Phantom Hollow There's no place like home

While she waited for a response of one sort or another, Wildfire made herself focus on the stranger, if only to calm her nerves. His fur color instantly reminded her of her godparents; it was a lustrous pewter color, with a dusting of black along his back that made her think of Finley in particular. His matching eyes made her think of her mother, which made her stomach hurt. Maybe she wasn't so much hungry as she was homesick. She wondered if her parents knew she was missing. Surely they would have realized right away and they were as eager to find her as she was to find her way home.

The male spoke and his answer confused her. Her destination had nothing to do with her current location. Then he elaborated, revealing that he didn't know the name of this place. He insisted he knew the area somewhat, though, so Wildfire just needed to plumb his knowledge. She still felt hesitant about revealing her loyalties—what if she was somewhere in the danger zone, the dread north?—but once again realized she really didn't have much choice. She could either take a chance with asking the gray stranger or attempt to find her way home by herself.

"I need to find my way back to Redhawk Caldera," she said, bracing herself for flight if the revelation of this information deemed it necessary. Her amber eyes remained shrewdly pinned to his face, gauging his reaction. "Do you know the way? My name," she continued, in the hope that familiarity would make him less likely to attack (unaware that it might actually make it more likely if he realized she was one of Peregrine's and Fox's children), "is Attica." Well, it was part of her name and all he needed to know for now.