Firefly Glen (PHE) Chicken charmers.

Tags for reference. All are welcome!

After spending some time with @Kukutux and the healers, Towhee and Bushtit remained huddled at the camp shared by @Reyson, @Meadow and their kids. If she’d caused a stir by bringing her baby here, it had hopefully died down after the first week. The day she and @Towhee Jr had agreed upon approached swiftly—much too swiftly for her tastes.

She was very much enjoying being among so many and so much. The food was great, of course, but the company was incredible. Towhee hadn’t realized how lonely and quiet she’d felt these past few months. She realized she didn’t want to go back to the copse. She would, of course, but coming here had definitely been something of a revelation.

This evening, she kept a watchful eye on Bushtit as he chewed on an elk hoof a passerby had gifted him. Towhee grew stiff as the temperatures dropped and rose onto all fours to begin a stretching routine, after which she slung herself back to the ground and dragged her giggling son close for a cuddle.

nose tasted air; heart longed for the sea. 
he was not surprised to see towhee; he did not consider her son's age, only waved a smile toward the woman with a lash of his tail.
"it is good to see you," he murmured, and settled not so close to look out over the mingling crowd of wolves. "so many," the seal hunter commented. "i have enjoyed it. but i miss moontide."
if he thought for a moment, chakliux might be able to hear the ocean.

A pale figure loomed closer through the gathering dusk. Towhee tensed, then relaxed when she realized it was Chakliux. His remark made her wonder when they’d last spoken to one another. Had it been that time when he’d been hunting another wolf? She wasn’t entirely sure.

Bushtit, this is Chakliux, Towhee murmured to her son, who wasn’t paying much attention to anyone in particular, as he was focused upon his plaything. Chakliux, Bushtit. She paused before addressing his comment with her own: I was just thinking along those same lines.

Said lines were more perpendicular than parallel, though Towhee didn’t really plan on sharing her thoughts. She already felt guilty enough without admitting out loud that she didn’t want to go home.

Are Phox and Heph still away on their honeymoon or whatever? she couldn’t help but ask. And how’s Rodyn? And everybody else?

"it is good to meet you, bushtit," the seal hunter smiled. so small! all his own had been this tiny, and yet he could hardly believe it. now the five born among the lodges were fast approaching the time of their own seals.
idly did chakliux wonder if there would be more, with marina's health and tullik's seeming distance.
perhaps he should go to trade after all, for herbs and meat, for pelts, for wealth that might soothe the coming year.
"yes. they are still gone. we wish them happiness. moontide bursts with children. almost, the plateau is too small."

When he mentioned the plateau, Towhee wondered if he meant the landmark itself or the pack which resided on it. Her lips pulled down thoughtfully, though they twitched upward again when she glanced down and saw Bushtit fighting sleep. She bent to smooth her nose up and over his forehead, unsurprised when the hoof tumbled out of his mouth and clunked mildly painfully on top of a forepaw.

Brushing it aside and gently maneuvering her sleepy child in the crook of her forelegs, Towhee remained attentive enough to ask, Remind me: how many are there? What are they like? With a slight smirk, she added, Are they all yours?

He hadn’t said anything specifically about Rodyn, though Towhee suddenly wondered about Rolayne. She should’ve probably thought about Panuk too, though she’d really only developed a close bond with Roly. He would be all grown up by now, perhaps even dispersed to discover his own life path away from his parents’ home.

"ah, five are mine," chakliux jested. "four belong to raindrop and sumac. and there is a young boy and his mother among us now too. dutch and simbelmyne have four of their own." one missing.
"puffin learns to hunt the sea-cliffs with one of her mothers, tullik. marina teaches kilalurak the work inside the lodge. chagak is becoming skilled at tracking. sea hunter is tall. he runs with sirmiq, a careful warrior."
"the others, angel oak, ponderosa, pine, silvertip, sirimiri, kitimat, seelie, and ghelan; they come among the lodges to hunt and to play with our seal hunter children. moontide is filled with their laughter."

Towhee quickly gave up on trying to do the math, though Chakliux hadn’t been kidding about the plateau being overrun by children. She mouthed the word “wow” as he ran through a list of names. Towhee hung on his every word, though she still hoped there wasn’t a quiz at the end, because it was too much information to memorize.

I bet, she murmured.

She idly wondered what that was like, having never heard the laughter of children. She’d seen it, of course, and it was one of the most incredible sights. Towhee genuinely couldn’t imagine what it must sound like, though surely it amplified the experience. It wasn’t often these days that she had moments like this—where she pondered the drawbacks of her disability—but she quickly processed it and moved on.

So, how many kids have you fathered in total? Towhee wondered, because everything was a (friendly!) competition. She added playfully, Do you even know? I wish I could have so many, losing track could be possible, although it’s kind of hard to do that, as the mother. Your body kind of keeps score for you, which was of course a massive understatement.

