Cedar Sweep We opened a door (we shouldn't have).

-"You're not wrong, kid,"- Towhee replied when he threw the word "dingus" back at her. She took a deep breath and tried to quiet her mind and steady her emotions. Even as she was doing so, she saw the way Bronco wilted. She didn't catch what he said (or that he'd spoken at all), though she recognized the moment when he agreed to take her to Niamh and began to plod in the direction of the copse.

She frowned, thoughts shifting from the Blackfeathers and all the angst they were sowing to whatever was suddenly weighing on those young shoulders. Towhee wondered if it had to do with her near slip and her frown deepened. It had been an entirely honest mistake and she'd tried to catch herself, though she still felt like a dick.

-"Hey,"- she said, reaching out to gently poke him, -"you can call me all the names you want, if it makes you feel better. I can even teach you the signs for them."-