Bramblepoint young, wild american lookin' to be somethin'

Ugh!

One slender gray paw violently swatted a mostly-rotted apple out of the way.  There's got to be one.. Ivy whispered agitatedly to herself, pausing for about three seconds to narrow her eyes at the little cloud of breath that materalized in front of her face.  If it weren't so damn cold tonight she may have been more inclined to enjoy the waning moon instead of poking at apples on the ground, but as it was she barely had enough patience to find something even remotely edible before settling in for the night.  Besides, she mused to herself, the moon'd be new in a few nights anway and she might as well take advantage of the light while the opportunity presented itself.

.. and Ivy knew a thing or two about opportunity.

The next apple she inspected seemed good enough and with a dramatic sigh the yearling settled down on her stomach and began munching away.  Her gray ears twiched every now and then at noises in the distance - the area's dense vegitation meant that even the slightest breeze ususally rustled a few autumn leaves.  Thankfully she hadn't encountered anyone since returning to the Teekon Wilds.  Ivy wasn't sure she was ready to face her family quite yet.. if ever.  Bramblepoint's close proximity to Redhawk Caldera aside, she'd prefer to keep a low profile for now.

She had been so preoccupied with her new—pet? familiar? accomplice?—lately that she'd lost track of time. When @Phox pointed out tonight's moon phase, Towhee rather loudly muttered, "Shit!" and quickly collected her winged companion as she headed toward the borders. She didn't care that it was past dark and freezing cold. If they were going to war soon—and it seemed likelier with each passing day—then Towhee needed to prepare.

When she arrived in the woods next door, she cast her orange eyes around for any sign of @Hydra. Instead of a lithe black shadow, she spotted a silvery specter between the trees. Tossing the hawk a look over her shoulder, one that was meant to say, Be quiet, she stepped behind the nearest trunk. Little did she know her feet were crunching loudly on the frozen leaf litter on the forest floor, quite clearly announcing her presence.

She peeked out from her hiding spot, intending to spy on the gray stranger, when Towhee abruptly realized it was no stranger at all. A low growl bubbled in her throat when she recognized her fellow yearling and could only think, That bitch...

Ivy didn't bother to pause mid-munch when she heard the obvious sounds of pawfalls in the surrounding forest.  Anyone who meant to take her out on this dimly-lit night wouldn't have made themselves so blatantly known, which meant whoever was out there felt the need to be stealthy.  For what reason she couldn't possibly imagine.  She was eating an apple, for Christ's sake, not inhaling a big, fat moose all by herself!

Don't be rude, she chided loudly to the brisk night air.  If her would-be ninja stalker felt the need to stick around after watching her do something so mundane, the least they could do was make a proper appearance.  I'll even share, Ivy offered with a sarcastic flourish, smirking before taking another bite from her partially-frozen fruit.

Hydra prowled Bramblepoint, moving with Alya who soon turned to find Lyra. Alya knew of her activity planned for this night, after all. Instead of coming across Towhee straight off the bat, though, she came across a pale wolf presumably talking to herself and eating a... what was that? Wrinkling her muzzle, Hydra said, keep it, not knowing that it had been someone else she had been speaking to. Hydra then continued on her way, hoping to find Towhee. Her interest in the loner was nonexistent.

Before Towhee could decide what she wanted to do—should she confront Ivy or save herself the trouble and avoid her at all costs?—someone else appeared alongside her. Hydra glided past Ivy's silvery figure with a passing comment that the hidden Towhee didn't catch. But emboldened by her friend's appearance, she sidestepped out from behind the tree, hastening forward to greet her fellow mercenary. She leered at Ivy over Hydra's shoulder, then flicked her head to toss a quick reassurance to the hawk, whose talons were beginning to dig into her flesh.

"Sorry we're late," Towhee said to Hydra, meaning to keep her voice low but failing absolutely. "I got caught up taking care of this guy. We're attached at the hip now. Or the shoulder, I guess..." Her breath escaped her in a dry, vaporous laugh. "Anyway, maybe we could practice on her?" she added, pointing a toe at Ivy.

