Sun Mote Copse then drop on the deck and flop like a fish

Since learning of Blackfeather's apparent proximity, Elwood had begun patrolling the Firebirds' borders once more. It was something he had neglected in the wake of his retirement, but now that there was a threat of danger -- not to mention the fact that their adult numbers were low -- he knew that it was important to protect his family, in spite of his old bones. He heard Bat's call when it came, but was a short distance away, and it took him longer than he would have liked to cover the ground and meet her.

When he arrived, tension and emotion were thick in the air. Niamh was present, and he caught the tail end of her invitation to Bat; nothing seemed out of the ordinary there, but he had missed the interaction that led up to her offer. The fur on Bat's cheeks was tear-streaked, and her posture looked defeated; she was even turned away from the copse, as if preparing to depart. Elwood's ears pricked with kind curiosity as he came to a halt somewhere between Niamh and Bat.

"Bat? Everything okay?" he asked, shifting his gaze between his sister-in-law and niece (because that's what Bat was to him -- his goddaughter's daughter had a place in his heart, even with the conflicting feelings stirred up at the thought of Kiwi).