Golden Glade robotic vacuums are obnoxious

@Niamh, just after she howls for folks in the other thread!

Hey, he said, once he'd finally managed to catch up with her (not an easy feat. I was planning on staying here, but I think it makes more sense to get the other two kids back home with the rest of the group if you're going to be staying nearby. He hadn't slept much since Alyx had gone missing, and he knew that Niamh hadn't either. He had been through this before, with Fennec and the earthquakes. Phox had to believe that Alyx would be found and everything would be alright. If he didn't, he'd go right back into his depressive self, and that did no good for anybody.

Maybe we can swap places after another couple of days. I know you need sleep, and I want to help.

It came as a surprise to Niamh when she heard someone hurrying to catch up with her- and her ire wasn't exactly mellowed any when she saw the form of her mate hurrying to hunt her down. Her tail flicked, the way a cat's will when it sits on a window ledge, watching birds flutter by; a show of how irked she was, and that she wasn't willing to waste much time with a conversation even if it was with her mate. Given the fact the pack had mostly been stuck together in the Glade, without borders to patrol, per say, she'd held her tongue thus far and hadn't really reamed any of the Firebirds, in particular, out over Alyx's disappearance. But it was a screech-fest that was bound to happen one day or another. 

He informed her that he intended to take Quetzal and Primrose and head for the Copse- and she nodded. She did everything in her power to keep herself from snapping at him; she thought she'd made herself clear enough when she'd howled. She also wanted to question where the fuck the kids were, and who was watching them- and were they actually watching them this time...Because the last time her children had been left in the care of other packmates, one of them had gone missing. She fumed silently as he attempted to empathize with her, but it had the opposite effect. Yes, she was exhausted- she'd made the trip from the Copse to the Glade- and then back to the Copse, and then back to the Glade again with everyone in tow- and was now searching daily for her lost daughter. And she was well aware of how exhausted she was without someone telling her as much. Unimpressed, she seethed. 

"Fine. Go."

It wasn’t difficult to see that Niamh was on edge (to put it lightly). Phox winced as soon as he saw her face, and he was reminded of how she had been when they’d fought before. Had he really signed up for a life of this unearned vitriol? Seemed like it.

Would you rather go with the kids, and I’ll keep looking here? he asked. He knew there was a good chance this would only make her more angry, but how much more angry could she really get? And wasn’t it better for the anger to be directed toward him instead of anybody else? Niamh had led, and Phox believed he was responsible for Alyx’s disappearance. Maybe she did the smart thing and stayed where she was once she realized she’d lost us. Phox didn’t know if she had, but hope was the only thing that was going to get him through this.

When Phox suggested that they switch roles, and she accompany the kids back to the Copse, her lips twitched. If she hadn't learned to restrain herself over the years, she would've snarled at him. She kept her fangs concealed, but the sharpness of her gaze was no less keen than her canines would've been been. "No. I'll go." I'm faster, she thought to herself, but chose to refrain from voicing that aside aloud. She also wanted to tack on just make sure you don't lose the other two but again, avoided seeming too trite by keeping her mouth shut. 

However, that was about as much restraint as Niamh had. So when he spoke about Alyx staying where she'd been lost, the words slithered from her lips without a moment of reflection to keep them tucked away where they could continue to simmer with the rest of her sour feelings. "That'd be helpful if someone had actually noticed when and where Alyx went missing."

When it had come to Nellie, Phox had deferred to Niamh. But this wasn’t fair. When she so heavily implied that he was at fault, and even though he blamed himself, Phox found his backbone. Don’t do this, Niamh. Nobody could see anything in that fog, and you know it. She had been there. Phox had not once laid the blame on anybody because that wasn’t right. Nobody deserved to feel that dreadful feeling that lingered with him even now.

I’ll take the kids back to the copse. When you’re ready, we switch roles. He was doing everything he could to let her control the situation. That’s what she wanted, right?

He didn’t wait for a reply. Phox turned and began to walk away. Tensions and emotions were already turnt up to eleven, and he couldn’t bear handling a rift with Niamh at the same time. Too much. Too much, he thought as he headed back toward the kids.

Niamh was not prepared to have any sort of rebuttal or excuses, so when he tried to defend himself, she threw her head back and grimaced, as though to pay more attention to her racing thoughts than what he offered as a perfectly reasonable defense. "No, Phox. I couldn't see anything- I was leading us through that fog to the glade, which I somehow managed to do. All you and every-fucking-one else in the pack had to do was follow the ass of the wolf in front of you." 

He didn't stick around, though, and she huffed. She paced, anxiously, watching him as he continued to walk away, but like a child picking at a scab, she simply couldn't let it be. "Just make sure you get them both back to the Copse," She shouted after him, pausing in the circuit she was making to watch and see if he even deigned it worth a response.

She came at him (indirectly) again, but Phox buried it. He could deal with it later. Neither of them were in the right headspace to be having this conversation. Once Alyx was found, it wouldn’t matter anyway, and he truly believed she would be found. He had to believe it. His tail flicked as he gritted his teeth and caught back up with the kids, Eljay, and Weejay.