Firefly Glen (PHE) Chicken charmers.

Tags for reference. All are welcome!

After spending some time with @Kukutux and the healers, Towhee and Bushtit remained huddled at the camp shared by @Reyson, @Meadow and their kids. If she’d caused a stir by bringing her baby here, it had hopefully died down after the first week. The day she and @Towhee Jr had agreed upon approached swiftly—much too swiftly for her tastes.

She was very much enjoying being among so many and so much. The food was great, of course, but the company was incredible. Towhee hadn’t realized how lonely and quiet she’d felt these past few months. She realized she didn’t want to go back to the copse. She would, of course, but coming here had definitely been something of a revelation.

This evening, she kept a watchful eye on Bushtit as he chewed on an elk hoof a passerby had gifted him. Towhee grew stiff as the temperatures dropped and rose onto all fours to begin a stretching routine, after which she slung herself back to the ground and dragged her giggling son close for a cuddle.

nose tasted air; heart longed for the sea. 
he was not surprised to see towhee; he did not consider her son's age, only waved a smile toward the woman with a lash of his tail.
"it is good to see you," he murmured, and settled not so close to look out over the mingling crowd of wolves. "so many," the seal hunter commented. "i have enjoyed it. but i miss moontide."
if he thought for a moment, chakliux might be able to hear the ocean.

A pale figure loomed closer through the gathering dusk. Towhee tensed, then relaxed when she realized it was Chakliux. His remark made her wonder when they’d last spoken to one another. Had it been that time when he’d been hunting another wolf? She wasn’t entirely sure.

Bushtit, this is Chakliux, Towhee murmured to her son, who wasn’t paying much attention to anyone in particular, as he was focused upon his plaything. Chakliux, Bushtit. She paused before addressing his comment with her own: I was just thinking along those same lines.

Said lines were more perpendicular than parallel, though Towhee didn’t really plan on sharing her thoughts. She already felt guilty enough without admitting out loud that she didn’t want to go home.

Are Phox and Heph still away on their honeymoon or whatever? she couldn’t help but ask. And how’s Rodyn? And everybody else?

"it is good to meet you, bushtit," the seal hunter smiled. so small! all his own had been this tiny, and yet he could hardly believe it. now the five born among the lodges were fast approaching the time of their own seals.
idly did chakliux wonder if there would be more, with marina's health and tullik's seeming distance.
perhaps he should go to trade after all, for herbs and meat, for pelts, for wealth that might soothe the coming year.
"yes. they are still gone. we wish them happiness. moontide bursts with children. almost, the plateau is too small."

When he mentioned the plateau, Towhee wondered if he meant the landmark itself or the pack which resided on it. Her lips pulled down thoughtfully, though they twitched upward again when she glanced down and saw Bushtit fighting sleep. She bent to smooth her nose up and over his forehead, unsurprised when the hoof tumbled out of his mouth and clunked mildly painfully on top of a forepaw.

Brushing it aside and gently maneuvering her sleepy child in the crook of her forelegs, Towhee remained attentive enough to ask, Remind me: how many are there? What are they like? With a slight smirk, she added, Are they all yours?

He hadn’t said anything specifically about Rodyn, though Towhee suddenly wondered about Rolayne. She should’ve probably thought about Panuk too, though she’d really only developed a close bond with Roly. He would be all grown up by now, perhaps even dispersed to discover his own life path away from his parents’ home.

"ah, five are mine," chakliux jested. "four belong to raindrop and sumac. and there is a young boy and his mother among us now too. dutch and simbelmyne have four of their own." one missing.
"puffin learns to hunt the sea-cliffs with one of her mothers, tullik. marina teaches kilalurak the work inside the lodge. chagak is becoming skilled at tracking. sea hunter is tall. he runs with sirmiq, a careful warrior."
"the others, angel oak, ponderosa, pine, silvertip, sirimiri, kitimat, seelie, and ghelan; they come among the lodges to hunt and to play with our seal hunter children. moontide is filled with their laughter."

Towhee quickly gave up on trying to do the math, though Chakliux hadn’t been kidding about the plateau being overrun by children. She mouthed the word “wow” as he ran through a list of names. Towhee hung on his every word, though she still hoped there wasn’t a quiz at the end, because it was too much information to memorize.

I bet, she murmured.

She idly wondered what that was like, having never heard the laughter of children. She’d seen it, of course, and it was one of the most incredible sights. Towhee genuinely couldn’t imagine what it must sound like, though surely it amplified the experience. It wasn’t often these days that she had moments like this—where she pondered the drawbacks of her disability—but she quickly processed it and moved on.

So, how many kids have you fathered in total? Towhee wondered, because everything was a (friendly!) competition. She added playfully, Do you even know? I wish I could have so many, losing track could be possible, although it’s kind of hard to do that, as the mother. Your body kind of keeps score for you, which was of course a massive understatement.

"i have nine. seven live. two are buried on moonspear," chakliux said evenly, for he did not wish that towhee share condolences. he had not forgotten them, not in all these years. they were of he and of nasamik. nothing drove them from his mind.
a wry smile overtook him. "seven other children may also bear my blood. i am a wanted man," the seal hunter quipped. "and i know their names. among my people, it is the father who teaches the lineage to his children. but we are only fathers as long as we are chosen as fathers. "
chakliux did not know why he rambled; he was quiet now with a gentle look.