Redhawk Caldera rejoice, because you're trying your best

Set after his thread at Lake Rodney, so it might be odd.

He was a mess when he came upon the fringes of the caldera. Physically the lifestyle of a rogue had agreed with him, and he'd grown like a weed - but it was the recent days that had begun to wear him down. He was hungry, thin, with matted fur and tired eyes. Emotionally Titmouse was as healthy as could be expected: so, not very. Meeting his sister had not gone well at all. The boy still refused to think of Towhee as his sister; he felt too embarrassed by the truth she carried. Rather than get carried away by his guilt, the boy latched on to the safety net he had created for himself. His other self, Screech. 

Screech wouldn't be afraid of a little girl spouting nonsense!
Screech was strong enough to survive on his own, but would be a great asset to any pack!
Screech -- needed to get over himself a little bit.

Tit centered himself on the idealized version of himself, assumed a slight swagger, and tried to ignore the virulent sensation of anxiety that ate away at his gut; at some point someone would find him, and he would be able to plead his case. Let me join you! He would proclaim. I can hunt! I can fight! I am good! I am Screech, he practiced with a low and mumbling voice, A true warrior would never abandon their pack. The boy swallowed a lump in his throat, and continued to trace a route along the territory outskirts, too nervous to call out for anyone.

The sight of Titmouse—Screech, she corrected herself scathingly—near the borders was equal parts surprising and infuriating. Towhee dashed down the caldera's slope, jaw clenched as she closed the distance. Her tongue pressed against the backs of her teeth, yet she didn't open her mouth or speak until she braked to a halt a few yards away from the unwelcome interloper.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, ears thrust forward and tail arched aggressively.

From a distance, Elwood had spotted the bedraggled stranger, and was on his way to intercept him when Towhee beat him to the punch. He loped towards the pair, taking in Towhee's aggressive stance as well as the restraint she exhibited by stopping a few feet from the other wolf. When he glanced to the male that she was confronting, he recognized him immediately despite his worn and malnourished state. The unique pelts of the Redhawk children were unforgettable.

"Titmouse?" he asked, stepping forward to stand next to Towhee. He wasn't surprised by Towhee's negative reaction; even though this was her brother, her littermate, he had still left them and was now, by her standards, an outsider. But Elwood wasn't one to turn away family. "Where have you been?" he asked, his gaze roving over the boy's thin physique and matted fur.

It shouldn't have been a surprise that Towhee would find him, of all people. When he heard her voice he turned sharply, fur standing on-end, his words caught in his throat and the only response he had was the shock upon his face. This was a bad idea -- he shouldn't be here -- he was wheeling about and ready to bolt, but as soon as he made the first move Titmouse was cut off by the appearance of Elwood.

The weirdest part in seeing Elwood was the fact Tit couldn't remember his name. Sure, he was the Alpha, the godfather, the parent - but when Titmouse thought of his childhood only a few faces came to mind. Raven, Liffey, Rannoch. Sometimes smudges of his siblings that he refused to acknowledge. But this guy? Nah. He had no idea who this was. The boy was glad though, because the older wolf seemed to act as a buffer and keep Towhee at a safe distance.

Liffey -- and Rannoch -- He blurted first, blinking dumbly at Elwood as if these names were like magic words, I got lost and then lived with Liffey. But I'm back now. I'm... I'm home now. Raven found me and I... The more the talked, the quieter he got, but Tit just didn't know what to say. He couldn't look at Towhee - couldn't move at all really - and just waited for the rejection.

He was going to bolt again. "Don't you d—" Towhee began to shout at him when a movement beside her caused her attention to snap sideways. Elwood came to stand next to her and even from this angle, she could read his lips fairly well. She licked her own and glared back at Titmouse, who didn't deny his identity this time. Towhee didn't catch the first few words, though her eyes widened, then narrowed, incredulously when he said, "Raven found me."

"Raven found you?" she barked. "What about how I found you? And you called me an ass? Said your name was Screech, not Titmouse, then ran away?" Although there was no emotion or tone in her voice, it was spelled out all over her face and body. She leered at him, the streaky white fur along her shoulder blades prickling, her tail flicking angrily behind her.

The responses that Elwood got from the pair of siblings were disjointed and mixed up. He blinked between the two as first Titmouse stuttered something about Liffey and Rannoch and Raven, only to be interrupted by Towhee's muddled speech. Although her tone of voice was as flat as ever, her expression and body language clearly conveyed her vexation.

"Okay, wait, hold on," Elwood said to both youths, though he looked pointedly at Towhee. He wouldn't discount any information she had to share -- especially since it sounded like she had already had a run in with Titmouse -- but he wanted to hear what Titmouse had to say. He made the sign for "wait," hoping that Towhee would understand and wouldn't become more agitated. "Start at the beginning," he said, now shifting his gaze to Titmouse.

Titmouse rallied when faced with his agitated sister; he wasn't going to back down this time, and tried to correct her - facing her with a sharp turn and snapping, My name is Screech --! but he did not get far before Elwood cut them both off and redirected Tit's energy back to where it needed to be.

He wasn't very calm, but the boy was very rarely calm. Given the chance to explain himself, he tossed a little sneer at Towhee (yeah, shut it, he was saying), and then gathered his story together.

