Redhawk Caldera lay it lay it down let me see your hand

Taking care of Maia was exhausting in some way because it took a lot of worry and care, but on the other hand it was the most fulfilling thing that the caretaker had ever done beside caring for and upbringing @Weejay and Elfie. There was a constant energy about Eljay, even more than when they'd first come into Redhawk Caldera, and for now he was in blissful denial that when her wounds healed, she would leave again and everything would go back to the way it was before. He just didn't want to think of it too much, and so he stayed right where he was, here, in this moment. Denial wasn't a new thing for Eljay, and he was blissfully unaware that he was doing it, too.

Because Maia had a lot of pain, Eljay wanted to see if he could find some plants that would help. He wouldn't be able to find poppy seeds now, he was pretty sure. However, maybe he could find some other plants... What were they called again? Their roots could be chewed. The problem was that now that winter was slowly taking over the lands, it was a lot harder to figure out what a plant once was; most of it just changed into a drab mess, where all the stalks looked more or less the same.

Towhee was currently in denial too. She couldn't stop thinking about Eljay lately and how he might actually make the perfect baby daddy. But hell if it didn't make her skin crawl at the same time. To say she wrestled with the notion would be a massive understatement. It was really harshing her vibe lately, which was a shame since it was overshadowing her excitement about being back at the caldera.

And of course she would bump into him today, even as the Sovereign asked herself, Could I really do that? With him? The outcome would probably be worth it and even Towhee could not deny that Eljay would overturn her desire not to involve the biological father. After all, he was uniquely qualified for the job. Dude was a master midwife and sitter, for crying out loud.

"Uh," she said unceremoniously when their paths crossed, "hey, Eljay, what's up?" Would he even be able to get it—? Towhee basically murdered that thought in its tracks.

Eljay was nosing around in some plants when Towhee ran into him. He lifted his head and smiled at her even as she said 'uh', which was kinda strange for Towhee. She was usually very straight forward, after all. Maybe she hadn't expected to run into him, or maybe she was just still settling into her routines here in Redhawk caldera.

Hey Towhee, said Eljay. He looked a little tired after the heavy moments he'd shared with Maia not long ago. I was looking for something against pain. For Maia. He glanced at Towhee's face, figuring that Phox had filled her in on her situation.

When he greeted her brightly, reminding her of how different he'd seemed lately—ever since floating the idea of relocating to the caldera, really—it really didn't help matters. Towhee felt her heart do an awkward jig in her chest and she opened her mouth to just blurt it out already when he said something that made her clap it shut.

She'd almost forgotten about Maia. Phox had brought her up to speed on the situation. Honestly, housing an outsider didn't sit well with her, though she kept that to herself. At least she wasn't some total stranger. Towhee swallowed, lips parting as she prepared to say something entirely different now.

"Right." Well, wasn't that eloquent? "How is she? Will she be back on her feet soon?"

Eljay couldn't decipher how Towhee felt about Maia being here very well, which he decided meant that probably, she wasn't super thrilled about it. He could sorta imagine; they had left for a reason, after all. Part of being a pack was about taking care of each other. Not of strangers who got hurt on your doorstep. However, if any of the leaders had told Eljay not to take care of Maia he would've respectfully refused anyway. She might not be a part of the pack anymore officially, but she was still a part of them in some way. It was like Towhee had said. You were always a Redhawk, Blackthorn and Firebird, even when you were apart from the pack.

Whatever Towhee might be thinking about it, it remained a mystery to Eljay. At least she asked how Maia was doing, though. She's in pain, but her wounds seem to be healing pretty alright. I think besides the pain, it's more of a, ah -- she's very shaken. It happened all very out of the blue. She didn't see it coming. So it makes sense that's made her scared. Not to mention the ego dent... Eljay frowned as he thought about that. He'd always been scared of the great outdoors, and maybe it should've been gratifying that that fear was confirmed now. Somehow it wasn't at all, though.

She listened silently as Eljay described his patient's state. Towhee almost asked if someone had sent for Wraen, though surely her brother had seen to that too. Did that mean the former Sovereign would stop by sometime soon? Towhee would like to see her, though she wasn't entirely sure the feeling was mutual. They were further up Moonspear's ass than ever, after all. Towhee had rendered Wraen's version of the Firebirds almost unrecognizable.

"What do we know about the attacker?" she wondered, trying to think back on any details Phox had mentioned. Instinctively, her eyes cut eastward, toward Blackfeather Woods. "And remind me where it happened?"

Towhee asked inevitably about what the attacker looked like. Eljay hadn't known this yet when he spoke to Phox, since he hadn't had his heart to heart with Maia yet at the time. However, he'd since then gotten some more information. He was dark with orange eyes, he said, having mapped this information clearly when Maia said it, because he knew that he'd have to relay it to others more capable of doing something with it.

As for the location, he wasn't too sure. But he knew the direction that Maia had ran from, so maybe that would help Towhee figure out where exactly it'd been. Maia came running from the south. She said it was in a forest? There was a forest to the south, so it made sense to Eljay. I don't think this was someone who was part of a pack. But I think we should... we should check it out, take.. take care of it if he's still out ther. Eljay said 'we', but of course he didn't really literally mean himself, here. He meant the pack's fighters, those who actually knew how to... take care of someone like that.

It didn't escape her notice that the perpetrator's description fit herself or her brother. Of course, neither she nor Phox had attacked Maia. As Eljay revealed more details, her eyes narrowed, flitting now to Haunted Wood due south of the caldera. She missed his speculation about the wolf's status as a loner, though her gaze returned to him in time to catch his suggestion.

