Heron Lake Plateau Speak of the not devil.

Towhee's feelings about the situation were clear on her face, even if they weren't evident in the tone of her voice. She looked timid, which wasn't a typical expression for her. Although Finley remained stonily quiet next to him, Elwood's heart went out to his goddaughter; it was obvious that the situation had impacted Towhee negatively, as well. It likely wouldn't be an easy fix, but he recognized that it was something they needed to start working on.

So he got out his theoretical toolbox. "I think maybe, if we talk about it, we could be okay," he said encouragingly, looking between Towhee and Finley with brows raised. His gaze then settled on the new Beta. "It all happened really quickly, from what I understand. And there are some things that we don't have any control over--" like Quixote knocking up Raven "--but I think we should talk about why you decided to step down. Maybe if we understand, we can work through it."

He paused, then added, "I know we talked about it before, but it seemed like you wanted to continue as the Alpha. Did something happen to change your mind?" Because it had seemed totally out of the blue, after Elwood and Finley had gone to bat to defend her right to the position.