Frogspawn Swamp I worked hard all my lifetime

Hearing about Dwin’s adventures made Towhee suddenly long to start traveling again. The season was ripe for it, though she was still reluctant to uproot from the copse. Anyway, neither her daughter nor Njord had lodged any complaints about her occasional forays, nor did she think they would even if they became more frequent and far-fetched.

She couldn’t afford to dwell on these matters right now, not if she didn’t want to miss any of the many words leaving her young friend’s lips. Once she got past the slight twinge of pining, Towhee’s orange eyes danced in amusement at hearing these 10,000-foot views of Ceridwen’s misadventures.

Oh, why, thank you, she replied to the remarks about her appearance. Fluttering her eyelashes, Towhee added, I’m actually collecting them for my grandchildren. They’re so cute, it hurts me to look at them, so I’m hoping to turn them into salamanders. If I fail to find all the proper ingredients, I at least want to take home a couple of frogs—toads? Is there a difference?—for them.

Insincere though she was about brewing any potions or casting any spells, she was genuinely interested in finding souvenirs for the beloved bairns. She raised her eyebrows and motioned at her companion, her way of asking, Want to join me?

Right after they fell into step, Towhee quite abruptly recalled their immediately previous encounter and blurted, Hey, I’m sorry about the last time I saw you. I had exactly one thing on my mind at the time. If it makes you feel any better, I barely got laid. But I did get pregnant. Just to lose it. Twice. I might’ve nearly died, she shared cavalierly.