A silence follows, hanging in the air between them. Clarisse knows that if she lets it go on for too long, Abby will say something terrible. She tips her head back, pressing the crown of her head against the soft feathers of Blunder's chest. They've made their way to the docks, back to the point where she might climb into the saddle and make the short trip across the water to the Gallows.

Back to the place where Ellie isn't.

She's already mapping out the area surrounding the city in her head. The mountains are right there. Ellie likes to explore, camp out. Maybe she got sick of sharing the tent and needed time to be alone. Once she borrowed that special climbing gear from Tony. Did she still have it? Clarisse can't remember seeing it, but it doesn't mean—Ellie could have—

"I'm going to keep looking," she says, before Abby can continue. "Call me if anything changes."

She's already swinging herself back up and into the saddle.