Heron Lake Plateau super blood wolf moon

A little slow on this one! Reference article.
~11:00pm EST Sunday evening. (-66 hours)

Something about the moon tonight was different in a way that Phox couldn't quite put into words. He could have blamed it on his budding (more like fully bloomed) relationship with Camilla, but he had the strongest urge to stay up well past his usual bedtime. He was restless, pacing outside the thicket (was @Towhee still sleeping there?) with his neck angled up so he could watch the large white orb in the sky. It made his belly itch, and not in the way that it did when he was around Camilla and/or Towhee. No, this was something different.

The feeling grew deeper, itchier, until finally Phox noticed it. The smallest amount of orangey red to one side of the moon. He couldn't remember what this particular event was called, or if he had ever seen one, but he had heard about it before. The moon would turn the color of blood. Phox couldn't even remember if it was a good, bad, or neutral omen. Before he could help himself, Phox was howling his goddamn lungs out.

Worn out from a freezing night patrol, she was headed toward the thicket in question when Phox howled, although her world remained utterly silent. Towhee did notice something off, something in the quality of the light (or lack thereof?). It made her hackles prickle but she ignored it otherwise, hastening toward the place where Phox and Camilla kept house with her.

"Something weird is happening," she blurted as soon as she spotted her brother's silhouette. "Makes me think of that... what was it called? An eclipse? But wasn't that during the day?" This whole time, Towhee never once looked up.

Others are still welcome to hop in!

Phox managed to catch Towhee's scent early enough to stop howling his head off before she spoke. He had slept through the previous eclipse or he likely would have made the comparison. What? he asked, unsure of what she was talking about. As the resident sky expert, it seemed like he probably should have known what she was referring to... or at least an idea. I can't remember what it's called... but I've only ever seen it at night. How could she see the moon during the day, anyway?

Towhee could've sworn she and Finley sought out Phox during the solar eclipse (where else would she have even come up with the word for it?) but clearly she was wrong about that. He seemed confused by her statement, then mentioned he'd only ever witnessed this phenomenon at night. Towhee squinted at him, wondering if he was trying to pull a fast one, then decided he looked genuine enough.

"I've only seen it happen to the sun, not the moon," she clarified before asking, "So, you've seen this happen before then? Do you have, like, an explanation...?"

Phox gave her another quizzical look, but he let it rest. How could such a thing happen to the sun? It seemed preposterous to him. -I've seen it happen. I don't know why it happens, but it always give me the willies.- There was something unsettling about it that he couldn't quite put his paw on. In addition to being unsettling, it also made him incredibly... not anxious, but something along those lines. Antsy, maybe? He tried to keep that at bay as best as he could.

-I talked to Quixote,- he said, changing the subject to one that he did want to discuss with Towhee sooner rather than later. -He said Camilla and I can have kids this year if we want. I'm leaving it up to her, but I think I could do it if that's what she wants.- Being a dad would be quite the wild ride, but Phox thought he was at least somewhat prepared for that responsibility. Camilla would be doing the hardest work, after all.

He did not. Towhee's lips pursed as he countered her experience with one of his own. She knew exactly what he meant by "the willies." Her eyes drifted upward. Did the moon look a little oranger than usual? She swallowed, then tore her eyes away and motioned Phox toward the thicket.

Their conversation continued once inside, albeit a different topic entirely. "Good," she said emphatically (one of the only tones Towhee could feasibly manage), eyes flickering like flames as she idly wondered what might've happened if Quixote had tried to deny him. "That's great news, Phox. I've been an aunt before, of course, but this is... special." He knew what she meant.

She wondered if Quixote and Raven would be having another litter, come to think of it. She saw no reason why they wouldn't, seeing as she'd passed the reigns of leadership over to them partly due to breeding rights. But Towhee's thoughts didn't linger with them long, her attention shifting back to her brother's face. She did her best to ignore the weird planes of light on his face.

"You should name one after me."

Phox smiled. He knew she would take the news well, and he was glad to have her around to help out if and when they arrived. He still wasn't sure if it was what Camilla really wanted, but having the option open was good enough for him. Phox didn't have the strong urge to procreate, though he could see that changing in the future. Maybe it would all click into place and nature would take over for him. That would be easiest.

Towhee said that one should be named after her, and he scoffed. Well don't you think highly of yourself? he teased. Honestly he hadn't even thought about names. He figured they would sorta... name themselves. But that didn't make sense. He'd been named after his mother. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to name one of them after his sister. He would, of course, have to discuss it with Camilla.

"Uh, ya," was Towhee's only reply. That wasn't entirely truthful. Towhee had her moments, yet she was fairly modest, sometimes even a bit self-deprecating. She didn't actually think anyone should be named after her, although it would secretly please her if it ever happened.

She lapsed into silence then, gaze wandering skyward. "The fuck?" she muttered when she noticed the moon looked queerly red and shadowy. "Uh, dude? Is that—?" Towhee wasn't even sure what to say. Was this kosher? Was the sky going to fall?

He grinned at her reply. She'd always been catty, and he didn't see that changing anytime soon. The silence that settled was a comfortable one between them. Phox thought about when he had come back from running off, and he had wondered then if Towhee would ever talk to him again. Now, months later, he couldn't imagine a world without her. To be fair, he hadn't been able to imagine it when he had left the first time. It was nice to be back here and feel like he belonged.

Towhee's expletive broke his train of thought, and Phox looked up sharply at the moon. That deep unsettling feeling grew stronger, and his instinctive reaction was to begin howling at the large red disc in the sky. It seemed entirely out of his control.

Her brother's response—throwing back his head and howling—made Towhee's spine prickle even if she couldn't hear the sound of it. What the hell was going on? And what kind of answer was that? Was moon madness a thing?

Feeling extremely cagey, Towhee settled down on the ground with all four limbs tucked underneath her, looking like a broody (and brooding) hen. She cast occasional glances up at the bleeding moon, hoping the event would be as anticlimactic as her other eclipse experience.