Neverwinter Forest don't look ahead, there's stormy weather

She knew she should go back to the glen, eat some food and get some rest. She should also check in with @Bronco. But Meerkat wouldn't let herself take a respite. Trudging through the endless snows, she headed north. She knew a little about the pack residing in a forest partway between Firefly Glen and Yuèlóng. She would check there. If Atlas wasn't there, maybe she would continue toward the coast, check in with Yuèlóng and maybe even try to look up Kaertok at Sapphique. Maybe her dad could help her somehow...

When she arrived at the borders of Neverwinter Forest, Meerkat meant to call for an audience and question them about a black wolf with yellow eyes by the name of Atlas. But the instant she stopped moving, she collapsed in a snowdrift, sinking out of sight.

Back and forth she paced, like a dog trapped in a cage and waiting for the second they could break out. Even at the forest borders the snow was thick, making Vallkyrie look shorter then he usual long-legged self. The Huntress was hungry, their food supply growing scarce and the month long storms keeping her from hunting successfully. She is ever watchful however, trying to scent if a herd was near enough to get to, trying to see if hunger too drove a prey animal out. 

Instead, she sees another canine- a coyote, a wolf? The brown and tan creature comes closer and closer still and the wolf is revealed. And then-GONE! Well where the hell did she just go? The white streaked black wolf blinks, head tilting with confusion. She had thought she just saw another wolf... Certain her mind wasnt playing tricks on her, Kyr started off slowly from the border and into that direction. Sure enough was a snow-hole and within it, a wolf. Alright down there!? Kyr half yelled through the whipping winds of the snowfall.

She blacked out for a couple of beats, still dizzy when a face appeared above her. For a split second, her heart leaped into her throat, thinking it was Atlas. The fur color was right, as were the becomingly chiseled features. But the eyes were all wrong, a glacial blue rather than the yellow of a daffodil. And there was a white stripe splashed on the stranger's chest, not to mention the decidedly feminine scent and voice.

Feeling crushed all over again, Meerkat did not reply right away. She waited for her spotty vision to clear, then gingerly raised her head to get a better look at the she-wolf peering down at her. Well, she wasn't Atlas but that didn't mean she didn't know something about her beau's whereabouts. Taking a deep breath, Meerkat shifted until she was sitting upright, albeit still hunkered a little in the makeshift dugout of snow.

"I'm looking for someone," she said, voice quavering a little. Meerkat felt so very weak and weary, yet she pressed, "His name's Atlas. He has black fur and yellow eyes. Have you seen him?"

There was, for a moment, what seemed like excitement and recognition from the young woman only to be squashed quickly. Whoever she had thought Kyr was, she was obviously not. It took the tawny woman some time to get her herself and when she did, she was lifting herself upright and then inquiring about someone. It seemed one of her packmates, friend or what have you had gone missing. Vallkyrie wondered if it had happened during the storms. Many had. 

I do know a man with black fur and yellow eyes but he called himself Arcturus. It had been some time ago but she still remembered the name. He was a wolf of Moonapear then and given the Glen was an extension of such it wasnt so far fetched. Still, there was a difference of name there... 

The Archer frowned, unhappy even with herself she couldnt help the young wolf further on the manner. We have lost quite a few too ourselves, with the storms... First rain storms, now snow storms... The rage never ended in Teekon and nor did the disappointment.

Once more, her heart leaped, only to drop like a stone when the she-wolf mentioned Arcturus. Her face crumpled and she felt her eyes prick with tears. She didn't want to start weeping in front of this stranger, so Meerkat bit her lip hard and hung on her next few words as a distraction. Somehow, it was easier to focus on someone else's misery rather than her own.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, swallowing hard and breathing shakily. "When you say 'lose,' do you mean..." Were they lost, like Atlas, or lost like all the dead fireflies?

Alas, her silken black ears pressed hard to her skull yet again, unable to help this woman when it came to knowledge of her lost Atlas. And then...

Both. She spoke, sullen and as such, turned her head up and away from the younger woman and out toward the dotted trees of the Glen beyond the open field. 

Sighing, she turns back to Meerkat. Here, let me help. It was the least she could do and so began digging at the snow in order to make a sort of ramp incline for Meerkat to try to make her way up and out easier.

