Blacktail Deer Plateau so get your head out of the clouds and get your feet back in the dirt my friend

Like Raleska, Nieve missed home, but it wasn't the grotto that she pined for. She missed the sea foaming over the dark sand and the tide pools where oysters and urchins might be found. She missed her toes in the water and the ever present crash of the waves. She missed the towering sequoias that stood sentinel over their cove.

The plateau didn't feature any of these things. The forest was more dense, the trees short and thin in comparison to the giants on the coast. The packed earth and stone was hard on her paws, which were accustomed to the shifting sand of the shore. The rivers and streams were lined with more pebbles than sand. The wind was louder and colder here than she was used to. It cut through her short fur like razor blades when it howled.

Nevertheless, Nieve remained optimistic that the sea would calm eventually so they could return to their home. In the meantime she made the most of the plateau, digging hollows in the ground to serve as shelter, collecting leaves to line the beds, and mapping the borders. Searching for Scarab took a back seat to making the plateau more comfortable for its transient residents. She was just on her way from the borders when she ran into Raleska.

Following the woman's gaze, Nieve too noticed the dark smudge on the wall that might hide a cave or a path through the mountain. The golden juvenile moved to flank the Epsilon, announcing herself by quietly wondering, D'you think it could lead back to the grotto?