Lion Head Mesa (ap) Not sure exactly where I am.

Set after he's been kicked out of the mesa, around 1am (the 8th/9th/10th idk just after the ceremony blip). Tag for reference, open to whoever! Bird referenced belongs to @Sabah.

After being escorted away from the rest of the party by @Arsenio and @Shoko, Reyes didn't know what to do with himself. What he wanted was to eat more of those fermented fruits; but he'd screwed the pooch on that deal and was left fruitless.

No amount of bargaining could get under the mazoi's skin — and he'd tried. From the point that the pair had assumed control of the belligerent drunk all the way to the courtyard beyond the stone arch, he'd tempted, argued, and poorly charmed his way along with each step.

With nothing but the cold night and the dry sand of the kingdom's outskirts to welcome him, Reyes was devolving quickly. He wandered for a while and watched the stars drifting around clouds; or was that the other way around? Everything was sort-of hazy for Reyes right now.

He thought for a second he saw a hawk circling overhead and scowled, then shouted: Bitch-ass bird! What're you lookin' at? Aye?! Do I look like a bit o' kip to ya, all the way up there? Thinkin' yer so high n' mighty—

Etc. etc, old man yells at clouds.

After finishing her last patrol of the evening, Towhee found herself standing at the eastern border. She gazed into the dark distance, wondering when she could expect @Ruenna back from the neighbors' nuptials. Should she wait up, make sure she made it back home safely? Surely her fellow Sovereign could handle herself, though with their members dropping like flies lately, a seed of concern had begun to germinate within her. It made her restive; she felt increasingly vigilant of the wolves remaining in her ranks.

Without really thinking about it, she began to mosey beyond the borders. She wondered if any sounds were coming from the mesa. Was the party loud? Her eyes fell to the ground as grass gave way to dirt. Towhee stopped, forgetting all about what was going on next door as she began instinctively scanning the cold sands for snakes. Her lip lifted and she began to retreat back toward the caldera, stopping again when she wondered whether snakes went into hibernation. Surely none would be out here on a cold night like this one, anyway.

Towhee growled under her breath and began marching forward with purpose. She still looked closely where she stepped but she wasn't going to let some dumb, overgrown worm scare her anymore. Eventually, she reached the far edge of the steppes, without ever seeing any signs of life. Her heart pounded and her pulse felt thready, yet Towhee smiled triumphantly.

Something drew her attention skyward. Was that a hawk circling? It seemed a strange sight for this late hour. Towhee stared, transfixed, thinking of X. She didn't hear Reyes's shouts, nor notice him directly below the bird, at least not yet.

The bird was soundless. He wasn't even sure if the bird was there at all really, he could've been imagining things. This wasn't the first time he'd seen a bird while inebriated — though it had been a while, and the previous times were all variations on sea birds, not this hawk.

Reyes refused to read in to it.

He cast his eyes away from the bird (mostly because his neck and eyes hurt from the effort) and saw a dark shape ambling across the sand, then stop and stare. His first thought was of the guards who had led him out from the mesa's heart; he began to bristle while also donning a stupid grin, figuring that one of them had come back to help him in his time of need.

Aye there! If'n ya help a lad out, I'll be in yer debt! He sauntered closer in a not-exactly-straight line, and stopped when he finally realized the shape wasn't moving. Reyes squinted and gave a sniff of the air like an old sailor testing the direction of the wind: Hrn, ya don't smell like th'other maz-oi...


It was too dark (and he was too far gone) to recognize Towhee among the scrub grass.

Inevitably, her eyes fell earthward again and Towhee noticed the wolfish figure. She tensed, particularly when she saw a flash of teeth. They quickly disappeared as the wolf addressed her, though she didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of lipreading from all the way back here, especially in the dark.

The figure began weaving toward her and something about his uneven step made her even warier. Towhee stood rigidly, squinting as he approached. She wasn't sure what hit her first, his face or his scent. The instant she recognized Reyes, her eyes widened and her head reared back.

