Heron Lake Plateau I'm working on my backwards walk, walking with no shoes or socks.
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Ooc — Kat
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#1
All Welcome 
Nearly three weeks after her accident, Towhee was adapting to her new reality. Her leg showed no signs of revival, though at least it wasn't slowing her down quite as much; she had mastered a three-legged gait and could even hit a steady trot with minimal stumbling. She had resumed patrolling, usually with @Niamh for backup. The dead weight made her more tired than usual and she rested frequently. She was too afraid to attempt swimming yet, so Towhee hadn't been to The Roost since prior to the ill-fated trip. She tended to bed down near the den where @Quixote, @Raven and their pups lived, close enough to keep watch but far enough not to infringe on the family.

She was there now, inspecting her dead paw. The callous had flattened but thickened. She supposed it was a permanent fixture now. It was ugly, yet what did it matter? Towhee tore her eyes away and sat up straighter, feeling her back crack even if she couldn't hear the little pops. She rolled her shoulders a few times and, on the last rotation, heaved herself to her feet. The Beta immediately shifted to bear most of her rear weight on her right leg—which was growing more muscular to compensate, even as her left leg showed signs of shriveling—while bracing her forelegs a little wider than before. She now did most of this without thinking.

As she padded toward the Alpha pair's den, Towhee was in good spirits. She had overcome yet another adversity, practically without breaking a (metaphorical) sweat. But as she paused outside its mouth, she found herself saying, "Guys, I was thinking. Hear me out." She paused, expression growing thoughtful. "I think it might be time for me to step down and let someone more—I don't know—able-bodied take my place. I actually have someone in mind." Towhee paused again, this time partially for effect. "What about @Colt? He and Niamh would make a handsome Beta pair. Order would be restored too: Redhawk Alphas, Blackthorn Betas. Well, sorta." Cue another pause. "Plus, he's gotten on my case historically about my disabilities and I can only imagine what he thinks now. Let's make him put his money where his mouth is or whatever." A final pause. "Hey, are you guys even in there?"
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

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Ooc — Jennifer
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Quixote's schedule became less strict as the year got later and the heat of the day didn't demand it, but he still came back to the den during the daylight hours to heckle Raven and the quickly growing pups and sometimes take a nap.  They must have had a hell of a playtime as things were pretty quiet when he'd arrived, and he'd pretty much zonked out as well just in front of the tunnel to the surface.  At least then if someone tried to wander out, they'd probably wake him too.

Except it wasn't one of the youngsters that woke him, it was someone else droning away just outside.  It took him a few moments in his bleary, part-wakened state to even begin to parse words, let alone dredge up the context. What was Towhee going on about?  Something about Redhawk alphas and Blackthorn betas? Didn't seem to make much sense.  Something about Colt doing stuff?  Wait, he was totally missing something and it might actually be important. Hang on, I-- aw hell.  She couldn't exactly read him from where he was unless the fur on his spine had a billboard across it.

He unwound and started towards the light, turning from one shadow among many to a separate wolf again.  Another yawn, though he cut into it as he started to reply, Wait wait.. Sorry, try that again -- am I putting this together right?  You're wanting to step down?  And give it to Colt?  Which yeah, did sound pretty silly given their past.  He had to also wonder if Colt would even want the responsibility -- Colt had pretty much said he didn't want responsibility around the time Quixote had been promoted.  Not to mention since their rather rough last meeting, the two men had pretty much avoided each other.

When Towhee had returned injured, Quixote had honestly wondered what would become of her.  He'd kind of wondered if this kind of thing had been coming, but at the same time, it had been long enough he figured she'd decided to just continue on as it were.  Apparently not.  Quixote came out and sat himself across from her, an eye on the den entrance in case anyone else woke up from their conversation.  Hell, Raven might be in there too but his brain was so focused on trying to untangle this new mess that he honestly wasn't thinking beyond there were some obligatory number of mostly-dark forms tucked away in the darkness.
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Ooc — Houkie
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#3
Phone posting from work so pardon the shortness! Wanted to go ahead and get a post up so this thread doesn’t get bogged down. :)

After a rowdy play session with the kids, Raven had fallen fast asleep in the softly-snoring pile of legs, fuzz, overlarge ears, and too-long tails. She woke up briefly when Qui entered the small space and lay down with them, but quickly went back to sleep again.

She woke up at about the same instant her mate did, roused from her slumber by the sound of Towhee’s voice. Unlike Qui, she was quick to pick up on what her sister was trying to say, and — carefully extricating herself from the tangle of pups so as not to wake them — quickly emerged from the den.

”What?” she said, confused. Of course, it made perfect sense for Towhee to want to step down. She was wounded, perhaps permanently, and her sense of duty to the pack perhaps dictated that she relinquish her position to a more capable wolf. But dammit, Towhee was her right-hand man. ”No...” she mumbled, shaking her head.
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Just as she was about to poke her head inside the den—sure that she would find it empty—a groggy Alpha pair stepped out to join her. Towhee felt a jab of guilt when she realized she must have woken them from some much-needed sleep. "Oh, sorry, guys," she said, taking a step back to make space for them even as her orange eyes skated between their bewildered faces. Her heart began beating faster in her chest. So they'd heard, despite their sleepiness.

