Nimbus Summit wrong town to stop in

He would’ve been thrilled to see anyone, but when a woman bearing a strong resemblance to @Bridget materialized, Caracal’s whole face lit up. He opened his mouth to greet her, barely half a syllable escaping him when she spoke. He politely shut his trap to hear what she said.

Hi! he exclaimed the instant she finished. My name’s Caracal and I’m just traveling through the area, although…

There was a lengthy pause as the yearling appeared to weigh his thoughts. One of them included Bridget’s current whereabouts. He didn’t know, of course. But the resemblance really endeared him to this stranger, even before he knew her name. And now that he’d found someone, anyone, he was hard-pressed to let her go.

He felt a little traitorous—he thought of Killdeer, his best friend in the world, and Sialuk, whom he both adored and owed—but Caracal couldn’t stand one more day by himself and said, rather impetuously, I’m interested in joining, if you could use a medic… er, in training.