Redhawk Caldera Life jacket orange

@Towhee 

It seemed that one full month was a good amount of time to digest the old news and get hungry for more. Do some honest work, enjoy blissful boredom and come to a conclusion that you miss your friend a bit and you have to make the long walk over to the house "next door" (not as in suburbs, more like in the middle of nowhere) to remedy that longing. This was, what Wraen did on a nice and warm spring day, after she had accumulated just enough nap hours to hit the road and reach the destination without spending herself too much.

With the snow gone the scenery had completely changed. She no longer could make the shortcut over the ice and had to walk around the lake instead. She noticed the first green shoots reaching up from the grayish-brown dry stalks of their predecessors. Pretty soon that grass would grow taller than her. This was a funny thought and she entertained herself with the ideas of a grass labyrinth along the rest of the journey to caldera. When she had arrived there, it did not appear to have changed much on the outside. Some new scents maybe, but in anticipation of hearing the news from Towhee firsthand, she did not venture to explore it further. 

Then it occurred to her - if no one was around, how was she going to call for the deaf leader? How had she done it the last time? One witty thought later, she tipped her head back and howled: "London's calling Towhee!!!!"

It felt like she'd just fallen asleep when someone nudged her awake. Towhee very nearly snarled at her interrupted nap, since sleep was very difficult to come by most days. But she swallowed it when she saw that it was Fennec, letting her know someone was calling for her at the borders. Although she mostly just wanted to curl up and go back to sleep, she recognized the opportunity. During their first few days, she hadn't budged from this spot on the floor and now she practically leaped to her feet, glad to be rid of the puppies for a little while. Fennec could handle them for an hour or so.

Sometime later, she spotted Wraen waiting near the southern border, Lake Rodney shimmering in the backdrop. It was good to see her friend, though Towhee of today wasn't unlike Towhee of last time: emotionally trigger-happy and utterly exhausted. The reasons were different, though as the Sovereign reflected on them, she felt her stomach clench as she realized the horrible news she would have to dump on her old friend.

"Niamh ran off and then Phox ran after her. Neither has been seen in weeks. I sent Meerkat out to look yesterday," Towhee blurted in way of greeting, blinking groggily before adding, "Hi, Wraen." For the moment, she entirely forgot to mention her litter.

"Never a boring day at Redhawk-ville, I see," Wraen remarked with a laugh and closed the distance between them to give Towhee a wolf-appopriate-equivalent of a heartfelt hug. It was not something they usually shared, when meeting each other, but the same way as last time, her friend seemed to need it very much. That and likely a lot more. 

"Hi, Towhee," she returned the greeting, taking a step back to have a good look at the lady before her. Compared to the last time they had met, she had slimmed down considerably, and judging by the nature's only way at increasing breast-size from A to F and keeping it that way for a while indicated that there were several hungry mouths to feed. 

"I am so sorry to hear that," she said. "Did you fall out completely? Or were there other reasons she decided to leave?"

Wraen didn't seem bothered by her rudeness, probably because she was used to it by now. When she moved in for a hug, Towhee pressed into it. She was run so ragged lately, she couldn't help but clutch at her friend, a steady rock in the turbulent waters of Towhee's life.

She didn't miss the way Wraen appraised her when she stepped back, calm as you please. In contrast, Towhee felt very flustered. She realized her friend must be noticing her likely disheveled appearance... not to mention how much less pregnant she was than last time.

"I never got around to talking to her," Towhee admitted, "and then one day, Phox came and told me she ran off. She was close to giving birth. She must've been out of her damn mind." But there was no heat as she said the words. "She would've delivered by now. Maybe that's why they haven't come back? I really don't know. But, uh, Reyes is back, so there's that, I guess. And I had the kids. Four of them."

She couldn't hear herself, though she imagined she sounded bone-weary just saying that. Although Wraen was her confidante—especially now with Phox and Niamh gone—Towhee refused to indulge a sudden impulse to complain about how hard it was rearing four pups, especially given the circumstances. It was challenging, though she would not forget that she loved her children, even if she was too drained to indulge it much lately.

"And you? How are you?" came the belated and admittedly distracted rejoinder.

When Wraen heard that Towhee had never managed to mend things with Niamh and their story had ended on a... not exactly a cliff-hanger, but something very close to it. With an ominous music playing in the background. She thought about Arcturus, who had postponed meeting his family until it had been too late. And then a similar thing had happened to her friend too. Were there loose ends she had not yet tied and she should? No, oddly enough she realized that she was no different from those two. Having decided at some point in her life to walk another way with a dim idea of meeting in the future and that event never taking place. 

"I hope they are alright," she said, glad for once that Towhee could not hear the tone of her voice. It was not hopeful - she could wish upon the star all she wanted, but life was rarely that kind. If they had not shown up until now... then... well, there was something she could wish - that at least one of them returned, so that Towhee would know, what had happened, have a closure and be able to move on. Not quite the same and a little broken, but living the life that had been given to her. "At least you have someone to look after the babies - congratulations!" she told her, glad to move on to a happier subject, though by the looks of it the proud mother was glad to have a break from her blissful family life. 

"Well - in the leisurely pace we enjoy at Brecheliant we have accumulated some newcomers - a Blackthorn relative status to the legendary Finley pending, Tambourine - an oldie, who looks like he needs a lifelong sentence of peace, rest and boredom, umm... and there was a young man too Jasper... Rochester-Ostrega. He told that his parents were Redhawks long time ago," she named all the recent joiners. "And Maia and Eljay are inseparable. The latter definitely looks several years younger now - it seems that travelling back in time is possible."

