Dawn Treader Valley while exploring this otherwise-impossible space

tags for reference! seeking mama bear @Towhee & baby brother Bushtit! <3

after informing @Ameline and then @Tvar that she would be taking a brief scouting trip and expected to be back in a few days time, towhee departs from the valley. in truth, she hoped getting out of the valley and taking in some 'fresh air' might act as some sort of miracle balm to the boughts of nausea that she got randomly. mostly after eating but they came and went without much rhyme or reason that towhee herself could deduce.

ghost flies point, staying close but taking to his usual task of recon.

when they reach the dawn treader valley, towhee is tired and though hungry, when she'd attempted to eat a rabbit ghost had spooked and corralled towards her, she'd thrown it up. ate some grass she rooted up from beneath the snow in an effort to settle her stomach and threw that up to.

but she took small bites of meat until the rabbit was mostly picked clean and she kept it down.

she stretches then, golden gaze taking in the territory 'round her and ghost in an effort to find some place she might be able to take a short nap.

Thanks for starting something for us! :D

Finally, she convinced Bushtit to put Verapaz in their rear view mirror for now to explore to the east. Towhee sort of hoped the distance would tamp down on her son’s preoccupation with Soto, though she genuinely wanted to see what was out there. They started just north of the golden lakes, then ventured up and over some dunes before skirting around a gulch to the north and winding up at the edge of a valley.

Hol’up, she shouted to her son as he ventured ahead. I need to take a break. My leg is fucking killing me, she said, not bothering to hide her pain from him anymore. You don’t have to sit with me, she said as Bushtit loped her way, but please don’t run off like you’ve been doing lately, okay? I’m a decrepit old lady, you can’t abandon me.

Bushtit rolled his eyes, then unleashed his trademark charming smile. He didn’t budge, stretching out beside her as Towhee rolled onto her hip to rest her bum leg. She found herself sinking to the ground, feeling utterly exhausted by what was just a standard day’s travel.

Well, that’s not reassuring, she muttered to herself as a chilly breeze swept the long grasses, bringing with it two strangely familiar scents: Towhee Jr and vomit.

Towhee sat up suddenly. Grunting, she hoisted herself onto all fours. She didn’t say anything to her son because she didn’t need to; she could see that he’d caught the scent too. He paced at her side as Towhee did her speediest shuffle further northward.

She spotted Ghost in the sky and ran toward the area directly beneath the hawk. It hadn’t been that long since she’d seen her doppelganger of a daughter, though the sight of her jarred the elder Towhee. She looked so much younger than her mother, who’d begun seeing more and more white hairs in her reflections these days.

Never minding that, Towhee quickly got over herself and signed, -What’s wrong? Are you sick?-

Meanwhile, Bushtit darted forward to throw his forelegs around his sister’s neck in a fierce hug.

<3!!!

any and all plans of a nap are shuffled happily aside when two familiar figures come rushing into view. -mom! bus—!- her ptero of greeting, energized and joyful is cut abruptly off by her brother's hug. she lets out a small oof, trying to piece together the small newborn she will probably unfortunately always see him as with the growing young man before her.

before towhee jr can answer her mother's questions once she is freed from her brother's bearhug, she begins to feel the hot burn of tears. as being emotional was never in towhee jr's arsenal, she is forced to stare at her symptoms without the rose-colored glasses of denial she'd been holding onto.

it might've been her first season but she wasn't ignorant ( despite her attempts to pretend otherwise perhaps ) about what could happen.

she lets out a huff of a breath once she's composed herself, moving forward to draw her mother in a hug before pulling back so she might sign with ease.

-no... i - i think i'm pregnant.- she lets that bomb set between them both for a moment, thoughts straying to tvar and how he might take the news.

What are you, a barnacle? Towhee playfully groused as Bushtit clung to his older sister. Dude, get off her before I have to pry you off. Go on, git! she said, poking at the boy’s ribs until he had no choice but to release and wriggle away from his mother’s tickles.

