchange for Rye", until Towhee went on to explain further that she had asked him to come join her at the grove. Her face became something more neutral, then, as she considered the implications of what Towhee was telling her. The Frosthawks would be losing a member, which was never a good thing -- particularly with a new litter of pups arriving any day now and the pack needing every member on deck to help ensure their newest generation was kept safe and fed. Raven wasn't thrilled to lose Rye at all, but...they would be okay. The pack was stronger than it had been in a long time, and hunting this year had been plentiful. Even with both of the pack's leading females tied up with diaper duty, Qui still had more than enough help running things. In considering all of these things, Raven realized she was okay with the situation. At least Towhee had had the decency to come tell her, instead of Rye just up and leaving.

As her sister finished her amusingly awkward explanation, Raven's expression shifted to something more like this and she couldn't suppress a giggle as she commented, -"Remember that time ages ago, back when you were alpha, when I had to come to you and explain that I'd totally boned Quixote? The tables have turned, dear sister!"- She leaned forward and playfully nudged her sister with a forepaw, laughing now. Relaxing back on her vast ass again, she continued a bit more seriously, -"I don't think it's unusual for people to develop feelings after they've 'done the thing'...I mean, I fell pretty hard for Qui after, too. If he wants to go, I'm okay with it. But I don't want anyone to come here against their will in exchange. Whip is always welcome, no matter what, but only if he wants to come."-

Man, she'd really rambled, and she hadn't meant to let that last part slip out at all. Fortunately, Raven didn't say anything about it. Swallowing a sigh of relief over that and the Frosthawk's lack of ire, Towhee rolled her eyes, shook her head and returned her sister's smirk. They liked the world to think they were a sweet, motherly caregiver and a fierce, duty-bound mercenary, respectively, but they were both secretly dirty little coquettes.

-"Damn, there goes my plan to start up a slave trade,"- Towhee quipped. -"Thanks, Rave,"- she added much more sincerely before saying, -"While we're on the subject, I've been doing mercenary training with Fig and Fen. I know they're not quite out of the oven yet but when your kiddos get here, they're welcome to join us. Consider this an official offer to mentor any mini mercenaries, I guess."- Her lips twitched into a dorky smile.

She grinned wryly at Towhee's slave trade comment, but then her sister went on to suggest what Raven felt was a great idea. She knew she had plenty of wolves in her pack who were sufficiently qualified to train her kids in mercenary skills, their own father included, but there were very few she trusted more than Towhee and she knew the extent of her sister's knowledge. She had, after all, been there with Towhee since the girl had been born and she'd seen all the obstacles the younger Redhawk had had to overcome to become the certified ass-kicker she was now.

Not only that, but there was a subtler bit of genius in the suggestion that Towhee may or may not have realized already, and Raven seized on it: -"You know, that would be a great way to really solidify our relationship as sister packs. I would totally send you a kid or two for mercenary training, and I'd be happy to teach any one of yours about healing or botany if they were interested."- She chuckle to herself then, amused. -"Towhee's boot camp and Raven's medical school. I like it. We just need to get someone over at the Firebirds on board with this and we'll have a nice little child trafficking ring going on. Maybe you'll get your slave trade after all."- Towhee wasn't the only one grinning like a dork now.

In the wake of this conversation, as they collaborated on evil schemes together to mutually strengthen their bonds and their packs, Towhee could scarcely recall why she'd ever felt bitterly toward any of this. Once she went home, she was certain that most of her resentments would be nothing but a memory, her faith restored in their alliance and the might of their collective. Towhee had done her stewing and worked out her rancor, this rendezvous with Raven effectively marking an end to it.

When her elder sister seized her idea and spun off with it, Towhee could only grin. -"That's a brilliant plan. Maybe the Firebirds could be responsible for raising us some top notch hunters?"- She could think of several qualified individuals, not least of which was their own godfather. Honestly, if they pulled this off, they would be a real tour de force in the Teekon Wilds.

