Sun Mote Copse Be Bahia.
Sun Mote Copse
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#1
All Welcome 
Now that she felt more in control of herself and her emotions, Towhee meant to find @Niamh and catch up with her friend, not to mention pick her brain about her feelings and intentions toward @Phox. But then there was the missing @Dorea... Towhee knew she should go out looking for the wayward youth. But she had learned recently that scouring the wilderness was usually nothing but a waste of time. Not once had she found someone and brought 'em home. Wolves either returned of their own volition or they didn't, period.

Nonetheless, she had a hard time just sitting on her ass and doing nothing. Towhee found herself missing X particularly terribly today as she roved the territory in between patrols, looking for something to do. She kept an eye out for Niamh or her brother (or Niamh and her brother, hopefully sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G) and even found herself considering tracking down @Pippin for a good lay. She no longer felt the urge whatsoever, though it was somethingone to do.

Abruptly, she stopped as she remembered: she was supposed to be training the members of the pack. Towhee licked her lips as she went down a mental checklist of names, trying to decide who to go after today...
-Signing.- | "Speaking." | -"Signing & speaking."- | "Mouthing (inaudible)." | Thoughts.

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#2
It just so happened one of those hopeful trainees was walking by Towhee that day -- oblivious to the dark she-wolf's presence right up until she nearly stumbled over Towhee's paused form. 

Weejay, who had been lost in her own thoughts (primarily revolving around Eljay, and how thin he was getting, and also Elfie, who was still missing ..) looked up bashfully, taking a full set of seconds to register who and what was before her. Hi, Weejay offered after a brief pause, wondering if it would be rude to excuse herself and be right back on her way in two seconds.
so hold nice and close the ones who get to your soul,
so that when it is cold, you wont feel so alone
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#3
She'd just decided to go looking for Pippin after all, to spar rather than bone, although she would't be too fussed if the former led to the latter. Towhee didn't even get the chance to take a single footstep when someone nearly bumbled into her. The mercenary lurched backward out of sheer reflex, then straightened out and found herself peering at her late sister's remaining child.

"Hey," she replied automatically, blinking. She hardly knew the girl, which suddenly seemed both absurd and shameful. She was Weejay's aunt, after all. "What're you up to today?" she questioned, her plans already shifting focus from her friend with benefits to her niece.
-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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#4
Weejay's thoughts aligned with Towhee's as she peered up at the inimitable warriorress (or at least that's how she saw her). She barely knew this relation -- which was more her fault than anything. Being she was shy, and reclusive without Elfie, it was no small wonder that half the pack had no idea who she was. 

Oh.. I'm.. Weejay didn't really want to say "avoiding adults" was on the docket today, so she told a little neat white lie instead. Coincidentally this little lie was not so far apart from the truth. I was just going to the borders. She probably didn't really need to explain why -- Elfie was still out there, if he was even.. no, she couldn't say it. A cloud stole across her features but she put on a brave face and asked politely: What are you up to, ma'am?
so hold nice and close the ones who get to your soul,
so that when it is cold, you wont feel so alone
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#5
Her niece's halting response made Towhee cock her head, waiting for Weejay to complete her sentence. When she did, Towhee bobbed her head approvingly and opened her mouth to tell Weejay she would join her. Perhaps they could patrol together. But before she could make the suggestion, Weejay called her "ma'am" and that made her mouth clap shut as she goggled at the youngster.

"'Ma'am'?" she echoed, expression amused. "I'm no... lady. You can call me Towhee or Tow or Fuckface Magoo—anything but 'ma'am.'" She wrinkled her nose, then added what she'd meant to say before. "I'm wondering if you'd be up for some sparring. You mentioned the borders, so maybe we could patrol and I can show you some defensive tactics?"
-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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#6
Oh no. Had she said something wrong? Weejay was flustered as Towhee grappled with the word she had given belatedly. She felt stupid and wished she could take it back the moment it left her mouth. Thankfully, Towhee's response - particularly the Fuckface Magoo portion of it - had Weejay trying not to giggle.

She wasn't going to use that sobriquet - for many reasons - but it had the intended effect of lifting the mood a bit. Weejay's eyes lifted as Towhee's muzzle wrinkled, curious as to what Towhee had on the agenda.

