Sun Mote Copse Fire and gold.

After putting Meerkat down for a nap (nestled in a patch of long grass near the edge of the rendezvous site), Towhee padded to the center of the clearing and sat, pondering what to do now. She knew Meerkat didn't need constant supervision, though without siblings to keep her company just yet, Towhee was reluctant to leave the girl here all by herself. She would wait until someone else came along before departing.

She eased forward onto her belly, then listed to one side, balancing her weight on one hip. Her orange eyes roamed her surroundings, watching a fat robin pecking around for worms nearby. She yawned, though she wasn't really sleepy, just bored. Just before it started happening, she knew her mind was going to wander.

It went where it always did, just lately: Arcturus. Then it hopped and skipped to Pippin. A frown touched her lips. She was still angry that he'd lied about her to Wraen. She wasn't ready yet to have that confrontation conversation. Before she did, she wanted to talk to @Phox anyhow. Maybe he wouldn't care to share Meerkat with yet another but possibly he would. She could only find out by asking.

He kept wanting to bring up the Pip thing, but every time he thought to do it, something else came up. A child started screaming, somebody was hungry, or he was just plain tired. Eventually, though, things settled into some sense of lull, and Phox excused himself from Niamh to seek out Towhee. Of course, he'd kept his mouth shut about it, not daring to spread anything to even Niamh before he got Towhee's side of the story. He knew that Niamh was likely to take issue with that, but it felt like the right thing to do, considering how distant she was from the conflict.

He found Towhee exactly where he expected to find her: at the rendezvous site. He passed a zonked-out Meerkat on the way, snoring herself silly. Phox paused to place a little kiss on her cheek, causing her to shift a bit. He worried for a moment that she might rouse, but she stayed where she was, going right back to her loud snoring. Next up: sister talk.

-Hey,- he greeted, flopping onto the ground dramatically. -How's mom life?- No need to start with the icky stuff.

With impeccable timing, her brother strode into view, making Towhee sit up a little straighter, eventually pushing up into a sit. Her eyes softened as she watched Phox nuzzle Meerkat before making his way over to her. Her life was full of baby daddy drama lately, yet never once had she doubted her decision to treat him as Meerkat's dad. He was so good at it.

-"Meer's a total pain in the ass, as usual,"- Towhee quipped. Of course, their kid was an angel (thatsthejoke.jpg). -"And the chibs, they're just downright ugly,"- she added because Towhee was nothing if not equal opportunity when it came to affectionately ragging on the children in her life.

-"I want to talk to you about something,"- she continued without giving Phox much of a chance to respond. -"We can never know who fathered Meerkat and I really love that you're her dad. But I—"- She faltered, suddenly wondering if Phox even knew this next part explicitly, -"Uh, I banged both Arcturus and Pippin. So it could be one of them. Pip definitely seems to think it's him and he's super butt—unhappy with my decision to let you be her father figure."- Despite herself, her annoyance leaked into her expression and movements.

Drawing in a breath, Towhee finished by saying, -"He lied to Wraen, told her I didn't want him to be part of Meerkat's life. I never said that! I told him he could be her friend. But he's still pissed. And I'd be lying if I said I'm chill about the idea but I was wondering, well... how do you feel about it?"- Would he mind sharing the role? Even if he didn't, would he share her concerns about possibly confusing Meerkat?

Little did she know, he'd actually been there with Wraen and had quite possibly hashed all this out with himself already. Her orange eyes rested patiently on his face, unaware of this and giving him time to come up with an answer.

Phox gave Towhee a mock scoff at the implication that the kids he and Niamh had produced were ugly. If he'd had them, he would've clutched his pearls. But her tone moved on to a more serious note, and Phox leaned in to listen. Like magic, Towhee brought up the exact thing that Phox had wanted to talk about. Instead of jumping in and shoving his own opinion down Towhee's throat, he listened to everything she had to say, right down to the last question about how he felt about it.

-About Pippin being Meerkat's friend?- he asked, cocking his head to one side. Phox wanted to make sure he was hearing everything about this before he charged in with his own opinion. How did he become such a level-headed dude?

