Heron Lake Plateau cruisin' through the alley

@Clover

more sulking tegan. surely no one's impressed with him lately. he's somehow managed to stay the most successful of all his siblings, despite being arguably the biggest pain in the ass the world has ever seen. it was probably cause he was finley's favorite child (don't deny it, mom), so he had her blessing or... something. whatever, not that tegan cared about rank. he just liked rubbing it in his siblings face-- even though he hadn't done much gloating lately... for once. 

he laid sprawled out in the grass, staring at the clouds curiously. he wondered what easy was doing-- if she was still around... he hoped she at least made it home if she left-- what a nice thought, tegan.

Clover stomped around the yard and when she saw Tegan moping around like the mope monster he was, she huffed. Enough was enough! She marched in his direction, annoyed, disappointed, and a dozen other things at the sight of him. Her love for him was unconditional, but boy oh boy did she have a bone to pick. 

What the fuck is up, Kyle—no—

Hello you little shithead! Way to have my back the other day! The fuck? She growled, and moved to nip at his shoulder to rouse him up. What're you crying about today, sad boy Tete? Sure, she was being a little bit insensitive, but she had every right to be. No matter how dumb or reckless he ever was, if she saw his brother heading into a fight with a total stranger you bet your ass she'd dive into the fray with him to kick some ass and take some names.

oh boy, here came miss priss herself. "fuck off, clover," he said, quickly raising to his paws and marching a few paces off only to collapse back on the ground with a heavy huff. "it was more an act of defiance against towhee, no hate on you," he added with a raised brow, "besides, that guy fuckin sucks, i figured you and fiadh definitely had it." or something like that. and then, brow furrowing and nose scrunching. "i'm not crying, lucca is the only one who cries."

Clover didn't fuck off. In fact, she drew closer as he collapsed to the earth. His words were rewarded with a clipped growl. She made a dumb decision about Screech, I totally get that. But not then—then, she wanted to kick his ass. So why did you wanna defy her then? Her ears pricked, not liking the idea of it at all. She loved their big sister, and she thought that he did, too. He does fuckin' suck. We gotta get him out of here, she grumbled, though there was no way he couldn't catch the words she said. Clover inched ever closer, batting her lashes. Wanna help me give him some gentle nudges? Hearing he didn't like him was enough for Clover to forgive him, but she was still salty he didn't help her to bite his face off. Screech had unquestionably put her in her place that one day, but that was that one day. With some practice and some sass, she was certain she'd get him out of there soon enough. 

As far as him not crying, she rolled her eyes. Would you just look at yourself? Lort Tegan. You're the mayor of Sad City. Why so glum, anyway? See? Clover cared.

tegan's first response was just a huff, cause he didn't really wanna answer. but... "aah... yeah okay, bet," he said in agreement, raising his head in a little bit less of a sulky manner, eyeing his sister for a moment before finally glaring at her. "i'm not sad," he insisted, letting out a big ole dramatic ass sigh, "towhee's just been so uncool lately, she's seriously killed my vibe." since typically tegan wasn't one to vent and, let's face it, the hellfire litter was usually very hardheaded and not at all sensitive enough to get offended by anything, they typically didn't have to comfort one another. so tegan hesitated but... well. "fiadh told you what happened at the borders, right?"

Sweet, she responded with an impish grin. Her tail waved. No one could be more of a nuisance than Tegan. He was a good dude to have on your side for this sort of shit. His nuclear farts might do the trick... But as he continued on, Clovers attention turned back to him and the matter at hand. Towhee, being uncool lately? If Fiadh had told her anything, it wasn't coming to mind here and now. Uhhh, she responded, looking at her paws. I don't... I don't remember. I don't think so. Remind me, she finished, nothing coming to mind. Her green eyes rose to meet his own, her head tilting.

his gaze narrowed. "seriously?" he replied in disbelief, where had she... been? like had clover been living under a rock the last month? like, had she travelled rock on head the whole way here? "uh-- my friend, easy, at morningside, towhee told me i couldn't say bye and i couldn't just be a total fuckass and stand her up so i just left to go say bye. and then she came with and towhee totally bitched me out in front of her-- and chased her off! we weren't even in the territory. it was so lame and totally outta pocket." or maybe it was tegan who was outta pocket but... whatever.

Maybe Tegan had forgotten her recluse days of isolation. That was fine. She had forgotten them, too. As Tegan explained, Clover snickered at the idea of what all of this must have looked like. As she thought of it, it did sound familiar—did Fiadh tell her? Or was this the stuff of dreams? 

