Sun Mote Copse Lo/hi.

She finally made some time to head east and check in with the Firebirds. She supposed she wouldn't mind seeing @Niamh, though mostly she was hoping to catch up with @Finley or, more likely, @Elwood, to ask about her newest brothers and sisters. Towhee did not expected to be invited into the territory to meet them, though surely someone would be happy to tell her all about them. There was also @Eljay's kids with Wildfire, although Towhee admittedly didn't care as much about them (sorry not sorry).

"Um," was the first word that popped out of the mercenary's mouth when the Sovereign was the one to meet her at the borders. "You got a little something..." She lifted a paw to gesture at her own neck, orange eyes bulging a little. Surely Wildfire must know she had what looked like two growths sprouting on either side of her neck?

"Yeah, I know," Wildfire replied. Lymph nodes, that's what @Raven had called them. What was going on with them, nobody could be certain. But they were certainly swollen. "Hopefully just an infection that'll go away soon. They don't hurt." She shrugged, then cleared her throat (not that Towhee could hear) and added, "Anyway, what's the occasion?"

"I was hoping to check in with the newest Blackthorns," the Beta replied, realizing even as she said it that it technically covered all three born and unborn litters.

Anyone's welcome to pop in and break up the RPbation! :D

His children were only a few days old, and Elwood preferred to spend as much time with them as possible, but he also knew that @Finley needed some alone time with them. She would do the same for him when he asked -- and even when he didn't, because it was nice for her to be able to get out and stretch her legs occasionally -- so he got into the habit of taking a few short jaunts away from the densite. This allowed him to check back in every so often and didn't leave her with full custody all of the time. After having multiple litters together, he had to admit that they were pretty good at balancing the responsibilities of this parenting thing.

He was nearby when he ran into Towhee and Wildfire, and he caught the tail-end of their conversation as he approached. "Which ones?" he asked with a grin, as though Towhee's unspoken realization had popped into his own head. He considered himself qualified to answer any questions she had about his children or grandchildren.

"Fin and I have four -- two girls and two boys," he added as he came to stand alongside Wildfire.

Before she could clarify (and probably commit some sort of faux pas), Elwood materialized beside Wildfire. Towhee didn't catch his rhetorical question, though she did get every word of his happy report. Her tail stirred at the news, happy to hear of such a large litter. Her godfather didn't mention anything amiss, so she felt safe to assume mother and babies were all doing well.

She wanted to inquire further, although her attention shifted back to the Sovereign when she noticed Wildfire speaking. "—to catch up," she was saying to Towhee before her attention shifted to their uncle. "You're welcome to bring her in for a proper visit if you want, of course." Facing Towhee once more, she dipped her snout and began to retreat.

"Maybe go see Rave if you haven't already," Towhee said in way of parting before tacking on a quick, "See ya."

That left her alone with her Uncle Elwood. The mercenary couldn't help but smile fondly at him, stepping forward for a proper greeting. Her nose bumped against his right cheek as she drew in his familiar scent, which was interwoven with Finley's and presumably the pups'. She only lingered a few beats before withdrawing far enough to give them room to communicate properly.

"What're their names? How's she doing? Tell me everything," she demanded with a wag of her tail.

Wildfire's full sentence: "I'll leave you two to catch up." :)

As Elwood arrived, Wildfire departed. He smiled at her retreating figure, then returned his attention to Towhee, who had moved closer in order to touch his cheek with her nose. The greeting was affectionate but brief, and she asked about the new puppies as soon as she stepped back.

"Foxegrine, Avery, Cathal, and Suaibhseach," he said, his lips forming a smile around each name. "Avery is named for my sister; Cathal has Fin's father's name; and you might be able to guess where we got Foxegrine," he said. Although Towhee hadn't known her parents, they had been Elwood and Finley's closest friends, and it only made sense to honor them this way.

"Fin's doing fine; labor took a lot out of her this time, but she's recuperating," he continued. If there had been any doubts before, he was sure now that this litter was their last. After seeing how difficult delivery was for Finley, he didn't want to take any risks next year when they were even older.

The names that poured of her uncle's mouth were pure gobbledygook. What had she expected? Towhee shook her head with a smile. He repeated them, though, each with an explanation. He expected her to recognize the latter, which made her brows knit as she tried to piece what she could catch via lipreading together with the context. "Foxy... grin?" she mouthed, thinking immediately of her brother. Then it clicked and, out loud, she acknowledged with a long, "Ahhh."

He told her that Finley was okay, though the labor and delivery had taken its toll. Towhee hadn't anticipated going into the territory, even with Wildfire's blessing; it just didn't feel quite right to her. But suddenly she was thinking she should renege. "Would it be cool to go see her? All of them, I mean?" she said, then rewound some of the conversation in her head and asked, "Did you say you named one of your kids 'suave sock'?" She was unaware that she was echoing her older sister (or her older sister would echo her; what are timelines?).

