Redhawk Caldera ...and then everything goes screaming off the rails and it's our asses.

Her first birthday came and went without fanfare. Towhee made a point to seek out @Orca and spend some time with her only remaining litter mate, though she cut it short when spending time with her sister only served as a painful reminder that their brothers were gone. Worse yet, Titmouse @Screech was wanted for murder and @Phox was possibly a hostage.

She woke up the following morning spoiling for a fight. She stomped toward the borders, hoping to channel some of her fury into a patrol, followed by a spar with somebody, anybody. But the tireless march only fanned the flames of her aggravation. She wanted to kill something (someone) so badly. She wished they would go to war already, giving her an outlet for all these horrid feelings.

Never before in her life had Towhee felt an urge to shout at her godparents, yet with each crunching footfall in the snow (that she couldn't hear), she felt the agitation flaring hot in her belly and crawling up her throat like magma preparing to burst from her mouth in a volcanic shower of fiery epithets. Why were they making her wait like this? If it was even remotely possible that Phox might be a captive, why weren't they storming Blackfeather Woods right this very second?

Towhee was about to turn and seek out the Alphas when something caught her eye. She froze in her tracks, snout jerking upward as she squinted at the bright blue sky. There was a dark shape soaring in this direction. Her heart leaped into her throat as she watched it come closer, taking on a familiar shape. The yearling felt her rage cooling somewhat as X came in for his landing, blowing up a sparkling shower of snow as he arrived.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," Towhee said to the raptor, relief written all over her face. She moved toward him, nosing him gently, then stepped back. Some of her earlier irritation returned as she asked, "Where the hell have you been?"

X opened and closed his beak, then did something strange: he bobbed his head eagerly up and down. "What?" Towhee blurted at him. "What is it, X?" She stared and he repeated the same peculiar motions. "Are you trying to tell me something?" He stopped suddenly and nodded; the movement was unmistakable.

Thinking fast—she would have to stick to questions that could be answered with a nod ("yes") or head shake ("no")—the Gamma pressed, "Hang on, did you find Phox?" She could feel her heart suddenly racing in her chest.

X neither nodded nor shook his head. He did something that resembled a shrug. Towhee cocked her head, then snorted in frustration at the language barrier. Even if he could speak her language, she could never read his lips (he didn't have any!). And without digits, it was hopeless to try to teach him ptero. Their bond was strong but their communication was still rudimentary at best...

"What does that mean, X? Did you find Phox?" she asked again, orange eyes boring into him. X shrugged again, then followed it with a hesitant nod. "What? Where? What did you see?" Towhee pressed, forgetting to ask leading questions. She made another frustrated sound, then said, "You think you saw Phox?"

Finally, X bobbed his head more enthusiastically this time. "He was okay?" X nodded again. "Was he somewhere nearby?" The hawk shook his head and Towhee felt her heart sink. "Uh, north? South? East? West?" she asked, pausing between each word. X nodded at the final one. "You saw Phox west of here? Far?" He bobbed his head several times, leaving no room for misinterpretation. Towhee felt her heart clench again, then felt a bolt of wrath sear through her. "Are you sure it was him?" X didn't respond immediately. He then shrugged and shook his head simultaneously.

Towhee swore loudly, then turned and kicked at a clump of snow. All of this startled the red-tailed hawk into sudden flight and she watched with miserable, red-rimmed eyes as he winged toward the rendezvous site. Sorry, she thought after him, I didn't mean to shoot the messenger... And with that, the yearling began running east, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Colt was dozing in a sunny, relatively snow-free spot, when he was startled awake by hellish screeching.  Sure someone or something was meeting a grisly end, he leapt to his feet, fur on edge.  "The fuck..." he growled, running towards the sound.

He pulled up short, though, when he saw who it was.  What the hell was wrong with her?  Pausing only momentarily out of surprise, he followed, hoping to intercept and find out if she was, in fact, dying.  It sure as hell sounded like it.

As if things hadn't been crazy enough as of late, Towhee had recently informed Elwood and Finley of Titmouse's mishap with Moonspear. The Alpha male was thinking about all of this at present as he patrolled the eastern border, turning it over and over in his mind. There was nothing he could really do about it -- his hands were tied with the looming war and Drageda's presence within their territory. And he wasn't sure if he believed that Titmouse was even actually able to do something so heinous; there had to been some sort of mix-up, he knew it.

