Sunbeam Lair Sour switchblade

For the first time in his life, Bushtit argued with Towhee when she tried to coax him out of the lowlands. She only convinced him by promising him to show him “a desert in the mountains.” Although that wasn’t quite accurate, her son immediately took to Mereo’s old stomping grounds, especially when she showed him the housing. When she told him about “#1A,” he insisted on sleeping there that night, which turned into several more.

He slept there now, an afternoon siesta taken after the two of them spent all morning play-fighting in the old sparring pits. Towhee climbed out of the canyon to find them something to eat, pausing on its lip to gaze over the rundown remains of the former outpost. She let herself think of Maxim and the others briefly, then turned and began her hunt.

Her paws carried her to the familiar mouth of Sunbeam Lair, though Towhee didn’t walk inside. She paused to peer through the dim doorway, an equally dim memory replaying in her head. Her jaw dropped when a silvery figure flitted around the cavern in present day, the resemblance to Eshe so uncanny it made her hackles prickle.