His pointed question gave her pause, if only because Towhee still struggled with this part. -"Yeah, no, I don't know, like an uncle, or a second father figure, or whatever..."- Her face scrunched as if she was in pain. -"I don't know how I feel about it,"- she went right ahead and repeated, -"but after Pippin getting pissed at me, then talking to Wraen about it, I feel really pressured."- Well, that wasn't what she'd intended to say at all; it just sort of came out.

Swallowing thickly, she just hoped Phox would understand why she felt mixed up about this and help her navigate the situation. She had never thought she'd have Meerkat and could anyone blame her for clutching to her so tightly, especially after going through the emotional wringer beforehand? She truly wanted what was best for her child but she couldn't exactly divorce her head from her heart or change who she was, at least not overnight. She licked her lips pensively, hoping Phox would lend her some sort of reassuring insight on the matter.

Towhee spilled some of the beans, but Phox felt like she was holding back. Being her brother for umpteen years made him aware of these things, y'know? -I was there,- Phox explained, spilling his own beans, -I mean, when Pippin spilled to Wraen. I didn't even know anything had gone down between you two until he started talking trash about me being a dad.- Phox was still mildly amused at Pippin's misplaced anger at him, considering Phox didn't have a clue about any of it beforehand.

Obviously, Phox wasn't butthurt about it. The Redhawk took a deep breath and tried to collect his thoughts as best as he could. -You and me and Niamh have things handled well enough, but I don't think adding another parent into the mix would hurt anything. If he wants to be involved in that capacity, why not give it a shot? We had two moms, the three little ones have two moms, so why not have two dads, too?- he asked. Technically, they had three moms and two dads, but they'd both been dead by the time they were born.

She met this information with a blink, eyes squinting a little when he mentioned Pippin talking trash. What had gotten into him, to go around being so awful about this? She could understand why he was upset, sure, but he was handling it like a sullen child. That didn't exactly make her feel he was qualified for the job. And it still irked her badly that she had invited him to be involved, only to never show his face again, in addition to badmouthing her (and her brother, apparently).

These thoughts raced through her mind as Phox reasoned aloud. -"See, I'd say that's all totally valid and fair,"- Towhee found herself saying and she even mentally added, And maybe I'm being too possessive, though she couldn't bring herself to admit that aloud yet. -"But that fuckin' punk lied to Wraen about me and now you're telling me he mouthed off to you?"- There was heat in her eyes, yet she kept her voice level and her signing smooth.

Phox listened. Gosh, he was so good at listening. Can he get a gold star for that, by the way? He really deserves one.

-Lied? About what?- Phox asked, not quite catching whatever Towhee was throwing at him. As far as Phox knew, Towhee had certainly boned Pippin enough to make him a suspected father, so it couldn't have been that.

Short because R E A S O N S.

-"Wraen said he told her—both of you, I guess?—that I shut him out of Meerkat's life completely,"- Towhee repeated, face brimming with indignation even as she bristled. -"I never said anything like that. I told him he was welcome to be her friend and part of her life but that you were her father."- And though there was no reason her brother should doubt her, she added, -"Ask @Figment, he was there."-

Suddenly feeling restless with negative energy, Towhee began to pace. There was so much more she wanted to say, about how Pippin had accused her of being a liar and told her their arrangement was "messed up." But she had already yelled at Wraen, which was unfair, and she wanted to rant at Phox even less. So she steamed quietly, keeping an eye out for a reaction and further feedback.

His mouth made a little O shape as Towhee explained her side of the story (again). He had no reason not to believe her, but why would Pippin say that. That was probably the part that confused him the most. He'd been so focused on the other parts he'd forgotten about the lie. Yes, that. Right.

-Maybe he took that as... I don't know, you being nice about telling him to bugger off? I'm not trying to make excuses for the guy, I'm just saying it was probably a miscommunication, because it sounds like he really does want to be a part of that little rascal's life.- Phox frowned. He felt like he was in Towhee's shoes back when he and Niamh were fighting about... well, whatever that was. Nellie's promise or something? He'd already forgotten.

-Whatever the reason, maybe you should sit down and have a chat with him. Or just fight each other to the death! Or fuck each other to the death. Is that even possible?- he asked, turning his eyes upward in thought.