An ear-shattering scream suddenly pierced the air, jerking him out of his reverie with a start. He looked around wildly, his hackles standing in a ridge along his spine, and soon saw the figure of Towhee barrelling across the terrain, followed by Colt. She was moving quickly and there was anger etched into her frame as she plowed through the snow. Elwood watched her dumbly for a moment, unsure of what to make of the situation as his goddaughter drew nearer and nearer with Colt trailing along behind her.

"Towhee!" he yelled, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to hear him. He began loping with the intent to intercept her, hoping that she would slam on her brakes before there was a collision.

Naturally, she couldn't hear anyone giving pursuit. But when the tears began streaking along her cheekbones only to freeze and sting, Towhee's head jerked angrily to rub her face against either shoulder. As she swiped to the right, she caught a glimpse of two wolves pelting after her. The ongoing scream died in her throat and she slowed without thinking.

Equally thoughtlessly, she dug her heels into the slippery snow and rounded on her rapidly approaching uncles. "I'm going there and you can't stop me!" she bellowed, every single strand of fur standing on end. "I can't sit on my ass anymore! Phox could—" Her voice choked off into a strangled cry and, abruptly, Towhee was throwing herself bodily at Elwood.

She went after him like an attack, but when she made impact, Towhee didn't bare a tooth or raise a claw to her uncle. Instead, she roughly knocked into him and then slid downward. "Phox—" she tried again, voice catching in her throat even as Towhee's shoulders hitched and she began to simultaneously sob and mutter, "Mother—fuck—"

This wasn't exactly a situation that was Colt's forte, unbeknownst to him. He didn't know Towhee well, so it wasn't until she rounded that he could tell her screams hadn't been pain or fear... instead, she appeared some combination of angry and upset.  Fortunately for him, he wasn't alone in his pursuit.  His brother in law had joined, and she immediately ran to him.

Who's Phox, he wondered silently, and what does that have to do with.... oh hell.  He didn't know half of what was happening in this pack.  Mutely he stopped, unsure of whether his presence would be welcome right now or not.  Maybe he should slip away and let Elwood handle this.

Since Drageda's return to the Caldera, Fiadh had been on edge; even with her parent's refusal to include her in battle, she was mentally prepared to go to war. 

Faidh was lounging with a branch clamped between her forearms when she heard Towhee's distressed outcry and almost immediately, her mind jumped to conclusions. It was time for the war! Ungracefully, Fiadh dismissed the plaything and scrambled onto her paws. "I-I'm coming!" she screamed once she was standing, and with her eyes shining brightly Fiadh stormed in the direction that Towhee's call had come from. 

When she arrived, Fiadh stopped alongside her uncle and quickly surveyed the scene she had arrived at. As she attempted to catch her breath, Faidh looked from Elwood to Towhee, and then rested her eyes on Colt.  "We're not going to war yet, are we?" she asked as she came to the conclusion, and even before anybody could answer, she felt her excitement begin fade.

She faltered briefly and appeared to be about to slow down, only to crank up the speed again a second later. This time it was Elwood's turn to hesitate and alter his gait as Towhee shouted something about Phox -- whose unexplained absence hadn't gone unnoticed by Elwood -- and veered toward him.

He didn't have a chance to move out of her way and instead braced himself as she collided with him. He wasn't quite sure what to expect, and while he stumbled backward a few steps, he managed to stay upright as Towhee slumped against him. He could feel the convulsions of her body as she began to cry, and that alarmed him more than her initial attack.

Elwood shifted to embrace her, his ears splaying as he empathized with his goddaughter. Out of all of the firebirds, she and Phox had the closest bond, so it was no wonder that she was so upset about his disappearance. Glancing up as Fiadh arrived, looking bewildered but ready for battle, he licked gently between Towhee's ears and then addressed his daughter, shaking his head. "Not yet," he said, glancing at Colt, who had dropped back and was watching the scene unfold with some unease.

When she felt her uncle's tender lick to her forehead, Towhee recoiled. Although she actually appreciated the comforting gesture more than she could say, she was painfully aware of how weak she must look right now. She hated feeling vulnerable, especially in front of two—make that three, as Fiadh approached—witnesses. Shame burning her face, the Gamma turned it away from the gathering crowd and pushed herself shakily to an upright position.