Entirely unperturbed, Ivy merely shrugged her shoulders and drawled, Suit yourself.  The passing stranger wasn't the same one who'd made all that racked off in the trees somewhere, that much she knew.  She'd never see it coming if that inky-black stranger wanted to do her any real harm.  No, that female was a true professional.

A familiar voice gave her pause - for just a second she ceased munching on her apple while her pale green eyes rolled skyward.  Good old Wow-ee, of course she'd be the one to come across Ivy first.  It wasn't clear if the Redhawk was even trying to keep her voice down, but based on her loud-as-hell spying efforts, that was probably not the case.  Either way, Ivy didn't get up to move or say anything further.  If the two females wanted to have some kind of weird meeting in the woods at night, it was really none of her business.

Hydra didn't miss the scathing look Towhee threw to the other, and though she was about to ask Towhee firstly apologized. No worries, she said with a grin, her eyes shifting toward the bird. His wing better? She wondered aloud, having zero idea about bird recovery and rehabilitation. And at Towhee's suggestion, Hydra trotted around Towhee to sidle alongside her, taking care to mind the hawk and not approach on that side. She didn't want to unsettle it and injure Towhee in that process.

After an assessing once-over, Hydra wrinkled her muzzle, darting forward to circle the palest of them all. Can you fight? She hummed. If the girl was an easy target, there was little point in practicing on her. We're training—there's a war coming, she informed. To attack Ivy out of the blue would make her no better than the wolf she despised, though truth be told Hydra thought little on that subject. She did what she wanted. She did give Ivy the courtesy to leave, or to stay.

"Rave says it'll be a few weeks before it heals. It's pretty cool having him around, though I look forward to the day when he doesn't have to ride my shoulder all the time," Towhee said loudly, sidestepping so that both she and Hydra were now facing Ivy.

She lapsed into watchful silence as her cohort assessed their would-be opponent, doing her best to read Hydra's lips when she spoke to the silvery she-wolf. Due to the angle, she didn't quite catch the words, so her orange eyes leaped to Ivy; an answer would certainly provide context to the question.

Ivy frowned down at her snack.  She'd eaten down to the core - and even consumed half of it - but with the good part gone, she found herself losing interest.  Ah, well.  At least she'd found something to eat.  Food forgotten, she opened her mouth in a wide, slow yawn that thankfully remained silent even when her mouth closed.  She blinked lazily a couple of times before noticing that someone was talking to her again.

.. and also she was being circled by the female who was not a member of Redhawk Caldera.  Ivy raised one brow as her pale green eyes followed the wolf passing in front of her face.  Ah, no, she admitted plainly, clearly not ashamed of that fact.  Fighting wasn't her style, which she opened her mouth to explain, before snapping it shut again.  War, she repeated flatly.

For the first time since she'd caught on that someone was spying on her, Ivy looked directly at Towhee.  War? she repeated loudly with a frown, one eyebrow still raised.  Her original intent wasn't to acknowledge the other yearling at all, but the mention of something so outlandish served to force her hand.  And now that she was looking at her former packmate properly, she noticed a huge ass bird on her shoulder.  Though she didn't voice what she was thinking, a mental exclamation of "Oh, for fuck's sake.." was written clear as day all over her face.

The others response caused her gaze to snap toward Towhee. Ensuring she was being looked at before speaking, Hydra said, she'd be far too easy to beat. She can't fight, no fun at all. She anticipated the Blackfeather wolves to have some experience in the avenue of fighting, else surely they would not have pushed so hard against the wolves of the wilds beyond them. Though who really knew for sure? They could simply just be dumb. 

Ivy's repeated question was met with a long look, before she looked to Towhee. Is she all there in the head? her expression was solemn—she could see why Towhee might be so judgmental of her. With the exception of Towhee (who, in Hydra's opinion, was not disabled at all), Hydra didn't think highly of those that were handicapped.

"War," Ivy said, twice. Towhee blinked, her eyes narrowing, her attention suddenly drawn to Hydra. Just because it would be easy to beat Ivy didn't mean they couldn't use her as a punching bag, though Towhee supposed that would make them no better than those foul Blackfeather wolves. She pondered that for a moment, until her cohort's next question surprised a loud blat of laughter from her. The hawk flapped his good wing in surprise, squawking indignantly before resettling.

