Firefly Glen but if the silence takes you, then i hope it takes me too

She managed to keep a lid on her wild emotions during their foray to the fen. It was a good test of her skills of diplomacy, maintaining a cool facade while her head and heart were fit to burst. Even when she and @Toad Amelia made their departure, she did her best to focus on the conversation and not rush her friend as they made their way home.

But as soon as they saw the glen in the distance, Meerkat exchanged a look with her aunt, grinned hugely and ran. There was a dusting of snow on the ground now and more of it swirling about in the air. She let out a whoop as she bounded through it, her heart soaring. She just hoped @Atlas wouldn't hold it against her for being late for their very important date.

THURPRITHE!?!?

WOOOO!!

The inkjet yearling had seen the looming clouds when he had first woken; he’d stared into the skies and through the limited knowledge he had, arrived at the conclusion that they would be getting snow. His first thoughts were to protect the glen and to prepare their borders for the chill that would settle across their claimed lands. After he had managed to store a few rabbits and a fox in their caches, he had realized that he’d promised Meerkat they would have a date to watch the snowfall.
 
Setting to work, the shadow sought out fresher prey. He found a few larger pelts that had been stripped free of their meat and bones and would provide them a warm place to rest. Atlas worked for several hours to prepare the perfect location he had scoped out, setting up the place they would watch from beneath a rocky overhang with trees to their back. The pelts were rested on the ground – he scratched at them a few times to get them in the right place.
 
When he had set everything up, the dark yearling looked on his work with a soft smile. He hoped that Meerkat would enjoy this; he wanted to show her that she was cared for and that her hard work was appreciated. Besides, Atlas could not think of anything better to do than spend the evening with the brown-eyed girl. With a wavering tail, his sunset gaze searched the nearest areas for signs of her.

It was growing dark, twilight purpling the skies and casting an almost ethereal glow over the falling snow. Meerkat felt heady as she continued galloping through the glen, headed toward the spot they'd scoped out weeks back. When she saw him waiting there, her heart did a little song and dance. She sprinted the last few hundred yards.

Breathlessly, unabashedly, laughingly, she threw herself into his arms. As soon as she caught her breath, she said, "Sorry I'm late," and quite shamelessly kissed his cheek. Eyes aglow, she wrapped her forelegs a little more tightly around him, giving him a squeeze. As she did so, she noticed the items he'd gathered and wondered, a smile in her voice, "What's all this?"

The young girl apologized for her tardiness, causing the dark yearling to shake his head softly. He hadn’t minded waiting a little longer than they had planned; he had been able to set up their spot and make it as close to perfect as he could. Before he could tell her not to worry, she looked to the pelts and the few prey animals that he had set out, asking what all of it was.
 
Atlas cast a nervous glance toward the furs and then back to Meerkat with a bashful flush of his cheeks and a slightly gaping mouth. He wasn’t certain he knew how to answer her question without making himself appear a fool. Moreover, the young Ostrega hadn’t been sure if he had attributed more importance to their date than it should have been given.
 
“Well, I wanted to make… sure it was special…”
 
There was a crease in his brow as he thought back to their discussion of it. It had seemed important to her at the time and he did not regret having gone out of his way to set a comfortable mood.
 
“I got rabbit but if you were hungry for something else we could go sniff out one of the nearby caches,” Atlas said to her with a soft smile.

CAMEO BECAUSE AW TAG

He'd left the Caldera feeling...Empty. He could have been pleased with himself, for trying to confront his newest fear, but he didn't really recognize it as an accomplishment as it hadn't taken his fear away. He'd merely learned that if he squished himself against the side of a den's walls, he could more or less survive his panic attack, and had realized that a cave-in wasn't going to happen every time he was underground. Still; he didn't want to risk it. The fear was still there and it was still very real. 

What made him feel so hollow was how he hadn't exactly resolved much of the conflict between himself and Fennec, and he knew that if he had decided to stick around to help care for her, she probably might've resented him even more. She'd had very little words for him, but the ones she had spoken had made it clear that she didn't want him around, and that she hadn't enjoyed being given gifts or acts of service. So staying at the Caldera to hunt down food for her seemed like the wrong thing to do if he wanted to have any hope in redeeming himself. Still, leaving her behind felt wrong, even though he knew they would care for her. It just felt like he was giving up, at the end of the day, as he dragged his footsteps the whole way home. 

