Sun Mote Copse From utility animal to life partner

The brief burst of spring and sunlight had been whisked away by bitter cold and heaps of snow. Wraen ploughed her way through a particularly snow-ladden area of the copse, where a small avalanche had happened during the night. Lucky for them - Firebirds's numbers had not dwindled the next morning and after thorough inspection no lasting damage had been caused to the territory either. 

Once out, where she was able to walk effortlessly, she shook her coat and stood for a while, taking interest in the song of starling. Those optimists though surprised by the unexpected cold-spell still believed that spring was around the corner and there was no time to waste in impressing the ladies. "Sillies," Wraen huffed, but as she made her way to the Nest, she was smiling.

She might have been blind but Towhee didn't doubt @Fennec's ability to keep an eye on baby Meerkat while she cruised around the rendezvous site for a few minutes. There was a chill in the later winter air as she did her laps, enjoying the opportunity to work her muscles properly for the first time in days. It wouldn't be long now before she could resume patrols. Meerkat was growing fast and though Towhee felt as fiercely protective as ever and knew it would be hard to part with the baby for longer periods of time, she trusted her family and pack would look out for the youngster.

In the meantime, both her daughters were just a few yards away and Towhee lingered out in the open, pausing to breathe in the fresh air and catching the Sovereign's scent right around the time she materialized. The Regent's eyes leveled on Wraen's face as she forewent a greeting and immediately asked, "What do you mean, I might be Sovereign next year?"

Wraen knew that she had been too fast to spill the beans about her uncertain future in the Firebirds. Come to think of it few days later - she was not so sure herself anymore. She longed for the reckless freedom Maia could still enjoy - she seemed to be wa-a-a-ay happier than Wraen did most days. At the same time... Sun Mote Copse was a nice place, she had put much effort and energy to guide her pack through the difficult winter and after such an investment it was not easy to leave it all and start afresh somewhere else again.

So, it came as no surprise to her that Towhee wanted to continue the conversation, where they had left it the last time. "Good-day, Towhee," she replied with a greeting first. "That's the natural succession of all things, I guess?" she shrugged and smiled half-seriously. "Did you think about, what we discussed last time?"

"How do you figure?" Towhee countered, squinting. They were around the same age, so it wasn't like Wraen should be thinking about retiring or, gods forbid, dying. "Are you planning on going somewhere?" she demanded. She wasn't sure what she thought of that idea at all, though she supposed it was Wraen's right to do what she pleased with her life. Towhee felt she should be kept informed, though, especially if it might mean taking over the pack.

For the moment, she made no reply to the Sovereign's additional question. She had thought it over and she would share those thoughts with Wraen, after her own questions were answered and possibly shed some light on why the Regent's opinion on these matters was so darn important.

"In time my reign as a Sovereign here will come to an end," Wraen replied, without delving much in the details of "how, when and why". Towhee was right - it was her god-damn business, what she wanted to do with her life. "I am planning to choose a successor from this or the last year's crop to raise, teach and nurture into a leader. If that does not happen, you might face the possibility of filling that role, until another suitable person comes along," she said.

"I stepped up to take the crown, when there was no one else to do so, and my job was to guide the pack through all the hardships, until spring came again... and, luckily, all is well for now," on the second thought, perhaps, her Regent needed some reasoning. "But I am tired, Towhee, and drained. I have given to the Firebirds all I had and what little I have still left, I would like to keep for myself."

Towhee's face scrunched as Wraen spoke. She didn't understand where this was coming from and, to add to her bafflement, she actually felt insulted by the Sovereign's apparent game plan. Was she somehow unsuitable? She badly wanted to interrupt, though she pressed her teeth into her lip and let Wraen finish. It was good that she did, because those last few sentences sent the Regent's mind spinning to an unexpected place.

"Why don't we switch then," she said before she could actually think about it. Man, she couldn't stop seeing the parallels between her younger self and the suddenly pregnant Raven... "Or share. I have been an Alpha more than once and I'm perfectly suited to the role." The thank you very much glittered in her orange eyes as she felt her pulse suddenly pounding, though her expression softened a little as she tacked on, "I understand, for what it's worth. Being in charge can be a burden. But it's one I know I can bear."

Wraen had not intended to insult Towhee in any way, by suggesting new blood in the leadership. She did not think that the she-wolf was any less capable or experienced, or unsuitable. Quite the contrary, except... the idea of having someone new, someone, who was still an optimist, believed in such things as brighter future and novelties and whatnot, who was not weighed down by the disappointments of life, who could see a new way of where the pack could go... A bit of naivety, all or nothing approach, enthusiasm, youth. All things that neither she, nor Towhee had anymore. 

"I am not going to let you do that," she replied smiling in a tone that did not allow any counter-arguments. "You have a young child - focus on her as much as you can now, because they grow up far too quickly and leave the nest far too soon," she explained. "I am neither leaving today, nor am I planning to die tomorrow. Not for a while anyway," she chuckled, though she did not expect Towhee to see the joke in any of it. "But at some point in the future I might be willing to give up the leadership entirely."

Wraen countered her offer, reasoning that Towhee should use this time to focus solely on her baby. She was hardly going to argue that point. In fact, her gaze swung in the direction of the log before panning back to Wraen, not wanting to miss a word. She was in no hurry to disembark her post, which was quite frankly a relief. The Regent would've gladly taken over for her, though she was gladder she didn't have to right this second.

