Redhawk Caldera Azurite

Haha! I still own those books, for some unknown reason.

She quirked a brow at this talk of an imaginary Towhee. She didn't think she was particularly pleasant company much of the time, so why would Wraen want her around when she wasn't? She asked about names next, something Towhee hadn't thought much about yet, beyond naming her deceased pair.

"Sometimes other animals too," she said. "I guess it just depends on what they look like when they get here." Her mind lingered on poor Blackbird and Butterfly. She could've shared that with Wraen, she knew, but she couldn't bring herself to talk about them right this moment.

"But I like Bob. It's businesslike and cute, all at once. Maybe Bob and... Tom? Any other brilliant suggestions, Auntie Wraen?"

I feel sorry that I gave away the fourth book, because it had the best snarky comments from my best friend and a couple of others written in pencil there. On second thought I did donate it to a library, so, perhaps, other readers are enjoying them as much as I did in my time.

"John is a name that will never age and - frankly speaking - I have never met a single wolf called like this. So, that's another point in favour to that name. Then... Arnold? For a beefy fellow - a lot of brawn, not much brain?" Wraen grinned at Towhee, clearly enjoying the conversation. "But then some jerk would probably nickname him Mould and that would not be nice," she added. 


"You could name one of your daughters in honour of a very good friend you have..." she looked at Towhee suggestively. "...that's supportive and listens to yo, and have your back and is all-around awesome... and standing right next to you, mhm?" Wraen arched an eyebrow. "I know, I am very humble and so, BUT I heard that Wrena is on a list of unique baby names. So that you know," she told. 

Googled baby names - Wrena is a thing. :D

David and I frequently buy secondhand books. We always enjoy the notes scribbled in them!

John, Arnold, Mold? Towhee quirked a brow, entertained by the names Wraen suggested one after the other. She did not interrupt, waiting for more, and snickered when her friend hinted at naming one after her. She flipped the script a little and proposed Wrena.

"I thought we agreed to name landmarks after one another," the Sovereign countered, "y'know, after we're dead? But, hey, if one pops out looking the part, then I'll be happy to call it Wraen Jr."

"Do you know that "Jr."s are only assigned to male offspring?" Wraen asked, not liking the suggestion too much, even if it was hypothetical and only to humour her at present. "Though I do recall your dad breaking that tradition and naming his first-born Osprey Jr. ..." she mused, but other than that she had not the slightest idea of, what had become of her then cousin. Her mom had known her only briefly and during a very unhappy period in her life. Then she had vanished from the pages of history. At least the one she was continuing to write. 

"Nah, Wrena, Reena or Wrenegade will be enough for me," she said. "And I promise you that, when I begin to collect those first-borns promised me for haggly favours, I will name at least one of them either Heetow or Hoot for you, what do you say? Deal?" she wiggled her eyebrows and grinned.

To Wraen's insistence that only males could carry "junior" titles, Towhee replied with a loud, "Pffft." She would've mentioned her family's very own exception if her friend hadn't beaten her to it. She actually huffed a laugh at that, surprising herself. Wraen really had done a fantastic job of getting her mind off darker matters. She knew it was only a temporary respite but, for a little while, she'd totally forgotten all her anger and dismay.

"Renegade!" the Sovereign crowed, willing it to last at least a little longer. "I really like that. I mean, seriously. And Hoot is also amazing. Why have I never thought of it? If one came out looking like an owl, I'd probably just call it Owl. I like the way you think, Wraen. Maybe if one comes out looking like a bird, I won't just name it after that bird. I'll call it Avian or Tweet or something wild, like its Latin genus..."

"If it talks a lot, frequently and it does not shut up, you can call it Twitter," Wraen picked up Towhee's line of thought. "Or "Insta" for a kid that always gets in trouble. Short for "Come here THIS INSTANT!!!!"," come to think of it the possibilities were endless. ""Whazzaaap" for a kid that's talkative and chill... or "TikTok" for someone a bit crazy in their head. "Tumbler" for a clumsy kid. "Badoo" is probably my favourite second to "Yahoo", but I have no idea, what either of those mean," she sighed. 

"On the bright side - that means there is a certain mystery about the names and the kid will sure as hell be unique," she finished.

Some of Wraen's suggestions were hard to track via lipreading, though Towhee quickly realized they were all patently ridiculous, so she needn't take serious notes. Her lips twitched when Wraen concluded by declaring the kids would be unique. That they would be, especially considering their parentage.

That thought dimmed her already thin smile. They would have Reyes's genes too, of course. What if they all came out looking like him? Towhee's stomach clenched at the thought of being faced with her mistaken judgment every day. She would love them regardless of what they looked like, though she quietly hoped they took after her... or popped out looking like some totally random creature, as was traditional with Redhawks crotch fruit.

The puppies began kicking quite hard, as if picking up on her thoughts. For all Towhee knew, they could do just that. They were inside her after all, weren't they? Maybe her brain broadcast her thoughts on some internal loudspeaker. But wait, weren't all pups born deaf? Would any of them stay deaf? For the moment, Towhee became lost in her silent musings.