"I'm not sad," she mumbled defensively to Elwood, her low voice making her words even more difficult to understand than usual, "I'm fucking furious." She felt as if someone was squeezing her throat, so she paused and gulped a deep breath before explaining, "Uncle Elwood, I don't think they have Phox. I'm pretty sure he ran out on us like a little bitch." It stung her to use those words once again, yet nothing was more agonizing than realizing her litter mate had deserted the pack without a word during its time of need. And he hadn't only evacuated his birthplace, he had utterly abandoned Towhee.

She sniffed and glanced at Colt and Fiadh, though she turned away quickly, embarrassed. Not looking at anyone directly, she tried to explain, "X came back. He thinks he saw Phox running off to the west. He isn't sure, but..." But, deep down, she sensed the truth. Phox had ripped her soul in two, after all, when he'd turned his back on them all.

Elwood seemed to attempt to comfort the upset Towhee, and Colt watched as a third ran up, one of the young members who soon would likely be leaving.  They seemed excited when they asked about the war, and Colt felt the start of a smile tug at his lips. Before he could answer, Elwood did for him.

"But you seem quite prepared for it.  Been practicing?"  He asked her directly while the other two spoke.  He caught some of their conversation... apparently this 'fox' was a pack mate of theirs.  His too, now.  Not the young man he'd seen off, surely? No, that had been Screech.

His niece, he realized suddenly, looking at Fiadh anew.  Well shit. He glanced at Elwood... if the man wanted, he could take this one so he and Towhee could chat.

In Towhee's garbled confession, there were a few choice words that Fiadh had picked out. Namely, the words she targeted were: "fucking furious". Fiadh liked the power the fueled the venomous phrase, and she mentally stowed away the expression for a rainy day— @Lucca was sure to think that it was cool! 

Before Fiadh could catch on to any more colorful phrases, Colt distracted her from Towhee and Elwood's exchange. Instead of listing to her sister's heartfelt expression, she offered her Uncle her thoughts in regards to what she had been asked. 

"I'm very prepared," she confirmed with a sage bob of her head. To Fiadh, training had been a serious affair; the low-hanging branches had proven to be worthy adversaries, but she had bested them. Keeping her expression grave, she added, "I'll fucking show those Blackfeather wolves." As the phrase crossed her lips, Fiadh's tail tipped, and she smiled at Colt. Though it wasn't perfectly annunciated, as Towhee had been the one to teach her the word, she couldn't help but marvel how good that had felt to say.

Almost as soon as Elwood tried to comfort her, Towhee withdrew from his attempts. He took a step back as she moved away, ears shifting back towards her as she proclaimed that she wasn't sad, she was pissed. Even in her distorted, toneless voice, he could hear the anger in her words. She explained her theory regarding Phox's whereabouts, and Elwood felt conflicted. Part of him didn't blame Phox; this was all a lot to handle, especially for the yearling firebirds. But at the same time, if what Towhee suspected was true, he had abandoned his family in their time of need.

He opened his mouth to reply to his goddaughter, but didn't get a sound out before he overheard Fiadh proclaiming that she would "fucking show those Blackfeather wolves." He turned to look at her with wide eyes, although he really shouldn't have been surprised. Not only was she Finley's daughter, but she spent a lot of time around Towhee, who certainly didn't have the cleanest vocabulary of the bunch. He found himself simply shaking his head, choosing not to comment on his daughter's lexicon at the moment. It wasn't that important in the scheme of things.

"I'm upset about Phox too," he said to Towhee, somehow knowing that his admittance would fail to placate her. "And it's okay to be mad at him." He almost added, "Maybe he'll come back," but he reckoned that -- at least for now -- Phox had earned himself a black mark on Towhee's list of family members who were now outsiders. "There's nothing we can really do about it now...but I'll spar with you, if that might help you get out some of your anger," he offered. It would be an opportunity for Fiadh to observe, as well, if she and Colt stuck around.

It was hard to look Elwood in the face just now, though Towhee forced her gaze to remain steady so she could catch his words. She hiccuped loudly as he attempted to reassure her. Nothing he said gave her any kind of comfort. Her mouth opened to say something only to clap shut. She could shout at her godfather about how the loss couldn't possibly feel the same to him, yet what purpose would that serve? She shouldn't take her anger out on him; he was only trying to help. He even offered to spar with her to help Towhee vent some of her rage.

She was tempted to decline the offer and retreat somewhere to be alone. But she glanced over at the conversing Colt and Fiadh again, then looked to Elwood and then slowly nodded her head. "Okay." She paused, then raised her voice to add, "Maybe Colt could join us? We could all probably use some two-on-one practice, it's not like we're guaranteed a single foe. And Fiadh can referee." Towhee wouldn't recover from Phox's departure anytime soon, yet the distraction helped and she felt some of her anger ebbing already.

