Redhawk Caldera Jet Song

Try it, bub, she thought wryly.  But when he said it, despite herself, she couldn't stop the flicker of a smile that appeared.

It faded pretty quick when he launched into a very, very careful deep dive of everything.  She bit her cheek so she wouldn't be tempted to interrupt, though internally she did scream once or twice because he was just so careful.  Initially it made her feel like he thought she was crazy, about to go off loose just because he got one thing wrong, and it didn't help with the ever-present irritation.  (Funny enough, this kinda proved the point had merit?)  But as he went, she stopped paying attention to that because she was noting all of the things he was saying.

The trip she could dismiss offhand.  She'd been pissed about it at first, but when it came down to it, the stupid coconut had been what incited her to run.  She was glad he knew it now, and glad she'd managed to say it, but regardless it was over and done.  He hadn't thought to ask, but maybe next time he would.

The den was harder.  Nothing he said was a surprise to her, and she took it completely in stride because it was what she'd already assumed.  She'd apparently known before he did that it would be a problem.  She just hadn't known how severe that problem would be, and instead had allowed herself to get her hopes up.  Maybe that was why it hurt so much when it hadn't gone over nearly the way she planned.  While he started going into how much of an idiot he was, and laughing at himself (thankfully he could at least do that), Fennec smiled a little more genuinely, but distantly.  She probably owed one more explanation, then.

I figured you would be.  Well, I guessed.  She felt this weird sadness as she thought back on it.  Leta was probably well moved in now.  You didn't get to see it, but the ceiling was stone, so there was no way it'd collapse.  And I dug it way bigger, and way deeper, than the other one.  I got as close to feeling like it wasn't underground as I could.  The tension left her shoulders and Fennec sat down.  I've never given anyone a gift before, and honestly, I shoulda suspected I'd be shit at them.  That's what it was supposed to be.  I was pretty upset when you couldn't even look at it.  I figured it wasn't your fault, but... no, I didn't go after you.

Maybe he was right in being mad about that, but she didn't know if even knowing that, she'd have been able to.  He'd been wrapped up in dealing with his own shit, but in doing so, he hadn't really taken into account how his shit had made her feel.  And as much as she'd love to be a big enough person to toss her own issues aside and run to help with his, that was definitely not her.

Guess that makes both of us stupid though, she said finally, with a light huff.  Because when I came back, and the thing was gone?  I figured you'd had enough fuck-ups.  She hadn't been able to think of any other rational reason why he would have taken back something he'd given her.  There'd been other factors, sure, but that was the main reason she'd left.  She'd come there because of him, and if he had been through with her, she didn't want to stay.  She didn't think she could handle staying.  Is it stupid that I really wish you still had it?  

Much as she insisted she hadn't asked for it, and would have rather had the trip, thinking about it being lost in the river made her extremely sad.  It had been a really neat find, and she could have really used it.

His cheeks felt sore, as did his throat though it wasn't the same as the laughter pains he would have had from an honest, happy laugh. Something ached at the back of his throat, and he'd been more grimacing than smiling. It was an unfamiliar release of tension that left him feeling a little nervous, and a bit rattled by the fact that that was his reaction. Fortunately, Fennec seemed to take it in stride; he was probably lucky she hadn't been able to see the :JoliShit: emoji look on his face. 

He was a bit surprised that she'd known he'd been frightened of the den. If she had known, then why had she chosen to gift him with another den? To him, it was probably one of the worst realizations he'd ever had, making it a very elegantly crafted, but poorly timed surprise. He opened his mouth and shook his head when she explained just how much work she'd put into it- and how she'd been so thoughtful as to make sure that everything from the foundation to the ceiling should have made it safe. "I didn't even see it, honestly," He said, and he felt like shit admitting it. But- if there was one thing he could take away from what she'd just said, it was that he had been the recipient of her first gift. It brought a small sparkle to his eyes. "Fuck. Yeah, that's...Frustrating. You put that much effort and thought, into something you were making for me, an' I just bailed like...Fuck." Probably not the best explanation, but it was his way of acknowledging how he thought she might have felt. He nodded, and then shook his head. He could see why she was so frustrated with him. He had his explanations, and she had hers. 

