Sun Mote Copse The scene is dead.

Maybe she should've been grateful for the distraction keeping her mind off Fen's recent departure and how much she missed her eldest daughter. But Towhee didn't feel that way at all. Mostly, she felt hot and bothered, which in turn disconcerted her terribly. She had never felt this way about anyone. The only time she'd sought out an intimate connection outside of her season was with @Pippin. Even then, she had never felt more than a fond friendship toward him. And during her heats, it was all about lust.

Speaking of which, she couldn't stop thinking about their little tryst gone horribly wrong, not to mention the fallout. Despite all that, the recollection now set her stomach smoldering, stopping Towhee in her step as she roved the borders. She stood there and swallowed, willing her thoughts and feelings to just quit already. This was all as unwelcome as it was unprecedented. Towhee didn't crush on people, especially people like @Arcturus.

But then she thought of when all this weirdness had begun: when she'd seen him interacting with her child during Meerkat's first border patrol last week. Although they looked nothing alike and though Towhee would never acknowledge a father other than @Phox, she couldn't help but note that he might've sired Meerkat. And despite all his strange idiosyncrasies, seeing him with her daughter did things to her.

She shook her head, feeling utterly silly and stupid. Growling under her breath, she forcibly resumed her forward march along the far western edge of the copse.

Fig had learned later how his sister's conversations had gone with the rest of the family and geesh... He certainly didn't blame his parents for being upset over Fenn's departure--he was upset too--but he was very grateful that he'd managed to stay on good terms. He knew that in time, the wounds would heal for them all and things would be okay. Until then, they would just have to learn how to live with their hurt feelings and that constant ache in their hearts that only her return could truly ease.

Such things were on his mind as he paced along the borders that day, marking every so often and almost constantly staring out into the Wilds as though Fennec might just appear. She didn't, of course, but Towhee eventually did. He spotted her ahead coming towards him and wagged his tail, speeding up so that their paths would cross sooner.

-"Hi, mom,"- he said, touching his nose against hers before glancing around, -"Where'd you put the monster?"- It didn't appear Meerkat was with her, or it's possible I overlooked it while reading your post. Regardless, it wouldn't be surprising if she wasn't, but he'd smelled his little sister's scent along the borders recently and had been hopeful it might become a routine.

Towhee's thoughts scattered, her eyes softening, when Fig materialized. It was good to see him, not just to get her mind off Arcturus, but Fen as well. Her tail waved as he approached, their muzzles bumping in a fond greeting. She was so glad he was here, she almost blurted out something super sappy, but then his question thankfully saved them both from a chick flick moment.

-"I put her back in my butt where she belongs,"- Towhee falsely groused. Both their remarks were funny (to her, anyway) because Meerkat was such a damn delight. The Regent did need her breaks, though honestly she always looked forward to be reunited with her crotch fruit. -"She's back at the rendezvous site, chillin' with your dad,"- she said in the next beat.

She made a motion, inviting Fig along as she resumed her patrol, and glanced sideways to ask, "How are you?" Towhee had managed to avoid any over-the-top emoting, though her orange gaze was still searching as she wondered how Fig was processing his litter mate's absence.

Fig turned his attention from looking for Meerkat back to Towhee when she answered his question. He laughed at her response and gave a little shrug to signify that he sympathized. Meerkat could be a handful. She was an utter delight, but she did sometimes go overboard with it to the point where you kinda wanted to knock her upside the head with a mallet to knock her out and make her take a nap. Gosh, he loved her.

But, he merely nodded. Chilling with dad was a good place to be, though walking the borders with mom was up there too. Fig fell contentedly into step beside her, his eyes roaming the terrain for any sign of anything and seeing nothing--just the way he liked it. He glanced sidelong at her when she asked how he was doing, a thoughtful, knowing cast in his gaze. He smiled in a slightly half-hearted kind of way. "I'm alright," he said, unable to really sign since they were walking, though if head motions are involved in the signing, he definitely did those, "I miss her."

Fig had no doubt that Towhee understood exactly who he meant, so he didn't bother adding anything to the comment. Until a moment or two passed and he couldn't help but add a question--"What do you think of Penn Blackthorn?" Which is totally not an OOC-driven question. Fig has very real concerns about Penn Blackthorn.

He said he was fine and Towhee wondered whether she should press him or just leave it there, when Fig shared quite frankly that he missed Fennec. The Regent appreciated this candidness and replied in kind, "Yeah, me too." She was about to say more ("I miss her a lot and she would probably wanna smack the shit outta me for saying so but I worry about her...") but Fig cut in with a pertinent question before she could.

