Redsand Canyon Maybe months go by, maybe years from now

She pulled back, wondering what Fennec meant about lying. Before Towhee could ask, the Plebian elaborated further. Her eyes were starting to ache from all the lipreading, so she took another step backward, the distance alleviating the need for her eyes to move back and forth so much.

Truthfully, Towhee couldn’t remember everything Fennec referenced. She did remember Bronco disappearing and returning, looking like he’d been to hell and back, and having a conversation with Fennec not long after that. She licked her lips, brow furrowing as she tried to dig up memories buried deeply in the back of her mind.

She actually dredged up something she would rather not remember: she and Fennec hadn’t been on particularly great terms at the time. Perhaps that was why Towhee couldn’t recollect much about what had been going on with Bronco back then. Towhee swallowed a sigh, pushing all the memories back into the closet where they belonged.

Maybe… maybe he’s like his mother, Towhee found herself saying out of nowhere. Niamh was a ticking time bomb and when she went off, it destroyed your dad. He still isn’t right to this day—please don’t tell him I said that—and it’s because she damaged him so badly, he could never recover. I’m glad that didn’t happen to you, Fennec.