He felt even more remorse when she offered her impression of finding her coconut gone. He was surprised that it suddenly seemed so important, after she'd said that she hadn't wanted him to gift her things. It was a bit of a mixed message that he found frustrating. Still, when she asked him how he felt about her wishing for it, he pursed his lips, frowned, but shook his head. "No." He answered, a bit bluntly. "That's not stupid. That was a great gift." He sighed heavily. Maybe if he followed the river, he might find it had washed up somewhere...Maybe it was down at the lake, washed up along the shore. Likely buried in snow by now, or perhaps it had finally sunk. He made a note to go looking, regardless. 

"And I'm not," He continued, though it might've seemed somewhat non-sequitur at first. "I'm not tired of fuckups. Anone else's, yeah, one and done, but...I'm not tired of yours. Or you." He said. "And I want you to come back to the Glen with me." He said. He realized she had likely taken up some obligations to the Redhawks but at the same time- he wasn't going to keep his feelings a secret. If she had any notion that he might not have wanted her at the Glen anymore, he wanted to dismiss it outright.

The validation was really nice.  She still didn't feel like he one hundred percent got it, but she near able to put into words that it hadn't just been frustrating.  Bronco seemed to find it so easy to just think about others like that, so to him, maybe it would have been.  Fennec thought about others pretty much never.  Opening herself up like that, and really trying, only to fail so miserably there wasn't really any coming back from it?  Heartbreaking.

She didn't assume that her comment would make him go look for it.  She hadn't really put much thought behind it, though if she'd assumed a result, she'd have probably thought it at least let him know he'd found a good one.  She'd called it "stupid" at least a dozen times in her rant and didn't want him thinking she hated it because it was just the opposite.  It was.  Too bad.  You just... don't have to have a gift to hang out with me.  Okay?  It felt like every time he came to see her, he brought something, and while she could try to be better about taking them when offered, it made her feel a bit like shit that she never had anything to give back.  Even now, he'd brought her a rabbit, and her only real contribution was letting him share it.

Well, shit.  She should have guessed this was going to come up because she'd feared it before and it hadn't.  They hadn't really gotten to finish the conversation because she'd coughed a lungful of blood and then essentially passed out last time they talked.  I promised mom I'd stay.  She said, with obvious reluctance.  They kinda need me here.  There's gonna be kids, right? And Eljay might leave.  Even if he didn't, the Caldera had a far smaller number than the glen, and a lot of them were either young or would soon be denned up with kids.  She couldn't hunt but she could at least keep her nose and ears to the borders.  She loved the glen, but she loved her family too, and she actually felt like she should keep her promise this time.

Hearing her agree with him made him all the more determined to go searching for the coconut, no matter how insane it might sound to others who might find him roving along the banks of the river, or pawing through the muddy waters of the lake once it thawed enough. Maybe if the ice was thick and clear enough, he could even take a walk across the surface, and peer down to see if he could spot it. He enjoyed gift-giving, and was a bit discouraged when she told him he needn't gift her all the time. What he interpreted was that she didn't want gifts, or that she wasn't as happy to receive them as he was in giving them. It was an unsatisfying realization that perhaps his method of showing affection simply made her feel awkward. 

"Okay," He said, but it was a feeble agreement, as he didn't think it was completely fair to him, to be deprived of the part of their friendship that brought him so much joy. He offered a compromise. "As long as you let me treat you sometimes. It's just...What I do, and it makes me stupidly happy if I find something, or if I can share something with you." He said. "And if I ever step over a line, just...whip it at me. I'm giving you permission now- so help me- but if I ever over-gift you, no matter what it is, you can just throw it at me and I'll know what you mean. It'll probably make you feel...Kinda good, too." He said with a soft laugh. He hoped it wouldn't come to that- and that he could figure out how to make some sort of balance so that he could do things to make her happy that wouldn't give him a concussion. 

