Heron Lake Plateau Give the girl a gold star

She was so lost in her thoughts for a moment that Towhee missed much of Niamh's history lesson, which was a pity since it genuinely interested the young historian. Fortunately, she came back to a focus in time to catch her friend's response to her own question. It surprised her. Towhee realized she had already assumed as much and hadn't expected Niamh to answer in the negative.

Doesn't really make a difference, she thought to herself, it's just a name. It's still a worthwhile idea. But are you sure...? Towhee cut off her own inner voice to say, "Or maybe you two should come up with your own surname, since that seems like the familial trend. Did you say fifty pups, by the way?" Towhee said, motioning the sign for "fifty" for emphasis, eyes flown wide in faux shock before she jokingly added, "I mean... that's all?"