Redhawk Caldera Now I'm smoking cigarettes and I strive for purity

For @Towhee or @Tegan or both!

Titmouse did not like how weak he felt. He hadn't liked it in the dark wood, he hadn't liked it when Raven had been fixing him, and he especially disliked it now that he was "better". Sure he still had all his limbs, and he could walk. But the time spent laying around and waiting rather than training had taken a toll on the boy. He was thinner, the muscle he had started to acquire had faded pretty quickly, and even his restored limb shook as he walked (or ached sometimes). The only thing he could think of to do was run, because maybe all he needed was to stress it a bit - so he got right back in to the swing of things, training every waking moment.

First he'd trail the borders, making up excuses about becoming a warden to anyone who questioned him (but really Tit was looking for signs of his friend whenever he was left to his own devices); then he'd criss-cross the territory and check the caches, following established paths or making his own. He never sat still for long but he also never stopped to say hello to anyone unless his leg started to ache, and then there was always a quick pit-stop to visit Raven.

Today he was along the banks of the central lake. His lungs hurt, and he was panting hard while studying his own reflection; there didn't seem to be any change and Titmouse found that frustating. He dipped his nose close to get a quick drink and then, with a nudge of his snout, disturbed the surface enough to make his silhouette ambiguous. With a small pirouette he began to head away from the lake and back towards the borders where he could do another run, a scowl on his face.

#AllTheNPCs

You're of course more than welcome to PP them too! :)

Towhee rarely spent time at the territory's namesake landmark; when she wasn't scouring the borders, she could usually be found at the rendezvous site. But when @Wildfire invited her and @Orca on a walk there this morning, the mercenary decided to tag along. She sent X to hunt with @Phox, then trailed after her sisters as they made their way to the lake, which very much looked the part of a steaming cauldron on this frosty December day.

All three she-wolves seemed to spot Titmouse at once. "Hey!" Orca called even as Wildfire offered a quiet, "Hello." Meanwhile, Towhee only threw him a stony look, her lips pressing tightly together. While the other two moved forth to greet him properly, she hung back and then veered to another patch of shoreline. She eyeballed the cold water for a moment before bending down for a drink that hit her stomach like an icy fist.

tegan had caught a lizard, which was far less impressive than anything anyone else had ever caught-- but it was a brown color and had some cool lines on it so he was pretty proud of it. he was off to rub it in his siblings faces, because they probably hadn't caught anything as magical as this lizard... no! this lizard granted wishes! and they didn't catch it, so they didn't get any wishes!! ha!!!! wait until they heard that, he could practically see the look on fiadh's face. 

but, once again, tegan didn't cross paths with his siblings this time. instead, he spotted his older siblings(cousins, whatever they were). this time, he wouldn't try to fool towhee with some nonsense tale, the last time had been so unsatisfying he'd actually wished it hadn't happened-- it had turned into some sort of lecture too-- barf. 

but... this did look like some sort of gathering, or something, and tegan was curious. still holding the lizard in his jaws (because it was still pretty), he padded up to towhee, who was drinking, ears pricked as the other two crowded around good ol' tit-- who tegan had no opinion of yet. "what's up?" he yipped after towhee had finished drinking, nudging her to better grab her attention. he then took a good look at the others, head tilting.

All of a sudden Titmouse was not alone as a bulk of his family appeared to have been lured to the lake. They passed and he smiled thinly at them, bobbing his head or muttering a greeting under his breath. He caught a glance at @Wildfire but quickly averted his gaze, and in that moment noticed Towhee slipping away from a point nearer to Orca. While he was happy to see all of them in equal measure Titmouse didn't really feel a connection to any of them; so when they were distracted, he slipped further along the lakeside. The boy inadvertently followed after Towhee's path and only stopped when he heard a voice he did not recognize; a small glance showed him it was some kid but aside from that, Tit had no opinion. He watched them for a second or two longer and then turned towards the lake, and then casually stepped in to the chilly shallows, just for shits and giggles. Raven had said stressing his healed leg wasn't an ideal treatment plan but he wanted to push the limit a little.

Another brother joined them, this one significantly more welcome, though his appearance made her jump slightly since she didn't have the benefit of hearing his approach. Suddenly Tegan was simply there. "What?" she said rather loudly, having caught the movement of his lips without actually catching the words. When he presumably repeated himself, Towhee shot him a smile and a shrug. "Just taking a stroll around the lake, I guess," she said, pointing to the others who had come to rest at intervals along the lake's edge.

That was when she saw Titmouse begin wading. "What're you doing, you idiot?" Towhee shouted at him, ignoring the way Wildfire's ears pressed downward and Orca's look of reproof. "The water's nearly freezing!"

tegan thought he'd done a good job taking into towhee's deafness into account-- but apparently not (which was fair, he was not the most careful of the blackthorn bunch), as she jumped back in surprise when he came up to her. whoops! unphased by this, tegan merely repeated himself and then glanced around, eyes landing on titmouse, who was... going for a swim? weird.

towhee seemed to think the same thing, because within in moment she began shouting-- causing tegan to wince very noticeably. he took a quick glance at her before looking looking back to his cousin awaiting an answer, ears flattened to his head, still ringing from towhee's shouting.