And he was disappointed further that she had made obligations to stay- and wondered if perhaps she wasn't just using those promises in order to avoid making a choice. They were valid reasons- if Towhee and Niamh both had puppies, that would leave the pack with two pregnant or nursing leaders, and the third one trying to take charge of whatever he could while also tending to his mate and sister. If Eljay did indeed left, then the pressure would inevitably be on. So, he couldn't necessarily doubt her motives for staying. "Well. Whether or not it ever has any influence on you changing your mind, I mean what I said." He still wanted her to go to the Glen- but at least he wasn't telling her she should. He felt certain that telling Fennec what he thought she should or shouldn't do would be a death sentence. Telling her opinion felt marginally less dangerous. "But I also think you should totally usurp Mom's Regent title when she gets too fat to patrol."

He didn't sound particularly enthused about agreeing to her terms, but she was glad he did.  It'd be nice to see him just because, nothing on hand, because the fact that he was always carrying sometimes had left her wondering if he checked in because he wanted to or he checked in because he thought she wasn't eating.  She didn't like feeling like an obligation.  Sometimes is fine.  She'd loved the pouch, and she'd loved the bowl, and she was sure she'd love more things that he found and decided to squirrel away for her.  She thought about asking him if it bothered him that she didn't, but she wasn't sure she wanted to make any promises.  They'd already established that her first attempt had been complete shit, and she didn't know how soon she was ready to go for try number two.

Normally she'd latch onto that head-throwing joke but for some reason her sense of humor seemed to have kinda departed her for the time being.  Maybe it was the fact that this was the realest conversation she'd... ever?... had.  Whatever it was, Fennec was feelin a way, and she wasn't sure if it was good or bad or a little mix of both.  She let it pass, but made a note of it, because if nothing else she could keep it in her back pocket to reference later.  He had given her permission to fling things at his head, this was not something she was going to let completely go to waste.

This decision would have been so easy a month ago.  It had been so easy a few months ago when he'd asked the first time.  I really want to.  She answered, still a little subdued from normal.  All the yelling had left her a little strung out and while she was glad they'd hashed things out, there were still a few things that had her wheels spinning.  One was a thing that had been very clearly shoved aside, and that was a thing she wasn't going to pick up until a while later.  It wasn't like Bronco had doubled down on it when she called him out.  She did quirk a bit of a smile at the title comment.  I'm guessing you probably couldn't stay either, could you?  She knew parts of why he left, and she knew that Meerkat was important to him.  She didn't hate the idea that her little sister had him looking out for her, and she wasn't going to be mad.  

She'd probably talk to Towhee about it, but she guessed that her answer would remain the same regardless of what her mom said - at least for now.

He was relieved. He hadn't thought that he would feel relieved to come back and talk things out, but it turned out that Meerkat had been right all along- he just needed to talk to Fennec, and to get the air at least partially cleared between them. The last thing he wanted was for Fennec to feel as though she was obligated to gift him return, or for her to teel like he was expecting her to do anything for him at all- but he hadn't quite figured out how to articulate that, nor did he have the insight to be able to guess that she might've been feeling that way. He'd matured into a reasonable young man, but he still had plenty of learning to do.

His expression perked up a bit when she admitted that she wanted to go to the Glen. That helped convince him that maybe she wasn't just hiding out here, and that maybe she really did feel an obligation to stay and help out with the pack when the kids came. He could understand her making that choice so long as there was still some small part of her that did want to go back to the Glen. She must've felt so divided- but he wouldn't have guessed she would then ask him if he could stay at the Caldera. 

And for a moment, it seemed like a completely practical decision. The heirarchy at the Glen had already been established- and it had been made clear that the lineage of leaders there would stem only from the Ostrega family line, which had chafed him, slightly. He'd hoped, secretly, that he might have been chosen to lead- and had felt discouraged and perhaps a bit jaded when Hydra and Osiris overlooked him completely in favour of choosing Atlas and Antares instead. But Atlas was keen, intelligent, and would make an excellent advisor. Antares was calm, observant, and had bested him in a spar- so he couldn't really doubt the decision, either. But they wouldn't likely need him, necessarily. And Meerkat was an adult now. The only problem, really, was feeling some obligation to remain with the Glen for at least a year before leaving, and the fact that moving to the Caldera would mean moving, essentially, back in with his Mom. 