Clover had been following the scent of her family, and oh, there was Fiadh! There was dad! There was Towhee! There was... 

Well, whoever that was. 

Clover bolted into the fray. What with war on the horizon, Clover herself had been practicing her fighting skills—mostly by assaulting her siblings at any given time, but also by attacking anything that moved. Anything. She learned to avoid rocks that the wind made stir, because those suckers hurt—but anything else was fair game. 

She still did have some stuff to learn, though. Skidding to a halt beside her sister, Clover's own tail waved wildly behind her. When we going to fight? Clover asked, and looking to her sister for confirmation in her next words, said: Because I think Fiadh and I are ready.

When Fiadh responded, it took every ounce of Colt's self control to contain the laugh that almost burst forth.  Instead he bit back a smile, and automatically glanced at Elwood, half expecting a rebuke.  When none came, his opinion of the man rose a bit.  He wouldn't have minded, of course, but from where he stood, no young wolf ever was hurt by a touch of fire.  Quite the opposite.

But they would not be fighting, and Colt knew better than to go against Finley on that matter.  "If you run into one, I'm sure you will." he responded, voice duly impressed.

Towhee drew him in then, and he paused, surprised.  Spar?  Shit it had been a while.  Rolling his shoulders, he shrugged.  "I'm game, if you like."  He might be rusty, but he was sure there was a thing or two he could show.

Pride melded into an expression of surprise, and Fiadh turned quickly to greet Clover with a wagging tail. "We're very ready," she agreed, turning her attention back to Colt. 

When Towhee suggested the sparring pairs, Fiadh felt a spark of irritation. "-I don't want to referee!-" she retorted with an evident fire in her lantern-like eyes. "-I want to fight like you, and I'm ready!-" 

Towhee hesitated at first, and Elwood would not have been surprised if she turned down his offer. But after a moment of consideration, she agreed and suggested that Colt join them and Fiadh act as referee. He nodded, already taking a step back so that he could turn to face his brother-in-law and daughter, only to be distracted by Clover's sudden arrival. She was -- as always -- raring to go, and she and her sister pronounced their readiness to fight.

"You girls know you aren't coming with us to fight Blackfeather," he said, his voice stern. He and Finley had made that clear, and no amount of protesting on the children's part would change their mind. But sparring was a practice that he believed they could learn from, especially if they decided to become a warrior or guardian when they were a bit older. "But you can spar with us now, if you want," he offered.

Gesturing to Towhee, he added, "We do have a master guardian here who can show us how it's done."

Her uncles seemed on-board with the idea, though Clover's arrival—and the young sisters' subsequent declarations—ground everything to a halt. Towhee's face hardened and she immediately glanced to Elwood, who reminded the pups that they would not be joining the war effort. She couldn't hear his voice, of course, but there was a sternness to his expression that drove the message home.

-You can spar with us now,- she concurred with her godfather's words, -but you're nowhere near ready to fight in a real war, no matter what you think.- She blinked. Perhaps that was harsh, but it was the truth. -Even I'm not really ready,- she continued after a beat, -despite my titles. This is dead serious business, you two.- Even at the best of times, she wouldn't have patience for these shenanigans, and Towhee was possibly in the worst mood of her life.

"Ready whenever you are," she said aloud after a moment, glancing between the other four.

Colt appreciated the fire in his niece's exclamation, despite how quickly it was doused by the other adults.  He agreed they shouldn't partake of war, but their desire to fight and protect was admirable.  And familiar.

"Tell you what.  You sit this one out, and when I get back, I'll teach you the secret Blackthorn training routine."  Colt said in an undertone, leaning down.  "Betchur mom never took you moose chasing before?"  He winked, then moved back to square up.  "For now, lets see what you've got, eh?"  He didn't catch any of Towhee's words, not even realizing her gestures were speech.  Instead, he figured the movements in his periphery were some sort of stretching regimen.

Then he widened his stance, suddenly eyeing the wolves around him for some sign of attack.  In a true fight, he wouldn't hesistate, but because this was a spar, he wanted to be sure all parties were prepared to start.

Powerplaying Fiadh and Clover a little since they're PPC at the time of this post! (Although Fiadh's new player is welcome to join back in once you get settled!)

