Redhawk Caldera shine on, you crazy diamond

permish from all involved <3

It had taken a bit of a fight—and "a bit" was reductive—but finally, @Mou and Maegi were able to convince their children to go along with the three adults to the Redhawks. @Peregrine, sticking nearby @Phox. @Vesper, silently stewing and remaining close to @Blueberry, who seemed a mixture of confused and sullen, trudging along.

Luckily, the journey was not far, and after a couple of brief rests on the way, they arrived. As the land began to slowly slope upward, she glanced up the caldera—and then to the east, and a great shiver rolled through her at sight of the dark mass just yonder.

The woods. Her woods. She hadn't realized how close the two territories were until now.

I'll let you do the talking, Maegi said to Phox as the group stopped just shy of the border. That shiver had descended into her stomach, and it roiled anxiously as she thought of how they might be received—Mou, especially.

Would they remember him? Phox hadn't, but his mind had been elsewhere.

Would they remember her—or see right through her, find the darkness in her mismatched gaze and get right to the heart of who she was?

She buried her muzzle in Blueberry's scruff, breathing deep, waiting.

Her stomach wasn't hurting her quite as badly the past couple of days and she'd been spending less time scrunched up in the back of the Hobbit Hole. But Towhee couldn't quite shake the blues entirely. Yes, it was wonderful to catch up with Figment. Bronco had turned up too. But these tidbits of good news did not simply erase all the other things bothering her, particularly the toxic cocktail of feelings about Reyes and Fennec.

Today was a particularly bad day, for no reason Towhee knew. It took every bit of willpower to drag herself out of the den and take a walk. Caracal joined her for a bit, though he eventually bailed to go play with Killdeer. Towhee was tempted to go with him, as she hadn't seen her grandson in a couple days, yet instead she swallowed thickly and proceeded toward the borders. Maybe she could manage a patrol.

When she got there and saw six figures standing at her borders, Towhee's stomach knotted painfully. But then she recognized one of them and her heart leaped into her throat. It was Phox! That must mean she was looking at his kids... and the pair who had raised them. Her orange eyes burned into the pale figures in the distance, her stomach flipping appropriately as she took a plummeting fall on this emotional roller coaster ride. Could that really be him? He didn't look like she remembered...

And there wasn't anything familiar about the figure beside him, either. Towhee had almost no recollection of her run-in with the muddy Blackfeather years before, especially after taking a hit to the head thanks to Colt. She studied the pair from afar, feeling no recognition whatsoever. Maybe it wasn't Screech. But even if it was him, somehow, Towhee already knew what she was going to do about it. She was going to exercise the very same principle she'd tried on Reyes: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Forcing her eyes now to the three youngsters, Towhee's heart did another skip and she finally coaxed her legs into motion. She walked down the caldera's slope to meet the party of six, managing a careworn smile as she drew closer to her brother, promptly buried her muzzle into the side of his neck and murmured, "Welcome home."

Her ear burned. her body ached.

She stared at the multi-colored woman, mouth agape, as she embraced Phox.

Do you remember— she asked, breath coming quiet but fast, a ragged whisper. You—we raised these children—you hurt me—

Everything was word-vomiting out, and Maegi had to clamp her jaw tightly shut to contain it. It was bad enough that what had escaped had done so. She could say so much more.

But the children were restless near her breast, and so she remained silent.

But her bi-colored eyes burned into Towhee, questioning, insisting. Have you forgotten me? her psyche shrieked, rippling around her.

She threw her head back, looking at Mou. Help, she begged.

Peregrine stuck to him like honey, while Phox may as well have not even existed to Vesper. "Time," he reminded himself. It was going to take a lot of time before Vesper even considered him a friend. It may never happen, in fact. He thought of the two children the entire trip back to the caldera. Back home.

Maegi suggested he do the talking, and yet when Towhee barreled toward them, nuzzling Phox, she stammered out several disjointed words almost immediately. It didn't make sense what she'd said, and Phox looked to the pale mother, confusion written on his face.

Whatever happy reunion this was meant to be had taken a strange, stilted turn.

