"It's there or one of the routes," Carmen pointed out with a hint of a shrug, extending a hand to Chief to motion him along as she followed along in the direction that Heather had picked. "I know the one you're talking about. We'll see if it's clear enough, and if not, there's no harm in moving on."

There was a sort of brisk efficiency to her demeanor today, perhaps a little moreso than there might otherwise have been. Part of it was the fault of the long flight, certainly, but there was another, subtler influence, too — that this was one of the first times she was really interacting face-to-face with one of their tight-knit group since Cooper's departure (Hiccup didn't count, because Hiccup was forever the exception), and she was still a little off-balance because of it.

So she was quick to move them along — not hurrying, just authoritative, like a woman of action with a plan already in mind — and soon they were at the park in question, marking out an open, quiet space that would probably suffice for a crash course in riding.