Heron Lake Plateau A beating heart of stone.

Caiaphas's reply and subsequent question were nice and succinct, easy for Towhee to follow. "No," she concurred, not without a measure of relief. "Hopefully that's the first and the last time..."

She afforded the shapes of the pups a brief glance, then returned her attention to her peer. "So," she said in her usual slow, partially garbled drawl, "what brought you guys here anyway? Where did you live before?"