The Heartwood Light a blunt, grab my gun, slide these old boots on alone.

Another one of her kids was in the wind. Towhee could hardly hold it against any of them, though after finding out @Jack Snipe wasn’t in the vale, Towhee couldn’t breathe around the lump in her throat. This one was particularly unexpected and it hit harder so soon after losing Batman and experiencing the strife at Sweetharbor.

Numb, she walked without paying any particular attention to where she was going. She wound up in The Heartwood. Towhee paused just long enough to dwell on some bittersweet memories before moving toward the glen on its far side. She’d stashed her blanket from Jack there and she desperately wanted to wrap it around herself, curl up in a ball and maybe not move for a while.

A while later, Towhee carried her tattered and worn blanket back to The Heartwood and laid it at the base of the same middle-aged oak she’d rested beneath once before. She thought of Jackie as she lovingly smoothed it, then lowered herself onto it. It didn’t smell like him after all this time, which hurt.

She rolled onto her back to stare up at the trees. The leaves were changing color. Some had fallen. They crunched beneath Towhee as she shifted a little, though of course she didn’t hear them. She could smell them, though, as she took deep, steadying breaths and closed her eyes.

Towhee manifested company. She would prefer @Phox but she would be open to any of her loved ones. It occurred to her that she was currently situated smack dab in the middle of all of them, really. And as much as she delighted in traveling around and visiting each of their homesteads, she found herself willing someone, anyone, to come to her this time.

This is future-dated so I could make these important references in her timeline.

Massaraq wandered, departing from the borders of Moonglow and allowing new paths to arise with each moment, following nothing in particular. Days ago his attempt at following the herds had gotten himself lost so that day he simply ranged, allowing the world to pass him by as he took it in. Still, it gave him no more answers than it had during the night beneath the moon. But he was coming to peace with it, or if not that at least to terms.

A spot of color, the scent of another, the sound of breathing and heartbeats. He almost turned his steps away but something gave him pause, another breath and glance and he recognized them. "Hello. I...Think we've met before?" He had been younger, he remembered the story, in part, because stories came easier and there were many faces.

Phox found himself much more comfortable back on the mainland. He had followed Towhee, deciding it would be best to stick with her for at least a little while. There was no need for them to be apart, after all. He had gotten more adept at traveling on three legs, and he found that he was keeping up better than he had expected.

He'd parted only when a particularly interesting scent caught his attention, breaking off from Towhee to investigate what it might be. In the end, it had only been an opossum looking for trouble, not carrion as he had hoped. And it certainly didn't want anything to do with him, so Phox had left it be, retracing his steps and eventually picking up his sister's trail. That led him back to her, and he arrived just in time to spot somebody approaching Towhee. It wasn't anybody he recognized, though he knew his sister had plenty of friends in this world. Phox didn't catch the initial exchange, but he approached with a friendly gaze, a wave of his tail, and a questioning look to both parties.

With her eyes shut, Towhee didn’t know someone was nearby until she felt the vibration of footsteps through the blanket beneath her back. Her eyes popped open and she jumped a little when she saw a young wolf a few yards away. She hadn’t caught his question, naturally, but as she hastily rose onto all fours, she realized he looked a little familiar.

Unaware that he’d essentially just posed the same question, she said, Do I know you? and then her eyes cut to a much more familiar figure over his shoulder. Howdy, stranger, Towhee said, feeling her heart squeeze with gratitude that he’d come here when she’d called, even silently.

Her brother didn’t say anything as he looked curiously at the young stranger. Towhee refocused on him too, trying to place him. He looked to be about the same age as her two youngest. And the longer she looked, the more obvious the family resemblance became.

You’re one of Kukutux’s, aren’t you?

Massaraq blinked a bit taking a half step back when the stranger startled. Confusion took over and he gave pause on how to answer the question, not sure why the other wolf would ask him as if he had not asked himself - perhaps they had not heard him initially. Another wolf approached, three-legged and dark-furred. Massaraq responded with a wag of his own tail, trepidation at the new face assuaged by the friendly demeanor.

At the mention of his anaa Massaraq at least realized that he had indeed likely met this wolf before even if the details escaped him. Nodding firmly he responded. "My name's Massaraq." It felt oddly freeing to speak, to introduce himself rather than exist in a place where he was always just a relation or acquaintance away from knowing someone. Grief hung over in the same constellations just from different places in Moonglow and Moontide, but this ground felt different.

