Mount Everfall I'm gonna go stop the Big Bad Wolf.

Niamh’s steely gaze liwered to Towhee, when she turned around and approached. Niamh tensed, not knowing how Towhee would react, but her posture said it all. Though Niamh’s body still resonated with anger, she softened and not only braced herself for Towhee’s weight, but leaned into her, resting her head on Towhee’s shoulder. No tears sprang to her eyes, though with the rain it would have been impossible to tell anyway. The hurt she felt, at seeing Orca dead and how it killed Towhee to find her sister this way, was soured by the need to find Screech and make him pay.

But Towhee confessed that X had seen it happen, and she glanced to the hawk, silently resigned nearby. Had he seen how? Had he seen Screech? If Screech had done it, and if X had told her that, she knew the hunt would be renewed once the weather shifted. Now, though, Niamh knew it was over. She didn’t pull away, but murmured, with warm, soft breath into the fur of Towhee’s shoulder, pressing her chest against her friend knowing she would at least feel the vibrations of her voice. ”I’m sorry.”