Redhawk Caldera Bridged by a lightwave.

It was just past midnight by the time Towhee made her way to the rendezvous site and slumped to the grass beside a welcoming pile of soft, slumbering bodies. She curled toward their warmth with a yawn, letting her head fall onto her paws. Her eyelids drifted closed and she began to fall asleep, though right before she went under, she saw Meerkat's lips moving in her mind, forming the words, "I'll come back in a couple days to see dad and the others..."

Her orange eyes opened and she raised her head, staring off into the darkness as the word "dad" gave her an idea. Meerkat was a scout, specifically an ambassador. Every time she did something exciting with her trade—like voyaged to that seaside pack with the weird name Towhee couldn't remember, or threw that pint-sized rager in Bramblepoint the other day—her daughter came to tell her all about it. Meerkat loved that shit, lived for it. Moreover, she was really good at it.

Would Meerkat find it strange if Towhee sent her out for any word of @Kaertok? Towhee would share her theory about the girl's parentage, which would surely intrigue her. Of course, she wouldn't tell Meerkat why she personally wanted to know the man's whereabouts. She would just let Meerkat think it was about meeting her biological father, which wasn't even untrue. She was going to be an adult in a week or two, it was well past time to let her make her own decisions about that part of her heritage.

With that thought in mind, Towhee stretched out and rested her cheek on the grass, eyes slipping shut again. When they opened again, it was morning, the November air frigid but the sun shining brightly.

Fennec had been dividing her time, for a bit, between the Caldera and the forest.  Her excuse was the garden and that Eljay was the one with the skills to help her.  The fact that she hadn't even bothered to see Eljay yet was a pretty good indicator she was full of shit, but hey, thankfully no one asked.

The caldera was certainly a... place.  Why her family decided to move to the middle of a fucking crater, Fennec had no clue, but she wasn't about to cause a scene about it.  Sure, it was inaccessible as fuck.  Sure, one of these days she might break her neck trying to visit them.  But hey, least this way they were safe from all of those other blind wolves who might try to storm the place and snatch up all of their stores?

This image was enough to make Fennec inwardly chuckle as she picked her way, slowly, across the lip of the Caldera.   She could call.  She probably should call.  But instead she just stood up there, poised on the edge, like some kind of a leggy gargoyle blindly surveying the scene in front of her.

Figure Towhee can come to her if she wants OR this can be a cameo <3
WC: 195

Everyone else had already woken up and headed out for the day, it seemed. Towhee took her time getting up herself, stretching and yawning before finally assuming all fours. She smacked her lips, making a disgusting noise she couldn't hear, and decided to head to the caldera for a long drink to start her day.

When she climbed to the rim of the crater and found Fennec there, Towhee blinked. What was she doing here, wandering around by herself? The Sovereign spent a beat pondering whether she minded. She thought of Maia and Wraen and almost sighed. Was nothing sacred anymore? What was the point of borders and patrols? Towhee thought wistfully of all the time and urine she could've saved. But, truthfully, she really didn't care that Fennec was traipsing around like she belonged here. She did, even if she was technically part of Firefly Glen.

Sucking in a breath, the Sovereign shouted, "You're like eighteen inches away from falling face first into the world's asshole!" Chuckling, she loped closer to Fennec and asked, "What're you doing here?" It wasn't pointed, Towhee was genuinely curious.

Raised by Towhee, Fennec should probably have known better than to step on in unannounced, but hanging out between Moonspear and the Glen had gotten her into bad habits.  Add to that her recent decision to camp out in the Bramblepoint and her home was a little bit of everywhere.

I thought I smelled something.  Fennec replied, smirking back as she heard her mom chuckle.  That next was a question, wasn't it?  One she didn't necessarily want to answer, so in typical fashion, she dodged it.  Just felt like getting away, visiting.  I've been doing a lot in the forest between.  Workin on that garden.  She swished her tail, thinking of the woman she'd met.  No way she was mentioning that either.  Fuck, did she have any news she could really share?

WC: 132

Eljay wasn't entirely sure why he returned here, close where he'd found Maia (I think?), and especially in the dark. Maybe just to make sure their borders were safe, that whoever hurt Maia wasn't coming back. Maybe to think. Had Towhee taken care of the assailant yet? Speaking of which, before Eljay could actually have a look at anything he heard Towhee's voice in the distance and another familiar voice. Eljay sniffed the air. Was that... Fennec?

