Ghost Lion Crag In the hall of the mountain king.

Her old comrade in arms began with good news: a mate, children. Towhee's lips quirked into a tight smile, the tip of her tail wiggling slightly, as she acknowledged these happy milestones. She said nothing, nodding for Hydra to continue, orange eyes fixed on the fluid motion of her lips as so many words poured forth. By the end, Towhee's eyeballs ached a bit from all the lipreading, though that was a small price to pay for the intel, both business and personal.

Her stomach had dropped at the reference to Hydra's parents' passing, so she immediately wanted to offer condolences. "I'm sorry about your parents," she said, words heartfelt. More than ever, Towhee could empathize with loss just now. "And your other troubles. But I'm so happy for you: mate, mother, queen..." She had sat somewhere in the middle of the soliloquy, so her tail thumped audibly on the shale.

It stilled and Towhee paused for a lengthy moment, mulling over this news about Caiaphas. "I know her: Caiaphas, I mean. She attempted to usurp my sister, Raven, when she was part of our pack. This was a while ago now." And pretty irrelevant, though Towhee met Hydra's gaze, eyes locking, as the acknowledged their common enemy. "I'm not sure about the other names," she admitted, wondering if they were the pups who'd been banished with Caiaphas, grown now.

After offering so much, surely Hydra would insist on hearing more from Towhee's quarter. She suppressed a sigh as she said, "I have no mate and I'm not a queen—not even a leader—anymore." Her rank had become such a moot point to her lately, though saying this out loud, Towhee realized it did bother her on some level. She was a Redhawk, a born leader, although it all seemed so unimportant lately. Maybe she should discuss it with Wraen sometime though... "I am a mother though," she tacked on, her smile a little crooked, because half of her children were gone. "My daughter, Fen, lives with me in the copse. I guess we're Firebirds now."

And that made her think back to a moment ago and, finally, Towhee seized the chance to ask the question that had been on her mind since Wraen's initial remark. "What is your relationship with Wraen? She had me thinking you two were at odds, is that not the case?" It was a blunt question, though Towhee knew Hydra wouldn't mind.