Redhawk Caldera Harmful and vicious.

Just when she felt like she really was moving on with her life, Meerkat came home with news that threw Towhee into turmoil all over again. It wasn't much of a lead, but hell if she wasn't tempted to send someone else to the coast or even go there herself. But her daughter had run herself ragged searching for any trace of Phox (and Niamh), so the Sovereign painstakingly concluded that she couldn't keep putting her loved ones through this. The Redhawks just needed to stay at the caldera and focus on their family and life here. Let Phox come to them when he could.

She blew out a breath and stood, giving her swarthy pelt a shake before padding toward the Hobbit Hole's entrance. Meerkat was there, signing with Caracal and the twins. Towhee smiled at them fleetingly, though it slipped as her orange eyes lingered on the yearling. She looked so done and dusted. Her appearance served as a stark reminder why Towhee needed to give it a rest.

"Can you keep an eye on them a while longer? I want to find @Reyes and ask him something," Towhee called to Meerkat. All four of her kids looked her way and the Sovereign snickered as the yearling signed, -Sure!- and the three pups all emulated her with varying degrees of fluency. "Cool, be back in a bit."

Towhee began climbing the hill over the Hobbit Hole's entry, pausing beneath the dogwood tree to sniff the air and assess the sky. It was overcast and looked a bit like rain. For now, the clouds held and the Sovereign shuffled upward toward the caldera's brim.

Reyes had tracked a small family of deer and managed to frighten the mother doe away from her twins; rare as they were, one kept up and the other fell to his teeth. He was busy cleaning the fawn and preparing it for drying and burial when he caught the scent of dogwood pollen.

When he turned to glance towards where he knew the tree stood, he thought he saw the shape of a wolf. He took the time to tidy himself up a bit, and in the time it took to wash the blood from his face as well as catch his breath, Towhee drew closer.

He closed the distance and greedily, affectionately nipped at one of Towhee's ears. Hey lady, you out for a walk? I've got some fresh meat here if you want it, following that with an eyebrow wiggle, Reyes began to herd her towards the dead fawn.

It didn't occur to him that Towhee was looking for him specifically.

She hadn't gone very far when Reyes materialized and rushed toward her, smelling like a fresh kill. As he thrust his muzzle toward one of her ears, she snuffled against his neck, breathing in the delicious scent. Her mouth watered and she licked her chops even as she drew back, missing the question but catching the comment about meat.

Without waiting for a reply, he began to lead her toward it. Towhee chuffed and allowed herself to be herded, tossing out a, "Hell yeah," for good measure. After a beat, she added, "Hey, I wanted to talk to you about visiting your family. Now might be as good a time as any for you to go on that solo trip."

And she would not ask him to search for his brother-in-law while he was at it, Towhee firmly reminded herself even as her eyes drifted across his face. They hadn't discussed it much since that rainy day, so she was curious whether he was still keen on it.

The fawn was crumpled in the grass, its entrails exposed and cooling. The blood turned the grass a strange shade of purple-brown. A little ways to one side of that, among some roots, Reyes had begun to excavate a cache which was half dug.

He circled on his heel, making a show of things in an effort to make Towhee laugh. Instead she came up with a topic of conversation they had previously discussed, causing a blank look to briefly take up residence on his face.

You think so? He didn't mean to sound so surprised. For once he was glad Towhee couldn't hear him.

Reyes knew that Phox was still absent; Meerkat had returned recently which would help their numbers, but she did so with news that both Phox and Niamh were out of reach. If he left now he'd only have to stay with his mothers for a few days to play catch up, and could return without missing much of the children's development — but he was still unsure.

You'll be alright without me?

When they arrived at the carcass, Towhee eyed it appreciatively before quirking a brow at her mate's antics. She had entertained quite a few doubts on that stormy day some weeks ago, though she could barely recall them now. The children still preoccupied both of them, not to mention the general goings on of day to day life. They didn't get much time alone together, though Reyes was always there, steady as a rock.

All the same, his question made her snort a laugh. "I think I'll live," she quipped, albeit fondly. Towhee ducked down and tucked in then, snarfing down several mouthfuls before thinking to bother resuming any semblance of the conversation she'd started.