But...Maybe things would get better. Maybe she'd start leaving them alone. She'd stopped picking on him so hard when the second batch of kids had been born, so...Why shouldn't he assume it might happen again? "I'll consider it," He said, surprising himself slightly. He wasn't entirely sure she was actually asking him, or extending an invite but...He didn't want to say anything to make her rescind her sort-of-invitation. It was too precious to him to let that slip away. "I'll definitely consider it," He said, with a slight nod. He'd need to think it over, and then perhaps discuss it with a few others as well- but the idea enticed him, especially if Fennec had truly intended to ask him to stay.

She'd offered it knowing as she said it there was no way he'd say yes.  He hated living with his mom and he seemed so happy at the glen.  He and Meerkat had a ton of friends there, he was probably one of their most go-to guys for practically everything, and Moonspear had all the guardians he could want training-wise.  (Even she was jealous on that count.)  It was a shot in the dark.  And thinking about how unlikely it was made her almost want to backtrack, except she was tired of constantly and consistently flaking out.

So his "I'll consider it"?  Definitely caught her completely unaware.  Not sure where that happy little jolt in her stomach came from, or that honest to god grin, but the latter was a little hard to hide.  And for a moment, she didn't even try because she was so ready to hear him come back with a quick and outright 'Nah'.  

Okay, enough of that nonsense.  She ducked her head to seemingly nibble at an itch on her side, then smooth out the fur there.  Well, either way, I figure I already have gardens set up.  'Witch of the bramble' has a pretty nice ring to it too.  She'd be around, no matter what he decided to do, and they could always hang out halfway.

When she turned to nibble at her side, he felt certain it was an attempt to hide the grin that'd come to her features, but he'd not missed it, and it made him feel something lighten significantly in his chest. Try as she might to hide it, Fennec had looked quite pleased that he'd offered to consider staying at the Caldera- which served of course to influence him a bit more. If he'd had any doubt about whether or not she wanted him there before, it'd faded away significantly. She didn't comment, but she didn't need to. 

He would have preferred to have her come and live at the Glen with him- and if she had set up a garden at Bramblepoint, he could have pointed out that it was close enough to the Glen to stil be accessible from there as well- but he wasn't going to push his luck. He did, however, chuckle at the title she'd come up with, which did have a nice ring to it. "Fennec Redhawk, Witch of the Bramble." He said. He reached out to nip at the fur of her cheek again, and uttered a soft, fond growl as he did so, whispering "Beware the Briarwitch," in a low voice close to her ear.

Briarwitch.  She felt a shiver when he said it that might not have entirely been the word, though it was a far better one than even her offering.  He'd moved in close again, and she felt the nip and his breath on her ear.  She laughed softly, then leaned over and shoved at him halfheartedly with her shoulder, bringing herself closer and remaining there.  Careful, makin light of a witch might come back to bite you.  She teased, taking a nip back.

Start spreadin the word now.  I actually got a lot of practice, when I was gone.  She thought back on her time in the canyon, the wolves she'd encountered and sold premonitions to.  She wondered again if her ravens were still there.... she hoped so.  Despite Fig and her dad going there, she might need to visit herself.  Fortunes, mostly, in exchange for food.  Technically Bronco had brought her some today, and that would earn him a read if he wanted.  Though she'd never really gotten the sense he was interested, not to any real extent.

He thought he noticed the slight ruffle of her fur in response to his whisper, which made him feel very pleased with himself. He didn't pull away from her nip, and sturied her expression when she issued him a warning. He definitely wasn't making fun of her being a Briarwitch- he adored that this was a part of who she was. But as always, he'd let her tease him since she seemed to enjoy it so much. He enjoyed setting himself up for it, too. He'd set it up, and she'd usually knock it out of the park. 

It seemed that while she'd been away, she'd kept herself somewhat busy, and mentioned telling fortunes. It wasn't something that Bronco had ever heard of- but it seemed interesting enough. He was lured in, easily. "Well, I only fed you half a rabbit...Can you do like...half-fortunes?" He asked with a slight laugh. "I can always bring you another half later. Or you can like...I think I already owe you my first-born, so I could just promise you the second-born as well. If you allow debt, that is," He said. After all- with any practice came a charge, and if there was any witch he was willing to owe a debt to, it was this one.

