Hideaway Strath A diplomat thinks twice before saying nothing

@Towhee , @Phox , if you have time. Set some time before 17th September for plot purposes.

It was almost a month now since Colt's demise and Firebirds had not fallen apart yet. Finley was mourning and Niamh seemed to substitue sorrow for eager work. Wraen did not bother the former much, but now and then she checked the border markings of the latter just in case there were more body parts scattered around that needed to be removed. It was good to know that she was having Elwood's quiet support. There had not been many occasions up until now that would have required his help, but Wraen felt a lot safer for him being there. 

On the day she set out to talk with Towhee and Phox she called for Elfie to come along. Though he had not kept all ends of their bargain - he had not stirred any trouble and left the graves alone. As for apologizing, he argued that he would do it, when he truly felt remorse, which was not now and Wraen refrained from asking, if ever such time would come. Besides his excitement to meet his aunt and uncle of Asterism Grove was so great that Wraen did not simply have the heart of fobidding him to tag along. 

They walked briskly through the cedar forest, missed the hidden entrance of the pack the first time and had to turn around and find on the second go. By inspecting the myriad of footprints that led to and from the grove, Wraen guessed that their numbers had growed. All the better. She instructed Elfie to stay a little behind, with herself stepping forward, tipping her muzzle and howling for audience of either of the leaders.

The tremors were growing worse and nobody seemed sure what to make of it, much less what to do about it. For the first time since moving to the grove, Towhee wondered if it was such a good idea to be surrounded by mountains. What if the earth shook so badly that they all collapsed right on top of the strath and everyone who lived here? The thought made her fur prickle all along her spine as she circled the borders on a rare patrol, though she wasn't sure where they could go to avoid mountains or other dangers altogether if the entire world was shaking...

This morning had been calm and uneventful so far, though that only made Towhee tenser. She finally arrived at the last stop on her circuit: the pass. She warily eyeballed the rock walls on either side, then started when she saw two figures standing in between them. She recognized Wraen right away. Though she'd not met him personally, the redheaded youth at her side could only be one of Wildfire's kids.

Hastening to greet them, Towhee managed a grim smile. -"Hey, Wraen, what brings you guys here?"-

Towhee did not make Wraen to wait for her long. The dark-pelted she-wolf came to greet her and her young companion, who eyed the tall dark stranger curiously and then smiled at her with an innocent charm. Elfie did look at Sovereign in confusion, when he noticed the peculiar way the leader communicated, but one "not now" look from her and he did let the matter rest until a more appropriate time.

"Hello, Towhee!" she greeted the other leader politely, but did not try to sign. This was business and getting it wrong or funny was not her intention at all. "This is Elfie - Wildfire's son - and your nephew," she introduced the youth first and then went straight down to the reason she had came. Towhee looked like a person, who had other stuff on her plate, and Wraen did not wish to unneccessarily delay her.

"I came to tell that I was voted as Sovereign after Colt's demise," she explained. "And with Firebirds' numbers uneven I wanted to discuss a possible collaboration of forces during the winter months, if we are in a place to need it. Either of us," she went on. Then beckoned to Elfie: "And the boy has expressed interest in training with you in the mercenary trade. Niamh has her hands full and I am not a fighter myself. He would benefit from advice of a trained mercenary and experience with another pack."

Wraen didn't waste any time getting to the point—several of them, actually. Towhee watched her lips carefully, ignoring the temptation to look sideways at Elfie when he was formally introduced. Only when the new Sovereign was finished did she look over at him, offering a tight smile even as she ascertained him. Hopefully his wits matched his looks and he took after his mother rather than his father.

She'd already discussed much of this with Elwood, though the Kilonova didn't mind reiterating, -"As sister packs, we'll look out for each other, especially with the Frosthawks gone now."- What that might look like, especially come wintertime, Towhee didn't know. But the sentiment was what mattered. -"I'd be happy to train you. I have regular lessons with @Figment, @Fennec and now @Dorea too. You're welcome to join us as often as you can,"- she added, speaking directly to her nephew.

Only after Wraen had failed to mention it did Towhee realize she had expected some sort of news about the recent quakes. Redirecting her attention back to the gray leader, she furrowed her brow and asked, -"Everything alright over in the copse? With these quakes?"-

The fact that Frosthawks were gone was news for Wraen, unless she had been so busy with all the new duties that she had entirely missed the message, when it had been delivered. "Do you know, why they left?" she asked Towhee, wondering, whether the recent unrest of the earth was to blame, or there had been some inner conflicts beforehand that she had not been aware of. The Frostfurs/Redhawks and Blackthorns had appeared to get along extremely well. 

Elfie seemed to enjoy the idea of coming along and doing training, though the excitement was a tad bit marred, when he heard that other puppies would be there too. In his mind he had already imagined doing a cutting edge apprenticeship all on his own and impressing everyone around him. Now he would have to share. However a quick look from Wraen, who knew him and his antics well enough, silenced the budding need to argue, therefore he collected himself, smiled at Towhee and told her that he would be delighted to come and visit. 

