Redsand Canyon Girl with the bat.

This afternoon, Towhee decided to check out their prospective digs in the married housing. She gravitated toward the first one on the left, though it appeared it might be occupied. Towhee trotted to the other end of the row and found an open den just behind the Plebians’ apartments. She pushed through some brush out back and found herself at the edge of a pond, with a direct line of sight to the palazzo due south.

Returning to the front, Towhee squatted and marked the patch of ground just outside the door. She then ducked inside the dim interior, sniffing along the foot of the stone wall. The dirt floor was bare save for a pile of whitish bird shit near the back. Towhee squinted at it, wondering how it got there, and casually glanced upward just in time for a bat to fly at her face.

The scutarius heard the sounds of a struggle coming from somewhere in the married housing. Instantly, his mind went to his pregnant wife, and he rushed to their quarters only to find them empty. He was relieved Aquene was okay, but he still heard the concerning noises. 

His search brought him to what he thought to be an unoccupied den and inside, the praefectus was battling some strange flying rat. 

Kallik rushed inside and immediately tried to grab the creature from the air, but it was too fast. Once he clipped it's wing, but it seemed to be compensating for the injury for now.

She could’ve screamed but, as a matter of fact, Towhee froze as the bat latched onto her snout and just clung there. For several beats, neither one of them moved. Towhee went cross-eyed as she looked at the weird creature dangling from her nose. N’aww… she thought, seeing its big, dopey eyes.

But something triggered the bat back into flight. Towhee whirled to follow its trajectory, finding her voice now as she discovered Kallik right behind her, snapping at the panicking critter. Hey, that’s mine! the Praefectus huffed.  Don’t hurt the sky puppy!!! she bellowed in the next breath, the situation dimly reminding her of that fateful day with X and Y…

Anyway, the damn thing was out of reach now, flitting around the stony ceiling. Towhee watched it bumping around up there for a moment before dropping her eyes to Kallik. She realized he had come to her aid without hesitation, which she appreciated. She expressed this with a grin and a wave of her tail.

She huffed a laugh at the situation, commenting, I was actually thinking I might keep it as a pet. Name it… Batman.

Suddenly, the praefectus was crying out for him to stop. Kallik obliged mostly out of surprise. She had also called the thing a sky puppy, and he had no clue what that was. He looked at her with a confused frown. 

That is food, he told her. You don't keep and name food. He thought by now he had seen it all when it came to Towhee's weird stuff, but she continued to surprise him. 

What are you doing in here, anyway? he asked with genuine curiosity. Looking for someone else to ambush in the privacy of their den? He raised an eyebrow as he said the last bit. This den was empty as far as he knew, so she would have to look elsewhere.

Says you, Towhee retorted without heat, giving a little gasp of dismay when Batman found his way to the doorway and made a quick escape. He left behind his pile of guano and a few droplets of blood where Kallik had evidently nicked him.

Her eyes dropped to catch the latter half of the Scutarius’s first question: “—in here anyway?” Towhee smirked at his followup comment. Was that a joke? Had Kallik just quipped? More likely, he meant it seriously, but her orange gaze danced delightedly all the same.

I’d say you could return the favor, she rejoined, when I hitch my wagon to Maxim’s. But our arrangement is strictly about the family business, none of that lovey dovey stuff for us except when we’re trying to conceive. But I mean, it’s free game then. Fair is fair. Towhee eyed Kallik’s face, wondering how he’d take this information, spoken in her typically frank manner.

Kallik quickly forgot about the flying rat because Towhee had just informed him that she was marrying Maxim. Had he even seen them together lately? He wasn't sure he had outside of patrols and training. The preafectus continued and explained that they were only together to have children, and things made more sense. His stomach tightened as he remembered his own anxiety over being a parent. Congratulations, the pale soldier offered with a curt nod. 

Towhee went on to give him permission to interrupt them in their den the way she had done with Kallik and Aquene. It was definitely something he would not be doing. That is not necessary, he answered, shaking his head a little. 

He thought about bringing up Aquene and how she was pregnant, but he decided against it. He wasn't prepared to discuss it in depth, and he had a feeling Towhee would ask questions. 

Do you need help getting your den ready? Kallik asked.

Part of her wondered if Kallik might make a remark about their age difference. Germanicus had said it didn’t matter one whit, not for their purposes. Ruenna had expressed some concern, if only due to Towhee’s history with Reyes. Towhee herself agreed with the validity of both takes.

But Kallik said nothing about that, simply offered his congratulations. She smiled and waved her tail, acknowledging this comment with a dip of her snout. He didn’t seem keen on revenge, which caused her to huff a light laugh. When the Scutarius asked if she needed help with the den, she gave him a considering look.

