Northstar Vale and i'll be dancing

set near the redhawk den but AW! lots of tags for reference (or invitation!) 

the world felt on the barest bit like spring that morning. minus the sun that seemed to hide from them behind thick clouds. perhaps it was all in his mind. either way, for now, he dared to allow himself to enjoy it. knowing that soon he would dip back inside to either rejoin @Towhee (@Towhee Jr and @Sable too) or to trade off with her. so that she too could have a bit of morning routine.

he figured @Phox would be on standby too, if he perhaps was not already inside.

a long deep inhale. scenting the breeze that softly swept through. then suddenly, without any reason or prompt, he dropped down to roll along the ground.

The pups’ eyes were due to open any day now and Towhee didn’t want to miss it. She knew she should probably take some time to get out of the house and catch up on pack news, especially as a leader, but how could she be bothered with these two to keep her occupied? She didn’t want to miss a single moment. Towhee knew how fast it would all go. She would blink and they would be fully grown adults living their own lives.

For the moment, however, they were rather dull. She had bundled both of them on the goatskin and they were fast asleep. Towhee stared for a while, happy to watch them even in this state, but eventually her attention drifted to the door and the world beyond it. She had barely set foot outside it these past two weeks. She could use a breath of fresh air…

She paused in the doorway, watching her mate in the middle distance as he rolled around on the cold earth. Towhee cocked her head, bemused fondness written all over her face. She was tempted to go outside and join him, though she glanced backward at the sleeping children, too young to be left alone just yet.

and somewhere in the stretched curve of his rolling, he spotted her. a figure in the doorway. beautiful, radiant.

perhaps spring was in maxim's mind today more than it was outside.

he wasted no time in rolling back over so he could spring upright. quick to take the few steps closer to her — then sought to slobber a big kiss right over her face if she did not move away.

He seemed to notice her after a few moments, winding sinuously until he righted himself and pushed onto all fours. In the blink of an eye, he was in Towhee’s face, slobbering all over it. She turned her cheek and pretended to be disgusted.

Don’t you think I deal with enough bodily fluids throughout the day? she groused entirely playfully, shoving at Maxim. Her eyes then sparkled with sudden mischief as she added, Do you know where this mouth has been? Turnabout is fair play!

That was all the warning he received before Towhee dove forward to lick a stripe up the side of Maxim’s face. Considering the amount of feces, urine and vomit she’d had to clean up recently, there was a very real possibility the poor fellow would get pink eye as a result.

you win, you win! he barked with all the excited stimulation of a child. as if the arrival of his own made him feel younger instead of older!

at once he dropped down back low. prepared to smear his face across the nearest patch of snow. from where he would look up at towhee with his other eye. a lazy smirk sprawled upon his face with grand ease.

perhaps you need a bath too, hm?

Dude, that’s the understatement of the year, Towhee rebutted with a laugh. I keep telling myself to just go to the spring and do a quick wash. I think it’d do wonders. But I don’t want to miss anything, you know? She glanced over her shoulder, toward the den’s mouth, then peered down at her mate. How dumb is that?

She didn’t wait for an answer, ducking back inside the roost. She hoped Maxim would follow, though she wouldn’t begrudge him his freedom to get outside when he could. Towhee knew dads were important, though at this stage of the game, the pups needed her more. She dropped down beside them, snuggling into the warmth of the goatskin.

I’d literally rather watch you do nothing than take care of myself, Towhee mused to deaf ears before repeating, How dumb is that? with a little grin.