Northstar Vale kentucky born and he's survived

day by day, towhee jr grows more and more confident on her legs. the unsteady wobbling was gone and her vision grows sharper, more defined. soon, she might even be able to start learning the way her mother ( and presumably father and phother ) speaks to her: with signing and moving lips. in the wake of being able to prance around on here legs, towhee jr cannot quite be motivated to focus upon learning to effectively communicate.

her huffs, grunts and growls worked well enough. for now.

eagerly, the soft buttery sunlight filters from the forbidden mouth of the den. a quick look cast over her shoulder and she makes a beeline for the sunshine like a rebel on the run; unaware that while she can feel the vibration of her little paws pitter-pattering against the earth that hearing-abled of her family could hear it.

...and that she isn't half as sneaky as she thought.

Towhee caught herself stewing about the strangers in the canyon and the conversation among the leadership shortly afterward. But she tried to push that all from her mind this morning as she wrapped a brief patrol and headed back to the roost to feed her children.

When she stepped inside the den, something smacked right into her foreleg. Towhee blinked and looked down at her tiny doppelganger, bending to sniff at her forehead to be sure she was alright before she cracked the joke on the tip of her tongue.

-“Move, bitch, get out the way,”- she quipped with lips and limbs, hooking her paw to push the child further back into the den as she continued moving inside. -“Let me feed you some breakfast before you make a break for it, mmkay?”-

Towhee promptly lowered her head and heaved a time or two before bringing up the pre-chewed meat in her belly, depositing it messily on the den floor at Towhee Jr’s feet.

Reyson had stayed far away from everyone for a time. He had stewed and then fussed, had been angry and then sad. He was finally sort of okay. He realized it didn't matter how he felt about any of it. Arsenio and Tamar were his leaders and they had every right to trust him or not. Even if it was unfair. And sickening. He had told Meadow they could do as she pleased, but she hadn't told him yet, what she wanted.

So today he went in search of Maxim hoping to speak to the younger male. Perhaps get some perspective. Instead he heard the tell tale sound of someone absolutely puking out their guts and his own heaved in response, but he didn't eject his meal. Just barely. It was then he realized he was a little more messed up than normal, and he briefly wondered. When was the last time he actually ate? Losing chunks of time, was. Not good.

He made a soft pattern on the dirt, hoping that Towhee would feel the Vibrations and see who it was, if her back was turned. He could spend some time with her today.

her attempt was foiled!

the OG towhee swoops in. towhee jr's gaze follows the movements of her mother's paws, realizing ( once her vision had improved enough ) that it was communication ... to follow the movement of lips. sounds were nonexistent to towhee jr, her life revolving around a radio silence that she found utterly comforting.

she knew nothing else!

but she was picking up on some of the ptero.

-food-! towhee jr mimics the movement of her mother's paw seconds before her mother regurgitated meat.

food was an easy word and easily the most important in her little life right now.

realizing she was actually pretty hungry, jr digs into her breakfast —

only to be distracted from her meal by the strange vibrations made on the earth. her head lifts, salmon pink tongue drawing across her jowls, eagerly poking her head 'round her mother's legs to give the stranger at the mouth of the roost a glare.

the scarred brute did not look familiar and jr is instantly hostile, hackles bristling in a way that, considering her tiny puppy size was probably hilarious, like a spooked kitten trying to look bigger than it was.

After bringing up the contents of her stomach, she raised her head to locate Sable, who was curled in a ball on the goatskin. Towhee decided not to disturb him, letting Towhee Jr take her fill. She would wake and feed her son later.

She didn’t really notice the vibrations announcing Reyson’s arrival, though she certainly saw her lookalike’s reaction. Towhee turned her head to see the Nomos hovering outside the doorway, then dropped her eyes back to Jr. She smirked.

-“Why do my children always want to eat you, Sunshine?”- Towhee quipped, stepping over the bristling tyke to stand above her, facing their guest. -“She’s just like me when I was little! I was a raging bitch to ‘outsiders’ too. Anyway, you’re welcome to come inside… if you dare,”- she said with obvious amusement.

A soft smile almost sad. I seem to have that affect on all lately.

