Heron Lake Plateau alright, i'm lying, it's pleather

If there was one thing that could distract Towhee from dwelling on recent events, it was Tegan. When Niamh abruptly appeared in front of her, the brooding mercenary took a cagey step back before recovering. The message was soon relayed and they hastened to the borders. She had good and bad days with her leg and today was leaning a bit toward the latter. She moved as speedily as she could, hoping to find Tegan and Ceara both safe and sound.

Instead, she found Tegan and Hydra. Towhee's lips parted in surprise, her gait a little sloppy as she descended to meet them. She was so relieved to see Tegan that she didn't really notice his condition. She wasn't a healer, in any case, and though she had sharp eyes to compensate for her useless ears, she probably wouldn't have recognized the signs anyway. He appeared to be in one piece, which was all that mattered to her as she pressed her nose into his ruff.

But Hydra's presence—and Ceara's lack thereof—begged a lot of questions. Eventually, she drew back to glance between them. "What happened?" Towhee asked simply.