Towhee's lips pursed. "Well, I think of him as my kid brother." And that was kind of weird, if he and Fen were involved romantically, but considering she referred to her own brother as her baby daddy, Towhee didn't really care about that part. She snorted as she thought aloud, "He's feisty and he has a mouth on him, kinda like his mom." She paused to let the little hitch in her breath pass. "I still owe him my deadliest move," she murmured, then began to laugh when she remembered his cry of, "Ugh, I'm a child, damn you!" Towhee would never forget that (and never not laugh about it).

She reminisced for a beat longer before focusing her gaze and swinging it back to Fig to ask, "What do you think of Penn Blackthorn?"

Fig frowned at Towhee’s initial response. He’d never been around Finley and Elwood enough to really consider them his grandparents, so the idea of Penn being his mother’s sibling was... weird. That would’ve made Penn’s his uncle. The only one of those he really recognized was Quixote, and there was no reconciling Penn and Quixote being in the same level.

He was also pretty sure Penn was into his sister. That would’ve made Fennec Penn’s niece. Yeah, he wasn’t into this line of thinking. He wasn’t really down with anything Towhee had to say, but the particulars didn’t matter. She clearly liked Penn, and that was all he’d really been after.

He frowned at his paws as they walked and considered. It didn’t take long for Towhee to turn the question on him. Knowing now what she thought, Fig found it harder to explain his own feelings. Mostly because they were negative and he didn’t want to insult his mother’s judgment by expressing them.

”I think he’s a reckless jerk,” Fig finally admitted after a long pause. He could come up with no better way of saying it. "I'm worried he's gonna get Fenn in trouble. Or hurt."

Once more, Towhee marveled at her son's candor. Especially as someone who couldn't necessarily communicate as well as the rest of the world, she really appreciated it when someone didn't bother mincing words. She only took a moment to appreciate this before processing the meaning of Fig's rejoinder.

"I don't think you're wrong about him being a reckless jerk," Towhee responded easily, "but we have to have faith in Fen, here. I don't think she'll let anyone get her into trouble or hurt. Not our Fen." With that said, she added, "I hear your concerns though. Well, I don't, but you know." It was too tough to sign while walking, though she did pause to flap a paw in the air before proceeding. "We don't have any choice, because it was Fen's choice, but that doesn't mean it's easy on us."

Before she could dispense any more wisdom, a fox flirted across their path. Towhee jerked to attention, muscles stiffening, debating between letting it go or giving chase.

Fig was quiet as his mother spoke, thinking over every word and finding himself... surprised. Fennec was willful and headstrong, for sure. If she didn't want to do something, then she she wasn't going to. No ifs ands or buts about it. But the Fenn he had known since their reunion here at the Copse was more concerned about her limitations in a way she hadn't been when they were kids. Specifically, concerned about figuring out how to not let them be limitations. And, he feared, concerned about proving she didn't have any.

The Fennec his mother described was different. He wondered why. Had she hidden that from Towhee? Had she only confided her fears in him? That seemed highly probable, so he kept his mouth shut. He loved his mother and generally kept no secrets from her, but this one wasn't his secret--if it was one. Damnit, he wished Fenn were here.

He sighed in frustration, scanning his mind for some sort of response since he couldn't say what he actually wanted to. Fortunately, a distraction appeared in the form of a fox. Like Towhee, Fig tensed as he spotted out. Unlike Towhee, though, he didn't consider letting it go. His mind went straight to his baby siblings. A fox wasn't usually a concern to him, but they were now that he had little monsters that were too small to defend themselves.

His lips peeled back in a snarl as he sprang forward, angling himself so that he could herd it away from the territory. Ideally, he would kill it. Realistically, it was quick, so driving it off was likely the best outcome he could hope for.

Fig shot after the slinky little intruder, so Towhee stopped to watch and cheer for him. As she observed her son, not without a note of pride, the current topic segued in her head and she caught herself wondering whether Fen would've reacted the same way, if she was here instead of Fig. Would she have noticed the fox and been able to give chase?

Plenty of others might've pointed out that there was no way Fennec could react as quickly as a sighted wolf. But Towhee believed in her, more than Fen believed in herself, partly out of bravado on her daughter's behalf. Just because she was different didn't mean she couldn't kick the world's ass, just like Towhee had spent her life proving. But it was partly out of a sort of maternal desperation too, because the other option was to believe Fen was out there, defenseless, helpless and struggling.

No, she couldn't bear that thought for a variety of reasons. It was why she also put faith in Penn to look out for her daughter, because what other choice did she have? Although Towhee missed Fennec terribly, she wanted her daughter to be able to live a full and normal life, without restrictions. Maybe that was overly optimistic and that wasn't usually the Regent's style. But for Fennec (and Figment, Meerkat and the chiblings too), Towhee would give anything, including blind (pun intended) faith.

