Heron Lake Plateau that attitude is gonna lose you that toy.

She woke that morning feeling properly rested. Bat yawned, stretched and looked around for Tegan. He must've gone off to fetch breakfast or something. She intended to wait for his return, though she started feeling rather fidgety after only a few minutes. For the first time in a while, she felt like she had energy to burn. She could always catch up with her pal later, Bat decided before darting off across the plateau.

Bat didn't get very far before slowing down and maintaining an easygoing pace. She didn't want to overdo it, after all. She meandered rather aimlessly, simply enjoying the familiar sights and smells of home. It did feel a little sparser than she remembered, though Bat didn't think much of it. As long as she had Tegan, she didn't really care who else lived here.

It would be a while before Bat dared going scouting again. It wasn't just her exhaustion that held her back, nor her attachment to the plateau. Bat was a little scared of venturing out and possibly getting hurt again. She would avoid icy rivers for as long as she lived. But there were other dangers, especially in winter, and Bat was now entirely too aware of her own mortality.

The plateau ended abruptly in a sheer cliff. Bat approached it, then slung her belly to the ground so that her forepaws dangled over the ledge. All she expected was a good view of the territories to the east (including the distant treetops of her mother's copse). But there was a bonus feature: her silver eyes tracked an unfamiliar figure darting after a fox immediately below her high-rise perch.