Heron Lake Plateau if it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be

The idea of a trip did cheer her, though movement down below suddenly distracted her. She peeked over the edge of the plateau to see her mother conversing with Elwood. She pulled her head back out of view before either one spotted her, then turned to Tegan with a quick nod.

If she wasn't going to travel, that meant she would need to start working on her relationships with her mother and Kiwi. Bat's throat felt tighter. She wanted to demand he come with her somewhere right now, actually. But that was entirely counterproductive! She needed to stop avoiding them, quit running away all the time.

She decided not to mention any of this out loud—she'd done enough emotional work for one day, thank you very much—so instead Bat said, "You mean Polaris?" Assuming he confirmed, she added, "Maybe tonight? Then I could stay with you so you don't have, you know, nightmares."