Redsand Canyon Touch grass.

She let her head drift down to rest on her forelegs, staring along the dirt path that wended through the housing. Towhee tried to force her mind somewhere a little lighter, like the fact that winter would be here soon, soon after followed by spring. That meant puppies, which should’ve been an uplifting thought, though suddenly Towhee wondered if she would be able to carry and deliver another litter after this. What if it made her back worse, like what had happened to Rue?

She sucked in a breath and raised her head, glancing over her shoulder to find Germanicus looming there, prompting a muttered, Bruh, as Towhee pushed carefully into a seated position.

Brushing a few clinging leaves off her chest, she shifted a little to properly face the Imperator. For a moment, she said nothing else, letting her ratcheted heart rate settle. She also wanted to get a good look at him, particularly his face. Her inability to hear made her a great reader of expressions and microexpressions. There was a lot the Imperator’s face told her, probably more than he ever intended.

That field trip you mentioned, what if we took them to Epoch? Her kids had been there once before, so perhaps he wanted to go someplace new, in which case… Or there’s always that pack on the other side, uh… I forget the name, if she’d ever even known it in the first place.