Heron Lake Plateau Mistakes have been made, run

For @Towhee 
Honestly, waaay late for Rye to be askin these questions but all well

Ever since his talk from Quixote and his recovery from wounds, Rye had been keeping to himself. Doing his part for the pack, and doing the random border patrol whenever a walk was needed. With each patrol his mind awlays wondered to Towhee and that day, questioning if a half a dozen little hims' were in the oven. Weeks had past, not so much that Towhees' belly would be noticable right? Rye didn't have enough knowledge on the matter to know but he understood he needed to confront her. Ask her if what he feared was true. The last he saw of her was with Behemoth, the funny look she gave him. He didn't know how to process that in a way he understood what she was trying to say, if anything at all.

"Aaargh," He groaned, finally fed up with not knowing for sure if his life was over or not. Rye needed answers, and he needed them now. He wasn't going to wait another second. He lifted his muzzle high and breathed deep, letting out a powerful call for Towhee. He hoped his call would be answered quickly, after all he just by the lake. Where the deed too place.. Albeit on the other side of the lake. Talking to her about it would be awkward enough but doing so right where it happened? His stomach cringed at the thought. 'No thanks'

It wouldn't be long before they left this place for good, so Towhee made a point to visit the lake shore. She was standing at the water's edge, contemplating a visit to The Roost—she realized, with a pang, that soon Orca's resting place would be inaccessible to her—when she noticed a figure in the distance. She turned and spied Rye as he lifted his head and howled. He couldn't be calling for her, surely, but the Beta decided to make her way over to him. She walked a little stiffly due to her injured shoulder.

"Hey," she greeted as she approached, "what's up?"

ngl, I kinda forgot Towhee was deaf lol whoops

Sometimes Rye, wasn't the brightest, didn't always remember the important details. Like how Towhee was deaf, and couldn't, ya know, hear. Which made his  howls for the female were pretty damn useless. How could he forget she couldn't hear? He outwardly groaned, knowing the whole pack heard his stupid howls for her. Surely some got a laugh out of his mistake, one he might not live down. Ever. At least to him he wont. Fortunately though, Towhee was nearby, seeing his how instead of hearing it. (Another round of embrassment) 

"Hey Towhee, about that fling or thing, at the lake. I need to know.." He breathed in deep, "Are you carrying?" He hinted at her belly, which looked normal. That was a gigantic relief but he would still ask to double check, whilst also briefly ignoring the stiffness Towhee wore. A later question.

Hehe, it's all good!

She was pretty adept at reading body language and she could see the tension in Rye's body. She wondered about it, though it quickly became clear why he was wound up. His wording threw her for a moment, though she quickly realized what he was asking. Towhee felt amused, then sad, then mad, then resolute in turns.

"Yeah, I gave birth to a dozen. Where have you been?" she jested, trying her best to quash her feels. She let that hang a beat, then shook her head. "Nah, man. You don't have to worry about that." Towhee didn't exactly feel like elaborating; she hadn't actually told anyone of her suspicions about her fertility. It was her secret burden, mostly because she still wasn't quite sure how to feel about it.

"I guess I should apologize," she thought aloud after another beat, "I wasn't really myself that day. I had a good time and, uh, sorry about... that other guy," whose name she couldn't even remember. She had never seen him again after their bang. What a shame. He'd been the only one to truly push Towhee's buttons.

Rye nearly choked on the spit he swallowed, his eyes wide with terror, "F- uck, Towhee I'm so-" She was joking. 'Hey heart, she was joking'. Though his heart refused to listened and hammered on anyways, Rye swore if Towhee could hear, she could hear his heart beat against his chest. But relief was soon etched into his expression, and his tensed muscles melted back into jello. His stresses and worries vanished in an instant and he was thankful. He had not fathered TWELVE children and that news was outstandingly good. However something pulled at his brain, something begging to be paid attention to. Most likely the fact theres no way in hell he missed his shot. Then it clicked.

"Its alright, I probably should learn to behave myself but Towhee. You should be pregnant, there's no way me or that other guy missed our, uh.. yeah." The times Rye was smart, it wasn't always for the best. He didn't intend harm, things just weren't adding up and he wanted to sort things out.

Her ears slid backward as he pointed out that she should be pregnant. Rye couldn't know that he was touching a nerve, though she wasn't really sure what he wanted from her. She'd already told him there were no pups. And the more she thought about his phrasing, the more her ire grew.

"Maybe you guys were shooting blanks," she shot back. It was much more likely that she was the one with fertility issues, rather than the three males she'd coupled with, but Towhee didn't like how he immediately seemed to place the blame on her. It rankled her because it was too close to the sensitive truth.

Sucking in a loud breath, Towhee told herself to cool her heels. Rye didn't mean any harm. "There're no pups, dude," she said, going for casually reassuring but probably not succeeding. "We should both just be grateful," she muttered, something she'd been telling herself since finding out she hadn't conceived.

