Serpent Lake (M) Two straws, one check, girl, I got you.

After loitering in the lowlands for a day or two, he’s in the mood to hit the beach. It’ll be a long walk, though he doesn’t mind. If he sees anyone, he’ll tell them about @Journey’s festival. He might even stop by the venue on his way.

He follows Serpent Lake’s runoff north, intending to go east around the mesa, hit Otter Creek over yonder and follow the river all the way to the coast. But as he passes close to the lake, he sees someone wading in the shallows on the far side. Hang on, is that his mother?

What’s she doing out here? Is she looking for him? Bushtit opens his mouth to call out to her, then claps it shut and rolls his eyes at himself. Then he sees Soto out of the corner of his eye, stalking toward Towhee along the shoreline. The curious young man throws himself behind an outcropping to spy on them.

Then Towhee’s words float to him from all the way across the lake. Bushtit jams a fisted paw into his mouth to avoid an outburst of incredulous laughter. He kind of wishes he was deaf when she starts moaning to Soto about stuffing his balls in her taco. He needs to get out of here before his padre takes his madre up on that.

Counting on them to distract each other, Bushtit slinks away from the lakeshore, quickly taking cover in the long grasses of the nearby meadow. It takes him a couple minutes to recover from what he just witnessed, though mostly he can’t stop laughing to himself as he continues his long trek to the coast.

Gods, no wonder he’s such a little horn dog; look at his folks!