The caretaker blinked in surprise and he approached the borders and Fennec and Towhee with a steady pace. Hey! he said as he approached with a wave of his tail. You're here! How are you doing! How's training! His tone was excited, clearly glad to see Fennec again and hear all about her exploits. He waited a few seconds in silence before he added: Oh — thanks for those herbs, they helped a lot. Eljay smiled softly, although Fennec couldn't see it (but Eljay didn't quite realise that a lot of the time, just like how he didn't always take Towhee's deafness into account). Maybe she could hear the gratitude in his voice, though.

Her daughter's mention of the garden made Towhee's eyes brighten a little. "Oh, yeah? I'd love to go see it sometime," she said with genuine warmth. Remembering her accidental misdirection while en route to the caldera, a chuckle burst out of her. "I guess you fig—"

Her voice cut off abruptly as Eljay appeared beside her, his initial greeting having gone unheard, naturally. Towhee zeroed in on his lips in time to catch his other comments, though. They made her forget all about what she'd been about to say as another thought hit her.

"Training..." she repeated him dumbly, turning her eyes toward Fennec. "Yeah, how is that going? You're training with that Cuckoo Tux woman as well, right? What's she like?" The Sovereign tried to keep her delivery of the question casual, though who knew how her tone came across.

Towhee seemed excited, which pleased Fennec a lot actually.  Hell, maybe her mom would actually come help a bit, Fenn could show her a thing or two...

Then Eljay broke in, seemingly out of nowhere, as her focus on what Towhee was saying had completely masked his approach.  No problem,  she said, but as the surprise faded she smiled knowingly.  She'd forgotten that she raided Kukutux's stores until now, and turns out she had not told the woman after all.  Perfect.

She snrked when Towhee called her Cuckoo tux.  She respected the woman, sure, but it was apt.  Well, first off, she's even worse about speaking out than Eljay.  No offense.  Fennec began, her smile growing.  And she's got some real weird... everything.  I try not to bother her too much.  But she knows her stuff.  Fennec shrugged.  She'd had even less contact lately between den prep and resulting avoidance.  Neither of which were on the table for discussion now.

You could probably go meet her, if you wanted?  If they were curious, she was probably a bad resource since  she had decided straight off that Kukutux was far too boring to try and "figure out".

WC: 196

The pieces of the puzzle fell together when Towhee mentioned that the Cuckoo woman was Fennec's mention. Ah! So Kukutux and Cuckoo woman were the same person. It wasn't actually all that strange, now that he thought about it, since it sounded sorta the same. It made him feel a little uncomfortable to talk about her like that though, as he finally understood the reference now. Good thing, too, otherwise maybe he would go over some day to talk about Fennec's progress and accidentally ask for "Cuckoo". Oops.

Towhee latched onto his words and asked how her training was going. Eljay listened and nodded at the things Fennec said, though he grimaced awkwardly as she mentioned the problems about 'speaking out'. Funny, then, that Wraen would have a fight with this woman; he and Wraen had always gotten along, after all. It didn't make much sense to Eljay.

That sounds nice, Eljay said. Maybe you have time to teach me a few things before you've gotta go back? Eljay smiled, even though he realised as he said it that Fennec really didn't need any additional confidence boosts. He felt that the question about meeting Kukutux was more directed at Towhee, but he suggested anyway as he looked at Towhee: If you didn't want to go alone, I could come with if you decided to visit her?

Towhee didn't realize if she'd misspoken, so she went right on thinking the woman's name was actually Cuckoo Tux, since that's how it read to her. She'd heard weirder and, anyway, it seemed to suit her. Fennec described her as peculiar but made a point to say she knew her stuff. After that came an unexpected invitation to meet Cuckoo.

Of course, her knee-jerk reaction was hell no, she didn't want to meet the crazy lady. But then, she was kind of intrigued. And she was working closely with her daughter. So, maybe. Eljay said something first, as Towhee pondered. He turned to her, offering to accompany her to meet Cuckoo. Towhee wondered if he remembered what he'd told him about her. Either way, the offer kind of surprised her, for a few reasons.

"I'm not planning on traveling much right now, though maybe I'll bump into her at the garden at some point, 'cause I do plan to visit. Hydra and I even talked about using it—Bramblepoint in general, I mean—as a sort of three-way rendezvous site. So it's just a matter of time." The Sovereign paused, glancing between the elder and younger medics before adding, "If you're here to train, I can leave you two to it."

The invite had actually been moreso directed at Eljay, even if it had been Towhee who seemed curious.  Fennec didn't mind being a middle-wolf when it came to knowledge, but there were a lot of things she couldn't effectively describe in a way that would make sense to Eljay.  How did she detail the scent and feel of some of the herbs she'd shown her?  Besides, after even just a short while in the woman's company, Fennec determined that Eljay would likely enjoy the space even more anyway.  

