Moonspear Atari's lantern.

She shook her head at Hydra's question, smiling at the recollection even as she slung an arm around her child and drew her close, just barely resisting the urge to give her an affectionate noogie. Towhee saved the verbal explanation for when her friend finished, her orange eyes remaining riveted on Hydra's lips in the meantime. She didn't glance down when Meerkat squealed and squirmed, though she did release her hold, only for the youngster to drape herself against her mother's foreleg anyway. Towhee smiled gently, arm draping loosely over her small shoulder blades.

Indeed, the visual of a crying Hydra was utterly absurd. -"I just assume by 'crying,' you mean lots of howling and tears of blood,"- Towhee quipped. -"There were signs, which I realized only in hindsight. I thought you were bad gas,"- she said down to the top of Meerkat's fuzzy head, earning a pbbbt she saw but didn't hear. Towhee laughed. -"There were no others, so I didn't gain weight or notice any changes in appetite. I didn't having cravings or feel sick. There was that sense of bubbling, near the end, but I was convinced I would never get to experience it... and didn't really know I had until it was over."-

Of course, pregnancy was just the first chapter, birth a brief footnote. She would get to live out the rest of the story with Meerkat. And now Towhee knew she could have children, so perhaps there would be others in the future. That idea was so monumental to her, she didn't dare think on it right now. Everything would be so different next year. She could hardly wait, though a big part of just wanted to set that whole train of thought aside for now and just focus on bringing up her little miracle.

Speaking of which, she felt more than saw her daughter yawn, then shiver. The trip was so exciting for her, Towhee knew, and she'd lost sleep over it. And then the journey had taken a lot out of her. She was still so young, after all. They ought to head home. She hated to cut it so short, though she knew Hydra more than understood. It had been awesome to catch up, if only briefly, and introduce her offspring to her sister-in-arms. And just as Hydra had already mentioned, they could arrange future rendezvous as their children grew. (Little did she know...)

-"We should get back to the copse. Sorry we can't stay longer. But we'll meet again, won't we?"- She nuzzled Meerkat's head even as she directed the words at Hydra.

-"Can we come back tomorrow?"- Meerkat queried, glancing between both women.

-"Sure,"- Towhee replied with a laugh, meeting Hydra's gaze with a measurement of amusement, knowing Meerkat couldn't really conceptualize time at her age, -"we'll come back 'tomorrow.'"-