"I—" she began, feeling another jab, this time of doubt and guilt as she saw Raven's expression in particular. "It's up to you, of course; you're the Alphas. It was just a suggestion and you're welcome to take it or leave it." But that didn't address the first part of the equation. Towhee let out a long breath, then nodded. "But, yes. Well, I don't want to step down, but I think it's the best call for both myself and this pack." There was barely a breath between that statement and the next as she reassured, "I'm not going anywhere, Rave. It's just a title. I'll still be here, doing as much as I can, which is less than before but definitely not nothing."
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

I archive threads if my partner goes inactive and/or there are no new replies for several weeks. I'm more than happy to continue an archived thread if you're interested. Just revive it (via maintenance) and tag me in your next reply. :)
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Ooc — Jennifer
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He looked briefly to Raven, ears tipping back slightly.  Comparatively, he was obviously able to see things in a more detached way than she would for obvious reasons, reaching out to nose her slightly before looking back to Towhee, I don't think anyone will disagree that you've done a lot for this pack.  It just seems weird to maybe stuff you back in with everyone else unless that's what you want.  I mean, I don't think you're to retiree status yet, but is there some other title that might work for you?  But uh, that's part's kind of up to you if you want to bother.  After all, they'd already started honoring some of the contributing members -- it'd make sense to continue the trend.

At the very least it might be a solution that would also keep any members, new or old, from getting bent out of shape if they really did have an issue with Towhee's disabilities.  It would be out of the rat-race of the normal ranks, and she could do whatever she could do.  Then again, it was Towhee.  He also wouldn't be surprised if she wanted no special treatment -- but she was also Raven's sister, and family did often count for something.
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Ooc — Houkie
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Raven hated the idea. For a fleeting selfish moment, she felt like all of her allies were dropping like flies around her. Finley had ditched her, now Towhee. But she pushed that thought away, recognizing it for the ridiculousness it was. Towhee could barely get around, much less handle the responsibilities of leadership in a pack as large and rapidly-changing as theirs. Despite her unwillingness to relent, she felt compassion and understanding flood through her and she sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"I wish you would reconsider," she replied after a few beats, her golden eyes lingering on Towhee's travel-worn forepaws before lifting to her face. "But I get it. And I wouldn't want to force you to do anything that didn't feel right for you." A flicker of a smile touched her lips -- a sign to her sister that it was okay. She knew Towhee wouldn't quit on her. The younger Redhawk's work ethic and dedication hadn't flagged in the least since she abdicated the alpha position, and Raven knew that that would continue to remain the case now, too. Niamh had some big shoes to fill if the consensus was indeed that she should be promoted in Towhee's place.
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Quixote's question took her by surprise. She blinked, then shrugged her white-streaked shoulders and told him, "That's your call." Even while serving as Beta, she hadn't dabbled with ranks much, leaving that to the leading pair. Although she appreciated the sentiment behind his query, Towhee didn't actually care that much; her title would make no difference in how she went about her life here.

She noticed the slump of her older sister's shoulders and recognized Raven's acceptance. Towhee touched her nose to the medic's cheek. "I'll still be your right-hand man," she said. She considered amending to "woman" but wasn't "man" technically correct? She had long since grown used to her extra assets and rarely thought of them these days. "Just informally."

And while it wasn't her place any longer to decide ranks—her own or others'—Towhee revisited her initial point: "Like I said, it's totally up to you if you decide to go with Colt. But I do think Niamh would be a great Beta either way. Nobody can replace me," she continued, shooting Raven a coltish wink, "but Niamh's a worthy successor." She left it at that, as it was really up to them to decide between themselves.

"Anyway, ranks are boring," Towhee said overly loudly in the next moment. "Where are my nieces and nephew at?" She squinted toward the den, shamelessly hoping her booming voice had woken them so they'd come out and play with her.
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

I archive threads if my partner goes inactive and/or there are no new replies for several weeks. I'm more than happy to continue an archived thread if you're interested. Just revive it (via maintenance) and tag me in your next reply. :)
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Sigh, he'd kind of hoped she'd had an actual solution to this predicament.  This wasn't exactly something he was great at -- Quixote wasn't a particularly creative man, and trying to figure out where to put her that seemed like it would respect her and yet not have as much responsibility as a fully able wolf was just... Well.  He might as well be holding a Rubik's Cube where someone had stealthily swapped a few stickers.

His ears flicked back a moment as he thought about it.  Yeah.  He wasn't super excited for this whole leadership thing.  Still.  So much of it just didn't come naturally to him.  Instead, Quixote looked to Raven.  Yeah.  We'll figure it out.  Somehow.  Ugh.  He didn't sound particularly confident about it, but he was pretty sure the world would keep turning no matter what they decided.

It seemed Towhee was keen on just ditching the whole subject though.  Which was nice, aside from the fact he'd been kind of looking forward to returning to that nap.  He pointed his nose towards the den entry, pretty sure he heard some shuffling inside though the kids hadn't busted out yet.  Just give them a second.
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Ooc — Houkie
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Raven nodded in agreement with her sister’s words as well as Quixote’s comment, a grin twitching at the corners of her lips. She agreed with Towhee’s thoughts on Niamh, but wasn’t completely sold on Colt. Not that she had a problem with him by any means, but she didn’t know him as well as she would have liked. It was hard enough to think of someone she trusted enough to help her run the pack she loved so much, but even harder still to find someone worthy of replacing Towhee. Ceara came to mind, of course, but she wondered if her friend had the emotional stability to handle the pressures of leadership. The Blackthorn was a complicated woman.

Just about the time Towhee asked about her nieces and nephew, a couple of small heads peered curiously out of the mouth of the den. ”They’re all yours, Sis,” she answered, stepping aside and gesturing for the little beasties to come out and greet their aunt. Perhaps, with less leadership responsibilities on her plate, Towhee could enjoy spending more time with the kids. She knew that both parties would enjoy that a great deal, and the alpha herself certainly never minded an extra chance to take a break from time to time!