When Towhee asked if they could go visit Finley and the puppies, Elwood replied without hesitation. "Of course," he said warmly, knowing that Wildfire had given them the green light. Even if she hadn't intercepted Towhee at the borders and subsequently said that it would be okay for her to come inside for a visit, he would have known it was allowed; after all, that was the whole point of setting up the Firebirds adjacent to the Redhawks' territory. The two packs really were entwined as one big family.

"Come on," he said, gesturing for her to follow with a bob of his head. As she fell into step alongside him, he addressed her question about poor Suaibhseach's name. "It does sound like Suave Sock, doesn't it? It means 'gracious' in Fin's family's language," he explained as they ambled through the sun-dappled trees.

Ignoring the instincts which warned her of the danger of treading on others' territory, Towhee loped after Elwood. As they walked, she looked to him, a smirk taking over her face as he explained the meaning behind "Suave Sock's" name.

"Dunno what it sounds like," Towhee quipped, "but it sure as heck looked just like 'suave sock.' Well? Is he? Suave?"

"Oh, good point," Elwood said when Towhee joked about not being able to hear what he said. He was so used to communicating with her in their nontraditional way that it was easy to forget about her handicap when making comments like that. "Well, trust me, it sounds just as weird as it looks," he added with a chuckle.

"He's actually a she -- but yes, I'd say she's pretty suave," was his next playful response. As they drew nearer to the den, he slowed his pace slightly. "How are things at the plateau?" he asked, taking the opportunity to pose this question as he knew that once they were with the puppies, the conversation would likely shift back to them.

She snorted at his comment. Why had they chosen that name? Towhee snorted a second time when he corrected her, letting her know that Suaibhseach was actually female. She supposed Avery was the other girl, meaning that Cathal and Foxegrine were the boys. Despite her misgivings about treading through the copse, she found herself truly excited to get to meet them for herself in just a few minutes.

"Things are okay," she answered his question, finally getting around to telling him, "I'm a parent now too, did you know that? Yeah, Phox's mate, Camilla, died not long after giving birth to Fig and Fen. I've stepped up as their mother. Crazy, right?" she mused, tail wiggling.

It's possible that Elwood had heard about Camilla's death after giving birth to Phox's babies, and that Towhee was now helping to raise them -- but I'm just not quite sure, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Either way, it was not how he had expected things to transpire for the Redhawks, but it seemed quite fitting. After all, Phox and Towhee themselves had been raised by Finley and Elwood after their parents died; now Towhee was able to fulfill a similar role for her brother's children.

"Mama Towhee," he teased good-naturedly. "How do you like it? Being a mom?" he asked, although he was pretty sure he could already read the answer in the waving of her tail that had accompanied the news. Just ahead, the Blackthorn den was coming into view.

Her nose wrinkled at the pet name, though whether it was because she loved it or hated it, it wasn't clear. As for motherhood itself, she replied, "It's weird because it's not weird. It was like I was always meant to be their mom. Not to shit on Camilla," Towhee said quickly, a twist to her lips, "but I never saw this for myself, like, at all. I never wanted a mate or a family. But somehow, this is perfect. I feel like it's changed me a lot, in ways that I don't even really realize yet."

Wow, that was a ramble. Towhee gave her godfather a sheepish grin, then quipped, "Are we there yet?" just to prove she was still an obnoxious child despite everything. And then she couldn't help but bounce back, "How do you like it? Being a dad? ...for the four hundred and sixty eleventh billion zillion smushmillionth time?"

Even as Towhee explained that her new situation was weird, Elwood found himself thinking about just how perfectly suited she was for the role. She had stepped up to help her brother without hesitation, and now loved his children like they were her own. It was the way her parents and godparents had conducted themselves, too, so in a way, it couldn't have happened more perfectly. She may have never expected herself to be a mother, but fate had had other plans for her, and Elwood had to admit that motherhood seemed to fit her.

He laughed and said, "Here we are," just as they arrived at their destination. He stepped to the side to allow Towhee to get the best view of the days-old puppies where they rested inside with @Finley. As for her question, he answered, "Being a dad is different every time, with each litter. I'm excited to see what these guys are like as they grow up."

Figured a fade might make sense! :)

Apparently there was still a shine to it, even the dozenth time. Towhee smirked a little, the expression softening into a more proper smile as they finally arrived at the den. "Hey!" she said a little too loudly as she made eye contact with her aunt, her orange eyes soon dropping to the four squirming bundles smashed against her.

Thinking back to Elwood's enunciation a few minutes ago, Towhee said, "Let me guess. This is Foxface," and pointed at Avery. "Quivery." She pointed a toe at Penn. "Cudgel." That was aimed at little Crow. "And Suave Sock," for none other. She flopped down beside the family with a shit-eating grin, feeling a lot less like an invader and more like an older sister all over again as she whiled away the rest of the afternoon there.