Heron Lake Plateau Shadows alive.

Towhee lowered her muzzle after howling for @Quixote and @Niamh, then settled on her haunches beneath the naked, scraggly branches of a Pacific red cedar. Naturally, her mind wandered as she waited. The mercenary hashed and rehashed what she wanted to say for the nth time. Her eyes occasionally strayed to her leg, which felt almost normal today; she would've said it was operating at 80% capacity. That definitely bolstered her decision.

A thoughtful sigh escaped her. She would've liked to say she was prepared to make this offer chiefly in service of the pack's best interests—and that was a large part of it, sure—but that wasn't the whole story. It wasn't a power grab though. Towhee was familiar with power, as well as responsibility. She had voluntarily walked away from both of these things in the past, for a variety of personal reasons. While she could hardly blame Raven for making a similar decision, it left Towhee feeling as if she didn't have much choice.

Towhee cringed even just thinking it but... it just didn't feel right not having a true Redhawk or Blackthorn represented in leadership. It made her an elitist, she was aware, and if Quixote and Niamh sussed out the real reason driving her offer, they might feel understandably insulted. Towhee hoped they wouldn't press the issue and simply accept her offer to step up again, at least until Raven felt up to the task again. Because whatever her motivations, she truly felt the pack could use her support in this way right now. They were running full speed toward winter, after all.

But what would the current leaders think? Would they agree? What would she do if they didn't? One of Towhee's canines sink into her lower lip as she shifted her weight, titian eyes pensive. She'd considered seeking counsel from @Finley and @Elwood prior to approaching Quixote and Niamh but it had felt disingenuous, considering all the history there. Maybe she should have pulled @Raven aside and spoken to her privately first too...

She let out another sigh, hoping she was over-thinking everything. It's just a friggin' conversation. Least I'm not pulling a Caiaphas, Towhee thought with a twist of her lips, the thought injecting her suddenly with confidence that she was handling this correctly.

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The whole debacle with Caiaphas was far from Niamh’s mind when she heard Towhee summon her and Quixote. There wasn’t the same defiant, possessive claim to her voice as Caiaphas had had, nor was there fear or any real, terrified urgency so she was actually pleased to go and talk to Towhee and see what was on her mind. Part of her wondered if Towhee was formulating a plan to get at Blackfeather, or a way to get to Screech. Regardless, as this was her person calling out for the leadership, Niamh didn’t feel threatened in the slightest and instead felt that Towhee had something good to contribute. She’d been placed in the respected tier, after all, and though she hadn’t been in on the decision-making processes lately, her input had always been much appreciated by the Beta. She and Towhee generally seemed to share a similar outlook on things whereas she and Quixote had two completely different perspectives. It had caused Niamh some grief, but she’d been careful not to let it show to the alpha, whose mate had recently stepped down.

...So where did that leave her? She was the highest ranked female in the pack, but she wasn’t the alpha simply because it might have seemed odd for her to be at Quixote’s side as they weren’t mates. True, it forced her to reflect back on the short period of time where she had actually wanted him. Of course, it had taken place awkwardly at the same time as the previous breeding season, which was when he and Raven had more or less hooked up. It hadn’t taken her long to forget those feelings, though, as Raven had been too sweet to hate...And by now, she was grateful she hadn’t pursued him more fiercely. They wouldn’t have lasted, and one of them likely would have left the pack after what would have inevitably been an explosive breakup.

All that hypothetical stuff aside, Towhee had always been someone to lean on and one with an input and outlook that she trusted. So when she was summoned, Niamh went with an optimistic outlook, hoping that this might finally be the situation where she and Towhee could possibly band together- and convince Quixote, for once, that maybe he was wrong. It was likely, after all, that Niamh and Quixote would disagree on something- but that she and Towhee would agree on it. Deviously, she hoped that the two of them held enough weight between the two of them to sway Quixote’s vote, for once...And that he might finally see that Niamh did have a good head on her shoulders- and good ideas, and that he might not shoot her ideas down, for once.

As soon as she saw Towhee, her tail began to sway from side to side and she approached her person with her usual amount of familiarity, and without Quixote being present yet, she wouldn’t be judged. She nibbled affectionately at Towhee’s cheek and sat down, not directly across from Towhee- as a leader might- but slightly angled, so that they could communicate with Ptero if necessary, but so it didn’t feel like she was confronting her friend. ”How goes it?” She asked casually, perking her ears. Hopefully she’d have some time alone with Towhee before Quixote arrived and they got down to whatever business Towhee had in mind.

