Redhawk Caldera Look, we're all a little weird, we're all a little wacky.

Towhee wasn't the only one who had napped during the last of the daylight hours. Although Elwood felt a little guilty at first, he followed a train of thought similar to his goddaughter's; he would likely be more productive after the sun went down, when it wasn't so hot and fatigue wouldn't catch up to him so quickly. He lifted his chin from his paws, initially woken up when one of the puppies trampled across his tail. As he looked up, there was a quick flash of black near the entrance of the den and he identified Towhee by smell.

With a quick backward glance to make sure that Finley would be okay keeping an eye on the four little monsters herself, Elwood slipped out into the gathering dusk. "Towhee," he called reflexively; then, remembering that she wouldn't hear him, he accelerated to close the gap between them. When he was close enough, he reached out to touch her flank with his nose, then fell into step alongside her.

"Where are you heading?" he asked, finding that he was in a relatively good mood despite the persistent feeling of hunger in the pit of his stomach.