Sun Mote Copse Plasma storm.

The air was hot and thick today, the sun beating down relentlessly as Towhee wrapped up a midday patrol. As soon as she finished, she sought a drink, then slowly made her way back to the rendezvous site. A few others were there. Her orange gaze swept over them, landing on @Bronco and Meerkat as they chatted animatedly. Her lips twitched as she flopped down in a patch of shade near the edge of the clearing. She continued watching them until her eyes slowly drifted shut.

She woke with a jolt sometime later to the sight of dark gray skies. Towhee blinked dazedly as lightning flashed, followed by a peal of thunder she couldn't hear but which shook the ground. Smacking her dry lips, she pushed onto all fours and looked toward where the others had been gathered before. She saw no one now and assumed they'd taken cover ahead of the storm.

Not long after Towhee arrived and settled down for a nap in the sun, Bronco took his cue and headed for the borders, leaving Meerkat behind as he did so. The heat was miserable and close, thick with a suffocating humidity that gave him some concern for the kids which was why, at least in part, he'd gone on a patrol alone. He figured the heat might be tougher on the kids, so he hadn't invited any of his siblings with him, and had told them they'd be best to stay in the shade. 

There'd been little of note to catch his attention, though he did feel the fizzle and buzz of energy on the air; the tips of his guard hairs seemed to prickle and he couldn't rid himself of a slight tingling feeling. It was electricity- and he assumed, then, that a storm was coming. A sudden breath of wind flowed through the forests and persisted, no doubt ushered on by a wall of rain yet to come. If the afternoon's heat was an indication was to be taken seriously, he'd assume then that whatever thunderstorm that followed would be a good one. 

He knew that in the very least, little Prim would perhaps want some company. He was quieter and more delicate than the girls in nature, and he knew his mother was not terribly adept at dealing with his sensitivity. So he left his patrol and returned to the Rendez-vous site at a trot, only to arrive and be startled by both the flash of lightning and sudden movement from Towhee, who had apparently just awakened. He looked up to the sky when the thunder rumbled, and snorted. He'd made it back just in time- the rain wasn't likely far off. 

Like a harbinger, a cool wind swept through, ushering him forward, to greet Towhee who still looked a bit sleepy- and he understood her fatigue, having just returned from a hot, sticky patrol himself. He chuffed as he approached. -Gonna be a banger- He said, gesturing toward the stormy skies with a tip of his muzzle.

A figure emerged from the trees on the far side of the clearing, catching Towhee's attention. The wind was picking up and she knew the rain was only moments away. Bronco spotted her and began to move in her direction, so the Regent retreated further under the nearby brush to shield herself from the imminent tempest. She will wondered about the others, who must be huddled up elsewhere, but she welcomed the yearling's presence.

His remark earned a smirk from her and her mouth opened to make a dirty joke when she thought better of it. They would be sharing a confined space for a while, she didn't want Bronco to puke on her. That thought made her laugh under her breath. She would never forget Bronco and Meerkat puking in tandem over the whole concept of sex. For the first time since it'd happened, she caught herself wondering why he'd reacted so strongly.

Towhee wondered if it would be weird to prod him about it. She wasn't exactly a tactful wolf; nothing was off limits. But this was also Niamh's son. He was practically her nephew, though she'd never formally thought of him that way. Regardless, did she really want to discuss sex when stuck alone with him? She regarded him speculatively in the dim light of the encroaching storm and it hit her again that Bronco had grown into quite a fine young man. Luckily, he didn't take after Colt much, another thought that made her snort quietly.

Eventually, she decided to throw that entire train of thought over a cliff and say, -"We never had our followup about consciences. Are you still having, y'know, issues?"- Her query was punctuated by a thunderclap that silently vibrated the roots of her teeth.

His decision of finding Prim was sidelined when Towhee withdrew into the cover of the trees, and away from the open clearing, so he moved along with her, joining her and taking a seat by her side, his posture slightly hunched. It felt like the skies would open up any minute- and that they'd be drowning in the rain within moments, so he assumed they might just huddle together and wait it out. 

It was harder to make out Towhee's words with the thunder, but fortunately, her gestures were there as an aid, and he'd begun to realize that he too had begun to watch lips in an effort to read them. Her question was fairly intimate, and caused him to recall the day he'd knocked the wind out of her. Since then, he'd experienced the same, unpleasant affliction when he'd been clotheslined by his cousin. That experience, though, had not included another wolf, as his foe had been an elk...And he hadn't hesitated to leap into action then. So he sighed, and shrugged. -I don't know. I haven't really had to think about it,- He said. -I don't just go around and pick fights, y'know,- He joked, albeit a bit weakly.

