Sun Mote Copse Magicicada septendecula.

She waited for their artless confirmations before adding, -“And one last thing: always take an adult with you when you want to go swimming, even if you have your buddy with you. Adults are bigger and they typically know a bit more about swimming than you squirts.”-

But that was enough—quite possibly too much—lecturing for one day, especially considering their ages. Towhee laughed quietly to herself, then made a shooing motion to indicate they could actually start swimming now. It took a second or two but she did eventually remember to nudge Skipjack.

-“Go ahead, splish splash, take a bath, all that,”- she encouraged, once more moving into the dogwood’s shade to watch the children play.

“LESS GOOOOO!” Skip bellowed into Otter’s ear before turning and zooming toward the shallows.

His angle of attack was pretty indirect—Towhee had to muffle her laughter behind a broad paw—but the little guy managed to hit the water and begin splashing about, lips flapping with gibberish. Sometimes, like now, Towhee supposed she ought to be grateful she couldn’t hear.