He shifted and pressed inward, but didn't crowd the child. Only settled to his haunches so Towhee could see his face. He hadn't learned the language of her paws yet.

jr's grasp on ptero is limited by her youth: understanding about three basic words, four if one included 'jr'. though the mini-me watches her mother's ptero with an eagle-eyed focus, she does not grasp any words; briefly forgetting about their guest.

until he moves forward.

she bristles more, missing ( or perhaps ignoring ) the ease and lack of hostility that radiates from her mother's body language.

a low grumble lingers in her throat; a voice of her displeasure ... unknowing that she has already ( and rightfully so ) been overruled.

Maybe she should’ve scolded her child or, at the very least, corrected her. But Towhee considered this a feature, not a bug. It was always interesting when her young pups’ personalities began emerging and it was particularly fascinating that her lookalike would behave just like her mother at her age. And that attitude had served young Towhee well in her early life.

She was so caught up in observing her kid, she didn’t register Reyson’s remark. Towhee did eventually tear her attention away from the bristling Atoma, glad that Reyson had made himself comfortable despite Jr’s little display.

-“I haven’t had a chance to properly thank you for this,”- she said, pointing her snout at the well-loved goatskin. -“Keeping pretty busy?”- she asked conversationally.

Towhee would never forget his discomfort around young Jack and Leo, a bittersweet memory now. She’d always assumed Reyson just didn’t enjoy being around such small children, so she knew better than to take it personally if he didn’t often visit.

He chuckled and watched the little one with a small dose of fondness. Glad she was firm in herself already. It would do her well.

He looked at her and smiled. You're welcome.

Reyson was just not comfortable around little ones always afraid he'd accidentally hurt them which made the baseless accusations from antigone worse.

I'm trying. I've had some issues integrating and I'm not sure if I'm doing it all right, but im trying.

feel free to skip jr from here!

jr lets out a frustrated huff, pronounced when it became apparent to her that the scarred stranger wasn't going to go away.

she spends some time, despite herself, trying to memorize the movements of towhee's ptero ... but eventually gives up and retreats to a dark corner of the den — where she can keep an eye on the two adults — and gnaws at a soft stick someone or another had left.

Towhee Jr settled down in the corner, soothing herself with a stick. Towhee Sr gave the child an approving look but retrained her attention on Reyson. The amiable expression on her face quickly scrunched at his remark.

Right, I heard there was some contention… with Antigone? Towhee said slowly, frowning. I don’t know any of the gory details. You can fill me in if you want to talk about it, the Eidos said, thinking of her own recent misapprehensions.

SO I am going to assume you've read all the juicy threads. So I won't repeat them lol.

Reyson watched as the little girl settled though she wasn't happy he was here, that was clear. He didn't mind either, much like Towhee, he felt that it wasn't bad she was protective and a bit defensive. It may save her sometime.

Reyson nodded. I will, but warning it is a long tale and if you must rest your eyes let me know. I'd like to learn your Ptero sometime, so I don't have to strain your eyes so.

He smiled then he told her it all. From beginning to end. From what Meadow did to him with Germanicus, to when he brought her back. As upset as he was and as venemous as the boy was, then again he told her of the fight and the arguments, and he ended with Antigone leaving and Reyson being banished for three days. And how he still felt unwanted and unsure and now Meadow wished to leave.

I left nothing out, because I don't want anymore assumptions and baseless accusations. Not that you would, but you understand I hope.

Towhee couldn’t remember anyone ever voicing concern about her eyes. She didn’t think many realized what a toll lipreading could take. She smiled at Reyson’s thoughtfulness, then motioned for him to go ahead.

She had heard bits and pieces of this but, as expected, there was a hell of a lot more to the story. Towhee knew she was hearing one side of it and would reserve judgment, though of course that was easier said than done. Just by hearing the story from Reyson’s own lips, it was impossible to fully divorce herself from his biased point of view.

Towhee didn’t say anything for a while. She didn’t want to hear these things about pack mates she liked, particularly her former student. She felt the pain of Antigone’s absence. He was still just a kid, to her. And Meadow had made an error in judgment due to her heat, which Towhee could understand perhaps better than anyone, given her history. It was impossible to explain those hormonal experiences to a dude.

I have such a hard time imagining Antigone behaving this way. I believe he did—I don’t doubt you—it’s just… where did it come from?