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He'd tried to convince Raven to stay as alpha, but well.. Quixote wasn't exactly known for his speechcraft skills.  They were supposed to do this together, weren't they?  And though it wasn't like she disappeared or something, he still wanted her by his side in leadership as well.  Not gonna happen, apparently, but he'd work on it.

 It put him a little more on edge just about the time he'd finally gotten over being on edge about Caiaphas' antics.  He was pretty sure she was at least gone.  Gotta look for those little victories sometimes, even if he wanted to  drop a large rock on her head for still messing up his life despite being gone.

There were other things he'd brushed aside as quests that likely weren't going to be completed for one reason or another.  Ambrose still was missing without a sign, Ceara was still theoretically not captured but also missing, Screech was somehow alive but in Blackfeather and Quixote wasn't keen on risking anyone else unnecessarily.  There were times where he felt like the only one who could clearly see the line of lost corpses that was the worst case scenario.  Niamh's response to the thing with Ambrose had only strengthened the thought that spending so many resources searching for Ceara was a mistake, and though it wasn't one that could be rectified, he could at least act in everyone's best interests whether they liked it or not.  It wasn't like anyone really liked him anyway. 

Towhee's usual weird howl broke him from whatever thought he'd been having.  Aw, really?  Couldn't he just have his own little pity party here off on his own while he tried (probably unsuccessfully) to deal with some of his baggage without Raven's assistance.  Honestly, if he hadn't been directly called for, he might have just pretended to have not heard it.  Maybe he was taking a nap!  Or halfway across some nearby territory and unable to answer, leave a voicemail.

Dramatic sigh.  He finally headed over to meet them, not exactly hurrying about it because he was being kind of emo, so feel free to assume a bit of conversation before Quixote finally showed his ugly mug.  He'd taken the last bit of the journey to pull himself together, to put on a facade that made him seem like maybe he was totally fine with everything that had happened.  Just nice and neutral with a bit of standard grumpiness.  Kill the signs of insecurity that he currently wasn't even willing to share with Raven.  What's up?

At some point or another during her deliberations, Towhee had considered speaking to Niamh first, since she was her Person and all. It hadn't seemed quite fair to Quixote though, so she'd reluctantly dismissed the notion. When her closest confidante appeared first, the mercenary very nearly reneged on her own decision to consult them simultaneously. But she denied the temptation to begin wagging her tongue as soon as Niamh's familiar face appeared, though she happily leaned into the Beta's nibble and rumbled a greeting even as her nose brushed the other wolf's golden cheek.

"Things are... uh," she replied haltingly, pausing to think over the events of late—Caiaphas's exile; Tegan's worrisome concussion; Screech's apparent impersonation of Lazarus; a few pack mates' conspicuous, continued absences; and even her own decision to tentatively trust Phox—as her lips twisted ponderously. This was exactly why she was here. "I wanted to—" Before she could get much further, Towhee spotted movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head to watch as Quixote padded up to join the pair. He looked particularly surly today and Towhee dipped her snout, offering a grimacing smile of sympathy.

Especially with that look on his face, Towhee decided not to keep them waiting. "Thanks for coming so quickly, guys. I'll keep this brief." Her orange eyes jumped from Niamh to Quixote and back again. She flashed them a smile, hoping to put them at ease. She didn't want either of them even mentally comparing this to Caiaphas's botched attempt to overthrow. "I want to help. Ah, specifically, I'd like to step up as a leader again, at least until Rave's ready to resume the role. I don't actually care which rank, I just want to be part of the leadership." She very nearly added, if that's cool with you, but she bit her tongue. She was kind of asking, kind of telling, and hopefully wasn't doing a terrible job walking that fine line.

The mercenary sucked in a noisy breath, trying to imagine what each of them might think and how they might respond. Her tongue pressed against her teeth against the urge to make a case before they'd even had a chance to react. Hopefully it wouldn't even come to that and, in any case, they deserved an honest chance to have their say. So Towhee kept the air trapped in her lungs and waited.

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Niamh tilted her head to the side curiously when Towhee started to say something, but stopped herself- just as Quixote slinged into view, looking just a tad cantankerous, as per usual. She wasn’t sure if that was just something he put on to seem more alpha-like, but it didn’t make Niamh feel terribly comfortable. It made her think that whatever she or Towhee had to say or ask, the answer would already be no, and she didn’t appreciate having that feeling hanging over her shoulders. She wondered, then, if perhaps Towhee had wanted to speak to her privately, before Quixote showed up...And she got the feeling then, that it was probably about something that Quixote might- as per usual shoot down.

