Redhawk Caldera I wanna take you into the sunlight.

The news about Eljay surprised Rue.

"Wh- ..Really? He seemed so.." Rooted? Ruenna thought back to her last conversation with the caregiver, in which he had told her that he rarely left the Caldera. He had described the Caldera as safe. As his home. Rue could think of only one reason that Eljay would depart the Caldera with his girlfriend: he wanted a family. And as Towhee had made clear to Rue, there was no room in the Caldera for another family. 

Rue's frown mirrored Towhee's. Was this to be her fate too? Would she someday be forced to choose between love and family, and the place she called home? 

Towhee prompted for them to get a move on, and Rue nodded. "Hustle" was not the best word to describe the way the pair moved, lumbering and limping respectively, slowly making progress eastward.