But that wasn’t meant to be her takeaway, at least with Reyson here. Towhee mulled a moment longer. She could absolutely see why he felt ostracized. However…

I think it will all blow over. I mean, Antigone’s gone and there’s nothing anybody can do about that. But you and the leaders—and you and Meadow—nothing happened that can’t be smoothed out over time, I don’t think. Nothing’s FUBAR here, you know?

Reyson knew well how eyes could be strained. When you were a look out all day it hurt. So he assumed it would hurt to try and read lips constantly.

Reyson had not wanted her to be biased. He knew he had done wrong as well. He was the adult and he had let his emotions take him. And he wasn't upset with Meadow for the mistake. He was upset that she hadn't talked to him of her concerns but expected full honesty from him at all times.

Reyson met her gaze. He has a crush on Meadow. And he finds my scars unbearable they make him uncomfortable based on how he behaves. I can see the revulsion. He is a kid. So perhaps to him the outside makes the man. He hasn't learned yet that a physical body is only part of the equation.

A soft chuckle and he nodded. i know.

What he didn't say was he had never fulled trusted Arsenio. The other man didn't mesh well with Reyson. Perhaps they were too similar or too different.

Well, that made a little more sense, though it still didn’t compute with the curious, studious boy she knew. Reyson’s theory about his scars really put a bad taste in her mouth. Surely that couldn’t be true, though she couldn’t argue with Reyson’s own experiences with Antigone.

While we’re on the subject of drama, can I get your opinion on something? Towhee asked after a moment, glancing at each of her kids again before focusing on Reyson’s face. Have you heard about the pack that’s moved into the canyon? They just appeared there without any warning. I only found out when I tried to take a walk there and a bunch of them ganged up on me. They didn’t hurt me but it makes me extremely uncomfortable that they’re there. I’m not sure anyone is as concerned as I am.

Towhee carefully avoided naming names or being too specific. She just wanted to know Reyson’s honest, knee-jerk reaction to this information.

Reyson didn't know if it was his scars or just him the boy found revolting, but he hated everything about Reyson and if it was sheer jealousy it was more an obssession than a crush.

Ears perked forward and he waited amd what he heard made him nervous. He looked towards the pups in the back and thought of Tamars and his frown deepened.

Perhaps I should go and see what they have to say to me. It doesn't sit well that they would gang up on a woman. Even if they didn't hurt you, that was a show of power a scare tactic in full force. I don't like it. They also didn't have a diplomat come here. Every good soldier know diplomacy must came first.

First of all, I don’t think gender matters at all here, Towhee replied, and secondly, don’t do anything without talking to Arsenio and Tamar first, especially if things are already shaky between you guys. They definitely have a more optimistic take than I do about this. They were talking about diplomacy too, though I don’t think we should be taking them gifts.

She could feel herself growing frustrated again. She didn’t want to badmouth her leaders. It wasn’t as though their approach was wrong. The intruders were already there, so perhaps Arsenio and Tamar felt they had no choice but to keep the peace with them. Towhee saw the wisdom in that, though it irked her all the more. Why had those intruders decided to live in the canyon?

Mostly I just hate the situation. It was one thing when Mereo was there. We were allies, even with Arsenio’s and Germanicus’s disagreements. Having a bunch of strangers there makes me so fucking uncomfortable. I don’t know what any of us can or should do and that’s what’s irritating the shit out of me.

Reyson gave a soft sigh but his mouth twitched into a small smile. I apologize Towhee it was not a slight. I just personally feel women deserve more respect that is all. But you're right it doesnt matter. I won't, but I'm saying these wolves should have been diplomatic. Sought out other wolves and greeted. That they didn't, makes me believe they are not here for anything good.

All we can do now is try and learn from them about why they are here if they mean to threaten us. And we should probably Tell the leaders of Paleo they're here too.

Towhee waved a paw to let Reyson know she hadn’t taken any real offense. She considered his words. What if Tikal had announced themselves prior to settling in the canyon? Would Towhee feel any differently? She probably would’ve told them to pick somewhere else, not that they would’ve listened. But that brought her grievances full circle: why had they chosen to claim a piece of land so close to other, established packs? As Reyson pointed out, it wasn’t just Epoch, it was Paleo too!

What kind of pack picks a territory smack dab between two packs they don’t even know? That means they’re either extremely ignorant or they simply don’t care. And that blind confidence could be extremely dangerous for us. What if they’re a bunch of warriors who intend to conquer this mountain range? We don’t know. Because they moved in right under our noses, without bothering to check in with us, which was ominous indeed.

