Lake Bismuth I’m shipping up to Boston.

They spent the night snuggled up in the Hobbit Hole. Towhee rose just before the sun, carefully unwinding herself from Bushtit’s legs and stepping toward the den’s mouth. She rested one shoulder against the earthy door frame and watched the sunrise gild the plumes of warm breath seeping from her own mouth. She glanced backward toward her sleeping son before stepping outside.

How many times had she walked along the caldera’s rim just like this? Each step gradually worked some stiffness from her aging bones as Towhee plodded across the frosty ground. She felt a little nostalgic, despite herself, and decided to spend the morning digging through the old caches she knew. Maybe she would also visit the little grave site near the cave too.

It didn’t particularly surprise her when a yawning Bushtit appeared while she stood staring into said cave, lost in some memory. Her eyes cut over to him and she smiled softly, pressing her muzzle beneath one sleepy eye. She hadn’t found anything to eat yet and she knew he would want to come along if she went hunting.

She led him back up to the caldera’s ridge line and said, You awake yet? I was thinking you could decide where we should hunt this morning.

Bushtit perked at this, then surveyed the panoramic views. He said nothing as he began trotting along the caldera’s curving brim, focused intently on the task at hand. Towhee similarly stayed mum, watching him curiously as they moved away from the western edge and its splendid views of Lake Rodney. She wasn’t particularly surprised when he stopped and pointed at Haunted Wood.

She looked at the bare treetops, then beyond them, and mulled. They would be quite near the lowlands. Towhee rather liked that clime, though she knew @Soto was down there. What if he found them somehow? As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she remembered her conversation with Chakliux. She frowned thoughtfully at her sweet summer child.

Bushtit read her expression and cocked his head, signing, -No go?-

No. I mean, yeah. We can go, Towhee said, motioning for him to take the lead as they began walking down the slope.

---

She’d planned to stay at the caldera for a few days while they figured out where to head next. But when their hunting brought them to the far side of Haunted Wood and Bushtit caught his first glimpse of the lowlands, it changed everything.

Towhee chewed the inside of her cheek as she followed him around the desert meadow. She caught herself wondering if he’d inherited his immediate love of the place from herself or his father. She swallowed her protest when he inevitably led her even further south.

Now she found herself gazing across a series of pools, watching as her son frolicked from one to the next. The winter sun caught on their glassy surfaces, making them shine like golden coins. Towhee loped after him after a furtive backward glance, wondering about this desert treasure. Was the water good to drink?

As the saying goes, there was only one way to find out: Towhee paused beside one of the shimmering tarns, squinting against the glare as she dipped down to break the smooth surface with her tongue.