There was a lot of sorrow in that single word. Meerkat liked to think she'd always been a sympathetic sort, though now she was capable of much more: empathy. She only nodded when the she-wolf began to dig at the snow, pushing herself upright. She still felt a little woozy, though she crept carefully from within the collapsed drift.

Shaking out her fur and wincing a little as the windchill bit into her bones, Meerkat said, "Thank you," and then, "This is Neverwinter Forest, right? What's your name? I'm Meerkat, from Firefly Glen."

Vallkyrie continued to dig at the snow, making that little ramp for Meerkat as she began easily making her way up. A silent nod would be given to the woman at the name of the forest they were at. I figured as much. I'm quite familiar with Moonspear and the Glen's scents. I'm Vallkyrie Archer. And then, a sudden realization- Oh, Meerkat? She spoke, her ears perking with a new attentiveness and she smiles. I know you, or well, of you. Your Bronco's little sister, right?

She had yet to meet any of Bronco's family he had mentioned just beyond the other side of the Spear mountain chain though knew he had said when he had left he had done so with his little sister. Since Kyr's scouting mission, she knew the Firebirds had since moved but could only assume Firefly was aware of it even if she was not.

She felt a tear slip from the corner of her eye and blinked, wondering if her companion had noticed. But Meerkat didn't dwell on it. The conversation was keeping her from succumbing to a breakdown, so she kept all her focus on Vallkyrie and what she had to say. And her words were distracting in their own right.

Her lips twitched but Meerkat couldn't quite bring herself to smile, much as the mention of her brother's name invoked fondness. "I am," she confirmed. "Are you two friends?" It was idle small talk when she really needed to be getting on her way, though Meerkat found she needed it as much as she needed the brief rest.

The sorrow about the young woman was obvious and the disappointment which came along with it. The Archer woman too had felt much sorrow in the past few months of her stay within these forests and disappointment too, along with it. It made her think back to her times with Belharra traveling together last winter. Made her remember Ying and Quillcrest and how much she missed them both... and to her sister, having recently left to travel to Hao's home pack, to hopefully make a founding of their relationship into something prominent and solid.

Why had she stayed here? The thought wore down on Kyr more and more each day and she frowns deeply, now focusing back to Meerkat and ber question of Bronco... We are. A slight smile. The huntress was quite fond of the young warrior though unknowingly he was equally fond of someone else too...

He knows your out, right? She shook her head, trying to think of a better way of asking this. I mean, should I let him know where you might search next? At least that way they could keep track of her search so that she would not be lost to them too.

The query surprised her a little, if only because it was so thoughtful. "I told him I was going to search for Atlas," Meerkat replied, feeling a twinge of guilt as she added, "but I didn't intend to be gone long. The search is taking me longer and farther than..." She trailed off with a shaky breath.

Deciding to take Kyr up on her implied offer, she nodded. "If he comes asking, I'm heading to the coast to check in with Yuèlóng. I'll come back to the glen after that, regardless." It would be hard to put her search on hold but Meerkat knew it wasn't just Bronco's worry that would compel her to return home. She wanted to search for Atlas until she found him, even if it took her to the ends of the earth, but a more pragmatic part of her knew she couldn't simply give up everything for him, no matter how guilty she felt.

"I really appreciate your kindness, Vallkyrie," Meerkat murmured after a moment, already gathering her wits to prepare for the next leg of her journey. "And I'd love to speak to you again sometime. For now, I should get going."

She explained, something which Vallkyrie had heard time and time again.. One didnt plan to be gone long, got caught up in things, got lost, didnt mean to, were sorry... The huntress' icy eyes shift outward, thinking of the many come and gone from Neverwinter's ranks and those even more so that had gone and not returned and without even bothering to acknowledge the pack, either.

But Meerkat was a thoughtful woman, honest with her group or so it would seem from first impression. She told Kyr exactly where she was going and that even if she didnt find Atlas she would report back to the Glen before taking any further steps. Kyr's eyes sweep over the tawny girl and she nods her silent acceptance. After all, whatever worry she had for Atlas, her pack would suffer the same for both he and Meerkat  should she vanish on them.

Vallkyrie smiled to Meerkat's words and would agree that they should meet up again and that she hoped it would not be much longer before she could visit Bronco and perhaps her too. After a small Be careful, murmured from her black lips, the Archer would watch the yearling make her way, Kyr's worry obvious in her hard gaze.