Heron Lake Plateau This is our second opportunity to escape our sins and start over.

He tried again, this time getting the sign right, more or less. Towhee pursed her lips, the nodded. Before she said anything, she resumed all fours and sprang down from her rocky perch onto the grass. She forced thoughts of the lump she'd discovered to the furthest corner of her mind and kept her tail low just to be extra sure Screech couldn't detect it.

"Yeah," she said simply in delayed response. "Come on." She broke into a jog, curving around the plateau's nearest corner to begin winding northward.