Heron Lake Plateau home is where your heart is

Although he stumbled over his words a bit, Wildfire hardly noticed. She didn't pick up on any of his inner turmoil either. He was just good old Eljay to her, a sight for sore eyes. After dwelling so much on how half her children now considered her natrona, his warm reception really soothed her soul. Wildfire was forever grateful to the Redhawks for always opening their arms and doors to her.

That made her reflect on her last stay here, while she'd recovered from her imprisonment at Blackfeather Woods. Eljay and Lagan had kept her company during her recovery, the latter cracking lots of stupid jokes that lightened her mood. He wasn't here anymore, Wildfire knew, which made her even more grateful that Eljay was still as solidly planted here as ever—never mind his brief foray to Drageda, which she remembered only vaguely now.

"I keep finding my way back to you guys, huh?" Her chestnut eyes crinkled at the corners. "Although the scenery's changed a bit," she quipped, looking around at the plateau. It wasn't altogether that different from the caldera but it definitely wasn't the same either.