Redhawk Caldera heart attack and vine

Could use a mentor! But its open for drop-ins.

It might've been just one night, it might have been several. When he came creeping back home Screech was a different person entirely from when he'd started - or he felt different, certainly. A sense of indifference had settled in to him after all his wandering, with each experience situated in a different part of his memory, catering to different parts of his psyche. The only thing he couldn't shake from his mind was a sense of loss. He was empty except for that, and in a moment of desperation, sought out @Raven for a private conversation.

Even as he perused her usual haunts he tried to come up with something to say: a script or something, a starting point. He caught a glimpse of @Wildfire as he slipped about the territory and while she greeted him from a distance, he moved on as if he hadn't even seen her - earning a small look of reproach. The boy moved through the rendezvous site next, then headed for Raven's largest medicinal cache (which come to think of it, was probably her den).

All the while he was unnaturally quiet, and it was unsettling to anyone who caught sight of him.

It was time for yet another patrol. Towhee heaved herself to her feet and scanned the skies for any sign of X. When she didn't see him, her gaze dropped, then narrowed when she spotted a familiar grayish shape skulking in her general direction. She normally wouldn't have called attention to herself, preferring to avoid Titmouse (or whatever he called himself), though a sudden idea struck her and a throaty bark burst from her muzzle before she could even think it through.

"Spar with me," she said to him, moving rapidly toward her brother, body language coming on more than a little strong. It wasn't a request so much as a command, her orange eyes glittering as if daring him to make a move.

Upon spotting a familiar dark figure, Screech slunk from the dark and set his sights upon them, eager to begin the interrogation. He really needed to get a handle on the difference between Raven and like, every other black furred wolf, because the figure he approached was not her at all - this time it was Towhee. Expecting a snide remark or utter dismissal, Screech cut to the chase and turned away as if to leave her - sparing her only a brief glance as he passed - but then she spoke.

Her comment was less a suggestion and more a demand, and at this moment Screech wasn't sure which he'd have preferred. He wasn't angry with her for lording her power over him (Was that normal? Did it usually bother him? He couldn't tell right now) and when given the opportunity to put his energy to use in some way, even in the manner of a spar, he decided he wasn't going to back down. But he was sullen all the same; saying nothing, the boy squared himself to her position. Did she need a verbal cue? She wasn't going to get one.

If he spoke, Towhee didn't catch it. His body language was fairly clear, however, as he faced her and braced himself. Towhee's jaw muscles clenched as she lowered her snout. He had taken a defensive pose, which meant she would be the first to make a move. She was fine with that; she needed more practice on the offensive front.

After a moment's deliberation, she lunged, snapping her teeth not at the obvious choices (one of his forelegs) but attempting to totally flummox him by going straight for his face.

Screech was naturally inclined to keep his legs safe and clear of danger since he'd already had one broken, so his natural inclination when she began her assault was to use his fancy footwork and keep himself in the clear. Her feint wasn't anticipated though. She was suddenly snapping at his face and he, being out of practice when it came to fighting and also not in a clear headspace, did nothing to defend against it. Towhee's attack might've been dulled because it wasn't a real fight, but she still connected and his lack of a response meant even this minor action would lead to something much worse.

In short: Her teeth met his face, something snapped, and suddenly Screech was far too dizzy to even stand. Blood dripped from his broken nose and he just sat there with an indifferent expression on his face.

He sullenly concluded: Guess you win.

Goodness, there was something deeply satisfying about landing a hit. But even as Towhee's teeth scored deep into Titmouse's face, she felt her instincts screaming at her to stop. This was not an enemy (a rival, in a way, but not an enemy) and she didn't want to injure a pack mate. Doing so was just plain stupid. But she had expected a defensive move of some sort, not for Titmouse to just stand there and take it.

"The fuck're you doing?" Towhee snapped, the taste of blood on her tongue as she reeled back, muzzle wrinkling wrathfully. "Do you know the meaning of the word 'spar'?" she shouted entirely too loudly, a strong wave of apprehension sweeping over her as she ascertained the damage. "Fucking shit, Tit!" she bellowed in his bleeding face.

The white of his lips was tinged with red, and as he flicked his tongue out, he caught some of the blood. The boy sniffed out of habit - like you might if you had a really runny nose - but that didn't help. If anything that just made his face sting more. Towhee was insulting him as per usual, which he took just as well as he took the smack to the face - silently and with a small roll of his eyes.

Don't - he asked quietly, with a new nasal quality to his normally scratchy voice. She was loud and irritating but now she was loud, irritating, and trying to investigate the damage she'd wrought, and Screech didn't like having her close. I said don't -- just don't touch me Towhee.

That did manage to get a rise out of him. He snapped before he knew what he was doing, warning her away, but the slightest motion just made his face hurt and he grimaced, a darkness already appearing around his eyes. 

Great.

Now he was going to sport a couple of black eyes too! He sniffled again and squinted when the pain radiated out of his broken nose, his new extra surly voice adding: Why d'you even care.

He needed to find Raven.

"I'm not, you idiot!" Towhee screeched right back, her flustered feelings channeling promptly into angry retorts. When he snapped in her direction, she rumbled a growl of warning, withdrawing and staring at him icily now. Fortunately for them both, he backed down immediately, grimacing in pain.

He muttered something then, though she couldn't guess at what; his lips hardly moved. Her own lips parted as she prepared to ask a question, before making a decisive movement and promptly howling for @Raven.

"You're such an idiot," she said in a low, scathing voice, glaring at him as if this was all his fault. "Why didn't you try to defend yourself?" the mercenary demanded.

He'd forgotten that she was deaf. What kind of asshole brother was he? But he was selfish like that and, being selfish, found comfort in the fact he could manipulate that. He could say whatever he wanted and she'd probably only catch bits of it. Yeah, he was a piece of shit.

Her questions were met with a small glare. Seeing as she'd called for Raven though, Screech knew he would have to wait for her and get checked out, so he'd have to put up with the questions. There's no point, he answered with a moodiness reserved for overly emotional teenagers, drawling through the slur of his broken nose with a bit of a melodramatic sigh to follow.

I borrowed the following lyric from Eminem, lol...

His answer made no sense to her. She squinted at him, wondering if she'd "heard" right. It then dawned on her what he meant. Towhee's ears pinned sideways as she assessed him, then snorted lightly and shook her head. Despite herself, she felt sorry for him, although not in a good-natured or sisterly way. It was a derisive sort of pity, because he was pathetic.

"Little baby pouters belong in diaper bags, Tit," she ground out, turning away from him (and thus missing any rejoinder), though she didn't go far. She simply removed herself from his vicinity and took a post nearby to await the medic.

Raven arrived a few minutes later, first checking in with Towhee then deviating to Titmouse when she spotted his bloodied nose. Before long Tit was going off with her, but he dragged his heels in the process; they headed for her medicine stores for some tending and a good long talk.