Sun Mote Copse Magicicada septendecula.

Uncanny valley, Towhee thought as she gazed down at Skipjack, who looked right back at her. Perhaps it was a mean thing to think of her own grandson—and she wouldn’t dare say it aloud—but the way his big blue eyes didn’t actually focus on her face was pretty creepy sometimes.

-“Quit it,”- she said, albeit with affection, reaching out her right forepaw to nudge the boy’s cheek.

“Quit!” Skipjack retorted, swiping at her paw.

-“Anyway,”- Towhee said, trying to ignore his dead stare, -“this is Narwhal’s Respite. And I don’t know why I’m signing…”- she suddenly realized, forelimbs dropping limply.

“QUIT, GAMMA!” the boy shouted, the words unmistakable on his little lips.

Towhee burst into a loud laughing, saying, Apropos. Want to get your feet wet, you turd?

Of course he did. She nudged him in the direction of the nearby stream, keeping a careful eye on Skipjack as he splashed in the shallows. Towhee remained on the bank, partly shaded by a pretty Pacific dogwood.

Otter had experienced instant regret when she'd declined Towhee's invitation to Narwhal's Respite. Once they'd vanished out of sight, she'd been painted a particular shade of green and had thrown herself the world's smallest pity party in The Taigh. When that was done, she went to Meerkat and practically begged to join Towhee and Skipjack. Although it took a little coaxing, eventually, she was allowed to go.

GAMMA! SKIPPY! Otter cheered once they were in sight. She broke into a run then, aiming to latch onto one of Towhee's forelegs with a massive bear hug.

If Skipjack’s blank eyes spooked her, they had nothing on the jump scare that Otter gave her. Towhee nearly leaped out of her skin when she felt something wrap around her foreleg unexpectedly. She almost kicked Otter away out of pure reflex, though she managed to restrain herself as the child clung tighter and tighter.

Towhee needed a moment to breathe and let her heart rate decelerate. In the meantime, Skipjack exited the water and made a beeline toward his sister. He missed slightly and bumped into Towhee’s other leg. She nudged him closer to Otter, then gently shook her granddaughter loose.

-“You know how Skipjack can’t see?”- she said, looking primarily at Otter. -“Well, I can’t hear. I don’t like it when people sneak up on me. I’m not angry but please don’t do that again,”- Towhee said, then took a breath and added, -“Why don’t you two use the buddy system? Do you know what that is?”-

“NO! TEY ME, GAMMA!” came Skipjack’s immediate reply.

Otter turned as Skipjack approached, nudging his cheek as Towhee moved him closer. She was unaware that anything abnormal had happened and acted accordingly, paying most of her attention to her brother. Only when their grandmother shook her off and began to speak did she realize what she had done—she felt awful.

But, before she could apologize, a question was asked, and she quickly shook her head. No, Gamma, she replied, much softer and quieter than her brother had. Peas tell?

She couldn’t hear either child’s voice, naturally, but she could tell that Skipjack was shouting. Towhee wondered if that was in response to what she’d just said or if he simply had a faulty volume dial. She thought back on other exchanges—including the one mere moments ago—and decided he was just a loudmouth.

-“You don’t have to yell,”- she said anyway. -“I can’t hear you, no matter how loud you shout. And you know what else? I can only tell what you’re saying when you look at me. I read your lips with my eyes. Now isn’t that a neat trick?”-

“NEAT TICK!” Skipjack agreed, still hollering.

It occurred to her that her grandson might not be able to grasp something lile lipreading yet, if ever, though hopefully both he and his sister would absorb the message: “look at grandma when you speak to her.” Towhee knew it would take practice, just like everything else in the pups’ lives.

-“Anyhow, back to the buddy system: what it means is that you should never, ever swim by yourself. You always take a buddy with you. Even if you just want to dip your feet in the water, you never go alone. Water can be fun but it can also be dangerous. We can’t breathe in it. We always have to be careful, which is why we always take someone with us. Got it?”-

“GOT BUDDY SISSY!” was Skip’s retort, shoving his nose against Otter’s cheek.

There was an exchange between Skipjack and Towhee that Otter didn't pay much mind to. She listened, not fully grasping that their grandmother couldn't hear and shouting was useless. Still, she bobbled her head in response.

When the conversation did include her, she continued to listen. She had a much better time understanding the buddy system. Her eyes brightened with understanding, and she nodded excitedly as she looked to her brother. YES! she hollered, matching his volume. SKIPPY BUDDEE! Skipjack was many things to her, and now he had a new title: buddy.

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.