Redsand Canyon field

he stood on the cusp of mereo. he gazed long at where he imagined akashingo should be. the feelings and words of @Towhee still loomed in his mind. that the tour was asinine now that mereo flourished so much.

briefly he turned his gaze towards the vale instead. tamar had been interested in having his family visit. and, of course, there was still the vacation with towhee's family they had talked about.

two, entering three, seasons of time spent in mereo. not once had he truly considered things beyond the canyon walls. too focused on building his skills here.

now he wished to see beyond, but not by himself. with his family. to make sure the children never felt mereo was the only place, to make sure towhee was not always bogged with tasks of her rank.

he snorted and rolled a red stone under his paw.

Goddamnit, Towhee’s voice echoed off the nearby canyon walls.

She plucked her forepaw off the dusty ground and inspected her broken toenail, then promptly inserted it into her mouth to suck on it. It stung pretty badly and she winced at the metallic taste of her own blood. She withdrew it, studying the split nail and deliberating what to do about it.

Her eyes shifted upward for no reason at all except that when she was patrolling the borders, Towhee just sort of naturally scanned her surroundings every so often. She noticed Maxim off a ways, staring off into the distance, and unknowingly echoed his snort.

Hey, hot stuff, Towhee catcalled, come over here and suck my toe!

he spun all at once, the declaration could only be from one wolf. he knew this by now. especially knew the sound of her voice by now.

he cut a quick path towards her, moving into a jog until he was close enough for her to read his lips. he supposed he could have signed but...was already here.

suck it? slightly bewildered. what did you do? snake bite?

He dutifully made his way over to Towhee, who smirked at the bewildered look on his face for a moment before his words wiped the amused expression right off her face. She sucked in a sharp breath, then exhaled as she shook her head.

Been there, done that, never doing it again, she said to him. No, I just split the nail. Hurts like a bitch, Towhee added, holding it up so he could see. Well? Gonna kiss my boo-boo or what?

he sighed, with a roll of his eyes, but the smile on his face betrayed all. well, come here. despite that he was already moving in.

then he decided to go the extra mile.

and be gross.

if she didn't stop him, he'd seek to put her whole paw in his mouth.

He beckoned her, yet Towhee didn’t move, making him come to her instead. When he came within reach, she held out her paw expectantly. She did not expect him to devour it, enveloping her whole foot in wet heat.

Towhee couldn’t possibly remember her aversion as a newborn, though all these years later, Maxim’s tongue on her digits triggered it. Grimacing, she yanked her foot out of his mouth, pulling faces even as she wiped Maxim’s saliva on his own shoulder.

Okay, that’s a hard pass, she mumbled, letting her foreleg dangle but refusing to set it on the ground, lest dust stick to her grossly damp fur or the split toenail. Sorry if you had, like, a foot fetish or anything… anyway, what were you staring at before?

I read this thread just yesterday for whatever reason and couldn’t resist a good old throwback for #tbt.

whoops! it truly had not been his intent, but he figured she would likely never ask him to "suck her toes" again. boo-boo or not.

i was looking outside of mereo. as candid as could be. i was thinking of what the kids would think of places outside of mereo. it's all they've ever seen.

She couldn’t help it; his words made her tense. Towhee drew in a breath, trying to relax and not overthink the implications. Nearly all of her children dispersed. She wouldn’t say she was used to the idea, nor that she liked it, but she’d accepted it.

That wasn’t what he was saying though, she reminded herself. Maxim probably only meant they should go sightseeing or something. The two of them had discussed it briefly before. Towhee cycled a few more breaths, sorting her thoughts before replying.

I know I mentioned taking the kids on a trip sometime, maybe visiting Meerkat and her family up along the coast. But I don’t know if that plan’s gonna work anymore. I guess that would be pretty far for their first road trip anyway, even if we met them halfway. Maybe we could take them on a little field trip to one of the neutral territories outside of Mereo first…?

a brow arched at her words of the sea visit. that it might not work anymore. his lips drew into a long, thin line of consideration.

and they were supposed to talk of neutral territories nearby but...

is everything okay? with meerkat and her family? he had not met her yet, but he had clearly developed a bond to towhee's family.

Phox went to visit her recently, Towhee explained with a shake of her head, and it turns out her mate left to visit family a while back and never returned. That leaves Meerkat to raise three young children by herself, although I’d hope her pack is a good support system. Phox says she seems depressed. I’d like to visit with her myself but he said she mentioned coming here sometime soon. I want to wait to see if she turns up… either by herself or maybe even with the kids.

Towhee’s lips pursed as she caught Maxim’s eye. It was a bit wild to realize her daughter’s romance had soured while her own had blossomed unexpectedly.

his features soured some, to hear the story. he did not know the heartache of an abandonment, of raising a family by himself.

still he could no longer fathom a life without his family, without towhee.

i take it there was no mention of a scout tracking her husband's taken trail?

perhaps it had been too late to send someone, by the time there had been need to worry. a true horror.

It was a valid question, though Towhee could only shrug. She thought of all the time Meerkat had spent searching for her father and siblings, only to burn out. Towhee personally didn’t believe in going out looking for those who went missing. It just seemed like an utter waste of time and resources, even if she totally understood the desire to search to the ends of the earth.

Ain’t nobody got time for that, she muttered under her breath. This isn’t the first time a man has left her, just ran off, never to be heard from again. Towhee paused, inhaling sharply and catching Maxim’s eye as she added, Stuff like this is why I swore off romance for most of my life. And why I was so weird about it when I told you how I felt about you.

And, truth be be told, Towhee still thought it was only a matter of time. But she didn’t say that. She just planned to enjoy it while it lasted. Maxim’s eventual death or disappearance was a problem for future Towhee. In the meantime, she wouldn’t borrow trouble.

Anyway, maybe we could take Jack and Leo to visit the outpost or something?

his features drooped a bit. hearing everything and putting it all into prospective. he wondered if this was something all women went through. he hardly ever heard men talk like this — but maybe that was just mereo. or just men.

he moved a bit closer, to offer a warmer touch to her. perhaps his gratitude and affection was amplified knowing that despite it all, she had told him how she felt.

i think that would be good for us, for them. he admitted, soft now, even if she couldn't hear his tone.

i may have told tamar that our children would be playmates with hers when hers are old enough.

a sly grin slithered onto his features, hopeful to lighten the mood.

I’d love to start a thread for their field trip, if that’s okay? :)

I’ll allow it, Towhee quipped, reaching out to nip at the tips of his whiskers. It’s a plan, then. I just hope Meerkat and co don’t show up while we’re away…

They could plan over the next few days. In the meantime, she was feeling a bit peckish. And like she needed to get off her feet a bit, give her poor toe a rest. Maybe she would bother Aquene or Fennec for some sort of remedy for the split toenail.

I’m gonna head back to the house, get something to eat. Coming with, or…?

totally!! <3

absolutely. he hummed and beamed, prepared to follow her all the way back to their housing.

a strong chance he would need to go pick up some later patrols to make up for it but...totally worth it.