Well shit, he was interested.  So far, Fennec had really only done fortunes for strangers... aside from Towhee, who she'd given a brief one.  It was different with wolves she was close to because they were harder to bullshit, would probably see right through it, and it felt a little worse?  That depends, though.  A few of the times she'd done it - like with the man who had given her the fawn - the telling just felt right in a way she couldn't explain.  The first time she'd experienced it had been with that other man, the one with an apparently bloody past.  He hadn't seemed as impressed, but she couldn't help but feel some note of truth had existed.  Okay, but first, you have to just... focus on a question.  Something you want to know about the future.  The questions were the best ones.  Don't tell me, but think.

She paused, giving him time to confirm and think about what exactly he might want to know.  Did she know, what he was thinking of?  She thought maybe... but hopefully that was just ego, because if her "signs" pointed to anything like that, it was going to be really hard to get the words out.

Either way, taking on the guise of "Wraith" made this easier.  She let out a small breath, then stood still and just listened, taking in everything around them.  The sounds, the scents, the vibrations in the ground.  As she did, she thought about what she knew of Bronco.  He was warm, caring, giving... sometimes to a fault.  But he had a temper, and sometimes, that temper scared even him.  He was irritatingly stubborn.  He was loyal, but only to a point, so he knew what he was worth.  And, she supposed, that was the only time he really did anything for himself.  Because the only times she'd ever heard of his temper, or seen his stubbornness, it had been in defense of someone else.  

She didn't know if that was enough to get started, but she had waited long enough.  You have most of what you want, she began, feeling a sense of contentment as a small breeze blew past.  But you're stuck on something.  You have to let go of whatever it is holding you back.  The tree above rattled, reminding her of branches hanging down, caught in limbo.  She smiled, then, as a ray of warmth hit her back.  God it felt good to be out and about, to feel the sun.  You've been doing well, moving forward and overcoming the past.  You want to keep doing this, and become more and more sure of yourself, even when conflict arises.  Trust your nature.  That one was quite possibly the surest one, despite not really knowing where it came from.  Her mind was inexplicably drawn to an image of the bear... a hulking creature, huffing and coming closer, indeterminant in shape but terrifying in scale.  If you don't, you'll just find ruin.  She didn't like that one so much.  She hadn't meant to give him a negative read, but for some reason, she couldn't shake the memory.  There was nothing but dread in it.

She'd worried so much about this next bit, but she was put off by the bear.  So when she dug her left paw into the snow, and hit the feeling of two branches entwined, she nearly laughed.  Of course.  The Briarwitch doesn't spin the telling because she's chicken, Fennec thought.  You have a lot of love in you, and a lot of connection.  Let it grow.  She felt her cheeks heat up.  It was strange that instead of finding that in the "what could be" column, she'd found it in the "what is".  Not the time to analyze that.  Don't fear the power of it, instead harness it.  She heard a bird call out, circling above, and a few others answer from nearby.  Embrace what you have around you, support and home.  But in the end, only you know what you want.  And you have everything you need to get it, if you just trust yourself.  She listened as the bird winged away, then let the words hang for a moment.

Part of payment is gonna be notes, by the way.  She replied, dropping the whole 'Wraith' facade and falling back into her normal pattern of speech.  She'd gotten into it again, though this time felt different than the others.  More 'real'?  Probably because she knew so much about Bronco, it was harder to separate what she knew from what she 'read'.  She'd actually said the word ruin though, hadn't she?  Fuck.  Well, if he was an unhappy customer, least he'd only paid her half.

INTERESTING
​1 - heart of matter: IV of Wands
2 - opposing: Hanged Man
3 - root cause: II of Swords
4 - past: The Sun
5 - goal: Father of Wands
6 - future: X of Swords
7 - you: II of Cups
8 - external influences: IX of Pentacles
9 - hopes/fears: Strength
10 - outcome: III of Wands

Just one question? But he had so many to think about. If Fennec had any difficulties getting started, he might later reflect back and assume that he was the one to blame. While he stayed quiet, his gaze roamed here and there as though he was searching through his brain with the back of his eyes to try and find the right question to think about. He wasn't sure how specific he'd need to be...If he could simply wonder how is my life going to go? or if he ought to be more specific and wonder- and it made him blush to even consider it momentarily- did Fennec have feelings for him too? Part of him wondered how much he could push the boundaries of his question beyond just the mortal realm, and into the afterlife...At which point, he would have contemplated for a moment asking if his Dad was proud of him, and if he was doing it right. 