Phox could be more objective about this, she knew, despite Pippin having insulted him. Towhee listened (in her way) as he made some of the same points as Wraen. It wore on her how quickly they gave him the benefit of the doubt rather than calling him out for his bad behavior. She knew him better than both of them and could find no excuse for it, though of course she was terribly biased at this point.

-"Pippin's inability to understand a clear sentence is not my problem. I don't think he misunderstood me at all, for the record. I just think he didn't get his way and he decided to be an asshole about it. You know, I understand how I must've frustrated him, I really do get that. But the dude hasn't come seen Meerkat once since that conversation. If it was really about spending time with her, then why hasn't he?"- Her brows arched so high they practically leaped off her face.

Phox managed to cut through the tension with a quip she wasn't expecting. Towhee managed a dry laugh as her limbs loosened a little and she quit pacing for a moment. -"I'm never going anywhere near that dick again,"- she said, aware of the double entendre and letting it hang for a moment before saying, -"I do plan to talk to him about it again sometime but only after I move past my urge to murder him."-

She flopped to her bottom abruptly, sighing a little. -"Pippin aside, there's also Arcturus. And in his case, I actually agree with your earlier points. I think he'd be a good influence in Meerkat's life. I've been thinking about talking to him too. He hasn't been an enormous fuckface."- She huffed. -"You're really okay with sharing dad duty?"- she couldn't help but wonder, eyes careful on his face.

-Maybe he thought he was respecting your boundaries,- Phox shrugged. He'd said his peace about it, although he did think Towhee was being a bit harsh on the guy. Pippin hadn't expected Towhee to have a kid, and BAM, kid time. It was probably a lot for him to process, especially with an *ahem* overprotective mother being an omnipresent feature of Meerkat's life. Phox kept those thoughts to himself, lest he end up in the "urge to murder" category.

-Who?- Phox asked, suddenly feeling his own protective senses tingling. Arcturus was a name he hadn't even heard of, and sharing daddy duty with a complete stranger sounded... well, pretty stupid in his book. Had becoming a mother made Towhee lose her marbles?

She quirked a brow again, this time seriously questioning why her brother was campaigning so hard for the guy who'd talked shit about him, about both of them. It didn't really make much sense to her. Were they closer than she realized? She loved Phox dearly but sometimes he said or did things that she couldn't explain. Towhee reminded herself he'd once hit his head pretty damn hard, so maybe that was part of it and she needed to be patient and not take it too personally.

That said, Towhee gave his question another odd look. -"Arcturus?"- she repeated, having mentioned him a couple times already. Did Phox really not know him or at least of him? -"He came here from Moonspear about a month or two ago. Meerkat and I have hung out with him several times. He taught her about patrolling."- And it had had a very queer effect on her, indeed, though that was beside the point right now.

She fidgeted, feeling strangely let down by that simple, -"Who?"- Phox was on-board to share with Pippin (who she currently detested) and apparently didn't even know the guy she could really see as a father figure to their little girl (who she was currently secretly falling for). And that felt... bad.

Well, maybe he would be open to giving Arcturus a chance, just like she was willing to speak to Pippin. That was only fair. Or, better yet, the two of them could simply decide it was too complicated to share custody of Meerkat with anyone else, after all. Towhee would be okay with that outcome. And she would still let both men play a part. She was a bitch at times but not that huge a one.

Oh, that guy. -Guess I don't really know him,- Phox said. -You got the hots for him or something?- he joked. Then again, he had thought that Towhee had crushed on Pippin. Maybe he'd been wrong about that, too. Knowing the inner workings of Towhee's emotions wasn't really his strong suit, apparently. There was something... sort of unsettling about how she hated Pippin now and seemed to have swiftly moved on to a new fixation. Was she likely to do the same to this Arcturus guy? Not that it was any of Phox's business, but he didn't really want Meerkat going through six different father figures every year. Even less so if Towhee had a rift with each one before moving on to the next. Yikes.

Not expecting an answer to his silly joke/question, Phox threw out an offer. -Maybe I'll track him down and see how we get along.- The more dads the merrier, right? If he was going to share custody with the lot, he wanted to at least know them.

Something seemed to click and she felt hopeful. Only then did Towhee catch herself. Why was she campaigning so hard for Arcturus, even if only inwardly? Phox hit the nail on the head, of course, and she felt a flush of disgust. She would've hated the idea once, even more than she currently abhorred Pippin, and that wasn't lost on her. The wolf in question truly deserved a chance, whatever else the Regent thought, but she could admit she was biased toward him lately.