She really meant to pay attention to Wraen's answer in full, though she got caught up when her friend said the words, "who looks like he needs a lifelong sentence of peace, rest and boredom..." Towhee felt a strange feeling twisting inside her, a poignant jealousy mixed with a heavy dose of longing. Selfishly, she yearned for a leisurely life.

Towhee didn't even have the emotional range to feel bitter about the mention of Eljay and Maia. "I could use some of that," she murmured without really thinking. "You have no idea how much I want to run away and hide in Brecheliant right now," Towhee admitted despite her resolve not to bitch about her life. It didn't really matter, she doubted there was room for her kind there. She would only disturb the peace just by existing.

"I'm happy for you guys. And jealous. We're struggling to hold onto members here," the Sovereign admitted. Although she knew she had Fennec and her baby daddies near at hand, Towhee couldn't deny the thread of trepidation that wriggled in her chest. "I know we're usually a shitshow but we're really jumping the fucking shark right now."

"Well, you have a moss-couch in the quietest and sunniest suite that the Brech has to offer," Wraen told Towhee, though it was highly unlikely that in the next two or three months at least her friend would be in any shape and situation to leave Redhawks for a few days for vacation. On the other hand - they met each other once every four weeks and time did pass quickly. She was about to say something on doing some witching too, but cut herself short. Last time they had spoken about the coven stuff it had involved Niamh too. With her gone and on not the best circumstances, it would not be wise to bring it up just yet. 

"Good thing the summer is just ahead - the best part of the year. You will pull through, I am confident about this," she reassured her and for Redhawks sake she truly hoped that things would turn out for the better. "What did you name your kids? Is there a Wrenegade and a Bob?" she changed the subject for something more light-hearted.

She let herself picture the place Wraen described, even if Towhee could never really go and spend any real time there. She made no reply, letting her friend remark upon the coming summer with all sorts of positive and uplifting vibes. Towhee could only hope she was right, that things would get easier in time as the pups grew.

"Oh, all four of them are renegades," she answered Wraen's questions. She paused, realizing how she must sound, talking about wanting to run away and badmouthing her newborns. She guiltily licked her lips, reminding herself not to be such a damn drag, and added, "They're called Caracal, Marten, Sapsucker and Sphyrapicus, after the animals they most resemble. The latter are identical twins. Four is... a lot. But we're all doing well," strictly speaking, even if she was often worn down to the bone and slathered in feces.

"Where did you dig out the name for the last one? Spyhra... firpicus?" Wraen tried to wrap her mind around the unusual choice and thought about the advice she had given to Maia earlier. Along the lines of "charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent" in choosing the best name for her kid. Hearing this name she could not even spell out correctly, she made a mental not of telling her sister that she should not go too far in the uniqueness department. Poor kid was porbably never going to be called by its full name. "Puss" or "Surpluss" were very likely candidates.

"In a nutshell - you, like many parents of newborns, are existing on food and power-naps?" she smiled sympathetically at her friend. "So, no Bob this year? Not even John?" 

Wraen wanted to know where she'd come up with the mouthful that was little Sphyrapicus's full name. It seemed to her like most Redhawks seemed to naturally possess an encyclopedic knowledge of birds, other animals too. Someone had once told her it all went back to her grandmother, March Owl. Towhee couldn't really explain it otherwise, so she merely winked and replied, "Pulled it out of my ass, just like the kid herself."

As far as Bobs and Johns went, Towhee rejoined, "Those sound like promising nicknames for the twins. I'm sure all four of them will have a plethora of ridiculous names in time." There was no real precedent for it, necessarily, but abruptly the Sovereign latched onto the idea.

But as tempting as it was to venture down the rabbit hole of silly pet names, a serious question popped into Towhee's head. "Wraen," she began, her sudden change in expression likely alerting her friend that something not quite so lighthearted was about to pop out of her mouth, "what am I going to do, if they don't come back?"

It was perhaps for the best if Niamh didn't return, though she was a package deal with Phox, wasn't she? What if neither one ever returned to the caldera? Not only would Towhee sorely miss her brother and the daily reminder of their once big, happy family so utterly torn apart... but what about the numbers? They were already a little thin on the ground, like she'd mentioned to Wraen.

"I knew that guys had second brain in their balls and some do most of the thinking with them, but I was not familiar with the fact that a similar concept applied to women too. I have to say that your butt-brain has a way with eloquent words. I would even say that it's... kind of cocky and showing off?" Wraen mused in good humour. She still pitied that... that... okay that S-kid will be a "Bob" from this point on.

"Well, you are surviving now without them being here," she shrugged, but did not have anything better to advise and, frankly speaking, she did not think that Towhee was looking for a structured plan on, how to move on, she simply needed to talk things through with an attentive audience. "Nothing is constant in life - it takes and it gives. But both are adults and they can take care of themselves. So... I see no harm in focusing your energy on those, who cannot do that yet."

Wraen could make her observation and shrug it off like it was no big deal, though Towhee didn't have that luxury. She didn't bother pointing this out, though she weighed her friend's words. She supposed that was a fact: they were getting by, even if Towhee felt like there was some sort of ax hanging over them for some reason. There was also a huge sense of loss, though nobody could do anything about that.

"I wish I could take you to see them but they're a bit young yet. Next time for sure though," Towhee said. "You're stuck with just me for now. Did you say you have a Redhawk descendant in your ranks now...?" She might be deaf and preoccupied with her own goings-on, though she wasn't completely self-involved.

Would you like to fade this in favor of our newer one?

"Redhawk - no, but a Blackthorn one," Wraen replied and proceeded telling Towhee about her meeting Jackalope on the borders and what an interesting character he had seemed to be. In a pleasant conversation the two leaders spent the rest of the afternoon and parted from each other on amicable terms.

Done!