Redhawk Caldera hear me now

I'll be power-playin' Towhee. Hopin' for pups but anyone's welcome! :)

She had gotten into the habit of taking Towhee aside for an hour or two most days to work on developing communication with the young girl. The other pups were talking now, just a few words here and there. Soon enough, they would graduate to short phrases, then full-blown sentences. Not only would they be fully capable of speech, they would be fully weaned and moved to a rendezvous site within a few weeks. They really did grow up fast!

They had been working for a little over an hour today when Raven said the girl's name aloud: "Towhee." As always, she enunciated the word slowly so the pup could read her lips. Still moving her mouth but without speaking aloud, Raven said, "All done, Towhee." As she mouthed the words, she lifted a forepaw off the ground and made a sweeping motion at the child, then firmly planted it on the ground, a gesture of finality (or so she hoped). "Can you say 'all done'?" she mouthed, repeating the movements as she mouthed the words.

Towhee nodded—Raven grinned, glad the girl understood what a nod or shake of the head meant—and then expressively said, "All done!" right back, all while excitedly flailing a paw in the air and then quite eagerly slapping it against the earth. It threw her off balance, forcing her into a sit. She giggled and repeated her, "All done!" and accompanying stomp. There was a sound this time, a very crude mimicry of the phrase itself, earning a happy raise of eyebrows from the caregiver.

"Good girl," Raven said clearly, reaching out to pat Towhee's white-streaked shoulder. "Want to play?" she asked, bowing forward playfully in an unmistakable signal. "Want me to get @Orca, @Titmouse and @Phox?" she added, wondering just how much of that Towhee truly understood. Judging by the pup's wide eyes, broad grin (complete with lolling tongue) and thumping paws, she definitely recognized her siblings' names.

Hope you don't mind me!

Lagan had just been out in the snow, playing around and enjoying the sunlight of outside. Oh how he'd missed it, the sun on his face and all. The dreaded cave held him captive no more, he was free to go wherever he wanted. He decided he was gonna try and explore outside of the Caldera soon, but that would be a different day. For now, his black padded paws were cold and wet, and he was done with the outside world. He bounded back up towards the cave, flying into the rocky mouth at top speed. He nearly plowed right into Raven, and little Towhee too.

He skidded to a half a few feet from them, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted. He was very full of life today, feeling extremely playful since the moment he woke up to now. A huge grin on his face, he planted a sloppy kiss on Raven's cheek, then one on Towhee's head as well. Hey you guys! Can I play with ya? He asked, his white tipped tail wagging happily.

Always happy to have you! :D

Before Raven could make good on her implied promise to fetch Towhee's brothers and sister, Lagan romped onto the scene and attacked her with slobbery kisses. The Gamma pretended to protest the display of affection but the reality was written all over her face, especially in her glimmering yellow eyes: she adored the boy and was happy to entertain his enthusiasm.

"Hey Lagan!" she managed after he finished smooching her. She watched, tail waving, as he similarly greeted little Towhee, who quite clearly delighted in her cousin's attentions. "Sure we do," she answered him, then caught the pup's eye and mouthed, "Play?" Towhee demonstrated her comprehension by barking loudly and bowing forward, forelegs outstretched, rump in the air and tail wiggling in the universal display.

Although it was wonderful working with Towhee on her speech, the lesson was over now. It was time to stop talking and start acting! Raven shot the little girl a conspiratorial glance, then lunged suddenly at Lagan, tapping his hip with a crow of, "Tag, you're it! You're it!" she repeated while facing Towhee, just in case. But the puppy didn't need the words, she could read the playful gestures and body language like a book and dashed, giggling, away from Lagan and behind her older sister.

Lagan was relieved to hear that Raven wanted to play with him, when he'd come in like a bull in a china shop she had seemed pretty calm. It'd looked like she was trying to teach Towhee words, like that time when he'd taught her to say 'I love you'. He'd been sort of worried that his awesome cousin Raven would rather teach some more, but he really shouldn't have doubted her. She never failed to delight him, and always seemed ready to play. His tail still wagging happily, he watched and waited patiently as she tried to speak to Towhee again. The pup seemed to understand, because she immediately leaped into a playful position.

So what game are we gonna- he didn't get to finish his sentence because Raven had already tagged him. Lagan stood there confused for a moment, giving his two playmates a marvelous head start, then realized they were playing tag and raced after them. He started heading towards Raven hoping to take her down first, then he'd go after Towhee.

A chortle burbled in Raven's throat when Towhee immediately dashed behind her. Twisting her neck, the Gamma made sure to catch the pup's eye before saying, "Run, Towhee! Run!" To complement the instruction, she thumped her forepaws on the ground, then eagerly nudged the little girl's shoulder. Come to think of it, this was probably a really crucial command for Towhee to learn, in case she was ever in a fight-or-flight situation.

