Redhawk Caldera This universe can be so many things, and sometimes it is poetic.

She watched shrewdly as the hawk ate, one fierce talon piercing the rabbit's body, pinning it to the ground, as he used his hooked beak to tear off strips of livid red meat. He could make a brutal weapon if she trained him, though Towhee didn't know how she would go about doing that. He could also make a good messenger or even spy once he could fly again, at least in theory. Again, she didn't know how she could actually utilize him in any of these ways. Even if he could speak (which it did not appear he could), he didn't have lips to read. He did seem to understand some words, gestures and looks, though nothing particularly intricate.

And she only assumed he would stay once he could get airborne again. Perhaps once he could fly and hunt for himself again, he would simply disappear. Towhee's lips pursed as a pang went through her. She found herself hoping he would choose to stay with her. She had quickly become attached to him and she liked to think he was fond of her too, and not only because she fed him.

But to solidify their bond, the mercenary figured she really should get around to naming him. "How about Hook?" she thought out loud, eyes training on those fearsome yellow claws again. He paused over his supper, then shook his head rapidly. It was probably a passive reflex, yet Towhee took it to mean "no." "Okay, what about..." She licked her lips and gazed around as if in search of inspiration, blurting out random objects she saw: "Tree? Sky? Leaf?"

When she looked back at the raptor, he'd abandoned the carcass and hopped closer. He fished around in the general detritus that littered the lands, especially this time of year, and dropped a stick in front of her outstretched paws. She quirked a brow, staying still and watching as he collected another stick, then dropped it on top of the first, forming a nearly perfect "X."

"X?" she said out loud. The hawk cocked his head, stared at her for a long moment, then plucked up a third stick and tossed it on the growing pile. Towhee coughed a laugh and rolled her eyes but, even then, she knew it was going to stick (no pun intended): he would be called X.

There was something highly comical to Finley about a wolf named after a tiny bird had adopted a big ass hawk. She'd seen the pair trolling about the Caldera together - Towhee usually cringing and swearing under the rake of the bird's talons in her fur. It was amusing, but not lost on Fin that the raptor was a fellow predator, and so it was an extra burden on their food supply and a potential threat her young. Not her current pups - those were big enough now to be safe, and let's be real, the little hellions could probably take a golden eagle out with ease. If the bird stuck around for her next litter though...

Finley heard Towhee's monotone voice as she was headed back to the rendezvous site with a freshly caught grouse in her jaws. She paused at the sound, hesitating only momentarily before turning to approach the pair. Her eyes swept across the shredded  bunny before landing on her goddaughter, who was grinning at her companion over a pile of sticks. Fin dropped her kill at her own paws before speaking. "When you gonna eat that thing?" she asked, smirking jestfully but not entirely jesting.

Naturally, Towhee didn't hear Finley coming. It was the smell of her catch that caused the mercenary's head to turn, just in time to read the question springing from her godmother's lips. Her ears slid backward slightly as she pushed into an upright seated position, though she bit back a defensive retort. She's just kidding you, she thought, though she placated that part of herself by shooting Finley a mockingly dirty look.

"I'm going to train him, then make him hunt, patrol and otherwise do all my work for me," she quipped in reply, unwittingly addressing some of her aunt's (and likely others') concerns about the hawk without being aware of it. "We can't eat him. He's a red hawk. Anyway, I just named him," she announced, "so he's officially a friend, not food." She glanced over at the newly dubbed X, who had given the Alpha female a shrewd glance before continuing to pile more and more sticks at Towhee's feet.

"I think he might be building me a nest," the deaf wolf observed out loud, still peering at him, before her orange eyes lifted to capture Finley's rejoinder.

Towhee explained her plans for her new feathered friend, and Fin couldn't help but stare rather skeptically at said feathered friend. "Looks more brown, if you ask me..." Fin muttered quietly, taking some advantage of Towhee's disability. She had never been particularly spiritual; she didn't believe in fate and didn't see any deeper meaning in what others might call signs, and so the fact that this bird's species was technically the same as her niece's last name didn't strike her as a reason not to kill and eat it. Her ancestors actually had believed in consuming that which might make them stronger - not that this notion held any sway over her personal opinions either.

But, Fin was willing to shrug it all off. The hawk could barely fly at this point and perhaps her niece actually would manage to train it to be an advantage to them. She doubted it, but it wasn't actually hurting anything at this point. As long as Towhee shared only her own food with it, the alpha saw no reason to object. Yet. She gave a curious glance to the sticks at her goddaughter's paws, ignorant of the fact that they drew an X upon the yellowing grass. "Well, it had to happen sooner or later - you moving into a nest," she answered with a sigh, "That was the risk we took the day that we named you after a bird." Fin paused before looking right at Towhee and adding, "Blame Raven." She still wasn't entirely sure which birds were towhees. As a general rule, she just called them all sparrows.

Towhee grinned wryly at her aunt's joke, then glanced down as X eventually settled beside his pile of sticks, feathers momentarily fluffing before settling again. He was so sleek, she could only imagine how swiftly he would fly once his wing healed.

