Lake Rodney Sugar in the creek

Her stomach tightened when Crowfeather looked away in response. She knew what that meant. Towhee felt guilty for dredging up a painful memory and she wanted to say she was sorry, particularly for his loss. But even the most heartfelt condolences were still little more than platitudes.

"I know the feeling," she said quietly when he looked mournfully to the stars, injecting as much authenticity into the statement as she could what with her inability to regulate tone. She wondered if Crowfeather found comfort in the belief that his dead friend was up there among the stars.

She said nothing else for a moment, when a different curiosity popped into her head. "When you say you and your friend—Germanicus?—are looking to assist packs, do you mean you're trying to join them? Or something else?" If that was the case, it didn't really make sense for Rue to turn them away. The caldera could usually use able bodies. So, what then? How did this arrangement work?