Oh. Sparring.

Weejay visibly quailed. She was not a fighter. She would never be a fighter. Elfie had always won any time they play-fought, and Weejay half of the time had let him, because her heart wasn't in being physical. Trying not to look too deflated, Weejay very delicately responded with this eloquent gem: "Umm.. Okay." She wasn't sure about sparring, but she liked going to the borders - especially since Eljay didn't like her to stray too much. Maybe they could see some new ferns while they were out, or if Weejay was lucky, something would come up and they wouldn't have to spar after all!
so hold nice and close the ones who get to your soul,
so that when it is cold, you wont feel so alone
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#7
Something about the way Weejay wilted (subtly, though enough that Towhee picked up on it) reminded her distinctly of the girl's father. She licked her lips, thinking back on their recent conversation about Elfie. Now her lips pressed together as she peered thoughtfully at the young girl, nearly a yearling. At least she was coping with her brother's disappearance much better than Eljay, or so it seemed. Towhee wondered if Weejay held her responsible too, though it didn't seem that way.

"I can't hear but even I can tell you don't sound thrilled," the mercenary quipped. Not for the first time, she realized she didn't know her niece, like, at all. Although she did want to live up to Wraen's task, suddenly she realized she needed to back up a few steps. "Not a fighter, huh?" she guessed before cocking her head and asking, "What do you like to do, Weej? Can I call you that?"
-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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#8
Weejay's tail fell as Towhee caught wind of her lack of enthusiasm, commenting upon it in a wry manner that caused the girl to flash the briefest of timid smiles. She hoped she hadn't offended Towhee -- but after a few seconds, it appeared she had little to worry about in that regard.

Relieved, Weejay glanced admiringly up at her elder, wondering if she would ever look so big and fierce. "I like flowers!" Weejay shared, absolutely unabashed by her obsession with flora. "I mean, I guess I could fight but... Elfie always won those and I'm not so good. I like sticking to what I'm good at, cause then no one can make me feel bad about it." She puffed out her chest midstride, causing her to stumble. "You can call me Weej! I don't mind."
so hold nice and close the ones who get to your soul,
so that when it is cold, you wont feel so alone
Sun Mote Copse
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#9
Flowers didn't interest Towhee whatsoever, though she would be happy to indulge her niece in the name of getting to know her better. Besides, the mercenary suddenly had a brilliant idea, particularly when Weejay mentioned her lack of skills.

"Okay, I'm gonna make you a deal. We can spend some time gathering flowers, then I'm going to teach you some self-defense. That way, whenever Elfie gets back, you can kick his ass." She paused, hoping the girl would take that positively, then added, "I won't make fun of you if you're not good at it, though the entire point will to make you better, else I've failed at my job. So, what do you say, Weej?"
-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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#10
Weejay thought about this proposal long and hard. Her little eyes even narrowed as she weighed the pros and cons. On the one hand, if Elfie came back she would give him the absolute Whats'-For for A. breaking her heart and B. leaving her alone for so long.. But on the other hand, she didn't want to be teased for being clumsy or slow.. and even if Towhee promised not to poke jokes at her, what if someone else saw?

She bit her lower lip, but she had her answer ready. "Okay.. but there's not any flowers right now." Which she realized meant, rather belatedly too, that she would have to deliver her end of the bargain first. Her tail sagged a little bit, already dreading how bad she'd be at fighting.
so hold nice and close the ones who get to your soul,
so that when it is cold, you wont feel so alone
Sun Mote Copse
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#11
Weejay agreed to her terms, right before pointing out that no flowers grew this time of year. Towhee looked around as if this was news to her, then back to her niece. She saw the telling wilt of her tail and the crestfallen look on her face. Good lort, Towhee thought, the sight strongly reminding her of Eljay.

"Okay, so, how about you tell me some of your favorite fun facts about flowers?" Towhee pressed, insistent to hold up her side of the bargain first and foremost. She genuinely wanted to get to know the girl better and learning more about her interests was a fantastic place to start. She also desperately wanted Weejay to perk up and stop looking like her father, the poster child for anxiety and depression.
-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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#12
lmfao poor eljay

Weejay didn't need much coaxing to talk about her favorite subject. Little did Towhee know she had opened up the figurative Pandora's-Box indulging in Weejay's habits (read: obsessions). "That's easy! Well, did you know that sunflowers track the sun?" Weejay let that fact sink in for a moment before she continued.

