A few minutes later, the sap slug was high overhead. It followed the central vein of the frond in what seemed like a perfectly straight line that would eventually rake it back to the trunk of the tree.
"Is the canopy its destination or just a safe route to wherever its goal is?" Celina asked. "It may just climb down trunk and go on its way."
"Maybe," Rafael said quietly, "but I think its destination must be up there. It seems like climbing that far would be a big expenditure of energy compared to a level route across the ground. We've seen nothing that might try to prey on it. At least inside the canopy. It refused to leave the canopy at all so maybe there are things outside that would eat it. Perhaps some of those insects would burrow through its skin for the tree sap."
"Wherever its going," Celina commented, "it's taking much longer than it took to appear at the exposed sap. Either it moved much faster empty, or it was waiting much closer to the edge."
