Location:Southern Virescent Expanse — Federation Waste Zone
Date/Time:TC1854.04.05-07
Two weeks of jungle.
The Thorn-Hide's tolerance held — a grudging passage granted through territory that didn't welcome them but didn't obstruct them either. The root network carried news of their movement south. Other tribes knew they were coming before they arrived. Raven caught glimpses — a shadow in the canopy that was shaped wrong for a branch, reflective eyes tracking them from undergrowth that was too still, the particular quality of being observed by something that had decided not to be seen. None engaged. The life-song frequency bought passage the way a diplomatic seal bought passage through Imperial checkpoints: it got you through the gate, but it didn't make you a guest.
