Blacktail Deer Plateau you shove your bright lights, big city, back where the sun don't shine

Raleska watched as the girl primly sat upon the ground before her, her limbs neatly folded under a blaze of goldenrod fur. Nieve turned the skull around in her paws, much the way Raleska had done moments before. The young Eyjolfur caught a flash of blackness between the dark sockets, which peered woefully back at her and reminded her suddenly of

She shut her eyes sharply, chasing the rotten image away. Think of anything else think of the beach think of sand think of Rosalyn or the cave in the plateau, anything but that. When she opened them, she realized Nieve was looking upon her with a species of concern Raleska wished she hadn't seen. She didn't mean -- and didn't want -- to alarm the girl.. and she also didn't want anyone fussing over her either.

It brought her some consolation to learn that Nieve missed the Sound too. It was where they were both born -- they had that in common. A shared blood ran through them; the blood of the sea, which they could leave but would never leave them. "I'm fine.." But she wasn't fine, and Nieve would be able to tell. Quick to change the subject (although she was genuinely interested in the answer) Raleska prompted: "Do you want to go back someday?"