As soon as he was out of the way, Towhee went in for her own hug. It would’ve lasted longer if the smell of vomit hadn’t turned her stomach. It only bothered her because she was worried about her lookalike’s well-being, though as soon as they parted, Jr at least put that worry to rest.

Ho’damn, she blurted, delighted but decidedly surprised by this news. -You’re not old enough for that shit, are you?- she teased, shaking her head. -And how are we feeling about this? And how was your first Towheat™? Did you go nuts for D? Who’s the daddies? Do you know?-

She glanced over at Bushtit, who made a face at her, though his eyes danced in amusement at his mother’s familiar antics. Huffing out a laugh, Towhee’s orange eyes returned to their mirror images, eagerly waiting for Jr to spill the tea.

free of her brother's never-ending bear hug, with help of their mother, towhee jr is free to sign once more; though she is glad that their time apart did not color her in a bad way to bushtit.

she watches her mother's ptero, wrinkling her nose in a flush of embarrassment at her mother coining it towheat, that quickly fades with what follows. would towhee jr have been able to speak she'd have stuttered over the word 'daddies' followed by the question: did she know.

-mom.- the ptero is a bit harsher than she meant it to be; mortified that her mother thought she'd slept around with different guys, followed by the unsigned question of: was that normal?

-not daddies. just daddy. singular.- she is quick to correct with ptero that is a little rushed. -truthfully, my want for him didn't end with my towheat,- a soft smirk tugs at her lips as she uses her mother's coined term for it. -and i'm not just talking about the D.- she clarifies.

-his name is tvar. he's a fellow guard at bearclaw with me.-

Towhee reveled in her daughter’s embarrassment. She had been shameless at that age, sleeping with any willing man she could find. It seemed Jr hadn’t taken after her in this regard. She’d only banged one guy and it sounded like she was romantically invested. She was a little surprised—her daughter hadn’t seemed the type—but Towhee was also happy for her.

-Gay,- she remarked with a little smirk. -Bearclaw? I take it that’s the pack you’re living with now?- After getting confirmation on that, Towhee added, -Well? Spill all the tea. I wanna know how you ended up here,- and motioned at Jr’s trim belly. -How did you meet him, for starters?-

-Mom, I don’t think that word means what you think it means,- Bushtit contributed, that sweet summer child.

towhee jr offers her mother a quizzical brow at the offered word 'gay', but doesn't spend too much time trying to process it as her mind was focused on reading the ptero that followed. -yes. i knew the regina from my time in redtail rise,- jr explains, calling back her memories and how much everything had been harder for him at the time. and that most of it had come from her own stubbornness.

-doesn't the story always start the same? guy and girl bang. boom. pregnant.- jr jokes, snorting in amusement at herself. she shoots a look at bushtit and offers her mother a sheepishly apologetic grin. but bushtit seemed more self aware of things and so jr isn't too apologetic.

-he joined bearclaw before me. we initially met patrolling the borders. we didn't really become close until my first day of towheat. he asked to learn ptero and even when my towheat ended ... our closeness didn't.-

-it was a pleasant plot twist i didn't see coming.- jr admits, paws stilling to watch for her mother's reaction.

Jr couldn’t know just how differently her mother’s journey had started, though Towhee had no interest in delving into ancient history. She would much rather focus on the future, brimming now with more grandchildren. Especially with her daughter’s use of the “pleasant” descriptor, the younger Towhee seemed rather happy about this turn of events, so the elder Towhee could fully lean into her own joy at reprising her favorite title.

-Is there any chance we could meet him, make sure he passes muster and all that?- she quipped with a wink. -Although undoubtedly he must be pretty wonderful to have won you over. I know it’s not an easy thing to do. Anyway, I’d feel better if we walked you closer to home and I could pass you off to someone to tend to you,- she concluded, gesturing at the spray of vomit in the grass.

-i would like for you to meet him,- towhee jr signs with a soft smile. -do you think you two could swing by bearclaw valley at all? or perhaps we can pick a neutral ground instead and tvar and i could meet you.- either way was fine with towhee jr. as she wasn't showing yet, she was still free to travel as she wished.

