Verdigris Ravine (M) And wrens have begun to sing an old song in the mouth of your kettle.

When she and S’ari were alone again, Towhee mumbled, There won’t be any trouble, and then fell into silence, focusing all her energy on the trek to water.

Once they arrived, she didn’t bother dipping down for a drink. No, Towhee stepped right into the shallows and then buckled her legs in a controlled collapse. It was frigid, which suited her. She pressed as much of her body under the surface as she could manage, wincing only a little at the stinging cold of it.

While she situated herself, she lowered her head to drink, cooling herself from the inside out. Towhee felt her heartbeat slowing a little. She let herself rest a few moments, orange eyes trudging back to S’ari.

She wanted to offer the laboring coyote her help, especially with her experience, but she didn’t want to cause any problems with her baby daddy. Besides, at this point, Towhee didn’t want to move from the water. She would soak here a while, try to clean herself, and hope she could beat any infection.

You got this, she told the coyote, waving her away to her whelping den as she offered a grateful smile.

When S’ari was gone, Towhee tried not to think of how she must look like Caracal when he lay dying. What if she did the same and the coyotes found her face-down in the stream later?

Well, at least one of them wouldn’t be too sad about it.