"Fair enough. If you do decide to step down, just know I'm here to step up," Towhee replied simply, punctuating the words with a decisive nod. "And I'm glad about that. I get it, I really do, but you're doing a great job and I enjoy working with you."

Now that that discussion had concluded, Towhee revisited Wraen's earlier question. "Turns out my first instinct stuck. The thought of harming a pup is repulsive to me. I know that casting out a mother and her offspring might harm them too, though it at least gives them a fighting chance somewhere else. So if I found myself faced with that difficult situation, that would probably be my course of action. But I'd try to be preemptive too, make sure it was clear to all what behavior I expected from them prior to breeding season so we can avoid accidents in the first place." She thought of Hydra as she spoke, though she made no mention of the heat eliminator.

"It's a tough decision to make," Wraen agreed and, even though she still thought that sweet and charming Olive was a manipulator and a person, who had taken advantage of many people, she knew that she would not have had the heart to banish her from the Sunspire. 

"And it is even more difficult to draw a line between, what would benefit the pack as a whole long-term... and being cruel," she mused. The Sovereign had too much empathy. "I have never been able to do so, though I have so many scenarios in my mind that I have played out, where I am that tough person and such - entertaining, really, but never works out in real life," she smiled a little sadly, because she remembered well her fights with Terance and, what had come out of them. 

"Out of interest - how does Hydra do it? Prevent the accident litters from happening?" she asked.

"You can make the rules, I can enforce them," Towhee put out there. She didn't mind doing the tougher aspects of the job. They suited her nature more than Wraen's. "And sometimes we'll be forced to choose the lesser evil or even make the wrong call entirely. All we can do is try our best." She punctuated this statement with a lift and drop of her white-streaked shoulder blade.

A quiet huff of laughter escaped her at the question, since she'd just been pondering that. "I don't know exactly how she does it but she mentioned curbing their heats. Maybe Eljay would know how that's done?" Towhee kicked herself a little for not asking at the time. It hadn't seemed particularly relevant. "She also said she monitored them. I'm going to throw myself under the bus here but she-wolves in heat maybe shouldn't be allowed to go off on their own. Someone should stay with them, keep an eye on them. I know my common sense gets totally overrun by the hormones and I'm not going to stop myself from getting some."

Towhee paused for a long moment, naturally thinking about how Wraen had attacked her. "I guess savaging their snatches is always an option too," she quipped. "Maybe the last ditch one," she added with another huff of laughter.

"Well, Eljay's first question in that case would be "Why?""Wraen pointed out, having hard time to imagine Eljay being able to say "no" to anyone and be harsh, when facing difficult decisions, such as chasing out pregnant women or curbing their heats in any way. 

"And you believe it?" she shook her head slowly, wondering, how did Hydra manage to monitor ALL the females of the mountain. Her sisters included. Did she herd them in a huge cavern, forbade them to leave and at the same time fought off any vicious would-be-fathers that would be drawn to the "Cave of Forbidden Pleasures"? The mental image was hilarious. 

"Oh, I am not going to chase after you next season. You are force of nature, no one can stop you," Wraen pointed out. "Besides - sorry - but your sex talk is very awful," she grinned at her.

Towhee considered Wraen's words. Yes, Eljay would probably want to know why, though she somehow doubted he would question them, especially if it was Towhee herself asking. The Regent pondered whether he would be awkward about the subject or more clinical. She couldn't really guess. Eljay could be such an enigma.

"Do I believe what?" Towhee asked, eyes searching the Sovereign's face before guessing, "That Hydra manages to micromanage her subordinates' seasons? If anyone's capable of that, it would be her." She smirked faintly, expression thoughtful. "I'm sure it's an extremely unpleasant business, whatever it entails, but it might be a lot less repulsive than dealing with unwanted pregnancies and pups."

The conversation turned a lighter corner then and Towhee was glad to pursue it. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought about whether she might be able to have more kids next year. She didn't want to get her hopes up, though she would definitely be going into the whole thing with a totally different mindset next time. As for her sex talk, the Regent snorted in mock offense.

"According to some rando I ran into recently, I sound like a dying cougar or something," she mused, "and none of you assholes ever told me." Towhee clucked her tongue, shooting Wraen a look of disappointment before cracking into a grin. Of course, she had been told over the years that she sounded like this or that, though it was a little difficult for Towhee to conceptualize any of it. And though it bothered her slightly that she might sound ridiculous, she supposed she didn't actually give much of a shit at the end of the day.

"Anyway," she carried on in the next breath, "I should check on the girls. Would you like to come peep at"—oh, what had Wraen called her?—"Murica?"

This is the meaning of girl's name Mirka - "admirable; or peace, world; or female ruler; or ocean". I first read the name in an article about Roger Federer. His wife's Mirka.

"A dying cougar is an understatement," Wraen murmured, clearly amused by the subtle joke. Which made her wonder, if Meerkat had too inherited Towhee's deafness and they were going to have another signing-singing wolf in the pack. She wondered about asking this now, but then decided against it. Though Regent had been born deaf and had no perception of, what sound meant, it did not mean that she would wish her daughter to have the same fate. And, how could you tell it in a newborn anyway?

"Mirka," Wraen corrected. "Sure, lead the way!" 

We can fade out here and start a new one.