Sun Mote Copse We get wild like a safari.

She lifted her lip when he accused her of lying. It was so much more complicated than that, though Towhee didn't feel like revisiting any of that, not with him, not now. She had truly believed she was infertile... and, thank fuck, she had been wrong. When Pippin declared her approach as "messed up," she growled softly in warning, orange eyes flashing dangerously.

"No. There's no way to know that. You were far from the only—" Her eyes cut sharply to her kids, youngster and yearling, and she snapped her teeth against the rest of that statement. Pippin was smart; he'd know what she'd been about to say. "This is how it's going to be," she said with cold finality, the muscle in her jaw jumping with tension.

There was part of her that felt bad for shutting him down so completely, likely damaging their friendship beyond repair, yet Towhee would not and could not be budged. She'd told him he could be part of Meerkat's life and she stood by that. But they weren't mates and never would be, just like Pippin would never be Meerkat's dad. Raising her daughter how she wanted was her only priority, his feelings be damned.

Disengaging, she turned away from him and padded over to her kids, forcing a thin smile as she watched Meerkat trying to violently boop Fig's snoot. She glanced back at Pippin, gaze sharp. Her approach to motherhood was not up for further discussion but, by the same token, she wouldn't ask him to leave (like she sort of wanted to do) or take her daughter away, either, not for the moment.