Ouroboros Spine I move my feet but I feel no beat.

She arrived home in the middle of the night, tiptoeing into the village as quietly as she could (she hoped). Towhee drifted around the spine's inshore like a ghost, feeling a lot like a restless spirit. The scent of estrus lingering in the air certainly didn't help. Her stomach tightened and she roamed past the interior lake and vanished into the coppice to catch a few hours of sleep.

Towhee emerged at sunrise, approaching the water's edge. Steam hovered over the lake, catching the early rays. She yawned, then took a drink. She made loose plans to find breakfast, then begin a patrol. Perhaps her services as the resident kisisak might be needed.

Maybe Lótë or @Wilwarin?

Wilwarin had woken before her siblings, before her restless mother even. It was not often this happened, leaving her feeling at a loss with what to do with herself. Slipping from the ulaq, the smallest of the Nuiruk children blinked against the hue of blush creeping along the horizon -- casting a honeyed gaze around the slumbering village as she padded silently between the dens. 

Her aimless wandering led her into the lower reaches of the territory, kicking lightly at the stones that pebbled the shores of the lake. She did not think to worry whether she might startle anything away, hunting still being a new activity to the youth. 

Her ears perked up curiously, surprised to realize another was out and about, when she spotted Towhee's inky silhouette in the distance. Picking up her pace, Wilwarin trotted up to the woman -- never even thinking that the adult might not want company, accustomed as she was to being communally reared by the efforts of the pack. 

No sound escaped the girl as she sidled up to the dark she-wolf, grinning silently as she mouthed, 'Whatcha doin?'

Despite her growing to-do list, Towhee lingered. She couldn't shake a feeling of spiritual malaise and she wondered if she should do some "yogurt." Before she could make up her mind, a figure appeared elsewhere along the lake shore. Her thoughts scattered as she watched the svelte youngster spot her, then make her way in Towhee's direction. As much as she liked acquainting herself with Moonglow's members, particularly its youth, she felt something tighten in her chest.

She ignored the feeling as the girl came close enough for her to read her lips. -"Not a whole lot,"- was her answer, orange eyes roving over the young stranger. She was very sylphlike, with yellow eyes, a pale coat and a distinct cape. -"Who are you? I'm Towhee Redhawk."-

To another, it might've not have been an answer with many possibilities. To Wil, it was the perfect opportunity to make a new friend. 'When you do start doing something, can I come?' her tail of fluffy ivory gave a few quick wags of excitement. 

'I'm Wilwarin Nuiruk. I greet you,' the girl nodded as she mouthed it, matter of factly -- feeling rather cool, sitting and chatting with an adult. Exchanging pleasantries and small talk like Amil and Anaa did. 

Her honeyed gaze followed the movements Towhee made as she spoke, head cocking curiously. What's that? The pup gestured to the woman's paws with her muzzle, making a little bobbing motion as if to indicate her moving them. Wilwarin thought perhaps it was a dance of some kind. 

This perfect stranger of a kid wanted to come with her, whenever she decided to do something. Towhee couldn’t say why this weighed so heavily on her today. Her children were grown, out there doing their own things. That was the mark of successful parenting, wasn’t it? Just look at Meerkat! But right now, Towhee just missed being close to her children. Hell, she missed her whole family. The wolves here were unprecedentedly kind, but they weren’t family.

Of course, she didn’t want to take it out on Wilwarin here. She managed a tired smile that didn’t reach her eyes and said, -“I was just thinking about sitting here and enjoying the peace and quiet for a while.”- So much for breakfasting and patrolling. She’d lost her interest in both. “If that’s not too boring for you, I wouldn’t mind the company. And it’s a sign language called Ptero. I could teach you.”-

sorry for the wait!

Wilwarin didn't quite understand that Towhee was saddened by her presence nor would she have comprehended why on her own, but she was not entirely immune to the woman's feelings. Her brow rippled with a tic borne of concern, rumpling worriedly over her gilded gaze. 'That's okay. I can be quiet.' The butterfly grinned widely at her own inside joke, not realizing just yet that the Redhawk was deaf and didn't know she was mute. 

The young girl shuffled matter-of-factly, settling herself on thin haunches of white by the older she-wolf's side. For a moment, her eyes wandered over the lake and the distant trees ringing the opposite shore. Peace and quiet wasn't so bad. Maybe this was why adults seemed to like it so much. 

Towhee captured her attention again, however, when she spoke of Ptero. The pup cocked her head, never having heard of it in her young life. 'Oh, yes,' Wilwarin agreed readily anyways, tail picking up a fierce wag at the thought. 'I would like that. The others don't always know what I'm saying,' she revealed. 

There’s no need to apologize! Post at whatever pace suits you. :)

Wilwarin assured Towhee that she could be quiet, a comment which earned a wry twitch of the adult’s lips. The youngster sat sedately beside her and Towhee looked at her a moment before peering out over the lake again. If she squinted, she could pretend it was the caldera, although she resisted the urge. It would only weigh on her already heavy spirits.

When the young one took her up on her offer of a Ptero lesson, she made a remark that earned a blink from the Redhawk. -“How come?”- she queried with a slight head tilt.

Wilwarin lifted a paw and tapped it against the pallid swathe of her throat -- somewhat clumsily. Without a proper wrist to bend, the movement was more awkward than she'd have liked. 'No sound.' she mouthed with a tiny smile and a shrug, as if to say Oh well, what can you do?

'My Amil says I was born without making any sound, that I just never have.' she explained as her limb dropped back to the earth, honeyed gaze lowering somewhat subconsciously. 'I can hear so I know my words. Just can't talk.'

'It gets confusing for the others sometimes. They think I'm saying something else sometimes.' 

One of Towhee’s ears pinned sideways. It was difficult to conceptualize Wilwarin’s issue, since nobody made sounds in Towhee’s world. There was no way for her to tell the difference. She did understand what it was like to run into communication problems, though. For that, the girl definitely had her empathy.

-“Well, Ptero can be useful, though it requires that the other wolf you’re trying to communicate knows it too,”- Towhee cautioned. -“For what it’s worth, I’ll probably never get confused or misunderstand you. I’m an expert lipreader.”- Maybe just knowing there was someone around who could interpret her so easily would mean something to young Wilwarin.

Although she still felt lackluster about everything, Towhee supposed she really ought to pay attention to her duties. -“Let’s have a little lesson, just a few simple signs to get you started. Then we’ll meet again sometime for more, once you’ve mastered them. Sound like a plan? I can spare about half an hour, then duty calls.”-

Wilwarin grinned, tail thumping lightly against the ground -- reassured that Towhee at least could understand where she was coming from. 

'Yes, please,' she mouthed eagerly as she shifted to face the ebony songbird, giving her mentor undivided attention. 'I would like that.'

'Thank you, Towhee,' her ears fluttered shyly, as if remembering her courtesies at that moment. 

She spent the better part of an hour introducing Wilwarin to each of the letters, then a handful of basic signs. Many of them were rather intuitive; wolves often gestured when speaking, even when they didn’t know the first thing about Ptero. In time, she could introduce the youth to more words, then phrases and sentences. She would learn best through exposure, so Towhee would make certain to sign whenever she spoke around her.

-“I'll find you sometime to continue the lessons,”- she said in conclusion. Having already taken more time than she'd intended, she offered Wilwarin a smile that didn’t quite reach her orange eyes. -“Duty calls,- she said by way of reminder. -“Talk to you later, Wilwarin,”- Towhee offered before turning and departing.