-you don't have to do that, mom. i'm fine. i promise.- towhee jr signs in protest. the morning sickness — nausea in general — is an unfortunate thing that she was getting used to. or, at the very least, making her peace with. even if towhee jr suspects arguing with her mother was moot and towhee and her brother would escort her despite her attempts at protesting.

-How far is it? We could walk you there now,- came Towhee’s answer, ignoring Jr’s token protest. -I know you’re a big girl—and a tough one too—but let me do this. I want to see where you live, where my newest grandchildren will be born and raised.-

You should stay with her, suggested her inner voice. Part of her would love to stick around to coach her daughter through her pregnancy, labor and delivery, but hopefully Tvar and the rest of her chosen pack would be a good enough support system. Towhee truly didn’t think she would ever bother setting down roots again.

-How come it’s called Bearclaw?- Bushtit cut in, distracting her from her inner monologue. -Do any bears live there? I’ve never seen one,- but it was clear from his wide eyes that he would like to change that.

as expected, trying to dissuade her mother from escorting her back home was a waste of signing. the OG towhee would clearly not be swayed. -ok, but before you two meet tvar i should at least tell him i'm pregnant first. before i spring the 'my mother and younger brother want to meet you' on him.-

though she hoped tvar'd take the news well, there was no guarantee that he would. and if he didn't take it well, in towhee jr's mind, there'd be no use in introducing him to her mother ( and brother ).

she doesn't give voice in the form of ptero to that thought though, not wishing to put it out into the universe. that it nested in her mind at all was bad enough.

bushtit has a flurry of questions and towhee jr waits until he's finished before answering. -i guess because it's kind of shaped like a bear claw?- though in truth, towhee jr'd never really thought too much about why it was called that.

-maybe. if there is, i haven't seen one yet. hopefully they're friendly though.- because the thought of raising her children where there were bears makes her a little more nauseous than she'd already been. with bushtit's questions answered ( for the moment ), she takes the lead, following the familiar path back towards her home.

Towhee Jr insisted she needed to break the news about her pregnancy before she introduced them to Tvar. Towhee Sr arched an eyebrow, albeit only inwardly. She had no clue why they couldn’t meet him and simply stay mum about the pregnancy until Jr had the opportunity to take him aside and break the news. But she didn’t want to argue with her daughter.

-How about this,- the elder Towhee proposed, cutting into the conversation about bear claws. -We’ll walk you home. But you don’t have to call for Tvar today. You tell him the good news when the time is right for you guys, then have Ghost come find us when you’re ready for us to meet him. We’ll be south of here, somewhere in the lowlands. Sound like a plan?-

-Or you can try howling. I might hear you,- Bushtit made sure to chime in.

-that sounds like a plan.- towhee jr signs, contented with the plan that her mother came up with. to bushtit's addition she offers a small nod of understanding, though does not sign that she wasn't so sure she could howl. it didn't much matter. sending ghost sounded like the best course of action to her.

she leads the way to the valley and stops as they approach the borders. -well, this is me.- she signs, turning to face her mother and brother. there's a soft pang in her chest but she shoves it down. -see you guys soon. maybe. love you definitely.- she grins.

Towhee shook her head at Bushtit. She would have to explain it to him later that his sister was not only deaf but mute as well. Mother Nature had probably inflicted this on Jr because she couldn’t handle two caterwauling Towhees roaming the world at the same time.

Too soon, the trio arrived at the fringe of another valley. The elder Towhee took a moment to survey the sights, nodding her approval. This seemed like a nice place to settle down and raise a family.

-Love you too, Jr. Look after yourself and those little ones. Maybe you’ll be showing by the time we meet again.-

After a few more well wishes and parting hugs, Towhee pried Bushtit off his sister again. They moved away from the borders, drifting back in a southerly direction. She was glad when her son made no comment about the pace she set, thanks to the fresh throbbing in her leg and a deep sense of fatigue that settled deep into her old bones.