Heron Lake Plateau plan b

The chaos at the borders was hard to miss, considering the layout of the plateau, and while Camilla had been privy to a few distant glances of it she made sure to keep far away from the hubbub - choosing to hide herself on the little island in the center of the territory. There was no way for her to know if things were calm when she finally peeked from her hiding place, but she ventured to the lake's edge all the same; around this time she spotted the approaching @Raven and beside her, @Towhee, and the two appeared to be having a conversation and Camilla's slicked-back ears didn't catch much of it. At first Camilla thought the dark shape was Phox, and so she moved to intercept the pair of them with that lowly, slinking manner she hadn't yet shaken from her posture. Upon realizing it was Towhee (who she thought was very scary) and a stranger (which was scarier) she shrank back, and tried to appear busy with the lake's bank - hardly inconspicuous but trying to keep out of the way.

Somewhere along the way, they lost Quixote. He probably stayed within sight of the borders, to keep an eye out for Niamh and Colt. Towhee couldn't wait for an update on that. She hoped for good news: Swamp Thing was dead. In the meantime, she slogged to the lake with Raven. Her older sister tried to make conversation at first but Towhee shook her head (which hurt). It required too much concentration to read lips and walk, something she just couldn't handle at present.

When they got there, Raven didn't seem deterred by the ice (something about which Towhee had forgotten entirely). She looked for a thin spot, then braced her legs, reared and punched a hole right through it. Towhee watched as the caregiver carefully picked away at the ice, making a hole in the shallows large enough for the brawny mercenary to wade and begin washing herself.

It took a long time. When Towhee finally felt clean, her paraplegia had momentarily spread to all four legs. Teeth chattering, she climbed out of the freezing water and shook, cuddling up beside Raven for warmth. Only as she settled did she notice the figure further along the bank. Still shivering slightly, Towhee rolled her eyes at Phox's waifu.

Although she tried to keep out of the way, Camilla couldn't help her inquisitive nature. She stole glances at the impressive dark-coated woman who was aiding Towhee, and observed as the girl went for a dunk in the water. When she came up she was sputtering and struggling, and Camilla felt panic grip tightly at her own chest; she hurried to the water's edge and helped where she could, being tall and somewhat fit, but by the time Towhee was out of the water and snuggling up to Raven, Camilla had stepped aside again.

She caught the glance from Towhee, noticed the eye-roll, and didn't know what to make of it. The woman assumed that she wasn't one of Towhee's best friends or anything; she assumed more acutely, that Towhee thought she was a menace or something, and decided it would be best to leave these two to their --- whatever this was.

As she began to slink away, she noticed the chattering of Towhee's teeth. Her coat was still very damp, and Raven could only warm her up on one side, it wouldn't be enough. Without a word, the silver woman returned along the bank of the lake and carefully folded up beside Towhee, resembling a fine-boned deer as she did so. She wouldn't look at Towhee, but she shared her warmth and hoped it would help.

She honestly hadn't noticed Camilla's momentary closeness, though when the she-wolf crept closer again and settled down beside her, the nonplussed Beta showed her teeth and bristled. -Oh, stop,- Raven signed and the mercenary let her lips sheath her fangs, though her fur still stood in quills. -She's trying to help.- "Thank you. It's Camilla, right?" the medic added out loud for her benefit.

Towhee's eyes screwed into a squint and she muttered under her breath but stayed put. She had to admit that being the filling in a Raven-and-Camilla sandwich was quite comfortable, not to mention warming. It wasn't long before her shivering ceased. She had feeling back in all her limbs, although her bum leg still tingled with partial numbness, as it likely always would. Her head still hurt, though the edge had worn off thanks to the painkillers they'd picked up en route to the lake.

"Thanks," she grumbled begrudgingly to Camilla even as Raven rose and announced that she would be right back. "Um... k." And here she was, alone with Phox's weirdo wannabe wife.

Eljay unknowingly made his way down to the lake -- if he'd known what awkward situation he may face, Eljay might have stayed away. As he passed Raven as he got close to the lake Eljay greeted her with a smile, and he trotted down to the lake. Not far off he noticed a hole in the lake. Raven must've just gone for a sip, he told himself, and with a smile Eljay made his way to the lake, happy that he was so lucky today.

Only as he got closer did Eljay notice Towhee and the packmate he didn't instantly recognise. They were all huddled close together... "Oh," Eljay said as he approached, then, as he realised that they might've been, you know... snuggling up all close-like, he repeated with more urgency -- "Oh!" Eljay instantly felt awkward and tried helplessly to fix the situation, "Oh goodness, uhm, sorry, I didn't realise — I'll just, uhm..." Not sure what to do with himself, Eljay started to shuffle away in hopes they and he could all just forget what he had potentially been seeing. Why did it have to be Towhee? She already hated him, he really couldn't use doing another Dumb Thing in front of her!

