Redhawk Caldera owlfeathers

u can throw either of them at this <3

she was staring at snow on the ground, softly gathering. it was still fall and yet she felt winterbound, thinking of ibis. she wondered if she might ever be free of the memory. she wondered if she wanted that.
no. not yet.
ibis, dancing, dancing, until they met in a kiss.
teya shut her eyes, breath rustling through her teeth and dissipating into steam. and then she turned away, looking for @Maia. the moon was round, and it was far more likely that the auspex would be tucked with her mate. still teya was restless, and in her search for the woman, she came across bridget's trail.
thinking of how they had parted last made her hesitate, and as she grew still , silent, the snow started its fall once more.

This CHOICE!! omg! I rolled for it - so you get a bridget <3

Maia was indeed likely tucked away, but Bridget didn't tend to sleep in one place. She had no reason to commit to a single den outside of storing her various supplies, and as long as she had no patient, she preferred to sleep outside. Until the weather grew colder she'd sleep wherever was convenient.

Tonight she couldn't sleep, so she'd made her way to the river for a drink. She was on her way back to the tree she'd chosen when she spotted Teya.

Hey. Her smile and greeting were both easy and warm, but she couldn't help remembering her conversation with Sorana. Had Teya spoken with her yet? A lot of it didn't feel right to share, coming from her, and she was hesitant to bring it up directly. She considered it, and how she might do so, while she waited for Teya to answer. It might be she wasn't in the mood to talk tonight anyway.

:D <3

"hey." her shoulders released the tension she had been holding. "i talk with sorana." it felt like the right thing to say; they were both aware of bronco and both of them loved the girl. she bit her lip and sank down with a sigh in the icy air.
her ears twitched but she said nothing more for now. "how have you been, bridget?" she asked, turning more to face the cardinal.
for now, she wanted to speak of something, anything else. and her smile was warmer. steadier. she wanted bridget to feel safe.

Oh? I'm glad. Bridget was relieved to hear it, though she kept her response lightly conversational. She was immensely curious about how it went but Teya didn't offer any details. Hopefully Sorana had gotten the chance to ask her questions and hopefully Teya had managed to set her fears to rest. Time would probably tell!

I've been great. Not much to report, honestly! She could mention Neon but didn't feel it was worthwhile unless they happened to run into one another again. Otherwise it was simply a chance encounter that would stay that way - not particularly worth the trouble.

I did have a nice chat with Bronco the other day. She added, intentionally leading with her tone.

teya was unsure what to say about sorana. about their relation to one another and the changed topic of reyes. and the charged topic of bronco, which raised its head in the next breath and offered her a reason to distract herself.
"oh?" she said, lips curving into an amused smile. an arch of her brow invited bridget to say more, even while her neck began to heat with embarassment.
and the abiding prickle of guilt.

As the best friend, I had to tell him I had my eye on him, of course. She kept the tone light, but let it shift more towards sincerity as she finished. He seems pretty great. She got it. Well... mostly got it. She did run with an entirely different set of preferences.

Any jealousy she felt now was an entirely different sort, and thank god, a way easier variety to hide. She couldn't understand how Teya did it. How the fuck did anyone just... fall for someone that easily?

And leave someone else behind?

Absolutely not a question she could ask, but she'd crack it one of these days if she could. Especially now that she actually liked Bronco. Kind of hard to wish a guy 'not well' when he was that damn nice.

Was he what you talked with Sorana about? It was a bit of a side entrance into the initial conversation, but she couldn't help it.

teya's lips twisted wryly. "lucky bronco."
her daughter filled her mind.
"yeah. a little. actually, a lot." she let out her breath a little bit. "she says bronco upgrade, not replacement. and i going to replace her, and what if bronco chase her away, i —"
teya shut her eyes.
"lot of times i not know what to say to sorana, bridget. but i glad she have you."

Bridget’s look shifted to concern as Teya shared that her conversation with Sorana had gone about as well as Bridget’s own. That clarified things a bit for her, actually. Apparently words weren’t what the girl needed to rebuild her trust.

You’re doing an amazing job, she said, meaning it as more than just a reassurance. Teya had been given a rough situation and was navigating it as well as anyone could - even better, in some ways! But maybe Bridget did have a little advice that could help, something she could give now without betraying her own conversation with Sorana. That wasn’t something she ever wanted to do.

She’s probably just scared. I don’t think she really thinks you would do that, but I bet she is afraid you don’t want to spend time with her. That might be the best thing you can do. Just make sure you and her have a little time by yourselves, no Bronco, no anyone else. That way she can talk to you, and she’ll realize you and her can have fun and be happy together. With or without her dad. Sorana thought she was nothing but a burden to Teya, and as long as she felt that way, she was going to try and pull away.

I think space is the last thing she needs. The last thing any kid needs, really, unless they actually ask for it. Sorana had her, and always would. But Bridget knew this wasn’t something she could fix entirely from her end. Maybe some regular mother-daughter time would help Sorana realize her relationship with her mom might change, but that that was okay.

she heard what bridget said, but she was not sure she believed it. still teya found herself hanging onto the cardinal's words, trying to force them into some semblance of naturalness in her mind.
she nodded at bridget's advice. she and sorana needed time. time alone. time together. time to mend the spaces where reyes had once existed. it would not be like he disappeared. it would only be acceptance that he was not there. and that if he did come back, it wouldn't be the same.
tears welled in her eyes; she drew a breath and fought them back. "it so hard on her. all of it. i wish — i wish i could hold it for her, you know." her voice was thick with emotion. "unfair to sorana."

As Teya began to get emotional, Bridget took a step forward and touched her muzzle, reassuringly, to the side of her face. It wasn’t a stupid thing to want.

It isn’t wrong, that this is the kind of thing that makes us stronger. Pain, disappointment, loss. What’s wrong is thinking we have to get through it alone. I promise, it would be worse if she never felt anything. Sorana knows how to love better than about anyone, and that’s why her heart breaks so much. It’s a gift, that kind of love. One Bridget both knew and didn’t.

It’ll get easier. And it would, for both of them. It was just going to take time.

Pain faded, in time. Acceptance would come, Sorana would adapt, and together they would come through it stronger. Bridget trusted Sorana with this because she knew the girl was braver than she appeared, and when you loved like that, closing yourself off from the world seemed impossible. As long as she could, her aunt would never let that happen.

bridget's touch was welcome, and it also transported teya to that first year. and she did not think she would ever forget it. and she did not think that, in some small way, she would never forgive herself.
she had been so wild with her emotions.
and then reyes. and then —
but this was about sorana. she continued to listen, to absorb. she nodded shakily and cleared her throat. "i believe you. thank you, bridget." and she meant it, vitally, with all of her. the cardinal had become such an integral part of sorana's life.
she only hoped that more children would not drive bridget away from she, herself. but that too, was selfish.

Bridget only stayed a moment before she pulled back, overly aware of lingering. Her words seemed to help and she was grateful for it. She took another moment to pause, then smiled easily, her tone lightening.

It’s been a while since we did something. Want to show me a little more about these stars? She lifted her muzzle, steam coming with her breath.

fade? <3

teya smiled, hopeful and sudden and brilliantly. "yeah. i show."
and she would take the cardinal to where a boulder stood atop a low ridge, and point out the north star, surrounded by a nimbus of silver while winter blazed coldly all around them.