Tit had only meant to get ankle-deep in the water. He knew it was going to be cold, he'd expected that much, and had even braced himself for the impact of the chill throughout the fur of his toes. But as soon as he made to step through the shallows, a voice burst from the calm around him and he was startled; he lurched forwards through the water with a few quick strides as if he were being chased by the voice, and when he stopped he was closer to elbow-deep. The chill quickly shot up his legs and with a frustrated little noise, Titmouse turned around and made for the shore. He shot Towhee a sharp look and opened his mouth as if to shout back at her - then noticed the young one beside her, and reconsidered. Rather than shout profanities at her for the spook she'd just perpetrated upon him, he mouthed: "Shut your stupid mouth." Once he was on the bank again he lifted each limb and shook the water free, although a lot of it had condensed already and the fur of his legs looked a little more solid than usual. Great.

Temporarily forgetting her audience—including one child and two of the pack's most soft-spoken members—Towhee did not hold back from saying loudly, "Come here and say that to my face, sh—" Eyes cutting quickly to Tegan, her voice died off as she abruptly remembered herself. Her lip curled disdainfully, orange eyes flicking back to Titmouse and tracking his every moment as he carved his way through the freezing water.

She huffed a breath, then said, "You know, it's your decision if you want to be an idiot. But you need to learn to respect your superiors." As Towhee said this, her eyes continued to bore into her litter mate's face, just daring him to challenge her authority. Her ears pressed forward and her tail swung upward, making sure he knew his place, even as Wildfire prepared to step in between them and Orca beseechingly said, "Please don't fight, you two—not in front of Tegan."

Moving this along // there now its in the right place! Derp! wow. Technically #300~

Towhee could protest all she wanted. For the time being, Tit was more concerned with the wetness and the cold that was spreading through his extremeties. While the others tried to talk her down (he could hear Orca talking under their breath), Titmouse turned his attention away from his sister and quickly exited the water. He didn't want to appear weak after the blunder into the depths, but there was no way to avoid the shivering of his haunches as he stepped on to dry land. The boy shook the water off of his limbs with a violent shuffling of his body, and then shot Towhee a sharp look.

I do respect them, he clarified, and then he half-smirked and turned away. All I've gotten from you is piss-all, so why should I respect that. Between their initial meeting when he returned going poorly, his broken limb keeping him secreted away, and generally being kept at a distance by his family, Titmouse had no reason to feel connected to many wolves in this pack. They called themselves his family but at the same time, he knew Towhee in particular didn't like him. Why bother wasting his energy trying to mend a relationship with someone who was more likely to toss him aside?

tegan was quite offended that his packmates were so keen on censoring themselves when he was around. towhee very clearly cut off a curse, and he noted ocra's comment about 'not in front of tegan'... but that was the thing! he wanted that pot stirred!! talk more shit! he wanted to yell, he wanted to see some serious beef right here right now.

his tail wagging-- he couldn't help himself-- tegan glanced from wolf to wolf. decided to push the fight along, somewhat innocently, tegan asked, "what did he do, tow?" though tegan knew fine and well-- after all the stories towhee had told him about outsiders, that titmouse's disappearance probably had something to do with it.

Towhee shot Orca an impatient look and was met with one that begged for her cooperation. She tore her eyes away from the would-be peacekeeper, glaring at Titmouse as he muttered. It was hard to catch some of the words, though she got the gist of it. She had quite a few things she could (and wanted to) say in reply, though she caught Orca fidgeting out of the corner of her eye, essentially pleading now, and Towhee bit her tongue, rolled her eyes, then sighed loudly.

"You should respect me because Uncle Elwood and Aunt Finley do. They call the shots around here. It's no mistake that I'm ranked above you, making me your superior, Tit," she reminded him with a curl of her lip. She snorted derisively, watching Orca's expression out of the corner of her eye as she added, "And that's all I have to say to you."

When Tegan questioned her, Towhee happily snubbed her litter mate further by turning her back on him. "He's just a flaky asshole," she said quietly to Tegan, smirking. She winked, then glanced over her shoulder to address Orca and Wildfire. "Let's keep walking," Towhee said loudly, pointedly ignoring Titmouse's presence as she playfully jabbed Tegan with an elbow and said, "You too. Come on."

Meant to be my last post! :)

Titmouse rolled his eyes as his sister spoke. On one hand he agreed that an alpha's opinion was important, but in the context of his family he didn't feel inclined to respect anyone that didn't respect him first. Granted that he hadn't done anything respectable since his return (and uknown to him, he'd continue down a dark path and lose everything anyways), so there was no reason for anyone to respect him in the first place. It was a double standard that Tit would uphold until it bit him in the ass (or in the face).

Her comments to the little one made him bristle a little but he didn't speak; rather, he glared at her retreating silhouette and gloomily passed a glance over Wildfire and Orca, only to turn around and begin wandering off along the lakeside.