Heron Lake Plateau now this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down

Watery eyes crinkled when she found him and scuttled to close the distance. It was tempting to throw her forelegs around his neck and hide her face in his shoulder, yet Bat contained herself. She did lean heavily into the nudge, eyes closing momentarily. Some salty dew still clung to her lashes.

After taking that moment to gather herself, she looked up at Tegan. "It's just... a lot, that's all." She didn't tell him how she'd been deliberately repressing memories of Drageda and just how fragile a schema had been broken by her relatives' arrival. Nor did she specifically mention all the other emotions swamping her. She just left it there.

After another moment, she did add, "I guess the jig's up. Although I don't think anyone gives a shit." Her nose was running, goddamn it. Bat swiped at it with a foreleg. "Should I start going by Bat again?" she mused a little ruefully.