There were the inevitable whines from Clover and Fiadh when Elwood told them that, despite their desire and belief that they were older than their biological ages, they couldn't participate in the war. Luckily, when Towhee signed to them, they took her response seriously and quieted. Somehow, the same information was more effective when coming from their cousin. And while they had both been eager to participate in a practice spar that very minute, they seemed content to take a back seat at Colt's murmured suggestion.

As the other adults adopted stances that showed they were ready for a fight, Elwood did the same. Then, after only a moment's hesitation, he lunged towards Towhee before abruptly feinting back in Colt's direction, hoping to give them the opportunity to showcase their defensive maneuvers for Clover and Fiadh.

Just as Colt didn't catch her words, she didn't catch any of his as he whispered something to the girls. Her ears fell back in mild frustration, though she supposed they weren't really meant for her anyway. Whatever he said to them, it seemed to placate Clover and Fiadh. Towhee wished she could've mustered up a smile for them, though her cheek muscles wouldn't budge.

On the subject of muscles, the Gamma tensed hers as she assumed a defensive position. When Elwood came sprinting toward her, she was ready for him. But then he switched direction unexpectedly. What the—? she thought before remembering this was exactly why they were practicing this way. With a grunt, she launched herself at her uncle's hind foot, hoping to tackle him from behind before he had a chance to assault Colt.

((Do we wanna do rolls or just play out?))

Lucky for Colt, life alone had kept his wits and reflexes rather sharp, so he was hoping he could somewhat not make a fool of himself in this little spar.  When Elwood lunged, he tensed, despite the appeared target not being him.  He in turn immediately began to dart forward as well, hoping to catch Elwood from the side as he was distracted with his attack on Towhee.

Except, well... he wasn't after Towhee.  And Colt had moved in just in time to be turned upon.  He wheeled, attempting to evade Elwood's lunge while lifting both fore paws in a half-jump.  In this he aimed to give Elwood a hearty shove and off-balance the man.

I keep forgetting it's my turn after Colt, whoops! And I'm fine with just playing it out?! (But I'm good with rolls too if you guys prefer that!)

His quick shift from Towhee to Colt had the desired effect, although he wasn't looking at Towhee and didn't see the brief expression of confusion that flickered across her face. Instead, he was focused on Colt, who quickly recovered from the surprise of the attack by rearing onto his hind legs with front paws ready to push against Elwood's forward momentum.

Elwood suspected that he would have been able to stay on all fours despite Colt's shove, but Towhee's simultaneous assault from behind had him off balance quickly. He felt her collide with his back legs and was unable to find purchase with his feet, and thus nearly toppled to the ground under Colt's paws. With a quick shuffle, he aimed to scramble away from his two attackers with his body low, shoulders hunched to protect against any further offensive moves.

#TooLazy4Dice

She slammed into Elwood's backside with perhaps a bit too much force, considering this was only practice. Reminding herself to keep things in check—god forbid she disable one of their able-bodied warriors right on the cusp of war—Towhee dug her paws into the ground and didn't attempt to further disable Elwood. She stood by as he fielded Colt's counterattack, then began to scramble sideways to evade.

Towhee saw movement out of the corner of her eye and flicked her head to see Clover and Fiadh energetically bouncing back and forth, cheering. Her ears flicked toward them as if she could somehow hear their cries. She couldn't, of course, and she swiftly turned back to the spar, lunging to grab at the tip of Elwood's tail to prevent his escape.

Both of them teaming on ol Elwood was workin out fairly well, but it hardly seemed fair, and he was interested in testing the younger woman too.  So when he succeeded in pushing Elwood aside, Colt didn't take the opening.  This was a spar; he had been in enough to know the limit.  True with his siblings sometimes blood was drawn.  But these weren't Blackthorns, and he couldnt risk giving offense.

Instead he darted sideways, taking a quick nip at Towhee's front leg.  In battle it would be a full on cronch, but for now, he wanted to see if it hit.

The shouts of Fiadh and Clover provided background noise for their fight and inspired Elwood as he responded to Colt and Towhee's movements. As he ducked away from them, he felt a pinch on the tip of his tail as he turned, and tucked his hindquarters in an attempt to evade any further damage from Towhee's teeth.

He whirled in time to see that Colt had refocused his attention on Towhee, and took a step back, taking a short breather while the focus wasn't on him. He was curious to observe his fellow master guardian's maneuvers before he jumped back into the spar himself.