Ocean's Breath Plateau Duet for theremin and lap steel.

After loitering around Moonspear a few weeks, Towhee pried her son out of Treepie’s paws and settled him at a makeshift rendezvous site where Deepwood Weald and Silverlight Terrace met. They spent a few days hunting the deep maze of trees, where Bushtit surprised the hell out of her by capturing a sizable wood rat. She tried to get him to eat it but he insisted on saving it to gift whoever greeted them at their next destination: Moontide.

He carried it proudly as they marched north toward The Sentinels and the coastline beyond. Towhee let Bushtit bound ahead, the dead rat’s tail swinging every which way. She chuckled, enjoying the view up until the trees began to thin. Then she barked to get her son’s attention. He promptly swung around and bounded back to her.

We could keep going all the way to the shoreline but it’s pretty rocky out this way. I was thinking we could hang a left, Towhee said, tipping her head, and present ourselves at the foot of the plateau. We’ll get some great views from up there, if they decide to invite us in.

With Bushtit’s grinning agreement, they shuffled along until they came to the least steep section of borders. Towhee wondered if there was any chance @Phox and @Heph had returned by now. She couldn’t smell them but @Rodyn’s scent was all over the place, which made her smile. She wondered what he might make of the youngster at her side. Perhaps he’d already heard about him from @Chakliux or even through the grapevine.

I’m told I’m obnoxious as fuck when I howl, so I think I’ll spare them. You can either do the honors or we can wait for someone to find us.

-Let’s wait, mom.-

Towhee wasn’t surprised. Bushtit wasn’t much of one for vocal communications, though she suspected it was more about the rat than anything. He didn’t want to put it down until there was someone to whom he could formally present his hard-earned prize.

in a development that would surprise everyone in-world and no one outside of it, the first wolf to discover towhee and bushtit was the elderly aditya. old habits died hard, and he was spending his day marking the border with what little supply he had left.

still blood-tinged, he thought to himself, glancing at his piss upon the snow-dusted ground—and then he noticed them.

her.

it had been some moons, but he remembered her. adi chuckled as he approached, shaking his head in disbelief. she'd nearly killed him, but at least he'd left satisfied. and now she was here. and—

a boy, pale but with piebald spots, at her side. his heart skipped a beat, then another. he worried he was having another attack before it started back up again, albeit at a much quicker rate. a boy, of this year.

his?

long time, no see, aditya managed, swallowing the lump in his throat.

The man who strode forward wasn’t anyone she knew. Towhee spared him a cursory glance before looking at her son to gauge his expression. He stared guilelessly at the approaching stranger, tail wagging. She smiled as she wondered at exactly what point he would relinquish his rat.

Her eyes cut back to the wolf as he came closer, her maternal instincts compelling Towhee to shift sideways so her flank brushed her son’s. He was getting so tall! She noticed this right about the same time recognition registered, lips parting in mild surprise.

“Long time, no see,” he said, his eyes lingering on her son.

Way too long, buddy, Towhee inwardly scoffed.

Yeah, I guess an introduction is long overdue, huh? she replied aloud. I’m Towhee. And this is Bushtit, she added, motioning at her (not so) little sidekick.

-Hi!- the pup signed before stepping forward to drop the tree rat at the man’s feet. -“Nice to meet you,”- he added in a very quiet voice once his mouth was no longer occupied.

aditya, he replied, completely poleaxed. nice to meet you, towhee. . .and you, bushtit, bachcha. 

he smiled at the offering laid at his paws, but left it be for now. 

what can moontide do for you? adi asked her. i'm happy to summon my leaders whenever you need.

it was hard not to stare at the boy. his boy? no. . .perhaps not. the timing seemed wrong. still, stranger things had happened—and aditya had sowed enough wild oats to have that kind of doubt.

he nuzzled at the rat, then. did you catch this? he asked bushtit, smiling.

She cursed silently when she realized she couldn’t understand most of what he said. It reminded her of Soto. Towhee wondered if this guy had an accent, lips pulling into a frown. Then she glanced sideways and brightened when she realized Bushtit could provide a translation, much like Tierra. Only this should be easier, as at least he seemed to be speaking the common tongue.

-“I’m deaf and I can’t read your lips for whatever reason, so I’m going to have him translate,”- Towhee explained before quickly looking to her young son.

-His name is Ditty,- Bushtit signed in silence. -He said it’s nice to meet us. He called me a funny word. He said he can summon the leaders if we want. He wants to know if…- Now he turned his face toward Aditya and said a bit bashfully, -“Yes, I caught it all by myself. You can have it.”-

-Thanks, Bushy,- Towhee signed, nuzzling his cheek before her orange eyes looked to “Ditty.”

Was that really his name? He looked even older than she remembered, now that she was paying more attention. She regarded him for a few beats, wondering how long he had lived here and what had brought him to Moontide.

Are Phox and Heph here or are they still away? Towhee queried, hoping to call one of them if they were back in town.

deaf? that explained things. a lot, actually. he took it in stride, eyes shifting toward the boy as he translated. the reply came in an intriguing mixture of words and gestures, something he had never seen before.

thank you, aditya told bushtit, grinning. well caught, bachcha—that means 'boy,' in my mother's tongue.

then towhee spoke, asking after a pair he had not seen in quite some time. no—they left together, i believe, he told her. i don't know when they were planning to return, if at all.

a-dit-ya is my name, he continued, drawing out the syllables slowly and clearly, so that she'd understand. but you both can call me adi.

was she really just here for phox and heph? or had she brought his son to meet him? he tried mentally counting backward, thinking of their tryst. it seemed so far in the past. . .and this child was not so old. 

but time had increasingly become fluid and abstract. . .

“Ditty” said something to Bushtit, which earned a nod from the boy. Evidently it required no translation, for none was offered. Towhee huffed through her nostrils, patiently watching the elder man speak to her son. She saw the effort to pronounce his name for her, though much of it was still lost upon her.

-He said they’re not here. He doesn’t know if they’ll be back,- Bushtit informed his mother, who snorted softly again.

Tell him, she began, then remembered herself and raised her head a little to address “Ditty” directly, They plan to come back. Phox is my brother, Towhee explained. Anyway, we’d love to see Rodyn but there’s no urgency or anything. We’re just visiting. We plan to camp nearby for a few days.

She wondered if this man might be convinced to give her son a tour. Towhee would come along as well, of course, but she knew the plateau fairly well. She really wanted Bushtit to experience those views, though, and she knew Rodyn wouldn’t mind. But right now, it was really up to “Ditty” and whether he felt like extending the invitation.