Shadewood With all the fire we can breathe.

Any day now, her daughter would give birth. Towhee wanted to make sure she was near at hand when the time came, so she checked in with Meerkat this morning to make sure there were no signs of labor. Assured that today wouldn’t be the day, she announced her intention to head outside the copse on one last foray before the pups came. Hopefully she could bring home some grub.

She headed northwest, cutting through the neighboring thicket and rousing a couple of its namesake grouse. Towhee considered visiting Orca's and X’s graves on the plateau, though she opted to continue on her current trajectory instead. When she hit one of the many rivers around here, she loped north along the bank. She didn’t plan to cross, though an easterly wind delivered to her nose the smell of venison.

It was a little aged, though Towhee didn’t mind if it meant an easy meal. She located a shallow spot and forded the river, then loped through the shady wood over yonder. She stopped to sniff at the spoor of fellow wolves, though as far as she could ascertain, the forest wasn’t officially inhabited. Nonetheless, she proceeded with caution, orange eyes constantly sweeping her surroundings.

When she came upon the carcass, there wasn’t much left. Towhee nosed around it, bolting down a few mouthfuls of meat. At first, she raised her head between each bite to make sure nobody encroached. But she decided the hunters must have moved on, so she relaxed her guard and continued feeding. Once she’d had her fill, she would pick one of the shinbones to take home to the copse.