She pressed against him until she felt Phox's head turn. Towhee stepped backward half a pace, following his gaze. Unaware that the pale she-wolf had said anything, she looked at her too. Even up close, there was nothing familiar about her. Not even her distinctive leer triggered any recognition.

Speaking of scars, her gaze hesitantly bounced to the male standing stoically beside her. His face bore many marks and he was missing an eye. A faint memory tugged at her, yet it drifted away like a ghost. She kept staring, eyeing the strange object around his throat. Was that the very same throat she thought she'd torn out years ago?

Towhee breathed shakily as a pain shot through her stomach. Forcefully, she returned her attention to Phox's face, taking comfort in it. Haltingly, she then dropped her eyes to the children. Two of them looked every bit the Redhawk, while the third much more resembled the white pair. She also appeared a bit younger. Assuming this wasn't the wayward Prevost, who was she?

There was one way to find out. "Hello," Towhee said to the collective group of youngsters. "I'm glad we finally get to meet." Her eyes swept over the wolf that might be her brother and his mate. Mou and Maegi, she remembered Phox calling them. "Phox has told me all your names but how about we do proper introductions?" A pause, a breath. "I'm Towhee."

vesper remained close to her father for most of the journey, keeping as much distance from peregrine and phox as she could. for a time, the darkling had withdrawn from caring for blueberry, but had begun to pointedly fuss over her once more— shouting, non-verbally, that these wolves were her family. not the stranger, and not the ungrateful, hateful boy that had once been her brother.

they approached what was to become their new home, and waited there in silence. her orange eyes swept the unfamiliar landscape, looking for more reasons to hate it besides that she was here against her will. but they did not have to wait long before a woman approached, making a beeline for phox and pressing herself to him. their new leader, phox's sister. vesper pressed closer to father as blueberry took to mother's breast.

the darkling said nothing, orange eyes defiant as they rested upon the caldera's strangely-accented leader. she wasn't afraid, though it may be mistaken as such. of all the things she wanted to say, none would be considered polite. for a moment she considered loosing what was on her mind, anyway— perhaps, then, they would be driven away and they wouldn't have to stay— but she felt a rumble of warning from her father's ribs, more than she heard it. a message for her in their own unspoken language. behave.

and so she exhaled sharply, turning her head away from towhee, once more absorbing the landscape as she sulked against her father. still, not so respectful, but perhaps understandable given the situation. let peregrine introduce himself with joy, then. someone else could introduce her; she wanted nothing to do with this.

She pulled away from her mother, an apathetic sneer twisting her maw. The only one who cared was Vesper—even if her sister had been somewhat absent, she hadn't been. . .deficient. She ripped herself from Maegi and drew close to Vesper, blue eyes burning into her sister's orange.

Didn't trust any of these wolves. Did Ves? Her brow was furrowed, wrinkling her youthful visage into something much older than it should look.

The adults' voices slipped by; she couldn't care less.

She had this incredible urge to go home—but where was home? Home was. . .where it didn't feel so messed up. And that hadn't existed for a long, long time.

skippable!

She was distracted by her pale daughter pulling away, and the hurt in her breast only grew deeper, something piercing her to the core. 

. . .introductions? I'm Towhee.

Maegi looked at the dark woman, jaw slightly slack. Maegi, she said, the emotion from before almost devoid from her voice. She gestured toward her husband, silent at her side. This is Mou. Vesper, Peregrine, and Blueberry, she named each of the children in turn.

Once formalities were over with, they could get to work. The kids could settle in, and Mou and Maegi. . . Well, Blackfeather Woods was only a heartbeat away.

And after that—

They walked together as a unit. He wanted to think as a family but that hadn't been right; it felt more like a funerary procession to Mou. Himself the ferryman, the children a collection of lost souls on their way towards life — that made more sense. Alongside him was the creature wearing his wife's face and he could not even look at her. Somewhere among them all, the shadow that was his brother.

The sight of the Caldera from further afield had reminded Mou of his own body. His gut dropped, his mouth went dry. His attention briefly roamed the silhouette of the mountainside as it grew and shifted in scope, and when the wolves reached the edge, his attention dropped back to the children. They were each processing things in their own way.

