Grouse Thicket if he said, 'help me kill the president'

This was probably the first time he'd been alone with a girl and not been in a shouting match (at least since his hang-out with Niamh had gone south), and certainly one of the rare times he'd left his precious plateau; the grove wasn't far from the border markers but it was definitely not part of the Redhawk's claim, and that was pretty cool. As Ceara led the way, she explained what to expect — but Screech assumed she was just talking because she was nervous or something, and that was kind of cute (???).

It's very different from the packlands, he noted while glancing around at the thickly growing array of trees. The forest seemed to swarm around them, and the more the two wolves hiked the thicker the foliage became; it was almost like they were shrinking and the reeds of the plateau had grown and grown, becoming these massive twisting trees with narrow paths.

Finally, as they came upon what Ceara deemed as the orchard, Screech wasn't sure what to look out for. There was a decidedly floral aroma to the air — and that was when he remembered what she'd said at the start of their trek, and began to look for patches of apple blossoms. Despite not knowing what to look for, they were soon so prolific throughout the grove that he didn't have to worry about it. Whatever trees weren't in bloom sported small bulbs (which were probably young apples), and the more he investigated the more astringent the scent in the air became until he was wrinkling his snout.

What is that -- ahrrm -- that smell? he didn't realize that the more ripe apples would've fallen off the trees and become rotten or anything, likely fermenting beneath their parent trees.