Heron Lake Plateau You catch the pearl and ride the dragon's wings

She hadn't been back to the plateau since departing. With her pack now firmly established in the copse, Wildfire told @Kiwi and @Sequoia to keep an eye on things while she went west to visit @Raven. She timed the trip—it took more than an hour, less than two—and howled for her sister as soon as she arrived. The caregiver did not leave her waiting; she materialized and gently threw herself at Wildfire, simply clutching her sister for a few moments. It took all her might not to start crying.

Fortunately, Raven let go and invited her on a walk. The two of them plodded up the slope, then began to meander around the plateau. They talked about Bat, of course, and Raven told Wildfire that she had something for her. The medic led the way to a small den. Over her shoulder, Wildfire could see a stash of medical supplies. Her nose wrinkled a little as the smell hit her. She watched as Raven dug around a bit, then procured something wrapped carefully in a dried leaf.

"It'll help you feel better," Raven said. Before Wildfire could ask what it was or how to dose it, her sister's yellow eyes widened a little. "Do you—?" Her own nose was twitching wildly.

"What?" Wildfire asked dumbly, taking another deep breath. There, beneath the scent of all the dried herbs, was another unmistakable fragrance. "Oh sh—oh no." Every muscle in her body tensed. "Rave, I need to go. Sorry! And thanks!" Wildfire had the presence of mind to snatch up the gift right before she pivoted and made a beeline for the borders, streaking pheromones across the plateau.

Cameo unless @Camilla wants to hop in and be weird with him. :)

Something about the smell in the air made Phox feel light and heavy all at once. It was similar to—yet all together different from—what he had felt when he had seen Camilla out of her shell for brief moments. And when she had said that he was hers. And when Towhee made fun of him and called Camilla his "waifu."

Whatever it was, he felt the strongest urge to be closer to Camilla. His... mate? That word still felt so strange and foreign to him. He had never really thought about who his mate would be, and then Camilla had shown up, and the realization had very slowly dawned on him that maybe he had fallen into something by pure accident. Yes, he'd go find Camilla and comfort her as a way to comfort himself. That made total sense.

In the process of tracking down her husband, Camilla found a little more than she anticipated. There was the flurry of retreating steps, which her sensitive ears turned to catch, and then - as she drifted up to where he loitered - that smell. It was surprisingly pungent. Camilla turned her attention to the dwindling ruddy figure that sped away from the pack's claim and felt the sudden urge to chase after them; it probably wasn't for the reason one might think. That smell brought to mind the frenetic behavior of her captors. She wanted nothing to do with that smell — and wanted to protect her dear Phox from it's influence, unwilling to watch the magic of his transformation should he become afflicted.

But for a few moments Camilla couldn't move. She was staring at that speck of fire as it ran from the plateau until it was nothing, her head raised and then her tail too, and she turned her attention to Phox — to warn him maybe, to reprimand him, — and instead it was as if she were the afflicted party. She looked at him, moved to intercept him with her head still raised and posture oddly empowered, trying to redirect his attention away from that smell and that fleeing body - and back to her, only her.

*switcharoos*

Towhee rolled to a stop, eyes tracking the red figure streaking across the plateau. She squinted when she realized it was Wildfire. Yeah! she thought as the redhead ran toward the borders, get outta here! She made no move toward her older sister despite the slight curl to her lip. Soon, Wildfire was gone.

She turned and spotted Phox and Camilla in the distance. She hesitated a minute, then began walking toward them. They looked a little frisky. Maybe she would go yell at Phox to consummate the marriage, just to entertain herself. She was finally starting to feel a little better lately and that would certainly life her spirits even more.

But then an odd smell stuck her nose. Towhee stopped. If the smell was strange, it had nothing on the weird sensation of her testicles suddenly tightening. O___o

He turned away from Wildfire just in time to see Camilla marching toward him with... a look. It frightened him in a way, and he gave her an uneasy smile. Oh hey, I was just looking for you. Not a lie. He had been looking for her. Just then, he spotted Towhee, and he groaned, wondering what havoc she intended to bring upon the newly named couple. Instead, she stopped and had the strangest look on her face. Maybe the smell had brought about a strange feeling for her, too.

-You okay?- he asked, his nose twitching at the smell again. It made him want to be closer to both Towhee and Camilla, which... well, that didn't seem that odd. He always wanted to be close to them, right?

His response went in one ear and didn't appear to register. She heard him, but had the look of a woman that had just found their husband talking-up a busty waitress at Hooters. That and, well, the smell had definitely had some kind of effect on Camilla. It was difficult to tell if that was a positive or a negative, because now she was feeling this deep pull in her belly that made her want to be near Phox — it was something she'd only experienced a couple of times before, and those events hadn't exactly been healthy for her. Then he turned his head, and Camilla's own head snapped in the direction he'd shifted his attention in time to see Towhee standing there. Camilla's posture didn't change at all but she was shooting daggers over to the dark-pelted girl, seeing her as a mean-spirited creature who would, somehow, get in the way.

What the hell? Towhee wanted to hike a leg in the air to investigate but the couple's proximity deterred her; she wouldn't mind if Phox knew about her spare parts but did she want Crazy Camilla in on it? Speaking of which, the Eta was looking at her as if she wanted to kill her. This was so surprising that Towhee could only continue making a O___o face at the entire situation.

-I'm fine,- Towhee signed back quite distractedly. -The hell is that smell?- she demanded, the feeling of tightness moving up into her belly. Having never experienced anything like it—arousal, lust and the like were utterly alien sentiments to her—Towhee seriously didn't understand what was going on. -Are you two gonna bone or what?- She meant it as a joke, though that warmth coiled in her belly and Towhee found she wanted it to happen... and she wanted to watch.

