Sun Mote Copse (M) Some things Change

While Reyson stepped closer to gather the child, Towhee gingerly pushed herself upright, starting with her anterior. Then she lifted her posterior with a grunt and a wince. Not only was she sore, she swore she could feel her insides sloshing around a bit. She didn’t know which was more off-putting, the smell of blood or the sensation of it coating the backs of her thighs.

Fortunately, her comrade didn’t hold it against her when she said she needed a bath. After assessing herself, she looked up to him to catch his comments, only for her orange eyes to skitter just over his shoulder to see Towhee Jr standing there. Their faces probably looked more similar than ever as they gawked back and forth.

-“Come here,”- she insisted with slightly jerky motions, speaking aloud for Reyson’s benefit, -“meet your little brother. Do you remember the story of Meerkat’s birth? Well, this little asshat just pulled the same damn thing.”-

And he’d stolen their colors, at least partially. Towhee’s eyes flicked between her two youngest children, thinking, What a little copycat. Despite all her epithets—and her shock at his existence—she already accepted and loved him fiercely. She wondered if Jr would feel the same or whether this might be more of an unpleasant surprise for her.