Bramblepoint same place, different time

She wasn't expecting the nip, yet it wasn't unwelcome. Towhee belatedly realized she should return the gesture, yet the moment had passed so she let it go. She listened to Hydra (read: watched her lips move) as she described her younger siblings. Raven had described newborns in a similar fashion and the Xi smirked faintly. Then Hydra said something that took her by surprise. She must be referring to Phox. Had he mentioned meeting Hydra? He was much more of a social butterfly than his curmudgeon of a sister, so perhaps he hadn't seen this information as worth sharing. Actually, he probably thought Towhee wouldn't have cared less about the outsiders he met.

"Phox?" she asked, just to be clear, then smiled. "I'm glad you met him. We're like this." She held up her right forepaw and wound two toes together before placing it back on the ground. "So you're helping him with his trades too," she observed, feeling a little tug in her chest. It took her a second to place the feeling: she was grateful for Hydra. Heck, she might even say she was fond of the girl, especially with the kindness shown toward her brother. There was no surer way of getting on Towhee's good side.

"Speaking of," she continued a moment later, "are you ready? Would you like to take offense or defense?"

Yo @Hydra, would you like to continue this? If not, you can just ship it to the archives when you read this. :)