"There was a rock-slide near the river, but nothing too serious yet. I do not like it, but I would not wish to relocate just yet, when there is still food to hunt and to live on," she reasoned. "What about you? Any damage?"

It surprised Towhee to learn that Wraen seemed oblivious to the Frosthawks' departure. Then again, a lot had been happening in the copse, so the Kilonova hardly faulted her. She hated to be the bearer of bad news though. She bit back a sigh as she prepared to deliver it.

-"Some Blackfeathers were spotted in the area and it spooked them, given the history there."- She paused. Wraen likely didn't know it and Elfie almost certainly didn't, so she explained, -"I don't know if you know that we went to war with them a while back. We won, though it wasn't much of a victory with them still lurking around. So we decided to relocate, which brought us to this side of the mountains."- Towhee paused. -"As you can imagine, hearing that they were seen around here was bad news bears, so they decided to split,"- she finished.

She still hadn't received any word to their eventual whereabouts, though Raven had promised they wouldn't go too far. Towhee licked her lips, then shook her head at Wraen's next inquiry. -"Nothing major here."- The mention of relocating made her insides twist, especially after reliving the Frosthawks' hasty exit. She'd entertained the notion herself, though she wasn't sure where any of them could go to escape an incident of this scale. -"Let's hope it stays that way. The quakes are bad enough, hopefully that's the worst of it..."-

But Wraen had said "yet" and Towhee didn't think her point was amiss. -"If things get bad in either place, maybe we should convene in the bog. Not much could fall on us there."- Of course, it wasn't an ideal territory, especially not for two packs, but it might work as a temporary refuge in case of emergency.

"If we band together, we will be a little army. We could take the whole side of the valley, if we wanted to," Wraen humoured, though there was truth in her words. Twenty wolves of all shapes and sizes and with strong family ties were a force to reckon with. A single or a couple of Blackfeather wolves would not stand a chance.

"The seaside is a good place as well. I have scavenged there often enough - food's not plentiful, but there is always something," she offered, not knowing that within two weeks the lands there would be so inhospitable, that both sister packs would be trapped in the Hinterlands.

"On the matter of Elfie's training," she returned to the earlier subject. "I think that it would be only fair, if he returned the favour. And by running back and forth between the two packs daily would be a hard thing to do," she voiced her concern. "Perhaps, if he run with your wolves for a month or two - he would have ample chance to train, learn and be a useful packmate of yours as well," she mused.

The Sovereign's quip could've heartened her, though it just made Towhee all the more aware of Raven et al's absence. She said nothing, though her head tilted curiously when Wraen brought up the seaside. That just made her think of Screech. Towhee shook her head lightly but still didn't say a word. It was entirely possible she wouldn't have a choice if the time came.

The next words out of Wraen's mouth caught her off guard, effectively distracting her from all those concerns. Towhee's mouth opened and closed as she considered. She disliked the idea on principle, though that was a knee-jerk reaction. Even with Raven and Wildfire gone, they were still sister packs and this was something she'd discussed at length with both Rave and Finley. She had never anticipated the pups actually relocating, though what better way to really keep the bonds of their alliance mighty?

Looking shrewdly at her nephew now, the mercenary nodded. -"I'll allow it,"- she said simply, grinning wryly.

Wraen had practical reasons to send her star pupil away for a while. The relationship between him and the other puppies (she knew for sure about two, but there could be more) was not very cordial at the moment. Sending him off to live elsewhere even for few weeks would be beneficial for all of them long-term. Elfie would get knocked down a peg and learn to control his ego and any future conflicts within the Firebirds' ranks would be averted as well. It was a win-win situation for both sides - it seemed so at the moment. 

"That's, of course, your choice, Elfie," she spoke to the boy. He beamed back at her, it was clear that he would stay here right away were it possible. "And we will have to talk with Eljay too," at this his face fell and he nodded in less excited manner. "It is settled then - thank you!" she said to Towhee and dipped her head politely. "If you are ever in need of favour of similar kind - I owe you one," she said. "I won't detain you from your duties any longer. We will be on our way and you'll probably see either me or this young gentleman soon," she and the boy got up and prepared to leave.

She wasn't sure of the timeline. Would Elfie be dropped off today? The two of them exchanged a few words and Towhee couldn't quite read their lips when they were angled toward each other, though her nephew's gestures helped her understand the gist of the conversation. In short order, Wraen turned back to her, promising to send Elfie over soon, thanking her and readying to leave.

-"Sounds good,"- Towhee replied to Wraen before making a point to look at Elfie. -"I'll see you soon. Come prepared to work hard."- Her tail twitched and she nodded, seeing them off before pivoting on a heel. It was time to head back to the rendezvous site now. She would tell @Phox and the kids to expect Elfie's stay shortly, then get a bite to eat and maybe have a nap, if the tectonic plates permitted.