Sun Mote Copse he chortled in his joy

It wasn't often that Sugar heard her older brother speak with any sort of enthusiasm, even understated, so his praise meant quite a lot to her. She smiled at him, her own eyes shining like pools of wet ink. "Thanks, Eljay, that means a lot coming from you," she replied.

He mentioned Elfie and her breath caught in her throat. She had never gotten along with him, yet of course she couldn't help but say, "I'll keep an eye and an ear out while I'm traveling." It was the least she could do, especially since she was already searching for Fennec, Penn and Praimfaya. "Aye, and Opalia's friend, Praimfaya too," she tacked on in response to his subsequent question.

Sugar pondered where she might be headed, since Eljay wanted to know and the idea of someone who cared about her knowing her basic itinerary was strangely comforting. "I think I might head to the coast next. Eventually I'd like to follow up with Raleska and her pups. That's Elwood's and Finley's mom," she explained. "At some point, I also need to go back to Triquetra, which is where I lived last winter. That's Bat's and Tegan's pack." She didn't explicitly state why—she needed to tell them about their parents' deaths—because neither one of them wanted to think about that right now, she was certain.

She should also head back to Moonspear to clarify her intentions, once she figured them out for herself, but that wasn't really worth mentioning. But after another brief, contemplative pause, she did say, "And I'll want to swing by here and Frosthawks fairly regularly to visit with family. I can't say I get along with Crow particularly well but I adore spending time with Avery. And I'd really like to pick Raven's brain, at long last."

Sugar gave her head a little shake. She never usually talked so much, though she supposed it was because she rarely had the chance. Offering her brother a sheepish smile, she wondered, "What's Weejay up to these days?"