Soon the two of them were more or less settled under the cover of the trees, though Towhee motioned Bronco closer. They could stay warmer this way and the proximity would aid communication despite the inclement weather. Speaking of which, she peeked at the sliver of sky above the rendezvous site, just waiting for those ominously gray clouds to let loose any minute now.

Withdrawing, her orange gaze returned to her companion, catching his response. -"Maybe that would help: going around and picking fights. It could desensitize you,"- Towhee quipped with a little grin. -"Just kill so many peetple*, you become completely numb to it. Problem solved."- She playfully shoved at his shoulder before circling in the tight space and settling in a prone position on the ground. Might as well get comfortable while they waited out the storm.

Motioning for him to do the same, Towhee was thinking of what to say next when two things happened in quick succession: a pale whirlwind joined them in their little thicket, a heartbeat before the deluge started. Meerkat somehow maneuvered into the space between her mother and Bronco without jostling either one of them too badly, flopped onto her belly and grinned at each of them. Her attention quickly moved to the storm, the fascinated expression on her face lit up by a wild flash of lightning.

*My new term for "people" but in Wolfish terms. Now canon! ;)

love it.
Also: For your reference: PENGWING haaa

At first, Bronco thought Towhee was serious. Sometimes he found it more difficult to read her tone and her facial expressions, and part of him wouldn't have been terribly surprised to be given such advice. It was no less than what his own mother would've told him to do, so he wasn't surprised to see that Towhee might feel the same way. But she was joking- and that brought him a bit of relief. -Simple as that, eh?- He asked rhetorically, though he realized she might not have caught his gestures as she circled, and made herself more comfortable. 

He made to curl against her side, but Meerkat passed between them like a little sparrow, and settled herself in the warmest spot she could find between the two adults. He playfully nipped at her ear, and circled once before he too flopped to the ground, squishing himself up against Meerkat so that she would be firmly wedged between himself and Towhee. -Fine. You can be the 'inside penguin' for a bit- He said, referencing a phenomenon he'd never seen (and would never see, for obvious reasons) and mispronouncing the unknown word as "pengwing" à la Benedict Cumberbatch. His grin was momentarily lit by the flash of lightning overhead, as he felt the first, heavy raindrop splatter on the bridge of his nose. He protectively placed his head on Meerkat's shoulders, though, in an attempt to keep her a bit more dry.

The Regent watched her daughter for a few seconds, then shifted her eyes to exchange a glance with Bronco. Only, he chose that moment to drape his snout over Meerkat's back. Towhee snorted a quiet laugh at the sight, curling slightly closer to share Meerkat's warmth as the youngster continued to be riveted by the storm.

With the pup tucked in between them, Towhee opted out of signing but continued their conversation, shifting gears a bit. "You're really great with her, with all the kids," she observed. "Do you ever think about being a dad one day?" she wondered, which immediately made her think again about his aversion to mating. If he did want children of his own someday, he'd have to work on that alongside his issues with a guilty conscience.

Speaking of which, a thought drifted through her mind then, totally unbidden, as she watched Bronco snuggle Meerkat. He was so big compared to her, so strong. He was quite strapping, actually. He was... handsome. Towhee felt a cool mist of rain on her face as she let herself think that thought. Sure, he was Niamh's son but he was grown now. And she was kind of like his aunt, so it came from a maternal place.

Comfortable in their last few moments before the rain started to fall, Bronco heaved a small sigh and was prepared to simply huddle together and wait for the storm to pass. Given how closely they were, he knew that using ptero would likely just result in someone getting accidentally slapped, so he prepared to simply close his eyes and endure the rainfall while it lasted. But his ears perked when Towhee spoke, and his gaze lifted to realize that she was looking right at him across Meerkat's shoulders. Her question caused him to raise his chin for a moment, and smile, only to nod a moment later as he placed it back on Meerkat's withers. 

"Yep" He said, probably speaking more loudly than necessary- though at least this way, Meerkat would be able to hear him clearly too. "I definitely want to." He admitted. "Kids're fun. The more there are, the merrier." He said. "I just gotta find someone who h'ain't a relative an' convince her to join the pack first," He said with a laugh.

Or did it? As their eyes locked and he replied unhesitatingly that yes, he did want kids, plenty of them, another errant thought crossed her mind. Towhee could quite possibly have more children of her own and plan accordingly next season. That thought alone made her heart skip a beat. She would have to try to control herself next year, be choosier; she should only go after suitors with the best possible genes. (Maybe she should even consider a *gasp* mate...?) Bronco came from the same stock as Colt, yes, but also Finley and the rest of the Blackthorns. Despite their shared surname, they didn't share blood.