"That's called being heliotropic. There's flowers that don't follow the sun though, like larkspur! But.. I don't think you can eat Larkspur. You can eat sunflowers, they drop little seeds. The birds love them and all kinds will flock to them! I saw a yellow bird there once! He was really small, well I think it was a he. There were also robins and cardinals there, but I liked his color the best." The Weejay-train had left the station, going full-on freight. Enjoy, Towhee.
so hold nice and close the ones who get to your soul,
so that when it is cold, you wont feel so alone
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#13
Towhee didn't need functional ears to hear Weejay's enthusiasm. She was glad she'd asked because it was worth it just to see her transform from her mopey father's miniature to a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed youth. That was definitely more like it.

"I didn—" she began to answer Weejay's question, biting back a smile as the girl leaped right into an explanation. Towhee read her lips, actually quite surprised by this intriguing information. She realized she'd been expecting these facts to be much more boring than this.

"Hol'up," the Regent interrupted, not because she wanted to derail her niece's train but because she was genuinely curious, "is a larkspur a bird? Or a flower?"
-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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#14
Once Weejay got going, it was hard to get a word in edgewise. Wraen had probably learned this the hard way, but Towhee was handling Weejay's splurge of information just fine. Weejay paused long enough to get a breath in, and it was then Towhee asked about larkspur.

"It's a plant! It's really pretty... but don't eat it. It's got these pretty blueish purple flowers and they grow up on the stem kind of line a pinecone.. but... a pretty one." Weejay beamed, her tail whizzing back and forth like an excited golden's waiting for a ball. "I like the purple ones a lot - they're pretty but really rare."
so hold nice and close the ones who get to your soul,
so that when it is cold, you wont feel so alone
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#15
Towhee was pretty sure it was a bird too, though she didn't bother interjecting. She was enjoying Weejay's passion, which evidently included the color purple. The Regent's head tilted, trying to remember if she'd seen a flower matching her niece's description. Surely she had, though she couldn't honestly remember. She really wasn't one to stop and smell the flowers, as it were.

"So you like yellow birds and purple flowers," Towhee mused. "How come you can't eat larkspurs? Do they taste bad? Or are they poisonous?" she wondered in the very next breath, already wondering if she could tie toxic plants into Weejay's battle training somehow.
-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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#16
Weejay nodded in affirmation, ready for the next question. She had forgotten her insecurity around Towhee in the midst of all of this talk about things she fervently loved -- to Towhee's credit, she had done a fine job extricating Weejay from her shell.

As far as larkspur... Her face darkened. "It is poisonous. It makes you drool and can make you have muscle tremors and nausea and stuff. I didn't know and was carrying them around in my mouth and got sick, once." She hadn't even ingested them - just been carrying them from one place to the other. She had learned her lesson that day, about putting strange things and plants in her mouth.
so hold nice and close the ones who get to your soul,
so that when it is cold, you wont feel so alone
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#17
There was a foreboding look on Weejay's face as she described the larkspur's toxicity. Oh, the wheels spun in Towhee's mind. When the girl finished, she didn't speak right away, her thoughts still whirring.

"What if—hear me out—what if you were able to rub it into your fur somehow right before a fight? If your enemy tried to bite you, they'd get poisoned, wouldn't they?" Her head tilted, Towhee speaking skyward for a beat. "It'd be risky applying it, but..." Her orange eyes dropped back to her niece's face, dancing with a dangerous sort of fire.
-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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#18
Now there's an idea.

Weejay hadn't followed Towhee's line of reasoning at first, but as it dawned on her, her chin jutted out thoughtfully.