Peering around at the trees and the earth he hesitated but curiosity got the better of him. "Do you know what happened here?"

Ah, another one of the moon children. Phox should have known. But that wasn't why he had caught up with Towhee again, and he didn't want to linger too much longer before he toddled off to his next destination. After hearing about Moontide, he wanted to lend a hand there, and what better way than to lend them a three-legged star gazer who didn't have a whole lot to offer?

-I was actually gonna head out to Moontide,- he said. -Maybe you can give me some tips on getting there, since you seem to be family?- he asked Massaraq. He was a young lad, but not so young he hadn't traveled to the places known by his mother.

The name didn’t ring any bells, unfortunately, but the nod confirmed her statement. Towhee rubbed a bit of sleepiness out of her eye and smiled at the youth, trying to remember if she’d seen him at that gathering in Firefly Glen. Of course, he would’ve grown quite a lot since then, so he wouldn’t exactly be familiar, would he?

I’m Towhee Redhawk and this is my brother, Phox, she returned the introduction, though she left the question unanswered since she didn’t know.

And, anyway, Phox had a query of his own. Towhee lapsed into watchful silence as he asked the young man about swinging by Moontide. A slight frown pulled at her lips, her eyes cutting to Massaraq’s face. Samani would’ve been his older sister. Had they been close?

The names Redhawk nor Towhee or Phox meant little to Massaraq but he stored them away because he thought Towhee had been at the gathering probably and if Phox was her brother and visiting Moontide then it seemed likely they would all run into one another again at some point. "Nice to meet you."

At the request he scrunched his nose thoughtfully for a moment, trying to recall. He had followed his anaa and the rest of the group there and had not had to find his own way. But he had travelled back on his own and remembered par tof the journey. "I only went there twice, but from Moonglow we went northwest through the forest until we could see the plateau, that's their territory." At least that he hoped was more helpful than his directions. He was not quite sure if that was the fastest way to the plateau since he had not travelled from here to there but he remembered it being a not too long journey through the deepwood weald.

Adding in afterthought he spoke again. "If you just head towards the coast though you can see it form pretty far away. What are you going there for?" While the sea had interested him, and the water and the songs it sang he did not know if he would want to go back to a place when mourning still hung so heavy over it for a wolf that he had not known so well. It felt like an intrusion when he had so little to offer them.

Towhee gracefully introduced him after he failed to do it himself, his ears flattening for a moment before allowing himself not to get too worked up over it. Massaraq was quick to explain where Moontide was located, and Phox was glad for the instruction. He knew there was no surefire way to get anywhere in this world, but even having rough directions would help in the end. A plateau, then. Phox had spent plenty of time on one in his more youthful days, so he'd know it when he saw it.

Another question was asked, and Phox offered the answer in return with no hesitation. I heard about the woman who died there, he said somberly, I figured they could use some help. I was part of Moonspear for a time, and I know the two are sister packs. Quite literally, if he recalled correctly. He was fairly certain that Samani had been Sialuk's younger sister.

He didn’t seem particularly perturbed and even questioned Phox about what would take him to Moontide. For his sake, Towhee hoped that meant he hadn’t been very close with his sister. She decided against pressing the issue out loud.

She did want to ask after Kukutux, though now the two men were properly conversing. Towhee stowed the question for later, retreating back toward her sleeping niche. She toed at the frayed edge of her blanket. It was still warm. She thought of Jack and frowned.

Massaraq nodded, more somber. Samani's death created ripples, they spread farther and farther each day. And he was not sure how to read them. He had not known her well, and yet they were kin - that meant something. Far more obvious to him though was the mark her absence left on his anaa, his father, on Moontide when he had visited. That first time so full of life and joy and games. "Their alpha. She was sisters with Sialuk." He added, at the mention of Moonspear. 

He was not sure what Moontide needed, his anaa had needed time to grieve, Aiolos too. Massaraq felt he had little place there except to be there when able. "They miss her, anaa too." Miss was an odd word, it fit poorly in his tongue. Missing seemed to imply a coming together again. But he knew Samani was never coming back.

