Redsand Canyon Double dip.

Towhee’s eyes fixed on Aquene’s lips as she shared her complicated feelings about her own condition. Any new mother might be nervous just because, though the healer shared a compelling reason—several, actually—why the thought of labor and delivery made her anxious.

I won’t sugarcoat it: shit definitely happens. Sometimes literally. But our bodies are built for this, so there’s that. My mother actually died giving birth too, to my litter mates and me. Meanwhile, I’ve had two relatively unremarkable deliveries. So, just because it happened to your mom doesn’t mean it’ll happen to you. Knowing what you know, you’ll probably be prepared for every eventuality and it’ll be textbook, Towhee finished with a reassuring pat to the medic’s shoulder.

The contact suddenly reminded her of her mixed feelings about this rendezvous. It wasn’t exactly the elephant in the room, but neither one of them had made any mention of Aquene’s upcoming departure. Towhee didn’t really want to talk about it and she’d actually been avoiding the medicus. She understood why some wolves needed to go—and that Aquene and Kallik would be great assets to a new outpost—but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a big, fat bummer.