Heron Lake Plateau Troy, this is Midsomer

I think both of these nerds could be in the running for Awkward Nerd of the Year, rofl. WHO WILL WIN BY THE END OF THE THREAD?!

There had been a little voice in the back of his mind that nagged him with each of the women he met, like some grandmother eager to get her hands on a new batch of children to spoil, 'When are you going to get married?  Is she single? She sounds nice, you should invite her over for dinner,'  except when it was that complete disaster of Blackthorn sisters, which made him question his quest entirely.  He'd gotten used to tuning it out as spring had gone on, as though he'd tried, he'd first failed, then told indirectly to stop trying and he'd just about grown to accept that.  Perhaps that was part of why the voice had changed, no longer a sitcom grandma but another guy in a bar egging him on.  Now instead it screamed, 'Take her!' with emphasis varying, and was much harder to ignore.

Let's be real, the post-war Redhawks were a sausage fest.  But Quixote had to be the most eligible bachelor, right?  No strings tying him to any family within a good long walk.  And Raven?  She was the only of age, unattached woman inside the borders he knew of -- that meant they were practically made for each other, he thought, trying to convince his conscious mind to agree with his instincts so he had half a chance of surviving this without Freudian slipping into sometime next week.

It was for that reason he also decided it'd be a good idea to follow her lead and take a seat.  It was a good way to keep himself from slowly continuing to drift forward until his muzzle was buried deep in her fur, as tantalizing as that thought suddenly was.  Quixote wasn't sure it was going to work for long, as he was already regretting doing so. I joined up to help end a war, didn't need another starting because a couple of kids are still trying to figure out who they are. Neither party were pups any more, not by a long shot, but they were still in the awkward inbetweens so it made for a good turn of speech. Looked like he's had a rough time.  I hope they're able to sort it out once they've cooled off, and timelines said it was likely they already had.  For once he was willing to believe Towhee would figure out the best way to deal with it, mostly because it left him free to do other things and not worry about it.  Other things on his mind and all.  

It was far too glum a subject and far too complicated for his addled mind to muse on like it normally would.  Quixote opted to try to change the subject instead, Was scoping out the lake if you wanted to come along?  I think the birds are a bit too smart for me though.  No question he was antsy, already starting to stand up again as he tried to charm her closer with a lopsided grin and some self-deprecating humor.  It was supposed to be a game, wasn't it?  She the temptress and he the rogue toying with the distance between them until he was sure he wouldn't get bitten.

He wanted, and whether it was right, whether it was allowed in the eyes of leadership didn't really cross his mind. There was one warning, though, billboard-sized and easily able to keep him on the moral straight and narrow:  DON'T MESS IT UP.