Moonspear ghost in your stereo

Following her encounter with Reyes, she headed due south. She needed to put her personal misgivings to the side for a moment and check on her siblings, particularly Caracal. After she gauged the situation at the caldera, she might sit down with Towhee and tell her everything, then decide where to go from there.

Darkness fell as she hustled through The Heartwood. She definitely didn't want to repeat her encounter with Santiago. She made it to the far side of the smoldered woodland, then reached the lake, without crossing paths with anyone. Meerkat stopped for a drink and a brief rest before continuing onward toward Bramblepoint.

She could practically smell the Redhawks as she roved through the forest. She even caught a glimpse or two of the smokestack in the distance. But then something else caught her eye and Meerkat slowed, then stopped. A flash of crimson near the ground drew her gaze downward, the color bright despite the dark summer night. Meerkat licked her lips and took a step toward the poppies...

Hours later, she cracked open one eye, then the other, and slowly sat up beneath a pale dawn sky. Meerkat squinted around, trying to place her surroundings. When she realized where she was and what she'd done the night before, she gasped.