What the hell are you doing out here? she wondered harshly, though she didn't voice the question. Her eyes narrowed all over again, boring into her former mate. Something was off about him, not that it was any of her concern. It made her morbidly curious, reminding her of that time he'd fallen and hit his head.

The stranger didn't answer. They recoiled. Reyes bawked a moment himself, mumbling something-or-other before his mouth opened wide, and he yawned.

You remind me of my ex-wife, he went on to say.

Thought that lassie'd be at the shindig too, mind ya, was chuffed to see Ruenna dinnaw bring 'er. Not 'er scene — He sniffed, horking something up from his throat. Those berries weren't very good at clearing the sinuses. They definitely made his mouth dry.

He sank to his haunches and proceeded to wipe his eyes with his wrist. After blinking a few times Reyes gave Towhee another look over and his gaze narrowed.

Naw, which o'hue will sneak me back in yonder?

Her ears slithered backward when she caught Reyes's words this time. "You remind me of my ex-wife." Towhee's narrowed eyes shifted into more of a Ò_ó expression. Did he just call her "lassie"? Her nose wrinkled, face morphing now into a ಠ_ಠ as he appeared to throw up into his mouth. What the hell was wrong with him? Was he on drugs or something?

Momentarily, the Sovereign glanced past Reyes, toward the mesa. Had he come from there? Was Rue being subjected to this? It ratcheted up her concern for her friend. Rue can handle herself, Towhee tried to keep in mind, attention reluctantly returning to her ex, in time to catch his question. She couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"Were you at the wedding? Did you take something? Or fall on your face again?" This wasn't quite like that, she was slowly beginning to realize. Perhaps he really had imbibed something at the festivities, assuming he'd been there. "Why are you out here?" Towhee couldn't help but wonder out loud.

Ah! Acting coy! That made him want to laugh. Better not — he might puke up all those tasty berries. Were they still effective if they were re-eaten?

Aye the wedding! The man o' the hour talkin' and flauntin' his everythin'! The reminder of the wedding made Reyes remember Ramesses and the way the golden man had stared at him. It hadn't made him feel very good before and it certainly wasn't a fond memory to look back upon. Along with inebriation to confuse things, and he was shooting off at the mouth.

All while leading Towhee along, himself swaggering across the grass.

That lad has quite the collection. The way them lassies fawn all o'er him! And now a wife to boot! He huffed, which might've been a choke (he really wasn't quite sure). Maybe 'e as many wives. Ya ever hear of anythin' so — so, blimey I forget me words sometimes...

Why are you out here? Why, what a fantastic question, disembodied voice!

Ah! That nitwit of a man, 'e cast me out. I offer'im a toast to his nipples — neptunes, nep.. nup-tuals, aye! He slapped the ground with a paw when he got it right. Then a memory trickled in and Reyes looked a touch sheepish. Ah, might've called 'is newly-wife ah wench by mistake.

As Reyes regaled her with the tale of his expulsion from the reception, Towhee's jaw clenched. She felt a pulse of indignation, then a sort of smugness came over her. She had been right about him all along. He was a wildcard.

But the righteous wrath passed quickly and Towhee found herself rolling her eyes in exasperation. It definitely wasn't fond, though it wasn't hostile either. There was something extremely validating about this scenario and it allowed her to find the humor in it.

She permitted herself to snort a small laugh when Reyes mentioned toasting the groom's nipples. You're a fuckin' idiot, she thought without any particular malice, shaking her head at him. Towhee almost wished she'd gone after all, just to see them yeet Reyes. She just might have to seek them out later and befriend them over this common ground.

All this talk of wenches and wives made her suddenly curious. "Where's your girlfriend?" There was an edge of derision in her voice, though it was slight. Mostly she just wondered if the woman would come take care of her wayward partner, otherwise Towhee would have no choice but to leave him like she'd found him: meandering drunkenly in the cold, dark desert.