Fig didn't notice his mother hadn't joined until the fox had gotten far enough ahead that he knew the chase was not going to end in a meal. He did his best to at least drive it down a path that lead directly away from the territory. If nothing else, it hopefully had learned its lesson and wouldn't be back for a while. Fig stood for a moment, watching and listening for its retreat. After a few minutes, he was satisfied, so turned and headed back to Towhee.

He found her looking thoughtful, maybe somewhat melancholy. Fig frowned softly, feeling somewhat responsible. She was probably thinking about Fenn and what it might mean just having Penn Blackthorn as her caregiver. His fault. He hesitated, uncertain what to say until he found a thought he'd had many times before and decided to voice it. "She'd never come back if I tried to go after them, would she," he commented, only mostly rhetorical.

Despite his prowess, the fox gave him the slip and Fig trotted back toward her, snapping Towhee out of her thoughts. There was a pensive look on his face for a moment before he asked a rhetorical question. Her own face smoothed a little, a small smile returning as she shook her head.

-"Yeah, it would probably have the opposite of your desired effect,"- she quipped gently, -"but I bet if we sit tight, she'll realize she misses us and come back sooner. There's even a saying: 'absence makes the heart grow fonder,' I think?"- She shrugged and shook her head again, swiveling leisurely to resume their plod.

"Anyway, in my experience, it's impossible to track down someone in this wilderness. You could wander for weeks without finding any sign of her. I'd rather have you here. I'm sure your dad and baby siblings agree. They need at least one really good role model now that Fen's off chasing her dreams. There's Bronco and Nellie but, eh, I know I can count on you," Towhee said with a faint smirk.

He'd known the answer to his question even as he'd asked it. He knew Fennec well enough that he really couldn't be under any delusion that he'd be able to bring her back if he tracked her down. It took him a moment to realize it as he listened to Towhee talk, but bringing her back wasn't actually the idea he'd been toying with. If he found her, he would join her and Penn. He knew there was no convincing Fennec to come home before she was good and ready, but she needed someone more reliable than Penn Blackthorn to have her back.

But without even voicing that notion, Towhee convinced him against it. Fig settled his bright eyes upon her as she talked about his little siblings. They needed a role model, which made him smile a little. It was a sad smile, but an honest one still. He wanted to be there for them, there was zero doubt about that. But he did wonder a little if they truly needed him more than Fennec. After all, they had Towhee and Phox. Fennec had Penn Blackthorn.

He sighed. There was no good solution, but it was what it was. He wouldn't go. "I like Bronco and Nellie," he mused in his quiet, thoughtful voice as he walked. He paused briefly to sign to her, grinning a bit impishly, -You have a point though-

He expressed his fondness for his step-siblings, which made her briefly recollect her conversation about them with Fennec. She brushed that errant thought aside for now and smiled conspiratorially at her son as she replied, "Oh, I like them well enough, especially Bronco. He's great with Meerkat. But..." She trailed off tellingly before stage whispering, "She's going to look up to you, if she doesn't already, and I can't think of anyone more cut out for that job." She stopped to strike out a paw and playfully push it against his shoulder.

"Speaking of that little wanker, wanna swing by the rendezvous site for a visit?" Towhee invited in the next breath.

Fig smiled at her comments about Bronco and Nellie. It was apparent that she didn't know Nellie as well, but that didn't surprise him. She was more reclusive it seemed than her boisterous brother. For his part, he liked them both. Though while it was very easy for him to think of Bronco as a brother, it was rather harder to think of Nellie and think sister...

He wouldn't dwell on that, though. He dipped his muzzle humbly as she spoke of his role in Meerkat's life, his tail wagging to show how her words pleased him. He wanted to be someone for his little sister to look up to--for all of them. He didn't really know how to be that for them, so it was gratifying to know that whatever he was doing naturally was good enough.

Fig looked Towhee's way when she spoke of the little wanker. He smiled, but glanced ahead along the path they'd been walking. There were still a couple of miles to go and he simply wasn't one to leave a job unfinished. "I'll finish this round," he answered, "But I'll come by when I'm done?"

He seemed pleased by her words of praise, which pleased Towhee in turn. She meant every word. She thought she might have a bit of a blind spot (kek) for her two firstborns, because she simply couldn't find fault with either one of them. She was very proud and knew she was very lucky to have had a hand in raising two fine young folks. But she couldn't take all the credit, not even most of it. It belonged to their father and even Camilla too, but mostly it was their own doing.

He offered to finish the job and meet up later, to which Towhee replied, "That'd work, though I'd rather hang with you and wrap up this patrol together." He didn't protest and she was glad. She didn't get the chance to hang out with him (or anyone, really) one-on-one as much these days and she didn't want to let this opportunity slip through her fingers, even if part of her always wanted to be with her youngest at any given time.