Meadowlark Prairie the lady of the house

Set a few hours after Fennec's return.

Once Fennec was on her way Reyes wasn't sure what to do with himself. There was a chance that if he waited nearby he might see Towhee, but he did not want to be a creeper on the fringes; he wasn't sure how safe it was for him to be this close, even though he was in a nameless field and could see flat grassland in every direction. 

If anyone did approach him he'd see them coming — but he wondered if it would be worth it, or even safe, for him to linger long. If Phox came tearing after him again then he'd have an answer. Reyes wanted to cast back his head and call for @Towhee but he knew she would not hear him, and that left him to keep pace with his own uncertainty for the next few hours. 

The sky transitioned from clear and warm to breezy and cloud-thick. The soft sound of the wind tousling the grass reminded Reyes of the familiar tidal sounds of home, but he was still anxious, wearing a path in to the grass where he paced and observed his surroundings.

Towhee couldn't get her thoughts in order, much less her feelings. She pardoned herself from what little remained of the caldera's members for just a few minutes to get some air and some quiet. That was ludicrous, considering they were smack dab in the middle of the wilderness and she was deaf, but she needed a moment to herself.

She found herself at the foot of the caldera, staring out at a dark shape on the meadow. Oh, was all she thought when she realized who she was looking at.

When he saw the shape moving his way he froze. It took a bit of mental fortitude to keep Reyes from bolting but he knew it would only be one of two people: Phox, ready to finish what had begun back at the Caldera, or Towhee. He was glad to see it was Towhee; but there came a flare up of concern as well, seeing how round she was. How far along. Then she looked at him and they shared a moment — of what, he wasn't certain. 

Reyes didn't know what to say. Neither did she, apparently. They stood in awkward tandem a moment longer before Reyes cleared his throat and tested the waters by saying: You look... good. Well, mostly good. Stressed more like it. How could he fix this? He opened his mouth to say something else (along the lines of, should you be out here right now? Think of the children!) however, considering how his concern had worked out with Niamh, he just closed his mouth instead.

Without really thinking about what she was doing, Towhee began to plod toward him. She pictured Fennec's lips in her head, forming the words, "We should go get him." As they closed ranks, she took in his body language. She noted the signs of a healing injury. She felt the fury flow through her like an electric current, but now all of it was directed at Niamh.

Her mouth opened to say something, she wasn't even sure what, when he spoke first. "You look good." Sometime during her wrathful musings, she had planned for this possibility. She had fully intended to lie to Reyes, tell him she had lost all their children, convince him there was nothing remaining between them at all.

But now there was no denying she was still very much pregnant. And she didn't want to cut him out of her life. It was clearer than ever that Niamh had somehow engineered this entire situation. And now Towhee could see the opportunity to reclaim her life, dangling right in front of her. All she had to do was reach out and grab it.

"Come home," she said.

Towhee could be wrathful. She could be snappy and sassy too, which was why he loved her so much. When she opened her mouth Reyes did not know what side of her to expect: the wrath, the sass, or something new. He rain through everything in his head he had wanted to say — explanations, pleas, twisting stories one way or another, the plain truth; he did not know what would work, but he need not bother. 

Something in Towhee softened.

Come home, she said. 

What about Niamh? Was she okay? He didn't want to ask. What about Phox? Wouldn't he just finish him off when he was back at the Caldera? What if they were in league with one-another. Phox could have turned Towhee against him by now. Reyes studied her face for a long moment wanting to believe he would be welcomed, wanting to retreat with her back to their love cave like nothing had ever happened — but he had his doubts.

I want to, he said. But what about Niamh? Phox? They hate me, and you should hate me too.

"Niamh is gone," Towhee replied. Her voice had always been wooden, though each word pulled from her tongue like a splinter. "We know now she's mentally unstable," she said, face twisting. "What kind of person does that? Turns their back on their mate and pack? Puts their unborn children in jeopardy? No one in their right mind."

Maybe it was losing Primrose. Or pregnancy hormones. Perhaps it was a whole cocktail of other things, dovetailing through space and time to torpedo the wolf she knew as Niamh. Towhee would surely spend a lot of time wondering in the coming days. And she would be hurting too. She was furious with her, yet she was also grieving the loss of her once trusted friend, her sister-in-law, her co-parent... her person. This wasn't the Niamh Towhee knew. She was out of her mind, a different wolf. The Sovereign's anger was shot through with pity.

After a pause, she repeated, "Come home, Reyes."

