outcrop

They emerge from within a rocky outcropping in an otherwise grassy field and hold up their hands, as if in benediction.

An accompanying conservation plan would convey the 30-acre rocky outcrop that hosts the Quercus palmeri , or Palmer’s oak, to a Native tribe.

There has been a string of dangerous encounters in recent months as the two sides sought to enforce their claims on disputed reefs and outcrops, including the Second Thomas Shoal and the Scarborough Shoal.

Nationalist sentiment is also growing in the Philippines, as its dispute with China over reefs and outcrops in the South China Sea continue to fester.

Highlighting the dance were scenes of Blackthorne and Mariko conversing atop a rocky outcrop and later in a softly lit natural pool before eventually sharing a bed.