Heron Lake Plateau Just a wasted puzzle piece

She was touched- and felt proud, too- when Colt praised her and Towhee. The expectations had been low, especially when they’d already lost the trail once, but thanks to X they’d been able to track Screech down and take care of him. Without him, Screech could have made a getaway. 

”Follow’t X. ‘Racked him to the coas’. Dowhee fought him, tore his throa’, buh both wen’ over the cliff. When I goh there, she and X were on a ledge, ten feet below.” She said. Having misunderstood X’s directions for her to guard Raven, rather than search for Towhee, she’d managed to find them in time. She’d learned from Towhee, on the way back, that she’d actually disobeyed an order- but it had worked out for the best in the end that she had. 

”Hah to dig up an alder tree, use that to pull them up.” She said, pulling back from his gentle grooming for a moment to show him the gap where her upper left canine had been pulled clean out. ”Loss my tooth. ‘Ah’s why my mou’h hurts.” She said, and mused on that fact for a moment. ”Hope I don’ soun’ this funny forever. ‘En both Dowhee an’ I will soun’ garbled.” She said. Towhee was reasonably easy to understand- once you got used to the way she spoke. She, of course, had a very reasonable excuse. All the same, Niamh secretly hoped she’d be able to speak properly once the pain lessened.