Redhawk Caldera smart in an original way

Granted, she hadn't seen Birk up close in a while and he did have white fur (wasn't that a sign of advancing age?) but it really took her by surprise to hear that he was not only a lot older than she'd realized but also declining rapidly. Towhee caught herself feeling sort of bad for him but then remembered that she didn't particularly care for the dude. He was okay—and much less of an outsider these days, compared to the recent influxes—but they certainly weren't close or anything.

-Weird,- she signed, shrugging off the entire thing. She paused. She kind of wanted to press Lagan about his earlier remark. If it wasn't common to die of old age, then what was the usual cause of death? But Towhee suddenly realized she didn't really think she wanted to know. There were puppies on the way and she would much rather focus on life than death, come to think of it.

"Hey," she said, speaking aloud again, "I'm super hungry. I'm gonna find something to eat, then probably go visit your mom, see if she needs anything. Want to come with me?"