Greatwater Lake La-dee-da, la-dee-da

Here she was again, standing at the lake's edge, staring over the rippling surface. Saena wasn't here as far as she could tell. This didn't surprise Wildfire, though she didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved. Their brief encounter had been volatile in a way and she wasn't keen to repeat the experience. Still, she would have been lying if she'd said she wasn't still curious. She wanted to pick her half-sister's brain, understand her vehement hatred for Peregrine and Fox. Maybe there was a part of Wildfire that thought she could somehow mend things, though it was never a conscious thought.

She dipped her head downward to lap at the cool, sweet water, then began to mosey toward her left, heading northwest. When the shore curved away, she kept going in a straight line, following one of the streams branching from it. Wildfire spent a few hours scouting the nearby territories and finally forming a fairly solid mental map of this area. She recognized Phantom Hollow, where she'd met Dante, as well as The Heartwood, where she'd encountered June and Charon. Unless she was badly mistaken, Redhawk Caldera was almost due south from here, perhaps a few degrees west as well.

The youth wound up back beside the lake after a time, where she slumped down beside the water with a contented sigh. She felt freer now, having admitted her forays to Fox. Evidently, the late Junior had not only wandered away at her age, she had left the pack entirely! Wildfire had a hard time understanding how she could have done that. Wildfire felt more and more grownup every day, yet she couldn't imagine severing ties with her parents, siblings and pack to shack up with some strangers. The whole thing was preposterous. But then again, Junior had been a bit of a psycho by the sound of it.