Heron Lake Plateau i.x : who was only a stranger at home

Miracle of miracles, Towhee showed up.  Seems they'd get the lowdown together.  As Niamh went into a rushed explanation, Colt's worry grew.  He couldn't catch all of it - his ptero was passable at best - but he got the gist, and it was more her manner that hit him.  He didn't give a shit about Screech, about Blackfeather, or any of it, but even the mention had a clear effect on his mate, and he didn't much like it.

Until she got to a part that stopped him in his tracks, frozen.  He went rigid, and his focus trained on Niamh, piercing.  'Ceara.... hostage....'

She said it almost as an afterthought, but after weeks thinking his sister dead, he had a hard time computing with the fact that she might have known where she was.  They had Ceara? He asked, his voice quiet, furious.  Who at? He didn't know yet.  Maybe them.  Maybe her for knowing.  Towhee, and whatever happened next, we're completely out of his concerns right now.