Sun Mote Copse Windshield wiper.

Fennec seemed just as surprised to see her. Despite herself, Towhee's lips twitched as she watched the yearling go rigid, then relax. "I know, I can hear it," her lips said. The Sovereign didn't hear the tone, of course, so she simply nodded. She wondered if it was loud, not that such a concept meant much to her.

"A walking stick," Towhee replied, wondering if it would jog her memory. "Better yet, a paddle of some kind, since everything's going to be underwater soon." She clicked her tongue before adding, "Not sure you wanna drink from there. The current's pretty strong but, more importantly, I just watched a bloated corpse drift past. There's a ton of other places to get a drink around here that don't come with dead body flavor."

Of course, she wanted to coax—maybe even nudge—her daughter toward one of the many pools of water close at hand. But Towhee checked the impulse. She did feel protective of Fen, especially so close to the floodwaters, yet her daughter had just come back from being out on her own for months. Surely she could handle herself. And her presence here was still so tentative that Towhee didn't dare do anything that might make Fen want to leave again soon.