Stone Circle Hearts are wild creatures, that’s why our ribs are cages.

After languishing in the hinterlands for weeks, Towhee decided she was overdue for a visit back east to Kvarsheim to check on @Figment’s family. She hadn’t had much of a chance to get to know @Tauris, @Katla or @Swift last time and the pups had been so young, they wouldn’t even remember her.

Keen to remedy that now, she went around the first mountain range and through the second, stopping by Epoch just long enough to confirm @Jack Snipe still wasn’t there. She continued eastward from there, though she had to take the long way around to avoid the pack living at Swiftcurrent Creek.

She stopped at Duck Lake, quite devoid of its namesake animal this late in the season, and slept. She woke well-rested the following morning, her fur coated in a light blanket of frost. Towhee loped through Fox’s Glade, the bright November sun melting the crystals in her pelt and warming her stiff muscles. She even managed to catch some breakfast.

At long last, she reached the edge of Stone Circle. Towhee drew in a breath and announced her presence by way of a short, toneless howl.

Towhee is not her mother. In truth, the bedouin woman who had raised Figment is little more than a kind stranger to her.

But when that call breaks through the golden aspen of prisnálund it tolls like renewed hope- and she runs to it, fervently, like a child, and by the time she catches sight of that fire-rimmed silhouette through the trees beads of tears have formed in the corner of her eyes.

“Towhee,” she greets, fighting through the waver on her voice. “It’s so good to see you-“

After ringing the proverbial doorbell, Towhee eased onto her haunches to take her weight off her aching feet. She lifted a forepaw and licked it. Shortly after she switched to the other, Tauris appeared in a flurry.

Taur— she greeted, setting both damp feet on the ground and then springing to all fours when she saw the unmistakable shine in the younger woman’s eyes. Hey, what’s the matter? she asked, chest pinching right along with her voice.

Had she lost another son? No, even her luck wasn’t that bad. Towhee blinked and held her breath, orange eyes flicking between her daughter-in-law’s. Those were definitely tears in the corners of her eyes. Shit.

Please forgive me for a) misspelling her name and b) fixing it, thus slapping you over the head with a tag you didn’t need, lol.

ahhh no worries at all it always autocorrects to taurus haha

“Nothing,” she insists, smudging at her eyes with a forearm only for the tears to gather again, “well, e-everything, sort of.”

She takes three swift steps and then plunges the crown of her head into Towhee’s chest, as if willing herself to be swallowed up by swathes of fiery fur. It was the first time she’d shown any affection beyond cordial words for the woman. Oh- but she reveled in it, the place created by Towhee that felt like she was hidden somewhere warm and safe.

“Fig is ok,” she murmurs reassuringly into her fur, “and the kids- they’ll be happy to see their grandmother.”

She felt a bit wobbly in her legs. It took a conscientious effort not to sink back to the ground. Towhee braced for whatever was coming, literally and metaphorically, and did not entirely trust the “nothing” followed by the “everything.”

Although bewildered by this response, Towhee didn’t hesitate to move her foreleg out of the way, not just giving Tauris space but slinging it over her back to tug her a bit closer. The woman’s tears still frightened her badly—now her stomach trembled—but she meant a lot to Fig, so she was important to Towhee too.

She could feel the slight vibrato as Tauris said something into her chest hair, along with the warmth of her breath. Towhee resisted the urge to pry Tauris’s face off her chest so she could read her lips, though it was a near thing. Instead, she gently rubbed one svelte shoulder.

You’re killing me, Smalls, she did murmur after a minute, affectionate but anxious. I swear you can cling to me as long as you want but first, can you tell me what’s wrong? Please?

“I’m sorry, Towhee,” she amends quickly, peeling herself away to draw back a pace. There is so much worry in her eyes. The girl’s ears fall with guilt but she goes on, mouthing the words clearly for the woman to discern, “everyone is alright.”

“It’s our alpha, Gunnar, he’s passed away. His mate, Taktuq has stepped down as well.”

There was more, too: the truth about Germanicus. The trouble with the wolf Bonario and how his and Gunnar’s actions had triggered a rift with their allied pack. How wolves had come to lay claim to the next valley over. She relays it all to Towhee, even that which she fears the most: that her divided attentions have taken her away from the children. That she’d been scatterbrained and absent during their most formative months.

She’d never felt so much like a child, crying to their parent! She’d have reprimanded herself if the roles were reversed! But in the moment she had little insight left. All she had was the worry, a most useless emotion.

She swallows the last of it, eyes passing over the woman’s, thick with remorse now.

“I’m sorry to… bombard you right when you get here. I’m sure it’s been a long journey, would you like something to eat? Maybe rest? I can take you to Fig.”

When Tauris finally explained, Towhee exhaled a breath of relief. She did not speak herself, listening with her eyes as the handsome young woman regaled her with frankly a shitload of news, much of it bad. The entire scenario reminded her of the day another daughter-in-law had blindsided her, a memory which now made her suppress a growl.

I’m sorry, Tauris, it sounds like you guys have had a rough go lately, Towhee said, eyes tracking over every inch of her face.

It was, in fact, too much for her to process in the present moment, especially that bit about Germanicus. Towhee would have to stow it and stew on it later. She could tell that Tauris, Fig and the little ones could really use her support right now, not her distraction.

That’s just how life goes around here, she continued with a gentle, world-weary smile, reaching out to touch Tauris’s elbow. I don’t mean to minimalize what you’re going through. It’s just that you’re definitely not alone in feeling bitchslapped by life.

She shook her head lightly at Tauris’s apology and subsequent offer. Of course she wanted to see her son and grandchildren. But Towhee was here to stay for a few days, so she could spare more than just a passing moment to catch up with her son’s partner.

You know how I know you’re a good mom? Towhee questioned rhetorically. You’re worried that you aren’t. Look, parenting is hard as fuck. It’s wonderful, of course, she said, rolling her eyes and flapping a hand dismissively, but it’s also extremely challenging trying to raise those lil’ goobers on top of the rest of this shitshow. Anyway, grandma’s here so you can take what sounds like a much-needed break.