Heron Lake Plateau Ka-tet.

Although neither one protested, Towhee could see that her point didn't sit well with either her sister or her mate. She could've just left it there, since nobody was actually arguing with her, but the look that flashed across Raven's face prompted Towhee to open her mouth to defend her position. She clapped it shut at the medicine woman's question, which was more than fair.

Towhee contemplated for a moment, then decided to roll her answer into what she'd already been about to say. "It's not just our birthright, as the offspring of Peregrine and Fox, it's also our responsibility. It's about our parents' legacy. Everyone in this pack is a Redhawk by name but not all of us are Redhawks by blood." Her orange eyes skirted sideways to Quixote for half a second, though they mostly trained on Raven. "That doesn't make them without merit, obviously, but it's not right that one of their progeny isn't leading this pack." And nobody could change her mind.

She let that point hover in the air between the three of them for a beat, then continued, "And I still think it makes more sense for you, since you're the eldest and Qui's already Alpha male, but I'm not here to push anyone in or out of ranks. I'd accept you readily as my leader, given the case I've just made, but if anyone does take issue with it, they can come talk to us about it, right? What Caiaphas tried to do was a fucking dick move. It's not going to happen again."

Towhee reigned in her irritation over the recollection of that incident, then finished with, "If you have any doubts at all, I can step up. I can even step up temporarily if you want to take some time to rebuild the pack's confidence and trust in your ability to lead, then we can trade when you're ready." She rolled her white-streaked shoulders. "Just as long as one of us is there to represent our heritage."