Redhawk Caldera Blues

"So?" Now Towhee wondered if Wraen would judge her if she met Reyes. Niamh had seemed more concerned about being perceived as elderly, not particularly judgmental otherwise. But what would others think? Did she care? No, she thought decisively, feeling a prickle of annoyance. Beyond breeding eligibility, Towhee could not figure out why the hell age mattered to anyone. With their lifespans, generations were bound to be close together.

It didn't help matters that Towhee had once felt a brief and intense attraction to Bronco. It had been a fleeting thing in the end, thank goodness, not because he was too young or even her friend's son. But he was Niamh's son, which felt decidedly off limits simply based on their friendship and history. Towhee couldn't even say why, it was a foregone conclusion.

She pushed these thoughts aside as Wraen regaled her with the story. Although Towhee didn't judge her friend for it, she couldn't help but silently observe how the woman tended to burn a lot of bridges, particularly with Towhee's own family members. Unlike her ongoing vendetta against Hydra, this one sounded a little one-sided, and not from the side Towhee would've guessed with the difference in age and, theoretically, widsom. Wraen took responsibility for bungling the entire thing.

"What did you do or say to piss him off in the first place?" Towhee couldn't help but wonder, taking a moment to rub at her eyes, which always tended to ache during and after long conversations like these. Catching up with Wraen was worth the price of admission though.