Bramblepoint Pull together for the clan and kin.

Her stomach knotted at her father’s words. His reasoning made logical sense, though Tiuttuk’s emotions were rapidly becoming volatile. Her lip quivered as he said the words “mother” and “gone,” yellow eyes welling with tears as her taataa told her he would make a decision soon.

Evidently, her great grandmother was part of this plan. Pie’s wet eyes shifted to Towhee as the family’s matriarch made a point to mention her beloved Bushtit. Between that and her dad’s mention of Amalia and younger siblings, she felt like her heart was cracking open and bleeding out.

No, she said quietly, seemingly in response to Towhee’s question. She sucked in a shuddering breath and said more loudly, No. I’m not going anywhere. I made a promise to anaa. But more importantly, I don’t want to leave Moonspear. And most importantly, I won’t.