Heron Lake Plateau I left my pride and stepped inside a bar

Raven listened without comment while Colt explained what had happened, and she found herself sympathizing with the Blackthorn. It was clear from what he'd said that he was genuinely trying to mend fences with her -- he had even gone so far as to present her with a fresh meal, which was a very kind gesture in Raven's opinion -- and the fact that it had all ended so terribly must have been incredibly frustrating and discouraging for him.

After he finished, there were a few moments of calm silence as Raven pondered the issue. Towhee could be a tough nut to crack if one didn't know how to handle her, and the alpha wondered if that was what was going on here. "She can be really sensitive about her deafness sometimes," she finally said, feeling like that might be the root of the problem. It sounded like things had gone well until he had mentioned she was difficult to communicate with. "All her life, she's pushed herself really hard to overcome it, to keep it from being a thing that defines her. You've been pretty opinionated about her disability for a while now -- and understandably so, as a wolf concerned for his pack should be -- but it's no doubt put her on the defensive, big-time."