Heron Lake Plateau Sitting down is stupid.

As if to demonstrate her father's astute observation, Fen abruptly ate dirt. Towhee stared at her as Phox gathered his feet and nudged the little girl toward their group. Her eyes had always been unusually pale, thought the Beta hadn't thought much of it. But what if Phox was right? What if Fen couldn't see? The thought hit Towhee in the gut like an icy fist.

-Probably,- she signed back distractedly, still peering at Fen, frowning thoughtfully. -If she can't see, she can't see ptero,- Towhee said, aware how redundant that sounded but who cared? She was still trying to process what this might mean. "I hope you're wrong," the Beta said, making a point to speak out loud, "but if you're not, I just hope I'll be able to read her lips in time..." The thought of being unable to properly communicate with her own daughter put a lump in her throat.

Looking sharply to her brother, Towhee said, "You'll have to work hard with her on her enunciation." She paused, swallowed. "And me too. I want her to be able to understand me, so you'll have to help me make sure I'm pronouncing things right. You'll do that for us, right?"