By the time he reached the pack, he'd begun to leave behind faint pawprints in the freshly fallen snow, as it melted beneath the warm pads of his feet. When he crossed Meerkat's path he followed it almost instinctively, wanting to find her to seek out some sort of comfort, and maybe talk to her about how Fennec had been. Her trail was very fresh, so he knew she'd be easy to find, and he wasn't far behind at all when he began to approach the small clearing, wandering through the woodlands that surrounded it. 

But through the air he heard her excited voice, and perked his ears, pausing when he realized she wasn't alone. Lowering his head, he sidestepped so he might see past the trees to make out the form of whoever she was talking to- only to find his view blocked, but his answer apparent enough when he heard Atlas speak. Normally, he might have still considered himself welcome, but he knew what this was. With the small, light snowflakes falling around him and coming to rest on the ground, he felt a coldness in his heart which matched the chill in the air when he realized that this was her first date. 

The emptiness he'd felt before faded away, and was replaced by a pang of loneliness. Wordlessly, he turned and padded away as quietly as he could, and would spend the night in the foothills of Moonspear, shadowed by its solemnity in the quiet falling of snow.

The food wasn't really a surprise, considering he'd asked after her favored fare when they'd originally arranged their date. But the pelts were certainly an unexpected treat. She reluctantly unwrapped her legs from around Atlas's neck to go inspect them, her nose brushing along the soft furs even as he spoke from behind her, saying, "Well, I wanted to make... sure it was special..."

She glanced up at him, eyes aglow. "You definitely succeeded," she let him know, voice soft but brimming with enthusiasm. "Rabbit's perfect," she added, reclining on top of the softest skin and patting the space next to her. "C'mon, we have a snowfall to watch!" And that would be best done snuggled close together in the cozy spot Atlas had fixed up for that very purpose.

The dark young beast was pleased that she seemed to like the arrangements he had made. He hadn't anticipated that he'd have been able to pull everything together, but the space seemed nice and warm. He couldn't imagine anything better than watching the snowfall with the brown-eyed girl. She must have shared at least some of the same sentiments to have been there, eagerly patting the spot beside her. 

Atlas approached and settled into the soft plush of the fur coat underneath them. His tail wavered behind him, brushing against the flakes of snow that had already started to gather around them. When his sunset gaze traveled toward her, he studied her expression for a few long moments. It felt nice to do something for someone else in that way - to make the first snowfall an experience she wouldn't forget. He found pride in his efforts, which was something he had never really experienced before. 

"What do you think?"

His voice was smoky and soft; he gestured to the large flakes that spiraled around them.

He moved to flank her and she stared smilingly at him for a few heartbeats before redirecting her attention to the snowfall. She could look at him—and sample some of the food he'd brought—soon enough. For now, she wanted to savor the real purpose of this rendezvous, which was to enjoy her first snowfall.

Several moments passed in comfortable, hushed silence as she marveled. Of course, she'd been out in the snow all day long, yet it was different now. She was finally cozy here with Atlas, her body and heart finally in the same place after being at odds for hours. And she could simply stop and stare for a while.

She did just that before eventually slanting her muzzle toward him to answer his question. "I think," Meerkat began to say, meaning to finish that sentence with some lovely word like "enchanting" or "magical." Instead, her sentence went in an entirely different direction as her eyes hooked on his and she exhaled, "I'm in like with you."

The boy’s mouth fell, and he gaped at her for a moment, unable to hide the surprise that had flitted across his features and tilted his head in a curious manner. It wasn’t that he was shocked to have been told it, but that someone like Meerkat was the one saying it. She was an aspiring coach! She had so much going for her. The inkjet figure could hardly help but to feel as though he would never add up to what she was worth – what she deserved from someone that she liked.
 
“Y-you mean that?”
 
Atlas asked in a hushed voice. It felt like a secret that he wasn’t even directly involved with but desperately wanted to know the details of. Everything started to spiral quickly in his mind, anxiety taking charge and steering the vessel where it pleased. Before he could allow himself to get carried away, Atlas knew that he needed to understand better. What was she saying to him? What did that mean to her?
 
