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

Towhee did not subscribe to any particular beliefs about an afterlife. She tended not to think about it, truth be told. But she couldn’t help but be drawn into Wraen’s theories, particularly when her companion stopped in a little slice of heaven tucked in a far corner of the fen.

She looked around in silence for several moments, admiring the apple tree that reminded her of the one growing at the caldera’s foot. Maybe that could be the memorial there. For now, Towhee focused on her current surroundings, enjoying a moment’s reflection before her eyes found Wraen’s face.

Thank you, she said simply, the words heartfelt. But there was more. Towhee’s eyes bored into Wraen’s familiar features. I know what your title should be, she announced, apropos of nothing.

Hydra had been her “sister in arms,” Niamh her “person.” You’re my hetero life mate, Towhee declared somberly, although her eyes twinkled. It was a little silly but that suited them, particularly well after their embarrassing but endearing “no homo” moment earlier today. So many of my loved ones have gone away over the years. But not you, never you. And I can’t tell you what that means to me. What this means to me, Towhee concluded, peering wistfully at the tree again.