Redhawk Caldera It's not just where you make your bed

hand waving on time and on things, but I wanted to snap her back home bc STUFF HAPPENIN ohdang.  2 weeks seems like a good journey-home time <3

With a chance encounter and @Reyes guiding her a good part of the remainder, Fennec made it home.  She hadn't been sure of the correct course until she stepped beneath the familiar reaches of the Bramblepoint, and all of the sudden it was as if the tension left her.  There was nothing quite like coming back to a place that you knew after spending so long in a place you didn't.  

It was a little weird that they hadn't hit the Glen, and something pinged with worry that things might have been moving without her here.  She didn't let it get to her, however, not until she checked back in at home.  As soon as she arrived she howled, though she hoped her mom would be around.  And in fact, if they took long enough, she wouldn't bother waiting around.  She had let them know she was going and let them know she was coming back; it wasn't trespassing.

She wondered how far along Niamh and Towhee were, how everyone was doing, and hoped she hadn't missed too much.  Little did she know she'd missed the former by only a short while... and she was coming home to a place in even worse straits than when she'd left.  She hadn't though that possible.  Ears peeled for anyone she might harass into a hearty hello, Fennec wandered across the border and into the Caldera proper.  She was looking for @Towhee's scent in particular but any of the family would do.

Slipping this in here, because why not?

When sunrise came, Phox felt no more rested than when he had gone to sleep. He was groggy, confused as to why he was not in the den, before the events of the previous day hit him. It felt like whiplash all over again, and there was a sour taste in his mouth when he thought of Niamh. She'd taken their children away from him.

He sought out Towhee at her den, his heart heavy and his pace slow. He was hungry and thirsty, but those needs would have to wait. With Niamh gone, and Alyx, too, it was unlikely that they could support their small family without the help of others. Once he was done delivering the news, he would begin the arduous process of recruiting.

It was then that he heard another set of footsteps approaching, and he turned to find Fennec making her way toward them.

-Fennec,- he said, his voice heavy, surely carrying the hurt he felt. He was glad to have her here, so he wouldn't need to deliver the news twice.

-Niamh left. I don't know where she went. I'm so fucking angry with her, Towhee. She was mad at you for not apologizing or some super petty shit, and she left,- he said, his voice trembling. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, hoping to avoid a migraine.

Towhee was feeling fat and sassy today. Hanging out with @Ruenna at their den had really lifted her spirits. Maybe she might even be able to go see Niamh soon. She let out a long breath at the thought. She wasn't quite ready yet, though she knew it would be best for the kids' sake if they could talk it out before their due dates.

When Phox appeared, the Sovereign sat up slowly, stretching and craning her neck skyward as she did so. Her joints popped and she sighed, eyes finally drifting to his face. Towhee blinked. He looked absolutely wrecked.

"Phox?" she said, falling into a stony silence as her brother simultaneously walked and talked, bringing her up to speed on what was an impossible, unthinkable situation.

And then she saw where Phox was leading them: to Fennec. Towhee was still reeling from what her remaining Regent had just told her, so she gaped a little stupidly at their eldest before doing an ungainly shuffle to arch her head over Fen's neck and hug tightly against her shoulder.

"I'm," was all Towhee could manage.

Rue is lurking, skippable if she is not noticed/addressed.

Rue was a frequent flyer at Towhee's den these days, what with her recent promotion to baby daddy, as Towhee loved to put it. She hoped that her friend wasn't getting tired of fish, because that was about all that Rue was good for hunting these days, considering her lingering back pain. 

She fish swung from Rue jaws as she trudged toward Towhee's den. Voices drifted to her ears, and Rue stopped in her tracks. 

Niamh was gone? Rue felt a little bad for overhearing what was obviously family drama. Still, she lingered a moment, knowing she should turn and head back the way she came, yet rooted to the spot by curiosity. Wasn't Niamh a leader in addition to being Phox's (ex?)mate? What would this mean for their pack?

Hold on, what.  She found Towhee, at the very least, but... seems like she'd come at either the worst or best possible time imaginable.  At first she was a little worried when her dad didn't seem immensely happy to see her, but then he delivered the news about Niamh and she felt the shock of it still her too.  She'd learned not to expect too much prediction out of her step-mother, but to have her just up and leave?  

Was this about Reyes?  She asked outright, and while she relaxed some at Towhee's embrace, she was still stiff.  She ran away.  Fennec felt a thickness settle in her throat, something like disdain.  She hadn't thought that Niamh could do anything that would make her less cool, but she hadn't counted on that.  Fennec had run away too, but wolves like Towhee and Hydra and Niamh herself had been perfect examples as to why she should try and do less of that.  So she had promised to stay, had held to that promise, and returned to find her very own mentor up and vanished.

Oh, wow.  She was pissed too, actually.  That was a surprise.

Surrounded by two of his closest family members, Phox felt a little more at ease. And yet, he had once considered Niamh to be one of his closest. He thought back to the day he had forced Reyes out. Betrayal! Niamh had screamed. And now she was the betrayer.

