Redhawk Caldera Kiss my (uh oh).

Huh, Towhee thought when Rue mentioned swimming to help with her chronic back pain. It made sense. Water—particularly cold water—could be quite soothing, plus there was the sense of weightlessness that came with swimming. But she didn't get to think on it long, nor ask any follow-up questions, because the Regent just as quickly swung the topic over to Towhee's brother.

Her heart sank a little. "He was," she agreed, "but he's gone back to his kids for now. It's... complicated." As far as Towhee understood it, Niamh had died giving birth and two strangers had raised the pups for the first several months of their lives. Naturally, those pups considered the pair to be their parents and though Phox had finally found them, he was a perfect stranger to them. The entire situation was utterly heartbreaking and stoked some of Towhee's dormant fury toward the late Niamh.

But she pushed those feelings away. There was no time and no energy for them. "I'm hoping they all decide to come here, once the pups are ready for that." It would be an emotionally wrought and peculiar dynamic, though the Redhawks had never been very conventional with familial matters anyway, so the Sovereign was sure they could make it work.

Abruptly realizing she hadn't actually explained the details to Rue, Towhee said, "By 'they all,' I'm including the couple who raised the pups when Niamh died. I forget their names. They both start with 'M.'" She shrugged, oblivious to their identities and all the lies and secrets involved, probably because those in the know hadn't wanted to burden her with those grisly details while she was sick. Or possibly they had simply fallen on deaf ears at some point.

Her orange eyes drifted a moment, then found their way back to the Regent's face, anticipating more questions about the matter.