King Elk Forest a bad moon risin'

Bat really wasn't sure what to do with herself these days. She missed Tegan sorely and worried about the fate of her pack mates. But even with her mentor away, why should she stop scouting? As soon as she felt rested and recovered from her previous trek, the aspiring ranger set out again, heading in the entirely opposite direction and with no real destination in mind. Today, she'd wander for the sake of wandering.

But she couldn't keep her mind quiet as she approached and eventually passed a watering hole sunk into a withering grassland. Her mind strayed to Drageda today. Did her mother, brothers and sister feel about Bat the way she currently felt about Tegan: worried and a little bit bereft? And what of nomi these days? The youngster who had fled her birthplace hadn't stopped to think about any of these things—not even during her paralyzing spell of homesickness—or even look back. Until now.

A sweeping forest invited her forward but Bat stopped and huffed a breath. What if... she thought and had to strong arm herself into letting the thought play itself out. What if I went back there, just to visit and tell them where I am and what I'm up to? I don't want to go back there to live—not without nomi, anyhow—but... She rolled her shoulders uncertainly. What would Wildfire do if she just turned up at Drageda after all this time? How would Kiwi, Silkie and Tux react? What would nomi say if she was back?

A whine whistled its way up and out of her throat. She couldn't face it, any of them. Sorely tempting as it was to check in with her family, Bat knew it was impossible. She could never go back now. Her ears twisted backward on her head as she squared her shoulders and marched into the forest, thoughts of her family scattered when she came across the scent of a fellow Redhawk.