He said something to that end and Towhee caught herself, eyes widening just in time for another flash of lightning to veritably blind her. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a breath, trying to redirect her thoughts. Her guts twisted and her blood felt overly hot in her veins. It reminded her of her unexpected feelings toward Arcturus, which had come on after watching him mentor Meerkat. Despite how weird she felt at the moment, she laughed, eyes still tightly closed. How strange, even backward, was it that watching men doting on her little girl pushed all her buttons?

Slowly, she reopened her eyes but pointedly did not look at Bronco for a moment. She harnessed her thoughts and eventually turned toward him, not looking directly at his face as she lamely said, "True, true..." Something else occurred to her and she finally did make eye contact. "So you're not planning on flying the coop too? Huh." Awkward thoughts aside, this truly pleased her and her tail tapped the ground.

Between them, Meerkat put her head on her outstretched paws. Her eyes remained wide open, though it was likely only a matter of time. Something about storms always lulled her right to sleep.

Bronco, distracted by the heavy drops of rain that spattered down- very slowly at first, like little angry fists- didn't pick up on Towhee's discomfort and naturally settled in where he was, squinting against the flashes of light. The thunder's rumbles made his hackles lift, and he began to notice then that the sliver of time between flash and rumble had become smaller and smaller, and the rain had begun to spatter down upon them. He looked up for a moment, as though to beg the skies to hold back in their wrath, but could only catch a glimpse of the twisted burls of grey clouds above the canopy. 

He missed half of Towhee's question, but was able to figure out what she was asking, and he snorted. "Nah." He said. "I don't think I could, so I think-" He said, pausing as a flash of lightning highlighted the ebony fur of his Regent, and a rumble of thunder caused the ground beneath them to vibrate, before he continued. "You're stuck with me." As if to articulate his point, an arc of light stripped across the sky with a deafening crack and it felt as if a seam in the clouds had been split, as the rain fell suddenly and heavily.

Only one side of her mouth twitched upward into a smirk at his words. She took them how he meant them: he was loyal to the pack, not solely to her or anyone else in the ranks, including his mother. After watching the rest of the yearlings slowly trail away toward the horizon, it was heartening to know that at least one intended to stay with them, find someone and settle down right here.

"That makes me happy," she admitted, trying to quash down any inappropriate implications. "I don't hold it against them but it's been hard, watching the others go. I bet Niamh's thrilled to hold onto you too." Mentioning his mother's (and her best friend's) name aloud was a little like pouring cold water over her own head, not that she needed that when the rainstorm really picked up and did the job for her.

Well, the leaves offered a decent amount of shelter, though Towhee huddled even closer to her daughter. Meerkat was fast asleep now, boneless and warm. As the Regent shielded her smaller head with her own, it put her muzzle quite close to Bronco's. She enjoyed a closeup view of the scars on his snout before turning her head slightly to press a kiss between the pup's ears.

For a few moments, she was silent, her thoughts drifting all over the place. Then, despite her own better judgment, Towhee couldn't resist temptation and she asked, "Okay, I gotta ask: how do you plan to have children if the mere mention of s—reproduction makes you hurl?"

Towhee's words were probably the first of affirmation he'd received, since he'd watched all the others leave, having made the decision not to wander off. Sugar Glider had made him feel better about staying to some extent, but it made him finally feel as though his decision was appreciated by someone in the pack. Of course, he knew that he was loved and cared for- but it meant just a little bit more to hear those words out loud, so he gave Towhee a meaningful smile, and thumped his tail against the ground, which was beginning to get more and more soppy as the rain poured down. 

The mention of his mother turned his gaze away, and he simply shrugged and nodded in agreement. He didn't want to talk about his mother. Towhee snuggled closer to Meerkat, so he snuggled in as well, feeling no shame as he reached out a bit to nuzzle his nose into her warm fur so that between the two of them, they had Meerkat's head and shoulders more or less sheltered. He could feel the gentle, steady rhythm of his sister's breath, and chuckled when he realized that she'd fallen asleep. He probably would have, too, if he'd been the inside pengwing.

He was content to weather the storm in silence, protected and warm, when Towhee broke the calm, with another question. The suddenness of her curiosity initially made him grin, and for a moment, he wondered if she was going to ask him something funny. But then she didn't. His ears were alread turned back to keep the rain drops out, but the sudden drop in the corners of his lips would've been enough to suggest his discomfort. He felt his stomach lurch, and he dropped his gaze, refusing to even look at Towhee with an ashamed side-eye. If she was drawing attention to it...It meant that there was something wrong. It was becoming more and more apparent that for some reason, he didn't react to the idea of reproduction the same way others did, and that made him feel small and self-conscious. 