Towhee got to the point pretty quickly, and the thought of having her Person as a leader again made her brighten up. Raven had stepped down to take better care of her kids- well, as far as Niamh knew, that was the reason, though she suspected stress might have also given her a reason to take a break, but Niamh didn’t mind or judge that at all- so it was just Niamh and Quixote. As far as Niamh could tell, Towhee was getting around better, which meant that she wouldn’t be quite as endangered doing patrols, just in case an unsavoury character showed up...But there was no stopping Towhee from doing border patrols anyway. She’d basically still been there for advice, and had continued performing her roles though she hadn’t had the power to admit wolves into the pack or make executive decisions. More than once, Niamh had sought Towhee’s advice, so Niamh smiled and shrugged, nodding as she looked to Quixote.

”I’d be cool with that. Towhee still does leaderly things, without being asked, and the only real change would be having a say in decisions and the ability to accept new pack members...I go to her for advice from time to time anyway, and she’s good.” She said. Of course Towhee was good- this was her person. She realized, now, though, that it might put pressure on Quixote, as often times Niamh and Towhee shared an opinion, and Quixote had other thoughts. She wondered if he would let her join the leadership knowing he might be outnumbered, now. ”I’m all for it,” She said, in conclusion.

Cameo! Feel free to skip as Phox is only observing from afar.

He had not planned to run into Towhee intentionally, but Phox found himself following her scent without any real thought put into it. The silvery yearling heard voices up ahead, and he caught this much coming out of his sister’s mouth: “step up as a leader again.” He was still far away, and while they probably could have spotted him, they looked very involved in whatever they were talking about. The rest of his sister’s speech (funny, coming from a deaf girl) he only heard bits and pieces, and he couldn’t really put it all together from where he was.

What he could read was Niamh’s body language and tone, which were quite inviting and chipper to the notion. It wasn’t quite clear what Quixote thought about it, but Phox figured his answer would be loud and clear soon enough. As for the Theta, he hung back, allowing the scene to play out while he watched from afar, out of the way and (mostly) out of their discussion.

To a certain point he just really didn't want to deal with any of this right now.  Just let him go on his way and try to figure out how to convince his mate that the crazy coywolf chick was likely deranged and high on mushrooms or something.  It wasn't like he was totally against Towhee's idea, but it just wasn't a good day, and some of that would probably end up leaking into anything he said through the rest of the whole conversation.

Probably related to this, something about the way Niamh was trying to talk up Towhee's skills rubbed his fur the wrong way, and he gave her a bit of a side-eye at that.  Like what was she pushing at? Towhee had been beta (and before that alpha), so it wasn't really much in question that she'd do okay in that rank, even if it was for the short-term... So why the heck was she so eager?  He didn't like that.  Perhaps he was being a little paranoid, but maybe it was just because Niamh hadn't been privy to what Towhee had said when she'd stepped down and thus felt the need to state her case?  Really, only her last statement was relevant, but if anyone's motives for any of this was in question in his eyes, it was Niamh's more than Towhee's.

Another strained sigh as he put that thought aside and looked back to Towhee, Your leg's up to it, then?  Since it was your choice to step down in the first place, I don't think Ray would even have any problems with you sticking around as beta if you wanted when she comes back to leadership.  Raven freaking better step back up, at least -- no ifs allowed.  He just needed to try to figure out the right thing to say, the right thing to do, and things would totally go back to the way they were.  Hopefully.

Towhee noticed Quixote's expression growing sourer and felt an unpleasant tingling of heat between her shoulder blades. But it was Niamh who spoke first, so the mercenary was forced to tear her gaze away from the Alpha male and focus instead on his sole current co-leader. The breath held in Towhee's lungs left her in a noisy whoosh when the Beta vouched for her quite confidently. Although she pulled a playful face at being spoken of in third person while she was right here, she couldn't fight the relieved grin that took over her face. Gratitude glistered in her orange eyes.

Slowly now, said eyes tracked back to Quixote. His response took her by surprise, as she'd been expecting resistance of some variety based on his face. But then it occurred to Towhee that he probably hated everything about this situation and that it had nothing to do with her or her offer. She felt a lot of appreciation and sympathy for her brother-in-law in that moment as it became clear that he didn't have any qualms, aside from an understandable question about her leg. He even mentioned that Raven would have her stay in leadership when the time came; there would still be room then.

