Redhawk Caldera picked up a dandelion

She had arrived several days ago, just in time for the caldera to become even more of a madhouse than usual. Meerkat reeled with the rest of them and just tried to be there for her parents. She had come here primarily for Towhee but now @Phox needed all the support he could get. And her mom had @Reyes again. It was a lot but she coped best by focusing on everybody else, trying to bring them some comfort and solace.

Today, she sat outside the large den her mother called the Hobbit Hole, though she didn't understand the reference. She just assumed Towhee had gotten it from @Wraen or something. It was such an incredible space and she was happy the pups had somewhere so comfortable to be born and raised. Although Meerkat's heart remained heavy for a lot of reasons, spring was here and soon her baby brothers and sisters would be here too.

Well, some of them, she thought a little grimly before she gently pushed that thought away and tipped her face toward the March sunshine.

Each day he grew a little more brave. Especially now that everyone seemed so...scattered.

Lenny was not so dense to assume everyone had simply fallen into some random collective foul moods or distracted mindset. Something had happened, but he had kept his nose relatively free of such dramas. Just aware of it in the barest sense of things. He was very much like a moon that orbited the Redhawks.

Yet here was someone who seemed new! So he held himself a bit low, however with some bare minimum of confidence, his tail did sway behind him in a friendly manner.

Then he tried to remember how he'd been greeted. Towhee had said something like...Yo Lenny so maybe...

Yo? Not nearly as enthusiastic as anyone else might have said it, but hopefully his clear positive mood made up for that.

Her eyes closed against the glare as she let the sun warm her face. It felt so good, as did the gentle breeze that kicked up and soughed through her pale fur. She focused on the sensations and tried to clear her mind. It was kind of meditative, at least until strange a voice said, "Yo?"

Meerkat dropped her head and opened her eyes in a single movement, her gaze clapping on a small, unfamiliar wolf. Lenny? she wondered, recollecting the list of names Towhee had given her upon her return. Her lips curved upward.

"Yo," she greeted in return. "Are you Lenny?" Meerkat went ahead and guessed, then added, "I'm Meerkat."

When he was greeted the same, he felt a special kind of success. Yo clearly had been the right greeting to use.

Yeah 'm Lenny. He answered with a gentle bob of his head. Apparently she just knew him! Which, well, might have made sense if he had more pack life experience. As it was, he simply saw it as magical convenience. Meerkat s'good name. He complimented with a wider wag of his tail. A chance to make a friend, perhaps.

Whatcha doin'?

The compliment earned an amused smile from her. "So is Lenny," she replied, her own tail thumping the ground where she remained seated. What else had her mother told her about him? Meerkat thought on it a moment and then shook her head. So much had already happened since, she couldn't quite recall.

"Just enjoying springtime," she answered his question. The winter had been so difficult, she couldn't help but feel hopeful with the improving weather. "How about you? What are you up to today?"