"Dunno." He blurted, swallowing hard. Now was not the time to toss his cookies; Towhee and Meerkat were too close. "I guess I just don't get it. And it just seems....Weird." It made him shudder to even admit that much. It'd been explained to him by his mother and of course, she'd gotten pregnant soon thereafter so naturally, Bronco's first, bewildered reaction was then reinforced by his uneasy truce with Phox. It just seemed wrong, anatomically, to do such a thing. It seemed invasive, awkward, messy and painful- but those were things he didn't even realize that he felt.

He didn't seem to know the source of his own discomfort, which was at least better than some sort of trauma or something. Bronco said he didn't get it, that he found it weird, and in spite of her efforts to nip her strange feelings in the bud, Towhee was swept up in a sense of camaraderie. She did enjoy the physical act during her estrus, yet all the rest of it was quite peculiar to her too.

"It is fucking weird," Towhee agreed, then laughed at the unintentional pun. "Whose idea was it to mash genitals together? I mean, I don't wanna get all explicit on you and it does feel nice. But it's majorly fucking whack." She laughed again, a little harder, her skin buzzing warmly despite the cool spray of rainwater. "And I don't know about you but romance has never been my bag. But all that aside, kids are awesome," she concluded, "and worth all the weirdness."

She nuzzled the slumbering Meerkat again, feeling some of the tension leaving her muscles. The conversation was comfortably uncouth, just the way Towhee preferred them. Another burst of lightning lit up their little hideaway, revealing Bronco in sharp relief, and once more she observed his aesthetic appeal. It was still a little bizarre—she'd watched him grow from tiny pup to full-sized adult, for goodness's sake—but after going through something similar with Arcturus, she decided it was ultimately harmless. It wasn't like she was going to do anything with these fleetingly deviant thoughts.

She agreed? Well, that wasn't what he'd expected. But she seemed to get it- the mechanical aspects of reproduction made no sense to someone who hadn't yet felt any significant sexual attraction...At least, none that he'd realized, or been able to identify. He had had stirrings of feelings when he'd met the strange creature- the dog- who had come to their borders, but he had also felt his heart pull when he'd met a male named Ridgeback at the borders as well. But he didn't necessarily recognize these feelings as being anything sexual in nature. Perhaps it was simply the discovering of a kindred spirit, or perhaps it was just physical attraction. But he certainly hadn't experienced any feelings which had made him feel queasy, unless the topic of reproduction was directly addressed. 

He grimaced; Towhee didn't mince words, and he realized how much he disliked the word genitals as it made him feel that gagging feeling at the back of his throat again. But he also wasn't sure if it was the simple word, or the idea of mashing his downstairs bits against someone else's that grossed him out more. It certainly didn't sound appealing, and it began to dawn on him that perhaps he was just squeamish about certain things. 

At least she seemed positive about it, which made him consider things for a moment. "So it doesn't hurt, then?" He asked. And there it was- a link between his cowardice and squeamishness. "I can't hurt someone...An' I also really don't want to hurt my..." He trailed off, with a shudder. Immaturely, he didn't feel comfortable describing his own anatomy, but he knew Towhee would know what he meant. And dreaded that she'd say it for him.

When he mentioned pain, Towhee bit her lip to hold back a laugh. "Well, I can't speak from the dude's side, seeing as I don't have a dong," she drawled, tacking on a silent, Although I do have the rest of the package... "But I've never known it to hurt. And I've never had any of my, er, partners act as if it's anything but pleasurable," she finished, feeling strangely sheepish about mentioning her promiscuity to him. She wasn't ashamed, it just felt a little illicit, given her head space at the moment.

The rain slackened noticeably and Towhee blinked out at the storm, wondering if it would be pass soon. More likely, it would rain steadily for the rest of the day. She drew in a breath of cool, refreshing air and shifted her attention back to Bronco to say, "Anyway, you shouldn't do it until you're ready and willing and find someone who's the same. You're... young. There's plenty of time to figure all of this out before you even have a shot at fatherhood, y'know, biologically speaking," she finished with a bit of a lopsided smile.

It relieved Bronco to be reassured that nobody would be hurt in the process. He still remained skeptical that such a thing could be enjoyable, given how odd it all seemed in theory, but at least he wouldn't have to worry about inflicting pain. He sighed softly, but his ears perked when he picked up on a subtle hint, about Towhee's own personal life. She admitted that she'd been with more than one suitor- but this wasn't really something out of the norm for Bronco. His own mother had had two mates during his own lifetime, and he wasn't even two years old- so he didn't imagine that all pairings lasted forever, or that they were exclusively between two wolves. 

