Redhawk Caldera Reactivity

Reyes didn't get out. Instead, he stood his ground and told her to stop yelling and listen to him. Towhee would've gone apoplectic if not for the shivering puppy attached to her leg. With movements that were at once gentle and mechanical, she started to pry Caracal off her leg. He was shaking but she was shaking now too. Keeping her eyes on Reyes, Towhee pressed a kiss to the top of Caracal's head and muttered something into his ear as she tried to ease out of his grip.

This arguably wasn't his first fuck-up, though Towhee didn't bother to point that out to him as she finally loosened their frightened child from her leg. Caracal skittered toward one of his sisters and she glanced at them, then returned her attention to Reyes. She wanted to leap at him, bury her fangs in his neck and shove him into the dirt like he'd done to Caracal.

But she realized she was trembling horribly from head to toe. She hadn't had the energy to run to him when he'd returned—if she'd mustered it, would they have avoided this whole scenario?—because she hadn't eaten or slept since finding out about Wraen's death. If she did attack him and he fought back, Towhee might actually lose that fight. And considering his impudence so far, she imagined he would fight back.

"Once is one too many," Towhee snarled at him. Her throat was so hoarse, her words came out at a more reasonable volume now. "What the ever loving fuck is wrong with you, Reyes? Why the fuck would you do that? He was excited to see you!" She shuddered all the worse, so goddamn angry that Reyes would lash out at their excitable little boy like that. Despite her weariness, the adrenaline rushed. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip out your innards," Towhee seethed, knowing there wasn't one.