Heron Lake Plateau the burning bed

Clearly, the siblings had different opinions on how to handle Camilla’s social ineptitude. Phox wanted to heal her bit by bit, but it seemed Towhee did not even begin to understand. He should have known better, but he did his best to keep his calm and explain as best as he could. I don’t know exactly what happened, but clearly she’s been through some shit, again, he glanced back to Camilla. He gave her what he hoped was a comforting smile before turning back to Towhee so she could read his lips. Towhee had given him a second chance, so he had thought it important to pass on that generosity.

I was hoping to introduce you two at some point, but fuck. Phox didn’t often curse, but he was frustrated and felt put on the spot. Maybe he should have just stayed out of it. Then again, if he had, Towhee probably would have torn him a new one for going off and grabbing a wife from the wilds. Not that he had done that, of course. We’re not involved. She’s just a friend, and she clearly needs some rehabilitation, but I couldn’t just leave her out there on her own. She would have died. If she hadn’t been captured by her stalker, she would have frozen to death, too afraid to move from that spot where he’d found her.

She just needs time, he reiterated, then moved toward Camilla to soothe her with a lick on her cheek. If this put space between Towhee and himself, he wasn’t sure what he would do. He had promised to protect her, to keep her safe, and he could not do that if Towhee kicked her off the plateau. Phox felt like he had put himself between a rock and a hard place, but he didn’t want to have to choose between the two of them. It wouldn’t come to that, would it? He hoped that would not be the case, but he could see Towhee spitting an ultimatum at him right here and now, forcing him to make a choice he did not want to.