Bramblepoint I learned that from the pizza man.

There was something strange in the air lately. Finley smelled peculiar and Elwood seemed to be glued to her side (or her backside) much more than usual. Towhee observed these things with a shrewd eye but chose to ignore them for the most part. She kept herself busy with routine patrols, cavorting around with Phox and taking continued language lessons with Raven, among other things.

This afternoon, she grew frustrated with trying to pronounce some more difficult words and angrily gestured, -I quit!- before moodily stalking away from her older sister. She headed toward the borders, intending to do a patrol, but instead wound up flopping beneath a tree to brood. Her mind wandered to her godparents briefly before a distracting scent blustered by on the May breeze. It belonged to her prodigal brother, Gannet. She muttered under her breath.

A flicker of movement caught her attention and she turned to see Raven walking toward her, a concerned expression in her yellow eyes. "Towhee," Raven began and the Xi had to resist the urge to look away, lest she miss what her sister had to say (as much as she was certain she didn't want to 'hear' it), "you've been kind of moody lately." The pup felt a flash of indignant heat but hadn't gotten further than pursing her lips before the caregiver added, "I miss him too."

It took her a beat or two to realize what Raven meant, her face screwed up in confusion. It cleared suddenly and she rasped, "He left." There was no mistaking the angry flash in her brassy eyes.

"We don't know that," the black she-wolf gently corrected. "We don't know where he's gone or why. We're trying to figure out what happened and bring Tit back home. He's family and he belongs here with us."

Towhee had nothing to say to that. Turning away from Raven, she rose back onto all fours and began stalking toward the nearby Bramblepoint. Suddenly, she wondered if she might run into @Hydra again. She would really love a rematch, especially right now while she was feeling particularly feisty and in bad need of a distraction. And she was pretty damn sure she would make a much better showing today than she had the last time.

As luck would have it, Hydra was in the area. Her father had asked her to pick up a morsel for the mother-to-be, and Hydra wanted to find her something particularly juicy. Nothing she scented satisfied her, though, and Hydra huffed in mild frustration. Rabbits seemed too common a thing, rats too measly, voles and moles... no, it would not do. Hydra stalked onward, ears flicking as she heard noise in the near-distance. Hydra followed the way the sound had come from, but there was another scent on the wind that appealed to her. Instead of heading toward the sound, Hydra moved toward a closer tree. Blood and fur tufts, she noted. 

A strange, throaty sound was heard. Hydra turned her head and noted a very injured feline emerge. Still, it clearly had fight left in it. Its head bled—likely a hoof had struck him. Hydra stepped toward the side to keep a measured distance to continue to look at the thing. Its shoulder was injured, too. Hydra let out a low warning snarl, but this was no deterrent to the manic feline who swiped at her. It had forgotten to mind its own injury and the swipe was messy and loose. Hydra snapped her teeth at it, wondering what the best course of action was. There was part of her that felt confident she could take this down, even alone... but another part of her that remembered the lessons she had been taught about the ferocity of these creatures.

A strange scent wafted her way, giving Towhee pause even as she entered the trees. She glanced over her shoulder, lips parting to ask Raven if she smelled it too. But the caretaker was no more than a black speck in the distance, standing beneath the tree where Towhee had left her. The youth licked her lips and considered trying to call out to her older sister, yet instead she turned and faced the woods again. Her nose twitched as she stood there, drinking in the peculiar odor, tinged with the telltale tang of fresh blood.

Cautiously, the young she-wolf slunk deeper into Bramblepoint. She didn't hear the throaty hiss, nor the other noises as Hydra confronted the injured bobcat. But when her sparring partner's scent mixed in with the other smells, Towhee's eyes widened. Moving more swiftly now, she crashed though the underbrush and very nearly ran smack dab into Hydra's haunch even as the other young woman was calculating her next move.

Narrowly avoiding impact, Towhee pivoted just like Elwood had taught her (a movement she had nigh perfected) and then gasped loudly when she spotted the cat. Immediately, the young mercenary adopted her fighting stance, lowering into a crouch and ducking her muzzle to protect her throat. She took a moment to ascertain the toothy enemy—it appeared injured in several places—before risking a quick sideways glance at Hydra, expression asking, "Are we doing this?"

