Storm Watch Butte A little party never killed nobody.

She didn’t make an immediate reply. Instead, she evaded her son’s beseeching gaze and squinted toward the basin. Tierra had told her Soto was harsh, but he’d also saved her life. Besides that, Towhee had the hots for him. And he was Bushtit’s father, whatever she thought about it. She swallowed a sigh and shook her head lightly, only to freeze an instant later when a figure appeared in the middle distance.

Now her eyes widened. What were the odds? She gaped at Soto for a beat, then her head snapped toward Bushtit. She gawked at her child, mentally scrambling. Should she tell him? By “him,” she wasn’t sure if she meant Soto or her son. Probably both.

She licked her lips, shuffling to stand closer to the pup as he noticed the approaching figure. Towhee felt the tension in his legs as he prepared to either move or perhaps sign something. She shook her head lightly at him, giving him a look. He immediately understood and fell silent and motionless.

Soto, she called out to him when he was presumably within earshot. We’re here to see Tierra, Towhee informed him, thinking it would be really handy to have the translator here right now. You know, Tierra? My daughter? The one who… fuck, this is…

Towhee stared at Soto, trying to ignore her mounting sexual frustration even as electricity arced through her veins.