Redhawk Caldera Acting like we'd live forever

Hotah caught the movement of her paws the moment she began to sign, his eyes sharpening with focus. Jr’s presence hit different from Towhee’s—fiercer, heavier, grief-honed—but he didn’t shy from it. He watched her hands, then her face, then back to her hands again, piecing it together the way he’d been practicing.

When she signed her name, he nodded once—slow, careful—before lifting his own paw.

He signed back, more confident this time, though still rough around the edges:

-Hotah.-

A beat while he composed the next bit.

-Good… to meet… you.-

His timing was off, but the meaning was clear. He even added a small, respectful dip of his head, settling into a posture that was open, steady, and without pity—just quiet acknowledgement.

His gaze lingered on her paws again, and he shaped one more sign, deliberate and earnest:

-I… learn… slowly.-

A small smile tugged at the crease by his eye—warm, encouraging, not at all patronizing.