Northstar Vale My rusty wings are weak and tired, oh.

Swell, she repeated, amused enough by his phrasing that she even managed a smile. I brought Jr here yesterday. We talked, as much as a geriatric and a baby can have a conversation, she shared, lips twisting into a frown.

She still needed to have a heart-to-heart with Jack and Sable. Of course, the former would already be well aware of his father’s absence. Towhee was a little afraid he might go looking for Maxim. If he did, she couldn’t and wouldn’t stop him. But she secretly hoped he would stay put and focus on his younger siblings too.

I’m gonna go chat with her brothers now, I think. I’m sure we’ll see you later, Towhee said, catching her brother’s eye. And thanks, she added, for being here.