But she didn't want to dignify her crush by telling anyone about it. -"I actually didn't like him at first. He went Overly Attached Girlfriend on me after we banged,"- Towhee deflected. -"But he's growing on me."- And that was the truth. -"You should know I'm not the type,"- she added with a slight tilt of her head, worrying about his head injury when she should've just been grateful she couldn't see it inside it just now.

He offered to seek out Arcturus and she gave Phox a soft look. -"Sounds good,"- she quipped, still hoping they would decide to keep parental duties and rights between themselves and Niamh but glad he was open to meet Arcturus. He was, after all, the apple of her eye lately, as much as she tried to quell it. Towhee was curious to see what her brother thought of him in general. If he didn't find Arcturus suitable, well, that was fine too. It was what they called a win/win situation.

-"I'll let you acquaint yourself with him before I even bring up the possibility,"- she thought to say after a pause before adding, -"Thanks, Phox."-

Phox couldn't remember whether or not she had told him about this Arcturus guy before. At least not the part where he'd been overly attached after they'd boned. It reminded Phox of Camilla, even though she'd been overly attached before they'd boned. The boning had just made her all the more attached. What a "yikes" that relationship was, looking back on it now. Phox sure had done a lot of emotional growing since then, and he was pretty sure he had far more backbone these days to bend over to somebody's wishes like that. Nevertheless, Camilla had given him two lovely children. That thought made his heart hurt, thinking of how Fennec had left so suddenly, but he tried to keep himself in a positive mood.

O'course, sis.

Phox let his gaze wander over to Meerkat, who was still sleeping soundly (or faking it very, very well). He didn't really want to head back to the den just yet, especially since that he was comfy right where he was on the grass. I'm gonna chill here for a bit and enjoy the peace and quiet. Quetzal and Alyx are really loud. At least Primrose seems to be a lot more chill than his sisters. Maybe it runs in the family, he teased. You think our bio parents were little shits as kids? he wondered aloud. He knew from the stories Finley, Elwood, and Raven had told that they were definitely shits as adults. Phox had idolized them as a child, although some of that had worn off over time.

Phox announced that he intended to stay here and chill for a while, which of course Towhee welcomed. She watched his lips as he talked about his trio, her own mouth twitching into a smile. It faded into more of a thoughtful expression as she pondered his question. She supposed they probably had been, though anyone who might know that information was either dead or far away. That thought kind of put a stone in her stomach.

-"Here's the part where I say, 'aren't they all?' But Meerkat is, like... weirdly angelic. It's kind of creepy, actually,"- she said, shooting the slumbering puppy a suspicious look that was all in good fun. -"Is she loud?"- she caught herself wondering in the next breath, totally oblivious to the fact that her child was partially deaf and consistently spoke in a Billy Mays voice.

Phox spinnin' theories left and right.

-Not as loud as you,- he teased, -but come to think of it, she does have a rather large set of lungs on her.- Phox chalked it up to her being a kid. Not just a kid, but an only kid. For the first month of her life, she hadn't had to vie for attention at all. After that, she'd had three siblings stealing a large chunk of that away. Maybe being as loud as possible was her way of trying to get some of that back, consciously or otherwise. Phox didn't even consider that she might have the same affliction as Towhee, considering she didn't have the same strange pronunciation of things.

-Do you think she knows you can't hear her?- Maybe they'd already had that conversation. Or maybe that was why Meerkat felt the need to yell everything. Maybe she thought if she was loud enough, her mama would be able to pick up on it.

His quip made her think of the day when a perfect stranger had politely informed her that she sounded like a dying cougar. She could chuckle about it now, though she remembered feeling very affronted at the time... not because some random man on the street had called her out but because no one else had done her that favor.

-"I haven't gone over that with her explicitly yet, assuming she wouldn't be able to understand. But I'll try to explain it soon."- She paused and then mused, -"When we were patrolling with Arcturus, he asked her to teach him how to sign and I don't think she knew what he meant. She doesn't even realize it's not a thing everyone else does."- And that meant a lot to her, even if it was a little silly.

