Bramblepoint Pull together for the clan and kin.

She didn’t necessarily intend to isolate, though it was easy to do these days. Treepie emerged from her mother’s ulaq on this bright winter morning, eyes squinting and watering slightly against the glare. She stood in the entry for a moment while they adjusted, the silent stillness making her pensive.

Ignoring the pinch of hunger in her belly, Tiuttuk skipped breakfast to go searching for a friendly face. She caught her father’s scent and tracked it down the mountain, curious what had drawn him away this morning. She followed his trail into the nearby woods, picking her way through the brambles until she heard voices.

Towhee’s voice was unmistakable. Pie’s heart leaped, wondering if Bushtit was with her. She hastened forward, careless now as the undergrowth scraped against her. She burst into the clearing where her taataa and Towhee were talking, the latter’s words slamming into her like a stone to the face.

Reclaiming the caldera? she half-shouted in lieu of a proper greeting. You’re—? Her yellow eyes bored into Killdeer’s face. You’re going to leave Moonspear?