Heron Lake Plateau Everything means something and something has occurred

She knew her brother was at her flank; she even intuited that he was saying something he wanted her to see, based on how he positioned himself. But Towhee didn't even glance sideways. She appreciated the backup but she was here for one thing: answers. She only had eyes for Quixote right now.

Halfway through the Alpha male's speech, Towhee's eyes were practically wobbling in their sockets as she tried to keep up with reading his lips. He stonewalled her—or Phox, really—about Niamh's "stuff." What the hell was he talking about? Concern and frustration mounting, she blinked when Quixote mentioned the incident at the borders. That was still a giant question mark for her.

Her mouth fell ajar at, "I don't know if Colt's coming back." She didn't need to say it, or even sign it, her entire body flashed with the message: "What the fuck?" Towhee's mouth clapped shut, then opened again as she began to verbalize. But before she could get out even a single syllable, Quixote launched into a second speech, this one directed at Phox.

She turned to look at her brother, completely nonplussed. What the hell had he said to set Quixote off on another windy rant? Towhee began to growl not long after the word "debacle," though she was now deaf to the content of his lecture because she was looking at her brother. The noise was directed at both of them. She was here to figure out what was going on, not bear witness to some sort of spontaneous pissing match.

"EXCUSE ME!!!" she hollered. "CAN WE PUT OUR DICKS AWAY FOR ONE SECOND SO SOMEONE CAN TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH NIAMH!!!" And Colt, though Towhee was much more focused on her Person. "I need Phox here as my official translator," she added in her sibling's defense. It wasn't even a lie, not with Quixote talking so much her eyes were at risk of falling out of her head. "But you," she added, glaring daggers at the recently appeared Camilla and moving toward her with a warning snap of her teeth, "scram!!!"