Hideaway Strath Schlammschlacht.

They'd found @Keyni but now a few others had become scarce if not entirely absent. Towhee supposed that was the way of pack life sometimes: you had your solid core members and then everyone else passing through a revolving door. The die-hard loyalist wasn't a fan of this norm, yet there was nothing for it. She was just grateful for those members who did stick, few as they were.

There was one such member on Towhee's mind today as she switched off with another guardian and headed back to the rendezvous site. She hoped to bump into @Phox there. There was someone she felt might make a good potential Fusor, in the future if not right now. She wanted to see what her brother and fellow Kilonova thought of the candidate she had in mind.

He'd been keeping himself rather busy lately and hadn't had much chance to catch up on current pack dynamics. He'd been scouting for the Keyni girl as well as checking out the other pack that bordered the north. Now she was found he could rest at home for a while. 

He spotted Towhee headed his way, so he quickly pushed onwards with a grin. 
"How yah doin' lass?" He knew being the Kilonova of this place would be stressful, especially as they didn't seem to be in a set routine yet. He was around to make it as smooth as possible though. 
Not wanting to waste any more time with plesientries, he launched into it: "Ptero lesson? Or if yer knackered I'll give yous a story while you lay in the sun. Perhaps I'll get someone to feed you berries as well." He winked to put the cherry on top of his humor. Shitty humor, but it sometimes made people laugh.
Unless your name was Mal. Then it made you grumpier.

En route, she bumped into Leen. Although she had a mission in mind, she didn't mind the temporary layover as she stopped to speak to him. He greeted her, then asked for a ptero lesson right before offering to tell her some stories and find someone to feed her, to boot. Towhee couldn't help an amused smirk at the joke.

-"I'm all right. Better,"- she added, in case he knew about the bout of sickness. -"I'm down for some teaching,"- she added after a beat. Her conversation with Phox wasn't exactly pressing, so she could spare some time for this important task.

Gesturing him toward a soft patch of sun-dappled grass, the Kilonova said, -"Take a seat."- She followed her own instructions, folding her haunches to face Leen.

He did know of the sickness. And was determined to not catch it. He knew he was getting on and wasn't about to let some sickness be the sart of his downfall. So he'd kept away from the infected few, caught his own prey and drank from streams. He knew how to not get sick. Anything someone sick had touched might make him sick.
But he was in the clear now; hopefully.

At least he'd made her smile. Good start.
"Sweet. I need to know your secret language." And to stop her yelling to communicate because that was just not very sneaky was it.
He plopped down in the patch of sun, glad for its warmth cast across his back. He'd probably have a nap later.
"So, what's yah first point?" No beating around the bush for this.

LOL @ that clip.

Leen planted himself across from her and seemed ready to jump in feet first (literally!), so Towhee quickly obliged him. She straightened her spine to sit up and free her forelegs, then began. -"I'll start with the basics: greetings and farewells. Most wolves use these signals in everyday life, regardless of ptero, so I'm sure you're familiar with them."- She waved a forepaw once, then paused, then repeated it. -"It's the same for 'hello' and 'goodbye.'"-

There really was no reason to make Leen repeat those common gestures, so Towhee moved on to the next bit. -"This is my name sign,"- she said, making a small series of rapid gestures that were uniquely hers. -"We should come up with one for you. Your name reminds me of 'lean,' like leaning on someone. Does it sound the same?"-

He watched with quiet fascination. He'd come across few wolves who greeted with their paws, used them more as gestured to a location. But he was enthralled in the simpleness of it.
He nodded, understanding easily.

Then she did a bunch of shit with her paws that completely threw him off. He'd seen her use her paws to motion before but didn't think much of it. This was totally new.
"Whoa..." He quietly breathed, wondering what he could possibly make of it.

Then she suggested doing one for him, which he dumbly blinked to before nodding.
"Yeah. This is wild." This secret, silent language. It dumbfounded him.

Would it ever get old, when someone looked so damn impressed with the nuances of the language she and Raven had fabricated so long ago? Towhee didn't think so. She smirked at Leen's reaction, appreciating his enthusiasm for the subject.

-"Let's keep it simple then. We'll use the word 'lean' for your name sign."- It really was straightforward (or not, if you're feeling punny): Towhee literally listed to one side. -"So what should we go over next?"- she mused. -"Is there any particular word or phrase you'd like to learn?"-

He thought for a few moments. What would be useful to say in a silent language? Surely commands or directions, in case the lack of speech was needed. 