Rye looked off to the side after hearing Towhees 'shooting blanks' comment. His expression was almost one of guilt, he was very sure he didnt shoot a blank. Uncomfortably sure. Rye was quick to couple his confidence in that with Towhees' defensive edge. It was clear to him now but he was sure she couldn't conceive. His mind quieted, and he stayed quiet well past Towhee finishing talking. He didn't know what to say, he was supposed to let her confide in him. Who was he kidding, Towhee never would. In the short time hes' known her, Towhee was the strong type. Never one to back down, nor give away anything. Rye admired her strength but in a way felt bad as well, he was sure her strengths also were her weaknesses at times. Though nothing could be said for sure.

"Youre right," His voice quieted, staying soft and easy, "Towhee, I do hope you know that I'm here if you need me. I may not know you well but I do know you're a good person." A soft, reassuring smile was present on his lips and his eyes were light, and friendly. He truly wanted to get across to her, he was there. A quiet hum escaped from him, "You must have better things to get to. I'll see you around Towhee. Thank you for letting me know." And with that, he turned to leave.

We can keep going, or we can end it here. Up to you!

As soon as he agreed with her, Towhee softened. She didn't even know why she'd gotten so defensive in the first place and she knew she'd done poorly to play it off after the fact. She sighed inwardly when he said he knew she was a good person, then tried to politely dismiss himself. Although what's-his-name had pleased her physically, sweet, accommodating Rye would've made the best baby daddy for sure, if she hadn't been, y'know, barren.

"Hey, wait," she called out as he began to turn. "Thanks." She waved her tail and planned to leave it at that, though a thought suddenly occurred to her and, after only a moment's consideration, she told him, "Phox and I are leaving the plateau to start our own pack, with our kids." Her eyes widened a little as she realized what she'd said. "His and mine, I mean." Wow, that didn't make any of it sound better. But if Rye didn't know about that entire situation, oh well.

She hadn't planned on going around telling everyone—mostly just Raven, to be honest—but Towhee liked Rye and, well, there opportunity had presented itself. "Just wanted to let you know." She almost told him to come visit sometime but she didn't know where they'd go exactly or what the relations between the packs might be like. It occurred to her she could invite him along but she rejected that thought out of hand. Just the family foursome would be going.

Dark ears flickeres at Towhees request. A small, humble smile glued to his lips until he heard she was leaving the pack. His ears, deflated a tad and his brows slightly furrowed. He couldn't lie, he was saddened to hear but he wasn't going to stop her. He did however want to visit her, catch up from time to time. Maybe make their current relationship, whatever that be, stronger. Rye hoped to become somewhat of a friend to Towhee. Although Rye didn't know this Phox guy, he wished them both the best of luck. 

Sobering up, Rye cleared his throat and, "I do hope I'm allowed to visit, it would be nice to see what becomes of your pack. Though I understand if you wish to cut ties to Redhawks." Rye always presented refusal, never wanting to box anyone in, especially not Towhee. "When are you two scheduled to leave?"

She sipped in a startled breath when he mentioned cutting ties. "That's not the intention whatsoever," she assured him. "I'd like to say we'll be sister packs but that's sort of up in the air..." She glanced at her wounded shoulder but Towhee said nothing about it. Instead, she added, "As far as I'm concerned, you'd be welcome to visit, although I don't know where exactly we're going yet." She frowned thoughtfully. "Soon," she finished, to answer his last question.

Rye was happy to hear there was no plans to cut ties but it was worrying to see Towhees wound. From just the simple look Rye knew. He expressed his displeasure with a visible frown, the male hated to think Quixote did that to Towhee. He questioned if that truly was the punishment for wanting to leave, or was it due to her taking pups, and the Phox fellow with her to start a new pack. Did Quixote felt betrayed? Rye didn't know, he was tempted to ask but deemed it none of his business. If that was indeed the packs philosophy or rules, then Rye wanted no part of Redhawks. However so much was left up in the air, he wasn't going to make any decisions yet. 

"I hope the leader allows an alliance, though I see it won't be that simple but you've got my vote Towhee." It was said as a promise, even though not explicitly said. "Even if that vote is worth jack," He joked, a small chuckle emitting from his muzzle. The main point of his statement was that she understood he was rooting for her. "Thank you for inviting me to your future hope, I'll be sure to stop by when everythings up and rolling." Further more, "If you need my help, you know where I am. Even if its pup sitting." Though Rye didn't care for kids too much, as long as they weren't his, he was good. Could baby sit all day if needed.

There were other questions in Rye's eyes, though he didn't voice them. He seemed to ponder a moment before expressing his well wishes and offering his services. Despite herself, Towhee was touched. Yeah, if she was the type to look for love, she might go after Rye. Alas.

"Thanks, Rye," she said again, "means a lot. I guess I'll see you later." She gave him a small smile and a single wag of her tail before she turned and meandered back the way she had come along the shore. She would go visit Orca now, one last time.

Rye hummed and nodded, "Later." Where ever Towhees journey took her, Rye hope it would be fruitful. He was sure to see her around again in the furture.

Archiving. glad these two got together once more