Neverwinter Forest latenight

After spending some time with Killdeer, Towhee returned to the spot where she’d last seen Maxim. But he wasn’t there. Swallowing thickly, she dropped her nose to the forest floor and began following his trail.

She spotted him through the trees ahead, speaking with their son. Towhee approached slowly. She couldn’t imagine they wouldn’t want her there, though perhaps they were having a private moment. She didn’t want to interrupt.

Between the darkness of the woods, the angle of her approach and Towhee’s own unwillingness to eavesdrop, she didn’t know how she possibly caught it. But she did. “I just don’t wanna be away from Leo.”

Maxim was quick to comfort the boy, though Towhee’s eyes blurred with tears. She didn’t catch most of what he said, though she knew her young husband would share only words of love, support and understanding. And she did blink in time to catch the final comment.

I’m here.