Yeah, I haven't told anyone there about the garden yet.  She'd almost let the 's' slip, but this time caught it because Towhee also used the singular.  Her hidden one she'd leave that way, surrounded by the thorns she'd collected.  But you might.  Doubtless Kukutux would find the place useful as well.  She just hadn't been back to get the chance... and now, it turns out, she wouldn't.

No, I was just here to hang out.  I can show you some stuff before I leave, though?  She said without really thinking about it.  Then, it dawned on her that being here to 'hang out' without anything to really share was kind of strange in and of itself.  But if you wanted to now, we could.  She added as an afterthought, tacking it on wih only a brief pause.

WC: 226

The garden? Eljay queried, as he didn't know anything about a garden. Was it a communal garden between Moonspear and Redhawk Caldera? At Bramblepoint? It was one of the few places that Eljay actually knew a little about, or rather, he could guess which territory it was.

He was a little disappointed that Towhee didn't actually want to go see Kukutux, since it was a rare opportunity for travel. However, he got over it quickly as he didn't necessarily feel like heading out, anyway. He had enough going on right here right now.

At Towhee's offer to leave them alone, Eljay glanced at Fennec, leaving her to answer that. He didn't necessarily need to, but if Fennec wanted to, they could. She answered with a no, and Eljay was content enough to just chill, too. I'm okay with hanging out. I'd love for you to show me what you've learned before you leave, though. he said, repeating what Fennec offered to confirm that was good for him.

Fennec said she was here to hang out, not specifically to train, only to backtrack and invite Eljay to go over some things now if he wanted. He parried by saying it wasn't urgent and said he wouldn't mind simply hanging out. Towhee followed this exchange with a touch of humor.

"I have an idea," she said in her best imitation of a conspiratorial voice, pausing pointedly to drum up expectation before dropping the bomb. "How about we... do... both? At the... same time?" Towhee snickered before adding, "That is, if you don't mind my ass creeping in the background and asking likely idiotic questions every now and then."

Sounds fair.  Either worked for her.  Anything that didn't require too much thinking, too many personal questions, or too much silence.  Idiotic questions she could handle.

I started making a garden in the Bramblepoint.  Halfway between here and the Glen.  It isn't done yet, just has a few things in it, but there's plenty of room for more.  She obviously couldn't see to know for sure, but the earth felt (and tasted, she'd checked) rich.  The only thing she worried about was the trees blocking too much of the sun, but she'd picked a spot that felt as sunny as she could.  You should check it out, see what you think.  She'd take his advice on this one, he was the only wolf she knew who had a garden like the one he had.

Towhee suggested that they would chill and talk about medical stuff at the same time. Eljay nodded as Fennec agreed to this as well. Fennec then elaborated about the garden that she had been making in Bramblepoint. He knew it was the brambly place, and it was one of the few locations nearby that he knew, near as it was to the Caldera. He realised now that he was back here that the view was one of the things he enjoyed about living on the Caldera; his world had grown substantially since he returned here and could look out across the nearby places without having to actually go and explore them himself.

As for the garden, he nodded. Yeah, I could check it sometime, maybe bring Weejay. 'His' garden was more Weejay's project, after all. He had only adopted it after she had lost interest, after it was destroyed a few times. The flooding was the death blow. He'd tried to bring life to it in a desperate attempt for.. something, which in hindsight was silly, with winter coming and then their move. She knows a lot more about how plants grow than me. Eljay was mostly good at recognising them and using them, but Weejay was the one who knew what they needed to grow and stay healthy and what their names were.

Neither one of them seemed to mind if she lurked in the background. And Towhee assumed the role quite readily, remaining mum as the pair chatted. Fennec told Eljay about the garden, urging him to check it out sometime. How about... now? Towhee thought but did not interrupt, orange gaze shifting to catch Eljay's response as he mentioned Weejay and her botanical knowledge.

"Gardening is cool and all," the Sovereign cut in smoothly then, clapping her paws together, "but when do we get to start dissecting dead bodies and experimenting with drugs?" Because that's what medics did, right? She smirked.

Right, Weejay.  Despite being Eljay's student, Fennec hadn't spent a whole lot of time with his daughter.  She seemed nice? But in an entirely predictable way that bored Fennec to tears.

See, now Towhee was talking.  Good point, are you volunteering?  If you want me to learn, have to give me some practice.  Fennec grinned impishly and felt some of her tightened anxiousness from the last few days slide away.  She could always count on her mom for a joke.

Drugs is a good point, though.  What do you know about poisons?  Fennec asked Eljay.  At first she wondered if she should do it point blank in front of Towhee like this, but hell with it.  She was interested.

