Redhawk Caldera Follow your heart, little child of the west wind.

Not long after Meerkat vanished into the distance, someone approached nearer at hand. Towhee tore her eyes away from the spot where her daughter had disappeared, her orange gaze softening as it landed on Rue. She motioned the woman closer.

"I told her she didn't have to," the Sovereign said, perhaps unnecessarily since Rue had been more or less in the background this entire time, "but she basically told me that as much as she wants to hang out here, she can't rest until she finds her dad or at least some word of his whereabouts."

She meant to say something else, probably change the subject, but she saw movement near the horizon. Towhee's heart leaped despite herself. But it wasn't Meerkat with a change of heart, but a stranger. At least, she didn't think she recognized the figure as she squinted down at it.

Without really thinking, she found herself bellowing, "Can we help you?"