Heron Lake Plateau I don't love you; but I always will.

Once the pups were more or less situated, Towhee glanced out of the den's entrance. Her heart skipped a beat, then dropped, when she saw Phox standing over Camilla's corpse. Because she was dead, wasn't she? Towhee had known it the instant she'd come to stand over the she-wolf, though it was only now really processing in her mind.

She felt horrible for her brother's loss, though all Towhee could think was: what about the pups? She had seen the parents feeding them bits of regurgitated meat, had even provided some herself, but were they ready to be weaned? They were still so tiny. Even if they could be transitioned now, would they get sick from being cut off from the nutrients in mother's milk too early?

Towhee gently hugged little Fig and Fen closer, feeling fiercely protective over their little lives. She knew Phox would do anything he could to keep them alive and Towhee would help him in that endeavor. She couldn't possibly replace the pups' mother, though she quietly swore that they would never be wanting for a loving family so long as she was alive.

"Phox?" she called gently after giving him a few moments of silence with his dead wife.