Meadowlark Prairie the lady of the house

Something about his declaration hit Towhee hard. She stopped suddenly and sagged, a tightness in her throat. She had been so angry with him. She had called his assault against Niamh indefensible, due especially to her condition. But then the pregnant Regent had taken off—broken leg and all—smashing Phox's heart and quite likely killing her own children in the process. And for what? Talk about unforgivable.

She did her best to banish these thoughts from her head, straightening up and meeting his eyes again. "I know." He hadn't left willingly in the first place, though they both knew that. Towhee began walking again, the pair of them hitting the foot of the slope.

It was tempting to go straight to their cave, pick up where they'd left off, but she didn't actually want to do that. Pausing again, she told him, "I haven't been to the cave since. And I live in a den with Rue now, by Tailfeather Creek. I want her to be part of this. Phox too. Fennec. Meerkat. Even that weird Lenny guy. We're all family now. We'll all raise these pups together."