Phox could have sworn Camilla was... angry??? He wasn't even sure she was capable of that emotion, and yet there it was. At Towhee, though? There were a whole lot of question marks floating around his head in that tense moment between the two women he was closest with. Phox glanced between the two of them expecting something to break out between them. Instead, Towhee did what she always did and interjected with a joke(?). More question marks necessary.

I don't know what the smell is, he said, glancing at Camilla, then back to Towhee, then back to Camilla, then back to Towhee. Do you two feel... weird? ???????

He ignored the joke.

If this was what Camilla did after smelling just a touch of eaux de Wifi in the air, one must wonder what kind of sex-crazed beast lay in wait for Phox whenever her own cycle began. At the moment she was staring down Towhee with more animosity than she meant to; but to be fair she wasn't acting like herself, she was possessed by the thirst.

Phox picked up on it surprisingly well considering he was an accidental husband; his question brought Camilla's attention away from Towhee and when her sharp expression landed upon his face, it softened. She stepped closer and probed at his cheek a few times with her nose, murmuring, I feel good, despite having just been giving his sister a death glare. She nuzzles up against Phox a little bit more but then, oddly, glances towards Towhee again - apparently physical contact diminished whatever hostility she felt - and called to her, You feel it, right? Warm, happy, good.

When Phox asked if they felt weird, Towhee wondered if his balls were tingling. The thought made her nose crinkle. Camilla sidled up to her brother and said something Towhee didn't catch. It probably wasn't meant for her anyway. But then her sister-in-law (whoa...) faced her and posed a question that made Towhee's fiery orange gaze become heated.

-I feel like you two should fuck,- she signed baldly. Realizing she was being a total mouth-breather (literally), she added, -C'mon, make me some nieces and nephews to spoil.-

What a wild, wild ride this was turning out to be. Camilla and Towhee couldn't be any more different, and here was Phox, stuck in the middle of all of it. Camilla was leaning into him, Towhee was telling them they should fuck, and he was just here trying to figure out why is brain was fuzzing out. She, uh... Towhee says we should... Phox tried to think of a more delicate way to put it. Do things that mates do. Yeah, like find a suitable den!

Do you want kids? he asked abruptly, realizing he hadn't even had that conversation with her. Not, like, right now, but... is that... do you? Why was he stammering like a goddamn fool? And just what exactly was going on between Towhee and Camilla? More question marks.

Camilla only had eyes for Phox, so whatever was being said behind her back was missed completely; she listened to him blundering on about things that mates do and she was in total agreement, so much so that she stopped listening to the rest of what he was saying and burrowed against him happily. Mm yes, yes, you will feel good — I do that, her dominant posture slipped back in to play as she spoke, but mostly it was her tail that was fanning about with happily little jerks - and she began to preen his cheek fur with her teeth, unintentionally rough in her show of affection. After everything she had been through and everything he had done for her, Camilla was thrilled to be given the chance to make him happy too. She'd become so engrossed in showing her affection (and that pull, that deepening need in her belly) that she didn't consider his sister was right beside them.

Her eyes flicked between the two as they spoke to each other, the angle making it impossible to follow the conversation. Normally, this sort of thing bugged Towhee. But presently all she did was lick her lips and wait, hoping they'd get to it already.

Camilla began to affectionately preen Phox. This pleased the Beta; her tail gave a slow wag of approval. If Phox reacted, it was too slow for Towhee's liking. -C'mon, brah, give her the D!- she cheerleaded (cheerled? Why is neither of those a word?) from the sidelines.

Mature Content Warning

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The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: Mild sexual references.

Last one from me, probs? Unless we want to have some even more awkward pillow talk. ;)

Right. Yeah. Good. Feelings. He didn't catch Towhee's exclamatory signs, but instead found himself driven by something much, much more primal than the cheering encouragement of his sister. His movements were slow, gentle, and awkward throughout, and he would ask Camilla in a quiet voice intermittently, Is this okay?

But what really made him feel good and helped him along was catching Towhee's eye in the middle of it all.

She preened, and sighed, and pressured him a little, but (eventually and all-at-once) soon they were together, and it was unlike all of her previous experiences. She did not know what to expect out of him but found his tenderness endearing, his questions curious (as if what she felt really mattered), and soon Camilla's eyes were closed to the scene unfolding around her because she could not focus. It was over so quickly — she gasped, she smiled and pressed against him — and there was only warmth and goodness in the end.

Towhee's insides felt like molten lava as she bore witness to their tryst. Phox occasionally caught her eye and she could only gaze back, her gaze fiery and her breath catching in her throat. She didn't make a move toward them at all, though she did wiggle a lot and even whined at one point.

Only when they appeared finished did she approach. As if forgetting entirely that she didn't really approve of Camilla, Towhee stepped over their conjoined bodies and pressed herself on top of them in pile of hot and heavy limbs. -Fuck. I need a cigarette and a nap,- she signed, then, comfortably draped over the other two, closed her eyes.

Camilla seemed happy, and weirdly, Towhee seemed happy. In the end, all three of them ended up in one big pile on the ground, and Phox's eyes were closing as soon as his head hit the earth below. Whatever animosity was between Towhee and Camilla appeared to have vanished, at least for the time being. Phox couldn't even begin to unpack what had just happened, especially with Towhee, but to be honest: he didn't really care.

Maybe Towhee would let them move back into the thicket after all. When he woke, he would ask her. That was his last thought before a deep, satisfied sleep took hold of him.