The search continued into the night, then the following day, and the day after that, and so on and so forth. Neither Meerkat or
@Phox would give up easily, if at all. Most of the time, they stuck together, though occasionally they divided and conquered. Now was one such time, as she headed toward the coast. Maybe she should check Wheeling Gull Isle?
Long before she reached the shoreline, Meerkat slowed to a stop. She was extremely tired from the search efforts. She noticed a tremor in her legs and took a seat to rest, though found herself jumping back onto all fours a moment later as a touch of queasiness rapidly escalated into vomiting. She coughed and spat after she emptied her stomach's sparse contents.
Wiping her mouth, the yearling looked around the dark forest for some source of water. Meerkat moved slowly now, panting, feeling shaky and weak.
Thankfully, she didn't have to go far before she happened across a small stream winding through the woods. Meerkat bent and drank, rinsing the sour taste from her mouth. The water cooled and soothed her stomach too. After she drank her fill, she wiped her mouth, sighed and dropped to her haunches to ascertain herself.
She still felt a little shaky, though the water had gone a long way to settle her stomach. Meerkat knew she should find something to eat but there wasn't really time. Every minute counted. Prevost was only a baby still, hardly capable of looking after herself for long. She was in danger of exposure, predation and myriad other threats, out there all by herself.
Slowly, she rose onto her feet to resume looking. She'd only gone a few steps when a figure appeared a little ways downstream. Meerkat turned and actually gasped audibly, her heart leaping into her throat. The resemblance to both Niamh and Primrose was uncanny. But, of course, the details were all wrong and she quickly realized this wasn't anyone she knew. Neema and Prim were both dead and gone.
Meerkat swallowed, heart sinking as she swiveled a little to properly face the stranger. "Hello," she greeted before quickly asking, "Have you seen a wolf pup wandering around here by herself, by any chance? Her name is Prevost."
Meerkat knew she was being a little unmannerly, especially for an ambassador, though she couldn't feel bad about that, not with Prevost's safety at stake. Unfortunately, the stranger hadn't spotted her. The yearling wasn't particularly surprised, though she sagged a little.
"No," she replied to his question, "she's—she's my sister." They had never so much as met, yet it was still true. Meerkat sucked in a breath when she realized she couldn't even really describe her. She really ought to get that information from Phox, if he knew, Mou or Maegi if he didn't.
Speaking of them, the yearling remembered to say, "We're sort of headquartered on the nearby plateau, I think it's called Blacktail? It's a straight shot from here, um..." Meerkat rotated a little to orient herself, "to the southeast."
Facing her family's lookalike again, "So if you do see or hear anything, that's where you can find us..." She trailed off for a beat before finally thinking to say, "I'm Meerkat, by the way."
While she waited for his own introduction, the yearling realized she felt a little lightheaded after all that talking. She could feel a headache getting started too. She let out a breath and sank to her haunches, waiting for the wooziness to pass.