Sun Mote Copse The scene is dead.

Maybe she should've been grateful for the distraction keeping her mind off Fen's recent departure and how much she missed her eldest daughter. But Towhee didn't feel that way at all. Mostly, she felt hot and bothered, which in turn disconcerted her terribly. She had never felt this way about anyone. The only time she'd sought out an intimate connection outside of her season was with @Pippin. Even then, she had never felt more than a fond friendship toward him. And during her heats, it was all about lust.

Speaking of which, she couldn't stop thinking about their little tryst gone horribly wrong, not to mention the fallout. Despite all that, the recollection now set her stomach smoldering, stopping Towhee in her step as she roved the borders. She stood there and swallowed, willing her thoughts and feelings to just quit already. This was all as unwelcome as it was unprecedented. Towhee didn't crush on people, especially people like @Arcturus.

But then she thought of when all this weirdness had begun: when she'd seen him interacting with her child during Meerkat's first border patrol last week. Although they looked nothing alike and though Towhee would never acknowledge a father other than @Phox, she couldn't help but note that he might've sired Meerkat. And despite all his strange idiosyncrasies, seeing him with her daughter did things to her.

She shook her head, feeling utterly silly and stupid. Growling under her breath, she forcibly resumed her forward march along the far western edge of the copse.