Hydra's ear flicked to hear the approach of another and soon enough, in the corner of her eye was Towhee. Hydra's tail flicked in a brief greeting wave, but when Towhee peered edgewise the volatile bobcat lurched for the younger of the two. That answered the question for Hydra, who moved to meet the hefty, boxish beast with her own weight to slam against it halfway, fangs snapping at it wildly. The result of this was one of its forelegs reaching to swipe against her as she went to retreat, and its claws raked against her ribcage. As she had been retreating toward its rear during this moment the wound was not deep and would not scar, but it certainly left enough of a mark now. Still, Hydra had afforded Towhee time to calculate her own move and the beast heeded Hydra as she feinted forward. Hydra looked to Towhee and the beasts hind-end; attacking from either direction, in the things state, seemed wise for the moment. The beast swiped again for Hydra, but she was swift enough to evade and move to bear in on the beasts already injured shoulder.

There was no time for Hydra to react to Towhee's silent question. The bobcat lunged at her, causing a startled cry to bubble in the Xi's throat. Fortunately, her cohort leaped in between herself and the cat, taking quite the savage scrape to her hide in the process. Towhee got a glimpse of the claw marks gouged in Hydra's rib cage but thankfully didn't have time to swoon (if she would even have that reaction with an outsider). The other youth had bought her some time and now the deaf girl needed to demonstrate how far she'd come in the weeks since their spar and even their tag team action against the three-legged coyote.

The agitated bobcat took another swipe in Hydra's direction and it seemed both pups had the same idea: aim for its wounded shoulder. They very nearly collided. Sensing the older juvenile's superiority in combat, Towhee dropped and thrust her fangs into the crook of the cat's leg instead, sinking her teeth around the elbow joint. She was so surprised by the accuracy of her own bite that she simply latched for a moment before remembering herself and applying pressure, the crushing force of her bite snapping bones and tendons alike with an accompanying scream she couldn't hear but most definitely felt thrumming in the roots of her buried teeth.

Hydra tore at the shoulder, receiving a couple of slams against her side for good measure from the others good arm. Hydra tore ruthlessly at the shoulder, digging deep. The others shoulder was a savage thing to look upon, far worse than anything the bobcat had attempted upon her... its efforts, fortunately, were weak thanks to the head injury it endured else Hydra might have gained more serious wounds. Inherently Hydra understood this—she would not have taken the risk. Towhee went for the others lower leg, and Hydra growled into her savage maneuvers (the sound one of approval) and she heard the terrible sound of the snap. At that sound, Hydra took one step aside, warning Towhee with a gesture away, and then thrust the totality of her weight against the bobcat, who fell onto its side in the confusion of its recently earned injury. Hydra's own injuries bled, though none were serious enough for her to reconsider her stance on finishing the battle.

She missed the approving growl, though Hydra spoke her language quite clearly in the next moment, making a very clear gesture for Towhee to move away. Without hesitation, the Xi relaxed her jaw and sprang backward, tongue flicking out to sluice the blood dripping from her teeth. She didn't go far, just bracing herself nearby while she waited for another cue. Her orange eyes flew wide when Hydra simply bowled into the bobcat, forcing it off its feet and onto its flank in a flurry of bleeding limbs.

Spotting the opportunity nearly immediately, Towhee fell upon their beastly prey right alongside the darker pup. Doing her best to dodge the cat's flailing paws—which were poorly aimed but nonetheless still dangerous—the Xi buried her muzzle into the pale fur on the feline's underside, ripping and tearing and rending. She took a glancing blow to her brow which trickled a bit into her eye but it wasn't long before the bobcat's movements began to weaken and slow.

