Dahozhoni Meadow Eagles and butterflies.

The idle solitude didn’t suit her very well, not after weeks of looking after children (including grown ones) around the clock. She did enjoy a good night’s uninterrupted sleep, as well as the few visitors that trickled down the mountain to see her. Towhee particularly enjoyed Meerkat’s tale of a recent adventure in the lowlands.

The what now? Towhee queried, officially intrigued.

After her daughter explained what and where she meant, then excused herself back to the village, Towhee set off to the south. She wouldn’t be gone long. She just wanted to see this cenote for herself and stretch her legs. And though she intended to stick around for Sialuk, this was part of her new drifter’s lifestyle: she could go where she pleased, when she pleased, without even having to tell anyone.

As soon as she set foot in Dahozhoni Meadow, the novelty of it all wore off almost immediately. This place reminded her of the arid steppes where she’d been bitten by a snake. Towhee halted and looked warily at the ground, though there were no coiled serpents with venomous fangs, unless they were hidden among the superbloom.

She supposed that was definitely possible, though her wariness wore off too. Carefully, Towhee stepped among the desert wildflowers, enjoying their perfume on the dry July breeze.

can be a cameo!

the Others had come at last.

it was easy to believe that tribe was alone here, that they hunted and played and accepted those who s'ari brought back to them. 

but the coyote man knew they would not be alone for long, and the tall silhouette across the shimmering heatwaves confirmed this.

the staring-woman. she had spoken of leaving. zoug's nose twitched and he turned away, melting back into the dusty air.

A cloud passed over the sun, sending a great shadow eclipsing over the stretch of blossoms. Towhee glanced upward, wondering if the weather was about to take a turn. By the time her gaze dropped down again, she only noticed a speck in the distance, quickly disappearing.

Suddenly ignorant of legless threats, the wolf loped after the retreating figure. But she wouldn’t gain any ground unless she broke into a gallop. Coyote or wolf, nobody wanted to be chased down by a strange old lady.

@Sari? she tried calling, braking to a sudden halt to see if the shout had any effect on the rusty silhouette.

the Other pursued. zoug listened but did not run, defiant in the face of the wolf's intrusion against the sacred lands of his long land.

s'ari! this one knew her name! how! he became irate but still did not turn around for some more steps. then he turned somewhat, and yipped in recognition. tail flicked to gesture that the Other should follow.

zoug would lead her in the direction of the basin. the starfire place. there he hoped the wolf would become lost — forever.

The coyote didn’t turn, so Towhee fell back with a huff. Her eyes stayed on its back, catching the moment when the smaller canine eventually paused after all. She squinted when it—he, she guessed—opened his mouth to say something. Of course Towhee couldn’t hear it, nor could she lipread from this distance.

But there was something masculine about the figure, she decided, and was he missing an eye? This couldn’t be S’ari then, though perhaps he knew the name. The way he moved his tail seemed to indicate something—perhaps that she should follow—so Towhee began slowly walking toward him.

the Other followed. zoug allowed it to approach enough for the two of them to meet each other's eyes. she could kill him far more easily than he wanted to accept.

he skittered away across the sand, tail waving in faux friendliness. he would not say s'ari's name aloud, but continued on, away from the ravine.

He remained still so that Towhee caught up to him. She didn’t approach too closely, though they came near enough to see each other’s faces much more clearly. He was definitely missing an eye. He appeared to be smudged in blood, as if he’d rolled in a kill recently.

My daughter said S’ari could show m— Towhee began to explain when the coyote abruptly skittered away.

This time, she did not readily follow him. Instead, Towhee’s ears drifted backward. She wasn’t afraid of him, though her unfamiliarity with this place—and Meerkat’s talk of strange customs—made her cautious.

Do you not speak? she asked bluntly.

the effort zoug would have spared for tribe was not offered to the Other. again the name of the softwoman.

clan leader to him.

the man paused. he looked back at the wolf. to say he did not speak would not be a lie. and so he grunted, raising a paw in the direction of the basin with a pointed expression. 

zoug went on.

Towhee didn’t hear the grunt, naturally. He gestured in a way that almost reminded her of Ptero, her orange gaze following where he pointed. He then began striding in that direction, though she didn’t follow.

Thanks but no thanks, she called to him, turning away, adding to herself, I’ll just find it on my own. That’s what this is all about, after all, isn’t it? Although isn’t it a bit early to start talking to yourself?

She snorted and walked back toward the meadow, glancing over her shoulder to see if the coyote would continue walking in the opposite direction or if he would follow her back.

the Other turned away. zoug was frustrated, for he knew if he had only used the name of s'ari, this one might eagerly follow.

but the sound of a name held its own power, and zoug doubted s'ari wanted her own to be used in such a way.

he raised his head to watch the wolf, and then he went on for good, disappearing into the terrain as he headed for the basin.

The smudged coyote watched her watching him, then turned and continued the other way. Towhee took that as her cue to face forward, the two of them walking almost 180° in opposite directions.

She tried to remember everything Meerkat had told her about Two Eyes Cenote and where she might find it. No longer would she keep an eye out for friendly, eccentric coyotes. That whole thing was a bust.

But Towhee was determined to find the hidden pool where her daughter had had a misadventure, even if she wouldn’t be able to find the companion with which Meerkat had shared it.