Redhawk Caldera I will fight you for eternity.

"Coyote" attempted to explain the term to her and Towhee thought she understood. But then he used the word "tacticians," which looked similar when he spoke it but different enough to trip her up a bit, specially with added context. She missed most of his ranting about the so-called skeleton lords as she tried to parse out these new words and their meanings. When she refocused on what he was saying, she caught the last handful of words: "...I don't know if you'd necessarily call it a true war, but it was not a happy neighborhood."

Towhee remained silent for a beat before asking, "Can you spell it out? The 'tactics' word, I mean? Do it slowly and face me," she requested. Just in case it wasn't abundantly clear by now, she explained, "I'm deaf. I can read lips, for the most part, but sometimes a word's not familiar and it's just easier for me to learn it if you spell it out." She felt a smidgen self-conscious, though aside from the tips of her ears warming slightly, it didn't manifest in any way.

Once that was said and done, Towhee once more stayed mum for a few moments, pondering everything he'd said, which was quite a lot. Meanwhile, she visually assessed him. He looked reasonably young and healthy, especially for a loner. She thought back to his mention of gifts, weighing this thought with half a dozen others before finally opening her mouth to speak again.

"If you're interested in joining us at the caldera, you should make a kill and come to the borders, calling for Elwood and Finley. You can tell them Towhee sent you. My name and your proof of hunting skills should vouch for you, though I still maintain what I said about using the first month to really prove yourself properly. If you really know your stuff about these T-A-C-T-I-C-S, then now's the perfect time to strike while the iron's hot." We could use you, in other words, Towhee added silently, though it wasn't something she would be caught saying out loud all too easily.