-"I'm really glad we talked today,"- Towhee said after a beat, face soft as she regarded her elder sister. -"It means a lot to me that everything's working out like this. And you're sure you're not upset about Rye? For what it's worth, I genuinely care about him, even if I'm not really sure about the nature of my feelings or what I'm going to do about them..."-

She nodded emphatically to Towhee's suggestion re: Firebirds, feeling that her sister might be a bit more familiar with the skills most prevalent among their ranks than she, given her own general lack of visits/involvement with the Firebirds in recent months. Sometimes she felt she could barely keep up with her own pack, let alone keep up with what was going on in the packs around hers. Maybe that made her a less-than-great leader, but it just be like that sometimes. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-"I'm glad we talked too,"- she replied, feeling that something inside her had been calmed by this meeting. She had forced herself to be okay with them splitting off and establishing their own pack, but after today she knew she would feel much better about things moving forward. She would always be a little sad that Towhee & Co. weren't here, but as long as they still remained a part of one another's lives -- as it appeared they would -- she could be happy with that. It was better than nothing. -"And no, I'm really not upset. I just want everyone to be happy, and if Rye will be happier with you in your pack, then that's where I think he belongs. If it doesn't work out, he's always welcome to come back."-" She gave Towhee a meaningful glance and added with a light touch of her nose to her sister's shoulder, -"Same goes for you, Phox, and the kids too. I'm sure things are going to be just fine for you guys, but just remember you've always got a place to go, no matter what."-

Towhee's lips parted in surprise. She supposed she'd known that, despite all the bad feelings going around, they would always have a place with one another. But hearing Raven say it really touched her. She reached out to nudge Raven's cheek, glad for that as well as her understanding about Rye. The mercenary was well aware, in that moment, that she wasn't worthy of the love Raven gave her, yet she was happy to accept it, all the same. And hopefully give back some in due measure.

-"That means a lot, Rave, and of course we'd extend the same to you,"- Towhee replied. She found herself staring at the side of her sister's face for a long beat before adding, -"I know I didn't handle it quite right but nudging you into leadership was the right thing to do, both times. You really are the matriarch of this family, you know. Queen of the Redhawks,"- regardless of whatever surname she went by these days.

-"Speaking of which,"- she said in the next breath, -"you really ought to be resting right now. Get you some sleep while you still can."- She chortled, moving as if readying to depart but very slowly; she wasn't in a rush to leave. -"I'll get out of your hair but I'd love to come back and see you and them after they're born, of course, if that's cool with you?"-

She smiled at her sister's words, appreciating the confidence that the younger Redhawk had in her. She hadn't been so sure all those months ago when Towhee had first pushed her into leadership, but looking back, she knew that Towhee had seen something in her that she hadn't been able to see herself. She liked to think that she was a pretty solid leader, even if she preferred playing in the back of the orchestra behind the other three. She was also glad that Towhee seemed to take her offer of refuge to heart, too. She wished for nothing but success for her family and friends, of course, but she also knew that life had a peculiar tendency to happen in the worst possible ways at the worst imaginable times. When and if that came to pass, she was happy to be their safety net.

It was comforting, too, to know that Towhee was willing to be the same for her as well.

She chuckled at her sister's words -- "Get some sleep while you still can" -- because BOY was it true. And Towhee knew first-hand now that she was a mom! She rose to her feet and commented, -"You're always welcome to come see them anytime. I may or may not remember to send a messenger when the time comes, but if you don't hear from me within a week, feel free to stop by. They'll be here by then."- As the two began to go their separate ways, she added, -"Give my love to Phox and the kids!"-

-"Sure thing. Well then,"- Towhee said breezily, a smile on her lips as she touched her snout to Raven's cheek a final time, -"I'll be seeing you again soon."- She could've asked Raven to give everyone her best, though who would that even include these days? She didn't give a rat's ass about Tegan and only cared about Quixote a smidgen more because of what he meant to her sister. So there was really nothing to pass along.

-"Love you, Rave. Take care,"- were Towhee's final fond words before she departed for home.