At least someone appreciated him!

Reyes enjoyed the laughter that his story caused. He did not experience it as derisive in the slightest. Clearly this wandering fellahin or mazoi or whoever knew quality when they saw it. Or in this case, heard it. Reyes was pleased with himself and so his mood lightened further.

Then Towhee mentioned that g-word he had practically forgotten about until this exact moment.

My wot? He halted and looked at the dark shape trailing alongside him. It took a good few seconds of thought before Reyes remembered that he hadn't arrived solo to this wedding. The process of this thought erupted across his face: a squint, a frown, a dawning awareness, a sudden wide-eyed lightbulb moment, and then a gasp.

My girlfriend! Aye! That bastard stole Teya! He turned from Towhee and looked to where the mesa towered. It was back the way he'd come and there would most likely be mazoi doing their rounds, guarding and whatnot.

Shit. Shit! Distress coursed through him. He paced and bristled and circled beside Towhee, trying to think of what he could do. I gotta get 'er back. You dun know this guy! He has flocks of lasses at 'is beck'n call! What if 'e charms my Teya?

Oh.. oh no. Reyes had suddenly teared up at the thought.

She should not have enjoyed that answer, though Towhee admittedly felt a flicker of dark amusement. She bore witness as several expressions floated across Reyes's face. She had apparently lit some kind of fuse because he suddenly went off like some kind of powder keg. Towhee caught something about a bastard stealing his girlfriend, right before...

"Seriously?" Was he fucking crying right now? "Doesn't sound like you trust her very much," she added lowly with a click of her tongue, speaking to the night more so than Reyes. Towhee shook her head, when suddenly an interesting idea crept into it.

"You should definitely go back there and fight him for her though," the Sovereign suggested. She felt a little conniving as she said it, maybe even a little bad. But they hadn't harmed Reyes, just chucked him out. Surely he wasn't in any real danger. They'd probably just stop him at the borders and kick his ass out again.

By then, Towhee would've returned home. He was Teya's problem now, after all.

The stranger's voice mirrored one of the many thoughts floating in his big dumb head, almost word-for-word, which had Reyes staring at Towhee while she turned away, aghast, convinced in that second that she could read his mind for real. That wasn't the issue he needed to focus on and after reminding himself:

TEYA! IS! BEING! SEDUCED!

Damn it you're right! He stood proudly then, striking forward with a step and raising up, puffing like a rooster about to crow. That man-slut 'as a harem of his own. Teya's mine! She chose me first! I chose her... Second, but only techically, and 'erryone sticks their dick in crazy the firs' time anyway — off he went on a mumbling tangent for a few seconds; but then he was back.

I'll find me way inside, aye! That scallywag won't see me comin' and then pow! He feigned a punch at the air - bam! - a donkey kick that was definitely off-balance; right in the kisser!

Well, she had certainly fanned the flames. She took a step back as Reyes went on a brief tirade. She could've been hurt by the words he spewed into the chilly November night. Instead, she felt something settle deep inside her. Now that their kids were older (and stronger, and smarter), Towhee didn't really have to worry about them around Reyes anymore. So he really, truly wasn't her problem anymore. He was Teya's problem now. It was weirdly freeing and she was momentarily overcome by a sort of slaphappy mood.

"Yeah! You tell 'im!" she encouraged. "Go get 'im!" Towhee added, lifting a foreleg to gently push Reyes toward the distant mesa. It was the first time she'd touched him since some time immemorial and, quite possibly, the last time she ever would.

She stood there to make sure he was headed in the right direction, muttering a quiet, "Good luck. Don't die." She then slowly turned and began making her way back toward the caldera. She felt keyed up from the interaction, so Towhee knew she wouldn't go right to bed. Maybe she would park it back at the borders, wait up for Rue after all. She would want to hear all about Reyes's comeback from an eyewitness.