I remember getting lost, and then finding Liffey. She.. She took me with her to meet her friends. One of them was this guy Rannoch. The way he said the older boy's name could've compared to any child talking about Superman, or Batman, or some other idolization. As if everyone knew who the heck Rannoch was, he was that awesome. Tit studied Elwood's face for a split-second for recognition but went ahead regardless: I got bigger. Rannoch and his brothers showed me how to be a warrior! And when I thought I could handle it, I left them to try and find my way home. I'm here now! I didn't do it on purpose -- cue a hasty glance at Towhee, but Tit couldn't meet her eyes, and ended up staring at Elwood's feet instead, somewhat deflated.

If you don't want me I understand. I'll go. And with that he was quiet again, frowning at the soil as if it had paid him some kind of disservice; really Titmouse was thinking about Raven, and their talk. If he came away from this with only her on his side, that would be okay. He'd make it work.

Towhee made a loud, impatient sound and cuffed a heel in the dirt when Elwood silenced her with a look. Nonetheless, she obeyed, and even turned a critical eye upon Titmouse as he told his story. Her expression grew uglier every second, then openly incredulous when he called himself a warrior. She lifted a lip in distaste when he glanced ever so briefly in her direction.

When he appeared to be finished, Towhee waited a beat, then faced her uncle. -He conveniently forgot the part where we ran into each other in the forest a few days ago. He cussed a bunch, then ran off when I asked him if he was Titmouse,- she signed so that her wayward brother couldn't overhear.

She paused, shooting Titmouse a speculative sideways glance, then faced Elwood again. -It's your call to let him back, of course, I just thought you should have the full story.- Having gotten to say her piece, she resigned herself to the fact that her godfather would most likely welcome Titmouse back. And despite how he'd behaved previously and her usual distaste toward outsiders, she couldn't deny that she was intrigued by her litter mate's return.

Tensions continued to rise between the pair, but Titmouse -- also known as Screech -- eventually managed to piece together some semblance of a story. Elwood nodded as he listened, and found that everything seemed to check out. He remembered the day when Lagan had come to him with the news that Titmouse had wandered away from him while they were exploring outside of the territory. Lagan had thought that Titmouse went with Liffey, which, at the time, had eased Elwood's mind. He had hoped that Liffey would bring Titmouse back home, but she never did. Now, though, it sounded like she had kept him safe in her pack with Rannoch, until he decided it was time to return to the caldera.

When Towhee's body began to move, signing the rest of the story, he turned to "listen." She explained that she had met up with Titmouse just a few days prior, and their reunion hadn't gone so swimmingly. His behavior had been enough for her to write him off, but Elwood wasn't like Towhee. Titmouse was still a Redhawk, and he could see that the boy was tired, frightened, and anxious. There wasn't really an excuse for cussing out his sister, but Elwood suspected that it hadn't come from a malicious place.

"Thanks," he said to Towhee, wanting to make sure she knew he appreciated her input. He shifted back towards Titmouse. "Stay," he said with a small smile. "You've been through a lot, but you're still family. I'm glad you're here and that you're safe," he added, gesturing for the youth to follow him across the border.

A strange thing happened once he'd finished his explanation - two things, actually. The first being an odd and soundless dance between Towhee and Elwood which Titmouse could not translate (he'd never been very attentive to his sister's ptero, and could hardly remember what little he had picked up at this point), and then the invitation set down by the Alpha. Tit was watching the entire dance of motion between the two wolves and was utterly focused in a way that rarely occurred, but when he heard that invitation everything seemed to slow down.

Tit was a bit surprised and it was written across his features - but then he smiled; it was small, that smile, hardly suitable for the boy with such a big personality, but lately he hadn't been feeling like himself. Maybe if he stayed, he'd be able to return to some sort of.. normalcy.

(If there even was such a thing for a Redhawk..)

Really..? there was no way for him to avoid catching Towhee's eye for a split second, but he looked back to Elwood, nervous of his sister's reaction. I'll do whatever you want! I'll earn my place, I promise! And -- and I won't leave! I wont, not again, not ever! His tail was swiping behind him at the piles of autumn leaves, flinging them all over the place in a show of his glee.

Just as she'd suspected, Elwood decided to welcome Titmouse back into the fold. Towhee sighed inwardly, though her face became a stony, expressionless mask. Only her orange eyes betrayed her somewhat, glinting still with reflexive curiosity, though they squinted in that brief instant when her brother glanced at her.

"I'll make sure of it," Towhee replied tonelessly to his exuberant declarations of fealty. To Elwood, she added, "Since I'm here now, I'm going to take up a patrol. See you later." Her eyes were softer, warmer, as she regarded her uncle. She did not look at Titmouse again as she departed, despite an itch to do just that as she wandered off into the distance.

We can continue or wrap up if you want, Java! I know a lot has happened to Tit since this thread, haha!

"Really," Elwood confirmed, even as Towhee promised to ensure her brother stayed true to his word. She then excused herself, and he nodded as she departed. Had it been any other wolf, he would have called after her -- a friendly "see you later!" -- but he knew she wouldn't hear it; and besides, she seemed eager to return to her favorite pastime, patrolling.

To Titmouse, he said, "Come on." The leaves stirred up by the boy's tail floated gently around them as they headed into Redhawk territory.