Starglow Basin Rhinestone Eyes

Tonight, they camped in the shadow of Storm Watch Butte. They settled on the side nearer the basin, Towhee explaining that the morning sun would blind them otherwise. Bushtit definitely didn’t mind. He sprawled beside his mother’s warmth and stared at the distant Verapaz until his eyes grew heavy. They fluttered shut as his chin sank to his outstretched legs.

He jerked awake and it was very dark. The boy blinked owlishly, then sat up and rubbed at his eyes with a fisted paw. It took a moment for them to adjust, though he could make out his surroundings lit palely by a slivered moon. Bushtit squinted at it, idly wondering what had woken him. He scrubbed a paw across his pale chest.

He set it on the cold ground and hoisted himself onto all fours. His bladder wasn’t full but he decided to empty it anyway. He stepped away from Towhee’s warm shadow and found a scraggly bush. He lifted his leg against it, yawning as he relieved himself.

Rather than return to his makeshift bed, he found himself staring in the direction of the basin. It was Starglow Basin, he remembered abruptly, eyes lifting skyward. He admired the scattering of stars around the crescent moon, barely aware of a rippling sensation in his throat.

All of a sudden, Bushtit was howling at the moon, his sleepy and sonorous voice loosely forming the word, “¡Hoooooooooolaaaaa!”