Thanks for offering, she replied, pausing to ponder something. Batman left a big pile of shit near the back. You don’t happen to have any bright ideas on how how I might get rid of it, do you? Preferably without touching it?

She called the creature batman again, which earned Towhee an eye roll. 

She wanted to get rid of the crap the flying rat had left behind, but without touching it. He didn't know of any way that was possible. You could eat it, Kallik told the praefectus, his face and tone serious. How else would she get rid of it? She liked the thing so much, so this shouldn't be too difficult for her. He certainly wasn't going to eat it for her; he wanted to help, but he drew the line there.

You eat it, Towhee immediately retorted. She then sighed. I guess I’ll have to make Maxim do it. Take care of it, not eat it. She snickered at the thought.

By the way, she said, deciding to take a load off and seating herself with her back against the wall farthest away from the guano, on the subject of conceiving and congratulations, I heard you’re about to become a dad. Although I got the impression it wasn’t planned, she continued, still not sure how that had happened, there’s a couple of us around who know a thing or two about puppies, so you have a good support system here.

She paused to nip at an itch on her foreleg, near her healing wound, careful to avoid picking at the mending flash. When she sat up again, she said, Hell, I can even relate to the ‘oh shit!’ factor a bit. I had no idea I was pregnant with my daughter, Meerkat, until she literally came out of my body. I thought I was dropping the kids off at the pool, not literally birthing a child. Towhee let out a laugh at the memory.

He shook his head at Towhee's teasing reply. She said she would ask her new husband, and Kallik thought that was a good solution. He'd do the same for Aquene. 

Towhee brought up he and Aquene's situation. His wife had told him that she mentioned to Towhee that they had been trying to not get pregnant. Would you mind keeping that part to yourself? he asked. Aquene doesn't want anyone else to know that she had been taking something to prevent pregnancy. He knew she had told the prafectus but he was pretty sure she didn't want anyone else finding out. But, um, thanks, he offered awkwardly. 

True to form, Towhee offered him way too much information. He appreciated her attempt to make him feel supported, but he could have done without the last bit of information. Yeah, uh, we definitely are not prepared. Neither of us really knows how to be parents. His panic over the situation was still very real.

Her lips parted at his request, momentarily taken aback. Which part did he mean? Oh, he was referring to Aquene’s failed attempts at birth control. Towhee still didn’t believe they had failed but she wasn’t going to patronize either one of them with her opinions about that. Just like she wasn’t going to ask why they were treating the prevention like a secret. In the end, it wasn’t any of her business.

Despite popular belief, I can exercise discretion, the Praefectus replied. She paused before adding, Does anyone know how to be a parent before they become a parent? You’ll learn by doing. And like I said, you’ll have plenty of backup. You guys will be fine, she reassured, seeing the quiet panic behind his eyes. And not to sound like a total cliche but… even if you didn’t picture this for yourself, I think you’ll find it really, really rewarding.

The whole learn by doing thing didn't give him much comfort. He had no control in that situation, and that was not something he was comfortable with. What if in learning by doing he messed up his own kids the way he had been messed up. Of course, he didn't plan on leaving them. But no one could predict the future. What if he died and left them with the same confusion and grief he had experienced as a tiny child. Anxiety tightened his chest. He couldn't allow his mind to spiral. 

She said they would have support. I appreciate that, he offered, his face devoid of any emotion. 

He hoped he would find it rewarding because right now he only felt terror and dread. It was awful to feel those things about his own children; guilt swelled in his chest and mixed with the anxiety. 

He wanted to change the subject. Actually, he wanted to leave and go clear his head. Um, do you need anything else? he asked abruptly. His eyes were on the prafectus but they didn't actually see her.

Kallik looked a bit like someone had kicked his puppy… or, well, jeez, Towhee needed to come up with a better metaphor. It was one of the few times she’d spotted any sort of emotion on his face, even if it was barely a hint. Man, there must be some real turmoil lurking beneath. Her heart went out to the guy.

Nah. At ease, soldier, Towhee replied, offering a small, playful salute. You’ll be fine, she repeated, just in case repetition might make it sink in better. As she saw him out the door, she already began thinking of any specific, tangible ways she could help the blindsided pair.

Kallik only managed a nod. He barely heard the words anyway. His brain was doing that weird thing where he felt outside of his body, watching himself go through the motions. 

He watched himself walk out of Towhee's den and towards the nearest border. It would be sometime before he felt back to normal, and only a patrol would speed up the process.