Lost Creek Hollow looking back to look forward

Once excused by Terance, Bat slowly turned to face Tegan (without looking at him too directly), then began to walk. Neither one of them spoke as Bat plodded a short distance away. She finally rolled to a stop and steeled herself with a deep breath before facing him again, meeting his hard stare.

"I'm going to stay here a little while, repay my debt, then I'll head back to the plateau. But," she continued, trying to keep her voice even as her legs threatened to tremble, "I plan to go traveling after that. I want to check out the other packs around here, see the sights. I don't plan on leaving the general area but it's something I want to do, by myself." She sipped in a breath. At first, she'd wanted him to come along as much as possible, though as she'd made her plans, she'd come to realize she needed to do this on her own. Now that her romantic feelings had gone, it was time to work on their codependency. "And if I'm welcome, I'll always call the Redhawks home."

She loosed a shaky breath, then braced herself again, anticipating some yelling and "fuck yous," among other things. Bat had prepared for this moment. She thought she could handle whatever Tegan threw at her, though her heart skipped rapidly in her chest as she wondered whether she might lose Tegan's friendship for good.