Bristle pursues Pax. "The crows say war-sick humans are nearing," Bristle says as he vaults over the summit of a hill to find him.
Leave this shattering ground, these death lines for them to locate" (179). She yells at him to return. Pax claims to see another fox, but she is skeptical: "No fox from our valley would venture past the territory boundary" (180).
Pax notices a little fox who splashes into the water. Bristle leaps to his feet, enraged, and orders the small fox to return home. But to no avail. "A swath of lower field exploded into the sky...," Runt says as he hops on a wire running towards them. "The shattered world fell silent" (181). Pax summons Runt and Bristle.