Phox glanced at his sister, trying to figure out if there was more she wanted to say, but Massaraq answered, and his attention was diverted once again. A sister to Sialuk. The woman he had rejected, though not out of malice. He had merely been hoping to make something work with Lele, and... well... Lele wasn't anywhere to be found now. Perhaps it was better that it hadn't. Now he had time for other things.

If she had been sister to Sialuk, that meant she was a sister to Massaraq as well. When he realized this, Phox softened even more. I'm sorry to hear she passed away, he said. He wondered how Sialuk fared, if she had been close to the sister. But he had let that ship sail, and Phox was not about to reignite anything that might have been.

She glanced up just in time to catch Massaraq saying, “They miss her, anaa too.” As with most lipreading, it took Towhee a moment to process the words, particularly the foreign one. But she’d seen that one enough to know what it meant: “mother.”

Kukutux, she murmured, now grasping the blanket. At least Jack was only gone away, not gone forever. Losing a child is… Towhee caught her brother’s eye but didn’t need to finish her sentence. Your family will be in our thoughts, Massaraq. After she’s had some time to process, I’ll visit your mother—your anaa.

Towhee swallowed a sigh, then shook her head. She’d wanted company so badly just a short while ago. She didn’t want to squander this time with her brother, nor an opportunity to better acquaint with one of the many Moonboys. And even if she wouldn’t visit right away, she could pass along a message to her bereaved friend.

Will you tell her that? That we’re thinking of her? Next time you see her. On that note, what brings you out this way? Were you just exploring? Towhee asked, thinking about his earlier question, the one she hadn’t been able to answer.

It felt strange, to feel and see those threads of connection. It was comforting, in a way, a net, a mass of roots at the bottom of a tree that could not balance to stand so tall any other way, but also a spiderweb that seemed to stick to him even as he struggled with making sense of it. "Thank you." He said because there was honesty there and because he hoped that Phox would be able to help Moontide and that his anaa would be comforted to know that Towhee thought of her. "I will." He did not think she would leave Moonglow again soon, the journey to Moontide had been difficult in a way that made his heart clench too. Phox and Towhee.

At the question his ears flickered but he responded honestly. "Last time I was outside Moonglow following the herds I got lost. I wanted to see if it would be different, just wandering." He had not gone far and would probably return soon, he was not lot nor had he strayed as far as he had hunting. But the experience had jostled his confidence, not enough to confine him to Moonglow but enough to make him less certain of his abilities. He had done his best to keep track of his direction so he could not be turned around again, but he felt comfort knowing that the western mountain ranges w

Towhee steered the conversation, and now it was Phox's turn to take a backseat, attention shifting between the two as they spoke of Kukutux and then of what Massaraq had come out here to do. The mention of herds piqued Phox's interest, and a part of him wished he could stay and help the younger lad learn a thing or two about navigating with the stars or even share some tips on tracking the nearby herds. Both were some of Phox's strongest skills. He didn't want to interject himself into the conversation anymore than he already had, though, so he filed the information away in case they met again. Considering how intertwined the moon packs were, it was quite likely they would run into one another again in the future.

It sounded a bit perilous, someone so young following herds alone at the risk of getting lost out in the wilderness. But nearly all her own offspring had always been independent and often on the move from a young age, including the latest batch. Only Jack had really been a homebody, maybe even a bit of a mama’s boy too. Towhee’s heart clenched as she drew in a sharp breath.

Well, don’t let us old fogies keep you. Enjoy your wanderings, Massaraq. And don’t forget to pass my message to your mother, she reminded, sounding just like a fuddy duddy old lady.

Towhee gave her brother a look as she waited for the young man to depart. Hopefully he wouldn’t be going anywhere. She wondered if Phox would mind curling up with her on her beloved blanket and just resting a while. They didn’t even need to talk, she just didn’t want to be alone right now.

Massaraq squinted looking once more over the pair. They did not look that old to him, perhaps around the age of his anaa, but both of them had deep black or brown in their pelts still not completely peppered over with age. But he was eager to be on his way, and he would tell Kukutux of what he had heard here as well. "I will." Glancing towards Phox he nodded his head "Safe journey." He took a moment to orient himself before heading back in the direction of Moonglow. This was as far as he wished to go this time from him home. Hopefully the pathways of the earth would welcome him back the way he had come, although there were precious few journeys that could ever be repeated, each one seemingly different from the last.

Massaraq out <3