Broken Antler Fen We don't need to be related to relate.

Maybe because she felt so tender in that moment, Wraen's objective advice stung. She knew her friend wasn't being unsympathetic on purpose, she was only trying to provide the practical feedback Towhee herself had requested. But the Sovereign found it impossible to simply divorce her feelings from the matter or look at anything other than subjectively when she was on this end of an advisory conversation.

She didn't answer Wraen's question directly. Yes, Phox had left her once, a long time ago. But he'd come back and stuck by her side ever since. Towhee could only croak, "I don't want to do any of this without him." And that was the crux of the matter. She could and she would, for her own sake as well as her pups' and the rest of the pack's. But she would be heartbroken all the same.

It was tempting to stop, flop to the ground and weep. Instead, Towhee tried very hard to do what Wraen was doing, plus take it a step further. "I have Reyes, Rue, Fen, Meerkat... even Bronco's back," Towhee said, shooting Wraen a sideways glance as she mentioned his name. "And there's this new recruit, Sifaka." Lenny had disappeared, despite her faith in him. Towhee couldn't afford to dwell on that right now. "They're all great. And any one of them might make good Regents..."