"Don't you want to know what I named him?" she asked, lifting her eyes once more to Finley's face. Without awaiting a response, Towhee said, "I'm calling him X." And that suddenly made her think of her recent conversation with Hydra, which of course reminded her of the threat of war. Suddenly she was burning with curiosity.

Switching to ptero without even consciously realizing it, Towhee told the Alpha, -I've been working on my warrior training. My friend from Moonspear thinks I could maybe use him as a weapon. If not, then maybe a messenger or at least an extra set of eyes.- Realizing she was rambling a bit, she made an impatient gesture (directed at herself) and finished, -Have you and Uncle Elwood decided what we're going to do about the Blackfeathers?-

Fin looked at her goddaughter, a single brow quirking to show her interest. She had never been the greatest at coming up with names. Nicknames she was awesome at, but she was very aware that it was a little cruel to actually name a kid "Teehee". She glanced at the bird in the split second she had before Towhee revealed the name, wondering what she would name the creature. Probably "Dinner".

X worked too though. She looked from the bird to its owner, latching onto the new conversation topic easily enough. She didn't quite focus on what Towhee had mainly been trying to tell her, though. She was more intrigued to hear about this friend from Moonspear. Her goddaughter gave her no time to explore it though as she quite abruptly asked about the rising conflict with Blackfeather Woods.

In that moment, Towhee was suddenly no taller than her elbows and barely able to walk (lol she's never been able to speak right). The idea of sharing information with her about a potential war felt so unbelievably wrong. Towhee was this sweet little pup with big, hopeful, happy ideas about the world, still untained by reality. But then Fin blinked her eyes, and she was grown again - standing before her all tall and strong, looking stoic and serious, training a damn bird to do her bidding...

"Drageda's commander came back a few days ago to see Wildfire," Fin answered, "We spoke, and she's agreed to bring her wolves to the Caldera in a couple of weeks' time to confront Blackfeather with us."

She took a moment to absorb this information and consider what it meant. Collaborating with strangers from another pack didn't sit comfortably with her, yet Towhee thought of Hydra's hand in her training and she could admit that, sometimes, outsiders had their merits. Besides, two packs joining forces gave them much better odds at eliminating the threat. Much as she didn't necessarily love the method, the ends would justify the means. The young Gamma bobbed her snout in acknowledgement.

-I'll be as ready as I possibly can be by then,- Towhee signed with a very serious look on her face. -In the meantime, is there anything you or Uncle Elwood need me to do?-

Towhee took the news with a stoic calmness that Fin was rather grateful for. She was too anxious about what was to come herself to be much good at reassuring others. She was usually pretty good at covering that, though. Unfortunately she covered it with anger, but y'know. You win some, you lose some.

Fin nodded and smiled. "I know you will be," she said. She considered Towhee's question thoughtfully for a moment before sighing gently. "Just to be ready, and make sure everyone else is as well," she answered finally, "The fight with Blackfeather may be coming, but we still have Winter to deal with and a territory to protect. Caches need to be full, borders need to be marked."

When her godmother mentioned preparing others as well as herself, Towhee's head tipped thoughtfully. She made a mental inventory of the packs' members. Lagan was a lover, not a fighter, so he'd probably stay behind and look after the pups. Raven likely wouldn't fight either; instead, she would get to rise to the occasion as a proper field medic. Her own litter mates, Phox, Orca and Titmouse, could hopefully count as three more able bodies, though Towhee found herself cringing a little at the idea of her favorite sibling risking injury. She knew there were a few others in there, many of them strapping lads, as a matter of fact. They were in good shape, all things considered, without even considering Drageda's participation.

-That friend I mentioned, we're helping each other out; I'm teaching her defensive fighting and she's teaching me how to master the offensive side of things. But maybe I should train with someone else too, someone here? Maybe Uncle Elwood?-

Fin's thoughts began to wander as soon as the words of advice were freed from her lips. There was so much to do, so much to consider still. She knew they were insane for doing this, but dear GOD they were insane for doing this. Why couldn't those assholes have waited to push them over the edge until Summer when the weather was nicer? But even that wouldn't have been ideal, seeing as she spent most of her summers either pregnant or breast-feeding. Maybe Spring, but not even then. What if she'd gone into heat the moment they walked in Blackfeather? Actually, that might've been a good distraction...

She nearly missed it when Towhee began gesturing. She glanced up just in time to catch something about teaching defense and offense and.. something. She asked about training with Elwood, and Fin simply nodded and made an attempt at an encouraging smile. "Him and anyone else you can," she said, "We don't know how they fight. Best be prepared for anything by learning to fight anyone."

Figured I'd wrap this one for us! :) <3

It was kind of a rhetorical question, though Finley concurred and added another bit of advice: find anyone at all to practice, so Towhee could deal with various fighting styles. The yearling nodded at this soundly logical advice. Like her aunt, she found her attention wandering. She wanted to go find Elwood right this very second. If not him, then another willing partner somewhere within the caldera.

"I'm going to go do that," she announced, stepping forward to give Finley a nudge on the chin. "Come on, X," Towhee called as she stepped back, finding it strange but pleasant to call the hawk by a proper name. The bird regarded her over his nest of sticks, then hopped in her direction. Towhee met him in the middle, lowering her shoulder so he could spring aboard and then the two, as a unit, faced the Alpha female. "See you later."