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

Looks like you're gonna get my 3,000th!

Although the words were blunt, the touch softened the blow a bit. Towhee sucked in another breath, held it and released it in a long-suffering sigh. She felt a little like a deflating balloon and probably sounded a bit like one too, not that she would know one way or another.

Wraen offered more advice, exactly the sort she needed. Phox and Niamh had defaulted to her seconds without really having to think about it. But now that she needed to elect new candidates, how should she go about it? Her friend suggested she choose someone older and someone younger, strive for a balance of views.

"Who says I care about other points of view?" Towhee asked, raising her brows. "Maybe I just want wolves who'll blindly agree with me and do everything I say." The corner of her mouth twitched, giving her away as not entirely serious, though she tried to school her expression to see what Wraen might say.