-It can't just be about him, can it? Or this whole 'pity me, I'm hurt' song and dance,- Phox tried to reason. -She's mentally unstable. I'm worried for our kids.- And if she was this angry—angry enough to leave—would that mean she would come back and try to harm Towhee's children? She had spoken of the children being unsafe here, but how were they going to be safe out there.

Towhee withdrew to take a seat beside Fennec, missing her question as her eyes immediately bounced from Rue to Phox. She motioned for the Specialist to join them even as her gaze remained riveted on her brother's face. There were so many thoughts flying through her head in the face of this development, though one popped to the forefront: Niamh had, in a sense, kidnapped his children.

They were supposed to be hers too, though they were his blood. Towhee's face contorted in anguish on his behalf. And when he began ranting again, referencing the feud with Reyes, something clicked in her head. Was Reyes feeling this same agony, being cut out of his children's life at the whim of their mother?

But that was a thought for another time. "I don't," the Sovereign began, still inarticulate. She found herself making eye contact with Rue's dead fish as her brow scrunched and she tried to sort through the positively overwhelming slew of shit running through her mind.

Finally, she found her words, for Phox's sake. "I'm so sorry." Towhee was sorry this was happening to him and sorry for her part in it. If she'd just choked down her rage and spoken to Niamh, could this have been avoided? Or had the former Regent always been a ticking time bomb, bound to explode by some trigger or another?

"I'm here. We're here," Towhee said after another purely bewildered pause. She motioned at Fennec and Rue, then at her own belly with a frown. She knew he would be a great dad to them, though she also knew how horrible Phox must feel about his other litter. After all, she knew the feeling well herself, having had her own dreams of a happy family destroyed in part by Niamh.

She disagreed with Phox, but didn't speak up on it.  She's scared.  And a coward, apparently, came the less charitable thought.  That was why people ran, wasn't it?  Penn left because he couldn't deal with his parents' deaths and wanted to avoid it.  Fennec ran because she'd thought that if she ran first, she'd never be left behind again.  And Niamh, apparently, was running from something too.  It didn't make sense that that something was Reyes... unless.  Something clicked, but she kept it silent for now.  Save it for if you ever read her fortune.

He led me part of the way home, and said they fought.  She chased him out?  Fennec felt her fur lift.  Losing Niamh meant losing some of the pups they'd needed to worry about protecting, but still.  She couldn't hunt... if all they had left was Phox and Towhee and maybe one other?  Then they were toast the minute that bear or that cat came back around.  Let alone a rival pack or any other bullshit.

We should go get him.  She didn't know everything that had happened, clearly, but she did know that they had good help waiting and nothing stopping them from accepting him.  Him and maybe Bronco.  But she couldn't bring herself to say it because, thinking on the glen... maybe she didn't need to know all the news at once.  She had to deal with this first.

Rue had just taken a step backwards, intending to disappear back into the scenery, when Towhee caught her eye and ushered her forward. Rue joined the group wordlessly, laying her fish on the ground and reclining onto her haunches. She remained silent as they conversed. Even though she was invited now, she knew she was an outsider among these wolves who shared each-others' blood. 

"We're here." 

Rue nodded along as Towhee comforted Phox. She wasn't one-hundred-percent caught up on all things Niamh-related, but Rue was here if Phox needed a babymama her, eager to help in any way she could be of use. 

Fennec spoke. No. That wasn't right. Niamh didn't chase Reyes out-- Phox did. Rue saw it with her own eyes, or heard it with her own ears, rather. Since Phox was the one who dismissed Reyes, it stood to reason that he was the one who would need to approve Reyes's re-admission. Rue looked to Phox, awaiting his response. 

For what it was worth, Rue agreed with Fennec. She thumped her tail against the ground, hoping the blind Redhawk would feel that her idea had at least one packmate's support. If Towhee had a chance at having her mate, or boyfriend, or whatever back-- a chance at a happy family-- then they owed it to their Sovereign to make it happen. Rue would hand the Towhee's-Baby-Daddy title back over, in exchange for the Towhee's-Best-Friend title. Niamh had left that position up for grabs, it seemed.

Rue is killin' me with her swooping in thoughts, LOL.

-I chased him out,- Phox corrected. -He attacked a pregnant leader and broke her leg, Fennec. What if he does it again? What if it's Towhee next time?- He was not ready to let Reyes off the hook just because he'd led Fennec home. No matter Niamh's current state of mind, Phox still felt as though kicking him out was the right choice. He may be the biological father to Towhee's children, but Phox was going to be hard pressed to let him back into their lives as if he had done nothing wrong.

Towhee had already lost two of her children, and Phox didn't want there to be any chance of her losing anymore. Reyes was trouble, and Phox wasn't willing to look past such an egregious error, even for Towhee. But really, because of Towhee. Right now, she couldn't defend herself.

