Redsand Canyon tactile

@Towhee your other thread was snagged so i hope this is okay!

he found another today. another one of his new packmates, quickly they had started to crop up into his awareness.

this one remained the starkest out of all the ones he had met.

their scent mingled and twisted. the painting of their fur was unlike anything he had seen. they were tall and chiseled like the mountains he had climbed to get here. he needed to know more about them. his brain demanded it.

so he strode towards their field of view with a deep rumble of greeting in his chest.

Aye! :D

Her body complained about all the physical activity lately, though Towhee resisted the fleeting impulse to ask Aquene for some painkillers. She felt more mentally sound than she had in a while and the aches and pains were a not unpleasant reminder of what she’d come to Mereo to accomplish. Besides, it wasn’t like she wouldn’t be able to sleep. She’d been sleeping like the dead and looked forward to another well-earned rest as she padded toward the soldiers’ quarters.

Someone materialized from the twilight shadows and moved toward her. Towhee paused in her step and eyeballed the stranger. He was medium in size with earthy colors to his pelt. The highlights along his shoulders sort of resembled her own. His pale green eyes glowed in the gathering darkness.

You must be Glaukos, Towhee greeted when he came close enough.

glaukos?

he shook his head before he punctuated its end of movement with a — no. plainly as his eyes briefly swept over...them. i am maxim. he informed the orange streaked stranger with a briefly flashed grin.

maxim had no clue who glaukos was, but he was not about to be confused for somebody else before this wolf. no no. he was far too intrigued by them to not leave a good impression upon them.

you are?

No, his name was Maxim. Towhee stared sleepily at him. Nobody had mentioned that name to her. Was he new? It seemed a little crazy to come across someone even newer than herself, though she supposed that was a good sign. Maxim here looked hale, like a good potential soldier.

Oh. I’m Towhee Redhawk, one of the Auxillia. I live in Apartment 1A over there, she said, pointing past him to the stone den on the far left. I gotta get off my feet, so come hang out for a few, she invited, casually as you please, stepping past him and heading toward the comfort of Tamar’s gifted bedclothes.

towhee redhawk who very promptly invited him to her apartment. of course, the young man would not pass on this opportunity to get to know the stranger better or garner favor with them.

so he followed with a content wave of his tail.

head turned to eye the other rooms before he returned his face to towhee. mostly. still watching where he stepped.

have you been here very long?

he would seek to settle across from towhee whenever they got comfortable in the apartment.

Oh, bless @Tamar… Towhee thought with a sigh as soon as she plopped her ass down in her humble little billet. She wanted to sprawl, though she remained upright to entertain her guest.

No, actually. I’ve only lived here a few days. When did you show up? she wondered curiously. She sniffed in his direction just to make sure she smelled Germanicus on him. He definitely bore the Imperator’s signature, which was good, because Towhee was pretty worn out and didn’t want to have to yeet him.

oh, they were both new then it seemed. towhee only outranked him by days.

a day, maybe. had it even been that long? it did not matter as it had been made clear to him there would always be something to do, always something that would demand his attention. although towhee would be a someone.

i am intrigued by you. he stated plainly. you are very different from the others i have met. his tail tapped softly agains the thoughtfully tended floor of her apartment.

Her head rocked back a little at his candidness. It didn’t bother her. Actually, it was kind of flattering. Half the Auxillia seemed irked by her existence, so it was nice that a fellow soldier found her intriguing.

How so? she asked, head tilting and ears pricking, as if they would catch his answer rather than her eyes.

i have only met two others who are not germanicus. both women. one was a healer, the other a housekeeper. slowly he slid down into a laying position, happy to make himself further comfortable.

you are not either of these things that these women were — and i think you are a woman too. and your speech! so unique. she spoke of things like apartment 1A and he had never heard such words.

i am charmed.

his tail tapped a few more times.

Considering they’d met all of five minutes ago, Towhee wasn’t expecting anything substantial. When he compared her to two of Mereo’s other women, she blinked expressionlessly. He must mean Aquene and Tamar. His next remark made her eyebrow arch slightly. She didn’t really take offense at his continued frankness, but she wasn’t entirely sure what he meant about her womanhood.

I know I’m not ladylike at all but I’m definitely female, Towhee concurred firmly. And the reason I talk funny is because I’m deaf. That particular observation—that her speech was unique—didn’t bother her in the least. Not many wolves brought it up to her, though Towhee wasn’t shy about her missing sense and its indicators. She didn’t mind an opportunity to educate someone, or introduce them to the wonder of Ptero, especially in the name of accommodation.

definitely female. he took that knowledge and held onto it, along with the fact that she was...deaf! a deaf auxilia, he wondered how such worked but she was healthy and older. undeniably towhee must have been able to hold her own.

oh, he hummed with some mild sense of surprise. now...aware that she would likely only be able to read his emotions, not hear them.

can i do something to make conversations better?

She felt a sudden itch behind her left ear and maneuvered herself on her pallet, bending and lifting a hind leg to scratch at it. Meanwhile, Towhee’s eyes remained fixed on Maxim’s face as he processed her words and then asked a follow-up question.

Pausing with her paw still digging at the soft fur just below her earlobe, Towhee answered, Just keep facing me when you talk and don’t worry about making eye contact. I communicate mostly by reading lips. And there’s Ptero, a sign language I use, but ask me about that another day, when I’m not wiped out, she said with a smile, taking care of the scratch and then readjusting her posture.

In case he thought that was a dismissal, she said, Tell me a bit more about yourself, Maxim. Where are you from? What brought you to Mereo? And if you had to pick only one, would you choose warrior, guardian or tactician?

ptero! she truly was full of words that he had no familiarity with. regardless it seemed he would have to learn that another day.

i come from a bit south, a forest beyond these lands where my family resided. it was my time to disperse — and i would pick a guardian. i have been taught how to defend. i have yet to learn warrior and tactician.

He spoke of dispersing and Towhee wondered about his age. He didn’t look like a yearling, so maybe he was born the same season as Meerkat. It seemed like most of the Auxillia were young enough to be her children. Well, that was fitting, since she was here to be a mentor. In fact, that was the whole point: she was older and had years of leadership and mercenary experience she could use to train up these younger soldiers.

I think Germanicus would like everyone to be as well-rounded as possible, so I’m sure you’ll be training in all three branches. You say you’re most experienced at guardianship, that you’re good at it. Let’s say you were equally skilled—or unskilled—at all three. Which one interests you the most? Is it the same? Guardian?

well rounded was a thing maxim thought he was. how could he not be? he was a strong young man capable of anything he so wished to be. and yet —

guardian, still. i like to defend, i like to protect where i am or who i am with. it is natural for me. a relaxed shrug of his shoulders.

Same here, Towhee said. Guardianship is definitely my pa-pa-passion… shew, excuse me, she added when a great yawn forced her jaws wide open, tired tears springing to her eyes. This place will wear you out, in the best kind of way. I think it’s time to rack out, but I’d love to talk more sometime, Maxim.

he liked her. very much! she was unique and blunt and yet still a mystery at the same time. so when she yawned and offered a dismissal with her tiredness, he took no harm from this.

i think i am next door, he jutted his head towards the next place over. apartment she had called it. stop by whenever you want, towhee. he offered as he unfolded himself, prepared to leave when their goodbyes were done.