Heron Lake Plateau It’s a shame- it’s a crying shame them’s the brakes

The moment Quixote challenged Niamh’s loyalty to Towhee made her bristle, and her lips quivered as she struggled to keep her teeth covered. How dare he assume she didn’t care? She’d exiled her own mate for Towhee- but as he went on to question her further, it became obvious that he simply didn’t know what she’d done, or why she’d done it. He seemed frustrated beyond belief with her, which made Niamh impatient. Couldn’t the man keep up with what was going on in the pack? Wasn’t that his job? Niamh struggled to keep herself together, and to stop herself from exploding at him. The reason she was able to do so, though, was because he didn’t shout at her. His tone of voice was calm even though his words were cutting. She wouldn’t realize it until later, but Quixote could really deliver as an alpha when it came to holding himself together when faced with a mess. Something she was only beginning to learn. She took a page from his book and began to explain in a low, calm voice- though her features screamed her discontent.

”I-“ No, that wasn’t the place to start. If she started with Colt, she’d lose it. She took a deep breath- he wanted the whole story, and she needed to learn how to tell a whole story in a straightforward way even though her raging emotions made a tangled mess of it.

”That Blackfeather wolf showed up at our borders. She admitted having an association with Ceara’s abduction, but apparently she came to tell us Screech was dead.” She said. Her emotions, of course, had warped her memory slightly. But she delivered her story word for word as though everything was fact. ”I wasn’t aure why she would do that...I assumed she had some other motive; she knew that Ceara had escaped, So having lost her, I thought she might have been trying to lure one of us away, or to gather intel...I didn’t know what to do with her. I wasn’t part of all the Blackfeather stuff- I just know I’m supposed to hate them...But I didn’t want to make any hasty decisions and jeopardize the pack. So I called for Towhee. She went through everything with Blackfeather once. I felt she would know what to do.” She said. All of that was the truth- Maegi had been the first Blackfeather wolf Niamh had ever met.  And she had chosen Towhee for her experience on the matter, rather than Quixote- likely her first mistake, of many. 


”Colt showed up just before Towhee did, so he was there. I  barely got two words out to Towhee when she arrived, that it was a Blackfeather wolf, before she attacked. She went in for another strike and Colt intercepted. He protected the Blackfeather wolf...And Towhee got knocked out, which you know.” She said, breathing a soft sigh as she reassured herself that Quixote had told her that Towhee was alright. But her jaw clenched when she thought of Colt stepping in to protect a Blackfeather wolf, and injuring Towhee in the process. ”The Blackfeather wolf bolted. I was so angry with Colt for hurting Towhee, choosing to protect a Blackfeather wolf- she kidnapped his sister!- that I cast him out. Told him he had to track her down, or not come back.” She said, but her conviction began to weaken. She felt the indecision she’d felt then, having leapt to the conclusion that Colt was a turncoat, and that he’d willingly endangered and hurt his own packmate. 


”I couldn’t lose another friend to that. I saw what happened to Screech...If Towhee ended up the same way I’d never forgive him.” she said quietly. ”I was triggered. I haven’t...I haven’t gotten over that.” She admitted guiltily. She was the one who had given Screech his concussion- and she still did not forgive herself for everything he had done after that. ”But I love him. So once you were there, and Towhee was safe...I had to find him. I couldn’t let another wolf I loved just be whisked away into nothing without trying to look,” She said, referencing Ambrose, then, ”So I bolted. To find him...But I didn’t. So I guess he left, just like I told him...But he was on her trail, so...I’d assume he’s tracking her back to Blackfeather- which is what I’d originally feared she would want.” She said. She’d said a lot- and wasn’t even sure if she’d made any sense, so she fell silent, waiting to see what Quixote would make of the whole mess.