Eljay's eyes widened at Towhee's comment. Fennec however immediately picked up on the humour of it and Eljay relaxed immediately as he realised that Towhee had been joking. Eljay blinked again as Fennec asked him what he knew about poisons. It took a moment for it to sink in exactly what Fennec was asking him, and he then shook his head.

I don't know a lot about poisons, only know some plants that are bad that look like the good ones. Why — what do you need that for? He didn't understand why anyone would need knowledge of poisons, other than to keep the good plants from the bad plants (some of them looked rather alike) and so you never accidentally ate any. Honestly, the only good use Eljay could think of was that it would be useful to know so you could remedy illness induced by poisons; and he hoped so dearly that Fennec was about to tell him that was precisely what she needed the knowledge for.

Cue Towhee lurking in the background. Feel free to continue without me! :)

Fen took her joke and ran with it. Towhee immediately responded, "Ummm... yes! Where do I sign up?" She looked around surreptitiously before holding up a toe and querying, "Can I request that we do drugs first, then the autopsy? I'm sure the findings will be more interesting that way anyway."

The conversation took a more serious turn from there, so the Sovereign fell silent. She may have been kidding around but Fennec began talking about poisons, which was pretty damn intriguing. It wasn't hard to stay quiet and melt into the background, following the conversation (to the best of her ability, anyway) as she soaked up knowledge like a sort of crusty and dried-out sponge still marginally capable of absorption.

Oh, right. This was Eljay she was talking to.  Fennec sighed a little theatrically.  Because they are interesting.  And because you have to know what not to pick too, right?  She wasn't going to use them on anyone.  Well, not yet at least.  She refused to promise never because if she ever actually, honestly got the chance and had someone worth offing, she'd totally use poision. In a heartbeat.

You have to know at least what ones to look out for, yeah?  Otherwise how do you not use them by accident?  She asked, genuinely curious.  Maybe there was some kind of criterion she could use to tell the difference?  As her mind grew more distracted by this concept, she relaxed, forgetting for a moment why she was here as she leaned in on her lesson.

Eljay didn't see the interest in poisons. He only thought it was good to know what sort of symptoms they might cause, but there was something genuinely freaky about poisons to him and he didn't like thinking about them too much. Fennec then went on to ask they had to know what not to look for, and asked how you would not use them by accident.

Like I said, I only know a few that look like good ones for that reason. I learned which ones were good from Raven and others — that's how I learned not to use them by accident. If you learned what the good ones were you didn't need to learn the bad ones. Perhaps there was some truth in Fennec's disposition on this, he thought, but still, thinking about poisons made Eljay feel pretty chilled. He didn't like to think about it too much, honestly.

Can you show me some of those, at least?  Fennec asked.  She didn't want to drop it and hoped that the request was simple enough (and reasonable enough) to merit him being okay with it.  If not she'd have to find someone else, and her mind immediately went to the woman in the woods.

She considered telling them she'd already poisoned herself once by accident, but held off.  It was easy to forget but Towhee was still listening in and she didn't want her mom freaking out too much over her newfound interest.

We can try and find some, Eljay said, though it was clear from his voice that he wasn't sure they would. He elaborated, It hasn't been easy finding the right plants, because most have shriveled so it's not easy to recognise them. Maybe we'll get lucky, though. If not, I could perhaps show you some things come spring. Eljay glanced at Towhee to see if she was still interested with the remote chances of success, but he also realised just as he looked that Towhee that if she was bored, she would definitely just walk off herself anyway. How about we look for a bit, and check out your garden together if we don't find anything?

Fennec wasn't surprised to hear that they may not find some.  She'd wondered if Eljay might have another way, some trick to describe, but it seemed like this lesson would require show and tell.  Well.... sniff and tell?  Touch and tell?  Yeah, okay.  She'd take the walk and the chance.

Worst came to worst, she could at least show off the garden work she'd done (on the non-illicit one) and maybe get some pointers for future reference.  If you can describe, that might work as well.  Either way, it was time spent here and spent thinking about practical matters and both of those were far better than the alternative.

fine to wrap here if we like! <3

yes, let's fade

It was hard to describe a plant, Eljay felt. Yeah, it was possible, but it was so much easier to make mistakes if all you had was a vague description. He honestly preferred not to do that. Fennec tried to coax him into describing, and Eljay hesitated while they started on their way. After ten or so seconds of silence he decided, I can try and describe some of it while we search. And they set off on their search, to see if they could find some of the poisonous herbs, and consecutively, if all of them still felt like it, visit the garden that Fennec had created at Bramblepoint.