"How long do you think you'll be gone?" she asked. Her tone was as lacking as ever, though there was a sudden pinch to her expression. Phox hadn't expected to be gone indefinitely. What if something happened to keep Reyes too? She couldn't imagine what, so Towhee tried to quash her concerns as largely unfounded.

For someone who spent many hours alone to hunt and track things, Reyes did not get hungry very often. 

He couldn't be sure about why — it could have been a similar phenomena to cooking all day but losing one's appetite when serving dinner, whatever that might be called. He enjoyed the taste and texture of fish more than the game-y flavors of red meat, so that might have contributed too.

It was a joy to watch Towhee eat, at any rate. Reyes had not anticipated how satisfying it could be, working as a provider. Towhee would need all her energy to keep their rambunctious little fiends in line while he was away, the man thought.

Well, he murmured more to himself, thinking about the last time Meerkat had visited, or Fennec, and where they'd come from. Meerkat had more recently gone to the coast to hunt for Phox, and that hadn't taken too long. If I head out on a good day, it might take me two or three to reach the coast and then track everyone down...

Oh, but he had a better idea: Or I could ask Meerkat for any suggestions on the route. Given that she's just come back from there. I... haven't been home in a while. A sheepish flux to his ears came with that comment, along with the unvoiced thought, they probably think I'm dead.

He offered a tentative timetable before admitting he was a little rusty on the route. He mentioned asking Meerkat and Towhee's ears flicked. She knew the yearling had visited two packs along the coast, including the one where Kaertok had resided once. That was the same place, right? And Alyx lived there now, because of its connection to Rusalka. Or maybe it was Rusalka, rebranded. Towhee couldn't remember, any more than she could recall the coastal packs' names at the moment.

"Yeah, I'm sure she could point you in the right direction," Towhee agreed, pausing to ponder her daughter's recent return for the nth time. "It doesn't sound like it'll take more than a week or two max, then?" she questioned, licking her lips. "I'm not sure when Fennec is due to give birth but I think you'd be back before then. If not, there's Rue, Bronco, Meerk... Uncle Sif." She snorted.

She fell silent as she helped herself to more of the fawn, savoring every delicious bite now and eating until she was more than full. Satisfied, she rested back on her haunches as she dramatically licked her lips. It sounded quite disgusting and was followed by an even worse belch, not that Towhee could possibly conceptualize such noises.

"Are you ready to be a... step-grandpa or what the fuck ever?" she wondered randomly, laughing at the silliness of canine generations.

Reyes made a mental note to find Meerkat and gather some intel before his departure. It was a wise move, considering he had not been home to see his mothers in such a long time. He doubted much would have changed.

Towhee's comment was met with a "bwuh?" As well as a confused expression. He hadn't any idea what she was talking about. 

I'm not really a step-anything, am I? far as he was concerned, Reyes was the father of the latest batch of Redhawks but that was where the limits of his influence ended. 

I've wrapped my mind around being a dad, kind of, but... what are you on about? Yeah, Towhee. What the heck?

Rather than answer him, Towhee laughed openly and left it at that. Family trees were complicated, particularly when it came to the Redhawks. Technically speaking, the children born to Fennec would be Towhee's great nephews and nieces, though she and Figment had been her children since pretty much the beginning. Especially with Phox out of the picture these days, she'd never consider anything less than stepping up as a proud grandparent.

"I'll miss you, for the record," she said after a moment, giving Reyes a goofy look. "I'm sure the kids will too. Wanna wrangle 'em and have a little going away party?"

Hi I suck -- fade here?

Considering the kids were so small, they likely wouldn't notice his absence. Hearing Towhee would miss him was a bright point, and Reyes moved in to nip and play with her furs, until she offered throwing a party. Parties weren't really his scene.

I can think of something else to do, actually... He said, pulling away enough so she could see his face, and the stupid wiggle of his eyebrows.

Nah, you don’t! But I’ll wrap it for us.

She rolled her eyes when he countered her wholesome suggestion with one that was, well, much more suggestive. She wasn’t really in the mood—she never was unless she was in season—but Towhee didn’t really mind humoring him. He was her mate, after all.

One for the road, she agreed, although I don’t see why we can’t do both at once. The kids gotta learn somehow, don’t they? Towhee ugly laughed and began moving away, assuming Reyes would follow if he really wanted tail, with or without violating any innocent eyeballs in the process.