Sun Mote Copse Edge of Saturday night.

The hawk winged out of sight, presumably to fetch her daughter. Towhee smiled to herself and sank a little deeper into the water. While she waited for Jr to arrive, she let herself reminisce about X. That inevitably made her think of Orca, the two of them buried side by side on the plateau. Maybe once Reyson et al arrived, she could travel some again…

-Hey,- she said when the yearling approached. Emerging from the water like her reflection come to life, Towhee said, -Yeah, I’m fine. My back hurts. Kind of par for the course at my age.-

It was a little hard to sign at this depth, so Towhee bobbed a little closer to the shoreline. She paused ponderously before taking a seat, submerging her posterior but leaving her anterior end—namely, her forelegs—free. She grimaced slightly when her lower back tweaked and shifted her weight onto one hip, which seemed to help.

-I was just thinking about how nice it’ll be when Reyson and Meadow get here. Do you remember them very well at all?- Towhee asked conversationally.