"I'd like to know how to communicate tactically. In case the need should ever arise. Say an intrusion." He knew she could give him the details. She was a tactical thinker and worker, as was he. He was ready to watch carefully, note the key movements should he have to read them again. 

Towhee nodded approvingly when Leen asked for some tactical commands. She held up a paw in the universal signal to hang on (lip twitching at the irony, since it wasn't technically ptero). She then thought over some simple terms to start.

-"Stop,"- she said, making the sign slowly and emphatically before doing the same with the next word, and the next. -"Go. Stay. Run. Attack."-

She didn't want to overwhelm him, so she paused there to give him a moment to absorb those five words, possibly also replicate them. Meanwhile, Towhee thought of the next batch of words she'd give him, her lip curling even more.

The man started to copy her actions, imprinting them into his mind. They weren't too hard, but they'd surely get harder. He smirked, looking into mirrored eyes.
She was fascinating. 

She was so fluent, dynamic.
Easy. His eyes dragged away, looking to the leaves and he wasn't certain he was really talking:
"Humans are cruel though they don't mean to be. They contain you, put things on your muzzle to stop you fighting." He seemed somewhat vacant. Felt like he'd left his own body. The events felt like they happened worlds away in a different life. In some ways, it was.
He looked back to the Kilonova, blinking as if he were just coming back to himself.

She was ready to teach him her whole arsenal of curse words when Leen spoke, his non sequitur causing her to freeze and blink, uncomprehending. Even after several beats, she wasn't sure where the comment had come from. She shifted awkwardly.

-"Come ag—ohhh,"- Towhee said, only to suddenly remember their prior conversation about humans. They had taken him captive and she'd asked him what it was like, living with them. He hadn't obliged her at the time. Apparently, he was ready to do so now.

Still mentally jogging to catch up, Towhee's orange eyes blinked slowly a few times before she repeated, -"They put things on your muzzle? What things?"-

His mind ran back in time, feeling the hardness of his cage, the sounds of dogs barking, the other animals in the large room. Some were large and brayed hideously, some clucked and squawked. There was a large black cat too. They were unlikely friends, he thought. They couldn't talk, but they knew how to communicate. They used their eyes and paws, he guesses a little like Ptero, but in their own way.

"Dead animal. Their old skin without fur." Leather. He didn't know how they managed to do it, but it made him gag. Torture. Not even being able to yawn properly.
"It went tight around your muzzle and strapped around behind your head." It locked you in place and there was no way to get out. He'd tried everything but he had limited space. The black feline had been there longer, she knew not to struggle. 
He swallowed thickly, glancing away.

It sounded pretty monstrous, causing Towhee's ears to slither backward ironically, as if the words somehow offended them. As she unwittingly pictured all of this in her mind, she simultaneously studied Leen's body language. She could tell that talking about this took a lot out of him. No wonder he'd been reticent before. She wondered if it was cathartic to unburden himself or if he regretted dredging up this terrible history.

-"That's awful. We don't have to talk about it, if you'd rather not. I can teach you how to cuss people out in ptero,"- Towhee said in her usual deadpan voice.

It was always the same.
They want to know then they don't want to. Anyone who asked for him continue was to try and help him chase away the fears; the nightmares. Not out of curiosity to what and who humans are.

He wasn't surprised she asked if he even wanted to talk about it. The usual way others hinted for him to stop. Mostly. Not unless she truly wanted him to stop thinking about it.
He nodded slightly, then grinned weakly at her suggestion.
A distraction would be good.
"Show me then." 

He seemed relieved by the offer of a distraction, so the Kilonova took that to mean he didn't want to linger on the subject. Leen asked her to show him and Towhee mentally thumbed through her catalog of swears. It contained all the usual suspects, plus a few more colorful and creative terms.

-"Okay, how abut this: give me your most over the top insult and I'll show you how to say it in ptero,"- she prompted after a moment.

He thought for a moment. Usually, when he was cussing someone out it came naturally, so at the moment he supposed he'd have to recall something he'd said before.
He thought back to one of the more recent times. Higoro was a good example:
You are a narcissistic​ asshole​

He smirked, wondering where the coky bastard was now.
Not very over the top though, but would be useful.
He could settle with it.
"Not over the top, but useful. Narcissistic asshat, if you would please." He grinned, knowing she likely had something better up her sleeve.

She smirked at his choice insult but did not offer any commentary on it. Instead, she very slowly and emphatically made the signs, then repeated them. Towhee then rested her feet back on the ground and tipped her head toward him, inviting him to give it a whirl. They could practice until Leen got it perfect.