The thing was downed, and Towhee was upon it swiftly. The girl distracted the feline enough and, when its neck was turned as it attempted to rise, Hydra saw her opportunity. Hydra seized it brutally, forcing herself upon the beast as Towhee savaged it. Her shoulders felt the grip of the cats claws, but Hydra did not relent and not long after, as Hydra ripped away, the entirety of the bobcat when slack. The paw that held her hit the earth with a thud, as did the creatures head even before this, and Hydra looked to Towhee with a chunk of the feline's throat within her mouth. It was a gory scene, but Hydra's tail waved at their collective win. The thing had been injured but still it had been a hell of a fight—and they both had injury's (superficial, fortunately) to show for it. She released what she held and caught her breath, looking at their surroundings to ensure that there was no other surprises waiting for them in the wood.

Moments later, the bobcat lay dead at their feet, its shredded remains seeping into the soil underfoot. Towhee panted as she glanced over at Hydra, admiring the savage image she cut with a chunk of the feline's viscera clenched in her teeth. Despite herself, Towhee's tail wagged in unison with her cohort's. She might be an outsider, yet she had won the younger girl's respect three times over now.

Speaking of which, Towhee opened her mouth once she caught her breath to say, "Sorry I was such a butt last time." She pursed her lips and dropped her eyes for a second, then looked back up at Hydra to catch a response if there was one.

But before the older youth could make a reply, Towhee suddenly realized that there were bleeding cuts on Hydra's body. The sight made her a little woozy, though not nearly as bad as if it was someone from her pack. It was funny how that worked. She thought of offering to call for Raven, then hesitated. Should the Redhawk medic be spending her time and resources on someone outside the pack?

She decided she shouldn't involve her sister, though Towhee did ask, "Do you need any help?" Maybe she could lick Hydra's wounds. That wouldn't be so bad. Actually, it would probably be a good way to redeem herself for her previous bad behavior.

The others apology surprised her, if only because she did not expect it. Hydra could not remember the other being a butt... and her keen memory did not select the moment that Towhee had walked away in an irate whirlwind. It did not select any moment at all. No worries, Hydra offered at length... more for the others benefit than her own. The other then asked if she needed help, which brought Hydra back to reality. Adrenaline coursed through her, and so the pain she felt at the moment was minimal at best. 

You are a healer, too? She decided on asking, tilting her head a (small) fraction. That surprised her. But if Towhee could teach things to Lyra, that would be beneficial. Looking back to her wounds, Hydra squinted, I think they just need to be cleaned... but she was no medic. She figured Pyx, or Lyra, or any other wise with herbs in Moonspear would know what to do better.

"No," Towhee replied with an accompanying shake of her head. "My sister, Raven—the one you met—she's a medic. I don't know anything about it though, other than to keep wounds clean." After a quick assessment, Hydra seemed to think it was all her injuries needed. "I can help," the Xi added, feeling a little awkward about it but fairly willing to lend a hand (or tongue).

Slowly, she stepped closer. She didn't make contact with Hydra yet, waiting for express permission first. Meanwhile, her brassy eyes scanned the other girl's figure, trying to pinpoint each contusion that would require some attention and ignoring the slightly queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

The others offer was generous, though Hydra was prepared to not take the other up on it. When Towhee stepped nearer, Hydra politely side-stepped and shook her head, looking to the girl with a thankful expression. That's alright, I think I can take care of it, she nodded her head once more in thanks. Hydra's own view on outsiders was similar—though not as harsh—to Towhee. And none but those that ran with her would she permit to touch her. Though she clearly trusted Towhee with her life in many ways—she fought alongside her two times over—dealing with the more sensitive parts of her life she was more reluctant. 

Before she got to it, Hydra said, you did really well, by the way. You've been practicing? Hydra listened while beginning to clean herself, feeling not at all awkward as she swiped the wounds within her reach with her tongue.

Hydra sidestepped and Towhee backpedaled, nodding when she was relieved of the obligation. She sincerely wouldn't have minded, yet it was probably better this way. They could maintain the distance necessitated by their differing allegiances. With that in mind, the Xi took another step backward, giving them both some breathing room again.

She glanced at their kill, then back to her cohort in time to catch the last two words: "—been practicing?" The tips of her nonfunctional ears heated when she realized she must have missed the rest of what she'd said but Towhee dismissed it and simply bobbed her head, replying, "Yes, I'm training as a mercenary. I want to be both a guardian and a warrior. What about you?"