A faint memory came to him, then- but he wasn't sure it really was a memory. For some reason, the question of "Am I doing good enough?" came to mind. He heard his voice saying it with a pleading tone, and it made a lump form in his throat. Had he ever asked his Dad that question? He felt sure of it but at the same time...It seemed like far too recent of a memory for it to have been possible. The question lingered in his mind, puzzling him- but at least it had lingered ther long enough, and within enough focus, that it had potentially given Fennec what she'd needed in order to do her reading. The memory from his dream faded away as she began to speak.

Her words hit with such a resounding accuracy that he filled in her references with relative ease. Given the moment he'd spent thinking about his father, he couldn't help but feel perhaps that the message she was trying to get across at first was that he should put some of his past grief to rest. He frowned, as it was a particularly sensitive thing for him to think about- and he wondered if she knew she was alluding to something very painful that he'd tried so hard to keep hidden as he grew up. 

When he was told to trust his nature, he remembered one of the conversations he'd had with Wraen, discussing morals, and what should be done if he ever came into a fight that he could not finish. Something stopped him from being able to fight as hard as he might need to...He'd never been able to become the warrior his mother wanted him to be. The thought of seriously hurting another wolf made him feel queasy but there he was- still training to be the guardian and warrior that he felt he was obliged to be. The very nature of those trades went against who he was as a wolf- and it perplexed him now to realize that if he did continue on that path, he might find ruin. He swallowed hard. That was definitely something to think about. From what it sounded like, Fennec had given him a warning; and how he went forward was up to him. 

She did something with one of her paws, which he noticed, and her features brightened a bit, or so he thought. There was mirth in her voice when she spoke again, and he felt his cheeks grow warm when she said the word love. He wasn't sure he'd ever heard Fennec say that word before- and even if she wasn't saying that she felt it, it still have him goosebumps to hear her even speak the word. He suddenly felt a bit vulnerable as she began to dissect what could potentially be his future love life, but fortunately she didn't spell things out in terms of names or numbers. She made a good point of telling him to trust himself- it was something he was still learning how to do. 

And as though a spell had suddenly been lifted, she became herself again, and asked him for notes which made him feel somewhat horrified. How was he supposed to comment on that? He opened his mouth and drew in a breath, but then stopped. "How'd-" He cut himself off. "So wh-" No, that would't have been a good question, either. "How'd you even-" He blurted before he cut himself off again, and shook his head. "Woah, Fenn," He said, shaking his head. "It is- that's- I don't even know what to say," He said with a slight laugh. He was beyond impressed. He was left a bit shaken, a bit raw, but entirely confounded by just how well she seemed to see him. He felt a gurgle of his earlier, nervous laughter bubble to his throat. "That all, like...all of it...makes...A lot of sense." A laughed, a bashful sound. "You just like...Looked into my soul, Fenn," He said. "But at least it doesn't sound like....Like I'm too much of a mess...Right?" He asked.

She felt a pretty big amount of awkward trepidation waiting on his reply, despite her nonchalant internal dismissal.  It was a kind of stupid thing, maybe, to get into, but she really enjoyed these fortune tellings the more she performed them.  There was something insanely fun about not only reading a wolf, but then speaking to aspects of them that even they might not realize were there.

He seemed to have a hard time putting words to it.  She might have worried that he was having a hard time because he hadn't liked it, except his tone clearly indicated otherwise.  And she felt herself begin to glow a little, just a tidge, under the praise - just like she had when Merrick had attested to her skill.  Was he unnerved?

Not bad for a blind girl, huh? she joked in response to his comment, but she was obviously flattered.  A part of her wanted to press him for what ways she'd hit on things, but a part of it was that it was up to him to take what he would.  And explaining it would kinda ruin the personal aspect of it.  I just kinda take what I feel and what I hear and just.... listen?  And say what sounds right.  I think everyone hears something different too.  It's pretty cool, isn't it?  Her tail waved gently, and she got to her feet.

