Ocean's Breath Plateau sweet as brandy wine

The panther felt guilty for how much he didn't miss the glacier. As much as he'd tried to move past it, Ariadne's departure had soiled the place. Leadership there had been only a distraction from how lost and unsettled he'd felt in that land.

Not that he felt the plateau was much more familiar. It was the company, truly, that finally felt like home.

"For now," he replied, pushing his own twisty feelings away to better assess Sulukinak's expression. "We will stay close, I think. But it might be necessary to spread further from the others. To keep from overtaxing the land."

He suspected this second part would appeal to her.

"What direction do you like?" he asked her, coming to a decision of his own. He and Simbelmyne could be happy with almost any background, he thought — but he sensed that Sulukinak might not feel the same. "North? South? To the east or the west?"