Moonsong Glacier in the dark of the moon

The panther shook his head at once; he thought nothing of the sort. "It is a thing I have had trouble wrapping my head around as well," he said ruefully.

And the Leith really got going, and while Dutch did not think him a dunce, per se — birdbrain was a pretty good word. Still, his enthusiasm for these things piqued Dutch's interest as well. "Ornithology?" he repeated, "I do not know this word."

They could use a medicine man, of course. Dutch in particular hoped he might know how to stave off infection. For the moment, however, he sought to answer rather than question.

"Her name is Towhee," the panther patiently supplied. "Her ears are closed. She listens with her eyes, and she speaks in strange signs. I am learning this silenttongue from her. Perhaps this would interest you as well. Only then can she tell us about her bird in detail — I am not yet so fluent to have puzzled that one out."