Blackfeather Woods stage 3: bargaining

She took the scenic route around the mountains, then stopped for a drink at Otter Creek as she tried to decide where to head next. Towhee felt pulled westward, toward the copse. They needed her the most. But she looked to the north, considering. She could return to The Heartwood. It was aptly named, resting more or less in the center of everything.

A cloud of blackbirds winged by overhead, turning Towhee’s attention west again. She slunk along the bank of the stream, ears pulling backward as she approached the edge of Blackfeather Woods. In all these years, had she ever ventured into them after that day? Aside from one other foray near its borders which she only barely remembered, Towhee didn’t think so.

On nothing but a whim, she ventured forth, orange eyes narrowing as she prowled through the forest like a tigress.