By the time the sun had fallen the prairie had begun to flush green, flourishing ahead of them into full grasslands. They stopped to camp under a lone tree, scaring off the three-legged strangely loping animals that were stretching their necks to nibble on the leaves. They lay blankets on the ground and ate in the gory dark. The loping neck-twisting animals were called (striped) garaths and by the time the moon was at its brightest and bluest they were everywhere, and the three wanderers fell asleep to the sound of their gentle chewing.
