The Sentinels Boarfish

He stopped and spun. Her heart twinged with relief, even though every time he looked at her like that, Towhee felt a little like he’d slapped her in the face. Nevertheless, she persisted.

If I don’t tell her, then she finds out later that I knew you were here, she’d feel betrayed. And she’d be right, Fish. Keeping this from her, Towhee insisted, thrusting a paw toward his chest without touching it, would be a hideous betrayal.

His eyes fell and she wondered if her message had landed. She didn’t like sending him on a guilt trip, though Towhee would not apologize for trying to reunite a long-lost child with his parents.

When he looked up again and refuted his name, Towhee’s face scrunched and she said only, Explain?