Nova Peak Long way home

Bazi, meanwhile, had spent as much time as she possibly could on the mountain, scaling the vast rock several times a day and with increasing speed and dexterity. She was not about to let someone else claim the honour of Most Accomplished Mountaineer.

Bazi had eaten relatively little at the family's routine breakfast, departing for the foothills before everyone else had finished. They weren't exactly feeding on brand new species, but the change of proportions in her diet was enough to cause upset - there was less fish, and the water was almost too filtered. Until the queasiness subsided, she would simply eat less.

It was on her way down from a record-breaking climb that she spotted Relonikiv on his first true outing since they had arrived at Nova Peak a week earlier. He was already starting to take on the lanky appearance of a pre-teen, and she mourned the loss of the roly-poly runt that he had been. "Hey buddy," she called, picking her way down through the sparsely wooded landscape. "Found anything interesting?"