"i have nine. seven live. two are buried on moonspear," chakliux said evenly, for he did not wish that towhee share condolences. he had not forgotten them, not in all these years. they were of he and of nasamik. nothing drove them from his mind.
a wry smile overtook him. "seven other children may also bear my blood. i am a wanted man," the seal hunter quipped. "and i know their names. among my people, it is the father who teaches the lineage to his children. but we are only fathers as long as we are chosen as fathers. "
chakliux did not know why he rambled; he was quiet now with a gentle look.

He had nine confirmed children, maybe half a dozen more. Towhee shot him an empathetic look when he mentioned the deceased ones. She knew that sort of loss all too well. But she took his cue and didn’t linger on it. Besides, he said something that truly captured and diverted her attention.

Baby Bushtit twitched in his sleep, drawing said attention to him momentarily. Soon enough, he settled restfully again. Towhee’s eyes cut back to Chakliux as she weighed his words, pondering their meaning. She had always considered fathers important but naturally secondary to mothers.

What do you mean when you say ‘chosen’? Who chooses? she wondered.

"the women," chakliux said quietly, unable to keep the fatherly affection from his gaze as he glanced toward the little pup. "my scars, my strength, they are all to be chosen. when she says yes, i build a lodge for her and a new cache. but it belongs to her, and everything within it, and our children also. i am father only so long as i am chosen."
it was their right, through his heart twinged with a true pain to think that tullik or marina would do this. it was why he had tried with great effort into giving them no reason to put him away.

She approved, not that anybody needed her approval. The way Chakliux spoke about it resonated with Towhee’s more primal side. Romance was nice and all, though choosing a mate should also be about personal prowess. After all, one wanted to pass along only superior genes as much as possible. Perhaps that was why she liked watching men fight over her, on the rare occasion it happened. It reassured her that he had proven his merit as a sire.

It sounded a bit like the women could revoke paternity rights. Towhee chewed on this for a moment. She didn’t like that for him, though she would be a hypocrite if she said she didn’t side with her fellow women on this. How many times had she decided whether or not to include her children’s father in the picture? Most times, she had rejected his involvement entirely. A few had tried to argue with her, though Towhee had always prevailed, in the end.

Her grip about her youngest tightened at the thought. Unfortunately, she knew his father. Well, she didn’t know his name or the first thing about him, aside from his health and strength. She neither needed or wanted him in Bushtit’s life. At least “Casanova” didn’t know about him. If she had her way, he never would. Besides, what were the odds they would ever cross paths again anyway?

Is there a point where the choice shifts from mother to child? Towhee wondered, then had to tuck a yawn against Bushtit’s crown.

"perhaps when they are older. suppose a wife puts away her husband, severs their bond. if she takes a new man but the children are half-grown and do not like him, they may choose their first father. no one will tell them another thing."
the nuance of this too, intrigued chakliux, who had only seen a few husbands ever divorced by their wives. should raiyuk have rejected him, would he have become sunshine? learned the lineage of nasamik's new man?
for a moment, chakliux wondered why towhee asked. she was a woman with independence and her own networking of family; she did not need a husband.
perhaps she wanted one.
or maybe she spoke only to be polite.
he did not know, but he enjoyed the sharing of words all the same.

He answered logically. Towhee had grappled with this issue, infamously with Reyes. It had rankled her when the children had still wanted to be involved with their father, despite his unpredictable outbursts. But she had begrudgingly accepted their autonomy. It was bittersweet, that point in time when children were not fully grown but grown enough to make some of their own decisions (and mistakes).

I guess that’s how it should be, though it’s not always easy, accepting their choices, especially when they make childish ones, Towhee mused, lips lifting into an ironic smile.

Too soon, Bushtit would be old enough to make some decisions for himself. Towhee wondered if he would willingly travel with her, should she decide to resume her rover’s lifestyle, or if he would prefer a more stable home life. That was another impasse she’d hit with older children, causing a little lump in her throat.

I mean, it’s up to you, eventually, she murmured against the baby’s head, but I hope you stick with me. For as long as you want. Forever.

She stole a moment to snuggle against him, savoring this moment when he was still so small and reliant upon her. Towhee then raised her head to shoot Chakliux a smile, with a tinge of sleepy apology.

I think it’s time for me to get some shuteye too. I’m sure we’ll catch up another time, Chakliux. Happy hunting.

chakliux nodded at that, though raiyuk and taggak both had grown into strong men. yet surely there was time to experience what towhee spoke of in her amused voice. and when she murmured to her baby son, he glanced aside with a smile and a pang in his spirit, remembering again how small even raiyuk had been.
was this age? was this how it worked upon the mind?
"rest well, towhee," he said in graceful rise. "do not wait to call for me. i will bring you what you wish."
he turned then and moved away, leaving the redhawk mother and her child to the comforts of moontide.