Redhawk Caldera Rebel riff.

He promised to start tomorrow, which prompted Towhee to turn her head slightly. The sun had sunk below the western rim of the caldera and the horizon beyond it. Shadows crept into corners as the air cooled. She might be deaf but she could hear the cozy warmth of the Hobbit Hole calling to her.

Slowly rising, Towhee stretched and said simply, Good. Once you get to know everyone, you should know it’s an option to live in the Hobbit Hole. It’s up to you, though. I know some like their privacy.

If she did end up pregnant, that would be where she would whelp. Towhee knew that much. She reminisced about the various births she’d witnessed there—including her own—and drew in a deep breath of the darkling air.

Well, it’s past my bedtime. See you later, Hotah.

The Elder made a point to pad past him, offering a friendly nudge to his shoulder as she did. She then began loping downhill, toward the silhouette of a certain tree and the familial den just beneath it.