But she went on to address the topic further, puzzling him slightly when she seemed to be advocating for him to experiment before he was even ready to become a father. "I didn't really think," He blurted, "That it was something you do, unless you were sure you wanted kids," He said. He shook his head. "Though I guess...Kids only happen when, yeah," He said, hoping that he didn't have to explain further to know that he understood that puppies could only be conceived when the female was ready. "I dunno. Gotta find a girlfriend first. That doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon," He said with a shrug.

He made a valid point. Towhee's mouth opened to remind him of the biological processes at play, only to clap it shut. Surely he knew. And, just as surely, he didn't want to talk about it. Once again, Towhee reminded herself she didn't feel like getting slathered in puke today. Nor did she think Meerkat would appreciate being woken up by her older brother spewing on her head.

Plus, there was all the strange feelings this entire conversation was stirring. Maybe it would've been more maternal to run through the catalog of eligible she-wolves in the pack in response to Bronco's statement, yet Towhee's lips remained shut. She only offered a smile and a shrug, diverting her attention to the slackening storm and wondering to herself if Bronco was picking up on any of her weird tension.

Unbeknownst to her, Meerkat let out a fairly explosive and sudden toot in her sleep. Well, Towhee didn't hear it, though it was only a matter of seconds before the absolutely ratchet smell hit her and she was the one suddenly trying not to vomit. Half-choking, half-laughing, she none too gently extricated herself and burst out into the open air, heedless of the drumming rain as she took a deep breath to wash the stank from her nostrils.

He was just about to open his mouth to ask Towhee about her past partners- after all, they were having a fairly open, personal conversation, weren't they?- when he both felt and heard Meerkat's innards lurch as she released a cloud of noxious gas with such a sudden ferocity that it blew her own mother several feet away. Bronco took a second longer, pausing a moment to try and choke back his laughter so he didn't wake Meerkat up, but as soon as he drew a breath in, he felt his windpipe clamp shut. He backpedaled a few feet and began to cough and gag, laughing hysterically all the while. Like a spurred horse, he bucked and bounded away, thrashing his head about as he tried to rid his mouth of the putrid flavour. Once he caught sight of Towhee, he veered toward her, still prancing and flailing about in the rain (see what I meant, with reference to him dancing in our other thread?) as he grinned like an idiot. 

-Damn, Suh-Man-Thuh, but your kid sure can toot!- He exclaimed over the rain, reaching out to nip at Towhee's flank as though to punish her for creating such a flatulent child.

It wasn't long before Meerkat's gas exiled Bronco as well, the two of them prancing out in the rain like it could actually wash the odor from them. Towhee grinned and shook her head at his comment, blinking water out of her eyes. It was still coming down pretty fast and hard, though the lightning and thunder had abated.

-"Don't blame your farts on Meerkat, that's just childish,"- she teased, then drew in a breath and said, -"Dunno about you but there's no way I'm going back in there. I think I'm going to go find the others."- Towhee said nothing else, leaving Bronco's next move up to him even as she turned to move across the rainy rendezvous site.

I figure we can fade here (and have another soon? ;D).

AHUHUHUH childish humour. okay :)

Bronco raised his chin indignantly when Towhee tried to blame the fart on him when he knew they both knew it'd been Meerkat that'd been the one to fire the missile. He rolled his eyes and tossed his head handsomely, to display how offended that he was she'd even think such a thing, but of course he knew that he was likely capable of such a stench- or worse- himself. She mentioned going off to find the others...But as per usual, he decided to stick with his little sister. She was well within the borders, of course, but he still didn't want her to be left there, snoozing by her lonesome. 

-I think I'll stick with Meerk. It's gotta be faded by now.- He said, reaching out to touch his nose gently to Towhee's cheek, in a respectful but friendly gesture. -Thanks for the talk, though, uhm, Towhee,- He said, and he gave her a somewhat sheepish grin before he turned and trotted back toward Meerkat. 

He returned to the area where Meerkat continued to slumber away- but couldn't come within a few feet of her without gagging. "Ohgod" He said, and tried approaching her from another angle- as though perhaps the breeze might've blown some of the stink away, but it hadn't. In fact, it seemed even worse from that side. He gagged loudly. "Ohgodno" He said. But it pained him to think he couldn't just get over the smell of a little fart to keep his sister protected- so he circled around her, held his breath, and snuck closer- but eventually, had to take a breath. "ImsosorryIcantdothis" He squeaked softly- and after giving his slumbering sister one last, apologetic look, he tucked his tail and bolted after Towhee.