Heron Lake Plateau Sooner rather than later

Of all the things Phox could have said -- literally all of them -- what he actually said was the last thing in the entire world she expected to hear. Like legit the last thing. She deflated like a sad balloon, the cheer of moments before hissing out of her in the span of less than a second at the words "leaving the plateau". The smile vanished, the waving tail fell like a bird dying in midair, and she was momentarily completely speechless. She just stared at her brother, feeling like her heart was going to fall through the floor of her chest and hit the ground. When she finally found her voice, it was barely above a whisper as she choked out, ".....Why?"