Duskfire Glacier the phoenix

There's absolutely no obligation to join. This is open.

She couldn't decide whether she wanted to go herself or send someone with a message to Redhawk Caldera. Meerkat did want to see her mom and the rest of them, plus get the latest updates on her dad and the kids. But she was irrationally afraid that she might get sucked back into all the drama. What if they needed her again? What if she couldn't return to the glacier out of a sense of familial obligation?

The yearling decided she wasn't prepared for that possibility, so she asked around and found out that @Lane was also a scout by trade. Meerkat assumed she might not be up to the task considering her two young children, though it didn't hurt to ask, right? She intended to offer to watch the kids if she was interested, with the help of the rest of the pack, of course.

She went looking for her on this crisp September afternoon, though she kept getting distracted by the hints of fall in the air. She enjoyed the autumn season, though her stomach pinched with dread at the thought of winter. Her first had been so difficult and rife with trauma. The cold and dark hadn't helped. Meerkat really wasn't looking forward to her second.

Lane glanced warily over her shoulder. It wouldn't be long before her children, who were currently hiding, figured out that Lane wasn't actually seeking. It was kind of a dirty trick, and it was likely to only work once, but sometimes an exasperated mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do. And Lane needed a moment of peace. 

When she turned her attention forward, she noticed she'd come upon a vaguely familiar wolf. "Hey. Are you the one who's been asking around for me?" Lane asked, cutting right to the chase. She felt a little bit guilty that she hadn't gone to that meeting for all the mothers, but that too had been in the interest of her own self-care. She was just trying to survive, okay?

She spotted a figure in the distance and approached. Meerkat couldn't help but notice a slight physical resemblance between the two of them as she walked toward her. Only when she came closer did the yearling realize, with a slight jolt, she actually recognized her from somewhere.

But it was a vague sense of familiarity at best. This was definitely Lane, based on her question. Still slightly mystified, Meerkat smiled and nodded. Lane didn't seem to know her, so she made sure to say, "Yeah. I'm Meerkat." She paused, then just to clarify the obvious, she added, "You're Lane, right?"

"The one and only," Lane answered with a facetious half-smile. 

Ah, Meerkat. Veteran had called her Meekah, and so that had been her name in Lane's mind up until this moment. 

"Sorry I missed your meeting, I.. uh.." Oh, shit. Lane hadn't actually come up with an excuse before she started speaking. 

"Well anyway, Veteran said you're going to train with him," she finished on a high note, hoping against hope that the other woman wouldn't notice her brain fart. "I hope he didn't twist your tail into it." Children had a way of demanding attention from the person who least wished to give it.

There was something about Lane's mannerisms that made Meerkat like her immediately, even as she faltered through an apology for missing the yearling's earlier rendezvous. She smiled and shook her head, fully prepared to insist no apologies were necessary when Lane shifted gears on her own. Yeah, Meerkat was definitely going to get along with her.

"Nah, I won't teach them blackmail or bribery until the fifth or sixth lesson," Meerkat quipped, laughing lightly. "Honestly, I just really enjoy teaching kids. Well, I enjoy it mostly in theory right now, though I'm eager to get some real world action shortly. I do have some experience with my younger siblings," she did think to add, lest Lane think she was completely winging it.

She reminded herself she'd approached Lane for a purpose. "Speaking of spending time with kids," Meerkat said, "the reason I was asking around is because I'd like to send a messenger to Redhawk Caldera. There's no obligation whatsoever, but if you are interested, I'd be happy to keep an eye on your kiddos for you." There was more she could say, though Meerkat tapped the brakes there to give Lane a chance to respond.

Meerkat was quick to return a joke, and Lane scoffed. She was equal parts amused and surprised by how refreshing that bit of humor had felt. Winstersbane, Tzila, Imaq, and Rye were all very solid, dutiful, honest, and kind.. but they all did tend to be fairly serious, albeit each in their own way. 

"Veteran and Wayfarer have been a crash course for me," Lane admitted, "I'm just learning everything as I go." She shrugged. Meerkat's level of experience seemed to match her own more or less, so it didn't bother the new mother in the least bit that Meerkat was new to the coaching thing. Everyone starts somewhere. 

