Northstar Vale I need to spin my wheels

The way Fennec talked about it reminded Towhee of herself, back before meeting Maxim. She was beginning to see a theme: marriages founded in decidedly practical pursuits fared better than those borne out of romance. Love could always spring up and grow later.

Towhee felt a thread of disquiet when Fennec admitted outright that Germanicus was still in love with Rue. It wasn’t a surprise; she’d only left a little while ago. But if there was potential for romance to blossom with his new wife, his attachment to his old one might choke it out before it even grew roots. She opted not to voice these thoughts out loud.

Instead, she said, ‘I didn’t think I’d ever do this again’ are famous last words in Mereo, and laughed, a bit to the detriment of her shredded back. I really hope you two can make it work. I’m sure you can, Towhee added, leaning into some optimism and blaming Epoch for that.

Glancing up at the backdrop of red leaves behind Fen, Towhee told her, I was just telling Maxim that the other day: I like doing life with him. I think I told you during our last conversation that the extra support is really nice.

It was especially handy when it came to rearing kids. Of course Towhee thought about what this meant: more grandchildren in the spring. And they would be as close as Killdeer. She wondered what he made of all this. She would love to bring up the subject of spring but Towhee would let Fen do that if she liked.

For now, I guess some congrats are in order. And please pass that along to sonny boy when you get back. But, she quickly added, stay a while? Tell me what else I’m missing out in Mereo. Like, how did everyone there react to the news?

Towhee patted the ground to invite Fen to sit, then remembered Jack had been hovering nearby and looked around for him. He’d slipped away at some point, likely returning to patrol the borders. Her lips curved into a smile at the thought as she carefully reclined on her haunches, facing Fennec.