Morningside Cuesta i'm coming home tonight, meet me in the valley where the kids collide

The instant her surroundings became familiar—the sights and smells of the Teekon Wilds washing over her like baptismal waters; she was born again!—she stopped. Bat sensed them coming and let all the various feelings crash into her, giving herself long moments to simply experience them. Her eyes closed and she breathed deeply, waiting for the inner dust storm to wind down and settle.

They reopened and she began walking, her stride slow but deliberate. She had come from the east, so her feet led her westward across a vast, dormant grassland. A small mountain rose up on her right and Bat thought she saw a winding river ahead. It wasn't as familiar as the far side of the wilds, though Bat knew where she was and, more importantly, where she was going. She tipped her chin and squinted at the mountains far off in the distance.

Across that jagged sierra and beyond another, larger one, Bat hoped she would still find the Firebirds nestled in their copse. The journey would take a week or two, especially as she would need to find a route that didn't include the coastline; she would never set foot within sight of the ocean again, so long as she lived. It would take however long it took and Bat wouldn't rest until she found Tegan's family (and her own) to tell them... to tell them... to tell them...