Sun Mote Copse On the 858th day...

Wraen brought up her theory about being a succubus again, this time with a shudder. Towhee opened her mouth to suggest it might be time to say their final goodbyes. As the thought crossed her mind, she realized she’d never had that chance in reality. Wraen’s death had been a terrible shock. Whether this meet was real or imagined, Towhee felt a sense of closure.

Instead of saying farewell, she said instead, Meerkat was technically my firstborn, though remember, I was Fig’s and Fen’s mother first. Phox’s second batch of kiddos was partly mine too, so that includes the twins, Alyx and Quetzal, and Primrose. Almost nobody knows this but I don’t mind sharing with you that I had two premature babies born sleeping, Blackbird and Butterfly. They were from the same litter as Caracal, Marten, Tierra and Sphyra. I don’t really know Phox’s others but I still count them: Vesper, Prevost and Peregrine. Then with Maxim, I had Leona, Jack Snipe, Sable and last but not least, Towhee Jr.

She made no distinctions between who was alive and who wasn’t aside from the preemies, although there might’ve been a slight quaver in Towhee’s voice when she said their names. Nevertheless, she found herself smiling at the end, admiring what was really an impressive list.

Don’t make me list out the grandkids too or we’ll be here for all of eternity, Towhee quipped, which reminded her of her earlier thought. And as much as I’m enjoying this spectral rendezvous and all, maybe it’s time to get back to our lives… or our afterlives, as it were.