Porcupine Ridge waited too long for a ship to come.

Summer's recent altercation with Jace had left a bitter taste in his mouth and the heavy weight of guilt and distress upon his conscience. He did not take back his words, for he fully believed Jace had needed to hear every one of them even if he hadn't wanted to. But he still felt terrible for how it had affected the man, how it had hurt him. That he hadn't wanted to do, but if it meant getting the beta back on track, then he was glad to do it in spite of the painful sting.

With such thoughts upon his mind and Ty still as distant and melancholy as ever, Summer decided finally that it was time for him to do what he'd told Ame he would and make the journey to the Plateau. He had stalled for some time now, not wanting to leave his friend in such a delicate state when his was the only company she seemed to accept. But time had not helped to heal her hurting heart, and Summer was growing desperate. The Ostrega had an endless amount of patience and affection for the girl to take as much time as she needed to recover, but now he was beginning to feel like he wasn't doing enough and that his patience was doing more harm than good.

So, he'd left. Two nights ago when the moon was shrouded overhead and his black fur was masked by the darkness of night with a low howl out over the Spire to let them know he was going and that he'd be back. He had kept the details of his intentions vague, not wanting Ty to be aware of what he was doing for fear that it would upset her. Amekaze knew, though, and that was enough for him since she was the only leader now.

Two nights of travel had brought the dark Ostrega to rest between the rocky outcroppings of Porcupine Ridge at the far North end of Northstar Vale. He was determined to travel only at night, not wishing to run into anything that might delay him. He also knew that cougars traveled at night, and although he knew to run into one on his own would be dangerous, he still desired to locate the one who had injured Vienna or even one of those that had killed Ferdie. As he settled down beneath a small overhang upon the cliffs however, it was after another uneventful trip. He supposed that such was for the best, and yet as he closed his eyes to rest, he couldn't help but wish that he had some sort of outlet for the bundle of emotions that tightened in his chest.