Redhawk Caldera I'll watch over you.

Although it rankled that Lagan spoke well of Ivy after she had clearly crossed Towhee, the Xi didn't react to her brother's musings for a few beats. She led the way to the borders, then fell into the brisk but easy pace that worked best for patrols. As she trotted along the territory's edge, she turned over Lagan's words in her head, mulling over his proposal.

-Fine,- she signed eventually, a bit of moodiness injected into the gesture. -But I didn't really mess with her,- she insisted, which was only partially true. She had signed, knowing Ivy wouldn't understand, but she hadn't said anything rude so much as... frank. Towhee sighed. -Whatever, though. I don't want to think about this stuff anymore. Let's focus on the patrol.-

As luck would have it, an effective distraction cropped up in the form of a young, malnourished coyote lurking just inside the boundary. "Have you seen my m—" it began to say but Towhee didn't even bother trying to read its lips. She sprang at the smaller, weaker canine, easily grabbing it by the back of the neck and pressing it to the ground. It wriggled and screamed, though the sound was choked off when the Xi clenched her jaws, mutilating the prairie wolf's neck.