Hideaway Strath bang the old hollow rubber ball around.

The glaze in her eyes lifted, her lips parting as she prepared to break the silence at long last. "Have you s—" Then her senses caught up with her mouth, which she clapped shut as she watched her son's emotional outburst. For a solid two heartbeats, she gazed at him dumbly, blinking slowly once or twice.

Her reflections about X had stirred up some of her emotions, which redirected from the hawk to her son. "Fig," she mumbled, "hey..." She rose and hobbled over to him. Towhee stood beside him, wondering if she should stop and soothe him or let him work it out on his own.