Mou watched Blueberry for a minute, then Vesper, noting their differences and the intensity of his attachment to them; unrivaled by anything that he had felt before. He did not look to Maegi; his ears pivoting to the sound of Phox's voice, and then the shift of his tired expression towards the approaching shape of another: Towhee. She need not have introduced herself; he could remember the feeling of her teeth at his throat and the taste of blood salt water dirt death —

Looking away from her abruptly, Mou catches Maegi's expression. She introduces them all: the roster of lost souls.

He says nothing. There is an ache in his chest. The dry-mouth sensation has descended down his throat and to his gut, hollowing him out.

last one from me, i think!

Towhee seemed not to have heard (or rather, seen) Maegi's words. Phox would have to seek her out later to find out what the stuttering had been about. For now, he let himself relax. Vesper remained quiet, withdrawn into Mou's presence more than anyone else.

Maegi took the liberty of doing the proper introductions, and Mou continued to be quiet, as he so often was.

-Towhee, I told them they could stay as long as they wished. I hope that's... okay. Vesper and Blueberry will be staying with them, too.-

-@Peregrine, why don't you come with Towhee and me, and we'll get settled in?- Phox suggested. The boy seemed keen on the idea, and Phox turned to Maegi, Mou, Vesper, and Blueberry. Let me know if you need anything at all. I won't be leaving here anytime soon. Maybe he would never leave after this. Being away from his family—from the caldera—for so long had left a hole in his heart.

None of the children spoke. At least, she didn't see any of their mouths move. Towhee drew in a breath, reminding herself that this entire situation must be such a mindfuck for these kids. If they didn't look particularly thrilled, she couldn't blame them. But she knew she would do whatever she could to make sure they felt at home here, even if that included harboring her sworn enemy too.

Even if she hadn't felt exactly the same way as Phox about prioritizing the pups' well-being, she would've deferred to him on this. Maegi made all the introductions and then Phox spoke, the Sovereign merely nodding. Although it wouldn't erase their sins—including keeping the truth from Phox for so long—she knew Maegi and Mou were the reason these children were alive at all.

-"Of course it's okay,"- she said. She paused while Phox turned to the boy whose markings candidly resembled her very own. Her stomach did a strange roll, though Towhee ignored it. She nodded again, smiling as she prepared to fall into step with her brother and his son.

Before they left, Towhee made sure to look to the others. "Welcome to Redhawk Caldera." It was hard to look at Maegi or Mou for too long, so her eyes lingered on the two little girls, particularly the darker one. These words were more for them anyway. "Make yourselves at home."

blueberry also chose silence.

the orange embers of vesper's anger were reflected back to herself in blue's narrowed eyes, and the eldest daughter rested her chin protectively over the crown of her sister's head. vesper hadn't spoken of the situation to her at all— she had always sought to protect the palest of them from the chaos of their childhood, and they were surrounded by the dysfunctional group of adults at all times, anyway. the darkling had fought for so long to distract blueberry from the woes of the world, but it had been a losing battle.

when they could finally find a private moment away from mother, father, and phucker— vesper would listen to her littlest sister's pain, in a way that she herself had never been offered. in a way that she herself had never felt safe in expressing.

it would be much, much later when vesper finally realized nothing about their family dynamics could be considered normal or healthy; that, in fact, her childhood had been quite traumatic and the leftover scars would be long-lasting.

but for now, she clung to the tatters of hope. she didn't know any better; this was her normal. the six of them had been happy once, and as long as she guarded blueberry from the worst of their collective pain, as long as she did not add to the strain her parents were under... as long as she suppressed her angst (unlike peregrine) then maybe they could all find their way back to home and happiness again.

curiosity briefly overpowered the fire in her eyes as she watched towhee and phox's exchange; they moved oddly as they spoke aloud to each other, but as towhee turned to welcome them, her movements stopped. when her gaze lingered upon vesper and blueberry, the darkling's gaze became sour once more. she couldn't hold it in anymore, especially at that word, and the adolescent corrected bitterly: not home.