Niamh is gone. Was something Reyes did not expect to hear. The woman was so ingrained within the Caldera that there was no reason she would leave, so far as Reyes knew. There was a story there beyond the situation between the two of them; he didn't want to ask. It wasn't really his business. He didn't feel bad about the absence either, and had to resist the urge to smile.

But if she was truly gone then Towhee's repeated plea (repleate?) held more than a little grain of hope. It was a certainty: he could go home, go back to the way things were.

Okay. He murmurs, and hobbles closer to her.

His lips barely moved, though she thought she saw, "Okay." Then he began hobbling toward her, so Towhee knew he meant to do as she asked. She waited for him to come closer and felt a strong impulse to reach out and touch him. She glanced at his shoulder and felt a heat beneath her skin, an echo of the anger she'd felt toward him for weeks. It faded, though she remained still.

Slowly, she pivoted on a heel, revolving until she faced the caldera again. Towhee began to shuffle toward home, moving slowly. She turned her head sideways to say, "There's something I have to tell you."

She seemed to ruminate over his answer. He felt her eyes on him; she looked at his wound, at the state of him in entirety, and Reyes thought for a second she was rethinking her decision. His heart was in his throat. He felt like he was going to be sick — but then she turned and slowly began to lead him back towards the caldera. Back towards home. He readily followed after her.

Then she spoke and Reyes was caught off-guard again. Was there a point in him saying, Go ahead, or was Towhee too busy looking at the path which wound towards their home? Either way, Reyes was there, he was listening.

She let out a breath and admitted, "I don't know what you and Niamh fought about. I don't think I want to know. It doesn't matter now." But that wasn't what she wanted to say. Towhee inhaled, steeling herself as she explained, "While it was happening, I was miscarrying. I lost two. There are definitely others..." Her belly made it obvious, as did the nearly constant movement. "I named them. Blackbird and Butterfly. They're buried just outside our cave."

And exhale. Her orange eyes tracked up his face, wondering how he might react. And while she was there, she marveled that they were standing here—well, walking slowly—together again, after everything.

He wanted to explain himself. Towhee started out with a bit about Niamh but she didn't really want the details, so he stayed silent. The news that she had been busy miscarrying made his stomach churn; he sucked in a breath, his brows furrowing. Had Phox known? Was that why Reyes hadn't been able to find Towhee in time? Or maybe everything that went down had caused it — him, his temper. Reyes stopped walking.

What could he say that would fix that? Nothing. He couldn't do anything about it either. Reyes stood there processing the information and felt the stirrings of rage inside of himself. If he hadn't gotten in that stupid fight with Niamh he would have been there for Towhee. How was he already such a piece of shit husband and parent? 

I named them. Blackbird and Butterfly. Reyes was staring at the ground until he heard this, and looked up again, an indescribable expression on his face. They're buried outside our cave.

I should have been there. He finally says. I shouldn't have let Phox run me out. I should've— ugh, it couldn't be helped now. He shook his head and fell in to a pained silence.

She could read the pain on his face like a book. To think, she'd accepted that she would never see him again, never let him take part in his children's lives. Now they were here, sharing in their pain over their lost children. Towhee felt almost disoriented. Well, Niamh's abrupt departure had kicked up quite a storm, it would take time for the dust to settle. And that didn't even factor in all the lashes they'd all taken before that.

"There was nothing anyone could've done," came Towhee's slow reply. Her heart still weighed heavily over the loss, though the signs of life in her womb lifted her. "And it was no one's fault." She still grappled with that one a bit, wondering if she was somehow responsible for it. "You're here now."

She continued the slow shuffle in silence for a few moments before elaborating a bit on that point. "The pack has whittled down to just Phox, Rue, Lenny... Meerkat and Fennec just returned. But Alyx must've stayed at the coast." Towhee frowned, though this was immaterial to Reyes. "We need you." She chewed on something for a moment before adding, "I want you here."

Towhee's words were the truth. It didn't ease the pain he felt at all. The sympathy he felt towards her, having to go through that without him. At least she had her family around her. You're here now, Towhee said. In his mind Reyes responded, And I'm not going anywhere, I promise.

They would be home soon. From the sounds of things the pack was in turmoil and was shrinking, which would put their children at risk. Reyes didn't know how many times he needed to say it but he would keep reiterating the same thing as many times as necessary: Wherever you are, that's my home. I'll do everything I can to make it a safe one. You don't have to worry about me ever leaving again. Even if Towhee was alone in her attachment to him, Reyes thought, he wasn't going to back down or run away. He wasn't going to pull a Firefly.