Towhee bobbed her head. "Leg's pretty good. More than that, I've adapted to it better than I ever thought I would." And because it was pretty clear they were on-board and Towhee had promised to keep it brief, she said, "Well, that's settled then," with a humored tilt of her snout at the rapidity of it. In a lower tone, she added, "Why don't you go back to her, Qui, tell her the news. Niamh can bring me up to speed on how I can help." It would actually be the first time she and her Person were leaders together, a thought which crossed Towhee's mind along with a little thrill.

In that interim of seconds where Quixote would either acquiesce to her suggestion or decide against it, Towhee spoke a few last words: "And thanks again for letting me rejoin the club." She bowed her head to her now fellow leaders, feeling even more grateful than they'd ever know, as well as vaguely guilty. Her inner elitist was deeply satisfied, hopefully so much so that it would stay quiet and allow Towhee to focus on the more honest and relevant reason for stepping up: guiding the Redhawks' future once more.

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Niamh could feel Quixote’s expression harden upon her as she tried to vouch for Towhee. True, this was Towhee’s idea, not hers, but she simply wanted to say she was on board- and furthermore, why she thought Towhee should be put back in the leadership ranks. She didn’t think there was any harm in explaining, but she caught the side-eye that Quixote gave her and had to wonder to herself what the fuck she’d done wrong now. She almost snapped at him then and there, just because his facial expression was ruffling her feathers...But she was glad that she didn’t, and decided to save any ire for when he would inevitably say no.

Niamh wasn’t terribly good at hiding her emotions, though, so she did look surprised when Quixote actually seemed in favour of the decision, with a few conditions and questions first. Niamh felt as though she more or less disappeared into the background, which was probably the way Quixote wanted it. SHe’d been getting the feeling more and more that he liked her more when she said nothing at all, and was probably right...But that didn’t sit well with her. She thought she could basically win over anyone if they’d just let her explain herself. In this situation, though, there was nothing she could do.

Towhee put forth an idea that did make Niamh cringe inwardly. She was basically telling Quixote to go tell Raven about the change, and Niamh couldn’t imagine that going over well. Telling Quixote what to do? She doubted he’d like that, so she remained silent, willing to stay and talk with Towhee if Quixote didn’t smack them both for impunity, or whatever reason he could come up with. She bit her tongue just in case he said something that she didn’t like, and hoped that Towhee’s suggestion came off as just that- a suggestion, and a logical one at that. Keenly, though, she was interested to see if he’d take it...Or if he’d make a face, or say something. She still had to learn exactly how to anticipate what Quixote would do before she could start avoiding doing the wrong thing all the time.

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Yeah, he did wanna get out of here and go back to Raven.  But there was still one issue that he was going to have to discuss with Niamh, so probably best to go over it now while she and Towhee were both here.  I will, but there's something I want to go over first.  With winter basically here, we need to make sure that we're on the same page about being smart about resources -- which includes people.  If something else happens, we need to make sure there's a plan before anyone runs off to do anything crazy so we don't lose someone else in the process, yeah?  He looked between them.  Quixote was specifically thinking of Tegan's trip to Blackfeather and just how badly that could have gone -- it was stuck in his mind.  The world itself was only going to add to the dangers as the months dragged on, which meant these were definitely not the months for war, and soon wouldn't even be the good time for dragged-out searches, no matter who was lost.  It wasn't very fulfilling for vengeance or necessarily what family of the missing would want to hear, but again, he'd play bad guy if needed to keep the majority safe.

Then again... He tilted his head, speculating, Maybe make sure that anyone who frequently goes out of the territory knows some basic self-defense too.  Everyone would be better but eh.  That part he was just playing by ear.  Depending on how things went for other wolves in the area, maybe soon they might not be the only ones out here... But at least for now their isolation was more of a problem.  Something else to consider, at least.

He said he would go, though there was one last topic he wanted to cover first. Towhee nodded and stared at his mouth, her way of demonstrating that she was listening closely. She didn't move until he was finished, though as soon as his lips fell still, her head moved up and down again, more decisively.

"I agree. I actually spoke to Rave about this not long ago. I don't want to ban anyone from leaving"—well, that was a lie, but Towhee knew it wasn't realistic—"but we should urge them to be cautious, travel in pairs or groups, only go to nearby territories..." Truthfully, Towhee couldn't have agreed more with Quixote on this particular subject. "I'd be happy to train anyone who might need it as well." She wasn't a master mercenary for nothing.

Turning to her Person—and fellow Beta, now—Towhee asked, "What do you think?"

