Sun Mote Copse the most of all your fellows

it is in the infancy of dawn when jr likes to do her patrols, especially since the heat has chased her into the shade and swimmable water sources lately to cool off. though she does not know, jr likes to think that it's during this time the world is as quiet as she knows it to be. logically, she knows there are sounds but she hears nothing. only a toneless sort of monologue to accompany her thoughts.

ghost has perched upon her shoulder after a couple minutes of her contemplative staring into the yawning horizon. she can feel him fluff up and preen his feathers.

he is impatient to keep moving, but for once in her life jr is content to stand there and watch the sun rise over the crust of the earth.

You’re welcome to assume Meerkat told Jr about this behind the scenes, or play it like she hasn’t yet! I’m good with either/or. :)

Having spoken with both of her present granddaughters, Towhee sought out her lookalike next. She wasn’t hard to find, consistent as she was about manning the borders. Biting back a yawn, the elder Towhee sidled closer and signed a groggy greeting to the much more alert Jr.

-Have you heard the news about Njord and Meerkat?- she queried, taking a seat and trying to rub the sleepiness out of her eyes.

her mother's form nearing is caught out the corner of jr's eye and she waits until she draws nearer before giving her mother her full attention. the sunrise wasn't going anywhere, after all ... and there would be plenty more to sit and admire.

-yeah, meer told me.- jr signs in response, drawing in a soft breath and letting it out. -i support them in whatever they want to do.- even if meerkat and njord's decision to move on from the copse left jr with a soft ache in her heart. -i'll miss them.-

-Me too,- Towhee agreed with a slight frown before reminding Jr and herself, -They’ll be back, though. It’s just a trip. That said, sounds like they’ll be gone long enough that we need to decide how to handle their vacancies.-

Meerkat had indicated that it was up to those staying behind how they wanted to proceed, though Towhee imagined the lady of the copse would like to see Jr’s natural progression as an aspiring leader. She could also see Njord and Meerkat wanting one of their direct descendants—an heir, of sorts—stepping into leadership.

-I talked to Seal. I’ll tell you what I told her: I think the two of you should step up as esquires. I think they work just like regents did back in the days of the Firebirds, meaning that role is literally meant to stand in for the rulers when they’re absent.-

an extended trip. jr understands the desire for such a thing from her own perspective, though she knows meerkat and njord were not leaving to prove something to anyone.

jr's brow furrows in contemplation as she reads her mother's ptero, at the suggestion that seal and her should rise to esquires as stand-in's during the absence of the leaders. for her, it was a natural sort of progression, what she'd been ( trying to ) train for, even if jr's vision had been to eventually branch off on her own and gather her own crew of misfits.

-i will gladly step up with seal,- jr signs, but a troubled frown tugs at her lips. -but we are both young and i am worried about that la meurte pack.- she admits, motions of her paws tense, ears fluttering back to rest at half mast atop her skull. worried was putting it kindly. she didn't trust them as far as she could throw them.

-I’ve put a kibosh on roving for now, so I’ll be here to support you both,- Towhee assured, pausing to consider Jr’s latter concern before admitting, -I kinda forgot they existed. Did something happen with them? Recently?-

Meerkat hadn’t mentioned anything to her, though Towhee didn’t want to dismiss her daughter’s concerns outright. With the leadership going on hiatus, the copse was going to be more vulnerable. They might not even have the numbers to uphold an official claim.

-no,- hedges jr; but her nostrils still flare and her mouth curls into a harsher frown when she thinks of them and how they spoke to her and meerkat — as if their situations were reversed and sun mote copse was the ones encroaching on an already established claim. -i didn't appreciate how they treated meer and i. how they acted and spoke to us.- and jr's propensity for holding grudges was spectacular; a talent in and of itself.

nothing about that situation would ever sit well with her.

-it doesn't mean it won't.-

-They’re a bunch of self-important asshats. The world is full of them,- Towhee said, shooting her (not so) miniature a commiserating look. -I wouldn’t let them live in your head rent-free, Jr. It’s a waste of good space. Of course, we should always stay on the lookout in general…-

Her eyes swept the nearby stretch of borders, squinting against the increasing glare. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to start increasing patrols, so that when the Laird and Lady made their exit, their retinue of guardians would already be prepared for increased surveillance. The thought kind of made Towhee want to go back to bed, though she pulled herself up by her proverbial bootstraps.

-It’s definitely looking like we’ll be a bit of a skeleton crew but I think we can hold our own. It’ll test us but it’ll be good experience for you whippersnappers,- Towhee mused with a snort, orange eyes flicking back to Jr’s face.

jr cannot help but agree with her mother, even if there is a ( small ) part of her that wants to counter with the fact that if she didn't think of them and offered them no space in her mind then her guard would be down. a weak argument, which was why she chooses to keep her paws still. she would keep a keen eye to their direction but ultimately, jr knows her mother is right: they are only a concern worthy of her thoughts if they did something to warrant it.

-one good thing about my prickly nature is my guard is never down,- it had plenty of disadvantages — is made her notoriously hard to get along with and easy to misunderstand her. unaided as her personality was by her disabilities. though, to be honest, there were many times that towhee jr enjoyed being hard to get along with.

-one way or another, we'll find our way.- on this, towhee jr is confident; her confidence seen through the motion of her paws.

Towhee snorted lightly at Jr’s comment. She’d always been remarkably self-aware. Like her mother before her, she was a testament to just how able-bodied a wolf could be even if they were “disabled.”

-I dunno if you’ve heard this before but you remind me of someone,- she joshed, grinning. -Yes, we will. We’ll be okay,- Towhee agreed with Jr’s assessment before repeating, -We’ll have our ups and downs, though it’ll be a great learning experience.-

She imagined Jr wanted to head off on patrol now that dawn had broken. Towhee considered joining her but decided she ought to seek out her next one-on-one instead. She really wanted to track down Fennec next.

-I’m gonna go find your older sister,- she said, not bothering to clarify which one. -I’ll catch you later, kiddo,- Towhee said, unable to resist the affectionate nickname.