Reyson had learned that Towhee was blunt and often shared her words quickly.

It made him nervous to othat they had settled so closely with nary a word and he was itching to do something about it. He also wanted to tell Mahler. He had children and was much smaller. If a force went after them, it made Reyson ill.

Reyson frowned in thought. I wish we had a way to infiltrate or least observe and learn of them.

Even if they observed Tikal and they appeared harmless, Towhee realized she wouldn’t trust any of it. As long as they were living there, she would never feel easy in the vale again. At least that’s how she felt at present.

My daughter and grandson came by not that long ago, asking us to go with them to live somewhere together. It wasn’t possible at the time because I was about to pop any day, Towhee said, glancing again at her son and daughter, nearly a month old now. But I wouldn’t have gone anyway. I love it here. Leo is buried here.

Towhee didn’t say anything for a moment. She didn’t know why she was telling Reyson this part. Maybe she just needed to hash it out aloud with someone, specifically somebody outside of her family who could maybe give her an objective opinion.

They told us they’d come back and let us know where they settled. Part of me is wondering if we should reconsider their offer when they come back. I don’t know. I don’t even know why I’m telling you this, Towhee said, sighing and falling silent.

Reyson didn't blame her, her ire, but the simple fact was. They could be harmless. He doubted it very much, but it was wrong to make snap decisions before all the facts were in. And yet, he couldn't blame Towhee either. She had known the wolves here, and now many changes in a span of less than a year. It was rough.

Lady Fennec and Killdeer, correct? He knew Towhee had other children. Tierra sprang to mind, but he was thinking it was probably fennec and killdeer. Both sweet and kind, if not a bit prickly at times.

Reyson eyed her and he looked down for a moment. If that is what she wished, he could carry Leona. He had seen it done before. You had to be gentle and respectful and bind them tightly in pelt. But he felt it distasteful to offer that right now.

Reyson smiled. Well I'd like to think it's because you consider me a friend, but perhaps you just needed someone to talk too. If you are worried about the others of the pack. I don't think they will hold any ill will towards you for wanting to keep your family safe.

Yes, she replied, having been too worked up to remember he would know them both pretty well. I do, she added quickly when Reyson spoke of their friendship and reminded her that nobody would fault her for making the right choice for her family.

Towhee sighed again. There was no “right choice” in this situation. The only solution, in her mind, was for Tikal to vacate. There were so many other places they could go. But would they? She’d barely made their acquaintance, yet she had a bad feeling that what she’d said to Reyson earlier was right on the money. They were probably some combination of cocky and foolish, which made them extremely dangerous.

Maybe the solution to everyone’s problems is a change of scenery, she said dryly, only meaning it as a joke. If I wasn’t so attached to the vale, I’d seriously propose that. But Arsenio and Tamar couldn’t have picked a more beautiful place to build Epoch. I’d hate to leave it, which leaves me at an impasse. And that pisses me off even more, she rambled, finishing with a wry laugh.

She could see that Sable was waking up on the goatskin. Towhee strode over to it and plopped down beside him. His sister had eaten all the pre-chewed meat she’d had on offer, so he would get the breast. The instant he raised his head and yawned, she nudged him toward her underside, then glanced up at their guest.

Thanks for listening, by the way. I know you’re dealing with a lot but for whatever it’s worth, I appreciate you, Sunshine.

Reyson thought fondly of Lady Fennec he counted he a friend, even if she didn't count him one. But were she to ever need him, he'd be there in a moment. Because she deserved the world. She was prickly of course and took things so personally, but he was certain it was because she was extremely sensitive and just hated to admit it.

Reyson knew he'd be checking out Tikal himself here pretty directly. He touch base with Arsenio because he had too, but then he'd be going after them. Because he wouldn't have those he cared for this upset over someone who couldn't be bothered with the proper niceties.

Reyson nodded. Though she was jesting, she wasn't wrong. It would probably be in their best interest to relocate, and yet it also made it seem as if they were running and no one in this pack was a coward. That much he was certain of.

Reyson felt the usual pang of sadness at teh nickname given, but it didn't hurt quite as bad anymore. He still missed Renaud, but at least it was becoming bearable, he was content in his grief now.

I will always listen Towhee. Now I will let you feed your children, but i'll come by later if you'd like.