Northstar Vale Picture a place where it all doesn’t hurt.

Upon her return to the vale, Towhee did exactly what she’d told @Maxim she would do: she made her way to Saffron Grove, slipped into the cave there and mindlessly devoured the small heap of mushrooms still sitting there. She threw up right afterward but nobody needed to know that.

After that, she retired to the roost for some rest. She thought she saw Leo as she settled down to sleep, just out of the corner of her eye. Towhee turned toward the shadows at the back of the cave but of course the girl wasn’t there. She sighed, closed her eyes and waited for sleep to claim her.

When she woke, evening light slanted past the den’s doorway. Towhee let out a shaky breath and stepped outside, looking toward the nearby spring and what lay beyond: Wraen’s Nest. What had @Arsenio and @Tamar done to Leo’s grave, she wondered? She wasn’t certain she was ready to find out.

She took a step and stopped, distracted by a familiar fluttering deep inside her.