Fortunately for them, Quixote was on the same page, so Niamh relaxed slightly. He started off on another topic though, one that rattled Niamh slightly, and unable to pull her own ego from the situation, he assumed that he was referencing her, and how he hd been so adamant that she didn't go and check out the area where Ambrose had battled a cougar. She was lightly offended that he'd bring this up, as she was still gutted, knowing that Ambrose had either died- and she'd done nothing to save him- or he was out there, still wounded. She'd done her fair share of roving the borders and had warned the others about that particular area, lest the cougar strike again, so she had followed his words...But that still didn't make her feel right about the whole thing. 


The only thing she could think about, was that those circumstances seemed to have been weighed by the wolf's worth. Say Towhee went missing- they would then do nothing? Or Raven? She highly doubted that, somehow. Nevertheless, what he was saying was that there needed to be a plan, before action. That could mean that action could be taken- unlike in her brother's case. She would make sure, then, to adhere to what Quixote said, though she was sure she would lobby for action, if the case dictated that it needed to happen. "Will we hold a meeting to discuss that with everyone else in the pack, or will we just go and tell everyone ourselves?" She asked. She was fine seeking others out- but she knew that they might also have questions and it could be easier to handle all of those queries in one fell swoop. "An' I'm happy to pitch in with the self defense lessons," She said, with a mild grin. She shrugged and chuckled softly. "As long as it means I basically get to Nivambush our packmates at any time, for training purposes." It wasn't a bad idea- after all, actually putting those learned skills into motion against another wolf was likely the best way to practice, rather than simply just going through the motions slowly. The element of surprise was what usually could spell the end for someone in self defense, if they didn't respond correctly right off the bat.

I guess we should probably wrap this up since so much crud has happened! I r gud at replies.

I think no matter what, start with the adventurers and find out where they stand.  I don't think we're gonna have too many folks wandering off with the change in weather, so hopefully it won't be as much of an emergency as it would be if it was spring.  Depending on how well they do solo, then other restrictions can be added as needed.  Maybe divvy them up, though, so if you've got any preferences for who you'd want to deal with, make 'em known.  He might just end up making sure the pups were reasonably well educated for their own defense but eh.  Who knew.  How many did they have that still went off on whatever adventures?  Fire had obviously been the big one but she was still MIA wherever. Honestly he should pay more attention but he'd kind of been distracted and definitely had other things on his mind right now.  Would learning more about fighting help Raven's confidence?

We probably are about due for another meeting or something though.  Gotta figure out if there's anything else that should be gone over so we don't need to call two, because that's just stupid.  But soonish.  I don't think anyone likes the damn things.  Meetings meant something bad happened.  Well, a lot of the time, anyway.  He wasn't exactly a big fan, so the least he had to deal with, the happier he was.  Also there's the fact the drama needs to settle down for like ten seconds just so people can get their timelines squared away but that's a whole different issue.

But yeah, I'll head back to Ray to let her know, unless there's anything else.

Towhee didn't think she'd ever heard (well, seen) Quixote say so much. It was almost tiring on her eyes, though she kept up pretty well. By the time he finished, she bobbed her head in assent. She agreed on pretty much all of that, even if he was right: meetings were a bore and she wouldn't look forward to arranging one. But that was just one of the many drier responsibilities of leadership.

"If I think of anything, I'll let you know," the mercenary said. "Nothing else from me," she added with a small smile. Although she was neither girly nor a gossip, she would wait until he'd taken off to find Raven before turning to Niamh and inviting her to chat while they patrolled together. Towhee would need to be brought up to speed and, perhaps just as importantly, they would have to celebrate this opportunity to work together closer than ever.

*wraps and puts a bow on it*

Adventurers- that was a polite way to put it. The two who came to mind first were Rory and Tegan, as they were scouts so they had a higher liklihood of wanting to roam. Then again, Tegan's concussion would stop him from going too far and she doubted that Rory would go too far without him. She nodded silently, agreeing to have a word with those whose paths she crossed, making sure that none saw fit to run off should something happen. They needed to stick together more closely- even though that was something that Niamh struggled with. She did not like being reined in, but she would have to put up with it, as the boss's word was the law, and Towhee seemed to agree. 

Niamh liked meetings- mostly because she liked it when things picked up and became important enough that the whole pack had to be addressed, but she'd leave Quixote to decide when to do it, and what was to be discussed, for now. She nodded to Towhee, and once Quixote left, she naturally filled her friend in on how things were going along the borders, and the two had some time to catch up and bond over their shared rank.