Meerkat then offered to watch Lane's children for her while she was off on an extended vacation so that Lane could deliver and important message, and her eyebrows shot up in unfiltered surprise.

"Seriously? Are you sure? You've met my kids, right..?" She loved them, really-- it was just hard for her to imagine that anyone would willingly sign up for primary guardianship for an indefinite stretch of time. 

Lane laughed and shook her head. If Meerkat wanted to do this, Lane wasn't about to try to talk her out of it. "Where is Redhawk Caldera? I don't know that one.." Lane hoped it was far, far away...

Lane seemed taken aback by the offer. Her blatant warning earned a slight guffaw from Meerkat. She supposed she hadn't spent any significant amount of time with any of the children yet, though she was fairly certain, "Wintersbane and the rest of the pack will have my back, right? Right...?" She injected some mock nervousness into her voice and widened her eyes, only to break a beat later, smilingly adding, "It'll be great experience for me and I know I'll have support if I need it."

Now the mother queried about the caldera's location. Did this all mean she was interested? Meerkat grinned, only hoping that its distance wouldn't deter Lane as she explained, "It's on the other side of the Sunspire Mountains, quite a ways southwest of here. If you stick to the coast, you'll come across an island across from a river. If you follow the river inland, it will lead you most of the way there. You can't miss it once you hit Greatwater Lake."

"Oh, sure," Lane reassured Meerkat, playing along with her mock-nervousness. "You'll be fiiiine..." She gave a few big, over-convincing nods. 

She laughed when Meerkat broke the charade, and she responded to the coach's words with a much more appropriate-sized nod. "Wintersbane is a good father, but he does have a lot going on in his life. He probably won't even notice I'm gone." 

Whoops, did that just come out of her mouth? Lane shifted her stance a little awkwardly before turning the conversation to the location of the Redhawk Caldera. Her eyes lit in recognition as Meerkat described the path.

"Oh, kinda like where Firefly Glen used to be? And Ivory Rose?" She paused, reaching back into her memory. "You say that I can't miss it, but.. I don't remember..?" If she couldn't miss it, then why had she missed it back when she was in the area? "Sorry, I'm a dumbass. What exactly is a 'Caldera'?" 

Lane's remark about Wintersbane came with a heap of subtext. Although incredibly curious, Meerkat tabled thoughts of that, for now. She must focus on the task at hand, although she definitely intended to circle back sometime later.

"Yeah! It's south of the glen and west of the woods," Meerkat replied, effectively distracted from possible romantic gossip. She abruptly realized aloud, "Wait, were you part of Firefly Glen? I knew you were familiar but I couldn't place you." The mention of Ivory Rose made her wonder if she had any history with Eldritch, but one question at a time.

For the moment, she totally forgot to answer Lane's regarding the explanation of a caldera.

South of the glen, and west of the woods? All Lane remembered from out that direction was some strange mountain with a lopped-off top. She'd always assumed it was a plateau, and therefore not really worth investigating. But perhaps it was actually a "caldera," whatever that was? A cave of some sort, perhaps? Meerkat never got around to explaining, clearly distracted by the connection she had just made between herself and Lane. 

"Oh Firefly Glen! Yeah! I stopped in there during the blizzard." No wonder Meerkat seemed so familiar. "I was actually there when Moonspear came down on top of us. Were you there too, when that happened? Fucking unreal.." Lane shook her head. She was lucky to have made it out of the Glen in one piece, and it was downright unbelievable that wolves who had actually been on the mountain during the meteor strike had survived. It was almost enough to make Lane doubt her atheistic convictions.

"Fuckin' unreal," cried Wayfarer as she arrived on the scene, tail arched triumphantly as she mimicked her mother's words. Absolutely thrilled, clearly, on hearing her say one of those "bad words" which of course gave her free reign to copy!

She slithered in close, snaking between Lane's forelimbs to cant her head backward and beam up at the underside of her chin. A low rumbling note demanded the medic's attention, and she loudly repeated the statement once again with the knowledge that that would work.

"I wasn't," was all Meerkat managed to say, voice gone a little soft and thready, before a small voice interrupted their conversation. Her brows raised as she turned to appraise young Wayfarer, trying very hard not to laugh. She knew her own mother didn't give a damn about her young kids swearing, though she couldn't be sure how Lane felt about it and looked to her for guidance on how to react.

