Bramblepoint Before planet Earth was here, I was riding a light year.

She thought they would spend a while longer near the edges of the Moon villages, though Bushtit surprised her by asking if they could go visit the Hobbit Hole again. Towhee had no desire to deny him and no real reason, either, so they set off southward after splitting a pheasant for breakfast.

They stopped at Big Salmon Lake to break up the ice and fetch a drink before plunging into the snowy woods over yonder. Bushtit scouted ahead, mindful to stay in her sight lines as he wended through the trees. At some point, he must’ve picked up a promising scent because his meandering suddenly turned very deliberate.

What is it? she called out to him from a small distance.

-Dunno!- Bushtit signed distractedly before abruptly darting out of view.

Oh. Okay then, Towhee muttered, breaking into a lope as her eyes and nose scoured the wintry brambles.

She was quickly growing tired of her routine, wandering further and further from the densite as she felt her heart departing from the pack before her body could follow. Maybe it had never been there at all.

A snowy forest thick with brambles was certainly not the ideal hunting zone, however. She quickly found her coat littered with thorns. It was a pain, and certainly made her doubt that she would have much luck catching anything here.

With a huff escaping her lips, she continued on. Surely there was a rabbit, something. She just needed a reason to stay busy.

She caught a glimpse of pale fur through an alley of tree trunks. Towhee thoughtlessly aimed that way, though she quickly realized she wasn’t looking at her son. Her orange eyes blinked loudly at the unfamiliar woman—she reminded Towhee of Fennec and Meerkat—and then began turning her head this way and that way.

BUTTSHIT! she shouted without a care in the world what she must look and sound like to the other she-wolf. Voice raising even more, she added, Get your ass back in my eye line right this second! and summarily ignored the stranger.

Eydís had been far too preoccupied, failing to notice her until she began yelling.

Believing she was speaking to her at first she was rather offended, turning her head with a scowl. However it was soon replaced with pure confusion. What the hell was she yelling about? And what sort of name was Buttshit?

Paws moving without her, Eydís found herself approaching. You're looking for someone? That was the only thing she could assume from this.

Her hollering attracted the stranger’s attention, which wasn’t unexpected. It was sort of unwelcome, if only because Towhee had no interest in anyone outside of her youngest child at the moment. Therefore, her eyes skirted past the woman, pausing only to watch her lips before looking right past her as if she wasn’t there.

What gives you that idea? Towhee said overly loudly, not looking at her. BUSH!!! she added, practically bellowing this time.

He came scampering out of nowhere, his tail tucked between his legs as he ran toward her. Bushtit shot the stranger a wide-eyed look and then prostrated himself at the Redhawk’s feet, ears flat to his skull and tail wiggling in an unspoken effort to placate his mother.

-Sorry! I caught a scent and I chased—I’m not sure what it was,- he signed after rolling partly onto his side to free his forelegs.

Towhee exhaled harshly through her nostrils and said, Look, I get it. But please quit trying to give me heart attacks. I’m too old for this shit, and prodded him to his feet. Motioning at the she-wolf, she said rather unnecessarily, Anyway, we have company.

-“Hi,”- he signed and spoke once he got to his feet, expression bashful but tone friendly.

I’m Towhee and this is Bushtit, Towhee introduced, eyes resting heavily on the other woman’s face.

Her expression visibly softened at the sight of the young boy. It couldn't be helped. She wondered, would her own children have been so rambunctious?

Eydis. She returned the introduction with the polite lowering of her head to the older woman. Respect your elders, and all that. Is he your grandson? Maybe it was rude to assume, but then again she rarely considered such things.

You must be proud, he seems healthy. Her tail waved gently, eyes settling on the boy momentarily before she looked back to Towhee. Nobody likes a stranger staring at their pups.

She noted the way the woman beheld her son with such soft eyes. Towhee’s own eyes remained rather hard, though they flickered with something like mirth at Eydis’s question. She sensed the boy himself about to correct her but she quickly shot him a quelling look.

No, she answered, he’s just some kid I found in a bush. She shrugged, then in the very next breath posed her own question: You live around here, Eydis?

