Redsand Canyon Free the bone from the flesh.

Weeks passed and Towhee convalesced in the small stone dwelling she shared with her husband and children. She might’ve been frustrated by the downtime, yet between the infection she contracted early on (gone now, thank goodness) and the painkillers, time passed in a sleepy blur.

She felt more alert today, though she was definitely quite weak. The wound on her back was mending, yet the flesh was itchy, tight and still quite sore. Towhee could only move toward the doorway quite carefully and slowly.

She stepped outside, immediately tipping her head to enjoy the sunlight on her face. The air was cold but fresh. Towhee breathed in and out, which reminded her of “yogurt.” But with her back in this shape, there was no way she could strike any poses, she mused with a snort.

The girl was all grumbles as she marched her way back home.

Germanicus had not been around for the usual training routine, leaving Leona and Jack and the rest of them to be tutored by the big idiot Glaukos, and Leona didn't want to learn from him. Besides that, she was worried about her mother and didn't have the focus today. After numerous attempts were made to keep her attention the tribunus had dismissed her early. It felt like punishment.

She came to the wide mouth of the dwelling and sat there for a few seconds, pouting and thinking up all the horrible things she'd one day do to get back at the big oaf, when she thought she heard movement. The girl turned in time to see — MOM!

To say she threw herself at her mother's legs was an understatement.

Hey kiddo, Towhee greeted, wincing a little when Leo threw herself at her legs.

She didn’t dare say anything to discourage such affections. Instead, she bore the momentary discomfort and leaned down to nuzzle the top of the girl’s head. It wasn’t that much of a reach anymore. She snuffled in Leo’s ear just for shits and giggles, then sat up a little straighter to relax the muscles in her back.

How’d training go today? Towhee asked conversationally.

Ignorant to the pain her mother was in, Leona didn't budge from her hug until she felt the rush of air against her ear, as Towhee's nose went in to it. She scrunched backwards with a laugh, giving the woman space to sit.

The topic of training was a sore spot. Leona sucked in a breath and rapidly recounted all that she'd been through, as if she had recently returned from a battlefield and this was her harrowing account.

I got there and Jack was bein' Jack, all uppity, and the other kids weren't paying much attention. I was paying attention! (this was a lie) Germanicus wasn't there! It was Glaukos this time. The words flowed from her with the occasional motion of ptero to accentuate things, although the majority of it was half-done or wrongly signed.

He said if I didn't participate I'd be better off goin' home, and then he sent me home. The girl pouted for a second, then seemed to forget her worries and beamed up at her mother. How're you?

Towhee couldn’t hear, of course, but she liked to think she could be a good listener. She followed along with genuine interest as Leo recounted her day, griping about her brother and the other kids. She had to fight back the smile as Leona complained about training with Glaukos rather than Germanicus, then getting sent home in the end.

I’m okay, but I’d be a lot better if your signing wasn’t so terrible, Towhee teased, poking a finger at one of Leona’s cheeks. Since you got sent home from the pit early, guess we have some time to practice ptero for a bit. Flapping my arms around is pretty much all I can do right now anyway.

She didn’t want to go back inside, not after being stuck there for weeks. So Towhee motioned at the outer wall of their home, then carefully took a seat with one shoulder braced against the cold stone. She could use the support, but putting her back against it was out of the question. That made Towhee wonder something.

Hey, how’s my scar looking? Pretty gnarly? she guessed.

Her mother's mention of ptero earned an eye-roll, which was then interrupted by a pointy toe being shoved in to her cheek, that Leona spurned with a quick snap of her teeth (which missed, but, it was all in jest anyway).

It was frightening that Towhee seemed so nonchalant about her grevious wound, to which Leona scowled. She was just as unimpressed by the idea of studying ptero for long hours, because that would take her away from the training grounds and the other kids - and she didn't want to fall behind.

While Towhee moved around, Leona hurried to support her - or at least be there if she fell, or if she needed her - and only stilled when Towhee was sitting again.

Mooom, I don't wanna look at it. Not to admit to being squeamish, which would certainly undercut Leona's rise to being one of the best students, or warriors, or conquerors, as time went on.

Okay, okay, Towhee relented with an air of amusement, I’ll ask your brother. He loves gross shit.

She settled herself a bit more comfortably, then realized she was leaning too much weight on her right shoulder. She would need to free up her foreleg if she wanted to work on some signing. Towhee maneuvered a tad more, then let out a sigh at how old and stupid this sometimes made her feel.

Shoving that thought aside, she signed and spoke simultaneously, -“Don’t you want to learn how to properly insult Jack and the other kids? If you promise to pay attention, I’ll serve up some of my best insults.”-

Content that she wouldn't have to suffer through something nasty, Leona settled down. As her mother adjusted herself, she was mindful of every motion and almost got up to help her - but then she was still, or at least at rest.

Then her mother began to sign all kinds of things; Leona found it easier to listen to the words rather than follow the movements, and then gave a groan. Why do I gotta learn ptero? She whined. Nobody else knows it, just me'n Jack... And dad. Its weird.

Leona hadn't realized how rude she was being about it, and huffed, wishing her mother could focus on something cool.

11/22: I’m going to wrap this to ease your load!

Leona didn’t take the bait, choosing instead to whine about it. Towhee felt a flicker of annoyance, though she knew the girl was young. She didn’t get it. All Towhee could do was try to make her understand.

-“Since I can’t hear, it really helps me with communication. I’m pretty good at lipreading but the visuals help me out a lot. It makes me feel… included, I guess, when other people bother using it. It means they care that I can follow along and understand.”-

But just in case she couldn’t appeal to Leo’s developing sense of empathy, Towhee would always fall back on the other perks of a silent language. They ranged from the comical to the deadly serious. The kid was young enough that she still might not care that much, though Towhee was always compelled to make her case when it came to Ptero; it was a bit of a passion of hers.

-“And, again, there’s nothing as satisfying as signing insults, especially if the person you’re insulting doesn’t know the language. You can say shit right to their face and they won’t even know.”- Towhee clicked her tongue. -“Then there’s the applications when hunting or fighting; you can signal to your comrades without letting the prey or the enemy overhear you.”-

Whether or not she was sold, Leo humored her mother, at least for a little while. Towhee only really enjoyed sharing her language with those who truly wanted to learn it, though, and eventually gave up in favor of talking shop re: mercenary training.