Redhawk Caldera I wanna take you into the sunlight.

Towhee apologized for her delivery, which was unnecessary. Rue was pretty much used to that kind of straightforward abruptness from Towhee. 

Towhee went on to describe a situation that seemed incredibly difficult. What was unspoken was the fact that in the midst of all this trouble in the leadership ranks, the Caldera seemed to be struggling to hold onto their member base. Rue had seen this happen before. In Blacktail Deer Plateau, when all of the love-triangle nonsense had been brewing between Liri, Kavik, and Grezig, their members seemed to sense the trouble and began disappearing, one by one. Eventually, they didn't have a large enough member base to keep the coyotes from overrunning Blacktail Deer Plateau. It seemed clear to Rue that the drama in the leadership ranks had led to the ultimate downfall of the pack. She hoped that history wouldn't repeat itself in in the Caldera. 

Rue simply nodded after the explanation. She certainly had questions, but they were not here to discuss those events. After a breath, Towhee turned the conversation back to the pups and their needs. 

"Okay. I'll do it." Rue agreed quietly. She would have agreed to just about anything, if it would banish that thread of desperation in her friend's request. The Sovereign was usually so confident, and it hurt Rue's heart to see her taken down a peg. "I just sleep where I drop lately--" Or not at all. "--But we'll find a place. Maybe south of the forest, near the creek?" Rue injected her voice with a more upbeat tone than usual, trying to make up for the confidence that Towhee seemed to have misplaced. 

Even though she hadn't intended it that way, it felt a bit like Towhee was dangling the official parent title in front of Rue like a carrot-- perhaps out of anxiety or even desperation. The reminder that Rue would not have her own litter this season was a painful squeeze on her heart. If Towhee needed her help, all she had to do was ask. No incentives were necessary. Rue would step into whatever role Towhee needed her to fill, for however long Towhee needed her to fill it-- not because she would get something for herself out of it, but because that was what loyalty and friendship meant to Rue. If Towhee needed her to be daddy right now, then she would be daddy. Later, if Phox or a new lover stepped up to assume the role, or if the baby daddy himself reemerged, and Towhee needed Rue to stand aside.. she would do that too.