The water coating Towhee's coat gradually absorbed in to Camilla's, and their shared body heat did the rest. When she felt movement she raised her head, but it was Raven pulling away from the pair and drifting away - going for supplies or something equally valuable - and so Camilla settled in to do her duty alone. It might've felt awkward for Towhee but to Camilla, it was pleasant. She hadn't often gotten the chance to spend time with another wolf like this, and she wanted to get Towhee to like her (or at least, approve to some degree), so she felt her aid was making that possible.

Then, more movement. Stomping feet and the arrival of a canine figure - at first, she thought it might be Raven returned to them. But instead when Camilla raised her gaze to the shape, she saw a silver pelt, a youthful masculine face — and she tensed in surprise. She sat up, disengaging from her cuddle-pile with Towhee, and watched the wolf struggle and then flee from the scene in an awkward display. What was that? Who was that? What was that expression on his face ---? She felt strange about all of it, and glanced sheepishly to Towhee as if she'd translate what had just happened.

Did I... Do something wrong? Camilla queried in her hushed voice, not realizing that maybe Towhee wouldn't hear her question if her attention was on Eljay.

Towhee's views are not my own... /obligatory disclaimer :P

Towhee's resting bitch face was pretty impressive as she just sat there, unwilling to engage Camilla for a myriad of reasons, chief among them her splitting headache, which had returned likely due to the hard set of her jaw.

Her sharp eyes saw Eljay coming, though her expression didn't change. She didn't hate him, of course, but Towhee honestly considered him a waste of time and began to turn aside. Before she could decide how to handle dealing with the pack's two biggest spazzes at the same time while suffering from a blow to the head, Eljay's body language changed and unwittingly drew Towhee's attention back to him.

First he threw a fit, then she threw a fit, and Towhee closed her eyes to just shut them out already. Only they flew open a second later as it hit her: Eljay thought he'd walked up on something intimate. The implication made Towhee's skin crawl. If Camilla hadn't already jumped to her feet, Towhee would've done the same, if not given her a shove for good measure. She was not gay, especially not for this whack job.

"Ugh!" the ailing mercenary spat, hoisting herself onto her feet and wincing as she shuffled in the direction Raven had gone, wanting nothing to do with Eljay, his gross(ly off base) assumptions and the downright repulsive turn this scenario had taken.

Towhee out!

Eljay was starting to shuffle away; he saw the girl that Towhee was with get up first, then say something to Towhee. He wasn't entirely sure what he was seeing. Was she saying something private? Or maybe a good bye, because Eljay had caught them? The only thing that drew him in fully was the look of anger and disgust on Towhee's face, which he thought was directed at him. Eljay visibly startled and froze in his tracks, standing at a small distance from the pair as Towhee got up and left the scene, stomping away.

... Leaving Eljay standing there with this girl he didn't know who was Towhee's... something? Had he seen right? After a few seconds of standing still entirely Eljay took a few careful steps forward again and he said, "I -- sorry, I'm... I didn't mean to break up the... the moment." Eljay wasn't entirely sure what he had seen and how private or public this thing was really, so he hoped that his somewhat-vague statement would draw out some more information.

One moment they were content and everything was okay, Camilla thought she might be able to get on to Towhee's good side (if that existed), and the next — well, as soon as the man came bursting on the scene, things unfolded rapidly and she was left looking dumbfounded and confused while the other girl retreated. Camilla didn't see any harm in what was proposed, but then again, she had never considered two women in a relationship like that before. It happened sometimes in the Company but it was usually by order of the men (if they wanted to spice up the moment, typically against the wishes of their wives).

So, here she was. Standing all alone with her pelt growing cooler by the second, Towhee racing off in disgust and this man - whoever he was - acting in every way like the antithesis of what Camilla was accustomed to. He wasn't angry, he wasn't trying to force anything out of her; he was apologizing about something and acting more feminine than she'd ever seen a man behave.

It was all... Really, really weird. So she sank back against the soil and had nothing to say. Her gaze drifted to the path Towhee had run off along, and back to the man, and then to the dirt beneath her paws, all in silence.

Instead of really reacting to what he said, she just sorta stared around. Eljay wasn't sure what to make of that, and shuffled his weight between his paws awkwardly, awaiting a response that never came. She did not seem particularly upset, which was probably the only good thing about this situation at all.

Silence lingered between them as a response never came. Eljay waited a few beats before he suggested, I should probably just... leave you alone. I'm sorry, I'll just, uhm... Eljay smiled awkwardly and started shuffling backwards again -- and, unless he was engaged in some way, he would make off for some much needed alone time to unwind.