Duskfire Glacier sunset dinner

Attn: @Tuuluuwaq, otherwise all welcome! #assumies #vaguies

She and @Issorartuyok arrived back at the glacier and Meerkat immediately sought somewhere to rest for a while. She stirred awake in the middle of the afternoon, eyes sleepily squinted against the cloudy white glare. She shook out her coat and stretched, then began to pad slowly around the territory in search of someone to update her on the latest news...

He normally wouldn't even be on the glacier. He had spent most of his time in the valley or by the river, helping to get rid of the sick caribou. It had been nice to keep busy.

But other things had kept him close to the glacier today, besides the fact that his leg wound hurt quite a lot after his rescuing the stranger from the river.

The woman who crossed his path in the distance was new, at least to him. Upon further inspection,  he could tell she held not only the scent of the pack but she also smelled very strongly of his brother. She had been near him recently. His heart picked up.

He trotted over and offered a brisk chuff in greeting. You have been with Issorartuyok recently, he told her. Is he here? I'm his brother. I've been waiting for him to return.

Being approached by a wounded stranger heralded changes in the pack. Oblivious to just how much had transpired in the past ten days, Meerkat blinked a bit owlishly at the unfamiliar man and his very direct question.

Almost absently, the yearling touched her nose to her own shoulder. Did she really smell like him? Ignoring the feelings that stirred, she faced the stranger again. She smiled when he claimed to be Issorartuyok's brother.

"He's around here somewhere," she assured before offering, "I'm Meerkat. Are you visiting, or...?"

The way she said He's around here somewhere, so nonchalantly made his jaw clench. But his anger wasn't her fault. She had no idea he had been waiting to see Isso. 

He shook his head. No. I left home to find Isso and live with him. He kind of wanted to say see ya later and take off to find his brother, but he was sure his sibling would be displeased with him of he were so rude to a packmate. I arrived a few days ago. Lane offered me shelter here until Issorartuyok returned and could grant me a permanent rank. 

Did you travel with my brother? How is he? He wanted to see for himself, but he would need to be patient.

"Well, in that case, welcome," Meerkat replied, still a little too groggy to notice the tightness in his expression.

She wanted to ask his name, though before she could say anything else, he pressed her for more information about Issorartuyok, to which she responded, "Yes, he accompanied me on a trip to visit my mother's pack," which she supposed was technically a misnomer now. "We just got back a few hours ago. He's doing good. I wish I could say I knew where he was but I'm not sure. I could help you look for him, unless you'd prefer to call...?"

No, no, that is okay,  he assured her. I am just eager to see him; it has been a long time. Tuulu wished he had followed his brother here originally, but he never made decisions lightly. I can find him later.

I am Tuuluuwaq, he offered with a stiff nod. 

He was never very good at the small talk shit, so he let an awkward (to him) silence fall between them.

"I get it," she said, still smiling. "We were actually just chasing after my younger brother. He came here to visit and left on his own without saying anything, the turd. So we went to our mother's pack to make sure he made it home safely." And she was glad he had, even if the caldera was no longer home to him or anyone.

"It's nice to meet you, Tuuluuwaq," Meerkat said, enunciating the name slowly to make sure she said it right. "Can I call you Tuuluu?" She hadn't given Issorartuyok a nickname until the other day and it was such a relief not to tangle her tongue any longer. "And would you like to find something to eat with me?"

And did he? Tuulu asked, now curious about the story, especially because it involved his brother. 

She asked if she could call him Tuulu, and he tensed a bit. I would prefer if you didn't, he answered. It was a nickname reserved for those close to him, and he didn't like it to be used otherwise. 

As for finding a meal, he could definitely eat. Yes, I would like to get some food with you. He offered a respectful nod. Maybe you can tell me more about how my brother is as a leader. He was very interested to know.

Her ears tilted back a bit awkwardly when he rejected her use of a nickname. Oh. Okay. Glad I asked... It made her wonder if Issorartuyok minded. She felt uncomfortably warm and shifted her weight, trying to overcome her sudden sense of discomfiture.