The puppy didn't need to be told twice. With a squeal, she took off at a run, Raven dogging her steps. When she shot a glance over her shoulder, she let out a little cry of her own when she saw Lagan barreling after her.

Lagan gave he puppy a good run, allowing her to run around for a minute before he finally sped up and bopped her back with his nose. He stopped running, his breathing heavy after all that running. Physical games were fun, but boy did they make him want to eat! When Towhee had her head turned, Lagan spoke. Good job Teehee, you almost lost me! He praised her kindly, and with a giggle of joy, but she didn't respond to any of it. This had happened before, Towhee only ever listened to him when she was looking at him. He started to wonder.

Staying sat where he was, with Towhee at his feet, he turned to Raven. Hey Raven, do you think Towhee can listen like us? He asked, with concern laced in his voice. He didn't want to bring down the mood, but all the same he was worried about her, and wanted to make sure she was ok.

The overgrown puppy bypassed her, closing in on Towhee like some great land shark before gently batting at her nose. Raven smiled hugely when she heard the little girl's squealing giggle. It was one of very few noises she'd heard her make so far. But it gave the Gamma faith that Towhee could perhaps be taught to speak if she (Raven) really worked with her.

Lagan praised Towhee but she bounded away, oblivious. Raven opened her mouth to remind Lagan that she was hearing impaired, only for him to throw her a puzzled look and accompanying question. Perhaps he didn't yet realize; Raven had only made the discovery herself very recently. And even she still had trouble really coming to terms with what it all meant.

"She's deaf, Lagan. That's why I've been taking her aside," the Gamma explained in a soft voice, as if she was bearing bad news. Raven didn't like that approach, though, so she made sure to add more positively, "But she can 'listen' in her own way. Just make sure she's facing you when you speak and enunciate your words clearly. She's already pretty good at lipreading and understanding gestures like nodding. Plus: body language."

Raven felt something touch her foreleg and looked down to see that Towhee had run back to them and was taking turns batting herself and Lagan, her dancing eyes clearly begging them to, Play!

Deaf? Lagan didn't like the idea that his little niece was deaf. It meant that life would be more dangerous for her, and she would never hear he beautiful sounds of her family's voices, or birds in the morning, or the song that the trees whistle when the wind flows by. She wouldn't really know hat she was missing anything though, but still it made him sad. It was clear from the look on Lagan's face that he was doing quite a bit of thinking, and he obviously wasn't too happy, but when Raven mentioned the thing about lip reading and body language he looked up at her. She was right, Towhee still could communicate, just in her own way. And that made him smile.

Well that's good! I think I taught her some words one time. She started sayin, I love you! 'Was really cute. He said with a smile, his perky mood had returned in a matter of seconds. He looked down at Towhee, who was running towards him to bat at his leg. He giggled when she did, and gently batted at her wriggly little tail. I think she wants to play s'more. He said to Raven, then looked directly at Towhee and spoke with as best diction he could considering the lisp. You wanna play s'more games Towhee? He asked, his tail wagging.

Would you mind fading this one? Sorry it's short but it seemed like a good place for it and I'm trying to wrap up Rave's threads! :D

Although he seemed surprised and upset at the news, Lagan quickly came to terms with it. He even put an optimistic spin on it and Raven found herself nodding cheerily, remembering her own misgivings and determination not to look at Towhee as disabled. "She's actually very quick on the uptake. I have no doubt she'll be an effective communicator," she praised, beaming down at the impatient pup rollicking at the adults' feet.

"I think you're right," the Gamma replied with a laugh as Towhee unleashed a ferocious-sounding growl and whacked at Lagan's heel with a little black paw. It didn't take a genius—or any special language skills at all—to read Towhee's continued pleas of, "Come play with me!"

"Go ahead, you two. I'll be parked over here." She pointed to a patch of dry grass just beside the cave mouth. "Tire her out," she muttered to Lagan, whispering it out of the corner of her mouth before realizing she could scream it at the top of her lungs and Towhee still wouldn't hear her. Bursting into laughter at herself, Raven retreated to the sidelines.

Sure! I'll miss Rave <333

Lagan giggled as Towhee continued to smack at his feet, Raven agreed that she clearly wanted to play. So he stood ready to have another round of chase, this one Towhee could chase him and Raven. Just as he started wagging his puffy grey tail in the puppy's face, Raven said that they should go ahead and play without her. He almost protested, but he could see that the older woman wanted a rest. Her comment on tiring Towhee out made Lagan laugh. Will do Aunt Raven! He said, once again mixing around his cousin's title. Then he turned and started running, hoping that Towhee would join him in his game of chase.