-Towhee, I don't think it's a good idea,- he said, focusing his gaze on her. -I won't stop him if you want him back, but I really think you should consider what he's capable of. Maybe wait until you're back at full capacity in case he tries to pull anything.-

Fennec suggested they go fetch Reyes. Then Phox countered their daughter, explaining why it was a patently bad idea. Towhee did her best to follow along, though this whole situation was giving her horrible whiplash. Her stomach had been in knots since her brother first relayed the news and now her mouth began to sour as nausea swept through her. She kept her mouth firmly shut to stave off the possibility of tossing her cookies in front of everyone. They didn't need anymore drama.

As her attention bounced around the small gathering and Towhee fought down the urge to puke, a thought clobbered her upside the head. She immediately felt terrible for not asking this sooner. She signed, -Wait, where is Alyx?- She kept her mouth closed, which turned out to be a good judgment call when this observation flipped her stomach even more. She could feel saliva pooling tellingly on her tongue.

-Shit, fuck,- the Sovereign signed rather spasmodically, -I think I'm going to be sick. I need a minute. Sorry, sorry. I'll be right back.- Towhee threw everyone an apologetic glance before excusing herself, loosing an absolutely foul belch as she went in search of some air.

Last post from me, since this segues kinda nicely into my thread with Reyes! Speaking of which, you guys are welcome to pop in there!

get a quick response here since this is plot important <3

Fennec frowned at her dad's words, hearing them and obviously in disagreement.  Reyes had said he wasn't sure how bad she was but that made sense to her.  And he'd sounded like he felt bad enough for it to her when he said it.  But they didn't know.

Have you ever fought Niamh?  she asked Phox, knowing the answer before she even asked.  Of course he hadn't.  I mean, for real?  Because I have, and if she fought him like she fought me, he probably didn't have an option.  Hers had only been a spar and the way she'd been pushed into fighting she doubted she'd have known until after if she actually injured Niamh.  Thankfully she hadn't been capable.

It was the part she'd liked best about sparring her; there was no holding back.  But that was apparently done now.  A familiar twinge of hurt, but she ignored it.

She obviously didn't catch a word of Towhee's signing, so her ears turned with alarm when her mom just abruptly left.  So much for that idea?

Anyway.  Whatever's best.  She said, not willing to argue with her dad (who seemed understandably strung out already) and tired herself after a long and somewhat eventful trip.  All she wanted was a nap and something to eat but she'd probably wait on the latter.  She'd need to check how much was around with only really her dad and Rue here to hunt.  (That was Rue she heard, yeah?  Seemed like it.). She gave her dad a nuzzle as she passed,  one of silent understanding.  She wasn't about to give him sympathy since she didn't think she'd want it in his place but she got it.  And it sucked.

Phox was worried. Rue shifted closer to Towhee, silently communicating that she would be near, and she would be watchful. Rue and Towhee had practically killed themselves getting the Hobbit Hole in tip-top shape so quickly, and Rue wasn't about to abandon the underground sanctuary just because Reyes came back. There would be plenty of room there for all of them, including Aunty Woo.

Ultimately, Phox left the decision up to Towhee, which was enormously generous of him. He was the one who had suffered the most due to Reyes's actions-- at least Towhee still had her puppies. Phox had been robbed of both his children and his mate. Rue dipped her muzzle in admiration, then turned to Towhee to hear her decision. 

Towhee signed some quick ptero. Rue caught the "wait, where is--" part, but she didn't recognize the sign for the name. Rue's brow furrowed. Was someone missing? And stars, was Towhee looking green or what?

Towhee's ptero became even more rushed, and Rue couldn't keep up. Quite suddenly, Towhee was gone. Rue followed without hesitation, concerned for her friend. She would attempt to catch up to Towhee to check on her, but the two would part ways before Towhee continued on down the slope of the Caldera. Downhill was still too hard on Rue's back, and even just imagining the kind of pain she would be in if she descended all the way to the base was enough to turn Rue a little green herself.

And as for the fish-- it would remain on the ground, abandoned and forgotten, a silent audience to the rest of Phox and Fennec's discussion.

Towhee departed rather suddenly, and Phox felt that it was his fault for not doing something. But what could he have done? He could not read minds, and he certainly could not make anybody apologize to anybody else. Towhee mentioned Alyx, but since Fennec hadn't mentioned anything horrible, and considering all the mayhem that was currently going on, Phox had figured she'd simply decided to lay her roots elsewhere. She may not have said as much when she left, but Phox had always assumed as much.

-Everybody has an option, Fennec,- he replied. And it made most sense to trust Niamh. At least... it had at the time. He had known her for years, and Reyes was still a relatively new face around the caldera. Just because he and Towhee were... involved? Was that even the right word anymore? It hurt Phox's brain to think about it too much.

Fennec departed as well, and Ruenna shortly after, leaving Phox feeling even more alone than before. He wouldn't admit to wanting pity, but he did feel pretty fucking awful right now. He blinked, took a breath, and headed to the outskirts of the territory to call for Niamh, hoping she might still be nearby. If she didn't come back soon, he would go out looking for her.