“Wait… hold on… what… what does that mean, Meerkat? I didn’t mean to assume-“
 
He stopped talking before it got worse.

His stammered reply was endearing. "Yeah, of course," she said. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." Did he really not believe her? Her head tilted, wondering why. Maybe her phrasing hadn't been particularly clear. In fact, his next few words inferred as much.

"It means," Meerkat explained, "that I like you, a lot, romantically." Her eyes twinkled as she gave his chin a swift kiss, including a quiet mwa. There, hopefully that made the picture a little clearer for him. She laughed softly, her whole body feeling warm and tingly.

His cheeks flushed with heat at the touch of her lips. 

He thought his heart had sprung wings, threatening to burst from his chest. Atlas looked to the brilliant girl at his side and felt the words stop in his throat. Everything was moving so fast... it was all very exciting. 

His heart started to quicken. He could feel his pulse grow tense and the pressure in his veins felt like they had turned to white hot pistons. All the air had left his lungs and the next moment, his eyes searched hers with panic. 

He couldn't breathe.

Atlas made no reply and didn't react beyond staring at her almost as if he didn't believe she was real. At first, Meerkat found this just as charming as all the rest and chuckled under her breath. The sound died away and she blinked when the seconds continued to tick past with only the sound of his breathing in the snowfall's hush.

"Are you alright?" she asked, suddenly worried. And though she was hardly prone to negative thoughts, that dip in her heart suddenly seeded a doubt in her mind. Didn't he feel the same way? All the signs certainly pointed to it and Meerkat wouldn't have doubted it just a few seconds ago. But in the face of Atlas's seeming paralysis, she felt uncertain.

When still he did nothing but mouth breathe, Meerkat softly commanded, "Atlas? Please tell me what you're thinking."

Holy fuck, are you broken?! Say something! Say SOMETHING!
 
Atlas’ mouth appeared to move like he was speaking, but the only noise to escape his lips was a strangled sort of sound from the back of his throat. The few seconds that he tried to talk but couldn’t, he watched her face shift from joyous affection to concern and confusion. He had caused that to happen to her and it was tearing through him like a hot blade through butter.
 
The dark boy did not know where his words had gone. He did not know how he had lost the ability to speak in such a vital time. Meerkat had shocked him silent. She’d stunned him and he was going to ruin everything. Fear mingled with the surprise and quickened his pulse. He felt like he was going to melt, but the snow continued to fall around them.
 
Without much warning, the inkjet yearling lowered his head and pressed it to her.
 
If he could not tell the girl how he felt, he would learn to show her.

I think we should fade this and have an updated one, what say you? :')

Still, he said nothing. Before Meerkat's thoughts could really begin to swirl, he bent toward her, pressing his dark heat against her own, paler warmth. For whatever reason, this simple touch alleviated the trepidation that had begun welling inside her. She turned her head to smile against his fur, making a small crooning sound of pleasure as the last vestiges of uncertainty vanished to be replaced by a spangling sensation in her bloodstream.

For a while, they simply lingered like that. Meerkat slowly realized she might've put him on the spot with her blatant declaration. Just because he didn't reply with words didn't mean anything. Actions spoke louder anyway, so this embrace—not to mention this entire romantic setup—said a lot. And the more she clung to him and reflected on it, she wondered if she hadn't rendered him speechless, which was kind of flattering.

The magic of the night restored, she slipped away only after a good, long while to say, "Let's eat some of this food before it gets buried." She laughed, making a point to catch Atlas's eye and press her nose to his cheek before her attention drifted to the wintry picnic.

When the girl matched his motion, the shadow breathed a soft sigh of relief. He had hoped that he could avoid offending her somehow, and he had been desperate to do so but he hadn't imagined it would work quite that well. Their moment of peace and comfort was good to him. He thought for a moment that he just might have a shot at a normal life - a life his mother and father would be proud of for him. Atlas couldn't imagine his fortune, just being there with her. 

When Meerkat mentioned that they should get to the food, the dark yearling blinked a few times before nodding his head and moving to get a piece of prey for her. They spent the rest of their time watching the snowfall coat the ground in a thin layer of white. They enjoyed each other's company for as long as they could manage before finally turning in. When Atlas wandered back to his den in the late hours of the night, he wore a smile on his face.