Sun Mote Copse The end of Troy.

She'd stuck close to @Pippin for the past few days, coupling with him as often as he was willing, and now she could tell her cycle was winding down. Towhee felt safe straying from her friend's side and wandering the copse this morning, no longer driven entirely by her hormones. It was nice being back in control of herself, though as that frantic energy ebbed from her, other feelings rose up to take its place.

She felt strangely desolate as her heat receded. She also felt weary, after the rampant goings-on this past week. Towhee found herself near the far eastern edge of the territory, peering at the huge boulder that had fallen into the river the season before, and sank to her haunches. She shifted her weight to one side to avoid putting too much pressure on her injured hindquarters and eventually flopped onto her side, weight supported by one crooked elbow.

Her thoughts wandered. It was time to face the reality of her own barrenness. Towhee had always felt a little conflicted, though never this intensely. She wondered if raising Fig and Fen had shifted something in her. She still didn't particularly desire a relationship (sorry, Pip) but she adored her kids. She loved being a makeshift mother, though of course she wouldn't wish for a repeat of those tragic circumstances. It was possible this had been her one and only shot at motherhood.

That thought made her chest tighten and her eyes prick. Towhee swallowed compulsively and took some deep breaths, blaming her hormones for the moodiness but well aware that this was profoundly real grief.