Heron Lake Plateau douse the lights

@Bat

She slept like the dead. Her breathig was steady for the most part and then it would pick up - like she was running for her life again, or remembering something within the dreamscape of her mind - but it would always return to a level of calm, like she was holding her breath. When she finally woke, it was with a jolt. Camilla had sequestered herself beneath the tree she'd spotted on her arrival, all coiled up in the cast shadow. She felt so exposed on the plateau -- and after her blundering introduction to the Redhawks (that JB posted two seconds before this), she wasn't ready to be up and roaming. What if he came back? What if the Redhawks weren't what they seemed? For all she knew, The Company had infiltrated them too; they were everywhere, and Camilla knew she wasn't really safe, ever. She unspooled her ragged body after some thought, and looked around like she was still dreaming; she didn't know where to go next, what to do, and nobody was here to give her orders --- she was free and didn't know what to do with that freedom. So, with a sigh, Camilla sat leaning against the tree that was her shelter and waited.

She slept badly. Perhaps it was because being pressed up against @Tegan was simultaneously terrible and wonderful. Maybe it was the bad dreams about @Apple (particularly the one where her head cracked open like an egg, brains oozing out like so much runny yolk). In any case, Bat rose before the sun, headed toward the outskirts. She felt a little tired for any serious traveling, though maybe she could go on a day trip...

Bat passed a figure beneath a tree and mumbled a groggy, "'Lo," before pausing in her step and swinging her head to take a closer look. She had initially mistaken her for @Finley or maybe @Clover but this she-wolf was neither. Although she shared the Blackthorns' gray pelt, she lacked the telltale stripe. Her eyes were a shimmering turquoise color. Her face and her scent, upon closer inspection, were unfamiliar to the youth.

"You new? I'm Rory," she introduced, taking half a step closer.

It was typical that she be accompanied by a man wherever she went, ready to do their bidding, but she had nothing like that here, not yet. Whatever stability such a strange arrangement would provide, she lacked. So she was left to feel empty and alone; Phox was off doing something else and without him to guide her, to want her or to order her about, Camilla was stuck. She needed more rest so it wasn't all bad, but... It was different. After spending weeks serving the needs of The Company, she was at a loss without the consistency of that lifestyle.

But when someone passed by the tree she lurked beneath, she jumped. It was more from the sound of their dull voice than anything, having drifted in to a mindless stupor. Camilla stood up straighter and peered sharply at the figure, determining by the odd angles of their face and the proportions of their body that they were quite young - but she couldn't tell their sex at first glance, and was afraid to look again. There was nothing altogether flattering about the stranger's features; as Camilla looked back at the dirt she tried to gather other clues to fill in the blanks.

You new? I'm Rory, spoke the wolf. They came closer and Camilla tensed, but her eyes fluttered up to meet the stranger's gaze. It might've been more appropriate to answer the question or at least introduce herself, but Phox wasn't here to give his permission for that — and she wasn't sure if this stranger could be trusted. So she did the next best thing and nodded her chin hastily.

The other wolf seemed really cagey. Bat momentarily wondered if she wasn't supposed to be here, though she smelled like other Redhawks, so surely she'd been vetted properly. Maybe she was just shy or overwhelmed about her new home. The only thing the youth could do was try to put her at ease.

"Hey, I'm all right," Bat reassured in an even voice. "What's your name?"

When the wolf spoke again, it was to calm her, to try and soothe. That wasn't typical behavior from any male and so Camilla came to the conclusion that the oddly proportioned wolf wasn't male; they were probably some youngling, a girl that she could bond with. It was a much more calming thought than the voice itself, but that was good. Camilla took some careful glances and muttered, C-Camilla, I... her throat felt constricted, so she swallowed a lump but couldn't quite speak again for a moment. When she did, she blurted: Phox... Phox br-brought me.

Although the she-wolf stuttered, Bat got the name—Camilla—and the fact that Phox had apparently brought her here. "That's cool. I don't know him super well but Phox seems like a pretty dece guy," Bat shared, still speaking in low, easy tones.

"Do you need someone to show you around or anything?" the youth wondered in the next breath.

Although Phox had given her a little tour, she'd been so fixated on him that she hadn't taken the time to study her surroundings. Now, back here at the tree, the full weight of everything was collapsing down upon her. They said she would be safe here if she stayed away from the borders—and so she'd have to find something to do deep within the territory. But what if it was a lie? What if they were merely testing her obedience. The girl thought of this as Rory spoke and caught herself with a drifting gaze; she stared off in to the wilderness of the plateau's interior but did not move.

—Show you around or something? they said next, and Camilla was so absorbed within her little universe that she didn't catch it all; this made her feel guilty, and her ears twisted around atop her head to fan out on either side of it. She nodded her head in a sage-like manner, quiet and unassuming and hoping that she wouldn't get in trouble for not remembering where to go. The tour hadn't taken very long but she just couldn't focus the first time around. Camilla wanted to know more about Phox, but she hadn't managed to ask the questions that flit through her mind at that time.

Y-yes, please, she all but whispered, but didn't move. She was waiting on the order to do so, and old habits were hard to break.

"Cool," Bat said when Camilla haltingly agreed. She motioned for the she-wolf to follow, then turned and studied their surroundings for a beat. There were many landmarks on the plateau that she could show on this tour. Perhaps she should simply start with the closest one.

"Let's start with The Roost," she announced in her best tour guide's voice, beginning to march forward. "And, I guess, the lake that gives the plateau its name," Bat quipped with a chortle, peering at Camilla to see how she was faring.

Camilla did as she was told, and with some guidance from Rory she followed along. She kept pretty close to the other wolf's hip, the way a dog might follow their master on a lead. Her gait was hampered a little bit by her lowered tail but other than that, she made sure to keep up. However, each time Rory mentioned a landmark or showed her any attention she merely nodded her already downcast head; she didn't look up, seemingly fixated with the ground, but her ears were up and pivoting to every sound around her and every bit of speech that her guide gave her. She was taking it in as best she could — but she couldn't stop the behaviors that had been trained in to her. Upon hearing Rory's voice take on the characteristics of laughter, she did glance up for a split-second, and her gaze glimpsed the lake, followed with a nod. Roost... Lake... Plateau... She'd do her best to remember these things, but it wasn't something that the men usually shared with her - her purpose was to feed and entertain, not to be a cartographer.

Camilla kept up with her and Bat continued the tour, ticking off landmarks almost by rote, even though it wasn't so long ago that she'd discovered all of these places for herself. The tour took a few hours and by the time it was over, her throat tickled a bit from carrying on most (if not all) of the conversation. She realized she was pretty wiped out, not just from meandering back and forth across the plateau but from spending time with this particular wolf. It didn't help matters that she'd slept poorly the night before.

"Well," the teenager summed up as they hung out at their final stop (the top of the waterfall). Bat stretched. "I think that just about covers it. Think I'm gonna go crash for a bit. Give you some time to explore some more on your own." She shot Camilla a smile, then slunk into a nearby thicket that smelled strongly of Towhee and Phox. She hoped they didn't mind if she crashed their pad for a few hours of catching z's.