Sheepeater Cliff it's not over

Her answer wasn't surprising, but it hurt him more than a little. Not the fact that she wouldn't go with—but the fact that he was going somewhere that made her uncomfortable. He didn't want to leave her alone.

I promise it won't be for very long, Killdeer insisted, the corners of his mouth tugging down. Can you stick around here, near your dad and Gramma Towhee? That way you won't be alone.

And he wasn't trying to infantalize her or anything. Fennec could probably get around better than he could. 

After the whole Germanicus thing, though. . . Ugh. He didn't wanna make her sad.

Are you sure it's okay? he asked again. I can wait until we settle somewhere permanent and then go, if that's better for you.