-"But,"- she continued after a beat, -"you and Niamh will have to work with her on the volume control, since I'm hapless there."- Towhee smiled lopsidedly.

Phox bobbed his head up and down as he tended to do when digesting information. When Towhee suggested that he and Niamh should work on Meerkat's volume control, he grinned. -Maybe I'll have a group lesson with all of this year's girls. At least Primrose is soft-spoken and chill.- Phox did wonder how he would turn out as he grew older. A little part of him really didn't want an Eljay-type for a son, but he knew that he'd accommodate whatever the kids threw his way.

Thinking of Eljay made him realize with much horror that he'd never actually managed to pin him down and talk about widower things. Yikes. Realizing that just now made him feel like a real piece of shit. Sure, he had a lot going on in his life, but he hadn't so much as talked to Eljay since... well, it had been a long time. What a shitty packmate he was. -You don't happen to know where Eljay hangs out these days, do you? I told Wraen way back when that I would talk to him about Wildfire's death and try to help him with some coping tactics, but I got so wrapped up in in my own life... I totally dropped the ball.-

Even without working ears, Towhee had sensed there was something quiet about the only boy. She thought of him fondly, though. The three girls possessed enough energy to keep all three parents on their toes, so having a particularly relaxed kid thrown into the mix was good balance.

When Phox questioned her about the caretaker's whereabouts, her lips pursed. -"I haven't seen him lately. He was very attentive for a bit, then he sort of disappeared. Maybe howl for him or find Weejay and ask her? She might know where to find him."- She offered an apologetic shrug, mind once more straying to the late Blackthorns.

Her mind wandered that melancholy plane for a moment before a thought struck her. -"I bet he spends a lot of time at the grave sites. Maybe start there."-

I don't remember writing the first half of that previous post AT ALL.

-Huh, okay.- At least that was a starting point. He didn't know Weejay (literally at all; they've never had a thread together). Maybe he could track him down one way or another. He did feel bad about not offering some kind of support. When Towhee mentioned the gravesites, Phox had to stop and figure out what she was talking about. It still struck him on a regular basis that Elwood and Finley were really, truly gone.

-Oh,- he commented quietly, shifting his gaze to his paws. He wished that he'd spent more time with them. He wished that he'd learned more from them. Thinking all that made him want to see Raven, too. -When the kids are a little more independent, what do you think about visiting Raven, just for a little bit? I know we've had our differences, but... she practically raised us.-

Next, he asked about visiting Raven sometime. Towhee nodded immediately, then stilled as she realized, -"The last time I saw her was when I visited and she told me I wasn't showing any signs of pregnancy,"- she marveled aloud, taking a moment to recollect the sheer agony of that day before brushing it aside. -"I kind of left too quickly and never explained myself to her, so I owe her an apology. Do you know how much she's going to shit herself when I tell her about Meerkat?"- The idea had her eyes laughing shortly before she broke into the actual kind.

It really had been awhile, hadn't it? Phox hadn't been back since he'd mostly recovered from his head injury, which made him realize he hadn't experienced any migraines at all since the kids had been born. Maybe the sleep-deprivation had somehow cured him, hah! He laughed at Towhee's comment regarding Meerkat. -We'll have a lot to catch up on, I'm sure. Even if it means playing nice with Mr. Milktoast. Do you think Eljay would enjoy visiting her, too? Maybe Weejay could come along to keep him company.-

Phox had some vague feeling that Weejay and Eljay were inseparable, although he wasn't really sure where he was pulling that information from. Maybe just based on Towhee's comment earlier. In any case, maybe she'd be up for it. Phox realized he'd never really talked to her.

-"I think anyone who wants to go should go, it's only a day trip,"- Towhee answered with a bob of her head. -"It's good to stay in touch with family,"- she remarked idly after a moment, her attention drifting to Meerkat still fast asleep in her grassy bed.

-"I meant to get up and go do something productive, like maybe a patrol,"- she told Phox a moment later, pushing upright and stretching, which included dipping forward into a bow. -"Would you mind keeping an eye on her for a bit? I know she's old enough she could hang out here by herself but I kinda hate the idea of leaving her all alone. I can't wait until the chibs are old enough to be brought here, then we can just dump them all here together and make a break for it. They'll be Wraen's problem then."- She straightened with a chortle.