Hydra was not so gentle as a medic would be when cleansing herself, and winced many times as her tongue ran over the wounds. She listened to Towhee, who informed her of her desires, and Hydra perked up as she turned to look at Towhee. I'm a mercenary at present, working on becoming a Warrior and Guardian, too, her tail waved. Since this seemed to be their point of coincidental rendezous, Hydra suggested, maybe we can meet here in a week or two, have a spar? By then she'd be (mostly) recovered, and could get in additional practice to boot. They had both, overtime, upped their game—Hydra did not doubt that Towhee would be a far better opponent this time around than the first (though she had not been too bad that time around either).

It wasn't surprising to hear they shared these mutual pursuits, yet it endeared Towhee all the more to Hydra, which was at once alarming and somehow enjoyable. Pushing aside her mixed feelings, she nodded in response to the teenager's invitation. "I'd like that a lot, actually." She paused, glancing off into the trees a moment and licking her lips contemplatively. When she faced Hydra again, she added, "What if we made it a regular thing? Maybe we could meet here once or twice a month to practice. We could take take turns, like..." Towhee made the ptero sign for "alternate," since the word and its pronunciation escaped her, then shrugged and continued. "We could each work on offense and defense one time, then switch the next."

Minute communication efforts, such as ear flicks, were not lost on Hydra who spoke this way with her sisters (though not in the same dialect as Towhee's own demonstrations). It was only now, though, she realized that Towhee, too, could articulate things with her ears... though she supposed she might (literally) be reading into something that was not there at all. There was a more important matter at hand, which was Towhee's suggestion. 

That'd be awesome, her tail waved all the more at the thought. Let's do twice a month—this one will count as one for us, where they had double-teamed the dead bobcat, who Hydra now looked to. to make switching it up a regular thing! Though it'd be regular anyway, she meant their practice being more... well, more. It excited Hydra immensely.

She was kind of surprising herself by making steady, ongoing plans to interact with someone outside Redhawk Caldera. But somewhere along the line, by pure happenstance, Hydra had become something more than a mere outsider. It would take Towhee some time to truly process this, to allow herself to enjoy it properly, to label it. But currently, she was mostly just thrilled that Hydra seemed to like her suggestion.

"Okay," she said simply in summation, her own tail still waving to and fro. She blinked and then asked, "What should we do with this?" She pointed a toe at the slain bobcat. Towhee wasn't particularly hungry, though she supposed she should take some of the meat back to the pack. Perhaps she should give a hunk of it to Raven to apologize for being so moody and rude.

It was agreed, then. As far as the bobcat, Hydra looked to it. I'm going to bring a little back to my mom—not sure if she's ever eaten bobcat before. She's going to have kids soon though, and is always hungry, she didn't mind so much. She wanted to take a leg, and keep the paw for herself as a nice souveneir. Since this was, well, theirs, Hydra flicked an ear. You gonna take any?

Her brows raised, curious despite herself, at the passing comment about Hydra's mother expecting new pups. Since Towhee's parents had died before she was born (or during it, in Fox's case), she had never given the idea of future siblings any thought. But perhaps Elwood and Finley would want to reproduce again at some point in time? Not sure what she thought of that, Towhee tucked it in her back pocket for later contemplation.

For now, she said, "I'm going to take some of the organ meat to my sister, I think. But it can rot otherwise, for all I care." She wrinkled her nose. Perhaps it was wasteful to leave such a large kill mostly untouched, yet the other wildlife in the area would certainly make use of it. And whatever threat the bobcat may have posed to the local packs was now eliminated thanks to Hydra and herself.

She moved forward to tear off the bits and pieces she wanted to take back to Raven, gathering them by her paws. When she was satisfied, she shot Hydra a smile. "See you in a couple of weeks then." She collected the meat in her jaws and swiveled, loping steadily back to the caldera's territory.

Hydra nodded, and when Towhee took what she could Hydra, after bidding Towhee adieu, tore off a leg (which took an ample amount of her time and energy). Then, she was on her way back to Moonspear where she would seek out Lyra or Pyx to check out her injuries.