Grouse Thicket started from the bottom

His ears flipped back as she began to enact "Life According to Niamh," and was assailed with some bad acting but also, the painful recollection of being that kid, and having that family, which was all over now. He gave a half-assed smile in return to her accolades regarding his name, and while he could've spared himself the trouble my telling her the truth - that his name was Titmouse - he suddenly wasn't sure he wanted to see that reaction play out before his eyes.

Jeeze, kid, stop thinking about the Caldera already - you're dead to them.

Partriges? He repeated, zeroing in on the conversation in order to shove away the thoughts of his family. He wasn't loud enough to cut through her words though, and soon the conversation had flowed in another direction, one that made him think fast: I've been all over the place. Can't go backwards, y'know? But I got tired of that, and so me'n my best friend decided to stop runnin' around and stay here. Then, as an afterthought, You could stay here too, if you want. I'm sure we can find bigger targets if you did - so you wouldn't go hungry.