Sun Mote Copse Everybody hates Monday mornings.

She was still reeling from the deaths of her godparents and the huge, ragged hole blown in the Firebirds' honorary ranks, not to mention her heart. Towhee knew it would take quite a while to come to terms with the sheer magnitude of this loss, of living in a world forever absent of Elwood and Finley. Her heart ached deeply for the grandparents Meerkat would never know, much less remember, and sometimes she bitterly wondered if it was better this way.

Her baby provided a wonderful distraction in otherwise deeply bleak times. She was now three weeks old, with mostly steady sea legs, floppy ears and an appetite for regurgitated meat. She was growing and developing so quickly it kind of gave Towhee whiplash. Today, she tried to keep her mind focused solely on the pup, pushing down her grief and simultaneously trying to slow down time as the sprightly youngster scooted around the log's interior.

To give the puppy more room to play, Towhee stepped out of the small space. She should've known that Meerkat wouldn't be content being left alone, even with her mother just outside. The Regent just barely managed to catch the pup as she tumbled over the log's lip. Instead of putting her back inside, Towhee gently lowered the child to the grass, orange eyes crinkling at the edges as Meerkat promptly began rubbing her face in it.

after @Wraen had escorted him to firebird's keep, arcturus had kept mostly to himself. an old, rather unshakable part of the ostrega knew he was in someone else's home -- and so, he kept his forays infrequent, and did his best to contribute how he could.

it had been five days since arcturus had fled the keep. five days that he had been consumed by his own grief, unaware that the firebirds had their own double-loss to contend with. he had tried to lay low, and was just coming back from a hunt (one sorry hare in tow) when he caught sight of towhee watching someone -- something -- in the grass.

arcturus knew he needed to make things right by the firebrand; he had been naive, and a bit too thinskinned. it seemed he was swallowing his pride and wallowing in his shame a lot these days.. with a gulp, arcturus cleared his throat -- not even catching the small form that wiggled in the grass in front of towhee..

She couldn't any footsteps, though Towhee saw a shadow out of the corner of her eye and her head jerked upward even as she maneuvered herself to stand directly over top Meerkat. She largely welcomed visitors at this point, though not this one. It had been a long time since she'd so viciously thought the word, Outsider. There it was, a flashing neon sign in her mind's eye, and she stiffened, teeth bared and a low growl rumbling in her chest.

Below her, Meerkat lifted her grass-stained face and noticed her mother standing over her. "Hee," she burbled, falling silent and cocking her head so far to the left that it would've been comical if Towhee had been looking. Even as her right ear lifted toward the noise, the baby's eyes spotted the stranger too, a smudge of black beyond the more immediate blades of grass. Head still totally sideways, she stared at him, slowly blinking, and smiled.

all ideas arcturus had about resolving the tensions between the two of them died the moment towhee turned, her teeth flashing in feral contempt. the ostrega balked, rocking back on his heels as his ears flattened in response. arcturus got the hint and was about to swiftly change his course, when a tiny voice gurgled from the winterbare grass.

he froze, the hare dropping from his mouth as he saw the tiny figure. had he -- was that ... his gaze, shocked and suddenly flushed with renewed guilt, sought towhee's in quiet shock.

She felt more than a little conflicted when Arcturus immediately submitted, not because she felt badly (hell, no; she would never apologize for protecting her young) but because the instinctual signaling compelled her to accept his presence. Decidedly torn, she sheathed her fangs but remained very stiff, fur prickling, wary and mistrustful. Then she saw him take notice of her offspring and she couldn't help it; her teeth made another appearance.

"She's not yours," Towhee growled. She couldn't know that for a fact, of course. She suspected Pippin was the father, based solely on appearances. But the truth of the matter was she refused to share Meerkat with any of her would-be sires. Phox was her father, full stop, and if Arcturus, Pippin or anyone else dared to stake some sort of claim on her little miracle, Towhee would show them what for.

Unseen by her mother (whose eyes remained riveted on their swarthy guest), Meerkat finally righted her head. Her smile broadened, her tongue emerging. Leaning her weight on her left foreleg, she lifted her right in the air and waved it at him, mimicking the movements the adults often made in front of her.

for a moment towhee's fangs were sheathed. in that brief second arcturus dared not let down his guard -- which was good, for when the mother saw where arcturus' gaze ended, she bared her teeth again.

instinctively the male turned away, eyes averted -- though he caught the child's smile and raised forepaw. it took all of his willpower to not grin or offer a (mystified) wave of his own, but something about towhee's demeanor told him that was not a bad idea.

did he feel relieved? did he believe her? arcturus felt a rush of feelings, but none he could place a finger upon. if it wasn't his, whose? he had learned not to be naive enough (thx towhee) to believe he was the only male she had seen during her season.. still, that split second where he considered if he was the father put a lot of floating jigsaw puzzles about his identity firmly into place.

