Stone Circle Scooty woop.

An enormous white she-wolf joined them suddenly. Towhee briefly wondered if this was Fig’s baby mama. But that made no sense on several levels. She shook her head lightly—unbeknownst to her, Batman let out a quiet peep—and then focused on the woman’s lips.

If she’d realized what she was saying, Towhee would’ve laughed at the irony, because she couldn’t understand a word. It happened sometimes. Some wolves just moved their lips in a way that she couldn’t read very well. With this particular she-wolf, she caught only one word: “help.”

Before she could let them know she didn’t follow, Skald said something to the new arrival, his words now completely unreadable too. Towhee’s brow furrowed. Were they speaking in a different language then? That would explain things. She could only hope that he was relaying her message to his comrade.

I’ll be over there, she emphasized one final time, pointing at the glade, waiting to see Fig. Thank you for your help.

Towhee flashed them a quick smile and then took her leave, roaming back toward the flowery glen and finding shade beneath a cluster of spruces there. There was a stream nearby and she was kind of thirsty after all that talking, though for the moment, she just relaxed and let Batman crawl around to snuggle up under her throat.