Heron Lake Plateau You want a light saber?

Help arrived before the hawk's echoes even faded into the distance. Towhee squinted at the gray shape hurrying toward her, trying to identify which Blackthorn had come to render her aid. "Fiadh," she gasped the girl's name even as she closed in and began nosing concernedly at the Beta's prostrate form.

As the yearling fussed over her, Towhee's eyes slipped shut for a moment to fend off another wave of dizziness. She knew Fiadh was talking, though she obviously didn't catch any of it. When her eyes reopened, X was lifting into the air with a sweep of his golden wings and her younger sister was turning back to face her.

"Thank you," Towhee muttered weakly through her panting. Her head and heart both pounded. "I think I'm just overheated. Can you help me up? And walk with me to the lake?"