Sun Mote Copse Stamp on the ground.

Despite everything—her promises to Meerkat, her responsibility to Bushtit—Towhee wished she could attend the great hunt. She felt guilty, particularly because she found herself fantasizing about using the gathering as a segue back into her nomadic lifestyle. She hadn’t realized just how much she’d missed it until now. She pined for it.

The morning had given them glimpses of blue sky, though now the clouds moved in and cast everything in a gray pall. Towhee sat just outside The Taigh, staring speculatively at her son as he played in the dirt. He was about a month old now, well on his way to weaning and certainly capable of accompanying her on short forays away from the den. He was still clumsy—he tripped as if on cue—with short legs, though. More than that, he was lazy.

-“Hey,”- she said suddenly, lifting onto all fours. -“Hey, you, with the face! What do you think about going for a ride in…”- Towhee stepped into the den, fetched a particularly soft, worn skin and plopped it at her son’s feet. -“This? Here, stand here. No, here. Yeah, just like that. Stay still.”-

With Bushtit positioned in the center of the skin, Towhee did her best to bundle him. She managed to wrap the fur quite securely, though when she went to lift it, her neck felt like it might snap. She let go, letting the entire thing unfold at their feet. She should not have been surprised, as he’d recently become too heavy to carry around by the scruff.

-“Well, fuck. Never mind. It would’ve been cool to Babybjörn you to the feast. I’m sure @Kukutux would’ve loved to see you,”- Towhee mused, sighing. -“We can’t just leave, anyway. I told your older sister I’d look after this place. But how cool would it be, to go traveling together, Titty McGee?”-

It didn’t take an expert to read the, “COOOOOL!” from the baby’s lips.

-“For now, we can travel to the borders. Mama needs to relieve Jr,”- she said, motioning for Bushtit to come along.

She didn’t intend to take such a wee one on patrol with her. Towhee kept an eye on the sky, using Ghost’s tiny silhouette to lead her to @Towhee Jr’s position. Bushtit adored his sister, going with her without fuss when she headed back toward The Taigh. That left the senior Towhee on her own to pick up the border patrol.