Dude, did you think Towhee was gonna be hyped to see a stranger with you when she told you to not go? Or want them to come with us? Unless Easy wanted to join us, that'd change things. But the way Towhee felt about others outside the Caldera had never been much of a mystery to anyone with eyes, ears, and a brain. In Tegan's defense, he lacked the latter. She probably won't now, though, she said with a sigh. Clover herself didn't care much for outsiders, but any friend of Tegan's was a friend of hers. She'd still chase them if Towhee asked, though. 

She shifted her weight. How far is Morningside from here? I've never been. D'you think she'll visit? Clover wondered aloud. Well, she shouldn't. Not till that boob is gone. I don't trust him. Nope. Huff.

"course not," tegan shot back quickly, nose scrunched up, "but it's not like she's a complete outsider-- she's my friend. but, whatever, side with towhee then i don't care." god stop being so fuckin salty tegan-- but to be fair most of his points were kind of valid. kind of. 

"it was on the other side of the sunspire mountains. so i doubt it," he said with a puff. easy was his only friend that he wasn't, ya know, related to. and she was cool. that kind sucked but, well, maybe he'd make new friends down here.

tegan thought for a moment, trying to decide how to handle this. "we should pull a prank on him," he decided after a minute.

Shutup, she snorted, looking at him in a that's not what I'm really doing sort of way. She shrugged her shoulders. I bet she's cool. I only think she did what she did because those fuckers are back. I mean, we had to move because of those assholes, technically. Clover had mentally blockaded the fact that she had also been attacked by a wolf outside of their borders. Her head hurt for a brief moment because she felt like there was something she ought to say, but she didn't know what it was and she wasn't one to linger. Clover would have kicked his ass if he had a run in with one of those dudes without her. 

As he mentioned the distance, Clover didn't think much about it. Because it wasn't worth thinking about 'til priority #1 was dealt with. 

A prank, he said. Go on, she responded, clearly interested, and after a beat, she said, Fi and Lulu might want in on this. We should call them, she suggested. #Treblemakers assemble.

another shrug. "i don't care we're moving i just-- ah fuck it, it doesn't matter. i'm over it." not really but tegan really didn't wanna talk about his feelings and clover very clearly was not entertaining his thought process. whatever!! god it's literally not even important GOD. 

tegan thought for a moment, easily distracted by this mischief and no longer feeling so sulky. he sent up a howl for @Lucca and @Fiadh, tail sweeping against the ground as it waved. "i'm thinking three of us soak some moss in water, the other one goes and distracts tit... and then we just fucking launch them at him. he'll be soaked! fuckin cockass won't see it coming! oh-- oh-- and we can even do mud instead of water-- he'll be so gross."

He didn't really know what to make of their new digs. The whole territory was very...moist, compared to the caldera. Lucca's expression shifted into some form of mild disgust every time his paw sunk into a hidden puddle beneath the water-logged ground. One such time was now, and the Blackthorn stumbled over his own leg, falling face first into one such puddle. The lake was pretty enough, and the plump birds that fringed its borders would make for some tasty meals, but the boy wasn't sure how many times he'd be able to tolerate an unexpected face full of mud.

Speaking of...

He quickly swiped his clean leg across his face before trotting in the direction Tegan's summons had come from, albeit hesitantly. His brother had been so moody lately, and the whole incident at the borders made Lucca almost feel guilty on behalf of his rowdy siblings. He didn't want to cause his parents — nor Towhee — any more stress; if only he could convince the rest of his litter to just chill the heck out. Coming upon both Tegan and Clover, the boy flashed them a cheerful, slightly nervous smile. They were planning something, he could tell.

There was just too much damn water.

Everywhere Fiadh went, there was more water. The lake was obvious from a distance, but the wetlands surrounding it were much less so. More than once she'd padded into a clump of grass that hid a sizable puddle. She'd been lucky to avoid the muddier parts of the territory, but as she picked her way across unfamiliar ground to where the summons had originated, Fiadh fell into at least half a dozen clear puddles. By the time she reached Tegan and Clover, she was soaked and her fur was slicked to her body.

"This place stinks," she grumbled as she sat down and began to meticulously groom her belly. Lucca was already there, too. She kept one ear cocked expectantly toward her brother and sister as she moved on to a soggy forelimb; they must have something planned. Maybe it was a way to make the territory a little more bearable. (Of course, summer would do that by drying a lot of it out, but what are seasons?)