Maybe if Maia had been an actual member of her pack, she might've felt compelled to seek out this threat more actively. But Towhee had spent too goddamn much of her life chasing revenge and none of it had ever turned out particularly well. They would, of course, pass along the culprit's description and patrol their borders carefully. But Towhee was not about to go looking for trouble, much as she liked Maia and her sister otherwise.

She said none of this, though she nodded to acknowledge him. "You know," the Sovereign found herself saying, "I appreciate you sharing your take on things lately. I value your counsel." This hadn't always been particularly true, though she'd always believed in his skills as a tradesman, then a master, and now he was simply building that into something deeper and more elaborate. "And," Towhee continued, now that she'd gotten started, "I'm glad this move has been good for you." She felt a little spike of heat in her cheeks, though the sentiment was genuine if awkward.

Towhee didn't mention going after the guy that hurt Maia, but Eljay fully expected she'd take care of it. After all, this could be dangerous for their own too, and if nothing else, for next year's children. He was certain that it would be taken care of so Eljay didn't revisit the subject.

Instead he was caught off guard by what appeared to be a rare Towhee compliment. Eljay wasn't used to this treatment from Towhee and it was kinda weird to feel as if she was seeing him as her equal now. He had always felt like he was at least half who she was, in her eyes. Oh, uh, thanks, he said, clearly a little flustered. That means a lot -- ah -- coming from you. He didn't mean to say it like that and so hastily added, I mean -- a brief pause, then a less hasty, thank you. Because there wasn't anything he could say to save that, and he didn't want to keep rambling on.

Eljay thought about how Wiffle had given him the honoree rank and he couldn't help but wonder if any of the leaders after that had ever considered him for leadership. His parents were betas to Redhawk Caldera for the longest time. Eljay had never quite felt ready to take up that honorary, traditionally Blackthorn beta title and now he wasn't so sure if was even available. The rank system had changed, of course, but Phox and Niamh came closest to it and there just didn't seem space for him, anyway. He wasn't sure that anyone else would see him as competent enough. He wasn't sure he'd be competent enough... He just wasn't the same material as his parents. And it felt like no one but Wiffle had ever truly seen any potential like that in him, so it was unlikely to happen again.

It was just a silly thought, he thought to himself and quickly pushed it aside.

Yeah? I'm glad too, Eljay said in response to Towhee's last comment, though he had to admit that was mostly because Maia was here right now. Imagine if nobody had been there for her after the attack.

She fought the urge to smirk at his flustered reaction, though there would've been no malice to it. Anyway, her brain chose that moment to circle back to her earlier thoughts and that wiped her face clean of any expression at all. Suddenly she itched to ask a question, even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer. Towhee felt her whole body flush as some sort of fight-or-flight instinct engaged.

"I've always valued your medical knowledge too," she said, her voice a little threadier than usual. But hopefully this segue worked so the question wouldn't totally throw him. "Hey, speaking of that, I have a wild question for you." She coughed a nervous, throaty laugh. "Is there any way to, say, impregnate a she-wolf without—without bumping uglies?" Ugh, could she have picked a cringier phrase for it?

Towhee circled back to his medical knowledge and Eljay canted his head. When Towhee spoke next, Eljay just blinked. Honestly, he had no idea what she meant. .. what? he asked, confused. He sort of guessed that Towhee meant if it was possible to get pregnant without having sex, though he'd never heard the term "bumping uglies" and he also thought there was a small chance that Towhee meant, in fact, that she wanted to know if it was possible to avoid having ugly children? But on second thought, that seemed a pretty bizarre thing to say, so it was probably the former? Hopefully Towhee would enlighten him soon.

The look of perplexity on his face immediately made her recoil. It was impossible to know whether he was confused by her horrid phrasing or the question itself. In any case, her mind screamed, Retreat! A hot flush crept up her throat as she began shaking her head.

"Never mind," she said a little hastily before adding, "I don't mean to keep you from your Maia." Well, that didn't come out quite right. Towhee forced herself to pause and take a breath, saying more levelly, "Especially if she's in pain, you should get those meds and get back to her. I'll see you around." She didn't quite flee the scene, though she also left before Eljay could really get a word in edgewise.

Towhee immediately responded in a way that Eljay had never seen her respond to anything in his life. Was that.. Was Towhee being.. .. ..

.. awkward?

Eljay blinked. He almost missed Towhee's weird little slip where she said 'his Maia', and caught it by the tail end, mulling it over in his head. His Maia? Why did that sound so good? Moreover, why was Towhee saying it like... that? He was still trying to wrap his head around Towhee's behaviour though, because she was acting like him and he'd never seen her act like him.

Honestly, it made him just wanting to say 'Towhee, what's really going on? You're acting weird!' but how did one say that to someone without insult? Towhee seemed to have completely other plans, anyway. She quickly excused herself after saying that he should really get to Maia's herbs because she was in pain and he should hurry. Eljay actually had little faith he'd find any at all, but before he could tell Towhee he had some time to linger and talk about this weird stuff, she excused herself and practically fled the scene.

Towhee-- he called after her, but she was already gone, and he just stood there, blinking to himself in utter confusion, unable to wrap his head around this. It did not compute, none of it, with who Towhee was in his head. Not really a person with flaws, but some inscrutable strong woman leader person who would never in her life be able to be awkward if she tried. Yet here she was. Eljay was left standing there, feeling like his world view had been oddly shaken by the end of that little encounter. And the worst of all was that he still didn't really understand what Towhee had meant.