Redhawk Caldera sometimes I feel like I don't have a partner

She enjoyed watching Amalia get rounder every day. It wouldn’t be long now before Killdeer’s mate gave birth. Towhee looked forward to her latest batch of great grandchildren, even as she tried not to think too much about her recent foray to the desert. She kept herself busy with patrols, often choosing to prowl the caldera’s rim rather than its base for the better vantage points.

From up here, she could see the pale, svelte figure approaching the foot of the extinct volcano. Towhee watched it for a moment, then began picking her way down the slope about a quarter mile east of the stranger’s position. She hit even ground right around the time the she-wolf threw back her head to howl, the notes falling on deaf ears as the Deputy loped swiftly toward her.

What brings you to the caldera, stranger? she said by way of greeting, her orange eyes intense as her tail stiffened over her aging hips.