Heron Lake Plateau Sooner rather than later

She hadn't caught a single word of the exchange, though her brother quickly signed a brief explanation. Towhee wondered if he'd actually said those words. Judging by the thundercloud hovering over Raven's brow: yes, he had. Her stomach nearly fell out of her butt at the next few signs. This had never really registered as a possibility—as far as she could tell, Wildfire's aspirations had gone smoother than Astroglide—so what had gone so terribly wrong?

Suddenly, Towhee recollected her recent encounter with Tegan, when he'd insulted Phox for seemingly no reason whatsoever (although she'd later found out there was a reason). She had been seriously annoyed and he was her brother, not her mate. It was entirely possible, then, that Raven looked so steamed just because Phox had insulted Quixote, especially when Towhee considered just how many times Raven had had to field criticism of bother herself and her fellow Alpha.

Facing their older sister, Towhee frowned. -Look, I don't know what he said but please... I do not want to leave on bad terms. Please,- she repeated firmly. Drawing in a breath and glancing at Phox, then back to their older sister, she added, -You KNOW I didn't make this decision lightly, not with my history. But I think it's the best option for all involved if Phox and I spin off and do our own thing, just like Wildfire did. The two of us will stop heckling you guys and do our own thing. You'll run things your way, we'll run things our way. You'll raise your kids, we'll raise ours. That's what it's really about: focusing on our families.-

They would always be family, though Towhee hoped Raven knew what she meant about their smaller, nuclear groups. Their opinions on Quixote aside, this wasn't about bad blood or broken faith. It wasn't supposed to be a negative thing. Of course, neither had Wildfire's idea to create the Firebirds and Towhee had taken that very poorly indeed. So she could see it from both sides and empathize. She just honestly hoped the three (well, four) of them could reach an understanding about it all.