"Yes, my brother is fine," the yearling reported, motioning for him to fall into step as she led the way toward a cache. "I know he has plenty of prior experience and I absolutely believe he'll do great." She wondered if Tuuluuwaq could detect her fondness for his brother. "But he's only been a leader here for a few weeks. The previous leader was hurt recently, so he and Lane stepped up."

Her brown gaze drifted sideways, wondering if he knew that much already, before facing forward again. "There's a cache through the trees up here in... Bosk Iana!" Abruptly remembering the name she couldn't quite recall during her tour with Njord a while back, it came out rather exclamatory. "Sorry, I was blanking on its name the other day and it just came to me," Meerkat offered as explanation.

She seemed a little uncomfortable with his answer. He couldn't control how she felt about his preference, nor did he have to explain himself, but something about the way her ears folded back made him want to assure her it had nothing to do with her. It is nothing personal; it's just a nickname used by those close to me, and I don't know you very well yet.

She seemed happy with his brother's leadership skills so far, which didn't really surprise the northerner. Yes, he is wise and kind, he offered. 

Yes, Lane told me of him, Tuulu explained. 

He was going to offer his condolences but then she excitedly told him the name of where the cache was. He looked at her curiously before she explained and then he nodded his understanding. 

I am sorry for your loss, Meerkat, he offered then. He didn't know how close they had been but losing a leader was never easy on a pack.

"My loss?" she echoed stupidly, before realizing. "Oh, he didn't pass away. He's in very bad shape, though. The pack's in great hands with your brother and Lane, though I think the plan is to pass leadership back to Wintersbane if and when he recovers."

By now, they'd arrived at the stockpile. It was a dugout in the ground at the base of a very large, old tree. The contents were hidden beneath a thick carpet of fallen leaves. Meerkat braced herself and began to paw them out of the way to get to the dried meat stashed below.

She didn't know? She didn't know. And now he was faced with a rather difficult decision. He could let her go on not knowing until someone she knew better told her what had happened while she was gone, or he could tell her the truth now; something felt wrong about going with the former—pretending he didn't know while they ate, letting her go on from here still believing that the alpha lived. He was never very good at lying because it never really seemed like the right thing to do. 

He was quiet as they reached the cache. Tuulu watched Meerkat began to pull away the leaves that covered the meat. He helped, still silent and contemplating his next course of action. 

One the meat was exposed, he took a seat without pulling anything out. Meerkat, um— A hard swallow. Lane informed me just the other day that Wintersbane passed away. I'm sorry to be the one who tells you. She didn't know him at all and he didn't know the former alpha. None of this was ideal, but he couldn't just pretend nothing had happened.

Their combined efforts soon revealed several cold, stiff carcasses. Before Meerkat could select one, she glanced at Tuuluuwaq in invitation. He could take first pick. She found him looking back at her with a strange look on his face, right before he said her name and with some visible difficulty informed her of the former Alpha's death.

Her paw slipped away from the pile of leaves and she sank into a hard sit. "Oh." She stared at her new acquaintance even as her eyes quickly grew glassy and unfocused. She felt a pang of grief for the poor man, though she quickly thought of his mate and children. More than half the pack was surely devastated by this.

"I'm sorry," Meerkat said thickly after a moment, "will you please excuse me, Tuuluuwaq?" Her limbs felt quivery as she slowly rose back onto all fours. Appetite gone, she itched to find someplace private to grapple with this news.

As expected, the news shook the glacier woman. He wished he knew what to say or do, but he didn't. He didn't know anyone here, not really, and this was all very awkward. 

She stared at him, and he watched her with obvious concern. When she stood, so did he. 

She asked to be excused. Of course, he answered right away. Please let me know if I can do anything to help. Guilt swelled in his chest for some reason. Maybe because there was nothing he could really do. Usually when someone was grieving, they wanted to be with others who were also grieving the same loss, or least with someone familiar. I'll cover this back up for you.

She wanted to thank him for telling her; acknowledge his offer of support; and invite him to continue with his meal. But Meerkat could only nod and shoot him a quick, apologetic look before she walked away on trembling legs, her empty stomach now full of lead.

Let's have another soon! :D

yes pls! i would love that

Tuulu had also lost his appetite. 

He watched her walk away before covering the cache back up. And when he could no longer see her outline in the distance, he walked the other way, stopping only when he was far enough from the glacier that he could be alone.