Not too much of a mess, but you might want to work on the clutter, she retorted, brushing past him and giving his shoulder a light, playful nip.  Now this witch needs a drink.  She hoped he'd follow, but if he had other places to go, she could manage herself.  It felt so good to be out and about, finally, on her own.  And it felt doubly good to have cleared the air between them, at least mostly, and brought things back to the way they were before.  Comfortable was probably the best term, and it was the way she liked it best.

When she explained some of her methods to him, he was intrigued. He relied on his sense of hearing of course, but when he wasn't hunting, his senses were more often focused instead on sight and smell, and he'd listen to his environment of course- but in a much more passive way. He might not notice all the subtle things that could have been heard if he'd only been listening. Instead, he tended to only listen for sounds that indicated that something or someone might be nearby- and whether that meant food, company or danger. 

But Fennec would likely be more prone to using her sense of hearing to a much greater degree than he did- and all those little, subtle sounds likely helped her paint a picture of her surroundings. No wonder she could navigate the way she did. When she suggested that there was something subjective about the nature of her fortunes, though, he wsa even more impressed. "That's a neat concept," He said. "That I might hear something different than you," He said. He chuckled. "'Course I'd need for things to be a lot more obvious, given how oblivious I can be. I think you're just...Naturally better at this. Probably more so than like...Most wolves." He said. And it wasn't because of her blindness- it was because Fennec was a wolf who felt the pull to understand what she was hearing and then actually take inspiration from it and divine a meaning. Something like that had never even occurred to Bronco before. It took a brilliant mind to discover that sort of talent. 

He smiled and embraced her touch as she moved past him, and nodded. "Me too," He said, licking his lips. "A drink, and then a nap, and then a patrol," He said, listing out the itinerary for the rest of his day so that he felt that he'd at least made some plans, he could consider himself having been productive.

A patrol.  She huffed, generally her equivalent of an eye roll, but let it go without comment.  Of course he'd be patrolling here too.  Likely she wouldn't go along.  Her status was okay but her muscles still weren't quite up to task on extended travel.  The borders were a long road to walk when she could barely make it to the Bramblepoint.

The compliments were nice, though.  I'm naturally better at a lot of things, you should know that.  She answered with a sly little smile, then set off on her way, likely leading him to the river nearby so that they could both catch a drink before splitting ways (or... napping and then splitting ways.  She hadn't landed yet).

last for me!! <3 can post one more or just archive!

I'm just gonna square up and try REALLY hard to punt this over onto page 3 just because-
AWH DANGIT NO FIELD GOAL FOR ME. Next time!

He chuckled when she huffed at him. She ought to get used to it, he thought, if she actually wanted him to stick around. Patrolling the borders was a great distraction for him, and it was a past-time that he enjoyed. Perhaps he'd never really realized how much he just liked going for long walks, or maybe it was just the fact that he could at least tell himself the borders would be reinforced, and that that alone would make them safer. It would take him time to learn that patrolling and marking the borders was only a small part of the battle to keep the interior and vulnerable members of the pack safe. 

But Fennec had given him many things to think about. If he truly was to trust his instinct, then he wasn't sure he could go forward with trying to get the warrior specialty. He enjoyed sparring because he liked playing, and he enjoyed quality time with others. But he was not a terribly competitive wolf, and didn't mind giving the victory to another so long as it was only a practice spar. When it came to fighting a real fight, well...He had yet to manage one without either eventually backing down, or feeling terribly ill afterwards. Something simply wasn't sitting right- but it had taken hearing the words from someone else's mouth in order for him to even begin realizing his true potential. 

"Yeah, yeah," He replied, complacently acknowledge that she was right- and that she probably did know more about most things than he did. He'd plugged his head into only a couple of real niches when he'd begun training as a guardian, warrior and trapper- and had not had much life experience aside from hunting and patrolling. Fennec- she had travelled, and had learned to see the world in a completely different way than he did...So there was lots he had yet to learn from her and fortunately, they'd managed to avoid a major meltdown in their friendship, all due to him being short-sighted. If he'd paid more attention to their entire ordeal, he might have realized he had some potential in him for being a counsellor- but for the time being, he'd just be grateful that Fennec had seen fit to give him another chance.