"She's just a twat," Towhee responded with a merry look on her face. "Yes, war," she added, gaze shifting to Ivy. Are you deaf or something? she thought wryly. "We're warriors and we're going to war soon. If you're not going to help us, you should get lost," she added coldly, not forgetting that she—like so many others—had simply disappeared from Redhawk Caldera one day.

The urge to roll her eyes again was strong.   In Ivy's opinon, "we're warriors and we're going to war soon" sounded an awful lot like "we're lawyers and we're going to law soon" or we're bakers and we're going to bake soon".  In other words, like it was a children's game.  But she and Towhee were children no longer and if war really was on the horizon for more than one pack, it certainly warranted more than an evening of make-believe.

The other female made a remark about her intelligence and she chose to ignore it.  Ivy slowly rose with a grace she hadn't possessed in her younger months and turned her full attention to the hawk'd Redhawk.  Well, far be it from me to barge in and rudely interrupt your evening, she drawled.  Because she was clearly the jackass in this situation!  With great flourish, the too-thin female nodded first to Towhee - fantastic to see you - and then to the wolf she hadn't met before - and lovely to meet you - though her words then were a touch more sincere.  But not by much.  You'll give the pack my fondest regards, won't you?  Wouldn't want to return and be just another mouth to feed, she finished with a wry smile.

Ivy likely would have stayed longer if Towhee were alone, but dragging someone else further into their back and forth seemed too uncouth even for her.  With a shrug of her shoulders, she turned and headed Southwest.  Her next stop was her birthplace and she'd have to trek around Lake Rodney to get there.  She'd originally wanted to sleep tonight after a having a snack in peace, but her annoyance level was now off the fucking charts and she figured it was better to burn that off than stew all night long.

Hydra watched the other rise as Towhee clarified. She wasn't sad to hear of the others departure; the stranger, having no fighting experience herself, was useless in their equation. Though the other utilized a good amount of sarcasm, Hydra responded quite seriously: thanks, so that if the other had thought she was at all welcome in the first place, she would recognize she wasn't. Some picked up on social cues, others didn't—Ivy at least picked up on it. Hydra was irate with the others treatment of Towhee, and when the other spoke politely to her, Hydra harrumphed and shortly said: speak for yourself. Scram, scrawny, and as the other went on to be rude to Towhee, Hydra let out a snarl and lazily attempted to snap at the others nearest appendage to her. She wasn't really trying to land a hit, that much was very clear—had Hydra really wanted to, there was no question of her hitting something, and hitting it hard.

Your bark is as pathetic as I bet your bite is, Hydra snarked, unsure if the other had turned to go before or after hearing her words. Hydra watched her go, tail lashing behind her. Not that Hydra needed justification to do whatever it was she wanted, but now that she felt she did she regretted not just going for it then. Ah, well. When the other faded to nothingness, Hydra looked to Towhee. She's a twat, Hydra echoed, who definitely isn't all there in the head either. How sad, Hydra pouted, though her tail waved at the words, as content to talk shit about the other when she wasn't there as when she had been.

Her eyes looked back to the hawk. You think that guy would help you fight? When he's better, I mean, that would be helpful, wouldn't it?

There was some sort of exchange between Hydra and Ivy, though Towhee didn't manage to catch many of the words. She ground her teeth in frustration, though a smirk crept its way onto her face when she saw her friend snap at Ivy. The Redhawk made no effort to contribute anything else to the conversation, instead sneering at the female's silver back as she turned and airily departed.

Hydra faced her again and made some amusing assessments about Ivy. "Told you," she said with a light bark of a laugh. Towhee was tempted to add some other choice epithets to the mix but it wasn't worth the time or effort. Besides, Hydra asked something that steered the mercenary's mind in another direction and she promptly forgot about Ivy's interruption entirely.

"I hadn't give it much thought," she answered, shooting the hawk a speculative look over her shoulder. "He does have some mean talons. And I've seen him eat," she added, thinking of the way his sharp beak easily cut through even the toughest meat. "I think I should start off with giving him a name," she quipped, cocking her head, "unless he already has one?"