Her statement that the other girl was cool as as far as Clover would think about it. She never wanted to meet her, honestly. It wasn't personal, it was simply that an incident caused Clover to think as narrowly as her elder sister did on the matter of outsiders, before she had befriended one. If Tegan said he was over it, she wasn't going to push.

And then came his suggestion. She liked the sound of it, and nodded her head. Pelting the enemy with obstacles and making him nasty seemed like a good way to prank someone to start with. As Lucca came up, she smiled right back at him with none of the nervousness present. And then Fiadh. As she groomed herself, Clover looked to her own belly, which was caked with mud. Though Clover had no qualms in getting down and dirty, and perpetually looked unkempt, she did care for her appearance. A self-conscious wave hit her, unbidden, and she brought a muddy paw to sweep across a foreleg, making matters worse. Dangit, she thought, and shifted her weight.

We were just thinking of ways to get the new resident shitbag to leave. Tegan thought of a prank—filling up moss with mud and peltin' 'im. It's a good start, she said, nodding approvingly to Tegan. What else we got? Her tail beat against the ground as she asked the question, ears pricked.

"is it raining, fiadh?" tegan asked as his sister came through soaking wet. he'd managed to avoid getting wet for the most part, and it was so warm outside now it hardly bothered him but... well, fiadh wasn't nearly as graceful as he was. what a shame. 

clover praised his work and he nodded back to her, but he didn't expect fiadh or-- lmao, lucca, as if-- to come up with anything better. so he waited patiently, jaws parting and snapping shut in a biiiiiggg ole yawn.

Skipping Lucca since he got removed. :(

She looked up from her grooming as Clover explained the situation, while Tegan chose to focus on how wet she was. She didn't respond to her brother at first, taking a moment to decide whether he was being serious or not, but then she smirked good-naturedly and replied, "only in your tear ducts." She hadn't mentioned the incident with Easy since it happened—Fiadh really did care for her siblings and though she'd laughed at him for getting trouble in the moment, she wasn't the sort of bad-tempered soul to keep on rubbing it in or mocking him for it. She meant it purely in jest now.

"Why not literal shitbags? With bird poo instead of mud... or maybe both?" she suggested as her gaze drifted mischievously back to Clover. Soaking moss in mud was an excellent idea, but why not rolling muddy moss in bird shit, too? Mud was just mud but bird shit was gross and there was no shortage of it around the plateau. "Y'know, really nail it home that he's shit."

Clover squinted at Tegan, and it took her a minute to get the joke, and Fiadh, witty as ever, threw in her own little barb (gone too soon, RIP, Barb) and Clover snickered. She had just been clued in, and now knew what she meant, and her gaze panned to Tegan as she responded, point: Fiadh. 

And as they collaborated on the idea, Fiadh brought up a really great idea. They touched bird shit probably every day anyhow without even knowing it, but Fiadh saying that they rub some literal dirt on it and then chuck it at Screech? Fucking brilliant idea. Those big ol' birds probably take really nasty ones, she scrunched her muzzle and looked to Lucca. For lack of any contributions or critiques, Lucca, I designate you as the mudshit maker, and she looked to her siblings with a mischievous glint in her eyes. When shall we shit on his life? She inquired, eager to do so.

tegan squinted at clover. "are you kidding me? that was the saddest excuse for-- whatever, it doesn't matter," tegan said with a roll of his eyes. his sisters could team up on him all they wanted but if they really thought that that was the winning jab then-- yikes, the future of the caldera was looking dim.

he nodded in agreement, however, when clover designated lucca as the mudshit maker. "motherfucker won't see it coming-- i think we should get a move on while he's still unsettled here. the longer we wait the more time he'll invest in the pack and the more he'll want to stay-- even if we throw shit at him," tegan said with his ears cupped forward. it was good logic to him.

Tegan blustered out a reply, but Fiadh only gave him a winning smile—she wasn't trying to hurt him, after all, she just meant to joke once at his expense since he'd made such a weird comment. Her attention was back on Clover before he finished his excuse, and her tail waved mischievously across the moist ground.

"Soon," she agreed with her brother, with an impish grin. "We can't let him think he's safe here." It was kind of mean-spirited of the Blackthorn kids to be so anti-Screech that they would attempt to chase him from the pack entirely. Fiadh herself felt a twinge of uncertainty over the whole, but it was quickly squashed. Screech had abandoned their pack before, fought with their father, the calmest man in the entire world, and threatened their baby siblings. There was no way he could be allowed to stay long enough to do something else to the Redhawk and Blackthorn families.