The sound of her child parroting her words-- why did it always have to be the most inappropriate part?-- elicited a long, weary sigh from Lane, followed by a meaning exchange of glances with Meerkat. See? This is what you're signing up for.

It was Lane's initial intention to just ignore Wayfarer's outburst, especially since she looked so cute staring up from between her mother's paws and grinning. But then said it again, loudly, directly in Lane's face this time. Lane reacted with a quick, reprimanding nip at the child's ruff. If Wayfarer was old enough to use swear words, then she was old enough to learn that she couldn't yell them in people's faces.

The entrance of the attention-seeking child would likely spell death for the adults' conversation, so Lane requested the final missing piece. "What's the message? I'll take it as soon as I can get away." She bent down to mouth playfully at Wayfarer, hoping to distract the child from piping up with questions about anything she had just overheard.

On her second attempt at demanding her mother's attention, she was rewarded with a swift clack of her fangs. She received a nip to her scruff and responded dramatically, with a pained yelp and a thud as her limbs gave way. Slumped, she whimpered pitifully; the reprimanding had wounded her pride more than anything else, but if she could make Lane feel bad about it then... great!

Nobody seemed to give a damn, though. Her mother continued with her conversation as though she didn't even exist! Wayfarer stopped whinging and collected herself, propping up onto her elbows and sweeping her gaze upward to look upon the face of a sandy stranger. No words, this time, for fear of another telling off, and she did flinch as the medic's muzzle lowered toward her again.

This time was okay, though - she rolled to the side and batter her dam's snout with a paw, glad to finally have the attention she craved.

After Lane dealt with her child, Meerkat smiled and said, "Hi, Wayfarer."

But then it was back to business. "Call for Towhee. She's deaf, so someone else might respond. That's fine, you can pass this along to anyone. I just want to tell them where to find me, let them know I'm doing well and that they're more than welcome to come visit. You can tell them I plan to visit them sometime, I'm just not sure when yet. And if you could, I'd love to hear the latest news from my parents, Towhee and Phox. Thanks, Lane."

As she gave the woman a moment to process that, her attention shifted back to the pup. She wondered what she'd think of getting to hang out with Meerkat for a few days while her mom went scouting. But it wasn't her place to ask, so she left that to Lane.

Lane buried her muzzle playfully into Wayfarer's side, hoping to make her giggle. Although she looked occupied, she was listening to what Meerkat was saying. Once the young coach finished dictating he message, Lane pulled away from Wayfarer to relay it back. 

"Got it. Check in about Chicadee and Fox, get their latest news, and tell them you're here. They can visit here if they want, but you'll visit there sometime either way." The part about Meerkat's mom being deaf was interesting-- how in the world was Lane supposed to communicate with her? Oh well.. she'd figure it out when she got there, she supposed. 

Lane stood. "Wayfarer, why don't you show Meerkat that cool thing you can do? I need to go track down your brother." She gazed off in the direction from Wayfarer had appeared, wondering what Veteran could have gotten into this time. 

Lane did not have a particular "cool thing" in mind, but no doubt Wayfarer would come up with one. Her kids peppered her relentlessly with demands of "Mommy, watch me--" for all manner of trivial feats, including catching their own tail, digging a hole, keeping a feather in the air by blowing on it, and laying one ear flat while raising the other. And those were all just from this morning. 

Once Wayfarer seemed comfortable and occupied, Lane would trot off in search of the child's partner in crime. 

This can be the last from Lane.

Wrapping since Wayfarer wayfared. :')

"Towhee and Phox," Meerkat corrected with an amused laugh. She nodded otherwise. It was a pretty basic message, she could only hope that Lane could deliver it safely and hopefully return with news from the caldera.

When Lane made a clear attempt to foist Wayfarer onto her, Meerkat caught her eye and smiled, then looked to the child to say encouragingly, "Ooooh, yeah, please show me." She was happy to keep an eye on the pup while Lane tracked down Veteran. Maybe she could come up with a game or lesson of some kind, depending on what Wayfarer had to show her.