If the hawk made any reply to this (he didn't), she didn't hear, though an ear bent toward him as if in anticipation even as she peered at Hydra's face.

Hydra waited to see if the hawk would respond to Towhee's question, and when it didn't, she looked to Towhee with a shake of his head. Doesn't sound that way, Hydra said, so it was up to Towhee to name the critter, it seemed like. Hydra shifted her weight, and looked to her friend again when the bird remained mute. I actually found this huge brown hawk on Moonspear the other day, the thing was a juvenile eagle, but Hydra did not know her birds—with the exception of crows... but that being said, a crow and a raven to her were one of the same. The thing totally messed up a crow. And then I gave it a rabbit. But he didn't go on my shoulder or anything, and flew away after, Hydra scrunched her brow. She totally wanted to befriend that badass bird. I bet he'd be way useful in a fight, if you could somehow communicate with him, and even if he did not fight... eyes in the sky seemed a great idea, too.

After a beat, Hydra also thought to ask, any word on the blackfeather situation? She wondered if her leaders had decided what they wanted to do, if anything.

Due to her recent preoccupation with the hawk, Towhee hadn't yet caught wind of the commander's visit earlier that very day, nor the outcome of the conversation between Thuringwethil and Towhee's godparents. So when Hydra questioned her about the progress on war talks, she shook her head lightly, only to freeze after two seconds. A few days ago, Titmouse had evidently turned up at the borders with a Blackfeather wolf in tow. Towhee remembered the anger still simmering in her uncle's gaze when he'd recounted the altercation to her.

"I think my aunt and uncle are making plans. I guess it takes time to sort out the tactics," Towhee said, recalling the word "Coyote" had introduced to her. "No matter what, we're not going to just sit here and let them get away with it."

On that note, the she-wolf motioned for the hawk to dismount and even bowed slightly to make the jump slightly shorter. When she straightened up, she rolled her streaked shoulders and peered at Hydra. "If memory serves, you're an experienced warrior. Well, I'm an experienced guardian—a master now, actually. I think we should swap so I can practice offense and you can practice defense."

Don't forget about me, Hydra teased, I want to kick their ass, too, particularly the one wolf that had messed with her friend. Her tail waved. She would avenge Rannoch ten times over. She'd kill the wolf who thought himself mighty for taking advantage of the teddy bear. And in knowing him better, that was exactly how she thought of him. Soft and sweet—but then, he was modeled for a bear; she imagined somewhere within him was untapped ferocity, and Hydra wondered if she would get to see it.

Towhee then got to their favorite thing to do (independently and together); what was business for some had become pleasure for Hydra, particularly with her friend. Congratulations, Hydra commended, quite proud of their accomplishments. Her tail waved as she spoke again: Since you're the master guardian, what are your favorite defense tips to go by? As a warrior, on the offensive front, one of mine is to always keep the opponent moving in the way you want them to, she advised, ears twitching. She was mindful of the hawk, not wanting it to incur any other injuries in the wake of their spar. Hydra gestured to him: he alright standing there? Though he could hop away, she wondered about his mobility with the injury, and if that would hinder a getaway any. Towhee would know best.

"Of course," Towhee replied just as swiftly, her own tail waving gently. "As soon as I know what's happening, I'll get a message to you. Maybe..." She peered speculatively at the hawk, who had begun preening his good wing a few feet away. "Maybe if he's healed when the time comes, I'll give him something—like a stone, for example—and send him your way... somehow... to notify you?" It was obvious she was thinking out loud. Her voice trailed off as she tipped her head, gazing at Hydra now to see if she had any input on how to accomplish this. It was probably wishful thinking—how on earth could she steer him in the correct direction?—but Towhee filed way the idea for later contemplation.

"Protect your throat," she answered readily, "and be vigilant. Never take your eyes off your rival." There were a thousand more guidelines stashed in her brain or embedded in her instincts, though those gave them a good starting point. "He'll be fine," Towhee added, shooting the raptor another glance. He was still prissily fussing over his feathers. "Let's move over this way a bit," she thought to add, putting more space between the two of them and the bird even as Towhee finally squared up in anticipation of launching the first of what would be many rounds of attack on Hydra.