"what is her name?" he tried for something a bit less tense of a subject, though he wondered if he should just collect his hare and go before display became action, and towhee sent his ass running.

When it seemed like Arcturus might slink away, only to turn back, his attention fixed on her child, Towhee finally tore her eyes away to glance down at the pup. Her face remained blank for several beats as she watched in wonder as her child made an incredibly rudimentary sign for "hi." Her breath caught in her throat and she forced her gaze upward again, shrewdly fixing on Arcturus again just in time to catch the last two words and thus the gist of his query.

"Nunya," she said vehemently, attention drifting downward again as Meerkat stopped waving and instead flopped forward onto her belly, tail wriggling wildly as she presumably barked at their unwelcome visitor. "Her name is Suricate," Towhee acceded without looking at him, her eyes only for her baby now.

Despite being grounded as such, Meerkat still flailed her little forelegs, unmistakably in play. At least, that's what the Regent thought initially. But rather than just thump her paws in invitation, the pup also lifted her right paw in the air in an a silly little wave. In a way, this was Meerkat's first word, and this fact was not lost on her rapt mother.

nunya went right over arcturus' head (WHOOSH!). most of arcturus' emotions had always been plainly read on his features, and now, he wrestled with that's a nice name and wait, really?. his brow furrowed, and it was only seconds later that he caught the joke that had been at his own expense.

he did not hide the way his features crumpled, not that he would have been able to. he looked swiftly to meerkat so towhee might not catch how handily she had invalidated him. the myriad of emotions that had been woken in him when he had for a split second thought he was a father had not yet distilled - the mountaineer smiled as the little ball again flailed her legs and rose her paw. arcturus did not move from where he had crouched, but he rose his own paw in response, the grin on his features gunned down as he remembered towhee was there, and likely would soon chase him off. "what's it mean?"

Arcturus's latest question went unheard and unanswered as Towhee continued to peer down at Meerkat. The puppy began to wriggle in his direction, which prompted the Regent to strike out a foreleg, blocking the little one's path and causing her head to wobble as she blinked up at her mother. Towhee quickly ducked down to nuzzle those babyish cheeks. She intended to grasp Meerkat's scruff next and move her back into the log, though a different impulse suddenly came over her.

Instead, she pulled back a little and settled on her haunches. She shot Arcturus a cursory glance, mostly just to make sure he hadn't come any closer, then proceeded to ignore him again as she said, -"Hi, baby. Hi, Meerkat."- She signed and spoke very slowly, noticing the baby's eyes following her movements.

Meerkat didn't sign back, though her mouth opened and out came a loud, "Meeeeerrr!" Towhee couldn't possibly read those babyish lips, though she assumed her daughter had made some sort of nonsensical sound. But just in case, she shot another look at Arcturus, her expression asking, What did she say? even before the Regent could decide whether to ask the question out loud.

not for the first time did arcturus' query go unanswered. the ostregan's forehead creased in confused wrinkles -- he had yet to connect towhee's disability, and so, just assumed she was ignoring his question. maybe on the premise it was stupid, or that she didn't want to talk to him anymore.

he cleared his throat, about to announce aight imma go when meerkat chirruped brightly, prompting his dam to turn her fierce head around and nonverbally ask arcturus what had just had been said. hadn't she heard it? she was closer than him.. still, the puzzle pieces did not click..

"meer." arcturus repeated, feeling so out of place in this moment. he didn't want to stay longer than he was welcome, didn't want to leave in case it came across as rude or antisocial, and frankly, in that moment would have curled up into a little fetal sootball if he was able.

"Meer," he reported and the furrow in Towhee's brow disappeared, a look of delight smoothing out her features as her orange eyes resettled on the pup. -"That's right,"- the Regent murmured, -"my Meer."- She bent to nuzzle Meerkat's forehead, then finally did what she'd intended to do some moments ago and scruffed her, placing her gently inside the log before hopping in behind her.

She permitted the pup to shuffle forward but restrained her from dropping outside again. Caging Meerkat with her forelegs, she began to groom her, starting with the grass stains on her face. Towhee's eyes flicked to Arcturus but she said nothing more to him as she tried to coax the baby down for a nap.

arcturus' ears strained, his sharp gaze trying to study the motions of towhee's paws as she turned back to her charge. he had never really considered why she gesticulated so -- he assumed it to be some quirk.. but as he stood there, thinking heavily, it occurred to him that maybe the reason towhee had missed so much of what he had said was because -- could she not hear..?

towhee was scruffing and grooming her puppy when arcturus cleared his throat to announce his departure. when that did not yield the anticipated response, arcturus shrugged and grabbed the hare -- gently tossing it in the regent's direction. she might feel the whumph of wind as the thing landed, or maybe it would capture meer's attention -- but arcturus would have already been slipping off by that point, more bewildered than before but feeling an imaginary forcefield between the two of them that could not be erased.