Something about his declaration hit Towhee hard. She stopped suddenly and sagged, a tightness in her throat. She had been so angry with him. She had called his assault against Niamh indefensible, due especially to her condition. But then the pregnant Regent had taken off—broken leg and all—smashing Phox's heart and quite likely killing her own children in the process. And for what? Talk about unforgivable.

She did her best to banish these thoughts from her head, straightening up and meeting his eyes again. "I know." He hadn't left willingly in the first place, though they both knew that. Towhee began walking again, the pair of them hitting the foot of the slope.

It was tempting to go straight to their cave, pick up where they'd left off, but she didn't actually want to do that. Pausing again, she told him, "I haven't been to the cave since. And I live in a den with Rue now, by Tailfeather Creek. I want her to be part of this. Phox too. Fennec. Meerkat. Even that weird Lenny guy. We're all family now. We'll all raise these pups together."

The next bit of news sounded innocuous enough. A pack of wolves worked together to support their young so Reyes wasn't bothered by that aspect of what Towhee told him. There were little bits and pieces he didn't like but, that was his selfishness talking. He didn't know this Rue, didn't know where they had come from so suddenly, and did not appreciate being so hastily replaced by them. Reyes wanted Towhee all to himself. That's how they worked — sequestered together in their cave. Reyes wasn't going to fight her on that right now, though. He would meet Rue and make his own judgements.

Of course, he agrees, watching her face as they walk. 

The kids will benefit from having so many around them. I grew up with two moms, I should know. Maybe offering a little tidbit of information would help smooth things over. Then he remembered Niamh; she was gone now, but she had been an important part of Towhee's life before his arrival. Of course she knew that the kids would be alright — she had lots of experience as a parent and co-parent. Had he just mansplained at her by mistake? 

I mean, you know more than I do about... all that parent stuff. Nevermind. He'd never felt so tongue-tied; not even after that head-bonk left him spewing nonsense.

His mention of two mothers stirred up a memory of her older sister. But she let it drift back into the murk of her mind as another thought crossed it. She still didn't know much about Reyes's background. Well, there would be plenty of time to get up to speed.

Towhee didn't say anything as he backpedaled, though she did press her nose to the side of his neck, crossing the touch barrier at long last. She moved so they could walk side by side uphill, curving south so they could pass up and over the caldera's rim and drop down toward the den between the forest and the creek.

"There's a lot going on right now. And that's an understatement," she said as they made their slow way home. "But something we'll need to do is come up with names. I'd like to meet them first, though it can't hurt to have some ideas." She wondered if he had any, though Towhee didn't ask now, on the spot. There would be time for that too.

Names. He thought of their argument with visceral clarity and didn't know what to say. Towhee moved in close and soon enough Reyes was distracted by her touch, the warmth of her beside him. The different shape that her body had become compared to the last time he had seen her. It hadn't been that long but the change was obvious enough.

My mother once told me that Reyes means royalty in some language called Spanish. He blurts, then laughs softly. Not that I know what that is. Her mother-tongue I guess. Its too bad I didn't take the time to learn more about it or we could have some spicy names to use. Things like Santiago or Guadalupe -- Habanero?

Or there's maman — Erzulie. You'd think with two vastly different mothers I'd pick up one the habits of one or the other. It had somehow missed him. Unless you counted the occasional derailment in to pirate. Reyes takes a breath, realising he's talking too much, still somewhat awkward about everything. We'll... Come up with something when the time is right.

"Oh," Towhee admitted when he gave her some context on his name, "I just thought it was rays, like rays of sunlight." That's what the word looked like to her, shaped by lips. She took in the rest of what he said with a glimmer in her eye, though there would be no smiling today. Maybe not for a while.

"Yes," she agreed a little distractedly as they finally neared the den. "I don't know exactly when they'll get here but... soon." She slowed down even more, feeling suddenly extremely tired. She wanted to curl up with him and take a nap, like old times.

But she should really check in with @Phox, stay close in case he needed her. And Towhee wanted to be sure @Ruenna knew she was still wanted and welcome here. Maybe she could get everyone to come here and rest together. Now there was an idea. The place might even be big enough to accommodate the whole pack, since it (the pack) was so small...

Then she remembered what Phox had said about Reyes. -"Towhee, I don't think it's a good idea... I won't stop him if you want him back, but..."- Surely he would not be comfortable with that living arrangement. And what if Niamh came back? She shook her overcrowded head and gave up on trying to speculate about what might happen. The only thing she knew for sure was she would be giving birth any day now and she needed all the support she could get.