Towhee did not respond to Wraen's banter and she fell silent too, respecting her friend's wish to rest her eyes from all the reading that she had done so far. Therefore she walked onwards, sometimes stealing glances at her, more often looking around, stopping to sniff at something and then eventually lifting her head to gaze at the starry sky above. There weren't many yet visible, because sun had just slid beyond the horizon, but one, especially bright one caught her attention. She stared at it, it seemed to grow bigger and then she nudged Towhee to look up too: "That one's falling!"

Happened to me once, while I was walking my dogs. Looked up and there was a piece of "star" burning bright right above my head. :)

They continued in companionable silence from there. Towhee's eyes were grateful for the rest, though they quickly darted to Wraen when her friend tried to get her attention. She looked down at the elbow nudging her, then upward, following her friend's gaze. Her eye sockets ached a little as she watched the falling star.

Her mouth went very dry as she remembered the night of Moonspear's fall. She felt her heart begin to pound as she watched the light streaking across the darkling sky, thankfully burning out into nothing rather than crashing into earth and destroying more of their world. A ragged breath exploded from her afterward. She hadn't even realized she'd been holding it.

Lucky! I don't think I've ever seen one. I'd be with Wraen but Towhee here's all ~traumatized~, haha...

Wraen had not exactly witnessed, how Moonspear had ended, therefore she saw no harm in the little burning piece of space-dust. She was reminded of an old belief that you had to wish for something, when you saw such, turned to tell this to Towhee only to see her in stunned silence with an aura of mild panic. "Are you okay?" she asked, pressing her muzzle against her friend's shoulder in a reassuring manner. "These guys are pretty harmless. Entertaining, but there's nothing more to it. I've never seen one, but I've heard that the big ones that make a ton of noise can cause more damage," she said. "There's is actually a fancy folk-belief - you see, there's a star for every soul up there and, when they decide to return to Earth and live, they fall. So, in a way, we have just witnessed a birth of someone." 

Wraen picked up on her discomfiture and asked her if she was alright. She then explained how the falling star was harmless, likely in an effort to calm down the Sovereign. Towhee appreciated the sentiment, though she couldn't stop thinking about the bright flash of light across the sky; the percussive blast; the ensuing dizziness; and all the other fallout...

"Think I need to lie down," she said right before she slowly sank to the ground right then and there. She could feel her whole body vibrating with her speeding pulse. The puppies stirred, perhaps roused by their mother's agitated state.

"Will you stay here with me for a little while longer? I may need to shut my eyes, though you should... tell a story or something. Maybe the pups will absorb it somehow."

"Okay," Wraen did not oppose the suggestion of resting. Though not pregnant, she too was tired from the journey and was glad to settle right next to her friend and offer "pillow services", if such were required. When asked to tell a story, while Towhee's eyes were closed, she chuckled about the joke of it all, but did not respond right away. "You know what - with you being deaf and those kids inside you being pretty sound-proof, I may as well sing,"she told with a sly grin. "I have the worst singing voice across seven kingdoms and you just may be my perfect and only audience." Besides she did not know any songs, but why shouldn't she improvise? Poetry making with Maia had been silly and fun. 

"Let me think... hmmm.... okay, I think, I've got it!" she winked at her and cleared her throat, though she might as well not have done that. It wouldn't make a difference. 

"There once was a Towhee and she had three sons:

One - handsome and freaky,

One - decent and squeaky,

And final's only merrit was a pair of good buns.

And here we could bring the story to an end,

But - hey, there's more that I could tell. 

There once was a Towhee and she had three girls:

One - clever and smart,  

One - dainty and haggard.

And final's only merrit was a pair of two curls.

And here we could bring the story to an end,

But - hey, there's more that I could tell.

There once was a Towhee and she had three sisters:

One - honest and sharp,

One - shiny as a carp,

And final's only merrit was a twisted toe and a blister.

And here we could bring the story to an end,

But - hey, there's more that I could tell.

There once was a Towhee and she had three brothers: 

One - scrappy, but tall,

One - sloppy and small,

And final's only merrit was that none wished him to smother. 

And here we could bring the story to an end,

But - hey, there's more that I could tell. 

There once was a Towhee and she had three aunts:

One - lazy and fat,

One - sly as a cat,

And final's only merrit? She was scary and gaunt.

And here we could bring the story to an end,

But - hey, there's more that I could tell. 

There once was a Towhee and she had three uncles: 

One - tiny and flimsy,

One - angry and whimsy,

And final's only merrit - he looked like a crunkle.

And here we could bring the story to an end,

But.. maybe there's more that I could tell.

There once was a Towhee and she had three husbands:

One - brave and brawny,

One - frail and scrawny,

And final's only merrit - he was better than thousands.

And here we finally bring the story to an end,

'cause I have been lying and there's no more I am gonna spill."

And this patched up poem with no particular meaning and off-rhythm was sung in the very off-note, creaky voice of Wraen's. Once she had finished, she looked over at Towhee, who was either sleeping or not (some horrible voices can even make deaf people cringe in orror), and decided to add a final verse: 

"But regradless of, what I told you, 

There's only one thing that you should know: 

Towhee is awesome

And downright amazing."