Moonspear plain wooden casket

Missing Jack left almost no room for missing Maxim, though truthfully losing the beautiful life she had built, piece by piece, really took a toll on her. It was nice being with family—Towhee didn’t want to to imagine how horrible she’d feel had she stayed in the vale, even with Jack there—but she couldn’t escape it. The depression she had tried to outrun caught up to her and descended like a great black shadow, hanging over her even as she tried to rebuild here on the mountainside.

The last thing she wanted to do was let her melancholy affect her kids. Although she would’ve preferred to sleep all day, Towhee trailed after the exploratory Jr. Moonspear must seem so big to such a young child, not just the slopes themselves but the village that called this place home. The elder Towhee knew it would take some time for everyone to adjust, though she was glad her mini-me was curious enough to have a look around.

Towhee didn’t notice Fennec right away, only the change in her child’s body language tipping her off to someone’s approach. She looked up and managed a tired smile as Fen wandered closer. She should’ve realized it sooner but it was only as Towhee Jr tried to interrogate Fennec with Ptero that a light clicked on in Towhee’s dark, depressive brain.

-“Jr, this is your oldest sister, Fennec. She’s blind, which means she can’t see you, so I’ll have to…”- Eyes looking to Fen now, she continued, -“Fen, Jr can’t hear or speak, plus I don’t think she can lipread quite yet. She only uses Ptero. I don’t mind translating, if we wanna give it a whirl…”-