She nodded, gesturing back towards Neverwinter Forest. Forneskja. Yes, for now. A recently settled pack. She responded. I've come here to hunt, but well, She frowned, clicking her tongue as she looked to the brambles.

The woman carried quite a few scents with her, and so Eydis could not assume that she too was a pack wolf. You're a traveler? She asked. It was interesting, for Eydis herself had not had the chance to wander far into the Teekons.

Her head reared back a little when Eydis pointed out Neverwinter Forest. Towhee had no interest whatsoever in joining any packs, though she was curious nonetheless. She glanced at Bushtit and could see that the statement had also piqued his interest. She’d fostered in him a healthy sense of curiosity about other packs.

No shit, there’s a tree in your territory that I single-handedly grew with my tears, Towhee quipped, flicking her eyes back to Eydis. I’m kind of bummed I can’t visit it anymore. Ah, well. Those woods have always provided me with solace, so I guess I hope the same goes for your pack. Can you tell us anything about it? We are indeed travelers, though we enjoy picking up any lore we can along the way, don’t we?

Bushtit nodded in eager agreement.

She felt somewhat ashamed that she could not provide them with anything, but there was no sense in pretending. My stay is only temporary while I wait for my children. That had not been her intention when she first settled, but finding herself further consumed by misery by the day she felt that soon it may be time to go. I know little of them or their stories.

Maybe she would if she had taken the time to listen, and yet Eydis could not. They are spiritual wolves, in tune with the earth and the stars. The earth she could understand, but speak of the moon and stars only scared her.

Eydis admitted she knew very little about the pack where she lived. Towhee exchanged a look with her son, but quickly faced the woman again lest she miss anything she said. The mention of stars made her think of her brother, who was probably using them as a map to guide his voyages with his wife.

While you wait for your children? Towhee repeated back in the matter of someone seeking context.

She nodded. For them to return from their journey. It was the more poetic way of putting it, she thought. Nonetheless she did not intend to share too much with Towhee.

Once they do, I may move on. I'm afraid I don't seem to get along with the wolves in Forneskja. She offered a coy smile to lighten the statement.

Especially considering the passing resemblance, the woman’s words immediately made Towhee think of Meerkat et al. She wondered where Eydis’s children had gone and whether they would return, or if she would be left waiting indefinitely.

The next comment intrigued her, though before Towhee could say anything, Bushtit piped up to ask, -“Where did your children go?”- She stared at him for a beat, surprised that he’d not only spoken up but evidently reached right into her own brain. -“How come you didn’t go with them?”- was all him though.

Towhee didn’t want to discourage her son’s curiosity, though she simultaneously tried to shoot Eydis look that said, You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.

When the questions were asked, she looked from the boy to Towhee, some tension in her stance. She was quick to wash it away, for it would not be right to subject a child to her frustrations.

Smiling after a short moment, she thought of an answer. Fairies took them away, that's what happens when children don't behave. She said with a 'mhm'. More teasing than anything, though avoidant.

It was easier, to simply not speak of what happened at all. It hurt too much to share.

She would wait as long as it took; there was not a doubt in her mind that they would return to her.

Eydis obliged him, albeit with a jesting reply. Towhee’s eyebrows rose as she tilted her head to get a better look at Bushtit’s expression. What would he make of her playful warning?

The answer was an emphatic, grinning, -“Bullshit!”-

Despite the smile on her son’s face, Towhee exclaimed a loud, Oh-ho-okay then, that’s enough from you, I think, and nudged him aside. Go on, git. I’ll be right behind you.

Facing Eydis again, the Redhawk remarked, The mouth on that kid! Told you I found him in a bush. Bet he was raised by wolves. Towhee shook her head. Anyhow, it was nice meeting you, Eydis, and I really hope your kids come back to you soon. Take care.

She gave a brief dip of her head before stepping after her slowly slinking son. Towhee caught up to him, knocked her shoulder into his and winked. Bushtit coughed a laugh, well aware he wasn’t in any real trouble.

Thank you for the thread! :D