Heron Lake Plateau Speak of the not devil.

Finley didn't react, which caused both hurt and indignation to flare inside of Towhee. She loved her godmother fiercely, respected her just as much, and it felt almost as though those sentiments weren't reciprocated any longer. Surely she must be wrong about that—her aunt's love wasn't conditional—but her cold shoulder and disapproval hung heavily on Towhee's fallible emotions.

Fortunately, Elwood didn't share in his mate's silent treatment. Towhee hung on his every word as he explained that talking it out would help. Although she hadn't wanted to bother, she nodded, abruptly eager to do whatever it took to clear the air. She couldn't stand the tension but it was more than just that: she couldn't bear feeling as if her relationship with her godparents was in real, actual danger.

"Okay," she agreed verbally, orange eyes flicking between the two of them, "but before I explain anything, I want you both to know I'm really sorry, for disappointing and upsetting you. I know that—" She paused and sat up a little straighter as she gathered her thoughts, blowing out an overly loud breath. "I know it must seem like I shat all over the opportunity you gave me and I just want you to know that that wasn't my intention." She emphasized the point by signing, -I'm really sorry.-

In response to Elwood's question, Towhee took another pause to carefully choose her words. "To tell you the truth, I think I only agreed to stay on to avoid this exact situation: letting you two down. And I guess I really wanted to be the worthy Alpha you guys believed me to be." She swallowed. "But then reality hit, again and again. I realized that I'm not only not cut out for it, I didn't want it. And I didn't expect to become the Beta, though now that I'm in the role, it feels like a better fit." That part was especially awkward to confess, since the only reason she was the Beta was because Finley had rage-quit on the spot. She couldn't bring herself to look at her aunt.

She hurried on to her next point. "When Rave came to me telling me about the pregnancy, it was sort of the straw that broke the camel's back, I guess. Especially since we'd already been discussing the possibility of Quixote as Alpha male, it just clicked in my mind." Towhee very nearly mentioned that she she truly believed they'd do a good job and begged them to trust her judgment, though she was so desperate to avoid rocking the boat any further that she stopped there.

It took a lot of fortitude, though she really had no choice now but to lift her orange eyes and peer beseechingly at her godparents and await their responses.