Wheeling Gull Isle I am the owner of nowhere land, queen of a castle that’s made of sand.

Dinah glossed right over her question, though Towhee didn’t hold it against her. The attention spans of children were fickle at best. Anyway, her granddaughter’s request was exactly the kind of distraction that could immediately score brownie points with Towhee.

-“Yeah, of course,”- was all she managed to convey before Dinah rushed to help her smaller sister.

This act won Towhee’s favor as well, though she didn’t say anything. She just looked on with a smile as Dinah prodded Ava and Ava righted herself. The elder she-wolf cocked her head when the younger girl scuttled away like some belligerent crab.

-“Before I’ll teach you Ptero—that’s what the language is called—I’m going to have to collect a fee from you. Unfortunately, you have to pay up front,”- Towhee drawled, padding closer to both pups. -“I want each of you to collect enough flowers to make one bouquet. Do you understand the assignment?”-