Northstar Vale Mitéra

Arsenio and Tamar offered brief, heartfelt speeches. Towhee felt the warmth of their camaraderie hugging her spirit, cheesy as that sounded. Together with the puppies bouncing within her—as if in preemptive celebration of their parents’ promotion—she felt these little glimmers of light mending the cracks in her heart, like kintsugi.

Maxim leaned into her and, together, they stepped up into leadership. Towhee wondered what this might mean for their dream of one day building their own home. She had thought about using Leona’s loss to pivot into it, though she was now doubly glad she hadn’t given in to that impulse. They belonged here in Epoch for now, maybe forever.