Hmm. Was that possible? She imagined the larkspur would have to be made into a paste and spread somehow on her fur. Maybe it could be utilized, but Weejay was already trying to think of other, better suited plants for such an idea. Unfortunately, her plant-dictionary was slim (but soon to grow!) at the moment. "Wouldn't they smell it?" She asked, wondering if it was normal to take such measures against opponents. "Is that something you've done before..?"
so hold nice and close the ones who get to your soul,
so that when it is cold, you wont feel so alone
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#19
"If my enemy smelled like flowers, I wouldn't think anything of it... well, I wouldn't have, until now," Towhee replied thoughtfully. "No, I've never tried it. But I think it might be worth looking into. Just make sure you don't play this particular trick on Elfie," she thought to say.

Pleased that they'd arrived at a place where they could combine their passions, Towhee found herself eager to pursue the subject. "Maybe there's another plant more suited to this? Maybe one without a strong scent? One that you could maybe... roll in, prior to battle?" the mercenary thought out loud, orange eyes fixing on Weejay's face.
-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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#20
Unfortunately, Weejay was still learning about plants. She knew which ones tasted bitter, which ones smelled awful, and which ones exuded sap -- but she didn't know if there was a plant out there that was so potent as to deter fighting.

She thought of how plants had natural defenses against depredation. The thistle was spiny, the rose thorny. Foxgloves had a strange farina which, if ingested, made one horribly sick.. Trees had rough bark, and peppermint a pungent smell.. "Maybe the trick is to dress like a plant instead? I don't know of enough plants to know if you could roll in one to defend yourself.." Weejay asked, wondering how she could do that without sticking herself in the process.
so hold nice and close the ones who get to your soul,
so that when it is cold, you wont feel so alone
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#21
The next few words from Weejay's mouth were met with a nonplussed look from Towhee. "Dress like...?" she echoed, not sure she followed. She was now picturing her niece dressed up like a flower, a mental image which forced a gruff titter from her lips. "Like, put on a plant costume?" It was a humorous idea, possibly with merits, though the Regent couldn't quite decipher them right now. Hopefully Weejay could clarify and embellish for 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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#22
Um - first, Weejay would LOVE to dress like a flower. Maybe chalk that up to a halloween costume for next year, to get "Favorite-Auntie" status?

Weejay was thinking of a literal ghilie suit, but she had no idea that was a thing in the real world. "Like - yeah! Put it on you so you blend in with the trees and the vines and stuff." Imagining Towhee draped in forestry gave Weejay a hearty giggle, and she muffled her mouth with a little paw. "Then you'd have the power of surprise! RAAH! No one expects an attack from a flower!"
so hold nice and close the ones who get to your soul,
so that when it is cold, you wont feel so alone
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#23
When Weejay used the term "blend," the concept clicked in Towhee's mind. "Ohhh," she said, nodding her head slowly, "you mean like camouflage. Yeah, that would be great for ambushing." It was kind of like adapting a hunting tactic for battle, since wolves often depended on concealment and the element of surprise to capture prey. "Man, before today, I would not have thought that flowers and fighting could mesh so well," she mused with a twitch of her lips.

"If you'd still rather not do sparring practice right now, I'm willing to let you off the hook if you agree to pursue research of both the topics we've discussed today," the Regent declared after a momentary pause, suddenly aware of how long they had been standing here gabbing. "You said you were headed toward the borders. I can walk there with you," Towhee proposed. Maybe she should toss in an extra patrol, since she would be there anyway.

Wanna wrap here and have a followup sometime? :)
-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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#24
yes please! this was a fun thread <3

"Yeah, like camouflage!" Weej chirped, her tail waving behind her. Thinking of fighting made her a bit nervous (there was the Eljay coming through in her) but thinking of being well-blended in eased her nerves a little. If she was harder to spot, she had the element of surprise.. and that was important in fighting.

Weejay's throat bobbed as Towhee brought the topic back to sparring, but she put on a brave face anyway. Talking to Towhee had made some of it seem not so bad.. but what if someone got hurt? She took in a deep breath and said: "Maybeyoucangivemepointersaboutpatrollingtheborders?" All without any space of pausing, because even going to the borders with the intention of fighting seemed a bit dangerous..

Naturally, Towhee was the best of the Firebirds to patrol with, and Weejay followed after her dutifully, ready to learn anything and everything Towhee imparted about border patrols.
so hold nice and close the ones who get to your soul,
so that when it is cold, you wont feel so alone